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A Vegetarian Thanksgiving

November 25, 2008 1:47 PM

ABC News On Campus reporter Chelsey Delaney blogs:

The symbol of a massive roasted and basted turkey is irrelevant to the celebration of Thanksgiving for some people. Instead of battling shoppers for the biggest and best bird, I will casually make my way into the meat substitute section of the market and pick up some tofurkey.

Sure, my mom frowns when I decline her Thanksgiving turkey, but she sure does laugh when I say the word, "tofurkey."

For students who have converted to the vegetarian way of life without parental influence (and sometimes without parental acceptance), Thanksgiving can be rough. But community programs, such as the Natural Epicurean Culinary Academy school in Austin, Texas, teach people how to make a meat- and dairy-free Thanksgiving meal.

The school taught a Thanksgiving meal class Saturday at Casa de Luz, which says it is the only macrobiotic restaurant in Austin. The macrobiotic diet is a vegan diet -- a food regimen that uses no animal products –that stresses eating grains, beans and non-processed foods and that is rooted in a philosophy of eating healthy food to promote overall well being.

The class included how to make pumpkin pie, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, cranberry sauce and many other traditional Thanksgiving dishes in a macrobiotic way, which consists of substituting sugars for more natural sweeteners, such as maple syrup.

Christopher Jolley, a student at the Epicurean culinary school, moved to Austin a year ago to learn how to make vegan dishes. Thursday will be Jolley's second Thanksgiving feast with no meat or dairy products.

"I wanted to be a chef, but when I became a vegetarian, I wasn't comfortable going to some regular culinary school," Jolley said. "I'm from Utah, and I moved here so I could learn how to prepare vegan food for myself and for others." 

To be exact, I'm a lactose-intolerant pescetarian, not a vegan, which means that I eat seafood. But I'm not against eating healthy, delicious food.

Here are some recipes I'd recommend to nurture any curiosities one might have about the macrobiotic diet.

Mushroom Gravy

¾ cup chopped mushrooms
1 medium onion, diced
¼ cup vegan margarine
¼ cup flour
3 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Saute mushrooms and onions in the margarine over medium heat. Stir in flour. Slowly stir in vegetable stock. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn on high heat until boiling, then immediately remove from heat and let thicken. Serve over mashed potatoes or meat substitutes.

Cranberry salad

6 cups shredded cabbage
2/3 cup cranberries
1/3 cup slivered almonds
½ cup vegenaise (vegan mayonnaise)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp orange zest

Combine all ingredients and mix until well combined. Let chill in the refrigerator for an hour.

Thanksgiving harvest casserole

1 acorn squash, peeled and cubed
3 medium carrots, cubed
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 small sweet onion, chopped
1 cup vegetable broth
1 ½ cups soy milk
3 tbsp flour
½ tbsp basil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 tbsp vegan margarine

Mix the flour and soy milk. Combine vegetables in casserole dish. Cover with melted butter. Mix, then add broth, milk mixture, and spices. Stir until well combined. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for an hour at 375 degrees.

November 25, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (2)

User Comments

Posted by: DanJax | Nov 25, 2008 2:40:54 PM

Posted by: Deborah | Dec 11, 2008 1:54:19 AM

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