Our Veggie Kitchen

I usually make a couple different stuffings for Thanksgiving, and this year was no exception.  I made Italian Sausage Stuffing and a mushroom stuffing.  This time of year, in Oregon, you can get chantrelles for under $10 per pound and I used half a pound (torn apart instead of chopped) and added some shiitake and oyster mushrooms for a good variety.  I added loads of basil & parsley and some rosemary and some water chestnuts for a little crunch.  This mushroom stuffing was seriously good, the best one I've made for sure.

I know Thanksgiving is over, but Christmas is right around the corner and, really, when is a bad time for good stuffing?



Mixed Mushroom Stuffing
1 tbs vegetable oil
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 lb mixed wild mushrooms (chantrelles, shiitake, morrel, etc)
1 lb button mushrooms, divided
1 carrot, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup sherry
1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup basil, finely chopped
1/2 tbs fresh rosemary, minced (maybe 1/2 tsp minced)
1 can water chestnuts, chopped
1 cup vegetable broth
12 oz stuffing cubes

For the mushrooms, chop or slice the wild mushrooms and slice half the button mushrooms. Finely chop the remaining button mushrooms. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Saute the onions and celery until the onions have softened. Stir in the garlic and carrot and cook for another minute. Add the mushrooms, in batches (unless you have a very large saute pan) until the mushrooms begin to soften. Add the sherry and reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook until the mushrooms have fully released their moisture, about 20 minutes. A few minutes before they're ready, stir in the basil, parsley and rosemary. Season with salt & pepper, if necessary.

When the mushrooms are done, toss the stuffing cubes with 1 cup of vegetable broth until the moisture is absorbed. Mix the stuffing cubes in with the mushrooms. Pour into a 9x13 casserole, pressing stuffing with a wooden spoon or spatula. Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes.

8 Servings: 262 cal (4g fat, 47g carbs, 10g protein)

We had our Thanksgiving feast yesterday, so we could celebrate with one of our good friends.  And calling it a feast may have been an understatement.  I had a batch of Italian Sausage seitan in the freezer, so I made Sausage Stuffing and another, Wild Mushroom Stuffing.  We had a double batch of Zucchini Fritters that were perfect with fresh Pull Apart Rolls and Cranberry Sauce.  We snacked on Artichoke & Spinach Dip and Baco-Bacon Dip and filled our plates with green bean casserole and mashed potatoes with two kinds of gravy.

It was a great mix of old favorites and new recipes. I've made mushroom stuffing before, but the one I made yesterday was my favorite by far.  And I made a holiday gravy with a hint of cranberry to go with the fritters that will also get a post in the next few days.  But everyone's favorite was the pull apart rolls.  They were fluffy and sweet and prefect with a zucchini fritter.

I did a little (very little, actually) poking around, and I wasn't able to find any stuffing cubes I knew to be vegan.  It seems bakeries toss together their day old bread, so your favorite baguette is probably still mixed with some milk-enriched wheat or, at least a little egg wash.  And the commercial varieties I looked at seemed to have  possibly vegan/possibly not dough conditioners.  Why do you need a conditioner to make stale bread?  The good news is, stuffing cubes are easy to make and you can use your favorite vegan bread, whatever that may be.

On a side note, I'll be doing the drawing for a copy of American Vegan Kitchen this weekend, so If you haven't signed up, just leave a comment on this post.  There's over 90 comments so far and, I'm betting we can get to a hundred!

Vegan Stuffing Cubes

Cut a one pound loaf of bread and cut into slices (if necessary), then stack the slices and cut each stack lengthwise and widthwise.  TaaDaa, Cubes!  Now, to dry them out, just arrange the cubes in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake them at 300 degrees 30-40 minutes, tossing every ten minutes, or so.  I bake at 300 degrees because I want to dry the cubes out without toasting them, but a hotter oven will do it faster, just be more attentive.

I did a little before and after weighing, and the bread I used (homemade, but stupid-easy no knead bread) lost about 1/3 of its weight from baking.  So, a pound of bread makes about 10 oz of croutons.  Now, go forth and make tons of yummy vegan stuffing.

Each Thanksgiving for the last few years, I've made VeganDad's Seitan Turkey, not so much for dinner, but for day after sandwiches. Outside of my Sausage Stuffing, Turkey sandwiches were my favorite, and VeganDad got me through my first meatless Thanksgiving.

