Wednesday Food Blogging

Thanksgiving: What's a vegan to do?

Before you decide what to eat on Thanksgiving, give some thought to the birds that, fortunately, won't make it to anyone's dinner table this Thanksgiving. And then give them some cash. Turkey feed ain't chicken feed, you know.

For $25 you can adopt a turkey from Farm Sanctuary. The birds stay there—don't worry, you don't even need a back yard, just a credit card. You can even choose which turkey you'd like to adopt. They're all adorable, though, so it's a hard decision!

Next, try a turkey substitute. Here's my pre-Thanksgiving post from last year. It has several links to vegan non-turkey recipes suitable for Thanksgiving. And here's another meatless loaf that just came across my wire, from the Meatout Mondays email list I subscribe to.

You can also check out Gentle Thanksgiving for more. That mushroom gravy may very well make its way to my Thanksgiving table this year.

(By the way, we usually celebrate Thanksgiving, even though it's not a holiday in Britain. Most Americans here celebrate on the Saturday after, since they don't get the day off work.)

Don't let cruelty mar a day that's especially for giving thanks. It's really easy, and delicious, to avoid eating turkeys these days.

Spinach and Tofu Strudel

Christmas in June?

With all my phyllo (filo) dough experimentation, it's beginning to feel like it's holiday season instead of June. This dish, as well as the Tofu-Mushroom Phyllo Parcels I posted last week, would make excellent vegan holiday dishes. These strudels could be made ahead and heated up (around 30 minutes in a hot oven) for a busy day meal. I'd crumble some phyllo sheets over the top during the second bake, since they have a tendency to fall off as the roll is handled. 

We served this with a plate of fried eggplant—or aubergine, depending where you are. The deliciousness was almost too much, for an ordinary Saturday in June.

Directions below.