okay, I know we're nearing December 1st which means its basically Christmas so I'm a little late in posting this years plant based thanksgiving food BUT its technically still November & I'll make it quick:)
So this year was definitely a different vibe considering the circumstances in the world. I'm grateful to say that my Thanksgiving holiday was pretty normal & was definitely a level up on the menu if I may say so myself!
We laughed, we cried, we got drunk, & we ate... ALOT. Thanksgiving is for sure like game day in my house - its usually the holiday everyone comes over for our feast & then other family friends & loved ones come over to get lit after their feast lol. Sadly, it was just us this year but let me tell you, it didn't stop us! We usually start off with a couple bottles of wine...yes a couple of bottles, we eat while we cook, we yell (cause we're Italian I mean what else is new), we're cooking a hundred things at one time, drink another bottle, we take photos, we have our first plate, more wine/HALFTIME, desert - & more deserts, then we're back with a second plate & another bottle - then after our post feast walk, hot toddy's! (which I completely forgot to picture but if you haven't made this, its perfect for the end of the night vibe for the holidays!)
Needless to say, this year hit all the marks - it was a good time :) Anyways, I said I'd make it short so here we go! This was my full first plate of tofurkey day goodness! I've always been a fan of the tofurkey holiday roast, so that was my turkey this year along with a plant based version of my mothers stuffing recipe & roasted Brussel Sprouts! Everything else, I will share recipes below! Enjoy loves & feel good :)
So lets start with my favorite of the day & honestly the thanksgiving FAV - these plant based sweet potato cinnamon pecan muffins! :) I know its a mouthful. Most of my family who is not vegan absolutely LOVED these! We acquired this recipe from a family friend & I made some tweaks & additions to make it vegan! You have to try them - I feel like they would be great for the Holidays in general!
Sweet Potato Cinnamon Pecan Muffins:
1/2 cup of vegan butter (I use earth balance)
1 1/2 cup of brown sugar
2 egg replacers (my favorite is the one from BRAGG's its super easy & is one part egg to 2 parts water - its perfect!)
5 boiled & peeled fresh sweet potatoes
1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
2 tsp of baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon (this is what the recipe calls for but I loved cinnamon & did about 1 1/2 tbsp)
Fresh nutmeg
1 cup of plant milk (unsweetened almond milk - we like to use clean ingredients so the Malk brand is my favorite!)
1 bag of cinnamon pecans (I didn't have time to make my own so I found a really yummy clean batch from sprouts & just used those!)
okay, so we want to preheat the oven to 400 degrees & get your muffin pan all greased up! We're going to start with creaming the butter & sugar together, add the eggs & mix well. Once you have it all creamy, add your sweet potatoes! In another bowl, Sift flour with baking powder, salt, cinnamon, & nutmeg. Then, slowly add your dry mix to your sweet potatoes & pour in the milk. DO NOT OVERMIX. We want this to be a good thicker texture. Once we've mixed, crush up your cinnamon pecans & fold about half the bag into the mix. Then with an ice scream scooper, scoop your mixture into the muffin pan & add some cinnamon pecans on top - Bake for about 25 min. or until muffins are golden! :)
Having some type of pasta on thanksgiving is honestly a lot. With all the main dishes & then you throw the extra carbs in, you just get so full so fast! lol However, my brother was dying to make some kind of vegan Mac & cheese & who am I to deny that lol so I helped him throw together this beauty & oh man was it divine! The sauce we made is very similar to an Italian besciamella sauce so thats what we're going for here! Also, I make shifted the breadcrumb toppings & it was the best part! My brother got a little crazy with the Off the Block Daiya shredded cheese on top but, the more the better I guess! lol - here we go :)
Baked Mac & Cheeze with Plant Based Cheesy Besciamella Sauce:
SAUCE:
1/2 cup of vegan butter
6 tbsp all purpose flour
3 14 oz. cans of coconut milk
1 cup vegetable stock
3 tbsp dijon mustard
1 cup of nutritional yeast
1 bag of cheddar cheese (here I like to use the "off the block day shreds" - I feel like that version tastes way better then the OG daiya & melts so easy)
onion powder
garlic powder
red chili flakes
salt
pepper
BREADCRUMBS:
toasted sourdough
onion powder
garlic powder
red chili flakes
paprika
salt
pepper
oregano
So first, we want to start with preheating your oven to 400 degrees & bringing a pot of salted water to a boil. For this recipe, we used 1lb of pasta shells!
