Let the craziness begin, eh?! My Ma sent me my annual Advent calendar so it’s officially the start of the holidays for me. I don’t know any other 34-year-olds who still get one from their Ma, and I’m fine with that… my Ma loves me more than your Ma does, obviously! As promised, I’m back today with healthy, fresh, green and clean side dishes for your holiday meal and they’re all VEGAN! It doesn’t mean you have to be a Vegan to make or enjoy these recipes, you just have to like food! And besides, why fill up on recipes rich with heavy cream and butter when you can fill up on pie instead, right?!
I made most of these sides last year, but this time around, since Andy is home (ie. not making someone else’s dinner) for the holiday, we’ve been fighting over who gets to cook what. Yes, these are what our “fights” are about… food! So we split it down the middle with me making the turkey, stuffing, cranberries and pie while he makes the scalloped potatoes and green bean casserole. At least I’m allowing him to make two out of the six or seven dishes I plan on serving. Happy wife, happy life! And for the first time, I’ve got squash soup on my menu, and I’m serving it in the actual squash. I’ve seen this done with pumpkins before but I wanted to experiment with a Kabocha squash that I picked up at the Avila Barn yesterday. These are so cute and the perfect size for individual portions of soup plus the presentation is one of a kind.
My last piece of advice for your Thanksgiving is to get out and move! I was planning on running a 5K the morning of but now my knee is acting up so instead I’m headed to my favorite TRX class at The Edge for a special TG class. You will feel so much better if you take a long walk before and after your meal instead of passing out on the couch and watching football. You could also come to my 6:15 a..m. class at Harmony House on Friday morning and use this as a way to NOT overeat the day before! Most people consume 3-4,000 calories on Thanksgiving and I refuse to be one of them! Hence the light, Vegan sides and the TRX class beforehand! I’ve left out pictures so you can easily print these recipes out and take them shopping with you without using all your printer’s ink!
Before you go, let’s talk books for just a quick second! My book club met this Saturday (let me know if you want to join!) and we discussed Anthony Doerr’s All the Light You Cannot See which we all loved and we very moved by. Especially because the novel is set during Nazi Germany and the protagonist is a small blind girl who is basically left on her own to survive and her story alone is incredible. I highly recommend that as well as the two I am listening/reading currently; Angelica Huston’s Watch Me and Peter Grahman’s Ann Perry and the Murder of the Century. I’m so happy I decided to get the Amazon Audible version of Huston’s second book installment because I love her slow, deliberate way of talking that compliments her English accent and just how fantastic she makes everyone around her seem, even Jack Nicholson who was a complete jerk to her. In audible terms, I’m only 45 minutes through but I’m hooked.
On NPR about two weeks ago I heard a story about Anne Perry (formally known as Juliet Hulme) who is now a bestselling mystery writer but who helped murder her best friend’s mother when she was just a teenager. The story is internationally New Zealand’s most famous crime and is sad, creepy and dark. But so fascinating! Can’t wait to tell you more as I read it…
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Kabocha Squash soup bowl- serves 1-4 people
Ingredients:
-1 Kabocha squash
-1/2 onion
-3 cloves garlic
-4 celery sticks
-4 cups vegetable broth
-salt and pepper
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400.
2. Cut the top off the squash and scoop out the seeds.
3. Cut up all the vegetables finely and place inside the squash.
3. Add 2 cups of the vegetable broth or until it fills to the top. Leave space to put the stem back on.
4. Place on a baking sheet with foil. Then cook for 1.5 hours, adding more vegetable broth halfway through.
5. When the squash and begins are soft, remove and let cool.
6. Use a spoon to scoop out the goodness and enjoy…. and don’t forget to give thanks!
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Vegan Acorn and Butternut Squash Puree- serves 4
Ingredients:
-1 small butternut squash
-1 small acorn squash
-1/4 cup orange juice
-1 and 1/2 tsp brown sugar
-1/4 tsp fresh ginger
-salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400. Cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds and sprinkle some salt and pepper inside. Drizzle some olive oil too, and place cut-side down on a baking sheet for 20 minutes or until soft.
2. When the squash is cool, scoop out the insides and place in your food processor with everything else. Puree until the squash thickens.
3. Enjoy and give thanks!
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Vegan Rutabaga and Sweet Potato Mash- serves 4-6
Ingredients:
-2 small rutabaga
-1 large sweet potato
-1 cup Blue Diamond’s Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Coconut milk
-salt and pepper
Directions:
1. Peel and chop the rutabaga and potato and place in large pots and cover. Boil until they are both soft and a fork can slip through them.
2. Place in a strainer and let cool.
3. Mash the potatoes and rutabaga until there are no big clumps.
4. Add everything to your food processor and puree until the constancy thickens.
5. Enjoy and give thanks!
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Vegan Green Bean Casserole with Mushroom and Onion Soup- serves 6
Ingredients:
-4 cups fresh green beans, chopped in half and without the stems
-8 oz. baby bella crimini mushrooms, chopped
-1 red onion, diced
-3 cloves garlic
-1 cup Blue Diamond’s Unsweetened Vanilla Coconut milk
-4 cups of vegetable broth
-1/4 cup dry white wine
-1 T olive oil
-one handful of parsley and thyme
-salt and pepper
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350. Take the stems off of the green beans and chop in half.
2. Place the green beans and 3 cups of vegetable broth into a pot and bring to a boil. When the beans are fairly tender, remove from heat and drain.
3. In a large sauté pan, add the chopped onions and mushrooms, garlic and the olive oil. Cook until the onions are browning, tossing frequently.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and add in the white wine first. Return to heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Then slowly add the herbs, chicken broth and milk. If you want to, sprinkle some flour on top of the veggies to thicken the mixture. You don’t need much at all! When the mixture is thick enough to your liking, remove from the heat.
5. Place the green beans in a 9×9 baking dish and pour the mushroom soup on top. Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbling. Top with fried onions if you like!
6. Enjoy and give thanks!
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Oh! And this last recipe my friend Amy posted on her blog. It’s for a Paleo Cranberry Sauce and it sounds easy enough to make and even easier to cover my side dishes with! You can leave out the honey and make this one Vegan too, but I’m leaving it in! If you have some recipes to share with me, please do.. I’m always on the prowl.
Amy Approved Cranberry Sauce
-12 oz cranberries
-1 cup orange juice
-¼ cup raw honey
-1 tsp ginger (fresh)
-½ tsp orange zest
-¼ cup light agave (or raw sugar or coconut crystals)
-pinch cinnamon
-optional: pieces of orange
1. Mince the ginger and orange zest. Boil the orange juice, ginger and zest on high heat.
2. Once the liquid is boiling, add the cranberries. Reduce heat to medium (about a 4 on my stove) and cook uncovered for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the cranberries have burst.
3. Remove from heat and add the agave, honey and cinnamon. Stir and set aside to cool. Once the cranberry sauce reaches room temperature, cover and refrigerate. Can be done several days in advance.
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Have a very Happy Thanksgiving! I’m grateful for my family, my Ma, friends, yoga students, my fur babies, the beautiful beach sunsets I can see anytime I want, and my loving husband… and ESPECIALLY for YOU! Thanks so much for reading this blog and commenting, sending me recipes, book suggestions and for just letting me chronicle my (insert fabulous, interesting, crazy, boring, carefree) life here!
