Vegan Thanksgiving

By Monica
7 January, 2013
1 Comment

Yes, I realize it is now 2013 and that Thanksgiving was a lifetime ago. But I had a very interesting Thanksgiving this year and since this is my little blog, I’m doing my Thanksgiving post now. In 2013.

My sister-in-law and her husband are Vegans. I’ve cooked for them before but it usually ends up being some watered-down version of whatever the rest of us our eating. This year I decided to design my whole meal around them instead of relegating them to the sidelines. I did still cook a turkey, I love my turkey, but everything else on our table was Vegan friendly. And guess what? It was delicious!

We started off the Thanksgiving holiday the best way possible — by eating at my favorite local restaurant Honey on the Wednesday prior to the BIG day. Here Parker is giving Ceecee (grandma) kisses over her Steel Cut Oatmeal. I ordered my typical Caprese Benedict. It is so wonderful, every single time.

The next day was Thanksgiving and I decided to make a nice light Coconut Butternut Squash soup for lunch. We do our meal in the evening, so this tied us over nicely. We literally scraped the bottom of the pot — even the pickiest among us who traditionally balk at all things vegan. This was served with sautéed kale and red onion. Perfect.

When your sister-in-law teaches preschool for a living, it makes life with a 3-year old a bit more fun. Here Nikki is making the boys giggle on a walk around the neighborhood. (Both boys are wearing sweaters knit by Great-Grandma.)

Then it was time for the big feast. Turkey, Mushroom Gravy, Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans with Agave syrup and Mustard, Sweet Potatoes with Maple syrup, Orange juice, Cranberries, and Pecans, Rolls, Corn Pudding, Cranberry Sauce, and Wild Rice Stuffing. It was a delicious culinary challenge with wonderful results!