One less turkey slaughtered

So my family strives to make a (mostly) vegan Thanksgiving every year. We've done the tofurkey thang, stuffed acorn squash, butternut squash risotto, seitan in wine sauce, etc. This year we used some recipes that I obtained from an American Cancer Society presentation that I attended a few weeks ago. The ACA recommends a, 'plant based,' diet-apparently using the term vegan is still a bit taboo. The chef who led the demonstration also works at Millennium (heaven) in SF.

We started with Sopa Verde-a pureed creation of tasty kale, tomatillos, pumpkin seeds, cilantro, parsley, potato, etc.

A close-up of the main course, Gnocchi made of masa, chunks of roasted butternut squash and kidney beans. The brown speckles you see- homemade pecan sausage. You have not lived until you have had this pecan sausage. My mom kept exclaiming, "it tastes just like sausage!" You won't be missing your protein with this dish-nuts, beans, corn, go crazy.

How it all came together. We always have homemade cranberry sauce and added some spinach sauteed with garlic for more color. My mom also made sweet potato ravioli that I passed on because she could not guarantee that the won ton wrappers were egg-free and had thrown out the package. The gnocchi mixture was served on a pool of homemade mole sauce. Unfortunately I did not get a good pic of the mole sauce but it was my first mole ever and I feel like a new woman.

Dessert. Recipes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. These were a hit two years ago so I decided to give them an encore performance and because they are very simple to make but most impressive.

Vegan Potato and Leek Soup

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 leeks, white and light green parts washed and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
2 cups chopped yellow onion
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and cubed into 1/2-inch cubes
4 cups vegetable stock
2-3 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves

1. Heat a 4-quart soup pot over medium heat and add the oil.
2. Add the leeks, onion, and sea salt and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the onion begins to turn translucent.
3. Add the garlic and stir well. Cook for 1 minute more.
4. Add the potatoes and vegetable stock, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Cook 20 minutes.
5. Remove the soup from the heat and use an immersion/stick blender to blend the soup in the pot or ladle the soup into a blender, 1 cup at a time. Blend the soup with the fresh rosemary leaves until smooth and free of chunks. Pour smooth soup into a heat-proof bowl and continue until all of the soup has been blended.
6. Transfer the blended soup back to the original soup pot and warm over low heat until heated through. Serve hot.

Serves 4 - 6.

November 2009: Dishes Inspired by Books

On Saturday Cooking Club headed to Sacramento to Tina’s fabulously beautiful new home! And what a charming neighborhood. We all loved it!

For this installment of CC everyone choose a favorite book of theirs as inspiration for a dish. And since we all love reading and eating, it was the perfect theme. People were really creative. Let's go take a look……….
I’m first on the block with drinks. My inspiration came from James Frey’s controversial book A Million Little Pieces. I thought adult beverages would be fitting for this book. And after doing some research to find the perfect drink, I (with the help of Bonnie) found something called Donkey Punch. See here for the recipe. I thought the inspiration for this drink was fitting for James. I then took the symbolism a little further and garnished the drinks with rock sugar candy sticks. Get it people? While the drink would be more fitting on a tropical beach, I heard no complaints.
Michele drew inspiration from the book Geek Love and did Chicken Wings and Veggie Toasts as an appetizer. As always Michele did not disappoint, I could have ate 50 of those chicken wings.

Janet, the girl who loves all things ‘wrong’ and reality, went sensitive on us and went with two of her favorite childrens books – Harriet the Spy and The Trumpet of the Swan. I do have to admit that after hearing about this Swan that hangs out in New York and orders watercress sandwiches from his hotel room, sounds like a pretty cool swan. Going to have to read this book soon. Therefore, Janet prepared pretty little Watercress Sandwiches. She also prepared Tomato Sandwiches inspired from the book Harriet the Spy.
Christina went with the ever popular Harry Potter Series and prepared a British inspired Potato and Leek Soup. And it appears that Bonnie is the only Cooking Club member that has never picked up a Harry Potter book.
Bonnie drew inspiration for her Sherpard’s Pie form the hilarioulsy funny book Bridget Jones's Diary. She even quoted two instances where Bridget talks about Sherpard’s Pie in the book. Her vegan friendly dish was a perferct Fall dish. Yum.
Tina prepared a wonderfully rich and hearty Greek Lamb Stew inspired by the Pulitzer Prize winning book Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. Everyone there who read this book agreed that it’s a wonderfully complex book worth the read.
And finishing up with dessert, Heidi prepared an incredible German Style Cheese Cake drawing her inspiration from the book The Other Boleyn Girl. Heidi had read that one of Anne Boleyn’s favorite desserts was cheese cake. Super yum. She also prepared a vegan pumpkin pie. Yum again!
It was a great CC filled with wonderful food and talk about some of our favorite reads. The two mixed really well together. Great theme!

Donkey Punch

Ingredients:

3 parts Orange juice
2 parts Ginger ale
1 part Pineapple juice
1 part Light rum (Bacardi)
1/4 part Grenadine

Mixing instructions:

Mix all ingredients in a punchbowl and float orange slices on top.

Creator/contributor's comments:

Favorite punch of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. The name originates from the fact that when drunken everybody becomes stupider than a jackass!