A gluten-free vegetarian Thanksgiving–those words make some people pretty nervous. Lucky for you Sea Maiden of Book of Yum decided it’d be nice to have some gluten-free veggie bloggers provide you with some inspiration, so she created The Gluten-Free Vegetarian Thanksgiving. Every day up until Thanksgiving a different blogger will share a Thanksgiving dish idea, and Sea will highlight them all on her site. You’ll have a whole menu waiting for you.

Obviously turkey is a big part of Thanksgiving for many people. Some people even call it the “star.” But you probably don’t think that. So if you’re not going to have the turkey, what do you do? The obvious choices are 1) not worry about it and eat plenty of sides or 2) make your own entree. If you’re in the latter group, here’s a dish you might want to try.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 rib of celery, diced
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 pound of mushrooms, diced
• 1/2 cup white wine, vegetable broth, hard cider, or water
• 1 cup gluten-free bread crumbs (~2 sandwich slices if processing yourself)
• 2 cups pecans
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 eggs (or the equivalent amount of egg replacer for vegan)
• sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan. Line with parchment paper.
2. Heat a medium-large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil. Add the onions and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent and just beginning to brown.
3. Clear a spot in the pan and add the garlic. Cook for half a minute. Add the mushrooms, wine, and a pinch of salt. Stir well. Allow the mushrooms to release their juices, then increase heat to medium-high. Simmer until most, but not all of the liquid has cooked off, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. While the mushrooms are cooking, pulse the nuts in a food processor until evenly ground, but not a fine powder. Place in a large mixing bowl with the bread crumbs. Stir in parsley, sage, thyme, and oregano, plus a pinch of salt and a few cranks of pepper. When the mushrooms are finished, add to the mixing bowl. Stir well. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl, then stir into the nut mixture.
5. Spoon mixture into the greased loaf pan. Press down to ensure mixture is solid, and smooth the top.
6. Place in the oven and bake around 45 minutes, until the edges are browned and a toothpick inserted in the loaf comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Run a knife around the edges if necessary. Place serving platter over the pan, and invert. Remove parchment paper and serve.

[Serves 8]

The pecans really shine through, but they balance nicely with the mushrooms. If you have a gravy recipe you love, whip it up and spoon away. I thought the nuttiness played well with my spiced cranberry sauce.

This certainly packs in the protein if you’re concerned that the other available dishes will be too starchy. (If, on the other hand, you’re in the “Paleo diet be damned, I love my starches” camp, maybe consider a batch of my gluten-free cornbread stuffing?)

Hopefully I got the wheels spinning, and if you’re looking for more make sure to check back into The Gluten-Free Vegetarian Thanksgiving page in the coming days. I’m also sharing this recipe in Wellness Weekend, and Make Your Own Monday.

This site pretty well documents my love of beans. I’d probably be happy eating them at every meal. Yet you don’t frequently see breakfast recipes that use beans. (Although I suppose I snuck some in to my migas and southwestern omelette).

When I heard about ful medames, I knew that sooner or later they would work their way into my rotation. Ful medames are an Egyptian breakfast dish (or possibly lunch) made of fava beans. Basically the fava beans are cooked, then mashed and served with a variety of accompaniments so everyone gets to season to their liking.

My biggest obstacle was finding the right kind of beans. Ful medames are made with small fava beans, instead of the large ones we more commonly see in the States. Eventually I was able to find some canned at the local import grocery store.

• 2 15-ounce cans small fava beans (3 cups cooked beans)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• juice of one lemon (~3 tablespoons)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, well-packed
• sea salt
• extra virgin olive oil

1. Rinse and drain the fava beans. Place in a small to medium sized pot. Add the water, cumin, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Add in the garlic, lemon juice, and parsley. Mash about half the beans, and make sure everything is well mixed. Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Serve with any of the accompaniments listed below.

• pita bread
• hard boiled eggs
• chopped fresh tomatoes
• lemon wedges
• fresh parsley
• tahini
• chili pepper flakes
• raw onion
• pickled vegetables

(Serves 4)

I couldn’t find any gluten-free pita, so we ate ours with spoons. I don’t think we were missing anything. But I suppose toast could be used.

Seeing as I’ve been raving about my love of beans, it seems fitting that I share this recipe in My Legume Love Affair being hosted by the lovely Simona of Briciole. I’m also sharing in Premeditated Leftovers, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, These Chicks Cooked, Full Plate Thursday, and Wellness Weekends.

Aloo gobi is a staple on many Indian restaurant menus. Like the title says, this is a dish of potatoes and cauliflower. That’s what the words aloo and gobi mean. Despite the humble ingredients, the dish still packs a flavor punch.

• 1/2 head cauliflower, cut into small florets (~2 cups) 10 ounces
• 2 medium potatoes, cut into small cubes (~2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil or ghee
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced (~1 tablespoon)
• 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, about 1-inch long, finely minced (~1 tablespoon)
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce

1. Place the ginger, garlic, coriander, tumeric, and red pepper in a small bowl and mix with the water to make a paste. Set aside.
2. Heat a large skillet with a lid over medium-high heat. Add the oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the cumin and mustard seeds. Cover and cook until the seeds stop sputtering, 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the spice paste. Cook for 1-2 minutes until mixture darkens and the spices begin to release their oils.
4. Add the potatoes, cauliflower, salt and tomato sauce. Stir well. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 40-45 minutes, stirring once or twice, until potatoes and cauliflower are soft. Remove from heat and serve.

