Enjoy a guilt free Thanksgiving. Enjoy vegetarian turkey instead.

When I first became a vegetarian I didn’t miss any meat, except turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I had it every single holiday that I could remember and the first without was interesting. What was I going to fix? At that time there was no Tofurky available. For a number of years we just ate butternut or acorn squash to replace the turkey. Then I found this recipe from Ann Gentry. I first used it about 15 years ago. I was amazed to find her sharing it in a recent blog post.

I’ll tell you, if you want the taste of turkey without having to kill one to eat it, this is the recipe for you. I love this recipe. It does take a little bit of prep time, but it’s delicious. The recipe also makes a huge amount, so I usually halve it, because there’s only two of us. Even then we can have “turkey” leftovers for several days afterward, just like we did in the “olden days.”

I serve it with my own herbed gravy, which I’m sharing below. So, here’s a great base for holiday meals without the meat. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Herbed Gravy

Prep Time: 20 min

Servings: 1.5- 2 cups

Ingredients

  • ½ cup whole-wheat pastry flour
  • 1 cup rice milk, unsweetened
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 cup water
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 2 Tbsp safflower or sunflower oil
  • 1 tsp dried, crushed sage
  • ½ tsp dry thyme
  • ¼ tsp dry marjoram
  • pinch black pepper

In 2 qt. saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add flour and stir often for 2 min. Remove from heat and allow to cool for several minutes. In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Whisk together with the flour/oil, half at a time to avoid lumping. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring often. Reduce heat to low and cook for 10-15 min, stirring occasionally. If gravy seems too thick, whisk in additional water, 1 Tbs. at a time until desired consistency is reached. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

You can substitute soy or almond milk for the rice milk.