Vegan Thanksgiving

We hosted Thanksgiving this year, so I had the perfect excuse to make all these delicious holiday foods -- vegan style!

There were some non-vegan entrees for the non-vegans, but here is the veggie-goodness I made for Thanksgiving dinner:

Green bean casserole
Spaghetti Squash
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Whole Wheat, Whole Grain homemade bread

And the veggie-goodness Grandma made:
Cranberry relish
Gluten-free, vegan patties and gravy
Stuffing with carrots and celery

Plus some veggie-goodness that Aunt M made:
Salad with vegenaise dressing

Some items aren't pictured because we were all starving by the time all the food was ready and I barely had a second to take these photos!

Spaghetti Squash, a tradition in my family

Fluffy, mashed potatoes made with soy milk and Earth Balance

Chopped salad with vegenaise dressing

Whole Grain, Whole Wheat bread freshly made in the bread maker

Stuffing!

The best green bean casserole ever

Finally it was time to eat, and everything was amazing!  I (and I think everyone else) especially loved the green bean casserole, but I'm just saying...

FYI, here is the recipe for the green bean casserole from www.fatfreevegan.com.  I've made it three times since last Thanksgiving, and it never fails.  It's amazing; so creamy and mushroomy and delicious.

Ingredients:

Beans 2 quarts water 1 tablespoon table salt (Alanna says it's essential) 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces Sauce 10 ounces mushrooms (I used a combination of regular button mushrooms and shiitake) 3 cloves garlic, minced generous pinch cayenne pepper (had to add it for the New Orleanians) Salt to taste Freshly ground pepper to taste 2 tablespoons flour 3/4 cup vegetable broth (I used Imagine's No-Chicken) 1 tablespoon dry sherry (Alanna's brilliant addition) 3/4 cup soy creamer (or try full-fat unsweetened soymilk) Topping 1 1/2 slices whole grain bread 1 tablespoon Earth Balance margarine (the best tasting margarine in the world and no trans-fat) 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/16 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 3-ounce can of French fried onions

Instructions: Beans Bring the water to boil in a large pot. While its heating, cut up the beans. Add the salt and beans to the boiling water. Cover and cook for 6 minutes. Drain beans in a colander, and then spray for a minute with cold water to stop the cooking. Let them drain in the colander, shaking every now and then to get off all the water. Sauce Trim and discard the mushroom stems and chop the mushrooms into pieces. Spray a non-stick pan with canola oil and heat it. Add the mushrooms, garlic, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Cook until mushrooms are very soft and exude their juices. Whisk the flour into the vegetable broth and add to the mushrooms along with the sherry. Simmer, stirring, until mixture thickens. Add the soy creamer and simmer until thick, about 5 to 10 minutes. Adjust the seasonings and stir in the beans. Topping Put the bread, margarine, salt, and pepper into a food processor and pulse until crumbly. Pour into a bowl and add the onions. Stir to combine. To assemble: Put the green beans into an oiled casserole dish and top with the onion mixture. Bake at 425 F for about 15 minutes. If you are not serving this right away, refrigerate the topping separately; bring to room temperature before sprinkling the topping on the casserole and baking for about 20 minutes or until hot throughout.

Servings: 8