Greetings, all!
I hope everyone had a splendid Thanksgiving, surrounded by friends, family and delicious food.
I apologize for those of you that have missed my blog posts! I’ve been consumed with my YouTube channel and seem to have left my blog posts by the way side. I intend to find a way to integrate the two better in the near future.
This blog post is corresponding to my “VEGAN THANKSGIVING #3” YouTube video.
This year, I celebrated my third Thanksgiving as a VEGAN! How wild is that? I honestly can’t believe how the time has flown by. Fortunately, with a couple of vegan holiday seasons under my belt, I now know my way around the cookie counter (so to say).
As it was just my immediate family and I this year, it was quite easy to keep things simple, which was just the theme I was going for.
Here I will share with you the delicious recipes I followed to create these delightful, delicious, nutritious and cruelty-free concoctions.
Dinner
Mushroom Walnut Lentil Balls
(Adapted from Oh She Glows)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup uncooked green lentils
- 2 cup walnuts halves, finely chopped
- 4 heaping cups finely chopped cremini mushrooms (one 8-oz package)
- 6 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cup finely chopped destemmed kale leaves
- 2/3 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary (or 1/4 tsp dried)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 4 tablespoons ground flax + 6 tablespoons water
- 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats, ground into a coarse flour
- 3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
- Add lentils into a medium pot along with 2 and 1/4 cups water. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium. Simmer for about 20 minutes, uncovered, adding more water if the lentils dry out. Once the lentils are fork tender, remove from heat and mash with a potato masher until it’s a coarse paste with some lentil pieces still intact. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325F. Toast the chopped walnuts for 9-12 minutes, until lightly golden and fragrant. After toasting, increase oven temp to 350F.
- In a very large skillet or wok, add the oil along with the finely chopped mushrooms and garlic. Season with salt. Saute over medium-high heat for about 7-9 minutes, until most of the water cooks off. Now add the kale, toasted walnuts, cranberries, herbs, and sherry vinegar. Stir until combined and continue cooking for another few minutes until the kale is wilted. Remove from heat and stir in the mashed lentils when ready.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the ground flax and water. Stir for 10 seconds and then immediately pour into the skillet mixture. Stir to combine. Now stir in the 1/2 cup oat flour until combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. The mixture should be fairly moist and sticky. If it’s way too sticky, add a bit more oat flour. If it’s dry, add another tbsp of water.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Shape lentil mixture into balls and pack tightly with your hands so they hold together. Place on baking sheet an inch or so apart. Repeat for the rest. If the mixture is too hot to handle, let it cool for a bit first and then proceed.
- Bake the lentil balls at 350F for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, gently flip over, and bake for another 11-13 minutes, until golden and firm on the exterior.
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients:
- 5 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes
- 6-8 garlic cloves, chopped
- 8 oz. Earth Balance butter
- 1/4-1 cup almond milk (varies depending on how moist you prefer)
Directions:
- Peel and dice potatoes.
- Steam diced potatoes for about 10 minutes.
- Mash potatoes to smooth consistency while slowly mixing in Earth Balance butter, almond milk, garlic and salt.
- Serve and enjoy!
White Bean Cauliflower Mash
Ingredients:
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 2 cans of white cannellini beans
- 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 small onion, chopped
- Fresh rosemary
Directions:
- De-stem cauliflower and break into smaller parts.
- Steam cauliflower for about 10 minutes until very soft.
- Sautee garlic and onion (with water) until translucent.
- Blend steamed cauliflower, onions and garlic in a food processor until completely mashed.
- Sautee cannellini beans (in water), and add in mashed cauliflower, onion and garlic, folding all ingredients together.
- Add in fresh rosemary by folding and as garnish too!
- Serve and enjoy!
Baked Kabocha Squash
Ingredients:
- 4 Kabocha squash
Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.
- Half the squashes with a knife and set them on a baking pan face up.
- Place the squashes in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until golden on the top and sides.
- Let cool, garnish and enjoy!
Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients:
- Whole cranberries
- Apple juice
Directions:
- Place cranberries in large pot over medium-high heat.
- Add in apple juice in so that all cranberries are immersed.
- Once cranberries begin to pop open, turn down to simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Let cool and enjoy!
Garlic Tahini Blanched Kale
Ingredients:
- Fresh kale
- Tahini
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
Directions:
- Mix 1/2 cup of tahini with fresh chopped garlic, adding in water to achieve desired dressing consistency.
- Bring pot of water to a boil.
- Add in kale so that all is immersed.
- Wait for kale to turn bright green (30-60 seconds) and remove from water immediately.
- Mix together blanched kale and tahini dressing.
- Serve and enjoy!
Garlic Broccoli
Ingredients:
- 2 heads of broccoli
- 4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
Directions
- Chop broccoli heads into smaller, more palatable parts.
- Steam broccoli until bright green or to desired amount.
- Mix steamed broccoli with fresh garlic and serve.
Dessert
Chocolate PB Banana Maple Muffins
Recipe already posted.
PB Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe already posted.
PB Chocolate Chip (Chick Pea) Bars
Recipe already posted.
#leftoversfordays
I hope you enjoy these recipes and the rest of your weekend. Be expecting some more holiday recipes soon!
Plant power on, my people! Chow 🙂
CHOWIDO 