*Sorry about the lame photo- I forgot to take proper photographs (as often happens) before serving!
I made these for the first time for a vegan Thanksgiving we hosted for our friends on Matsu.  They were my taste tasters and critics for my Thanksgiving style recipes. 
They approved of everything that was served but Marty said these cutlets were his favorite thing on the dinner plate.
This recipe is re-created from the cookbook Veganomicon.  I didn’t have vital wheat gluten nor is it available for purchase around here so I substituted brown rice flour, which also makes this version gluten free.  If you have vital wheat gluten feel free to use it instead- the same measurements apply.

What you’ll need:
2 cups cooked garbanzo beans (if you use can chick peas, drain & rinse them)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup rice flour
1 cup fine plain breadcrumbs
1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp cayenne 
Olive oil for pan frying 
 
What’s Next:
-In a medium bowl combine the garbanzo beans and olive oil and mash up using a sturdy fork until no whole beans are left
-Add the rest of the ingredients and knead together with your hands for a few minutes (the recipe says “until strings of gluten have formed” but since I didn’t use gluten I kneaded until the mixture was sticky.)
-Divide the mixture into 8 balls and flatten into cutlets
-Heat a skillet with the frying oil on medium heat.
-Place as many cutlets as comfortably fit in the skillet and fry for about 6 minutes on each side. When done transfer to a plate lined w/a paper a thick paper towel
-Continue frying until all cutlets are done.  
-The recipe notes that these are better served after they have “rested” for about 10 minutes.

Serve w/ gravy (see my recipe here)

*Makes 8 cutlets, feeds 4 accompanied by other side dishes*
 

I don’t suppose it would be vegan Thanksgiving without gravy.  And I needed gravy for the Bean Cutlets and Shepherd-less Pie.  
 
What you’ll need:
1/2 cup canola oil
5 green onion sprigs (chopped small)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbls. nutritional yeast
2 tsp. light soy sauce
2-2 ½  cups vegetable broth
1/2 tsp. dried sage
Salt & pepper to taste

What’s Next:
-Heat oil in a medium sized pan/pot over medium heat
-Toss in the chopped green onion & let sauté for a few minutes
-A bit at a time stir in the flour & continue stirring as you add the nutritional yeast and soy sauce (the mixture will become like a clump)
-Start whisking in the broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and add sage, salt, and pepper
-If the gravy is too thick just add water or more broth until you have your desired consistency
-The gravy will thicken up a bunch when you let it sit but you can easily reheat it by stirring in water

Makes 2 ½ to 3 cups of gravy

*Sorry about the super lame photo; I totally forgot to photograph the goods before serving our vegan Thanksgiving...

I have made this recipe a few times but never the exact same way.  I like to use vegetables that are locally grown and therefore in season. So when you’re making this recipe consider experimenting a little with the vegetables, maybe see what’s available at your local farmer’s market.

My version of this recipe was inspired from a Shepherd’s Pie on
HappyVeganFace.

What you'll need:
-4 small/medium potatoes (diced, try gold, purple, or red& leave some of the skins on)
-2 carrots (cut how you like- I slice them in thick circles then cut them in half, like half moon shape)
-4 sprigs of green onion (chopped, including some of the white part)
-small bunch of broccoli or cauliflower (chopped small)
-handful of green beans or snap peas (chopped)
-corn off one cobb or ½ cup frozen corn
-1 cup cooked white beans
-1 1/4  cup unsweetened plain almond milk
-3 tbsp flour (use brown rice flour for Gluten Free)
-½ tsp miso
-1 ½  tsp. poultryseasoning
-¼  tsp. cayenne pepper
-Salt & pepper to taste
-¼ cup unsweetened plain almond milk (just enough to mash the potatoes)
-2 tbsp margarine (we use earth balance)
-1/3 cup nutritional yeast (optional)
-4 tbsp fresh parsley

What’s Next:
-Boil the potatoes in water until tender.  When done, drain & set aside
-Preheat oven to 375
-Heat up a splash of olive oil in a large pan & sauté the carrots and green onion on medium heat for a couple minutes
-Add in the broccoli/cauliflower, green beans/peas, & corn and sauté for another few minutes under a closed lid
-Add the flour and stir to combine w/ the vegetables
-Add the milk and stir until it becomes near thick
-Add the beans, miso, poultry seasoning, salt & pepper.  Stir to combine and continue heating over low heat under a closed lid for 2-3 minutes.  Then turn off the heat
-Mash the potatoes with the margarine & a few splashes of milk until they are the consistency you like, season w/salt & pepper
-Lightly oil an 8x8 or 7x9 baking pan & pour the vegetable mixture in, evenly distributing the mix
-Sprinkle the nutritional yeast and parsley on top then spread the mashed potatoes on top, being careful not to incorporate the potatoes w/ the vegetables- just use a large fork or spoon to drag the potatoes over the mixture (at this point you can refrigerate the “pie” for up to two days before baking)or…
-Bake for about 30 minutes- until the potatoes start to turn a little crusty; you may see some gravy coming out of the sides- yum!  Serve with some extra gravy if you like.

