Heaps of Thanksvegan Recipes!

ACK! It's almost Thanksgiving! Hopefully you know what the heck you're gonna make/eat/serve, but if not, here's a quick round-up of vegan noms, from simple to elegant to downright sexy. I look forward to reading about everyone's Tofurky Day! (And yes, I will also be sharing my feast!)

Scroll down on this link for some classic Thanksgiving flavors with a raw vegan twist.

Listen, I've been vegan for most of my life now, but I was never a big fan of salads. It's hard to get excited about a bowl of leafy raw veggies when there are so many other awesome foods to eat! HOWEVER, these salads would give me a case of the good wiggles.

Forks and Beans always has such cutie patootie things on her blog. Check out her kid-friendly Thanksgiving recipes here. (It's totally not just for kids, though.)

Angela from Oh She Glows is such a classy dame. Check out her round-up of GORGEOUS holiday recipes, as well as some tips on having a stress-free holiday amongst meat-eaters.

The fine folk at Catskill Animal Sanctuary offer these lovely holiday recipes.

Thanks, Vegetarian Times! How to Tackle a Squash. My preferred method? Get someone else to do it.

STOP EVERYTHING and someone please cook one of EVERYTHING off this round-up and send it my way! (Then ya best believe I'll be givin' thanks!)

Okay, food aside (just for a moment!), vegan warrior, Jenny Brown shares some tips on surviving Thanksgiving as a lone vegan.

Check out this new site from Mercy for Animals, Pardon A Turkey. Learn fun facts about turkeys, grab some yummy vegan recipes, and pledge to "pardon a turkey," and be entered to win some goodies from Tofurky, Field Roast, or gardein!

What are you serving up for Thanksgiving? Got some rockin' recipes? Share them in the comments!

Recipe Request: Hoisin & Black Bean Stir-Fry

As requested, here is the recipe for the Hoisin & Black Bean Stir-Fry from New Vegetarian Cuisine by Linda Rosenweig. My notes are in parentheses.

Ingredients
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 Tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional, in my opinion)
1 Tablespoon peanut oil
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh ginger (I've never actually included this, personally)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups thinly sliced carrots (if you have 'em)
1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable stock
1 green pepper, cut into strips (or any other color bell pepper)
1 yellow squash, thinly sliced (I don't think I've ever had this on hand whenever I've made this dish)
1 cup snow peas (I tend to use broccoli instead because I love broccoli)
1 1/2 cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained (I use 1 can)
1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts (again, I never have this on hand)
3 cups hot cooked rice (brown is best!)

1. In a small bowl, combine the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and pepper flakes; set aside.

2. In a wok or large no-stick frying pain over medium-high heat, warm the peanut oil. Add the ginger and garlic; stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the carrots; stir-fry for 3-4 minutes, or until just tender.

3. Pour in stock; cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated.

4. Add the green peppers, squash, and snow peas; stir-fry 4-5 minutes, or until just tender. Stir in the beans, water chestnuts, and hoisin sauce mixture; stir-fry for 2 minutes, or until heated through. Serve over the rice.

HVT Notes: This is infinitely better with tofu. Seriously. Fry it first until it's a golden brown and set aside, or put it in the pan first and once the tofu pieces are browned on one side, flip, and proceed with the recipe. I never make this dish without tofu.

HVT At Home: The Fruitiest, Simplest Pie You'll Never Bake

Earlier this week, I thought making scalloped potatoes sounded like a lovely idea for dinner. I quickly learned that I won't be making them again until probably late September or October. Baking something in a 400 degree oven for almost an hour heats up a house real quick -- and it's too dang hot to be baking like that!

This inspired me to make a post about the easiest, fruitiest no-bake pie I know of, which is perfect for summer. You can use fresh, local fruit, or frozen or canned, whatever is in your pantry -- make it easy on yourself! I won't be giving exact measurements; this pie is simple enough that I feel most people can get by without one.

First, open a big can of crushed pineapple. Spoon out some of the juice (maybe 3 tablespoons?) and mix it with some cornstarch (maybe a tablespoon?) in a saucepan until it's incorporated. Then add the remainder of the crushed pineapple and juices into the saucepan, stir, and let it simmer over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. (Yes, there is a little bit of cooking, but no BAKING!) You want this to thicken up a bit. Once it has thickened, set it aside.

Next, get your fruit ready. On this day, I happened to have a can of sliced peaches, a ripe banana, and some frozen blueberries and strawberries, which I thawed overnight.



I arranged the banana slices at the bottom of a pre-made graham cracker crust (I told you this would be easy) and arranged the peach slices on top.



Next came the layer of thawed berries.



And finally, the thickened crushed pineapple "sauce" covers the whole thing. Pop this in the fridge for about 3 hours to set, and enjoy. I highly recommend this as a cool breakfast. It's best to eat this pie within 2 days, but in my experience, it has kept pretty well for up to 5 (but generally doesn't last that long, if you know what I mean).