Friendsgiving 2024

Had a wonderful Friendsgiving event with a 100% vegan and gluten-free menu! Here's the full menu if you're needing inspiration :)

Cheese Board

Grapes, Pear Slices, Apple Slices, Plant Provisions slices, Darë Vegan Balsamic Fig Cheese, Nuts for Cheese Black Garlic, Rebel Gruyere and Smoked Cheddar cheeses which I get from Purple Carrot since it's cheaper and more reliable shipping than buying through Rebel. Variety of gluten-free crackers, sweet gherkins, pickled onions and Sicilian olives. 

Main Event

Savoury Stuffed Tofu Log - this I prepped the day before and cooked it and then just reheated on the day.

Collard Greens - I do these the night before in the slow cooker and keep them set to warm afterward. I always make this because it's always a crowd pleaser ;)

Green Bean Casserole

Cranberry-Glazed Roasted Butternut Squash - I prepped the veg for this the day before

Rosemary Garlic Potatoes - I love adding in garlic cloves as well for caramelized garlic

Glazed Brussels Spouts - We had plain ones from Publix but this is what I normally make.

Golden Gravy - this is a crowd pleasure with not much effort.

Cranberry Sauce - I had some frozen from last Thanksgiving but I love using Ikea's Lingonberry jam at a pinch! 

Dessert-served with Oatly vanilla ice-cream

Cherry Hazelnut Tea Cake -my grandmother's Hungarian tea cake is always a win!

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Chocolate Pecan Pie

I had a slight fail adapting the pecan pit receipt to a chocolate one because I made the graham cracker crust too moist so next time I'd make sure it was drier and maybe freeze it prior to using. I think this would be good with hazelnuts instead of pecans as well, giving it a Nutella feel!

Pecan Pie

Ingredients

Filling

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup brown rice syrup or agave nectar
3/4 cup maple syrup
4 tbsp. Earth Balance dairy-free, soy-free margarine or coconut oil
3/4 cup applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch salt
2 cups broken pecans
about 100 whole pecans

Graham Cracker Crust

1 ½ cups (170 g) vegan GF chocolate graham cracker crumbs (or 11 graham cracker sheets pulverized to crumbs in a food processor)

2 Tablespoons vegan sugar

1 Tablespoons vegan brown sugar packed

5 Tablespoons (100 g) vegan butter melted

1/2 cup vegan chocolate pieces for the drizzle.

Method

Crust

Pulverize graham crackers in food processor until finely ground into crumbs (skip this step if starting with graham cracker crumbs). 

Stir together graham cracker crumbs and sugars in a medium-sized bowl.  

Add melted butter and use a fork to combine ingredients well until crumbs are all moistened.

Pour mixture into pie plate or springform pan.  U

se the bottom of a measuring cup to firmly pack crumbs into the bottom of the pan and (if using a pie pan) gently press up the sides.  

Use your fingers to pack crumbs tightly into the sides of the pie pan.

If the crust needs to be pre-baked, bake on 350F (175C) for 10-13 minutes and allow to cool before filling. 

If using this crust as part of a different recipe, bake according to your recipe's instructions.  

If this crust is for a no-bake recipe, refrigerate or freeze for 10-20 minutes before filling.

Filling

In a small saucepan, heat the brown sugar, rice syrup and maple syrup to a simmer.

Simmer a few minutes, until the brown sugar has dissolved.

Turn off the heat and add the margarine, stir to melt.

Then add the applesauce and vanilla and stir to combine.  Set aside to cool.

Line a pie plate with pastry crust and flute edges as desired.

Fill the pie shell with the broken pecans.

Pour the cooled applesauce mixture over the pecans.

Place the whole pecans in a circular pattern on top of the pecan filling.

Place the pie in the oven and reduce the heat to 350 degrees.

Bake about 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown (the mixture will be hot and bubbly).

Once pie is cooled to room temperature melt the chocolate in a double broiler and drizzle over the top, refrigerating immediately, can be made the day before.

Serve at room temperature and enjoy!

