http://www.care2.com/greenliving/bird-free-feast.html
A Bird-Free Thanksgiving Feast
I love birds. I love to see them flying by, perching on branches, trotting across a meadow. Seeing one in a roasting pan or splayed out on a Thanksgiving platter? Not so much.
But the thing about a holiday turkey is that it has become the iconic symbol screaming “festive!” “tradition!” “abundance!” It’s the centerpiece of the table, the dish which all sides revolve around. Can you have a Thanksgiving feast without a big bird in the midst of it all?
Well, of course you can. And the scheme doesn’t have to involve a tofu turkey. (Although I am truly charmed by the concept of a tofu turkey, I’ve just never taken the leap from amused novelty to a tofu turkey on the table.) A feast employing an abundance of hearty and vibrant side dishes will hardly miss a turkey–or you can also make a spectacular non-avian main course to take center stage. We’ve featured a few of my favorite holiday vegetarian main dishes on Care2 over the years, each of them stunning in their own ways:
Pumpkin Tamales with Cherry Mole
Acorn Squash with Jeweled Wild Rice
Spicy Sweet Potato Patties with White Bean Stew
I have made all of these, and can attest to their crowd-pleasing capacity. But I have to say I have little power to resist a recipe I saw in Gourmet this month: Roasted Pumpkin Cheese Fondue. I have played around with it a bit making it a little lighter (which is relative), you can see the original here. And since this recipe really kind of relies on milk and cheese, I am at a loss as how to adapt it to a vegan recipe. So here is an equally delicious vegan stuffed pumpkin recipe–Cornbread-Stuffed Pumpkin with Greens and Walnuts–if that is something that might interest you instead.
Roasted Pumpkin Cheese Fondue
1 15-inch whole grain baguette, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 medium orange pumpkin (in the 7-pound range)
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
2 1/2 cups coarsely grated Gruyere
2 1/2 cups coarsely grated Emmental
1 tablespoon olive oil
1. Preheat oven to 425F with rack in lower third.
2. Lightly toast baguette slices on a baking sheet in oven until tops are crisp but not golden, about 7 minutes. Remove and let cool.
3. Remove top of pumpkin by cutting a 3-inch circle in the top. Scrape out seeds and any loose fibers from inside pumpkin and pumpkin top with a spoon (save seeds to roast–yum!). Sprinkle inside of pumpkin with 1/2 teaspoon salt.
4. Whisk together milk, broth, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Mix together cheeses in another bowl.
5. Put a layer of toasted bread in bottom of pumpkin, then cover with about 1 cup cheese and about 1/2 cup milk mixture. Continue layering bread, cheese, and milk mixture until pumpkin is filled to about 1/2 inch from top, using all of milk mixture. (You may have some bread and cheese left over.)
6. Cover pumpkin with top and put in an small roasting pan. Brush outside of pumpkin all over with olive oil. Bake until pumpkin is tender and filling is puffed, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.
7. Serve the whole pumpkin at the table–scoop out “fondue” while scraping the pumpkin flesh out as well.
8. Enjoy the (live) birds outside.
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20 comments
add your comment »To all of you caring animal friends and vegetarians and veggies out there, if you have ' nt done it yet, then I will please ask you to sign this petition for helping the poor turkeys at Butterball. Thanks.
http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/butterball_cak?c=weekly_enews
Wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving.
Grretings from a veggiefriend.
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Kudos to those of you going veggie. If you must have meat to please carnivore relatives buy organic and or local where you know the birds are treated right and not pumped full or antibiotics, hormones etc. Some of the big AG flocks are owned by drug and chemical companies. Check PETA to see how abused they are treated.
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I'm going on my sixth year of being vegetarian, and it's one of the things I am most proud of. I really believe that we need to extend compassion beyond our own species!!! I don't understand the Thanksgiving tradition of conversing about gratitude and giving while what has made the greatest sacrifice is speared on our forks. Thanks to all of you who will not be supporting the cruelty!
