to cut to the point, sometimes it’s hard to enjoy holiday dinners as a vegan. being surrounded by friends and family is wonderful–don’t get me wrong–it’s just you can’t enjoy 90% of the dishes they bring. that’s why I always try to make a entree/protein dish, side dish and dessert. since this year’s dishes seemed to be a hit with our carnivore friends, I’ll be sharing the recipes for the three dishes I brought!
chocolate chip pumpkin muffins:
•2 cups of flour
•1 1/2 tsp of baking soda
•1 cup of sugar
•1 1/2 cup of brown sugar
•1/2 cup olive oil
•1/2 cup of coffee
•1/2 cup of applesauce
•2 cups of chocolate chips
•pumpkin pie mix
•dash of nutmeg
•dash of cinnamon
mix your dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately. combined your wet and dry ingredients until there are no lumps in your batter. spoon into a muffin pan– I got this fall themed pan from Nordic Ware!
bake your muffins at 425 degrees for 25 minutes. let cool for two minutes
spicy sweet potatoes
•4 large sweet potatoes
•2 jalapeños
•brown sugar
•agave nectar or local honey
•spices & sugar
mince your jalapeños. peel and chop up your sweet potatoes before boiling them. add a handful of sugar, rosemary, oregano, onion powder, cayenne pepper and garlic powder to the boiling water. let the potatoes boil/soak for 30 minutes so they can absorbs some of the spices! save 1/2 a cup of your spiced water before straining them. pour your saved water and a dash of oat milk over your sweet potatoes before mashing them. eyeballing it, add in your agave nectar or honey, followed by your jalapeños and a handful of brown sugar. after folding everything together spoon it into a Pyrex dish, flatten out then top with brown sugar.
bake at 425 for 15 minutes or until the brown sugar has caramelized on top
meat patties in mushroom gravy
I always make my gravy by eyeballing it so I apologize that this won’t be a proper recipe
•protein patties from Whole Foods
•mushrooms
•corn starch or flour
•vegetable broth
•thyme
•cayenne pepper
•oregano
•salt
•black pepper
start by sautéing your mushrooms then add your corn starch or flour on top. stir it in until it becomes this sort of lumpy paste kind of texture. add your broth on top along with your seasoning. stir till everything’s well combined then bring to a boil. let boil for a while before turning it down to simmer.
place your protein patties from Whole Foods in a casserole or pie dish. once your gravy is a good consistency pour over top of the patties. your patties should be completely submerged before baking.
I baked my dish at 425 for around 30 minutes but you just want to cook it long enough for the gravy to not slush around when you tilt your dish.
let me know in the comments what you think of these recipes or what you plan to make for thanksgiving! if you do recreate one of the dishes and post it online please use the hashtag #fromempressjcookbook so I can see it please. I hope y’all have a wonderful time during the holidays
Dani Catherine J 