Cranberry-Glazed Roasted Butternut Salad

I saw this receipt on a vegan Facebook post (no source given) and thought it would go well with our Friendsgiving dinner!

This fall-inspired salad brings together roasted butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, and sweet potatoes, topped with tangy cranberry glaze, creamy goat cheese, and extra cranberries for a delicious balance of sweet and savory flavors.

Cranberry-Glazed Roasted Butternut Salad

Ingredients:

For the Roasted Vegetables:

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon dried thyme

For the Cranberry Glaze:

1/2 cup cranberry juice

1/4 cup dried cranberries

2 tablespoons maple syrup/date syrup

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Finishing touches;

4 oz vegan goat or feta cheese, crumbled 

1/2 cup dried cranberries (for garnish)

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

Method

Step 1: Roast the Vegetables

Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).

In a large bowl, toss the butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, and sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme until well coated.

Spread the vegetables on a large baking sheet in a single layer.

Roast for 25-30 minutes, stirring halfway through, until tender and caramelized.

Step 2: Prepare the Cranberry Glaze

While the vegetables are roasting, prepare the cranberry glaze. In a small saucepan, combine the cranberry juice, dried cranberries, honey (or maple syrup), and balsamic vinegar.

Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens into a glaze.

Step 3: Assemble the Salad - Once the vegetables are roasted, transfer them to a large serving bowl.

Drizzle the cranberry glaze over the roasted vegetables and gently toss to coat.

Sprinkle the crumbled goat cheese and extra dried cranberries on top.

Step 4: Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired, and serve warm.

Savoury Stuffed Tofu Log

Original recipe from Hooked on Plants. The stuffing was really good and I love that the recipe includes enough for a side tray of the stuffing

Savoury Stuffed Tofu Log

Ingredients

Tofu Turkey:

4 blocks organic firm tofu (each 350g)

2 vegetable bouillon cubes

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

2 tbsp onion powder

2 tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp fresh sage, chopped

1 tsp salt

2½ cups of vegan stuffing (recipe below)

3-4 tbsp Bragg's liquid aminos (for basting)

Vegan Pecan Stuffing:

8 cups GF bread of choice, cubed

1 cup large yellow onion, chopped

1½ cups celery, chopped

7-8 white mushrooms, chopped

1 tbsp dried thyme, minced

1 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced

2 tbsp fresh sage, minced

2 cups vegetable broth

½ cup pecans, chopped

½ tsp Pink Himalayan or sea salt

½ tsp black pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 400°F. 

Press tofu: Place a layer of paper towel on a plate, then the tofu cubes, then another couple layers of paper towel, then a cutting board, then a bowl filled with water. Let sit for at least 30 minutes (the longer the better)

Meanwhile, make the stuffing! Start by spreading the cubed bread out over a cookie sheet. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes (stir at the 10 minute mark), until it's dry.

In a large pot, oil-free sauté the onions, celery and mushrooms for 5 minutes (just add a bit of the veggie broth if it's sticking), until softened. Add the herbs and salt and pepper. Mix it up, then add 1½ cups of broth. Add the bread and pecans then mix everything well. The stuffing should be moist, but not soaking wet. If your stuffing is still a little dry, keep adding a bit of veggie broth until it's moist (you shouldn't need more than 2 cups total)

Set aside 2½ cups of stuffing for the turkey filling.

Pour the rest of the stuffing into a baking dish and bake in the oven for 25 minutes (hello side dish!)

Prepare your 'turkey' zone: Lay out 2 sheets of tin foil, side by side overlapping about 3 inches, with a layer of parchment on top. The parchment paper should be about 15 inches long by 13 inches wide, with the tinfoil as a border beneath it.

Time to make the 'turkey': To go easy on your food processor, start by blending half of all the tofu turkey ingredients together (except for the stuffing and Bragg's liquid aminos) for at least 1 minute in your food processor, or until a dough-like ball starts to form. Place that mixture as a ball on the parchment paper.

Then, blend the other half of all the tofu turkey ingredients (again, except for the stuffing and Bragg's liquid aminos) in the food processor, and add it to the pile on the parchment.

