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Good Vegan EATs ... (Vegetarian Too!)

17K views 128 replies 30 participants last post by  missyd 
#1 · (Edited)
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#2 ·
Did the Pilgrims eat these things??   I'll stick with the traditional
 
#4 ·
#5 ·
Hey, Ed. What you mean by traditional and what the Pilgrims ate are two different things.

Among the "traditional" dishes missing at the so-called first Thanksgiving: Turkey, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and, of course, the ubiquitous green bean casserole.

Iceman, they are reacting to the word vegan, rather than to the food as such. Which, of course, was your obvious intent in the first place.

Think about any traditional American Thanksgiving. Take away the turkey, and, perhaps, the oysters or chicken livers in the stuffing, and what's left? Not much that a vegan or vegetarian couldn't enjoy. To tag those dishes as vegan is merely looking for controversy for its own sake.
 
#7 ·
KY were you at the first dinner?Take away the turkey and in MY HOUSE  you loose the tradition.

You can all eat whatever you want and make the turkey out of Tofu if you like. 

. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, thats what makes this country great,
 
#8 ·
http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving

http://habee.hubpages.com/hub/The-First-Thanksgiving-What-was-on-the-Menu

If it's historical authenticity you're after, you should be looking up venison recipes.

Two general points (1) man, people have short fuses when it comes to vegetarianism in any form (2) Thanksgiving meals are rituals, not normal meals, and some people get really bent out of shape when you mess with their rituals. My Dad, many years, ago made a boneless turkey ... and deeply upset some of our guests.

Anyway, the nice thing about Thanksgiving dinners is that you can have unlimited side dishes, and as long as the traditionalists get the essentials they won't object if there are some veg or vegan dishes available. The important thing is being together, no?
 
#9 ·
No, Ed, I wasn't there. But Governor Bradford, among others, was. And he (and others) left behind a record about what the meal's purpose was, and what was eaten. Neither have much to do with the holiday as we celebrate it today.

You seem to have a knack for assuming that the traditions established during your lifetime were how those things were always done. It's just not so. All I was doing was pointing out the fallacy of your snooty first response: i.e., "did the Pilgrims eat those things." Well, the simple fact is, the Pilgrims didn't eat the things you think of as traditional. So if what the Pilgrims ate is the criteria (that's the ground rule you established, not me), then your T-giving meal and the proposed vegan one are equally non-traditional.

Butter is the permeating ingredient in everyrhing :)

I don't know if that actually true, KK. But it certainly doesn't have to be.

My point, though, was simple. If IceMan had posted the same links merely as "here are some interesting side-dishes for your T-giving table," would you or Ed have reacted the same way? I suspect not. What you're reacting to is the word "vegan," and the connotations it has for you. And, as I said, I have no doublt that was his intention, just another way of "stirring the pot," as he likes to put it.

Please, find some way to tell me that there is anything wrong with this dish.

Actually, IceMan, I see two things wrong with it. First, I have better recipes for pumpkin soup than that one, which, seems to me, will be on the thin side and too nutty tasting. Second, if a meal will end with pumpkin pie---as many, perhaps most, T-giving meals do---then I wouldn't start it with a pumpkin soup.

But I, as should be obvious, have no problems with your basic contention.
 
#10 ·
OK Swell ..... I'm happy for everyone and what they chose to eat. Bless us everyone. Now back to the thread.

Has anyone at all gone to the link included in the original post? You'll find that it coincides with the title of the thread. I like to keep titles and links originally consistent. I'm funny like that. Everyone has rituals and traditions. The ritual and tradition of vegans is to not eat animal products. HELLO?!? (see: title of thread). LOL. There is no way I would expect any of my guests for a meal this size to eat every dish, so it really doesn't matter how many dishes are based on or include any one(1) particular ingredient (see: pumpkin). I don't or wouldn't expect anyone to eat or even try the tofu dish (maybe BDL). It kinda made me gag including it, but I digress to how I treat stories/topics.

Weekday Vegetarian Thanksgiving: Parsnip Bisque with Crispy Chestnuts



Weekday Vegetarian Thanksgiving: Vegetable Tagine



Weekday Vegetarian Thanksgiving: Butternut Squash Galette



Weekday Vegetarian: Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Red Onion, Lemon and Pecorino



OK now. If there are any more "challenges" to the general vegan ideology and/or these dishes, just let me know. I've got +/-200 or so people from the soup-kitchens and/or shelters where I've made these in that will be happy to talk to you. LOL.

Thanksgiving around a ping-pong table
 
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#11 ·
I have no problem with vegans, vegetarians, or the foods they choose.

I do have a problem with anyone that expects me to conform to their choices whether and my house or my business. Especially when such demands are made with quasi-religious fervor.

