Vegan and vegetarian students eat unique Thanksgiving meals
Thanksgiving of 1621 starred fresh venison, New England shellfish and heaps of roasted meat, with turkey filling in the gaps. The evolution of American culture eventually made turkey the centerpiece, and it was not long before the turducken–and, for more extreme omnivores, the pigturducken–worked its way onto the menu.
But none of these dishes will appear on senior Sarena Farb’s dining room table.
“We host a vegan Thanksgiving,” said Farb, whose vegan lifestyle began at birth. Vegans abstain from eating animal products, including meat and dairy.
“When I was seven, [my parents] told me I could eat whatever I wanted, and I decided to stay vegan.”
Now Farb, her parents and her younger sister, who are also vegan, teach their non-vegan family members to cook vegan cuisine every Thanksgiving. They don’t eat what Farb calls “a very traditional meal,” having abandoned fake turkey for items like rice, sweet potatoes and sushi–sans the raw fish, of course.
Pumpkin pie, however, still applies. See a recipe for this holiday classic from JoAnn Farb’s book “Get Off Gluten!” below.
But the gluten and dairy products that go into store-bought pumpkin pie don’t vex vegetarians. It’s just the main course that talks turkey.
Ingredients:
1 pie crust (see below)
15-ounce can of pumpkin
1 box Mori Nu silken Firm Tofu
¾ cup almond milk or soy milk
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
5 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon organic molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon liquid stevia extract
¼ teaspoon liquid Hazelnut extract (optional)
1 ½ teaspoons powdered cinnamon
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
½ teaspoon powdered cloves
¼ teaspoon powdered nutmeg
¼ teaspoon saltDirections:
Place all ingredients in the blender and blend on high until smooth.
Transfer filling to the pie crust, smooth it out with spatula and bake for 1 hour.
Optional – Soyatoo makes a fantastic whip topping that goes great on this pie! (Get the one in the box and whip it yourself for best results!)
Pie Crust:
Ingredients:
2 ¼ cups Sorghum flour
1 ¼ cups ground flax seeds
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
¼ cup organic canola oil
¼ Spectrum palm oil shortening
2 TBS maple syrup
7 TBS water
Directions:
Mix the Sorghum, flax, xanthan and salt in a large bowl with a wire whisk.
Add the canola oil and shortening and use a fork to mash these in – leave a few small lumps.
Add the maple syrup and water, mix again, and divide the mixture between two 9” pie pans.
Using your fingers, press the dough into the pie plan to an even thickness all around. Make it stick up above the top of the pan, then push this extra down to create a thick lip around the top with a nice horizontal edge.
Take a fork and carefully stab the entire surface of each crust about 200 times.
Crust is ready to fill.
Ingredients:
2 pounds Brussels sprouts (trim stems, remove outer leaves, cross-cut bottoms)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic
4 cups vegetable stock
salt and pepper, to tasteHeat olive oil in 12-inch saute pan over medium heat. Add chopped garlic and cook for approximately one minute, until soft. Do not burn–this will make the garlic bitter. Add Brussels sprouts and coat with olive oil garlic mixture. Cook for five minutes, then add vegetable stock. Partially cover and let simmer until tender (about 15-20 minutes). Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then serve.Sweet Potatoes for a Sweet Tooth (serves 6-8)
3 pounds sweet potatoes
1 ¼ cups vegan butter substitute (for non-vegans, ¾ stick of butter)
A pinch of ground nutmeg
A pinch of ground ginger
A slightly larger pinch of allspice
¾ cup maple syrup
¾ cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon cider vinegar
Salt to tasteBake sweet potatoes at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, when tender. Take potatoes out of the oven and reduce heat to 350 degrees. Melt butter substitute (or butter) in medium saucepan and then saute with the spices for one minute. Add maple syrup and sugar. Stir. Once sugar has melted, stir in vinegar, then turn off the stove. Peel the potatoes and slice them into approximately ½- to one-inch-thick rounds. Put these in a buttered (with substitute butter) baking dish and cover potatoes with the spice, syrup and sugar mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. Best eaten piping hot.
![After receiving advice from her students, orchestra director Judy Erpelding marks her music. Although the director normally makes the artistic decisions, Erpelding will often consult her students and hear their opinions on what sounds good and what they should try out. “[The students] are the heart of the program, not me,” Erpelding said. “I know they will carry that on and I will miss them. Making great music with them, being able to challenge them, taking their inspiration.”](https://www.fsfreepressonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Roust_Erpelding_5_11_23-600x900.jpg)
