Thanksgiving and a Noodle Pudding Miracle

There was a Kevin Hart meme going around this year suggesting that everyone stop posting photos of their Thanksgiving plates because we're all "eating the same shit." That may be true- literally, for millions of non-vegans, but the vegan plates that fill my social media feed on thanksgiving are some of the most colorful and meaningful plates that I see all year. Keep 'em comin'!

 

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The reason I find these bountiful plates so thrilling is that when I went vegetarian in high school, it really just meant that I'd be leaving turkey off my plate. But today, as a vegan, it's not about elimination, it's about abundance. And never is that contrast more evident than in what VM prepares for Thanksgiving.

That inevitable first Thanksgiving when I refused a piece of obligatory turkey, VM was mortified and- dare I say, angry. It was surprising to me because I never even liked turkey in the first place. But, looking back, I think it was the symbolism of the defiance: refusing to eat something that she'd painstakingly prepared. Fast forward to my 16th Thanksgiving as a vegan: VM, now vegetarian herself, has now expertly veganized every holiday-specific dish and I am her biggest fan. Sure, we banter, but I kid!

TRUE STORY

 

professional corn stuffing preparation

Thanksgiving day started off with Trader Joe's seemingly accidentally vegan pumpkin rolls. These are the kind that pop out of a can and, just a few minutes later, you have a yummy and warm pastry. Well, 5 actually.

They come with a pouch of pumpkin icing, but I prefer to use only a little of that and then douse the roll in maple syrup. Not shown drenched because you'd plotz if you saw how much maple syrup I'm talking about (hint: that's why it's in a bowl). 

The rest of the day was spent cooking. Not me, VM. She made her famous corn stuffing, maple-roasted Brussels sprouts with chestnuts, mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy, baked sweet potatoes with cinnamon and marshmallows, and a Field Roast Celebration Roast with applesauce.

look, I made a vegan meme!

As promised, I made the green bean casserole.

But, wait; there's more. 

We were gifted a box of Follow Your Heart's vegan egg and, a few days before Thanksgiving, VM made her 1000th attempt at veganizing her noodle pudding (keugel). IT FINALLY WORKED!

This vegan version was 100% indistinguishable from its egg-laden counterpart.

There are very few things left that have yet to be veganized. After m&ms, this was the lone holdout I can think of and I couldn't be happier. I think I actually forgot just how much I love it, and now it's mine any time I want it she makes it. Yay for me!

In case you're wondering what 89 was up do while all this was going on, she basically spent every waking minute sitting at the table waiting to be served.

And served she was; here's her plate. Watch her noisily scarf it all down.

Finally, I shall leave you with @thespicyvegan repost that's been blowing up my own FB page this week:

Hope your holiday was happy; there's more to come!

Mother's Day Win

On the Friday before Mother's Day weekend was about to begin, I received a phone call from my dad, "Prickly pear ice cream: yes or no?  Tell me quick; we're on line."  Where else?  Vegan Treats.

 

I countered, "Tell mom to try it," but then I heard her respond from the background with an unequivocal, "No."  The difference between she and I is that although neither of us was familiar with prickly pear, I knew what another master purveyor of ice cream has taught me: that such things are just a $4 gamble.  So, I confidently responded, "twist...with sprinkles."  An hour+ later, this showed up at my door and it was divine.  Fresh and summery: a subtle and pleasant berry mixed with Tahitian vanilla bean with rainbow sprinkles; I now not only know what prickly pear is, but I like it.

But that wasn't all they got.  For "breakfast" on the following day, I was invited over for donuts galore.  Banana cream pie, cannoli cream-filled fasnacht, raspberry jelly, Boston Creme, and glazed chocolate with sprinkles.

Also, a linzer-tart!!!  So soft and authentic I almost ate the whole thing myself and it was the size of my head.

And then it was Mother's Day.  Here's 89 checking out VM's gift.

Even thought the balloon lit up (that's the red dot at the top which you can't tell is blinking), she was unimpressed.

Not having anticipated the previous days' sweets, I'd already planned to make samoa fronch toast, inspired by this recipe from Vegan Richa- subbing French toast because VM prefers it to pancakes.  Behold the breakfast samoa: PPK Fronch toast, home-toasted coconut, chocolate chips, and salted caramel sauce from Sweet Ritual (more on that later) via Rabbit Food Grocery.

Oh yeah, and whipped cream.

Up close and personal.

And, of course, the stalker.

After brunch I went to my parents' house for the day and, after dinner, VM pulled out even more Vegan Treats.  For starters, there was this amazing flower pot cake.

