This year was my first Thanksgiving as a vegan :) After checking out many different recipes, I decided that my contributions to our family dinner would be Isa Chandra's Chickpea Cutlets and Greens Restaurant in SF's Roasted Brussels Sprouts, which was published in this years Nov/Dec Vegetarian Times magazine. I was also going to make a homemade vegan pumpkin pie, but ran out of time and instead purchased a Fabes Pumpkin Pie from Whole Foods. While I was there, I discovered a vegan "whipped cream" called Rice Whip, which is pretty tasty!
My mom made the following alterations to her usual side dishes to make them vegan:
-Sweet potatoes: agave sweetener instead of butter and brown sugar
-Green beans: raw (my favorite) instead of cooked with butter
-And her cranberry sauce was already vegan :)
Everything was easy to make, healthy, earth friendly, cruelty-free and delicious. My non-vegan family members even enjoyed my vegan contributions :) Below, you can find the recipes and the photos that I took throughout the process.
I also made a sauce to top the chickpea cutlets with:
-red wine
-olive oil
-white onion
-sliced crimini mushrooms
-dried thyme
-paprika
-garlic
-earth balance vegan butter
Heat olive oil on medium heat in a sauce pan with white onion and the crimini mushrooms. Add thyme, paprika and garlic. Allow the onions to caramelize, then bring to a low heat and pour in red wine. Toss in about three tablespoons of vegan butter and stir. This paired really well with the chickpea cutlets!
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
(This is the recipe from the Vegetarian Times magazine)
2 lb. brussels sprouts, halved
3 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. maple syrup (I used a maple syrup from Trader Joe's that has NO high fructose corn syrup)
2 tbs. butter (optional) (I used my vegan butter... Earth Balance)
1. Preheat oven to 400. Toss brussels with oil in large baking dish or sheet and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 45 minutes, or until tender, loosening sprouts from baking sheet with spatula every 15 minutes.
2. Transfer to serving bowl, and toss with maple syrup and butter.
And last but not least, here is the pumpkin pie (and rice whip!)
