Thanksgiving!

There's lots to be thankful for this year. I could go on a rant of gratitude here, but I've already done so other places and I can sum it up here: Friends, Family, and Food!

I've been invited to a friend's house for dinner, so I only had to make a few dishes to bring over. Saved me the trouble of making something with potatoes and/or gravy, and I had it all done in a reasonable amount of time... and ahead of time.

Menu:

Tofu-Almond Loaf with Agave Glaze

Orange-Cranberry Sauce

Crumb Cauliflower

Cheesecake (NOT vegan, but eggless)

Tofu-Almond Loaf with Agave Glaze

1 cup almond meal, toasted
2 TB vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
2 celery ribs, diced
1 cup mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
2 cups mashed, pressed firm tofu
1 cup uncooked oat bran
1/4 to 1/2 cup vegetable broth, as needed
1/2 cup uncooked Cream of Wheat
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
2 TB nutritional yeast flakes
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 T. soy sauce

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350º. Spray a loaf pan or 8x8 square baking pan with nonstick spray and set aside.

Toast the almond meal in a skillet over medium heat till lightly browned. Be careful, it's very easy to burn once you get to the browning stage! Place in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Sauté vegetables in the oil until soft. Add to the large mixing bowl along with all the remaining ingredients. Mix and mash together well, adding only as much liquid as needed to create a soft, moist loaf that holds together and is not runny (you may not need to add any liquid if the grains and protein are very moist). Add more oat bran or cream of wheat as needed if the loaf seems too wet. Mix the glaze ingredients in a separate bowl.

Press loaf mixture into the prepared pan and cover the top evenly with glaze, then bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until cooked through.

Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn out onto a plate or platter and slice. Serve with potatoes, vegetables, and vegetarian gravy, if desired.

Orange-Cranberry Sauce

1 lb. fresh cranberries (4 cups)
1 cup water
1-1/2 cup sugar
1 cup orange juice

Rinse cranberries and pick out any icky stuff. In large saucepan over med heat, heat water, juice and sugar until boiling, stirring occasionally. Continue boiling 5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved, then add cranberries. Heat to boiling again over medium heat, stirring now and then, about 10 minutes or when the cranberries have sufficiently popped and thickened. (Keep in mind that will be much thicker chilled than when it's still boiling.) Remove from heat, give it a good stir and let stand for about 20 minutes to cool. Pour into bowl and cool completely before refrigerating.

Crumb Cauliflower

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

1/4 cup margarine

1 tube ritz crackers. crushed

Steam cauliflower till soft and put in a serving bowl. Then smash up the crackers and brown them in butter, pour over cauliflower and serve.

Cheesecake

1 graham crust

3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1 c. sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. vanilla

1/2 c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla
1 pt. sour cream

Crust:

1 pack graham crackers (8 long crackers)

1/2 stick butter, melted

2 T brown sugar

Grind crackers into fine crumbs, add melted butter and sugar, mix well and press into 9 inch spring pan. Bake crust separately for 5 minutes at 350 degrees while mixing the filling.

Mix cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, cornstarch, and 1 tablespoons vanilla. Pour into shell and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Increase oven heat to 400 degrees.

Mix 1/2 cup sugar, sour cream, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour over cheese mixture and bake 10 minutes, cool. Store in refrigerator.