The past few weeks have been a whirlwind! My husband and I travelled to his parent’s house in Maryland, just outside of DC, for Thanksgiving. Having hosted the past two years, it was nice to just be a helper this year. As much as I love hosting and prepping a giant feast, it can be a little stressful!
Luckily, my mother-in-law, Jan, had it all covered. Since I was the only vegan at the dinner, I made a couple vegan dishes to supplement the rest of the offerings. This is my third Thanksgiving as a vegetarian but my first as a vegan, so I was excited to try new vegan versions of my favorite recipes.
My contributions to Thanksgiving dinner were vegan stuffing, veggie gravy, roasted sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts.
For dessert, I made vegan versions of the two pies that Jan made, chocolate bourbon pecan and pumpkin – of course! For the pecan pie, I used corn starch to thicken the filling rather than the eggs her recipe called for. When I first took it out of the oven after 45 minutes of baking, it was still liquid and bubbling and I was worried it wouldn’t set right. After cooling for about an hour it was perect.
For the vegan pumpkin pie, I used full-fat coconut milk instead of condensed milk and I also added a little corn starch to help it thicken. It turned out perfect and tasted the same as the pie I always make! I will be posting my new recipe soon 
We also made the mashed potatoes vegan without even telling anyone and no one knew the difference! Simply using soy milk instead of cream and earth balance instead of dairy butter, the potatoes turned out just as creamy and delicious as usual. And I always pile a ton of gravy on mine anyway. It was amazing!
Overall, my first vegan Thanksgiving was a major success. I had so much fun cooking in the kitchen with Jan and sharing delicious food with the whole family. I’m so grateful to have such a wonderful group of people to spend the holidays with and looking forward to Christmas. Be sure to check back soon for holiday recipes! In the meantime, check out one of my fall-time favorites, Vegan Pumpkin Bread.
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Angie
That all looks so yummy!