A slow-food vegan Thanksgiving

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Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving. It’s one of the few holidays without baggage. It’s a low-commitment gathering that says, let’s just break bread together and enjoy each other’s company.

One of the things I would change about the meal though, if I were hosting it, would be the way it’s served. Instead of having every dish available at once and piling food on your plate until it is grotesquely full, I would serve the meal in courses. Small plates brought out one at a time. It would be a meal to linger over and enjoy.

Nibbles
Herbaltinis or champagne
Toasted marcona almonds

First course
Mixed greens with carrots, apples, & pickled beets

Second course
Roasted Brussels sprouts with pistachios and capers

Third course
Sweet Potato Gnocchi with sautéed leeks and mushrooms drizzled with sage brown butter
Kale with cranberries, fennel, and walnuts

Fourth course
Raw apple crumble
Sweet potato apple pie ice cream
Espresso and mulled wine

Four courses sounds like a lot of work for a hostess, but I think it can be done pretty easily:

It would be simple enough to make the gnocchi days or weeks in advance. They can be frozen, uncooked, until you are ready to drop into boiling water. The desserts and sage brown butter can also be made several days in advance. The morning of, I’d make the two salads, prep the sprouts for baking, and sauté some leeks and mushrooms.

Cocktails and toasted almonds would be available for everyone as they arrived. When we were ready for dinner, I’d pop the sprouts in the oven and serve the pre-plated salads. After a 30 minutes, we’d be done with salads and ready for the sprouts. Mmmm… The gnocchi cooks in about 2 minutes, while you heat the pre-cooked leeks and mushrooms and sage butter in the microwave. Serve that with the alongside the kale salad. Finally, dessert comes out of the fridge and freezer for a nice finish to the meal. Mulled wine or espresso would be nice with this dessert, to contrast the cold crumble and ice cream.

What do you think? Could you pull this off? What else would you serve?

And in case you missed last year’s menu, it’s a bit more traditional.

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Cranberry-Walnut-Chickpea Salad

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celery, chickpeas, cranberries, dressing, fall, salad, walnuts

Much like my reaction to Christmas music on the radio on December 24th, I’m having a mild backlash against pumpkin-everything year. The next person who offers me a pumpkin muffin, latte, snickerdoodle, risotto, soup, or lasanga is likely to get the stink-eye. (Actually, I might just try making a dairy-free version of the last recipe.)

Instead, I’d like to focus on a different fall food – one that doesn’t get as much attention, because it’s usually relegated to the supporting condiment role. I’m talking about cranberries! I love the sweet-tangy flair they add to foods, don’t you?

In this recipe, I’ve paired them with walnuts, celery, and chickpeas for a satisfying salad. Serve it on a sandwich, on a bed of lettuce, or simply eat it out of the bowl with a spoon. A bit of chopped avocado on top is also a nice splurge.

3 cups cooked or 2 cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup dried cranberries (chopped fresh would be great too)
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1/2 cup scallions (green onions), thinly sliced, white & green parts
6 tablespoons tahini
4 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons pure maple syrup

In a medium to large bowl, add the garbanzo beans, celery, cranberries, nuts, scallions, and stir to combine.

In a small bowl combine tahini, vinegar, water and maple syrup. (This can be made a day or two ahead and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use. Add a tad more water, or vinegar if you’re a vinegar lover, to thin out dressing as desired.) Toss dressing with garbanzo mixture.

Serve at room temp or let chill in the refrigerator for an hour before serving.

Notes:

Change up the walnuts, using pecans, almonds, sunflower seeds, etc. If using sunflower seeds, use half the amount called for.

If you are planning on eating this on a sandwich, mash the chickpeas slightly before adding the remaining ingredients. This will make it easier to assemble and eat.

Photo: Mad Manchegan

10,000 Island Dressing

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balsamic, cashews, cucumber, dressing

Google “Dr. Fuhrman’s 10,000 Island Dressing” and you’ll come up with endless variations on this creamy, awesome salad topper. Here’s how I make it:

1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup unsweetened soy, almond or hemp milk
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cucumber
1/4 cup chopped onion

Put everything in a high-powered blender and blend until creamy. Alternately, you could blend everything except the onion and stir it in at the end for a little crunch.