So, I have to say, I kicked Thanksgiving feast ass this year! I was undecided all week as to what I was going to make because I like to switch it up every year, but then BAM! As I was flipping through Oh She Glows Everyday I came across the recipe for a plant-based shepherd’s pie and I was sold. And since I was already committing to the shepherd’s pie, I figured I should probably make some gravy to drizzle on top of it. Swoooooon! I also had a special request from my mother for a shredded kale salad from the Oh She Glows blog that I had made for holidays before, and as luck turns out Angela had the same salad recipe in her cookbook! Before I get to the breakdowns of each recipe, here’s a gander at my Thanksgiving spread all together:
Along with my Oh She Glows Everyday kale salad, shepherd’s pie, and vegan gravy, I also made Minimalist Baker‘s vegan spelt rolls, Chloe Coscarelli’s orange-scented cranberry sauce (from her first cookbook!), and Minimalist Baker‘s gluten-free apple crisp! Plus a Kevita kombucha, and Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss ice cream in vanilla island to top off my apple crisp! All in all it was an insanely good Thanksgiving feast! Now here are my Oh She Glows Everyday recipes of the week:
Like I said, I had made this recipe a couple of times before and I knew that it was delicious, so I was definitely excited to make it again. Angela calls for lacinato kale but I just love curly kale and prefer the texture, especially when it is massaged and softened. I also decided not to combine the dressing ingredients in the food processor (to avoid having to wash more dishes!) and just massaged the kale with the olive oil and lemon juice. I then sprinkled on the salt, pepper, and garlic powder (it calls for fresh garlic but my body wasn’t feeling it) and refrigerated it until it was time to eat and add the dried cranberries. Now, the pecan parmesan topping that you see on the salad may not look like much but HOLY WOW. I’ve been making this for years and I will literally put it on ANYTHING. I actually made a bowl of mac and cheese for lunch today and realized that I had extra pecan parmesan in the fridge and got so insanely excited. Make this salad. It’s really really good and my omnivore family loves it. But if you don’t want to make the salad then promise me that you’ll make the pecan parmesan and sprinkle it on everything you eat, okay? You won’t be sorry.
I don’t think I’ve had gravy since my last Thanksgiving as an omnivore, which was over ten years ago! Maybe I’ve tried it at a vegan restaurant but it isn’t normally the type of thing I would go for on a menu. This recipe changes all that! I’ve seen a lot of recipes for vegan mushroom gravies but I love that Angela’s gravy uses really basic ingredients, most of which I already had in my kitchen! It has onion, garlic, veggie broth, spelt flour, olive oil, tarmari, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and white wine vinegar. It took no time at all for it to come together and the flavor is salty, rich, and full of that insanely good umami flavor. I made this quickly on Tuesday night to get it out of the way (it’s hard sharing kitchen space with your omnivore family on Thanksgiving when there’s a big ass turkey in the way!) and I had to force myself to put it in the fridge because I kept sneaking tastes of it.
I’m not sure if I’ve ever had a meaty shepherd’s pie? I wasn’t a big fan of beef when I was younger (except for on tacos – my love of tacos runs deep) so it’s entirely possible that this was my first one! The filling has green lentils, onion, garlic, cremini mushrooms, and frozen mixed veggies, and it has SO. MUCH. FLAVOR. AND it’s topped with mashed potatoes, which I haven’t had in a long time. I snapped this picture before I added the rest of the mashed potatoes on top so all of that thick, juicy filling could be fully appreciated! Drizzled with the cozy gravy, this meal was A+!
Love, Brenna
openbookkitchen.com 