Amongst its (non-edible) contemporaries:

Inside was a chocolate layer cake with oreo cream to compliment the cookie crumb "dirt" on top. 

Then, a berry marscapone tart with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries.

I don't really like fruity desserts, but I was a big fan of marscapone cheesecake before I was vegan, so I had to try it.  Not only was it dreamily creamy and light, but who can be mad at such perfect berries (and is this what produce is like in Pennsylvania?)?

Eventually I rolled myself home to lay like a sloth with this gal...

who, for the record, really liked the prickly pear ice cream as well.

Hoping everyone else enjoyed their Mom's day.

I'm glad mine did!

Vegan Thanksgiving, Part 1 of 2: Dinner

Oy; I'm full.  Not surprisingly, Thanksgiving day was filled with lots of cooking and tons more eating- so much so that I have to break it down into two posts: one for dinner and one for dessert.

VM's napkins: veganized

Dinner:

Truth be told, I don't like my food touching.

Especially gravied items; they belong on a separate plate!

We went extremely traditional this year, starting with green bean casserole from the PPK:

It never disappoints.

VM has always made awesome vegan mashed potatoes, but her new trick is to add horseradish- making them taste just like even better than the non-vegan wasabi mashed potatoes from Lucky Cheng's, circa 1999bv (before vegan).  VM's famous horseradish mashed potatoes!

I had some farmar sweet potatoes languishing, so I cubed and roasted them skin-on with cinnamon and nutmeg, then mashed them with butter, maple syrup, salt, and cinnamon sugar.  AB's so-so, sweet, sweet potato mash.

Because Thanksgiving is as good of an excuse as any to make brussel sprouts...we did.  But, we didn't roast them this time; instead, I tossed them in safflower oil with salt, pepper, garlic, and red pepper flakes, and sautéed them stove-top for 15 minutes.  They tasted very similar (better) than the ones from Blossom, and I loved the vibrant green.

I forgot the chestnuts!!

VM has always made vegetarian, creamed corn stuffing, but she's long since veganized it.  On a good day she'll prepare them in balls rather than a casserole.  A day when a dead turkey is roasting in her oven is not a good day.

Okay, okay; our mushroom gravy is from a can.

But our cranberry is homemade by my boss, who does something terrific with orange zest to make an orange/cranberry chutney of sorts that I really like...and I am not a fan of cranberries (never craisins).

And, finally: our "main course" was chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon- easily doubled on PPK. Cause what are you gonna do with a single batch?  Not enough, that's what.

I really didn't overdo it.  The problem arose when I was effectively done, but then decided to have a little more mashed potatoes...and stuffing...and green bean casserole.  Then I was not only done, but done for.  Despite my own gluttony, it was a wholly successful spread and I'll be eating leftovers for at least a week.

89 doesn't really eat at the table; she was just posing for posterity.

Don't get me wrong; I did manage to have dessert...hours later.  But, I'm a professional.  I'll let you digest dinner for now and catch you later with part 2.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Vegan Mother's Day Extravaganza: Brad's Kale Chip Factory, Sprig & Vine, Vegan Treats, French Toast, and More...Not Necessarily In That Order

Phew; that was some weekend.

The planning started somewhere in the midst of my kale chip addiction when I did some googling and found out that Brad's kale chips were created in nearby Pennsylvania.  Now I'm no map wizard, but it seemed to me that its location was smack between Sprig & Vine and Vegan Treats, which got me to thinking.  I called them to see if they had a store and they told me that they were in the process of building a juice/kale chip bar adjacent to their factory and to stay tuned.  I did, and before I knew it I received my invitation to the Grand Opening, to take place Mother's Day weekend.  A plan was hatched.

Saturday started off with a visit to Sprig and Vine.

We both went for our staple: cauliflower Banh Mi(s)...

with a side of potato wedges.

Then it was off to the Grand Opening of The Chip Factory.

They were not kidding; a grand opening indeed.

The event, off a rural road in Pipersville, PA, was held both indoors...

and out, on a pleasant and sunny day.

There's Brad drinking some of his own water!

Yep, Brad's raw, vegan water:

There were a lot of things going on at the event.  A Vita-Mix demo...

with a raffle to win one.  We didn't, but that's ok; I still can't do the green stuff.  Besides, my loyalty lies elsewhere.  Power to the Bullet!!

They were giving out samples of banana whip, a la The Bent Spoon...

and also an assortment of Brad's kale buttons.

I even got a t-shirt to really show off my kale pride.