It struck me this year, that I could make gravy as well. I took VeganDad's 'turkey' spice combination and began playing with proportions. After a couple batches and a tester who's acutally had turkey in the last three years, and I arrived at a winner. If you like VeganDad's turkey, you'll like this. If you haven't had his turkey seitan, I highly recommend it.



Vegan Turkey Gravy
3 cups water
3 tbs Earth Balance Margarine
6 tbs flour
1 1/2 tbs nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt (to taste)
1/8 tsp liquid smoke

Combine the nutritional yeast and spices and set aside. Melt the margarine in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the flour and stir constantly for a couple minutes, allowing the flour to cook a bit. Add the spice mix, stir and cook for a minute longer. Remove from heat and add in the water and liquid smoke. Return to heat and bring just to a boil over medium high heat, stirring constantly, probably 5-10 minutes Test for seasoning and serve.

This gravy is especially good with a few dried cranberries stirred in.

6 servings: 88 cal (6g fat, 7g carbs, 2g protein)

I was scanning the internet for some good-luck black eyed pea ideas this new year. I came up with this dish, entitled Texas Caviar. I got the original recipe from a fellow Oregonian (see it here) and it's naturally vegan. Black Eyed Peas, tomatoes, onions, peppers and cilanto in a sweet & tangy sauce make for a delicious salsa. I wasn't sure about avocado and I added some the next day, which was even better.



Texas Caviar
2 15 oz cans Black Eyed Peas, drained & rinsed
1 can Hominy or corn, drained & rinsed
3 Tomatoes, diced
2 Jalapeno peppers, seeded & diced fine
1 Green, red or yellow bell pepper, seeded & diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped fine
1 avocado, cubed

Sauce:
1/4 cup lime juice
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 tbs salt
1/2 tbs paprika

For the sauce, combine the vinegar and sugar and microwave until the sugar is dissolved. Add the lime juice, olive oil, salt and paprika. Set aside.

Combine the remaining ingredients, except the avocado in a mixing bowl. Pour the sauce over and fold into the salsa. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Before serving, cube the avocado and stir into the salsa. Serve with chips or just east a bowl with a spoon.

8 Servings: 213 cal (8g fat, 32g fat, 7g carbs)

My wife and I both had holiday parties at work yesterday. I made a batch of Bacos-Bacon Dip for her potluck and mini loaves of eggnog bread for mine. She topped hers off with ginger cupcakes and lemon frosting. To be honest, I busted my knuckle up zesting 2 tablespoons of zest, but that's another story. Lets just say she owes me one. Her cupcakes will be on her blog (K's Mumbo Jumbo), along with her delicious Margarita Cupcakes form Thanksgiving. Yum.

And here is my eggnog bread. I posted this last year, so if you think you've seen this before, you're right. But here it is again.



Eggnog Muffins/Bread
8 tbs Earth Balance Margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbs rum (or 2 tsp rum extract)
1 cup Soy Egg Nog (or rice)
1 tbs Ener-G Egg Replacer
1/3 cup vegan sour cream
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon

With a beater, cream the margarine with the sugar until fluffy. Combine the wet ingredients and whisk in the egg replacer powder. Blend the liquid and sour cream in with the margarine and sugar. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mix and blend until somewhat sticky (like a muffin or banana bread batter).

For Bread: Pour into a 9x5 loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour, until a knife an be inserted and pulled out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and remove from the pan. For mini loaves, bake for about 45 minutes.

For Muffins: Spoon Batter into a muffin tin, fitted with muffin cups, about even with the tin. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30-35 minutes, until a knife can be inserted and pulled out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and remove from the pan.

12 Servings: 245 Cal (9g fat, 36g carbs, 3g protein)

I'm finished shopping for the weekend.  My kids have successfully lobbied for a non-traditional Thanksgiving Feast.  Each, of coarse wanted something different, and couldn't even settle on a single theme.  In the end, I decided that Thanksgiving can be a day where everyone is happy, so each will get what they want.

