Food Network Monthly Cookalong: Pierogi Truck Dreams (Part 3)

This one is so simple, I feel bad calling it a recipe but I really feel you need to try it out! It's more of a delicious combination than a recipe. Poutine is a big deal where I live. We are very close to Quebec where it has it's roots and you can find it on just about every (I might dare to say all) chip trucks here in Ottawa which are the most popular kind of food trucks here. I honestly had never heard of it until I moved to Ottawa though I hear it has reached Newfoundland now with versions of Newtine with stuffing and peas on fries being created.

I haven't had poutine in a long time...probably about two years since that's how long I've been vegan. I decided to give Daiya mozzarella shreds a try on top of Potato Pierogi covered in the gravy from the Shepherd's Pie pierogi I posted yesterday and oh my...what a treat! I went easy on the Daiya (as you can see from the picture) because I have only just started to like it and find it works best if you use the less is more approach. It tasted just as yummy as I remember poutine tasting, still getting that creaminess from the melted cheese and full of umami flavour from the gravy. I always liked mine with a little ketchup which went on right after taking this photo. Definitely not traditional but hey none of this really is, now is it?

So to really lay it out...make and cook some Potato Pierogi (still from Vegan Brunch, cooked using the same method as the others), place them on a plate (or in a basket like we did) and then sprinkle on a bit of mozzarella Daiya, cover that with hot gravy (from yesterday's post of Shepherd's Pie pierogi) so it will melt the Daiya and enjoy!

My First (Blogged) Vegan Thanksgiving

So what does a vegan have for Thanksgiving? Well for us this year we can be thankful because we definitely had plenty. On Saturday morning, Ryan, Mac and I went to the local farmer's market and picked up some delicious locally grown veggies. We even found Brussels sprouts still on the stalk so I had to have those! The lettuce, tomatoes and the tomatillos weren't used for Thanksgiving but they will definitely get used in something soon.

The first vegan Thanksgiving I had, I remember being frantic about what to have. I wasn't sure how the non-vegans would handle the lack of "tradition" but then I thought about what really makes the holiday (or any holiday for that matter) and realized it's not about what you are eating, it's about being together. I maybe had to remind my mom of this a few times in the early stages of my veganism but I never minded because I know those familiar food memories run deep and can be hard to get past. I've never been one for strict tradition anyways...we've had lasagna for Christmas dinner before!

This year was a lot more relaxed for me. I know my family enjoys what I cook and I stress less about them missing something and just make something I know they can't resist! My mom and I were cooking and prepping for about a day and a half but it was all worth it because it tasted so good! We had French lentils with roasted vegetables (cabbage, mushrooms, rutabaga, carrot, onion and shallots), mashed caulipots (cauliflower+potatoes), carrots mashed with rutabaga (maybe a Newfie thing), green beans, dressing (or stuffing, dressing seems again to be a Newfie thing), homemade rolls, roasted vegetable gravy, Brussels sprout salad and pickled beets (the last two didn't make the picture but were so good too). Quite a plate, my eyes were definitely bigger than my belly too since I couldn't finish all that I took.

Then there was dessert of course! We had pumpkin pie which is a favourite of Ryan's but I had never tried it before or made it. I also made some apple fritters and maple pecan ice cream thinking that Mac wouldn't want to try the pumpkin pie (or in case I was right about it all this time) but he tried it and said it was good but only wanted one bite and then was looking for apple fritters. I served the pumpkin pie with some Healthy Top and candied pecans which worked really well with the spicy pumpkin filling. I'm totally a convert on this pie now. I was always a little afraid of it but in the spirit of trying new things I gave it a go and really enjoy it. The recipe I used for the filling (which was recommended to me on Twitter by @JoytheVegan) is by Bryanna Clark Grogan and it isn't tofu based and it's so deliciously spiced. It was like the best pumpkin spice latte turned into a pie! The pastry is from the Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau which everyone should have a copy of. The fritters were a test recipe from Hearty Vegan that didn't make the book unfortunately. I was very happy to have saved the recipe in my testing binder so I could have them today.

Happy Thanksgiving to anyone who is celebrating it this long weekend! We definitely enjoyed our day of playing Candy Land, looking through photos, cooking and eating and spending time with our amazing family.