Spread out the tofu mixture into a ½ - ¾ inch thick rectangle (about 8x12")

Spoon the 2½ cups of stuffing into the middle of the tofu rectangular 'turkey' in a lengthwise tube shape.

Use the parchment paper to roll one side of the tofu turkey over the stuffing, then the other side until the tofu turkey just overlaps. Give it a nice squeeze to make sure it's all overlapping by at least 1 inch.

Unwrap it and fold the ends. Use your fingers to press down any open areas, or cracks.

Pour Bragg's liquid aminos over top and use basting brush to cover the whole turkey.

Then wrap it up with the parchment and tinfoil nice and tight, folding on top and twisting the ends (so it looks like a tootsie roll turkey)

Bake in the oven for 1 hour.

Let cool 15 minutes, then place in the fridge.

When you're ready to serve it, take it out of the fridge, slice in 1 inch slices, wrap it back up and bake for 20 minutes at 350°F.

Vegan Afternoon Tea Experience - Jacksonville, FL

I was lucky enough to attend the Vegan Afternoon Tea Experience with two of my closest friends. The entire event was vegan and gluten free! It's so rare as vegans (especially GF ones) that we get to eat food at fancy soirees so I was so excited about this and it was just delightful!

The afternoon tea was created and catered by Belgian Chef Danielle Maupertuis, the UK’s premier executive vegan pastry chef and the author of "Vegans Deserve Better Than a Fruit Salad". You can see I was looking very nonchalant as she signed a copy of her book for me LOL. There are a number of gluten free recipes in the book but Chef Danielle told me her forthcoming recipe book is ALL vegan & gluten free! YAAAYYYY!

The event was organized by Green Luxury Living and hosted by Vevetas Tapas by Pink Salt. 

Vegan Korean Kimchi Soup (Kimchi Sundubu Jjigae)

Veganized from original recipe on Korean Bapsang. This dish was very pungent but in all the right ways. So delicious!

Vegan Korean Kimchi Soup (Kimchi Sundubu Jjigae)

Ingredients

1 package (12 ounces) extra soft/silken tofu

⅓ cup thinly sliced kimchi

3 ounces faux beef (I used Meati mushroom steaks)

1 to 3 teaspoons gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes/paste)

2 tsp minced garlic

1 Tbls sesame oil use a little more if using more gochugaru

1 cup water 

1/2 Tbls vegan fish sauce (or Ume Plum Vinegar)

3 Tbls juice from kimchi

Pinch black pepper

Salt to taste

1 scallion, finely chopped

1/2 tsp Black Salt (to substitute the egg taste)

Optional: fishy vegan products such as Dulse flakes

Method

Cut the vegan steak and kimchi into small thin strips. 

Add the kimchi, meat, gochugaru, garlic and sesame oil to a small pot, and place it over medium heat.

Stir-fry until the meat is almost cooked, 3 - 4 minutes.

Pour in water, vegan fish sauce and the juice from the kimchi. 

Bring it to a boil, and continue to boil for 3 - 4 minutes. 

Add the soft tofu in big chunks. Stir in the salt and black pepper. 

Cook for 4 -5 minutes. 

Add the chopped scallion just before removing the pot from the heat. 

Oat Milk

 It’s easy to make your own oatmilk!

Do not precook the oats! The milk will be slimy if the oats are left long enough for the starch to release.

My favourite version was with added pecans and quinoa flakes, it was so creamy!

Oat Milk

Ingredients 

1 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup cashews

4 cups purified water

Date/Agave/Maple Syrup (optional but adds a touch of sweetness and a natural preservative)

Method

In a high speed blender blitz all ingredients for 30 seconds. Any longer can release the starches.

Pour through a nut bag (or fine sieve with cheese cloth) in container of choice and store refrigerated for up to a week.

You might need to shake before using.

Vegan Béarnaise Sauce

I veganized two recipes from Simply Recipes and Classy Vegan to get this delicious Vegan Béarnaise Sauce - served here with mushroom based Meati "Steak".

