By: Rachael Buselmeier
Coming home for the holidays can be a wonderful time to reconnect with relatives and appreciate all the good things in life. A shared meal brings loved ones together... until Aunt Betsy wants to know why you aren’t eating any turkey.
All families are different, but in many, being the only vegan at the holiday meal can open you to a lot of unwanted attention. To avoid an interrogation and a plate with only cranberry sauce this Thanksgiving, consider helping out with meal prep.
To help with the research, here are some recipes.
Vegan Dinner Rolls (Serves 12)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 packet (2 1/4 tsp) rapid-rise yeast
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (sub up to 1/3 with whole-wheat pastry), plus more for kneading
- 1/2 cup unsweetened rice milk
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- Combine dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
- Heat the wet ingredients in a separate bowl until they are the temperature of bath water.
- Thoroughly mix the wet and dry ingredients for 2 minutes.
- Continue adding small amounts of flour until you form a ball of smooth dough.
- Nead the dough on a floured silpat, then let rest 10 minutes.
- Form the dough into 12 balls and place in an 8x8 greased pan.
- Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size - about 30-45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake for 18-20 minutes.
- 1 cup cooked farro
- 3 zucchini
- 1 chopped small onion
- ¼ chopped red bell pepper
- ½ cup chopped carrot
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- ¼ cup roasted shelless pumpkin seeds
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ⅓ cup fresh basil (optional)
- Preheat your oven to 400
- Cut the zucchini in half and scoop out the center flesh, saving it in a bowl
- Blanch the zucchini in boiling water for 5 minutes and then run it under cold sink water
- Saute onion, pepper, carrot, and zucchini core in a skillet with olive oil
- Combine the mixture with farro and place into the center of the balanced zucchini
- Bake the zucchinis in the oven for 20 minutes
- Top with fresh basil and pumpkin seeds
