Leftovers???

My daughter made the most delicious sandwiches with our Thanksgiving leftovers . . . tofurkey and gravy, cranberry sauce, lettuce and mayo sandwiches--with a side of roasted butternut squash!

Tofurky Vegetarian Feast

The Tofurky people were nice enough to let me try their new Tofurky Vegetarian Feast, which is 100% vegan, cooks in about an hour and a half, and serves six. The feast contains:

- One Tofurky® Roast (made with organic non-genetically engineered soybeans) - now 20% larger
- Savory Giblet Gravy
- Wild Rice, Whole Wheat Bread Crumb Stuffing
- Tofurky® Jurky Wishstix
- New ! Organic Chocolate Cake from Amy's Kitchen
- Happy Tofurky Day card & coupons

Here's our review:

Everybody liked the Tofurky® Roast. I made the basting sauce as directed from olive oil, soy sauce, and fresh herbs and added chopped onions. My casserole dish wasn't big enough to close tightly over the roast so I lined it with parchment paper and foil and sealed it tightly. It came out moist and tasty. The middle of the roast contained stuffing, but it was not enough for my family--especially not for my husband. If you have a stuffing-loving family, you might want to make your own batch on the side. The gravy was delicious and there was enough to put over the roast and our mashed potatoes. We also had roasted butternut squash, veggies, and homemade applesauce, and cranberry sauce for a wonderful feast that everyone raved over.

For dessert, the feast included Amy's Chocolate Cake which was rich, chocolatey and moist, and the right amount for six people (since we are 4, we had 2 servings left over). I served it with homemade coconut ice cream from Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love.

The box also contained Tofurky Jurky but I'm sorry to say, none of us liked it at all--at least none of the humans. Our dogs LOVED it and were begging for more.

Stay tuned for leftovers . . .

Vegan Thanksgiving E-Cookbook

Get the e-cookbook A Bountiful Vegan Thanksgiving put together by Nava Atlas with recipes from your favorite vegetarian authors (including a few of mine!). It's a great deal at only $8.95, plus the profits will be donated to humanitarian charities concerned with hunger, microfinancing for women in developing countries, and the alleviation of human trafficking.

Click here for details.

Vegetarian Thanksgiving

If you're looking for vegetarian alternatives to the turkey dinner this Thanksgiving, check out my foodcast with ideas for meat-free meals and even alternatives to the usual sit down dinner.

Also--if you want some great vegan recipes for the holidays, check out the e-cookbook A Bountiful Vegan Thanksgiving. For just $8.95 you can get the e-book delivered right to your inbox and the profits go to a great cause. There are recipes from Nava Atlas as well as many other respected authors and bloggers (including yours truly!). 

Vegetarian Day After Thanksgiving Sandwich

We usually don't try to emulate the traditional Thanksgiving meal but we decided to try a Tofurkey this year-and it was surprisingly pretty darn good. it's a round roast of "meat" made from wheat gluten and organic soy filled with stuffing. I served it with mashed potatoes, gravy, roasted green beans and cranberry sauce. Everybody liked it--and I must say the leftovers made excellent sandwiches.  

Vegetarian Day after Thanksgiving Sandwich  

Spread mayo on two slices of whole grain bread. Place a slice of tofurkey on one side being sure to get tofurkey "meat" and stuffing. Spread cranberry sauce over the tofurkey. Add a slice of lettuce and the other slice of bread. DELICIOUS!

Happy Turkey Day

I have gotten really soured on Thanksgiving as it seems to be all about the slaughter of millions and millions of turkeys--and much less focus on the thanks part of the holiday. Every time I hear someone call "Happy Turkey Day" I think about how totally wrong that is.

I recently saw this PETA footage about abuse of turkeys at Aviagen Turkeys, Inc.--the self-proclaimed "world's leading poultry breeding company." Here are a few of the documented offenses:

- Employees stomped on turkey's heads, punched turkeys, hit them on the head with a can of spray paint and pliers, struck turkey's heads against metal scaffolding.

- Men shoved feces and feed into turkeys' mouths and help turkeys' heads under water. Another bragged about jamming a broom stick 2 feet down a turkey's throat.

- Workers killed 450 turkeys with 2-by-4's.

and more.

This Thanksgiving, why not skip the turkey so as not to support this cruelty and abuse--and really make it a 'happy turkey day'. If you must have turkey, look for a supplier that raises and slaughters turkey humanely. 

Help for eating local

For those of us wanting to eat more locally and sustainably, I found this helpful guide at www.eatwellguide.org. You can search by zip code or city/state, etc. to find restaurants, farmers' markets, caterers, etc. that serve local and/or organic foods. They have trip planning guides, recipes and more. Right now on their blog, they're challenging people to have at least one local, organic dish this Thanksgiving.

Vegetarian Thanksgiving

VegFamily Magazine has some great info to make your vegetarian Thanksgiving great.

Check out my article on vegan lasagnas: http://vegfamily.com/whole-family/vegan-lasagna.htm

Everyyear, I pore through the thanksgiving book display at the library looking for books where no one is eating a turkey. Here is a list of children's books that promote a meatless thanksgiving: http://www.vegfamily.com/vegan-children/vegan-thanksgiving-stories.htm

Also, check out my book review of "In Season: Cooking with Vegetables and Fruit." It's not vegetarian, but has some wonderful recipes: http://www.vegfamily.com/book-reviews/in-season.htm

Also, check out these Thanksgiving suggestions from one of my past blogs: http://catheolson.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html

Vegan Thanksgiving Ideas

The November issue of VegFamily Magazine is now up at http://www.vegfamily.com/. Get some good ideas and recipes for a vegan thanksgiving -- and don't forget to check out my column on what to do with sweet potatoes at http://www.vegfamily.com/whole-family/sweet-potatoes.htm.