Pre-Thanksgiving Dinner

Here were our festive dishes... with some Thanksgiving-styled ideas.

Pumpkin- ginger soup

Ingredients

• 1 average sized organic Hokkaido Pumpkin, or Kabocha Squash cut into chunks (deseed but don't peel)
• 3-5 onions chopped
• 3-10 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1-2 inch piece of ginger sliced, or ginger powder
• 2-3 pieces of turmeric sliced, or turmeric powder
• pint of vegetable stock
• 1-2 jalapenos, seeded
• 2-3 small green chilies, sliced
• 1 tbsp panch puran
• 2 table spoons of whole wheat flour

Preparation

1. caramelize the onions adding garlic, chili and jalapeno, and panchpuran and gradually add the whole wheat flour and liquify with some veggie stock
2. gradually add all of the soup stock, and let it come to the boil
3. add the pumpkin and let it boil about 20 mins.
4. Allow the soup to cool down a little then pour into a blender and blend at high speed till smooth and creamy, or use an immersion blender to achieve the same result. 

Evidently, you can make this as spicy as you like, by varying the amounts of turmeric, ginger, chilis and peppers. You can use a small amount of Bragg's Liquid Aminos or Yondo to finish to taste, but if you are using the Panch Puran, you should not need much at all. The whole point is that by choosing aromatic spices, you can pretty much eliminate the need for added salt. With turmeric and ginger if you can use fresh, that makes all the difference in the world. If you want to give it some extra zing, you could slice some scallions on top for garnish.

Baked Cauliflower with Fennel 

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets (about 3 cups)
• 1 bulb fennel, halved and sliced thin (about 2 cups)
• 1 pomegranate, seeded (about ¾ cup)
• ½ cup pecans
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp mustard powder
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp pink Himalayan salt, or to taste

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
2. Place cauliflower florets in a large container with a lid. Drizzle with lemon juice, turmeric, mustard powder, cinnamon, and salt. Cover the container with the lid and shake it up until the cauliflower is completely coated. 
3. Spread the cauliflower evenly on the baking sheet.
4. Place the fennel slices on baking sheet with the cauliflower.
5. Bake for 15 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and add the pecans. Bake for another 5 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

Mashed Potatoes recipe from Whole Foods Market

Ingredients

• 2 pounds potato, such as Russet or Yukon Gold cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1 medium white onion diced
• 1/3 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
• 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1 cup unsweetened oatmilk, soymilk, almondmilk or ricemilk
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon granulated onion
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Place potatoes in a saucepot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are very tender, about 20 minutes. 
3. Drain potatoes and return to pot. Stir over low heat until potatoes are falling apart and slightly dry, about 5 minutes. 
4. Remove from heat and mash potatoes or purée with a ricer until smooth.
5. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently until lightly browned and beginning to stick to the pan, about 5 minutes. 
6. Stir in broth and garlic and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until onions are tender and golden, 6 to 8 minutes.
7. Add onion mixture, oatmilk, nutritional yeast, granulated onion and pepper to pot with potatoes and stir until combined. Serve immediately.

Mushroom Sauce

View on brandnewvegan.com

Ingredients

• 1/2 onion diced
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 2 Tbs white wine (or sub veg broth)
• 8 oz mushrooms sliced
• 2 Tbls Soy Sauce low sodium variety, Braggs Liquid Aminos, or Yondu
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 Tbs nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp rubbed sage
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• 2 1/4 cups vegetable broth low sodium variety
• 1/2 tsp kitchen bouquet browning sauce
• Drop or two of liquid smoke (optional)

Preparation

1. Saute onion and garlic in wine until softened
2. Add mushrooms and soy sauce and cook until reduced
3. In a separate pan, lightly toast flour, nutritional yeast, and herbs
4. Add flour mixture to mushrooms and stir well
5. Slowly add vegetable broth and stir well to combine
6. Add browning sauce and liquid smoke and heat to desired consistency

Red Leaf & Spinach Salad

• 1 Head Red Leaf Lettuce
• 1 bunch fresh young spinach
• 1 red onion
• 1 red pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 box cherry tomatoes
• optional: some scoops of chia seeds, or milled flaxseed.

1/2/3 dressing with lemon and lime juice

Economics

Plant-based is pretty affordable... we had 7 people or about $105 to work with, and we spent $75, meaning we contributed $30 to St. Helena's. Or, we spent about $10.50 per person, and some people took food home, plus we left an ample portion for Fr. David.