Novel Eats

I used to say that I didn’t like stuffing. I’ve changed my mind with this delicious vegan stuffing that has swept me off my feet.

Make this easy tofu salad that can be used as a spread, dip, side dish or filling for wraps. Great for picnics or road trips!

Thanksgiving can be a problematic holiday for vegans, especially when they are invited over to non-vegan or non-vegetarian homes. The hosts usually mean well, but often there’s not much to be had for vegans at a typical Thanksgiving gathering. When I was young I was lucky that my whole family, aside from a few in the minority, were vegetarian. That included grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts and cousins. The minority didn’t seem to mind because they either had also been raised vegetarian or they chose to keep silent (maybe not – I can’t remember too many early Thanksgivings that revolved around talk of missed turkey).

These days, now that vegetarianism, and to a certain extent, veganism, is more widely understood and accepted, there is more sensitivity involved. Still, it’s challenging for vegans to have a meal sans milk and cheese. This is where I am going to give a minor confession.

This post is a few weeks after the fact, but it was really so nice to be home for the Fourth of July. I started a new job a few months ago, so I am still at the beginning of accruing vacation and sick days. When I left my last job I was very sorry to see all the days I earned go (although I did get my vacation days in the form of a nice check). So now, I have to be careful how many days of anything I take, and when there is a holiday that the company gives, I find myself appreciating it so much more.

Anyway, we didn’t do anything lavish or go see fireworks, although if you look out the window in the right direction you’ll see some fireworks through some trees off in the distance (yes – we have trees in NYC!). But I did make the usual big meal, which translates to – too big of a meal for two people, but a lovely amount of leftovers for a couple or three days. We had corn on the cob (a requirement of the holiday if you ask me), homemade bread, chocolate pie, and potato salad.

Curl up with this warm and hearty soup on a cool day.