We were a little disappointed to find out that all of the kale chip packages containing the winning tickets to various available prizes had been claimed by noon- only an hour earlier, on this, the first day of the event.  Moreso when it was brought to our attention that there were no tickets- winning or otherwise, contained in the kale chip packages bought in cases.  Guess who bought a case?  Bummer!!  At least we "won" 12 boxes of naked leafy kale chips.

It sounds like a lot, but look how many we left behind:

They're really serious about the kale theme; even the lights were green!

In addition to the outdoor musicians,

there was a roster of health and wellness speakers presenting in the indoor event space.

Also outside: various notable vendors.  I really liked the upcycled, art clothes from Pantaluna.

I look forward to visiting their store in Frenchtown.

Then there was Renaissance Sausage, a sausage company with vegan options.

They used their better judgment and didn't include their meat variety in the day's offerings.

The vegan one was pretty darn meaty tasting in and of itself.

Oh, and did I forget to mention there was Brad's raw wine as well?

It's not all about the green juice, folks.

Of course the event wouldn't have been complete without an emergent dog situation.  On the way to The Chip Factory, we'd already brought a dog who'd wandered into the road back to his house (Stay safe, Arthur!!).  Then, midway through our time at the grand opening event, an announcement was made that someone had left a dog in their car in the hot parking lot; this when the iPhone was registering 80 degrees.  As we made our way to our car a half hour or so later, we found the poor pooch still sweltering in the hot car, pawing at an uncovered, half-full bottle of water in the cupholder- to no avail.  Another samaritan from the event joined us and we had no choice but to take matters into our own hands and call the police.  While we waited, the owners of the car returned- claiming to have only been gone five minutes and not to have heard the outdoor announcement from the confines of the indoor presentation space.  Halfway through their cavalcade of excuses and professions of undying love, it took another attendee- a stranger, to finally offer the panting and exhausted small dog some water.  VM and I left the jackass in good hands: being reamed out for her selfishness and foolishness by a more vocal compatriot.  Should you find yourself in the same situation, I implore you not to hesitate to do something: try to find the offender and, if all else fails, notify the authorities.  If you choose inaction, prepare to share the blame; creatures need all the advocates they can get in this world.

After that we headed over to Vegan Treats where the spread was even more impressive than usual, no doubt in honor of Mom's Day.

We started out with a seemingly innocuous chocolate truffle.

It was eye-poppingly good!

Can't go wrong with a rich, moist, chocolate, glazed donut.

Who can turn down the best vegan cannolis?

Throw in a gluten-free hostess cake for good measure.

I also couldn't resist a bowl of chocolate peanut butter twist ice cream with rainbow sprinkles.

VM looked on, ice cream-less, staunchly supporting Team Lula's.

After that it was off to the casino to ring in Mother's Day playing Let it Ride, where VM kicked butt and I remained in the pity seat of the table for the duration of the night.  Ever wonder what losers buy in the casino gift shop at midnight with their comps?  Crazy ridiculous sunglasses, that's what.

When I got home in the wee hours, I remembered that I was bound and determined to make a nice, first, Mother's Day brunch in my new house.  I'd spent a ridiculous amount of time finding a vegan loaf of white bread (thanks to the Animal-Free app for cluing me in to animal-derived "datem" that seems to be in every commercial bread loaf), but forgotten that said loaf should ideally be stale in order to lend itself to authentic French Toast.  So, before going to bed I fought all urges to the contrary and left the fluffy, fresh slices unwrapped on the counter.  Yep, that's what I was doing at 2:04am.

Then I was up by 7:00 ready to make VM proud.  I'd thrown in a load of wash, cleaned the bathroom, and even done some dusting by 8:00.  The table was set and, by 11:00, I was ready to tackle brunch.  For the most traditional French Toast I could muster, I used  "Fronch Toast", courtesy of the PPK, as suggested by MVG.  I tripled the recipe for an entire loaf of sliced, white bread, and added cinnamon and nutmeg.

The ingredients came together ridiculously easy and before I knew it I had two slices of what looked and smelled just like the French Toast my mom used to make me!

I'm happy to report that it tasted the same too.

And, to show her appreciation, VM did not admonish me for eating the syrup off my plate with a spoon my syrup over-indulgence.  I can't help it; I love syrup.

As you might imagine, the rest of the day was spent in a food coma. 

Happy Mother's Day to all the special moms out there; they say motherhood is the hardest job in the world.  Or is that just for VM because I'm such a giant pain in the butt?  You be the judge.  No, wait; don't.