In a heated sauce pot, add the vegan butter until melted. Once melted, add your flour by tbsp while whisking vigorously. *you want to be whisking vigorously this entire time until you take the pot off the heat*. Next, pour in your vegetable stock, and coconut milk. Keep whisking until it begins to boil, after a few minutes of boiling remove it from the heat. This is where it gets fun as we add all our seasonings - 1 bag of cheese, nutritional yeast, dijon mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, red chili flakes, salt, & pepper. I didn't add measurements here because...I season to taste honestly so whatever you feel works best! - Once everything is seasoned as you like, drain you macaroni & pour pasta into baking pan! Then we add the cheesy besciamella sauce until all the shells are covered! Mix it around to ensure its all coated & gooey:)
In a blender - add your broken up toasted sourdough bread & seasonings & blend until you have the breadcrumb consistency of your choosing. Once you got that together, top your Mac & cheese mixture with breadcrumbs & extra cheese if you have it & bake for 20 min! Enjoy :)
We all love mashed potatoes but garlic & herb mashed potatoes...like fuck me up, lol :) This is super simple & so fresh & yummy tasting I had to share. Also, because I feel like you can make this for any holiday as well!
Garlic & Herb Mashed Potatoes:
4 Yukon Potatoes
4 cloves of garlic
rosemary
sage
1 1/2 cups plant based milk
1 1/2 cup of vegan butter
salt
pepper
This one is pretty standard in the sense that we begin by boiling the potatoes for as long as we need too until they're soft & ready to be mashed! On the side, chop up your garlic, rosemary, & sage. In a hot sauce pan, go ahead an add 1 cup of vegan butter & let that melt down. Add in your garlic & let that cook in the butter for 1 - 2 min before then adding your milk! Once you have that all together, add your herbs & spices to taste. In your mixing bowl, mash your potatoes & pour your milky, herby, buttery mixture into your potatoes & mash away! Add any extra butter or milk to meet the consistency of your choosing. I like mine a little lumpy personally! Top with a couple slices of extra butter & rosemary for garnish - SO GOOD :)
So last but not least, I know this is NOT the most appealing thing but omg eveytime I look at it I die laughing hahaha. I attempted to make a vegan sweet potato casserole with little vegan marshmallows on top & I was so excited & they were going to be SO YUMMY! The recipe I found & played around with called for all the classics but with a secret ingredient that made these POP. HOWEVER - as you can see, they fucking caught on FIRE LOL.
Long story short, being in an Italian household as I mentioned, holidays are hectic in the kitchen and so many things were happening at once. I was in there my mom who had just as many drinks as me. To paint a picture, I'm at the stove & just changed the oven from bake to broil as I wanted to get a nice little golden crisp to the top of my sweet potatoes. Meanwhile, shit hits the fan with my mom dropping gravy EVERYWHERE, I spill my gravy EVERYWHERE, the stove is covered in gravy, everyone is yelling/laughing, I'm doing my best to not burn my gravy & then it dawns on me...MY SWEET POTATOES. & I shit you not, I open the oven & a straight gulf of fire shoots out & its legitimately burning.
So now were all freaking out, yelling fire, & I'm scared & sad I burnt my marshmallows - like I almost cried from laughing & sadness lol. We then ended up with this scary looking dish from another planet hahaha. Thankfully, my mom stepped in and brought the dish outside & it cooled enough to scrape the burnt marshmallows & we were able to salvage the casserole itself! oh man, did that add spice to thanksgiving LOL! - needless to say, this was a memorable moment & no one will forget the now FLAMING SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE haha :)
Flaming Sweet Potato Casserole:
5 roasted sweet potatoes
2 roasted bananas (the KICKER in this receipe)
1 can of coconut milk
1 cup of vegan butter
1 bag of vegan marshmallows
fresh nutmeg
cinnamon
salt
So to make this, we want to start with preheating the oven to 325 degrees & roasting your sweet potatoes in the oven until soft & mushy - this allows for the sweet potatoes to bring out more of their sweetness versus boiling them so if you like sweet, roast not boil! Also - the secret ingredient is to roast two bananas in the oven until they're completely black! This adds a whole other level of sweetness & let me tell you its necessary! Once our potatoes & bananas are mushy & roasted, place them into your mixer & blend together. Then, add your butter, coconut milk, cinnamon, fresh nutmeg, & salt. Mix altogether really well & pour into a baking pan. Cook at 325 for about 35 min & then take it out to add your vegan marshmellows & cook for another 5 min. THEN place your oven on broil ... only broil for a couple minutes & be sure to watch it! LOL you want a nice little golden crisp to your marshmallows & then YOU'RE DONE! :) - too bad I don't have a better photo for you but there you go :)
This just goes to remind you that no one is perfect & even though something goes wrong, it doesn't mean its completely a lost cause! They ended up being a big hit like the rest of my tofurkey day dishes so all is well! - I hope this inspires any of you to turn some of your favorite dishes for the next few holidays plant based! enjoy my loves & feel good :)