Thanksvegan!

It's our Thanksvegan Recipe Roundup! Even if you're going somewhere else for the big meal, it's worth spending Thursday morning cooking so that you have leftovers all weekend. Vegans really know how to celebrate with food:

The Washington Post compared a bunch of vegan turkey substitutes (we're mainstream, y'all!):

This seitan roulade from What the hell does a vegan eat anyway? is just so fancy:

Isa at Post Punk Kitchen made a seitan loaf stuffed with leeks and shiitakes, and it looks killer:

And frankly, Post Punk Kitchen's got you covered for the whole meal. This green bean casserole is one of 13 Thanksgiving recipes:

Mushroom, Onion, and Spinach Tart with Goat Cheeze from Oh She Glows:

Delicata Squash Stuffed with Farro, Pecans, Mushrooms, and Cranberries from The Kitchn:

Seitan En Croute from Just the Food:

Beatiful Kale Salad with Blood Orange and Meyer Lemon:

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen:

Apple Cider Tofu with Butternut Squash and Roasted Pears from Vegan Dad:

Dandied Yams from Bonzai Aphrodite:

Fluffy Pull Apart Dinner Rolls from Oh She Glows:

YOU GUYS. Pumpkin Tiramisu from Chef Chloe:

Voluptuous Pumpkin Pie from Voluptuous Vegan via Post Punk Kitchen:

Don't feel like cooking? Join The Vegetarian Society of Colorado for their annual vegan feast, or order a Vegan Van meal to go by signing up at Nooch by Sunday afternoon (11/18), and pair it with a store-bought vegan roast you can get at Nooch, including Denver Seitan Company's brand new Holiday Roast! Native Foods in Boulder is also doing dinner from 12:00 to 6:00, but you gotta make reservations quick. 

Happy New Year to You!

The tradition of eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day goes back a long time. Typically, they're prepared with ham bits or a ham hock, giving them a very distinct, smoky flavor, but you don't need to harm any pigs to recreate that sultry smokiness. Here are some killer New Year's Day recipes to ensure you'll have good luck for all of 2012:

Hottie Black Eyed Peas and Greens from Appetite for Reduction (photo from Babe in Soyland):

Creole Black Eyed Peas from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen:

Black-Eyed Peas from Your Vegan Mom:

Serve one of these alongside Citrus Collards with Raisins from Vegan Soul Kitchen (photo from ecoki):

To go with it, simple Vegan Cornbread from Post Punk Kitchen.

And a reminder! There are three truly excellent Denver events coming up in January:

• Wednesday, January 4th: Chomp! Breakfast for Dinner!
• Thursday, January 12th: The first ever Vegan Drinks Denver! Hosted by Vegan Coloradical and our friends at Plants and Animals Denver!
• Sunday, January 15th: The first ever Neat Market Vegan Shop-Up!

You can learn more about these events at the Vegan Coloradical Calendar.

Happy New Year!

Recipe Roundup: Comfort Food!

Inspired by our weekly snowstorms, here are some tasty, toasty recipes to soothe your soul:

Individual Tofu and Vegetable Pot Pies from The Kitchn

Vegan Fried Chicken from C'est La Vegan

Scalloped Potatoes and Eggplant Bacon from Post Punk Kitchen

Crispy Potato Wedges from cake maker to the stars 

Two comfort foods in one: Mac and Cheese Pizza from Easy Vegan

Vegetarian Pho from The Kitchn

Apple Pumpkin Spice Donuts from the dude who always knows just what you want, Vegan Dad

Pumpkin Spice Sticky Bread from Oh, Ladycakes

Coconut Hot Chocolate Fudge from The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur

Chocolate Pumpin Loaf from Post Punk Kitchen

Dandies Bars (homemade vegan candy bars!) from Three and a Half Vegans

BAM. 

Rocky Mountain High, Colorado

Rocky Mountain National Park is the perfect destination for a weekend getaway or a day trip for hiking. With 416 square miles to explore, it holds something for everyone--including a home for the many elk, cayote, big-horn sheep, bears, and mayhaps even the occasional moose that traverse its peaks and valleys. And also it holds something for you, too. Meandering trails range from easy to difficult in hiking, and offer spectacular views. Trail Ridge Road is the highest paved road in America! It's closed for the cold months due to snow and wind, but opens during the summertime and makes for a challenging but oh-so-worth-it bike ride for those of you who also enjoy pedaling 20 miles uphill with a headwind. And for campers, Rocky Mountain National Park offers pristine locations to hike into that are established with specific camping spots so they preserve the surrounding areas, but they're areas that are tucked far enough away so that you feel completely alone with the natural world.

The view from my tent in Rocky Mountain National Park a couple of weekends ago--spectacular Odessa Lake.

Things to note!

• you cannot bring your pooch with you to the backcountry or on hiking trails, but doggies are mostly allowed anywhere a car can go, and can hop out of said car if leashed. Further pet details are available.
• it costs $20 to enter the park; backcountry camping is another $20 and must be purchased at the backcountry office. It's something of a pain to get to, but very worthwhile as the Rangers there helped us re-map our entire visit and it was so much better than the route we had planned originally.
• if you have your heart set on camping (and why wouldn't you?) the Plan Your Trip page is SUPER helpful; don't forget your bear-bin!
• RMNP is only about a 90 minute drive from downtown Denver.
• Estes Park has a charming (if somewhat touristy) downtown that you can hit up if you're feeling all natured-out after a day (or several) in the park.
• most camping sites are no-fires, so pack that stove.

Here's a fun recipe, adapted from my high school days when I did revvy war interpretations (for you non-history nerds, this means I dressed and acted like someone from the revolutionary war in a living history exhibit) and cut school once a year to spend all day Friday at our local fair dressed in someone else's clothes, preparing for war by keeping calm and carrying on with making our breakfasts. I wasn't sure whether to call this particular recipe a scramble or a stew, or a conglomeration of deliciousness, so I went with a "Yum" instead.

Waterford Fair Harvest Yum

ingredients

• 2 apples, cubed into quarter-inch pieces (don't go granny, get something seasonal and local if possible)
• 1 package of your favorite vegan sausage (the kind that crumbles)
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 large potatoes, cubed into quarter-inch pieces, any variety you like (i go with sweet!)
• 1-2 Tbs. olive oil 
• salt & pepper to taste
• other miscellaneous herbs you favor (I like the outdoorsy, autumnal taste of sage)

In your little camp stove, heat up the olive oil for a few minutes. Add the onions and saute until translucent (5-10 minutes, depending on how crisp you like 'em). Add the vegan sausage and break up into pieces with your camp spoon. Get some of the pieces brown on one side, but keep stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Then add the potatoes and apples and put a lid on it! Sometimes I add a little water to the pot to "steam" things a bit. The potatoes take the longest so use those as your tester, and take off the lid every 5 minutes to give a stir and a taste. Throw whatever herbs you have in when you're 10 minutes from done. Once I add the potatoes it usually takes about 20 minutes for it all to cook together nicely. When the stew is at a consistency you like, add the salt and pepper to taste. Then devour.

If you have other veggies you'd like to add (parsnips? carrots?), do experiment! If you have it, this tastes phenom in a cast iron pan. But it's pretty darn good in a cook stove after a day's worth of hiking. This amount above serves two happy vegans. Sorry bears--none left for you.

MoFo Followup: Dilly Beans!

Remember the recipe for pickled green beans from Monday's post? We made them! Here they are in all their puckered glory: