Our 2010 Vegan Thanksgiving Menu and Prep Plan

Thanksgiving is a holiday that we've tried to celebrate on our own since going vegan simply because planning a large holiday meal with my family is too difficult. Even if they try to "compromise", like they're doing this year, and make things we can eat, they don't provide anything of sustenance. For example, their offering to us this year is the steamed white rice they are already making as a bed for the chicken dish my mother is preparing. Inevitably, what ends up happening is I cook and transport an entire holiday meal (from appetizer to dessert), just about all of which they have no problem digging in to, while all we can eat of theirs is... well in this case, steamed white rice. And, not having made anything vegan, from the comfort of their own kitchen, they truly believe they've compromised and coordinated the meal with us as we lug dish after dish out of the back of our car.

What brought on this rant? I'm glad you asked. Having resisted the black hole of guilt from my mother with regard to Thanksgiving for the last two years, this year I've somehow been sucked into her omnivoric vortex. So, without further ado, I present to you the complete Thanksgiving meal, from appetizer to dessert, that I'm making and packing up to take to my parent's house. This is what a coordinated meal looks like to them...

I'm making:

APPETIZER

• Lentil Pecan Pâté from the September 2008 issue of Vegetarian Times served with apple slices, cucumber medallions and rice crackers.

SALAD

• Cranberry Pecan Salad with a Cranberry Vinaigrette from the Nov/Dec 2009 Vegetarian Times

THE MAIN EVENT

• Old Fashioned Lentil Loaf from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
• Mighty Miso Gravy to smother the steamed white rice with from How it All Vegan! by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer
• Balsamic-Roasted Asparagus from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites by The Moosewood Collective

DESSERT

• Pumpkin Cheesecake with Candied Cranberries from the Nov/Dec 2009 Vegetarian Times

See what I mean? At least I strategically selected dishes I can prepare ahead of time because what I really want to do on Thanksgiving, not that anyone asked, is watch football and drink hard cider.

Now I need to make my shopping list and figure out when I'm going to get all these ingredients. Then I need to determine how I'm going to manage to cook most of it ahead of time with my six-year old placing food orders like he's at a 24-hour diner and our new puppy constantly underfoot. My motivation: to suffer the least amount of stress and shared kitchen time as possible on Thanksgiving day.

That concludes my rant.

Oh... and Happy Thanksgiving. :::grin:::