Thanksgiving dinner was fabulous. We enjoyed the vegan, gluten-free dinner with my parents, and two other families, all of which brought food to contribute. I had enough plates by alternating two sets of china. There were just enough pieces of stem ware for everyone to enjoy some sweet apple cider brought by one of the guests. She also brought a yummy apple crisp, topped with pecans, and a bowl of peas. I'll have to see if she can share the recipe for the crisp.
Another family brought mashed potatoes, gluten-free vegan gravy with mushrooms, and homemade cranberry sauce. To make the cranberry sauce she simply boiled one cup of fresh cranberries with 1 cup of pineapple juice with 1/4 cup of brown sugar for 15 minutes until the cranberries popped and became soft and thick.
I made some home made gluten-free, vegan stuffing with a loaf of frozen millet bread. I sautéed some onions, garlic and celery and mushrooms. I added sliced olives and some chopped walnuts. I made up some chicken like broth with LaChicky seasoning and dried Italian herbs, (but I think I might like Bill's Best brand better). Pour the broth over the cubbed millet bread, and stir, taste to make sure you like the flavors. Place mixture in a casserole dish and let it set for a while to soak it all in, and then bake at 350 degrees until there is a nice crust on top.
I made some bake tofu slices as my kids requested. I got some very, very firm tofu and sliced it into triangles the night before. House Foods, organic 2 pound bricks is a brand I really like for this. Softer tofu can work, but it is more likely to crumble. I made a marinade sauce out of Bragg's liquid aminos, and lemon juice. I spread the tofu triangles out in a pan, and poured the marinade over it and let it set overnight in the refrigerator. First thing in the morning I turned all the pieces over so they could sit a while on the other side. Later I made a breading meal out mostly nutritional yeast, with some rice flour and tapioca flour, onion powder, garlic powder and salt. Then I dipped each triangle into the breading meal and put them on a sprayed cookie sheet. The oven was pre-heating to 425 degrees. I baked them about 25 minutes on each side. They turned out great, a nice little cutlet for a turkey free table, and not fried either.
The entree was the
Chickpea, Veggie Walnut Loaf, I posted earlier in the week. I think I would make it again, but I think I might tweak the seasonings a little bit. I definitely think it needed more dried cranberries, or a good dollop of cranberry sauce on top, but then I love cranberries.
The pies were the greatest success in my mind. I loved how the pumpkin pies turned out, especially the crust. But I am feeling a little guilty, because the crust was not low fat, but rather full fat. But at least they weren't bricks or crumbles this year. Gluten free crusts are so hard to manage, unless you add a good measure of fat. So I can decide if I should tell you what the crust recipe was or not. I don't want to lead anyone astray, but is going to be the recipe I made next time. I love pies. They have been one of my favorite desserts since I was a little girl, but I haven't made them very often for the last 5 years or so, because of the crust and fat problem. If any of you wise gluten-free, vegan eaters can help me out, I would be very grateful.
We are now taking a break before the next festive meals are upon us.
