I thought I’d share a couple of recipes the Valdes Family uses to make our Thanksgiving as traditional as possible without the time-honored big bird as the centerpiece. In some ways it’s probably one of the easiest meals to make without meat because your favorite dishes usually associated with the meal don’t have to change – mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberries, salad, green vegetable, corn, pumpkin pie, whatever you like.

Usually our Thanksgiving meal is almost entirely composed of food that we grew in our own garden such as potatoes, squash, corn, brussel sprouts, onions, garlic, sweet potatoes, etc. We’ll also have other Wisconsin grown foods like cranberries and wild rice.

The last couple of years we have filled sweet dumpling squash halves with wild rice and bread stuffing and baked them to perfection. This year we started our squash late but still got a 17 lb. Hubbard so we will have a masterpiece in the center of the table!

Probably the hardest item to recreate is a tasty gravy. Here are a couple of ideas for you:

The first one uses chicken style seitan from White Wave.

1 package chicken style seitan in broth
2 T. Flour
2 T. Nutritional Yeast
1 tsp. stone ground or Dijon mustard

Drain the seitan setting aside the juice in a glass measuring cup and add water to make 2 cups. Heat a heavy bottomed or cast iron frying pan and dry roast flour and nutritional yeast until slightly browned and fragrant, stirring constantly. Remove from pan and blend with the 2 cups of liquid set aside earlier and mustard. Pour this mixture back into the frying pan and cook until thick. Add the sliced seitan heating until warmed through. Adjust seasonings with salt, pepper or veggie broth if needed.

Or if you prefer no seitan try this one:

1 T. Olive Oil
1 Shallot, chopped
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1 Cup Sliced Shiitakes
2 T. Cornstarch or Arrowroot
1 T. Tamari
1 T. Liquid Aminos
2 Cups Water

Sauté shallots and garlic in a little bit of olive oil, add some sliced shiitakes or other mix of mushrooms and cook for a few more minutes. Blend water with cornstarch or arrowroot, Tamari, and Liquid Aminos. Add to pan and cook until thick. Adjust seasonings with salt, pepper or veggie broth if needed.

Or experiment and try a combination of the two recipes. The amounts in these recipes are for 3-4 people so be sure to double or quadruple the recipes for larger crowds.

Have a peaceful and tasty Thanksgiving!