How not to sink your diet on the big turkey day

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Vegetarian for Thanksgiving? It's soooo easy.

In Whole Foods the other day, I saw a Thanksgiving offering by Field Roast that you can slip in to any holiday menu to satisfy - and I mean truly satisfy -  the vegetarian in your guest list. I mean, go ahead with your normal omnivore menu, but serve one of these right along side. Just be careful if you have a true ‘vegan’ attending - since they don’t do dairy or eggs either. But most vegetarians I know - do eggs and dairy.

Now, I could swear that the one I saw was actually called some kind of Turkey Roll, but it really looked yummy, and I would have liked it. Make it and serve with a vegetable broth based gravy, thickened with a roux.

Another thing you could do, is take a couple of those mini pumpkins or fancy squashes - and stuff them with a great mix of whole grain bread, brown rice, cooked barley, nuts, seeds, raisins or dates, dried fruit, celery, onions and other veggies. Why not roasted veggies? Or do an Italian artichoke and tomato sauce theme? Then bake it to tender goodness and serve.

Savory squash stuffed with millet.

Vegan stuffing tips and tricks

Quorn - a pretty yummy meat substitute - also has a turkey loaf type product out.

See, there are options beyond a Tofu Turkey.

Cranberry sauce with caramelized onions

1 Tbs. vegetable or canola oil
1 large yellow onion, cut into medium dice
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
One 12-oz. bag fresh or thawed frozen cranberries, rinsed and picked over (3-1/2 cups)
1 cup granulated sugar

In a 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan or skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, cloves, a pinch of salt, and a grind or two of pepper. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden-brown and very soft, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the lid, increase the heat to medium high, and cook the onions, stirring often, until deep caramel-brown, an additional 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the cranberries, sugar, a pinch of salt, and 1/2 cup water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer for 1 minute, then cover, turn off the heat, and let cool to room temperature.

Make Ahead Tips

The sauce may be prepared up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated.

Serving Suggestions

Let the cranberry sauce cool to room temperature before serving so it has time to thicken properly.

nutrition information (per serving):
Size: per 1/4 cup; Calories (kcal): 90; Fat (g): 1; Fat Calories (kcal): 10; Saturated Fat (g): 0; Protein (g): 0; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 0.5; Carbohydrates (g): 21; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 0.5; Sodium (mg): 25; Cholesterol (mg): 0; Fiber (g): 2;

photo: Scott Phillips

From Fine Cooking 101, pp. 32

September 3, 2009

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