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This will be my first totally vegetarian Thanksgiving. I have never been a beef or pork eater, but I used to eat chicken and turkey...until I began raising them!! Now I am completely vegetarian. I am not vegan because I eat the eggs of the chickens and ducks and geese I raise, and I use the milk from the cows and goats I raise for drinking, ice cream and cheese. Please note, my animals are treated like royalty...I love them all!! I do not, however, buy into the factory farm !!!
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I am sooo Looking forward to some tofurky! And an acorn squash. My cats are always happy to get my share of the meat.. ... and their share...
This year, I won't be eating any cheese though, that was the hardest thing for me to cut out. And I feel much better now.
Thank you all of you who choose a compassionate lifestyle.
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My husband and I have not eaten meat in about 20 years...and yes, we both really enjoyed it, but it was getting harder for either of us to enjoy, as we both realized that we love live animals more than the flavor of meat! We are not vegans but I feel that any postive change when it comes to saving animals makes a difference. I do not judge others and hope they do not judge me. My husband discovered "Quorn" Turk'y Roast not too long ago...it is amazing...and no sweet turkeys are killed...it may look a bit weird but it is delicious! We even get to enjoy turk'y "leftovers"...it is great cold in sandwiches with "stuffing". We tried Tofurky one Thanksgiving and just did not like it...mostly we have enjoyed Linda McCartney's Festive Loaf, which is wonderful. But I hope some will try the Quorn "turkey" and perhaps start a new tradition! They also make amazing faux chicken products! "Quorn" does have a website (I just checked so I hope you will check it out! And NO I do not work for them!!)... and the fact that we can find their products in regular supermarkets in Maine...is amazing and may mean you will be able to find their products without too much trouble too. By the way...we often have tons of REAL turkeys coming to our backyard...they love the cracked corn and other goodies we feed to them (and all the creatures) and they "rake" the lawn while they're eating too! Sweet Birds! Let's hope that Peace can become the "norm" for all the animals...and for people too! Happ
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I am a vegetarian and advocate for animal protection. Have you heard of Gentle Thanksgiving? ( gentlethanksgiving.org ) I am proud to promote this on my website so that others may consider a day or lifestyle without contributing to animal cruelty and suffering. Thank you for your post and for your compassion for animal protection. Feel free to visit my website at www.KindnessNotCruelty.org
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*snort* *guffaw* Sorry. I'm sure there are some very sweet turkeys out there, but when I think of turkeys, I think of this turkey at a local bird center named Devin...a jerk of a male turkey who will chase and attack you if you don't stand up for yourself. Certainly, it is true that Turkeys--like any other social, male bird, so I'm not just picking on turkeys here--are very territorial, and thus not generally known for being particularly sweet in nature. Frankly, eating a Turkey is probably a more environmentally sound choice than say, Roast Beef. (though I must admit to preferring the later.) With any meat, you should buy it from a local farmer, who is almost certainly going to treat their animals with a lot more care and in the proper spirit of animal husbandry, rather than some big agrofarm business. I suspect you could avoid any connections with the veal business by buying locally/organic as well.
That said, I certainly respect other people's choice to be vegan. But it bothers me when vegans try to harshly judge people who either either cheese or meat (particularly if they eat it locally).
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This is wonderful, but why not try to have a Vegan Thanksgiving? This way no one gets hurt. Veal is a direct by-product of the dairy industry - and by using milk and cheese you are still contributing to the pain and suffering of animals. However, eliminating Turkey is a great first step!!!!! I will be enjoying a VEGAN FEAST this year and am looking forward to it... stuffed pumpkin, root vegetables, Pear and Raspberry dessert... I can't wait!
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I just recently learned about how affectionate and lovable turkeys are, and how they will actually fall asleep in your arms making an almost purring sound. I will definitely never ever ever eat one of these beautiful creatures again, so thanks for the great alternative recipes for Thanksgiving!
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