For my oldest boy, I'll be making enchiladas with California Chili Enchilada Sauce, his favorite and a batch of Cabbage Salsa.  My youngest gets egg rolls, deep fried and delicious, just as she likes them.  I'll be making pan fried noodles for my middle girl.  I'm also going to come up with some bacon cheddar ranch dip and loads of veggies and chips.  A Mexican Chinese Thanksgiving will be a first for me.  Hopefully, I'll come away with some new ideas.

As for tradition, I'll be sneaking in some holiday food this weekend.  I've already made a batch of VeganDad's Sliced Deli Turkey.  And I'll make some cranberry sauce for sandwiches and a batch of Swedish Meatballs.  And if I can get over my fear of homemade pie crust, I'll add Channa Pot Pies to the list.

And so, I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving.

This gravy started out as an experiment, when I was playing around with yogurt dumplings. The dumplings weren't a hit, but the gravy was a keeper for sure. Before I added he liquid, I cooked down a cup of yogurt and it really added a nice undercurrent of flavor. You can chose to strain the mushrooms out, if you wish. I usually make my kids pick out the mushrooms themselves, but not always. It is a delicious anyway.

And, I think I've said this before, but it has always been true. The food pyramid is absolutely wrong. Gravy is its own food group.



Amazing Mushroom Gravy
4 tbs Earth Balance Margarine
1 lb mushrooms, washed & sliced
6 small shallots, skinned and left whole
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup soy yogurt
1/4 cup red wine
1 quart beef flavored broth
2 cups water, divided.
1/4 cup cornstarch

Melt margarine in a large sauce pan over medium high. Add the sliced mushrooms and shallots. Saute until the mushrooms are soft. Add the garlic and saute for just a couple minutes. Add in the soy yogurt and continue cooking until the yogurt has reduced by half. Stir in the red wine, broth and about 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes.

You can either leave the mushrooms in or strain the gravy. If you chose to strain it, pour the gravy through a colander now and add back to the sauce pan. Otherwise, leave them in. Whisk together the cornstarch and 1/2 cup cold water. Pour into the gravy and boil for a couple minutes. If necessary, mix a tablespoon or two more cornstarch with a small amount of water and pour into the gravy. Bring back to a boil. Makes about 6 cups.

12 servings: 74 cal (4g fat, 8g carbs, 2g protein)

Ever since I gave up eating turkeys, Thanksgiving has been a planning challenge.  I've tried to put together a menu that was inspiring and original.  Each year, I've had something that made my omni friends, at least, a bit envious.  I truly hate the forlorner look on people's faces when you tell them that you won't be eating a turkey.  This year, I've put together another holiday stuffing and, this week, I'll post a squash casserole and another delicious gravy.

This year, I stumbled upon a great resource.  Robin Robertson, author of 1000 Vegan Recipes has a number of her recipes posted over at Vegan.com. The full recipes and instructions are posted.  So, if you don't have 1000 Vegan Recipes, follow the link for some delicious looking ideas.

Robin's 2009 Thanksgiving Menu:

Seitan en Croute
Madeira Sauce
Rum-Spiked Sweet Potatoes with Pomegranate Pecans
Triple Cranberry Relish
Roasted Asparagus
Garlic Smashers
Stuffed Winter Squash (optional main dish)
Ginger-Dusted Pumpkin Cheezecake

I've been making stuffing-in-a-pumpkin every year since I became vegetarian. I make it at least once around Halloween then, usually, it ends up on the Thanksgiving table. It's perfect for this time of year, with the peak of the chantrelle harvest in Oregon autumn's abundance of pumpkins. This year, I was able to get chantrelle mushrooms for $8 per pound. What a steal.



Wild Mushroom Stuffing Baked in Pumpkins
4 tbs Earth Balance Margarine
2 medium leeks, halved & sliced
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 lb cremini mushrooms, sliced
8 oz chantrelle msuhrooms, washed & sliced
8 oz shiitake mushrooms, washed & sliced
4 cloves garlic
1 bunch parsley, chopped
1 bunch spinach, chopped
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp rubbed sage
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
12 oz Pumpkin Ale
16 oz dried bread cubes

Pumpkins:
6 small pie pumpkins
1 tbs vegetable oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

For the pumpkins, cut the tops off of each pumpkin and scoop out the seeds. Rinse and pat dry, inside and out. Mix a tablespoon of olive oil with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper (or a few turns of a peppermill). Rub your fingers in the oil, then coat the inside of each pumpkin. Set pumpkins aside.

