Thanksgiving Cooking

Last year was the first year I made a vegetarian thanksgiving, so it took me a couple weeks of planning to decide on what to make. This year, I didn't do as much planning mainly because I have been cooking vegetarian this past year so I have a general idea of what I want to eat, plus I was just a tad lazy. Most are dishes I've cooked successfully before (so I can guarantee we'll have tasty food at home and don't need to give up and resort to eating out :) and some are new but simple to make. I wanted a traditional menu - salad, entree, bread, and gravy while taking advantage of the abundance of the winter produce.

This year, I am thankful to the farmers who made it possible to bring this food to my dinner table. Without them, this meal would not be possible.

Here's what I cooked this Thanksgiving, with links to the recipes I followed -



Thai-spiced Pumpkin soup
Tuscan Kale Salad

Instead of bread crumbs, I made my own version to toss in the salad -
Mix 1/2 cup panko crumbs, 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 egg white, pinch of black pepper.

1. Bake on a single layer on a baking sheet at 375 degrees for approx 15-20 min or until it's slightly browned.
2. Remove from oven, crumble over salad.

Five Spice Chicken
So it's definitely not vegetarian, but I tucked this dish in here as a special occasion. Bought from PCC Natural Markets - free range, local, and organic.
Mac & "Cheese" Chard
Mushroom Gravy
Who says tasty gravy needs to be made from beef broth? This recipe uses mushrooms and vegetable broth as the foundation for the gravy.

Sweet Potato Rolls
Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies
I didn't have any mesquite flour, so I substituted it with whole wheat pastry flour.

Pad Kee Mao

One of my favorite thai dishes is pad kee mao. This is one of those dishes I like to make at home without having the need to go to a thai restaurant. You can buy the fresh rice noodles from asian markets. You an get them precut, but I prefer to get them uncut so I have the luxury to slice them however thick I want. Of course, it's a bit more work, but worth the effort if you want wider noodles.

Makes approx 4 servings

1 lb of fresh rice noodles, precut, or uncut (cut to your liking)
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 egg

Chopped ingredients:
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped with seeded and juices squeezed
1/2 cup of basil (red basil preferred but I used sweet since I had that on hand)
2-3 cups of greens (spinach or swiss chard)
1 bell pepper, sliced (optional)
14 oz cubed firm tofu, drained

Sauce:
2 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon oyster or mushroom sauce
1 tablespoon sugar

1. Separate the rice noodles - rinse under hot water for about a minute to help separate out the strands. If they are uncut, unfold them and cut into 1-2 inch widths. Place in a large bowl.
2. In a small bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients.
3. In a large wok or pan, add the 1 tablespoon of oil over high heat.
4. Add in the tofu and cook for 1 minute.
5. Add the remaining oil. Add the egg and cook until slightly done.
6. Add in the onions, garlic, bell peppers, tomatoes, and greens adn cook for 1 minute.
7. Next, add the rice noodles and sauce mixture.
8. Add the basil. Stir fry for about 3 minutes. Serve!

Swiss Chard Salad

I've been so fortunate to have such great vegetables available locally. Swiss chard is no exception. The swiss chard from my box is so fresh - the leaves are so large and not to mention very crisp. This is a simple way to enjoy the swiss chard in its entirety, including its stalk.

1 large bunch of swiss chard (about 1 lb)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1. Wash the swiss chard. Cut the stalks about 1 inch length, tear the leaves into bite size pieces. Separate the stalks from the leaves.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
3. Add the stalks first and cook for 1 minute. Then add the leaves and boil for another 2-3 minutes.
4. While the swiss chard is cooking, mix the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and sesame seeds in a small bowl.
5. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking.
6. Toss with the soy sauce mixture, serve!

Wild Salmon Lasagna

After experimenting making lasagna with salmon with different types of fillings (tomato sauce, tofu), I finally settled on the below version as my favorite lasagna recipe. It uses tofu and absolutely no cheese. Yep, that's right, no cheese! Though you don't get much of that creamy and gooiness from cheese, this is definitely healthier for you while not compromising on taste. It's actually quite tasty with the salmon sauce. You an probably make more of the salmon sauce if you want a bit more sauce in your lasagna. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Makes 9 servings

Salmon & salmon sauce:
1/2 lb of salmon fillet (I used wild caught Alaskan salmon)
1/4 cup of dill or fennel, freshly chopped
some lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 1/4 - 2 Cups of milk or soymilk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves of garlic
2-3 tablespoon all-purpose white or whole wheat flour

1. In a pot over medium heat, melt the butter.
2. Add garlic, cook for 1 minute.
3. Stir in the milk. Stir in the flour, and mix thoroughly. Simmer until thickened.
4. Stir in the salmon fillet. Break apart the salmon into bite size pieces.
5. Add the remaining ingredients - dill/fennel, salt, and lemon juice
6. Cook for a few minutes until you're able to break apart the salmon fillet where the outside is just cooked, so it is half cooked. Baking it will further cook the salmon.

Filling
1 box (14-16 oz) of firm tofu
about 1 lb of spinach, swiss chard, or any greens, cooked and drained
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. Be sure to lightly cook the greens.
2. Rinse the tofu, crumble it into a bowl.
3. Add the greens, and remaining seasoning.

• Next, cook the 9 pieces of lasagna in a pot according to the box instructions. Drain and let it cool for a few minutes.
• In a 9x12" casserole pan, place a layer of 3 lasagna noodles. Next, add 1/3 of the tofu mixture, along with 1/2 of the salmon and salmon sauce.
• Repeat and place a second layer of lasagna noodles. Add 1/3 of the tofu mixure and the remaining salmon and salmon sauce.
• Place the final 3rd layer of lasagna noodles, then top with the remaining tofu mixture.
• Place in oven at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Swiss Chard Gratin

I made this easy swiss chard dish adapted from this recipe. I added 1 medium/large yellow potato to the recipe which made it more of a main course. Potatoes were added and sauteed for a few minutes before putting in the swiss chard stalks. The eggs, swiss chard, and potatoes came from my CSA box. Enjoy!