Ok, so Christmas is probably the biggest challenge for a
vegetarian in progress. I mean, all those memories of juicy dark meat,
the lightness of the white meat, the gravy, the array of accompaniments,
the stuffing, the cranberries... the turkey soup entree.
Really... this has to be the hardest time of year when you're in
progress. Because how do you find a substitute for turkey dinner?
Well, last year we didn't. We succumbed to tradition and did
the old standard. Everyone enjoyed it, and us two - we ate everything but
the turkey (ok, we tasted a little of the crispy bits). What I
realized that day, is that a turkey dinner is everything else and a little
turkey. So this year, that's what we did. Everything else, without the
turkey.
Satisified?
Absolutely!
Satisified?
Absolutely!
The soup we started with this time was a cauliflower/potato cheese
soup make from the Cranks recipe book (Oxford England). The main course
was the same stuffing I always make - with extra butter :) and then
stuffed into acorn squash halves topped with Beemster classic old cheese. Oh! So tangy and
delicious! The cheese was added near the end and then baked for another
20 minutes or so til it was super crispy. The rest
of the meal was everything else that I normally make with a turkey dinner.
Crunchy roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots, fennel and yam, the
proverbial brussel sprouts, and of course, lots of gravy. The gravy was
made just like usual (a roux usually from turkey fat, but this time with butter
and made with vegetable stock (homemade) instead of meat stock.
Did we
miss that bit of turkey on our plate?
Not at all...
