Thanksgiving Day Parade #11: Apple, Sage & Molasses Vegan Holiday Roast with Mother-In-Law Stuffing

Not the best photo of this best meal. 

So I'm back on my Mac today and I can't for the life of me figure out how to get the photo editor to flipping work... so not only is this not my favorite picture of this simple yet snazzy Thanksgiving recipe, but it's not frakking edited at all. Kill me. I have a much better photo--really beautiful, and you guys know how hard I can be on my myself--but it won't load. This whole photo situation is probably the most stressful part of this post.

The Treasure 

As you may remember, we've been searching for vegan holiday roasts all over New York City. Last week after a pretty tramatic* doctor's appointment, I found myself wandering around near Central Park. That's when I found them. NYC's vegan holiday roast stockpile was being horded away at the Whole Foods at Columbus Circle. So like a good little food blogger, I grabbed as many as I could carry and put them on our credit card. I may have had a little buyer's remorse halfway home when my back freaked out on the subway; but all was forgiven by the time I was preheating my oven. See folks, I didn't just find the usual holy grail of holiday roasts... I found the new kid on the block that's causing such a stir. Yes, I found a Gardein Holiday Roast!

We're big fans of Gardein (obviously) so we've been looking out for this roast since we first heard rumors that it exsisted. And I am happy to report it lived up to our impossibly high standards. Seriously, I'm rough on products and don't post things I think will make anyone question a cruelty-free lifestyle. I think this holiday roast has great texture and flavor, and makes a great canvas for our Apple, Sage, & Molasses baste--which means it's great for anyone who wants to personlize their holiday a little. Yes, we did include tips below on how to level up the gravy that comes with your roast. The only thing I didn't love is the stuffing center - though I love that they included cranberries. Next time we make one, I might just have to get out our flavor injector and doll that up a bit. But really, who can complain about an excuse to make a big pot of your own stuffing?

Hidden in the back of a display of chicken-flavored stuffings was a lone Whole Foods brand vegan stuffing package. It was a great find for lazy, emotionally-drained me and gave me a great excuse to pilage Whole Foods anti-pasta bar. See, I've been playing around with this idea of making an Italian-themed stuffing for awhile now... it's an idea who's time has come. I love this stuffing so much, I had some the next day for breakfast and then like an hour and a half later for brunch. The idea of an Italian-themed stuffing with green olives, mushrooms, and artichoke hearts isn't new. I've been making artichoke heart "oyster" stuffing for years... but I really think the combo of the baste and this stuffing makes for a holiday meal that's both sweet and zesty. Yeah, I used the word zesty. It's a silly word, but it does a better job of describing this really unique and appetizing flavor than, I don't know tangy, savory, or like, piquant. Though piquant seems pretty prefect too. 

Thanksgiving is almost here. I apologize for posting this so late in the season, but the clock is a-ticking so let's get started. 

The Vegan Love Boat Contest

Vegan Italian Sausage Chunky Minestrone made with Tofurky Italian Sausage

Every year around this time there is a excitement that hits The Shannon homestead. We wake up every chilly morning looking forward to dinner. We go to bed looking forward to leftovers for lunch the next day. The leaves begin to change on Brooklyn and we get out our cotton and acrylic sweaters and the whole time we look forward to pre-heating that oven. See folks - It's Tofurky season! 

Now usually we make like 3 or 4 holiday roasts around this time of year to test recipes and because they're awesome but this year Hurricane Sandy hit NYC. After spending a small fortune on subway trips around the city, we haven't been able to find a single holiday roast. Now maybe it's all the shipments being messed up but I'd like to think it's because of the increase in people exploring a meat-free lifestyle. Either way - the bad news is that we don't have a tested recipe to share today but the show must go on! So in the spirit of just going with it - today we're launching our 2nd Annual Thanksgiving Contest! Well this year it's more a vegan all-star contest. You know it's like The Love Boat. All these celebrities in one spot having adventures and stuff. Yes,we're a little late this year but we're giving away a prize pack featuring some of our favorite vegan products that we hope will make up for it! 

