Black (and Blue) Friday

Ahhh--the holiday season is here again.  I have shopped for Christmas present and I have also worked retail at Christmas so I have been on both sides of the Christmas rush.  Generally I am more of a last minute shopper but there have been a few years when I found my self out at the stores on Black Friday, being pushed and shoved through crowds and being herded through the lines at the cash register.  I guess the chaos of Black Friday and the rest of the holiday season is part of the deal when you work in retail over the holidays and I get it.

But I have noticed that more and more retail stores have started opening on Thursday night--Thanksgiving--to get a jump on Black Friday.  Just as a few examples...Walmart opens at 8:00 p.m. and Toys 'R' Us opens at 9:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving night.  So that means that a group of unfortunate employees have to pull themselves away from Thanksgiving festivities and go to work.  I know that these business are there to make money and that employees in retail should expect some inconvenient or late hours over the holiday season but I really think that people in retail deserve at least one FULL day off to enjoy with their friends and families--especially since they are gonna be running around like crazy for the 5 or 6 weeks after Thanksgiving.  I think it is more then reasonable for stores to open crazy early on Friday morning (even at like 4:00 or 5:00 a.m.) so they are open for those customers who are really itching for those Black Friday deals.  That way the store is still open but their employees have had the chance to enjoy a day off.

And maybe there are some people who don't mind working on Thanksgiving night but I think generally it's good for employee morale for a company to give all of their employees a full day off--not to worry about work and just to enjoy spending the day with friends, family, pets or however else they would most enjoy it.

Bizarro Black Friday

What is the opposite of Black Friday? Teal Tuesday? Somehow that sounded funnier in my head but I'm gonna go with it...Anyway, have you ever wondered to yourself, "Well, where can I go on Black Friday that will be practically deserted? If you are looking to avoid the mad dash to the stores and people elbowing each other and knocking each other over to get the perfect gift (because shoving the little old lady in front of you to get the last 'Piss my Pants Polly doll' is totally in the spirit of the Christmas season) I have the answer for you. If you are looking for 'Bizarro' Black Friday spend it at the grocery store. While retailers all across the country are gearing up for the annual mad frenzy of shopping and spending the grocery store is practically empty. It's like getting tickets to a Miley Cyrus concert (no one listens to her anymore, right?) when there is a Lady Gaga concert going on right down the street. No lines, no waiting at the Miley concert because everyone is at the Gaga show.  I think this happens for a few reasons 1) everyone is out shopping at Black Friday sales and 2) It's the day after Thanksgiving--no one is thinking about food or grocery shopping! They have too much food at their house as it is. So I got stuck at work on Black Friday. There were 5 cashiers, 1 bagger and no customers. And I couldn't stop yawning (I think I still had a bit of a turkey hang over).  The customers we did have were really just running into the store to pick up a few things.  No one was really doing any serious grocery shopping.  The store manager didn't feel like being there either and there wasn't much work to do so overall it was a quiet, low key night without a lot of work to do.  I figured it wasn't too bad being there and being paid for doing nothing.  "Just enjoy it while it lasts!" I thought to myself, "Because in a few weeks it will be a zoo in here--everyone shopping for holiday dinner, holiday parties, Christmas cookies.  The mad rush generally starts at the beginning of December.  Then through the first week of January everyone makes that new years resolution to lose weight and eat healthier so they stock up on Slim Fast shakes, health food and rice cakes

Let them eat cake...

Cranberry Upside-down Cake

• 1/2 cup Earth Balance margarine, softened, divided


• 3/4 cup brown sugar


• 12-ounce bag cranberries


• 1 1/2 cups flour


• 1 cup sugar


• 1 tablespoon baking powder


• 1 tablespoon soy flour (recipe says soy flour but I imagine you could use regular flour--but I don't guarantee the results)


• 1 cup soy milk


• 1 teaspoon vanilla


• 1/4 teaspoon lemon oil or 1 tablespoon lemon zest, chopped very fine

Preheat oven to 350 degree. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt together 1/4 cup of the Earth Balance and all the brown sugar. Pour into oiled cake pan and arrange cranberries evenly on top.

In a large bowl, mix flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and flour. In a medium bowl mix milk, vanilla, lemon oil or zest and the remaining 1/4 cup of Earth Balance. Using a mixer, blend the wet ingredients into the dry indregients and mix well.

Spoon the cake batter over the cranberry mixture and bake for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cake and run a knife along the circumference of the pan to seperate the pan from the pan's edge.

Allow cake to cook for at least 15 minutes--ideally 30 minutes. Place plate on top of the cake and quickly invert it and remove the pan.

Bon Appetite!

I'm stuffed!

Vegans and I guess some vegetarians don't eat stuffing that has been cooked in the turkey so here's a stuffing that cooks separately. This sounds delicious to me!

Walnut-Apple Stuffing:

• 6 cups firmly packed diced whole grain bread


• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil


• 1 1/2 cups chopped red onion


• 2 crisp apples, peeled and diced


• 3 scallions, thinly sliced


• 1/4 cup chopped parsley


• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme


• Several leaves fresh sage, thinly sliced to taste (or 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried sage)


• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts


• Salt and freshly gound pepper to taste


• 1 1/2 cups apple juice
  
  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  
  Place the diced bread on a baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minuted or until dry and lightly brown.
  
  Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the red onion and sautee' over medium heat until golden. Add the apples and sautee for another 5 minutes.
  
  In a mixing bowl, combine the bread crumbs with the onion and apple mixture. Add the remaining ingredients except the apple juice and toss together. Pour the apple juice in slowly, stirring at the same time to moisten the ingredients evenly.
  