For the stuffing, melt the margarine over medium-high heat in a large saute pan. Add the leeks, celery, garlic, and mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms have given off their moisture. Stir in the salt, pepper, thyme, sage, spinach and parsley. Saute until the spinach has wilted. Add the stuffing cubes and poor the ale over the cubes. Toss the stuffing until it is combined thoroughly and the cubes have absorbed all the moisture.

Stuff each pumpkin with the stuffing, pressing down with a spoon to ensure that the pumpkins are well packed. Bake the pumpkins in a preheated oven at 350 for at least an hour, more likely 15 or 20 minutes more.

Alternately, add the stuffing to a 9 x 13 greased casserole. Press the stuffing firmly and cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes.

6 Servigs: 533 cal (13g fat, 88g carbs, 17g protein)

My wife turned 40 this weekend. We had a party and guests from all over converged on our home. Two of her friends were in charge of guests and decorations, I was in charge of food. It turned out to be an afternoon of good munchies, a long awaited meal, an amazing birthday cake and, of coarse, plenty of friends to share the day.

She asked for an Indian feast, so I was on the hook for a 20 person meal. I had spend the previous weekend making food for the freezer, then took Friday off from work to finish everything I could concievably prepare a head of time. In then end, I spent two hours out of the day getting everything hot and ready. I made:

• Zucchini Masala
• Potato Mustard Korma
• Temeph Kofta
• Cabbage Sabzi
• Saag
• Pakoras
• Tomato Chutney
• Mango Chutney
• Fresh Parathas
• Grammy Louise's Spaghetti (for the kids)

And here's the snack table, that included some ranch dressing, salsa, cheese sauce and loads of chips and veggies. The dunce cap in the back featured an autographed photo of my wife's favorite Bollywood Star, Shah Rukh Kahn.



This is the cake. Produced from Sweet Life, in Eugene. It was gigantic, vegan and amazingly delicious.



A balloon monster barfed in the living room:



And, the Pakoras. It's impossible to make enough pakoras for 20 people. I don't do much deep frying, so they are always a treat and, no matter how many I make, they're gone within minutes. I was in heaven, with tomato chutney spooned over the top.

Saturday was Pi day, a celebration of all things with a radius. We had friends over to celebrate and I made a seven layer taco dip with a new and improved nacho cheeze sauce and a DIY PI-erogi bar. The Pierogis were good, and it was fun letting everyone stuff the dumplings with their own goodies. And the Nacho Sauce was a huge hit.

I've made nacho sauce before and it's amazing when hot, but it's got cornstarch, so when it cools, it gets a bit clumpy. So I tinkered a bit and came up with a version that is creamy and dippable, at room temperature. This sauce was perfect.



Dippable Nacho Sauce
1/2 cup cashews, ground
4 oz pimentos
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 small lemon, juiced
1 tsp salt
2 tbs Tofutti Better Cream Cheese
2 tbs water (about)

Add all ingredients except water to the blender. Blend thoroughly. Drizzle in water 1 or 2 tbs at a time until a desired consistency is reached. Pour into a serving dish or refrigerate for later. Makes a little over a cup of sauce.

My blender doesn't do nuts well, so I put my nuts in a ziplock baggie, crush them a bit with a rolling pin, then grind them in a coffee grinder. If your equipment isn't great, this works like a charm.

5 Servings: 127 cal (8g fat, 10g carbs, 6g protein)



For the Seven Layer Dip, I did the following:
Layer 1: a can of refried beans mixed with 1 tbs taco seasoning.
Layer 2: quinoa cooked in 2/3 water and 1/3 salsa (awesome for tacos too)
Layer 3: Nacho Sauce
Layer 4: Tofutti Cream Cheese & Sour Cream mixed
Layer 5-7: Tomatos, Olives & Cilantro

For the Pierogi's, I used VeganDad's dough recipe, with some vegan sour cream added. For filling, I had nacho sauce, sauteed mushrooms, sauteed onions, mashed potatoes and a mix of onions, potatoes, green peppers,and andouille sausage.



And finally, a pic of my wife and her Pi Day Henna.

