Thanksgiving 2K9 Gymmie Style

I haven't been big on eating "holiday" foods on holidays since it's just me for one and two never really wanted to take the time to make much of anything.

But this year I decided to do *something* even if not totally traditional.

I decided to go with a few recipes in the 1,000 Vegan Recipes book that had been done before.

After all the raving I've been wanting to try the Soy-tan Dream Cutlets on page 294 that The Divine Miss V made on October 19th and by Ms. Veganorama on October 25th.

As the other ladies stated the recipe is simple to put together. The cutlets are very versatile as they can be used for sandwiches, in salad,s used in stir-fry dishes or as is. I did not make any change to the recipe.

For the original meal I had it with the golden gravy from the Country-Fried Tofu with Golden Gravy on page 285 originally made by Ms. Veganorama on November 7th.

The gravy was easy to put together and like many recipes in the book consisted of ingredients already on hand.

I did not have any unsweetened milk but I thought it was fine with the sweetened milk.

One staple of Thanksgiving seems to be the Green Bean Casserole. Not being a fan of mushrooms I think I've only had it once so I don't know what it's suppose to taste like.

The Green Bean Casserole Redux on page 370 was originally done by Batgirl on November 20th. Other than using sweetened soy milk the only change made was omitting the mushrooms. To me the dish tasted fine with the sweetened milk and since I have no "memory" to compare it to nor any Omni's around I don't know if the taste was "off" by making those changes.

The casserole came together nicely since it took approximately 45 minutes to bake I made that first while working on the other dishes.

I don't have a steamer so I used a trick I learned from someone of using a colander in a pot to create the steaming effect.

When I had the Soy-tan Dream Cutlets today I had them with some Veganaise mixed with Sriacha that The Divine Miss V told me about. A very yummy combination that goes great with the cutlets.

The cutlets are on my definitely will make a zillion times list. I look forward to trying the gravy with the Country Fried Tofu and the Casserole will definitely be made again. Happy Nomming :)

--Gymmie

Green Bean Casserole Redux

I positively detest green beans. In fact, the very mention in a recipe is usually enough to make my stomach turn. I have NEVER liked them, even when I was a baby I would spit out any food with green beans in it. Finally, around age 16, my mom gave up and stopped making me eat them. Hallelujah, sweet respite from the evil green devils!

However, there is one BIG exception -- I LOVE green bean casserole. I don't care if it's made with dented bottom-shelf cans of store-brand slimy green travesties, I will inhale the stuff. When I went vegan, I was worried that green bean casserole was a thing of the past. Thankfully through the last couple of years, I've found {and created} several awesome green bean casseroles, even better than the "dump a bunch of cans together" kind that I had in my pregan days.

With my love of the stuff, it was only a matter of time until Green Bean Casserole Redux {page 370} graced my glass baking dish.

Overall this was a very good rendition of the casserole. It uses fresh green beans and fresh mushrooms, which I appreciated. The gravy was a little thin, so the cornstarch thickener needed to be doubled, but that could just be a matter of personal preference. Once in the 9x13" pan, the layer of casserole was pretty thin too, leading me to think that perhaps it would be just fine baked in a 9x9" instead.

The casserole was delicious, although definitely needed a little more flavor. I think next time I'd add some seasonings to the gravy to perk it up a bit. The Supertoddler looooved it, but picked all of the french fried onions off and ate only the green beans underneath -- weirdo!

Overall, it is a good, solid green bean casserole. Definitely worthy of your celebratory dinner table.

-- Your Friendly Neighborhood Batgirl