Your Vegan Holiday Feast

INGREDIENTS:

• Tofurky Roast, thawed in fridge for at least 24 hours
• 1 tablespoon Earth Balance vegan butter, room temperature
• 1/8 – ¼ cup coconut palm sugar, to taste
• 1 tablespoon sage, dried
• Sea Salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 carrots, diced
• 8-10 fingerling potatoes, diced
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon MCT coconut oil
• ¼ teaspoon thyme, dried
• ¼ teaspoon oregano, dried
• ¼ teaspoon rosemary, dried

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Run Tofurky Roast under hot water to loosen to plastic casing. Use a knife to carefully remove the plastic. Rub Tofurky Roast all over with ‘butter’; sprinkle coconut palm sugar and sage evenly over Tofurky & season with salt and pepper.

3. Peel and chop carrots and potatoes into large uniform pieces.

4. In a large bowl, mix together balsamic, MCT oil, thyme, oregano, and rosemary, add vegetables and toss to mix well.

5. Place Tofurky Roast in the centre of roasting pan and arrange vegetables around the outside. Set aside remaining oil mixture leftover in bowl from vegetables.

6. Cover roasting pan and place on the middle rack. Cook for 1 hour. Baste vegetables with remaining balsamic/oil blend and return to oven to bake uncovered for an additional 10-15 minutes.

7. For optimal flavour and texture, use a bread knife (or other sharp, serrated knife) and slice it as thin as you can!

PC: Julia Luymes

CRANBERRY ORANGE SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups fresh cranberries
• ¼ cup coconut nectar
• Zest from half an orange
• Juice from 1 orange (yields approx. 3-4 tablespoons)
• 1 cinnamon stick

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, uncovered on medium heat, stirring often.
2. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10-12 minutes until mixture has thickened. You want it to be about the same consistency of cranberry sauce.
3. Remove from heat cool for 20 minutes

PC: Julia Luymes

STUFFED ACORN SQUASH

Serves: 8 as a side, 4 as a main

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 small-medium acorn squashes
• 1 ½ tablespoons MCT oil, divided
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• ½ tablespoon dried rosemary (or 1 tbsp fresh minced from 1 sprig)
• ½ cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• ½ tablespoon dried sage
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 2 cups baby spinach, coarsely chopped (fresh or frozen)
• ½ cup dried currants (or more if you love currants as I do)
• 4 tablespoons balsamic glaze* (make in advance)
• 4 tablespoons almonds, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Cut acorn squashes in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds, then cut each of the halves in half once more for 4 evenly sized wedges.

3. Place the squash wedges facing up, brush with about half of the MCT oil. Season with salt, pepper and sprinkle with rosemary. Roast for 35-40 minutes until the squash is tender.

4. While the squash is roasting, combine the rinsed quinoa, vegetable stock, and a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan. Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to simmer and cook for 15 minutes, or until all of the stock is absorbed and the quinoa puffed up. Fluff with a fork, set aside.

5. In a large saucepan, heat the remaining MCT oil over medium-low heat. Add the diced onions and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the carrots and stir, cooking until the carrots are slightly soft, about 3 minutes. Add sage and garlic and stir. Add the spinach and stir to mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cooked quinoa and dried currants (add more if you like)! Remove from heat.

6. *Make balsamic glaze by gently reducing balsamic vinegar on a low heat in a saucepan (start with double the amount – 8 tablespoons and slowly reduce to half of the amount). Chop almonds and dry roast slightly on low heat in a frying pan.

7. Place roasted squash wedges on a serving platter and carefully spoon the spinach and quinoa stuffing into the cavities. Drizzle each wedge with the balsamic glaze and garnish with the chopped almonds. Serve immediately.