It seems I'm getting swept up in holiday preparations. And I'm trying to get work done so I can take a couple weeks vacation. I've been doing a lot of quick stand-by dinners; lots of pasta, stir fries and tacos, and a few burgers peppered in when things get hectic. I tried tempeh for the first time in two years, with mixed results. I also found my new favorite sweet and sour sauce. The fatfreevegan's Seitan Baked Seitan in Sweet and Sour Orange Sauce tasted great, but i thought the texture was a bit chewy. I had the same issue when I tried her ribs and I think I'll play a bit to fix it. It is worth the effort.



I also made Eggnog Bread. I found the recipe here on discusscooking.com (Thanks Glorie). I veganized it and made a loaf of bread. I blended egg replacer with water and the bread turned out a little heavy ... and it fell apart a bit. Maybe it would have held together if it cooled but it was gone before that happened. So I waited until after the kids were in bed and made some muffins. I mixed the egg replacer with the egg nog (and no extra liquid) and that made the difference. I actually got to eat two muffins from that batch. The bread was sweet and rich and holiday, umm holiday-ey. I'm going to buy some boxes of rice nog so I can make this year-round.



Eggnog Muffins/Bread
8 tbs Earth Balance Margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbs rum (or 2 tsp rum extract)
1 cup Soy Egg Nog (or rice)
1 tbs Ener-G Egg Replacer
1/3 cup vegan sour cream
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon

With a beater, cream the margarine with the sugar until fluffy. Combine the wet ingredients and whisk in the egg replacer powder. Blend the liquid and sour cream in with the margarine and sugar. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mix and blend until somewhat sticky (like a muffin or banana bread batter).

For Bread: Pour into a 9x5 loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour, until a knife an be inserted and pulled out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and remove from the pan.

For Muffins: Spoon Batter into a muffin tin, fitted with muffin cups, about even with the tin. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30-35 minutes, until a knife can be inserted and pulled out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and remove from the pan.

12 Servings: 245 Cal (9g fat, 36g carbs, 3g protein)

As always, I made way too much food for Thanksgiving. We had mashed potatoes and gravy and cranberry sauce and Italian 'Sausage' Stuffing and olives and rolls and smothered cabbage and Seitan Turkey for sandwiches and more stuffing.

The centerpiece of the meal was Pumpkins with wild mushroom stuffing. I made these last year and they were such a hit, that they're already tradition. I pick mushrooms that will give a variety of texture and, this year, I used 8 oz chantrelles and 4 oz shitakes. It didn't seem like as many mushrooms as last year. That may be because shitake mushrooms reduce down so much. You can always just add more. I'm not sure its possible to have too many mushrooms. Also, try to find the smallest pie pumpkins you can. Mine were small enough, that I got 5 pumpkins this year.



Leftovers:
This year, I had leftovers (a Thanksgiving MUST!) and a small pumpkin that I baked separately. I scooped out the squash flesh and the stuffing and tossed it together. The resulting pumpkin stuffing, stored more easily in the fridge and still tastes wonderful.



Pumpkins with Wild Mushroom Stuffing
Pumpkins:
4 small pie pumpkins (5 if they're real small)
1 tbs olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Stuffing:
12 oz stuffing cubes
1 cup pumpkin ale
4 tbs Earth Balance Margarine
2 leeks, halved, rinsed and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz cremini or button mushrooms
12 oz chantrelle, morrel, shitake or other mushrooms
1/2 tsp dry rubbed sage
1/2 tsp thyme, dry
1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

For the pumpkins, cut the tops off of each pumpkin and scoop out the seeds. Rinse and pat dry, inside and out. Mix a tablespoon of olive oil with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper (or a few turns of a peppermill). Rub your fingers in the oil, then coat the inside of each pumpkin. Set pumpkins aside.

For the stuffing, melt the butter over medium-high heat in a large saute pan. Add the leeks, celery, garlic, and mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms have given off their moisture. Stir in the salt, pepper, thyme, sage and parsley. Add the stuffing cubes and poor the ale over the cubes. Toss the stuffing until it is combined thoroughly and the cubes have absorbed all the moisture.

Stuff each pumpkin with the stuffing, pressing down with a spoon to ensure that the pumpkins are well packed. Bake the pumpkins in a preheated oven at 350 for at least an hour, more likely 15 or 20 minutes more.

