The Wind Attack

Knowing that I wasn’t going to make a turkey was easy… deciding what to make instead is the hard part! I keep hearing stories of people making non-traditional foods for T-Gives… things like Thai food or Spanish Tapas. I thought to myself, maybe it would be cool to do something like pizza for T-Gives.

BUT NO! There is something inside of me that just knows I have to make a meal that at least holds up some usual flavors. I need to have some sweet potatoes, celery and sage. In fact, it’s about the one time of the year that I actually want to make that kind of food.

So now I presented myself with the challenge of making a creative and vegetarian traditional flavored T-Gives feast. I thought perhaps a farmer’s market trip would prove inspirational. However I was wrong. I was hardly inspired.

It wasn’t until T-Gives Monday that I finally got inspired. I remember seeing an awesome picture of phyllo pictures in one of my cookbooks, The Artful Vegan. From this picture, my mind shot off thinking up all kinds of possible ideas for how to shape my meal.

In a recent trip to Hollywood’s Cube on La Brea, I had a refreshing shaved brussels sprouts salad. Brussels sprouts are something of a fall vegetable, so I thought this would make an interesting and fun starter to the meal. Then the meal would continue with a veritable tasting feast, two plates dotted with a variety of tastes, center pieced by the a trio of phyllo purses.

Several weeks ago I bought some dried Christmas Lima Beans at the farmer’s market and, seeing how festive they look, I’m going to try to use them in my menu. They’ll probably end up inside one of they phyllo purses.

Dessert was an easy call.… Vegan Maple Pecan Pie! I made it for T-Gives last year, and it was phenomenal.… especially having the leftovers for breakfast the next day… at noon.

The Wind Attack’s T-Gives Menu 2008

Salad

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
          Pomegranate Arils
          Toasted Hazelnuts
          Grapefruit
          Creamy Sunflower Seed Dressing

Main Course

Black Lentils in Mushroom Zinfandel Sauce
Sweet Potato Quinoa Risotto with Garam Masala and Coconut Milk
Trio of Phyllo Purses
          Pumpkin, Walnut, Sage
          Sunchoke, Kale
          Christmas Lima, Celery, Carrot, Onion
Caramelized Pearl Onions
Oil Braised Garlic Cloves
Balsamic Grilled Pear
Grilled Green Vegetable

Sides

Susan’s Garlic Leek Mashed Potatoes
Cornbread Socca
Deep Fried Cranberries with Maple Honey Glaze

Desserts

Vegan Maple Pecan Pie in Almond-Corn-Flax Crust
Organic Grass-Fed Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Cashew Based Vegan Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream

TUCK FOFURKEY!