Amazing Vegetarian (Mostly Vegan) Thanksgiving Food

OK, it's way early for Thanksgiving, and given the heat around here I'm not even thinking about turning on the oven. But it's nonetheless worth reminding Isobel about these dishes, which we made for Thanksgiving last year. They're due to Bryant Terry, who seems to have made it his life's work to create incredible vegan food.

• Holiday Seitan Roast
  It's possible to make this with store-bought seitan, and if your local store carries seitan from The Bridge that might even be acceptable. (Their tofu is the best I have ever had. I basically don't buy anyone else's tofu.) But Terry's recipe for Homemade Seitan is really easy, and it is really, really good, too. So make it.
• Honeyed Sweet Potatoes
  OMG! These are so yummy!

Here's Terry's wonderful version of the southern classic Smothered Pork Chops.

• Smothered Seitan Medallions in Mixed Mushroom Gravy
  It's amazing how rich and satisfying this is, despite its having very little fat, even in the Gravy, which can of course be used for almost anything.
  Here again, use Terry's Homemade Seitan recipe.

That recipe, and many other amazing ones, can be found in Terry's book Vegan Soul Kitchen. I heartily recommend it, as well as his other books.

While we're at it, let me throw out this vegetarian version of shepherd's pie, which we also made last winter. It's really, really good. I found the recipe at the Vegetarian Times website, but it seems as if it may originally have been due to Annie Somerville, the chef at the famous Greens Restaurant in San Francisco. 

• Wild Mushroom and Caramelized Onion Shepherd's Pies
  We made it in a single, large dish, rather than in the individual dishes, because we didn't have enough ramekins, and it was fine.

There's a companion recipe for Parmesan Mashed Potatoes that I haven't tried yet, but will.