• 1 Coupon for one free package of Tofurky Deli Slices, Tempeh OR Sausages
• 1 Coupon for one free package of a Gardein product of your choice
• 1 Coupon for one free package of a Earth Balance product of your choice
• Discount Coupons for Amy's, Sweet & Sara Vegan Marshmallows and more Tofurky
• 1 Vegan Marshmallow Variety Pack from Sweet & Sara

Last year, we asked you to leave a comment below telling us what Vegan Thanksgiving tradition or dish you're the most looking forward to but this year - we'll keep it simple. All you have to do is leave a comment below with link to a cute Autumn themed animal picture - like a kitty playing in leaves, a bulldog in a pumpkin or a Llama in a scarf - and we'll randomly choose ONE MEMBER from the comments below to win!

 

Sorry folks you have to live in the United States to win. You also have to be a member so we can contact you later to send you your prize packet. If you're not already a member, you can find the button to join in the right hand column. We'll be choosing the winner on Thursday Nov. 15th.

So start up your search engines and let's set our course for adventure!*

* That's a line from The Love Boat Theme if you didn't click the link earlier.

It's Dan's Birthday Again!

Photo Credit : V.K.Rees Photography

Once a year we get a chance to celebrate one of my favorite days - The day we got Dan!

I obviously am madly in with love my husband and co-Shannon but that's not why you should be excited. See Dan has been a dedicated and effective activist for over half his life. He has played a part in making the world a better place in real ways that have significantly improved this world for animals, kids, the homeless, the environment... and of course anyone who has every shared a beer with him. Last year I asked you to do something sweet for the animals and take a not-yet-vegan friend out for a veggie burger tonight for Dan... this year I'm asking you to do it again!

We love to travel and eat at vegan restaurants all over the world - so consider it a personal favor for us both to support the local eateries in your area so next time we're there we can eat enjoy them too!

XO

PS - We're launching a super awesome gold pants contest tomorrow. You've been warned.

The Worst

A photo of the Caribbean Ocean from our babymoon to Tulum, Mexico

Last week was supposed to be the week we talked about being a vegan traveling in Mexico. We were going to talk about our babymoon to Tulum, Mexico and what we saw and ate there. We were going to veganize Mexican recipes of what we weren't able to eat there and I even had a little love letter to beans and rice I wanted to share. We were also going to make homemade vegan candy for our friend Susanne's birthday and share a bunch of vegan candy tips and recipes. We have some new recipes for chili, donuts and waffles - featuring a lot of pumpkin that would have shown up this week if we had time. But that's not what happened last week.

Last week, we lost our perfectly healthy baby girl.

Now there are going to be those who wonder if this is because I'm vegan or because of the amount of traveling we did. There are also those who follow me on Facebook and Twitter - who know that this pregnancy has been hard on me. I've had to deal with round the clock morning sickness and fatigue. But none of this had anything to do with what happened last week. I can assure you that while this tragedy may have a little to do with my age, really this was caused by a personal medical condition that no one found out about until it was too late. We've been assured that now that they know about this problem, we can try again--that there is no reason we won't be able to have a happy, healthy baby some day.

But to be honest that brings us little comfort right now. The little girl I was carrying was over 5 months along and had become apart of our family in many ways, if mostly in the promise of a child. To say it has been difficult to let her go would be beyond an understatement. It was would just be a lie. It's been the worst and hardest thing either of us have ever had to do

Sometimes I wake up and find comfort in knowing we might still be parents some day, and other days I wake up wishing that time travel was possible. It makes it easier knowing that we have friends and family who will be there to support us. While we would love to hear from you and welcome cards and emails, please know that we live in a tiny apartment and don't have much room for flowers and other gifts. For anyone who's interested, we would welcome donations to the Woodstock Animal Sanctuary--one of our very favorite places on earth--made in memory of our little girl, Piper Shannon.

Thank you in advance for your love and support. We'll be back to posting recipes soon.