Meatless Holiday Meals Can Still Have All the Traditional Trimmings

Most vegetarians can count on one question at this time of year: “What will you eat at a big holiday celebration?”

When asked, I say that I used to settle for trimmings: salads, cranberry sauce, any vegetables, pumpkin pie, etc. I’d leave the table feeling full, but not well-fed. Since turkey and other meats contribute the protein to many holiday menus, I pass up a lot more than meat and poultry when I refuse a host’s entree.

In recent years, I’ve been serving a nourishing meatless adaptation of a traditional holiday dinner, featuring most of the familiar flavors, as well as fruits and vegetables in overabundance appropriate to a celebration of a bountiful Earth.

The meal starts with a crustless quiche of spinach, mushrooms and three cheeses. A red pepper rim gives it a seasonal look, and the combination of tofu, eggs and cheese make it a potent protein source.

The flavors and colors of Cranberry-Apple Sauce and Carrot-Flecked Corn Bread set off the entree Stuffed Acorn Squash with rice, currents and nuts. Topped with a tangy sauce of orange juice, tahini (sesame paste) and garbanzo beans, the rice-stuffed squash becomes a worthy main course. According to the rules of complementary proteins, the amino acids in the garbanzo beans and sesame paste, plus the amino acids in the rice, add up to the usable type of protein you’d get from turkey. Finally, pumpkin cheesecake--more wholesome than the name implies--is a scrumptious switch from the standard holiday dessert.

You can save some time by making several dishes the day before. In fact, the Cranberry-Apple Sauce, rice stuffing and Pumpkin Cheesecake taste even better after sitting, refrigerated, overnight. Don’t prepare the quiche in advance; it loses color. Wait until party day to stuff the squash too, or it will turn mushy. The corn bread also is best served straight from the oven.

VEGETARIAN HOLIDAY MENU

Two Vegetable Wreath (Crustless Quiche With Spinach, Mushrooms and 3 Cheeses)

Stuffed Acorn Squash With Orange Spice Sauce

Apple-Cranberry Sauce, Carrot-Flecked Corn Bread

Pumpkin Cheesecake

TWO VEGETABLE WREATH

(Crustless Quiche With Spinach, Mushrooms and 3 Cheeses)

1 small white onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

12 medium mushrooms, sliced

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon thyme

3 eggs, beaten

1 pound soft tofu

Dash soy sauce

4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and very well drained

1/4 cup Jarlsberg cheese, grated

1 long sweet red pepper, cut in thin strips

Dash ground nutmeg

Grated Parmesan cheese

Grease bottom and sides of deep 9-inch pie plate.

Saute onion and garlic in butter until onion is tender. Add mushrooms, oregano and thyme. Cook, stirring frequently until mushrooms are cooked and all liquid has evaporated in pan. Remove from heat.

In food processor or blender, blend eggs, tofu and soy sauce together until smooth. Pour into prepared dish.

Sprinkle half of feta cheese over 1/4 tofu mixture and top with half of spinach forming wedge of feta and spinach. Next, make wedge of Jarlsberg cheese and mushrooms by sprinkling half of Jarlsberg next to spinach and topping with half the mushrooms. Repeat with remaining ingredients, alternating spinach-feta wedge with Jarlsberg-mushroom wedge.

Press red pepper strips as spokes between spinach and mushroom wedges. Form border around rim of quiche with remaining red pepper strips. Dust spinach wedges with nutmeg and grated Parmesan cheese. Bake 25 to 30 minutes at 375 degrees, until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting. Makes 6 servings.

APPLE-CRANBERRY SAUCE

2 cups fresh cranberries, washed

2 apples (preferably Rome), peeled, cored and chopped

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground mace

In saucepan, combine cranberries, apples, honey, water, cinnamon and mace. Cover and bring to boil. Cook over low heat until berries “pop” and apples soften, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir well and puree. Chill, covered, 4 hours or overnight. Makes 6 servings.

STUFFED ACORN SQUASH WITH ORANGE SPICE SAUCE

6 medium acorn squash

Sweet Broth

2 white onions, chopped fine

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup currants

2 teaspoons ground allspice

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 cup long grain white rice

Orange Spice Sauce

Snap off any stems on squash and trim stem ends flat. Place squash, stem side down, in pie plate or large baking dish. Pour Sweet Broth in bottom to depth of 1/2 inch. Bake at 425 degrees until squash soften, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, saute onions in butter until translucent. Stir in walnuts, currants, allspice, cumin, cinnamon and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add rice and stir to coat with spices. Stir in 2 cups Sweet Broth, cover and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes.

Slice 1/2 inch from top of each squash. Discard tops and scoop seeds and pulp from centers of squash, leaving a 1/4-inch thick pulp wall inside shells. Fill squash centers with rice mixture.

Discard broth in baking pan and place squash, stuffing side down, in baking dish. Return to oven and cook 10 minutes longer. Slide a spatula under each squash, carefully invert it and arrange on a serving platter stem side down. Serve with Orange Spice Sauce on side. Makes 6 servings.

Sweet Broth

4 carrots, peeled

3 celery stalks, with leaves

1 large white onion, quartered

1 large red onion, quartered

1/2 head cabbage, halved

6 cups water

Combine carrots, celery, white onion, red onion, cabbage and water. Cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 2 hours. Strain broth through colander, discarding vegetables. Makes 6 cups.

Orange Spice Sauce

1/2 cup cooked garbanzo beans

1/4 cup tahini

1 garlic clove, minced

3/4 cup orange juice

1/2 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt whisked until smooth

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground coriander

Dash paprika

In a blender or food processor, blend garbanzo beans, tahini and garlic into paste. Add orange juice and buttermilk and process until smooth. Add cumin, ginger, coriander and paprika. Stir to blend. Serve at room temperature.

CARROT-FLECKED CORN BREAD

2 cups yellow cornmeal

1/2 cup wheat germ

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon sugar

2 cups plain yogurt, whisked until smooth

1 egg, beaten

1 large carrot, grated

Butter

In a large mixing bowl, combine cornmeal, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. In smaller bowl, stir together yogurt, egg and carrot. Add yogurt mixture to dry ingredients, stirring just enough to moisten. Turn into buttered 8x8-inch square baking pan and bake at 425 degrees 15 to 20 minutes, or until done but still slightly moist. Makes 6 servings.

Note: Leftover corn bread is excellent toasted.

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

1/2 cup whole-wheat bread crumbs or wheat germ

4 eggs, separated

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons honey

1 pound ricotta or cottage cheese

2 tablespoons flour

1 (16-ounce) can pumpkin

1 tablespoon molasses

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground mace

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup buttermilk

Whipped cream or vanilla yogurt

Grease bottom and sides of 9-inch springform pan. Dust with bread crumbs, shaking out any excess.

Whip egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and 2 tablespoons honey. Continue whipping until stiff but not dry. Beat egg yolks.

In a blender or food processor, blend ricotta until smooth. Add flour and remaining 1/2 cup honey and process again, adding egg yolks gradually until mixture is smooth. Beat in pumpkin, molasses, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg and buttermilk. Gently fold in eggs whites and pour into prepared pan.

Bake 350 degrees about 1 1/2 hours. Check halfway through. If top is browning too rapidly, cover lightly with foil for remaining baking time. Turn off heat and let cake sit in oven for another hour. Remove and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. Serve topped with whipped cream or vanilla yogurt. Makes 6 to 8 servings.