November 11, 2023 – Thanksgiving

Saturday, November 11, 2023
VBC Meeting #129: Thanksgiving
Hosts of the month: Lauren and Billy
Location: Ponder, TX

Yep, Thanksgiving again!

This is what we made:

Billy: Salted Pecan Shortbread Squares

Billy veganized a recipe for salted pecan shortbread squares by using coconut cream and margarine in place of cream and butter. For the shortbread base he combined flour, powdered sugar, corn starch, salt, and margarine in the food processor then pressed the dough into a 13×9″ pan and baked at 350°F for approximately 13 minutes. In a pot he heated margarine, brown sugar, and salt until the sugar dissolved. Off the heat he mixed in coconut cream, semisweet chocolate chips, and vanilla then folded in pecan pieces. He poured this mixture over the shortbread crust then further baked it for approximately 15 minutes.

Lauren: Thanksgiving Skewers with Cherry Orange Sauce

Lauren marinated tofu in vegan chicken flavored broth with added thyme, oregano, sage, and garlic powder. She tossed cut pieces of bell pepper, onion, and sweet potato in olive oil, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt. After interlacing the tofu and vegetables on metal skewers, she baked them at 425°F for 40 minutes.

She had planned to make a cranberry orange sauce to accompany the skewers, but since she didn’t see frozen cranberries at the store, she got cherries instead. She made the sauce with 10 ounces of the frozen cherries, the zest of one orange, juice of half that orange, approximately 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, cinnamon, and a dash of salt.

Slynn: Stick Toffee Pudding; Tuscan White Beans

Slynn followed the Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe from Decadent Vegan Cakes. To prepare, she made a vegan “buttermilk” alternative by mixing apple cider into soy milk and soaked chopped dates in boiling water. These went into the cake batter along with sugar, olive oil, self-rising flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and mixed spice. She made a caramel toffee sauce that was poured over the cake after baking with plant-based milk, smooth almond butter, maple syrup, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and a dash of salt. She served the pudding with whipped cream.

In addition to her fancy dessert, Slynn made Tuscan White Beans with Sage and Garlic from the Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker cookbook by combining great northern beans in the slow cooker with water and bay leaves, plus whole sprigs of sage and a head of garlic wrapped in cheesecloth. After cooking, she added a little red pepper flakes and olive oil.

Kori: Deviled Potatoes

Kori made deviled potatoes by halving boiled mini potatoes and piping a filling on top of them made with tofu, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, turmeric, kala namak salt, extra virgin olive oil, and onion powder. She garnished the potatoes with smoked paprika and sliced green onion.

Drew: Brussels Sprouts

Drew made Maple Mustard Brussels Sprouts by roasting halved Brussels sprouts that he had tossed in maple syrup and mustard. After they came out of the oven he added pomegranate seeds and chopped pistachios. He ended up not attending the get together, but he kindly sent his dish along with Mehgann for us to enjoy.

Mehgann: Pureed Parsnips; Apple Crumble

For the pureed parsnips Mehgann peeled and cut one pound of parsnips to boil along with two pounds of cauliflower until tender. Then she drained the veggies and pureed them in a blender before adding five cloves of mashed roasted garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. She left out rosemary because she didn’t have any.

For dessert, Mehgann combined five apples to make an apple crumble including two Granny Smiths, a Pink Lady, and two Honey Crisps. She cooked the apples with water and apple cider vinegar then added cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt. For the topping she combined almond flour, all-purpose flour, whole rolled oats, crushed walnuts, brown sugar, coconut oil, cinnamon, and salt. She baked the apple crumble at 400°F for 20 minutes.

Minji: Butternut Squash and Spinach Salad with Pecans, Cranberries, and Pomegranate

For this Thanksgiving meal, Minji brought back the festive salad that she made last year, only remembering after making it again how tedious it is to process the butternut squash and extract the pomegranate seeds.

Alaric: Green Bean Casserole

Alaric began the process of making his green bean casserole by making a vegan cream of mushroom soup by cooking diced baby bella mushrooms, diced sweet onion, and garlic in vegan butter then adding dried thyme, nutmeg, ground pepper, salt, flour, vegetable stock, and almond milk. He mixed green beans into the soup with some extra almond milk and a tiny bit of hot sauce. He topped the casserole with fried onions and baked it.