Of course, if I wish to maintain reasonable family relationships and friendships, it would be wise for me to make allowances for a variety of choices.

And if I want to expand my potential business clientele, I would certainly make myself aware of food preferences and, where feasible, advertise the fact that I cater to a variety of choices.

Personally, I consume vegan, vegetarian, and a variety of other dishes on a rather frequent basis. However, I do not patronize a steak house and expect them to serve me something not on the menu.

Though I am an omnivore, I cannot ever remember demanding, or even asking, for someone else to acquiesce to my tastes in preference to their choices or offerings. I cannot say the same for many that I have met with choices different than mine, however.

TBS, medically based dietary restrictions are an entirely different subject as are those professing religious prohibitions.
 
#12 ·
OK now. If there are any more "challenges" to the general vegan ideology and/or these dishes, just let me know. I've got +/-200 or so people from the soup-kitchens and/or shelters where I've made these in that will be happy to talk to you. LOL.
IceMan,

May I inquire as to why you posted these as vegan rather than simply as interesting dishes for Thanksgiving?

I see them simply as dishes prepared without the use of animal products, just as I do on an almost daily basis, even though I am not a vegan, vegetarian, or other restricted diet choice.

Do I challenge the vegan/vegetarian ideology? You bet!

Do I challenge the dishes you've posted? You are kidding, correct?

Am I supposed to reject the dishes out of hand simply because I do not ascribe to the vegan/vegetarian ideology?

I'm almost certain that you do not intend to portray yourself or the food you prepare to be superior to alternatives, do you?

I'm willing to bet the food you serve is tasty, filling, and nutritious, isn't that sufficient?
 
#13 · (Edited)
READING IS FUNDAMENTAL.

Here's the opening of the "Original Post":
[h1]9 Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes Carnivores Will Eat Too[/h1]
Here's the link that goes with:

http://www.treehugger.com/slideshow...thanksgiving-recipes-carnivores-will-eat-too/

Does anyone notice any common corolating words? Did anyone (read: Pete) hit the link?

This is an informational, conversational, enlightening, alternate quisine thread. It's not here to tell anyone what they should or need to do, except maybe follow the recipes. In any post I've made or will make in the future, look to see if it included "LOL". That means I'm JOKING.

I look forward to reading, and welcome all positive replies, chippyness not so much.
[h1]Beer Stewed Pears with Ginger[/h1]
Beer Stewed Pears with Ginger (notice this time how the link matches the recipe/title name)

Jerry James Stone Living / Easy Vegetarian Recipes



It says "vegetarian", but no ingredient in the recipe says "not vegan", so PLEASE, go look. It looks really good.
 
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#14 ·
Thanks for research and good answer.
 
#16 ·
How could traditional things be established in my lifetime when in fact my grandparents celebrated Thanksgiving, they were a lot before me.

Talk about snooty responses, you are full of them. I assume you go to the net and do research to answer almost everyones ideas and statements posted here. Isn't it wonderful to be the final critic , and always right?

I read an article in a magi that said first Thanksgiving was assorted wild game and birds. Since I was not there, I don't know what game or birds they were , nor did article state which they were. The fact that they all sat down together and gave thanks is enough for me, and it could have been over burgers and fries.
 
#17 ·
#18 · (Edited)
[h1]Persimmon, Chèvre and Basil Pizza[/h1]
* VEGETARIAN ... BUT CAN BE VEGAN all you've gotta do is swap out the chevre for some kinda vegan cheese.

Persimmon, Chèvre and Basil Pizza

Persimmons aren't just for cookies and baked good. The fruit, which is extremely high in Vitamin C, also makes a great Fall pizza. This could very well be the tastiest way to fight off a cold. Enjoy this pizza with an off-dry Viogner.

Jerry James Stone / Easy Vegetarian Recipes



* Cook it darker than these pics suggest. Being a Chicagoland guy, that looks kinda pasty-white to me.
 
#20 ·
Please, find some way to tell me that there is anything wrong with this dish.
There is no way to get complete protein from this or any vegetarian dish. If we regularly eat without getting complete protein, our bodies cannibalize themselves to make up for the deficit. This means our bodies actually digest our muscles in order to get the complete protein they are starving for.

This is actually true. Is this what you meant?
 
#22 ·
There is no way to get complete protein from this or any vegetarian dish.

Cornelius, unless you are using the word "dish" to mean a single-product plate, then you are absolutely wrong, as well as going off on a tangent.

For starters, virtually any grain mixed with any legume provides complete protein. That's why you find so many versions of that sort of dish worldwide. Virtually every cuisine in the world has at least one version of rice and beans, or a varient of it.

