Okay, everyone I am hoping to be back to blogging almost daily, though next Monday and Tuesday I may not get a chance to blog. I have been doing my dad’s job for him this week and next week while he recovers from surgery so that he doesn’t lose any income. I have missed everyone so much. I am really excited to be back to blogging and plan on doing some blog hopping this afternoon to catch up on what everyone has been doing.

Last night we went to New Frontier Health Food Store in San Luis Obispo. I have been there before, but haven’t been overlly impressed, but it appears they have changed things around and gotten in a lot of new (vegan friendly) items. I was most impressed with their deli case, which had several vegan options. I got the blackened grilled tofu (delicious beyond words), sauteed sesame kale (I definitely recommend trying this if you ever find it where you are at). Next we went to their bakery (I always have to take a peak), and low and behold they had several vegan desserts including vegan chocolate cupcakes, vegan lemon poppyseed cake, vegan mocha chocolate cake, vegan apple cranberry cake, and vegan strudels. I resisted the urge to try absolutely everything they had and settled on the vegan mocha chocolate cake. The frosting was heavenly, though the cake was a bit dry. But all in all I have it two thumbs up. I was good and only ate half my piece. I took the other half to my parents to share.

Isn’t that cake beautiful.

I can’t believe Thanksgiving is coming up next week. If you are like me, you already have menu planned. This year I will be making vegan green bean casserole, vegan bread stuffing, vegan sweet potato casserole and sour dough rolls. My sister-in-law was very sweet in that she asked what I might like for her to make. She said she wanted to make sure she made things that I could eat and enjoy, so she is working on vegan pie crusts. She also wants to make a spinach pie, that I told I would help collaborate on. She wants to make a nice vegan crust for the outside and I will help her with the spinach filling. I might try my hand at a vegan key lime pie, though I may just save that for Christmas, because it really sounds as if we will have enough rich foods. I will try to take lot’s of pictures of these beautiful dishes, but want to provide you all with the recipes now, in case anyone needed some great ideas for vegan foods.

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

3-4 cloves garlic
1 package mushrooms
2 tbsp canola butter
2 tbsp flour
1 cups rice milk
2 cups vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste
4 cans green beans
French fried onions
4-5 potatoes
½ cup rice milk
½ cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp canola butter
½ teaspoon pepper

Cut up potatoes and put in water and bring to a boil. Cook potatoes until soft. Mash potatoes add 2 tbsp canola butter, ½ cup vegetable broth, ½ cup rice milk, salt and pepper and mash until smooth. In a iron or stainless steel sauté garlic and mushrooms in canola butter. Add flour and create a rue. Add rice milk, vegetable broth, salt and pepper and cook until the consistency of a cream soup. Open green beans, drain and put in a casserole dish. Add mushroom soup mix and 1 cup French fried onions. Top casserole with mashed potatoes and cook in a 350-degree oven for 25 minutes. Top with another cup of French fried onions and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Vegan Bread Stuffing

Bread Cubes
1 package sliced sourdough bread, cut into cubes
¼ cup vegan butter spread

Stuffing
4 tbsp vegan canola butter
1 onion
2 stalks celery
4 cups vegetable broth
All bread cubes
2 sprigs fresh sage, cut up
2 sprigs fresh thyme, cut up
½ tbsp salt
1 teaspoon pepper
½ tbsp poultry seasoning

Cut up sliced sourdough bread and let sit out overnight. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt ¼ cup of butter spread in a small saucepan. Brush bread cubes with melted butter spread and place in oven for 15 minutes. Chop onion and celery. In an iron or stainless steel skillet melt 4 tbsp butter and sauté onion and celery until the onions begin to become translucent. Place bread cubes in a large mixing bowl. Add onion and celery and mix in. Add vegetable broth and seasoning and mix lightly to make sure all bread cubes are coated. Place in a casserole dish and into oven for 45 minutes to an hour at 350 degrees.

Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole 

4 large sweet potatoes
¼ cup agave nectar
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup pineapple juice
¼ cup apple juice
2 tbsp canola butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
1 cup chopped unsalted cashews
4 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup maple syrup
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut sweet potatoes into smaller chunks and boil in water until soft. Let sweet potatoes cool and peel. Blend sweet potatoes until smooth with a mixer. Add butter, honey or brown rice syrup, maple syrup, pineapple juice, apple juice, nutmeg and cinnamon. In a skillet heat olive oil. Add chopped cashews and sauté. Add syrup and cinnamon and continue to sauté until cashews begin to caramelize. Top sweet potato casserole with cashews and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Here’s my recipe for Spinach Pie, though we will be serving a modified version of this recipe:

Spinach Pie 

2 packages frozen spinach
2 medium onions, cut into slices
1 tbsp Arabic Seven Spice
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
10 tbsp olive oil
6 phyllo pastry sheets

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put 5 tbsp olive oil in a skillet, heat and add onions. Cook onions briefly for about 1-2 minutes, leaving them slightly crisp. Add spinach, Seven Spice, salt and pepper and cook an additional 2-3 minutes. Put remaining olive oil in a small bowl. Open your phyllo pastry package and lay sheets flat, keeping them all together. Do not pull the phyllo sheets apart. Brush top phyllo sheet with olive oil and place in a glass pie dish. Brush remaining sheets of phyllo one at a time, pulling each sheet off of the remaining sheets only once it has been brushed with olive oil. Immediately fold up remaining phyllo sheets and place in the refrigerator. Spoon spinach mixture on top of the phyllo dough in the pie dish. Wrap the tops of the phyllo dough on top of spinach, closing it up like a pie. Place in the oven and cook about 15-20 minutes, until phyllo begins golden brown and crisp. Serve immediately.

Oh, and I almost forgot, no holiday would be complete without spinach dip. Here is my spinach dip recipe again with a pic to go with it.

1 cup veganaise
2 cups Tofutti sour cream
1 package Knors vegetable soup mix (still looking for a version of this without horrible chemicals)
1 package organic frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 sour dough bread loaf
1 box of triscuits

Mix veganaise, sour cream, vegetable soup mix and spinach together in a bowl, cover and let sit in the refrigerator at least four hours (over night for best results). When ready to serve, hollow out the inside of bread loaf and fill with spinach dip. Serve with bread insides and triscuits.

Here is another great some with some wonderful Thanksgiving recipe options. Check out Thanksgiving isn’t out of reach for vegans.

An interesting note, Joan Jett (for those of us to remember Joan Jett) has paired up with PETA to encourage people not to buy turkey for Christmas. She is a long-time vegetarian and is calling on Butterball hotlines to tell them that their is no good way to cook a tortured turkey. Interesting article, check it out at Joan Jett Talks Turkey on PETA’s Holiday Hotline.

I recently posted a vegan dessert in response to someone looking for vegan desserts on Yahoo!Answers and was chosen as the best answer. I was very excited. You can check it out at Yahoo!Answers.

There is also a great little interview with Joaquin Phoenix that I recently read that I would like to share with you. It talks about one of his first experiences of animal cruelty and how it effected it. It is a short read. Check out Fake Leather Please.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving, with minimal stress. I am really looking forward to my very first vegan holiday, starting off my very first vegan holiday season. I may have to try to through a Christmas party with beautiful and elegant appetizers. I have many ideas that I am dying to try out.