Years ago we always had a few vegans for thanksgiving (sadly they’ve moved away). I always had plenty of items that they could eat and I made a great roast veggie gravy (I think not having gravy, even as a vegan just makes the day sad - I love gravy), it was always gone and often eaten by the non-vegans over the regular gravy.
Not to disparage the vegans - but Thanksgiving without butter … of course you wouldn’t like the t-day meal 
So if I am reading this right, Thanksgiving for you needs to be
gluten free
vegan
without tofu, seitan,
So could you do something legume based or nut based?
There are some good stuffed acorn squash recipes-
wild rice dried cranberry salad is good
I find that very odd (and I’m not a vegan). Wouldn’t one think a harvest festival would involve all sorts of late-autumn vegetables and grains?
The other odd thing is NO spice, except for a few ritualized sweetish spices. I made a squash casserole dish with garlic and onionis, and everyone gobbled it up.
To be honest, this was a Christmas dinner, but Thanksgiving is a very minor event in Canada, and almost non-existent in Québec.
I think I’m looking for two mains.
No faux meats or soy products. sigh
There will be plenty of sides if any of them choose to fully follow their stricter rules for themselves.
Actually it sounds like the odd man/woman out at your party is the no-dairy egg eater. For all the others, is lasagne a no-go as it sometimes is for vegetarians who feel like they get it too often? If not, I’d go for a pumpkin and greens lasagne along the lines of this one:
For the gluten-free aspect I can recommend Tinkyada Rice Lasagne, both the brown and white rice types. I bought it grudgingly a couple of years ago when I couldn’t find any spelt lasagne for Thanksgiving (my best friend has a wheat sensitivity - not celiac, so she can do spelt) and was pleasantly shocked at how good it was - not mushy at all, quite tasty. I have no connection to the company at all, just liked their product.
So does the “former vegan now consuming some dairy” do eggs then?
If so, my mom used to make this yummy carrot ring, side dish, to go with our thanksgiving menus and usually Christmas too because it was really liked by all.
The recipe involved well cooked carrots that get mashed, sharp cheddar cheese, eggs, crushed soda crackers, minced onion, salt and white pepper. You basically mix everything but beat the eggs until frothy then fold them in with everything else. Spread into a greased ring mould and bake for an hour. Then you serve it with steamed green peas in the middle after turning it out onto a serving platter.
If it is of interest I can post the actual recipe.
I’m very intrigued by this dish and would love to see the recipe. Do you know the region this dish is from?
So, I called my mom and asked about the origin. She got it from a friend in the 1970s. The friend grew up in Saskatchewan (north of Montana) but spent sometime in Georgia when her husband did grad school. She currently lives in Winnipeg (North of North Dakota). I’ve never come across this recipe, other than my mothers (from the friend). So, it’s not typical of Winnipeg (where I grew up). Cuisine in Saskatchewan is somewhat similar to Winnipeg- they’re both on the Prairies. My mom and I are thinking that she picked it up in Georgia, but who really knows.
Bake at 350 F 50-60 mins
Carrot Ring
2 lbs carrots cooked in water with 1/2 tsp of salt
Mash and add
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 cup crushed soda biscuits
3/4 cup sharp grated cheddar
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 tsp pepper
dash of cayenne
2 eggs- beat until frothy and then fold into above mixture.
Bake in a greased ring ring mold. It is considered done when a knife, inserted into the center comes out “clean” (like with a cake).
Turn onto a serving platter and serve with steamed peas in the center.
Anyhow, it’s a nice colorful addition to the meal, not strangely spiced, so it appeals to the palate of the masses.
I think the recipe also doubles well except I think you would need a larger diameter ring mold.
dead simple: make an nut Adventist loaf, simply swap out the breadcrumbs with GF breadcrumbs (have done this it works out fine) or sometimes they call for oatmeal. Anyway serve with mashed potatoes, Adventist cashew gravy (the best), green peas and cranberry sauce.
Thank you so much for taking the time to look into the history of this dish. I’ve never heard of anything like it before.[quote=“rory, post:29, topic:971, full:true”]
dead simple: make an nut Adventist loaf, simply swap out the breadcrumbs with GF breadcrumbs (have done this it works out fine) or sometimes they call for oatmeal. Anyway serve with mashed potatoes, Adventist cashew gravy (the best), green peas and cranberry sauce.
[/quote]
Rory, will you take a look at this cashew gravy recipe that I found online and tell me if this sounds like the gravy you make? I’ve ordered an Adventist cookbook but I fear it won’t arrive before I need it.
Cashew Gravy
2 ½ c hot water
2 T Braggs Liquid amino or lite soy sauce
½ c raw cashews, rinsed
1 T nutritional yeast flakes
¼ c soymilk powder, plain
2 tsp chicken seasoning
2 T cornstarch
2 tsp Onion powder
In a blender, combine half the hot water with the cashews and process until very smooth. Add remaining hot water and all remaining ingredients and continue blending until thoroughly mixed. Pour out into a sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring until thickened.
that’s Adventist Cashew Gravy:) I personally don’t care for cornstarch, which I find can be rubbery.My Adventist cookbooks have flour or arrowroot powder. Ive used both and it’s great. Also I found for me, I can’t get a fine enough grind on the nuts when I do it with water. So I grind the nuts on their own in a spice grinder and then just put everything in the pot. My recipe doesn’t have soymilk powder either, but no worries. You pour that over mashed potatoes and your loaf and mmmmm, bliss.
Oops for flour, use Brown Rice flour, I’ve done it and it works just fine
