Winter is Coming - That Means the Holidays Are Also Coming!

It's the holiday season again. In our family, it started back in October with my birthday and extends to January First. In-between are birthdays for the rest of our family, as well as Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve.

All the vegan stars are sharing their holiday recipes again. Mary McDougall and her posting from 2005; Susan Voisin is working on some new recipes on Fat Free Vegan, Chef AJ reminded us of her Chef and the Dietician holiday video from last year:


and the Engine 2 people did a post on the Daily Beet blog about getting along with people who don't approve of your food choices.

And now Dr. Fuhrman is in on the act. Instead of the holiday challenge he had the past few years on his web site, this year he has a contest that anyone who uses Facebook can enter. Paying members of his site are understandably annoyed, especially those without a Facebook account or they do but don't wish to share their Friends list. Not only do you have to "Like" Dr. Fuhrman's Facebook site but to enter the contest you ALSO have to enroll in it at the official entry form on the Facebook site, the far right link at the top of the page. You can enter with a name and email address or via Facebook, and again there you'll be told you're giving Dr. Fuhrman access to your Friends list. People from his office say that further down the line on the entry form links you'll be asked which of your Friends you want to share and you have the option to choose none of them, but others are saying that option never appears. You can still see all the information Dr. Fuhrman posts on Facebook without being a Facebook member or entering the contest, you just can't win any prize if not registered.

As for holiday recipes, Dr. Fuhrman shared his Thanksgiving Non-Meat Loaf from his Eat to Live Cookbook with a YouTube video:




Well, after a testimonial from a woman named Susan.

The recipe itself, shared on-line a few years ago:

Thanksgiving Non-Meat Loaf

Serves: 6

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
4 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons Bragg Liquid Aminos
1 box soft tofu, drained and patted dry with paper towel
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/4 cups chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cups chopped portobello mushrooms
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon Dr. Fuhrman's VegiZest or other n-salt-seasoning blend, adjusted to taste
2 teaspoons Spike (no salt)
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano or Dr. Fuhrman's MatoZest
1 1/2 teaspoons basil
1/2 teaspoon sage
3/4 cup whole grain bread crumbs
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix arrowroot powder, water, aminos, and tofu together in a high-powered blender. Add walnuts & blend until smooth.

Saute onions, celery, and mushrooms in water with seasonings and herbs until vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally.

In a bowl, mix together tofu mixture, vegetables, bread crumbs and cooked rice.

With a paper towel, spread a small amount of olive oil in a loaf pan. Add mixture to pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes. Turn loaf out and slice.

Note: May be served with low sodium ketchup and thinly sliced raw onion.  


I haven't attempted to make this particular one yet. I usually don't have good luck with loaf recipes and they always fall apart, either when I attempt to remove them from the loaf pan or when I cut them. And my husband has a sensitivity to walnuts. With three gout flares in less than 3 months, I'm hesitant to tempt fate and feed him those nuts right now. But the loaf does look good and I may attempt it in the future, but with a different nut.

So, with Hanukkah starting Wednesday as the official holiday season kick off, I wish everyone and their families a happy and healthy time!