(Serves 4)

When you add the cumin and mustard seeds, it’s kind of like making popcorn. You won’t hear much right away, then they’ll start popping, then it dies down. Be aware that when you remove the lid, you might have some seeds come flying at you. The spice paste will also sputter up when you add it to the pan.

If you can’t find whole cumin seeds, ground cumin can be used. Mix it in the rest of the spice paste.

This recipe is also appearing in Hearth and Soul Hop, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, and Wellness Weekends.

The lovely France and Joshua of Beyond the Peel are hosting Wholesome Wholegrain Cooking. For this event the host chooses a whole grain and a meal they want to highlight. This month is Millet for Lunch. Mike and I both work from home, so lunch for us is generally whatever I happen to be cooking that day. (Mmm german chocolate cupcakes for lunch). But I have spent my fair share of time packing lunches, so I set out to make something easily packable. While everyone else seems to be in pumpkin mode, I can’t seem to get enough fresh sage. When I’m trying to figure out how to spice a dish, sage seems to be the first thing that always comes to mind. And sage always seems to pair with white beans in my head.

I figured mini-casseroles would be just the right size for packing. Grab and go, with no need to slice, like you would with full-sized casserole. I originally was trying to make more of a tart with millet as the crust, but it tended to be crumbly which is not easily packable. And honestly, mixing everything together is just easier anyway.

• 2 1/2 cups cooked white beans
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 5-6 fresh sage leaves, torn into pieces
• 1/3 cup stock, water, or cream
• sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 cups cooked millet

1. Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the onions. Cook for about 5 minutes then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally until onions are golden brown, 45-50 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
3. Combine the white beans, caramelized onion, fresh sage, stock, and remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a food processor. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Process until smooth.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the bean puree with the cooked millet. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
5. Spoon mixture into greased muffin tin. Cover the tin with aluminum foil.
6. Place in the oven, and bake for 15 minutes, then remove the foil. Bake for another 5-6 minutes, until edges are just beginning to brown. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool completely before removing from the tin.

(Makes 12 mini-casseroles)

You have lots of leeway in deciding how caramelized you’d like your onions. You can cook them much longer than 45 minutes. They’ll keep getting darker and sweeter. It just depends on how much time you have, and how patient you are. I wouldn’t go less that 30 minutes though.

This recipe is also being shared in Slightly Indulgent Tuesday,  Hearth and Soul Hop, These Chicks Cooked, and Wellness Weekends.

Shortly before we left Chicago, we had brunch at a cute little cafe near our house. If we’re going to be eating out, Mike prefers eating out for breakfast as he can pretty much count on eggs being on the menu. On this occasion, he had a “Latina Omeletta”, a southwestern-influenced omelette. Nothing ground-breaking, but definitely delicious, so it was filed in my mental “make for the blog” folder. I suppose it slipped my mind for a few months, but it popped back in the other day. Here’s my version.

For the plantains:

• 2 plantains, sliced lengthwise, then into 1/4-inch thick segments
• 1-2 teaspoons coconut oil or olive oil
• ground cinnamon (optional)

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Film the pan with oil. Once oil is hot, add the plantains and spread into a single layer. Let sit for about a minute, then stir and spread into a layer again. Repeat for around 5-6 minutes, until plantains are golden-brown on the outside. Remove from pan and keep warm. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon if desired.

For the omelette:

• 3 eggs
• splash of milk or water (optional)
• 1-2 teaspoons finely chopped chipotle chili in adobo sauce
• 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped
• 2-3 tablespoons grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup cooked black beans
• 3-4 cherry tomatoes, chopped in 1/4s or 1/8s depending on size
• 1 green onion, chopped
• olive oil
• sour cream, for garnish
• avocado slices, for garnish

1. Beat the eggs, with milk or water if desired, until fluffy. Set aside.
2. Heat a medium-sized skillet over medium-heat. Film the pan with oil. Once the oil is hot, pour in the eggs. Allow the egg to set on the bottom. Then go around the edge of the skillet, gently lifting up the edge of the cooked egg with a spatula, and allowing uncooked egg to run underneath. Do this until the the egg is mostly cooked.
3. Spread the chopped chipotle across half of the egg, then sprinkle the remaining ingredients on the same half. Using a spatula, fold the unfilled half over the filled half. Loosen up the bottom of the omelette and slide out of the skillet. Garnish and serve with the fried plantains.

(Serves 1-2)

Unlike bananas, when buying plantains, you want them to be blackened.

Omelette making is easiest in a non-stick skillet. We don’t own one, so we know it certainly can be done in other pans, however your omelette might have more browning than an omelette made in a non-stick pan.

Most of the time when we make omelettes, we just throw in fillings until it looks right. I measured this time to give you some general guidelines, but you’re welcome to change up the proportions to suit your needs.

Also featured in Full Plate Thursday and Hearth and Soul Hop.