Hello! It's been a while. I've missed blogging, but some other things have been taking up my time.
For example, we rescued a bunny in August and she's been the center of my world ever since. She's a sweet, silly, and shy little lop with helicopter ears (one up and one down - the cutest thing ever). We named her Penny Lane, and spoil her rotten. There will probably be some posts about her in the near future, actually. But for now, just look at that cute face!
I've also been really busy chipping away at my last semester of college EVER. Only another 5 weeks or so until I'm a college grad! It's an exciting, slightly terrifying, and definitely
busy time.
In between all that and more, I've still been cooking up a storm, and I'll have quite a few new recipes to share soon.
This month, however, my focus is delightfully directed toward Thanksgiving, as once again I am hosting this year! (There will probably be some flashback posts soon about the menu and decor from last year - they were on a different blog.)
I have been pinning and organizing the potential recipes for weeks, and today I may just have finalized the menu. I recently eliminated wheat and refined sugars from my diet, so had to factor that into the planning process, and I managed to create a menu that works! So without further adieu, here is a
100% vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free Thanksgiving menu that I can't wait to bring to life:
Main Course: Thanksgiving Meatless Loaf from FatFree Vegan Kitchen. After 3 blissful years of ordering the
Native Foods Wellington (a puff pastry filled with meaty seitan, yams, kale, and stuffing and topped with what is arguably the best mushroom gravy in existence), we decided to go our own way this year (plus, the wellington has tons of wheat). We chose a meatless loaf that doesn't pretend to be meat. It's full of vegan staples - beans, tofu, veggies - delicious thanksgiving herbs and spices, and looks like it will be completely perfect when slathered in mushroom gravy. Speaking of which...
Gravy: Happy Herbivore's Everyday Mushroom Gravy - Quick fangirl moment - Lindsay Shay Nixon is by far my favorite plant-based cookbook author (and idol). She's a pro at creating recipes that are as simple as they are delicious, and her compassionate "progress not perfection" approach to the vegan lifestyle is a refreshing change of pace. Anyway! I'm not sure if this simple gravy recipe is anywhere online, but it can be found in two of Lindsay's books,
Everyday Happy Herbivore and
Happy Herbivore: Holidays and Gatherings (which is new this year and also the source of another recipe I plan to try - fangirling over!)
Stuffing: Southern Cornbread Stuffing from Food to Glow - When I asked my boyfriend if he had any special requests for Thanksgiving (which also falls on his birthday this year), he suggested cornbread. So when I realized I also had to start looking for a wheat-free stuffing recipe, this was a no-brainer. This recipe was the first to pop up in my search, and it had me at hello - I think it's going to be the home run recipe of the year.
Salad: This is going to be my original recipe, so look for that post in the next few weeks once I get it right. But it will be a kale salad with plenty of autumn accents.
Other side dishes: Garlic/rosemary mashed potatoes, simple roasted green beans, and Happy Herbivore's sweet potato casserole from her
new holiday book.
Dessert: GF Maple-Nut Pumpkin Pie. I'm trying a hybrid of
this simple pie filling made with cashews and
this gluten-free crust made with pecans, and topping it all off with the maple coconut whipped cream that we loved last year. Making some small changes to make the recipes work together, and to work with my current diet, but I'm excited to see how this turns out.
And there you have it! I couldn't be more thrilled to make and eat all of this in a few weeks. What new recipes are you trying this year?
Main Course: Thanksgiving Meatless Loaf from FatFree Vegan Kitchen. After 3 blissful years of ordering the Native Foods Wellington (a puff pastry filled with meaty seitan, yams, kale, and stuffing and topped with what is arguably the best mushroom gravy in existence), we decided to go our own way this year (plus, the wellington has tons of wheat). We chose a meatless loaf that doesn't pretend to be meat. It's full of vegan staples - beans, tofu, veggies - delicious thanksgiving herbs and spices, and looks like it will be completely perfect when slathered in mushroom gravy. Speaking of which...
for over a year now, and still adore it. At the time I just needed a decent, affordable set of knives to hold me over until I could splurge on something more substantial, but they are holding up better than expected. It's fun to have knives as colorful as the vegetables they are chopping, and the resin coating is standing the test of time. Bonus: they come with individual sheaths to spare you from accidental cuts when storing them in a drawer.
