By Rhonda Jones
Since we are less than a week away from Thanksgiving, I thought this would be a good time to share some great recipes for the holidays. Most are pretty simple with no exotic ingredients, but still pretty tasty. Best of all, you can enjoy the food and not be stuffed as we are after a meat and oil-based meal. So, enjoy the food and the fun. Happy Thanksgiving!
CAULIFLOWER STUFFING
This stuff really tastes like stuffing! My daughter found this recipe years ago, and we really enjoy it.
4 tablespoons Earth Balance or oil (I recommend just doing the sauté with some vegetable broth.)
1 onion chopped
2 large carrots peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
1 small head of cauliflower, chopped/riced (you can buy this premade)
1 cup chopped mushrooms
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
½ cup vegetable broth
In a large skillet on medium heat, melt the margarine or heat the oil. Add onion, carrot, and celery and sauté until soft, about 7 or 8 minutes.
Add cauliflower and mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook until tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
Add parsley, rosemary, and sage and stir until combined, then pour over vegetable broth and cover with a lid. Cover and cook until totally tender and liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
RHONDA’S BROCCOLI RICE CASSEROLE
(Note: A version of this recipe is in the Main Street Vegan Academy cookbook entitled “Creamy Crucifer Casserole.” This is the cheese sauce from that recipe, but the rest is the simple Broccoli Rice Casserole I came up with years ago.
For the cheese sauce:
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 cup raw cashews
1 cup water
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup mild-flavored oil such as almond (I prefer nut oils). Feel free to leave out the oil.
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
2 roasted garlic cloves*
1½ teaspoons salt (You can cut this way back, say ½ teaspoon.)
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Blend all of this in a high-speed blender and set aside.
Sauté in vegetable broth ½ cup chopped onion, ½ cup chopped celery, and ½ cup chopped carrots until soft and the onion is becoming translucent. You can also add ½ cup of chopped mushrooms to this sauté and use mushroom broth for the sauté rather than vegetable broth.
After the veggies are cooked, add two to three cups of brown rice and two to three cups of steamed broccoli. (You can use frozen broccoli. Just thaw it out, no need to cook.) Once the mixture is combined, add the cheese sauce and mix until all is combined.
Pour into a baking dish and cover with Daiya cheddar cheese if you like, then bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the top starts to brown a bit or the cheese is thoroughly melted.
*It is easy to roast garlic. Simply take a whole head of garlic, wrap it in foil, put it in a 350-degree oven, and roast until the pods are soft. Cut off the top end of the head and squeeze out the garlic from each pod.
WORLD’S HEALTHIEST AND EASIEST PECAN PIE CRUST
2 cups raw, unsalted pecans
2 cups of pitted dates
½ teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg
1 tablespoon vanilla
(You can also make date balls out of this mixture. Add chocolate chips and roll in cocoa, or just roll date balls in shredded, unsweet coconut.)
Place the pecans in the food processor first and grind them into a flour-like consistency. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg and pulse a few times to combine. Add the dates and process until it starts to form a ball. At this point, add the vanilla and then pulse to incorporate the mixture. Press this into a pie plate to form the crust.
FILLING
About 3 cups of pecans
16 oz of pitted dates (2 cups) soaked in 2 cups of water until soft (I soak overnight.)
1 tablespoon of vanilla
Grind the pecans in the food processor, then take them out of the machine and add the dates, soaking water, and vanilla. Process until the mixture is smooth. Add back the pecans and process until smooth. Pour over the crust, top the mixture with pecans, and then freeze until firm. You can serve it frozen or allow it to thaw somewhat and then serve. Either way, it is pretty good.
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