A Perfect Vegan Thanksgiving Feast

First things first--running. Yesterday began very early for us. I participated in a 5k Turkey Trot Race here in town. What a great way to prepare for the day--drag your tired self out of bed at the crack of dawn to run in the cold! We woke at six--notice I said "we". My husband joined me--I am so glad he did! With him in tow with two of our dogs waiting for me at the finish line in 30 degree weather--clouds, drizzle and wind whipping across the field like we lived off a lake--I totally appreciated both the love and support! Of course, it was one of the coldest days of the season so far here, go figure. And I was cold, I'll admit it. But the prior days and weeks leading up to this, I was training for an improved run time. Last year I finished in 29 something. (And if you read this blog--you'll note I ran Sweat-4-Pets in 28:10). This year I finished my Turkey Trot run in 27:19--not bad! Did I win a medal--no. I was sad about that. I ran an average 8:50 mile. There are some amazing, fast women in my age group--there were 42 of us, and I placed 9th. I am going to improve--I know I can run an eight minute mile. So, this just inspired me to work harder for my upcoming races--oh, and there will be more, trust me! Thinking about a half marathon in spring.

So, when I set out to get my vegan menu for Thanksgiving together, I swore there would not be one single stuffed squash at my table. If I see another stuffed squash photo for "Your perfect vegan Thanksgiving table" I will scream! Come on, name one person who honestly, and I mean honestly "could really go for a stuffed acorn squash on Thanksgiving!" No one in this house. And so, I was much more relaxed this year than I was last year in planning our vegan dinner--very small, just my husband and I (let me insert here--I am not a fan of "family gatherings". Okay, let me explain, over three people and I stress out!--I've touched on this before in my blog) . I fondly refer to last year as "The Brown Thanksgiving"--owing to this horrific looking lentil rice loaf--I have sworn off those--they should be banned from ever being printed in vegan or vegetarian cookbooks. This year I would like to humbly proclaim that our vegan Thanksgiving dinner yesterday was full of amazing, tasty and wonderful eats! First, let me thank my friends at Match Meats! You helped me in overcoming my "centerpiece" anxiety. With the Match Holiday Roast--I was set and left with time to devote myself to cooking all day without the hassle of wondering whether or not my hideous lentil loaf would finally come out of the oven and "set" thus allowing it to be sliced rather than "spooned" onto our plates.

I like tradition. I stuck with tradition. Well, except for green bean casserole! Ick. I hate green bean casserole. I made my favorite stuffing--and added some of that yummy cornbread from two nights ago. My mom used to begin her stuffing early in the day. She'd cook her celery and onion in gobs of butter then add her bag of Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix, then add stock, then add butter, sage and so on. I, meanwhile, would sneak in to taste this like every time I walked into the kitchen. So it seemed the longer this sat on the burner, the better it got. I make mine based on the same principle, but sans the real butter. Earth Balance Sticks for me and veggie stock. Fresh sage from the garden and wait, slow cooking, tasting all along the way. It is the best stuffing in the world if I don't say so myself. Then, we had the cranberry salad which for me is so simple: 1 bag frozen cranberries, 1 cup Florida Crystals Sugar, 1 whole orange (rind and all) with nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, allspice. Drop all of this in the food processor and pulse until it is all choppy looking. Yum! This gets better with time. Then, we had mashed potatoes, only this year, I added some White Truffle Oil to these and they were just over-the-top delicious! To add greatness to these, I made Shitake Mushroom gravy. Then, I popped a can of green beans into a small sauce pan and viola--pulled the meal together, plated it and look how yummy our plates looked--did we "miss" anything? Not one single bit--it was one of our best Thanksgiving Dinners yet!