4 Servings: 611 cal (18g fat, 95g carbs, 18 protein)

I hate canned cranberry sauce. It jiggles unnaturally, tastes tinny and it's got to have something awful in it, like gelatin or, maybe cement. The stuff is so nasty that it turned me off on all cranberry sauce. This year, I decided to give cranberry sauce another shot. And I'm glad I did. This sauce is a little sweet, plenty tart and, when chilled, it firms up just enough, perfect for a faux-turkey sandwich.



Cranberry Sauce
12 oz cranberries, picked over
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup Marsala Wine
1 tsp orange zest (about 1 orange)
1 cup sugar
3 cinnamon sticks
5 whole cloves

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the cranberries have burst, about 20 minutes. Fish out the cinnamon sticks and whole cloves (if you can find them). Serve warm or chill for later. Makes about 3 cups.

I couldn't find the cloves at all. I don't know if they broke apart, dissolved, or if someone ate a clove without noticing. Can you do that??

6 Servings: 167 cal (0g fat, 39g carbs, 0g protein)

The best thing about Thanksgiving is the stuffing. It always has been, always will be. Last year, I made mushroom stuffing with chantrel, shitake and cremini mushrooms and stuffed it into small pumpkins. Earlier this year, I veganized my mom's Italian Sausage Stuffing (a personal favorite). This year, in a kind of seat-of-my pants manner, I cobbled together a squash stuffing.

OK, I had enough forsight to buy some pumpkin ale, but, really, I just bought some stuff that I thought would go well together. I had an acorn squash, and added some zucchini, fresh spinach and, of coarse, good quality stuffing cubes. I still have oregano and thyme in the garden and oregano goes so well with squash, it was a natural fit. Next time I will use a butternut or a pumpkin, something sweeter and more colorful. Aside from that, I was contented. It really captured the essence of Thanksgiving stuffing.



Squash Stuffing
4 Cups winter squash, diced
2 zucchini, quarered lenghtwise and chunked
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs oregano, minced (or 1 tsp dried)
1 tsp thyme, minced (or 1/2 tsp dried)
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
8 oz spinach, chopped
12 oz pumpkin ale (or any beer or veggie stock)
1 cup vegetable stock
12 oz dried bread cubes

Saute the onion in vegetable oil until soft. Add garlic, oregano and thyme and stir. Saute for about a minute longer. Add the celery, squash, spinach, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until the spinach wilts. Stir in zucchini. In a separate bowl, pour ale and stock over the bread cubes and toss until the liquid is absorbed. Combine with the squash mixture and toss until thoroughly mixed.

Pour into a 9x13 casserole, pressing stuffing with a wooden spoon or spatula. Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes.

8 Servings: 260 cal (4g fat, 49g carbs, 8g protein)

My favorite part of Thanksgiving has always been my mom's stuffing. In order, it ranks slightly above football and family, and well above pie, gravy and in-laws. Last year, I had no problems going turkey free, but had a serious relapse with the stuffing.

I wanted to be prepared this year, so I thought I'd make my stuffing a head of time. Make sure it translates well with seitan. I added a little extra oil (still way less than greasy sausage has)and, I cracked pepper over the top, but Its definitely ready for Thanksgiving.

Incidentally, when you don't have meat, gravy is really easy: Melt a couple tbs of margarine in a pan. Whisk 2 cups chicken flavored stock with 1 tbs cornstarch. Pour into the sauce pan and stir until it comes to a boil. Done!



Italian Sausage Stuffing
4 links Seitan Italian Sausage, minced or 1 lb of your favorite
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs dried basil
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, shredded
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed & drained
2 cups chicken flavored broth
12 oz stuffing cubes
salt and pepper to taste

Mince the sausage links. I've tried blending the links, but don't like the texture. Either way will work. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and brown the sausage a bit. Add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic and continue cooking until the onion is soft. Add drained spinach. Chop it up some more if it is stringy. Stir into the sausage and veggies.

In a separate bowl, pour the broth over the stuffing cubes and toss until the stock is evenly absorbed. Stir the cubes in with the sausage mixture. Press the stuffing and sausage mixture into a casserole, smashing it down in with a wooden spoon. The mixture will fit into a 9 x 13 casserole or a deeper 2 quart casserole. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

8 Servings: 331 cal (8g fat, 26g carbs, 20g protein)