Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Thanksgiving: Vegetarian Style

A few months ago I told my husband I would try being a vegetarian with him for 6 months.  (He's been a vegetarian for about 3 years.)  That 6 months started in August, and goes until the end of January.  That means that this includes having a vegetarian Thanksgiving.  (Before he didn't mind just eating the things not containing meat, so I'd have some turkey and gravy and he'd just have everything else.)  And since I really dislike tofu or the thought of a tofu shaped like a turkey this leaves me in a bit of a pickle!  How do I have a traditional Thanksgiving meal without turkey?  I've come up with a few options for our meal this year:



Crispy Phyllo Spinach Tartlets



Mushroom Rice Pilaf (Switching out the chicken broth for vegetable broth.)



Dinner Rolls

Cranberry Sauce (I just make the one on the back of the bag of cranberries) and topped off with a few pies.

Do you have any favorite non-meaty dishes to share?

3 comments:

celia said...

I was thinking that grilled portabella mushrooms would give you a nice meaty feel at least. And you could still have mashed potatoes with a vegetarian gravy (made with a roux, vegetable broth, poultry seasoning, pepper). I know your DH doesn't love dressing, but you could make it with veg. broth instead of chicken if you wanted it. Most of my dressing recipes I've used don't have meat any way. I don't know if he likes fresh mashed sweet pot. (I know he's not big on the canned, and I honestly can't blame him on that one...), but you could do something like these spiced mashed sweet potatoes. http://www.vegan-nutritionista.com/vegan-holiday-recipes.html

L said...

One year my vegan aunt and uncle hosted Thanksgiving. They mixed "turkey" seitan in with the stuffing, and then covered it with puff pastry and baked. Sort of like a stuffing pot-pie. It was fantastic, and very Thanksgiving-y. And I say that as a non-vegetarian, who generally doesn't believe in fake meat products--why dress vegetables up to be something they're not, when they're so good on their own?

Janet said...

I've been a vegetarian since I was a kid, so I don't miss the turkey at all, but even if you're used to it--aren't the side dishes the best part anyway? I would make a bunch of really fun veggie sides. The NY Times has some great recipe ideas right now, and you can check Mark Bittman's archives. Those spinach tartlets look amazing, too!