  Transfer the mixture to an oiled shallow 1 1/2-quart baking pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until browned and still slightly moist. Stir once during the baking time.

This recipe serves 8 to 12.

Hot Potatoes

I think potatoes are a central part of the Thanksgiving meal. Here are some tasty ways to use sweet potatoes.

Sweet Potato Soup:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil



• 2 medium onions. chopped


• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced



• 1 large celery stalk, diced



• Handful of celery leaves


• 6 cups peeled diced (about 1/2 inch) sweet potatoes


• 2 bay leaves


• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme


• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg


• 1 cup rice milk or coconut


• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the onion, carrots and celery and saute' over low heat until the onions are golden.

Add the celery leaves and diced sweet potatoes. Add just enough water to cover all but about an inch of the vegetables. Bring to a simmer, then stir in the bay leaves. Simmer covered, until the sweet potatoes and vegetables are tender (this should take about 20 to 25 minutes). Remove the bay leaves.

With a slotted spoon, remove about half of the solid ingredients and transfer to a food processor along with about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Process until smoothly pureed, then stir back into the soup pot. Or, simply insert an immersion blender into the pot and process until smoothly pureed.

Add the rice milk to give the soup a slightly thick consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer over very low heat for another 10 to 15 minutes.

This recipe serves 6.

Maple and Tarragon Sweet Potatoes:

• 4 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick


• 1/2 cup maple syrup


• 1/4 cup margarine or butter substitute, melted


• 1/4 cup orange juice


• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 2 teaspoons dried tarragon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Arrange the sweet potato slices in overlapping rows in an oiled shallow 2-quart casserole dish. In a small bowl, combine the syrup, margarine, juice, cinnamon and salt. Pour even over the potatoes. Spinkle the tarragon over the top.

Cover with lid or foil and bake, covered for 25 to 30 minutes, or until readily pierced with a fork but still firm. Bake for another 20-25 minutes, uncovered or until glazed and golden around the edges.

This recipe serves 8 or more.

Starter

All of the recipes I found for this Thanksgiving meal were on www.vegkitchen.com. This web site had tons and tons of ideas. Of course, the internet is a great source for recipes (duh). This salad sounds refreshing and fresh and sort of fall-like. A lighter way to start what is normally a really heavy meal.

Pear and Toasted Walnut Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 teaspoon guar gum (or you can substitute 2 teaspoons of olive oil)
3 tablespoons walnut halves or pieces, toasted
2 large ripe pears, each cut into 8 to 12 slices
4 to 6 cups greens or spring mix, including some bitter one like arugula or cress
Freshly ground pepper, to taste.

Combine the water, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, mustard and 2 tablespoons of the cranberries in a food processor (or you can use your blender if you don't have a food processor). Process. Then add the guar gum. Process. Set aside.

Put washed and dried greens in a large bowl. Pour half the dressing over the greens and toss. Arrange pears over the greens and sprinkle walnuts and cranberries over the pears.

Add the remaining dressing if you like. Top with fresh ground pepper. Serve quickly and watch everyone enjoy!

This recipe serves 4-6

A very vegan Thanksgiving...

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday for a few reasons. It "kicks off" the holiday season but without all the pressure and holiday stress of shopping that comes at Christmas. You get to spend to time with your family. It's close to my birthday--yay! But I especially love it because it's all of my favorite comfort food all in one meal. Turkey. Stuffing. Mashed potatoes. Gravy. Warm rolls out of the oven. Pumpkin pie. What more could you ask for? I still love Thanksgiving but over the past few years a few things have changed in my family. A few years ago my stepmom developed allergies to all dairy. Well, the most important part of creamy, delicious mashed potatoes is the milk and butter. And, my sister became a vegan. Not just a vegetarian--a vegan. So (obviously) turkey was out and mashed potatoes were out and pie crust with butter was out. We still do the traditional Thanksgiving dinner but with some modifications. Last year my sister made vegan mashed potatoes and used soy milk and put roasted garlic hummus in them--I have to admit at first I was very skeptical but they were actually really good and the hummus made them creamy.

This Thanksgiving we went to my Aunt and Uncle's house for dinner. I was about to start getting ready to go when I remembered to send a quick text to my friend, Mindy and her husband, Kevin to wish them a happy Thanksgiving. Mindy is my oldest "friend". I put friend in quotes because I have known her since kindergarden. I met her when I was 5. That is unbelievable to me. I met her at the bus stop on the way to school. She was the first friend I made there. I moved when I was in 5th grade and of course life goes on. We grew apart as people do but e-mail and text messaging has helped us stay in touch. So we don't have a "day-to-day friendship" but we keep each other updated about the big stuff that is going in our lives. She invited me to her bridal shower and her wedding and invites me to her New Years eve party. So as I was deciding what to wear to Thanksgiving dinner Mindy sent me a text back wishing me a happy Thanksgiving but also saying that she got some upsetting news a few days ago. She found out she had diabetes. She had to take insulin shots and she found out 2 days before Thanksgiving that she had to completely change her diet. She said that it makes for a frustrating holiday that is all about food. So besides the obvious tie in Thanksgiving has with food and the grocery store--this week in honor of Mindy and my stepmom and my sister I wanted to put together a few recipes for people who might not be able to eat all the "traditional" Thanksgiving feast. These recipes sound delicious! So if for whatever reason you can't eat what everyone else is eating this Thanskgiving here are some other options for people who are eating meat-free or dairy-free. Enjoy!