Vegan Béarnaise Sauce

Ingredients

3 Tbls vegan butter/margarine

2 Tbls brown rice flour

Pinch of turmeric

1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk

Big pinch of cayenne pepper

2 Tbls nutritional yeast

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 Tbls Vegan Mayo

1/4 cup vegan dry white wine

3 Tbls whte wine vinegar

1/4 cup shallots, chopped finely

1/4 tsp black pepper

1.5 Tbls fresh tarragon leaves chopped and divided (or 2 tsp dried)
Salt and pepper to taste


Method

Make the tarragon base:

In a small skillet or saucepan over medium-low heat, simmer the wine, vinegar, shallots, black pepper and 1/2 tablespoon of tarragon until most of the liquid has evaporated, but the pan is not completely dry. 

There should still be a tablespoon or two of liquid in the bottom of the pan. 

Set aside and let cool to lukewarm.

Heat a small saucepan over medium low heat add the vegan butter and heat until it is sizzling and boiling quite a bit.

Whisk in the flour all at once to make a paste and continue to whisk it constantly for about a minute.  Add in a small pinch of turmeric for color and mix well (you want your sauce yellow, but you don’t want it too yellow).

Slowly whisk in soy milk and bring sauce to a boil, whisking frequently.

Boil for 2 to 3 minutes and remove from heat.

Whisk in the cayenne and nutritional yeast.

Add the lemon juice and mix well, add salt and pepper to taste.

Stir the tarragon base into the sauce and stir in the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly chopped tarragon. 

Lastly, add the vegan mayo for a little bit more creaminess.

Taste and add salt/pepper to taste, or a little more lemon juice, to taste.

Chocolate Pear Pudding

Original recipe by Nigella Lawson :) I didn't use the chocolate sauce when I made it but I left it in the original recipe for optional indulgence!

Chocolate Pear Pudding

Ingredients

For pudding;

830g pear halves in juice (2 cans)

125g GF flour

25g cocoa powder

125g vegan sugar

150g vegan butter

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 egg replacers or 1/4 cup apple sauce

2 tsp vanilla extract

For chocolate sauce (optional)

200g vegan dark chocolate pieces

120ml 1 teaspoon instant coffee made up with ½cup boiling water

90g vegan sugar

120ml vegan cream/coconut cream

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400ºF and grease a 22cm / 8½ inch square ovenproof

dish with vegan butter.

Drain the pears well and arrange them on the base of the dish.

Put all the remaining ingredients in a food processor and blitz until smooth, or use a hand held mixer.

Spread the brown batter over the pears, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Let stand out of the oven for 5 or 10 minutes and then cut into slabs and serve with chocolate sauce.

To make the chocolate sauce, place the chocolate pieces in a heavy based saucepan with the coffee and

sugar and melt over a low heat, stirring occasionally.

Once it has nearly melted stir in the cream, and once it has made a smooth sauce take off the heat and

pour into a jug.

Vegan GF Chocolate Mug Cake

This recipe was so good, and very quick and easy. Five minutes, maybe less, to delicious comforting mug cake!

I had to change the recipe by Nora Cooks slightly for GF but it still worked great!!

Vegan GF Chocolate Mug Cake

Ingredients

2 Tbls GF flour

2 Tbls cocoa powder

2 Tbls vegan sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 Tbls vegetable oil (I used avocado oil)

3 Tbls non-dairy milk

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 Tbls dairy free chocolate chips

Instructions

Add the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt and baking powder to a mug and whisk to combine.

Pour in the oil, non-dairy milk and vanilla into the mug with the dry ingredients and stir well with a spoon. 

Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.

Cook in the microwave for 40 seconds for gooey in the middle or 50-60 seconds for fully cooked.

Serve immediately alone or with vegan vanilla ice-cream!

Note: to be a little bit sneaky I make a few ahead of time with just the dry ingredients and put them in the pantry. That way I only have the three wet ingredients to add ;)

Note for the health conscious!

With oil the stats are here;

But if you use unsweetened apple sauce instead of oil you can have your cake and eat it too! I mean it’s still cake but, you know…