Spider-Turkey and Green Gobbler save Thanksgiving

We had to call in the big guns to help us prepare for our Thanksgiving meal with the family of omnivores. So Spider-Turkey, Green Gobbler, and some of their feathered friends swooped in with a few choice dishes. The main one being this Hazelnut Cranberry Roast En Croute from the fine folks at Field Roast. I’m blatantly ripping off their photo of it cause we ate the whole thing before I could snap a picture. I was thankful that it’s stuffed with Field Roast’s sausages, crystallized ginger, cranberries, and apples. This is the best of the prepared turkey or roast veggie products I’ve discovered. Great pastry shell. Just the right combo of nutty & fruity bite to the stuffing. The consistency wasn’t too dense the way some of ’em can be. Highly recommended by this turkey, that’s for sure!

Green Gobbler didn’t waste any time getting to dessert. Once we slapped a brown sugar glaze on these pumpkin muffins, they didn’t last long. Holey-moley! Too, too delish.
We started preparing food Wednesday evening. But long after I got wrapped up in the world of tiny turkey costumes, Laurie’s assembly line of amazing delectables was still going strong. Not the least of which were some pumpkin cheddar biscuits. Warmed up with some Earth Balance Spread on ’em – Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! I couldn’t wait to sop up some gravy with ’em at the big meal so I ended up having a couple for breakfast that morning.

This was my first truly vegan, big holiday meal. I wasn’t eating meat last Thanksgiving, but the absence of dairy products this year meant a little more resourcefulness and skill was required to fill those plates. I’m thankful for my wife who has those qualities in spades! Sadly, there are no photos of her crowning achievement in this meal. The Fig-Pecan Stuffed Acorn Squash she made ensured that I will always remember my first vegan Thanksgiving. The figs and pecans were mixed with Earth Balance, agave nectar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. A little sweet for an entrée? Yes, but if fit with all the other different flavors and was a perfect fall dish.

Play With My Food is approaching its one year anniversary and I’m very, very thankful for all of the support I’ve gotten from so many of you. I never thought the site would have this many subscribers at all, let alone in the first year. I’d love to get comments from each of you at some point before the New Year about your experience with a vegan lifestyle.

Phantom of the Vegan Italian Sausage Penne

The stars of early horror films cap-
tivated my interest during my mid twenties. I became aware of the artistry required to commu-
nicate the unreal and the fantastic when filmmaking tech-
nology was in its infancy. Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, and Lon Chaney Sr. were all heroes to me. But Chaney holds a special place in film history because of how he literally (and I hate when that word is used in cases that are not literal) transformed himself to fill each role. Probably his most well-known portrayal is of the Phantom of the Opera. What was special about Chaney’s makeup is that he did it all himself with methods he had devised. And remember the context, the era – when audiences first see the Phantom’s face revealed on-screen, no one had seen anything that horrific outside of their imaginations. Audience members were said to have fainted at the sight. Of the techniques Chaney used in that role, one was to pull his nose back with a wire underneath the makeup and another was to draw his lips tight with tiny prongs. To be sure, many of his methods caused him no small amount of pain. His spine suffered lasting affects from the rigging he used to contort his body in roles like the Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Lon Chaney Jr may not have achieved the level of success that his pop did, but we couldn’t leave him out. The Wolfman from 1941 is far too iconic and earned him his own place in the monster hall of fame.

We mentioned before when we were planning to make a vegan Father’s Day meal for the in-laws. Well, you’ve never seen such a happy bunch of omnivores at a vegetarian meal! It all disappeared pretty fast, and we gotta say, it’s no surprise. The recipe is Italian Sausage Rigatoni with Balsamic Onions & Cherry Tomatoes – it comes from Gene Bauer’s Farm Sanctuary site and was submitted by the fine folks (hi, Jennifer!) over at Field *yum!* Roast. It’s super easy to make and we’ll definitely be unleashing it on another unsuspecting audience as soon as we get the chance.

4 sliced Field Roast Italian Sausages
1 lb uncooked rigatoni pasta (we used penne)
1 thin sliced Sweet Yellow onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 pint halved Cherry tomatoes
1 cup pitted & halved Kalamata olives
1/2 cup olive oil
Parsley
Salt and pepper

Cook pasta as directed on the package, add salt when water comes to a boil. Using a non stick skillet heat 1/2 of olive oil on medium high heat. Add sliced onions, cook until they begin to turn golden. Add garlic then add balsamic vinegar and allow to reduce 5-10 mins. Remove onions and add remaining oil to pan. Add sausage and brown on both sides. Add onion mixture back into the pan, stirring until well coated. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients, toss with pasta and serve. Turn suddenly to your guests and freak ’em out by *$&#%ing up yer face. Oops, wrong directions.