*Feeds 6*

My dessert of choice to round out our vegan Thanksgiving was Pumpkin Cheesecake.  The small obstacle was using the ingredients I have onboard or are available for purchase in Grenada.  I’ve never seen vegan cream cheese on any of the islands so got that route was not an option.  Pumpkins
are a plenty seemingly everywhere this time of year and I wanted to use what was available locally instead of going with canned but you can use canned pumpkin if you want.  Also hard to find are graham crackers (for the crust) so I used ginger snap cookies and I would do it again even if I could find graham crackers- they worked and tasted great! 

Some other hints to consider are: the banana-even though it’s a small amount of banana it does add to the flavor so if you’re a big fan of banana taste feel free to use a ripe banana but if not you might want to use a less ripe one (but not totally green.)  Finally, if you use a fresh pumpkin your cheesecake will be much milder in color- making your cheesecake swirl will still work but it will be a more subtle look.

Here goes, it’s pretty easy really.  This recipe was re-created using Isa’s recipe from “Vegan Pie in the
Sky.”

What you’ll need (for the crust): 
1 1/4 cups of finely ground graham crackers or gingersnaps
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil (or melted non-hydrogenated margarine, or canola oil)
1 tbls. plain soy or almond milk.

What you’ll need (for the filling):
1/2 cup whole unroasted cashews soaked in water for 2 to 8 hours or until very soft
1/4 cup mashed banana (about half of 1 medium-sized banana)
1 12 to 14 oz package silken tofu (drained)
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tbls. coconut oil, at room temperature
2 tbls. cornstarch
2 tbls. fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

What you’ll need (for the topping):
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbls. coconut oil (or margarine) 
1 cup pecans (roughly chopped)
Dash of Salt

What’s Next (for the crust):
-Preheat oven to 350 & spray or grease a 9” spring form pan (or a pie plate if you don’t have the pan)
-In a medium bowl crush the crackers/cookies until they are in fairly fine pieces & then stir in the sugar.  Drizzle w/the oil (or margarine) until moist then slowly stir in the milk to form a crumbly mixture.
-Pour the crumbs into the pan and press down firmly to form the crust w/your hands or using a fork
-Bake 8-12 minutes then remove from oven (keep oven on for the cheesecake)

What’s Next (for the topping):
-In a medium bowl use a fork to mix together the sugar, margarine/oil, and salt until crumbly.
-Add in the chopped nuts & stir to combine- set aside until ready to use

What’s Next (for the filling):
-Drain the cashews and place in a blender or food processor with the banana, tofu, sugar, brown sugar, coconut oil, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, orange zest, and sea salt. Blend until completely smooth and no bits of cashew are left.
-Set aside 1/2 cup of batter (optional- if you don’t want to make your cheesecake marble style don’t set any filling aside.) To the remaining batter, add the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg and blend until smooth, then pour it into the crust.
-(If you reserved ½ the filling)Randomly spoon dollops of the reserved batter onto the cheesecake. Poke the end of a chopstick into a batter blob and gently swirl to create a marble pattern; repeat with the remaining dollops.
-Bake the cheesecake for a total of 45 to 50 minutes. Remove cheesecake halfway through baking and sprinkle on the topping. Return to oven to continue baking. Cheesecake will be done when the top is lightly puffed and the edges of the cake are golden. Remove it from the oven and let cool on a rack for
about 20 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator to complete cooling, at least 3 hours or even better if overnight. To serve, slice the cake using a thin, sharp knife dipped in cold water.

It’s magnificent stuff. If you have another recipe for me to try, please comment-We really like cheesecake!
 

Of course no vegan Thanksgiving would be complete without
stuffing!  This is a recipe I have modified over the years with our evolving diet. We first made the original version of this recipe (I believe Marty watched them make it on Food Network) many years ago and it included sausage! Many changes later it is a great vegan stuffing.  Sorry about the totally lame picture. Can you believe I made a whole vegan Thanksgiving and forgot to take pictures of the food before I served it!  I guess i was really in the moment!  Also pictures is "Bean Cutlet" and "Shepard-less Pie."
 
What you’ll need:
-6 tbls. vegan butter (like Earth Balance) 
-2 medium onions, finely diced 
-3 cups chopped celery, (about 6 large stalks) 
-6 cups coarsely chopped leeks, (about 12) 
-4 apples, peeled, cored and chopped 
-6 tsp. poultry seasoning 
-2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary leaves, (about 4 sprigs) 
-2 tsp. chopped fresh sage leaves, (about 6 leaves) 
-2 tsp. chopped fresh parsley leaves, (about 4 to 6 sprigs) 
-2 cups dried cranberries 
-6 cups croutons/bread crumbs (you can make your own or buy them) 
-2-3 cups vegetable stock 
-Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

What's Next:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees 
-Boil some water, remove from heat and soak the cranberries for about 15 minutes to rehydrate them
-Melt the butter in a large skillet and saute the onions, celery, leeks, & apples.  
-After about 10 minutes, add the poultry seasoning, fresh herbs and cranberries.
-Add the stuffing mix/bread crumbs and moisten with the vegetable stock gradually. Be mindful not to over wet the mixture (unless you like it that way!)
-Season stuffing with salt and pepper, to taste. 
-Place the mixture in a buttered pan or casserole dish and bake for about 45 minutes (or you can leave the unbaked version in the refrigerator for up to a day if you want to make it ahead of time)

*Feeds 10 Martys as a side dish*