Our Thanksgiving Menu

If I were a good blogger, I might already have an abundance of side dish recipes tested and pictures taken......but I haven't done that. In fact I have nothing for you but a link and a list. Maybe that will help to get your creative juices going though.

This is my first year blogging through the holiday season and I'm quite excited. Not only am I thrilled to share with you our favorites, but I can't wait to see what you all are cooking up in your kitchens!

I've done many different things over the years on Thanksgiving since becoming a vegetarian. One year I made acorn squash ravioli in a gorgonzola cheese sauce, grilled zucchini, and onion bread....this was of course the Thanksgiving before we had children and I had time to do things like shower on a regular basis, and make my own ravioli. One year we had an Indian feast, and a few of the years we have dinned at friends houses and I have brought a side dish. I toyed with the idea of making Persian food this Thanksgiving, but as the day has drawn closer I am once again leaning toward a "traditional" menu, and this had better be my last leaning because the day draws near.

So what might the main dish at this vegetarian Thanksgiving be? Well, in my humble opinion, the celebration roast from Field Roast Grain Meat Co. is the only way to go. It's tasty, soy free, complex in flavor, and goes perfectly with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy. I would love to hear if you try it out, especially if you happen to be a carnivore. Let me know what you think.

The rest of our menu

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Gravy

Cranberry Chutney

Balsamic and Brown Sugar Baked Carrots

Broccoli Soup

Struessel Topped Sweet Potatoes

Sourdough, Caramelized Veggie, and Cornbread Stuffing

Sourdough Dinner Rolls

Pumpkin Pie

Cran-Raspberry Pie

What does your Thanksgiving menu look like?

Chocolate Covered Berry Cake In A Mug

My husband said I should name this "lawlberry chocolate cake", because I used Olallieberry preserves. I think we may actually call this "lawl cake" at home, however....should you not be a pack of sci-fi loving, gaming on a Friday nighting, never got a date to a real prom sort of person (speaking of which this cake would have been perfect for my prom night as it serves one), you can call it something else.

I used Olallieberry Preserves from Linn's Fruit Bin for this cake....what's that? You've never heard of Olallieberry? How sad for you! I grew up on them, Olallieberries are kind of like a blackberry, maybe a smidgen tarter, very excellent. Especially in pie...mmmmm....lawlberry pie. Well since I couldn't bring home a pie from California, I brought home these preserves. They are tart and fruity. Not too sweet. And eating them on toast, or in this cake, reminds me of my childhood.

The preserves have seeds. So if you don't like the idea of a seedy dessert feel free to use seedless raspberry or strawberry as they would also provide a hint of berry flavor. If you feel like being really fancy, mix up the batter in a separate bowl, pour half into the mug. Then add a tsp of preserves, a tbs of chocolate chips and then the other half of the batter. If you are making a vegan version of this cake make sure your chocolate chips are vegan...and use rice milk...huh duh.


Lawl Cake in a mug....

5 tbs flour
4 tbs sugar
2 tbs cocoa powder
3 tbs oil
3 tbs milk (rice, soy, almond...whatever you have)
3 tbs Olallieberry preserves
4 tbs chocolate chips

Mix together the flour, sugar and cocoa powder in a large mug.

Stir in the wet ingredients, mix thoroughly.

Stir in the chocolate chips

Microwave for three minutes.

Let cool

Eat

Hate me for telling you how to make a cake in less than five minutes. :)

This was received well by all, gooey and chocolaty with a hint of berry flavor, and without any thing to make my dear son turn red and puff up like a blow fish. Success! It is nice to be able to make a cake and not have a whole cake just sitting there....taunting ...and teasing. And even though this is supposed to be one serving, we all made and shared just one cake in a mug. A nice treat on a day when it is definitely too hot to be turning on the oven.

I feel I should also note, I am not being paid or compensated by Linn's fruit bin or any of the products I've reviewed thus far. It's just a brand that I really like....and should they happen to want to send me oodles of yummy goodies I wouldn't turn them down. However, as of this point that has not happened.

What sort of flavors remind you of your childhood or your hometown?

Quick Chickpea and Potato Curry

I recently bought some Masala simmering sauce from Trader Joe's. I wanted to be blown away and I was not. Super sad face goes here--->, because I love TJ's and wanted a super quick curry for lunches.
Well with a wee bit of adjustment, adding things like fresh garlic and ginger I was able to give it a more homemade taste.

What you need
1 tbs olive oil
5 cloves garlic smashed and minced
1 onion diced
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 dash cayenne (or more to taste)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 Jar of masala simmer sauce
1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
1 potato diced
2-3 handfuls of spinach (optional)
yogurt and chopped cilantro for garnish

In a large pot heat the oil. Add the onions, garlic, ginger, potatoes, and salt, cook for two minutes. Add the spices and cook for one more minute. Add the diced tomatoes, simmer sauce and chickpeas. Simmer covered until potatoes are cooked. Add the spinach and cook for a few more minutes. Serve topped with yogurt and cilantro....or not. This is also yummy on top of rice, but then it really isn't a one pot dish.