But this thread, in particular, deals with a holiday meal, and it's the totality of it you have to examine when talking about nutritional values. If you want to ignore the other dishes to make a falacious point, then you have to level the playing field. If we were to serve a squash soup as the starter for a traditional T-giving feast, then it's a wrong dish because, using your argument, it doesn't provide a complete protein, and, therefore, our bodies are going to just feed on themselves.

Understand, please, that I am not a vegetarian by any means. If you smile at a mirror you will see, among other things, several long, sharp teeth. God invented them for the specific function of ripping and tearing meat, and I happily use them to that end. This does not mean I can't achieve nutritional balance by other means, and many people choose to do so. Incorrect claims will not change that basic truth.

For most of the world population, in fact, animal protein, when present at all, is there as a flavoring agent rather than as the main ingredient. Do you really think that most Asians or Africans, for instance, are injesting all their requred amino acids by the all but absent meat in their dishes. It just ain't so!

Again, I have to support IceMan in this. Y'all are reacting to the words vegan and vegetarian, not to the potential quality and taste of the dishes. And, let me stress again, had he merely presented all of these as interesting side dishes, nobody would find anything objectionable (well, maybe those using tofu. Tofu is a lot of things, IMO, but food isn't one of them /img/vbsmilies/smilies/rolleyes.gif) about them.
 
#23 ·
Yep, Cornelius: That really is dreadful nonsense (though pretty widespread).  I've married into a family of South Indians, vegetarians since birth most of them (not even eggs), and they have no trouble forming muscle.  Dal and rice, plus a variety of veg and fruit, and you're fine.

People who start from a meat-centered cuisine have to learn a few tricks if they stop eating meat, and vegans have to work a bit harder, but it's not *that* difficult.  

Like KYH I enjoy a little dead animal every now and again, but because it's super tasty, not because my body needs it.
 
#24 · (Edited)
Maybe now ... just maybe ... the trick is in accepting other people's feelings, and the choices they make in and with their lives? Maybe that's it. I started this thread for a simple reason, this is a community bulletin board, where people read, post and share culinary thoughts and ideas. I posted and shared my culinary thoughts and ideas about a vegan Thanksgiving. If you stop and think about the "Thanksgiving" idea, it's about celebrating and giving thanks for what we personally have, and what is important to each one of us. I invite everyone/anyone to join in with their positive contributions freely. I hope that everyone enjoys their day this Thursday, and eats all those things that they like. On Monday I'll change the title of this thread a little bit.
 
#25 · (Edited)
This next recipe is for BDL, KYHeirloomer and all the rest of you that appreciate tofu so much.

(KHY, I included you here in complete jest, my last post was not inclusive of you either.)
[h3]Tofu Pot Pie[/h3]
By: Becky Striepe

Isn't it funny that so many comfort foods are different takes on pie? What is it about hearty filling in a pastry or potato crust that warms our souls? This tofu pot pie is a cruelty-free take on the more conventional chicken pot pie, and it's sure to please! This is another situation where you can go with a pre-made vegan crust or make one from scratch.

Ingredients:
  • 1/4c olive oil
  • 1 pound tofu, cubed
  • 4 carrots, diced
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2t herbes de Provence
  • 3/4c mushrooms, sliced (I used button, but you could try other sorts, too!)
  • 1/3c flour
  • 2c water or veggie broth (or half water or broth and half white wine)
  • 2 vegan pie crusts
  • 4 scallions, chopped
Directions:

In a soup pot, heat the oil on medium high and saute the tofu, carrots, and spices until the carrots are a little soft, then add the mushrooms and scallions. Cook for a few minutes more, until the mushrooms get nice and soft.

Add the flour, turning the heat down to medium, and stir the mixture for about a minute, then add the liquid. Let the mixture boil and thicken for a few minutes, then turn off the heat and set aside.

Pour the filling into one of the pie crusts, then top with the second crust, making sure to pierce the top crust so steam can escape.

Stick the pot pie in the oven, and bake for 20 minutes at 350F or until the top is nice and brown.

Let it settle for about 5 minutes before serving.
 
#26 ·
This tofu pot pie is a cruelty-free take .......

Cruelty free? You kidding? Just how many soy beans died in fear and agony to make that curd? /img/vbsmilies/smilies/rolleyes.gif

Interesting historical note. American fascination tofu is not new. Ben Franklin discovered it in Paris, in the latter part of the 18th century, and brought back a recipe for it. It became all the rage among the upper-class. Like all fads, it soon passed.

But I wonder what part the eating of tofu played in creating a revolutionary spirit among the founding fathers? I mean, pretending you like that stuff has got to make you angry enough to start a shooting war.
 
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