Vegan Pumpkin Mac n’ Cheese
Vegan Pumpkin Mac n’ Cheese is creamy, easy, delicious, and healthy. You’ll fool all non-vegans for sure! I brought this to a friend’s Thanksgiving this past weekend and almost everyone said, “you’d have no idea there wasn’t any cheese in here.” Just another carb to add to your Thanksgiving day menu! This is a vegan game changer… no doubt.
A couple of my sibs are flying in for my vegan T-day. We have gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan amongst us. I am making this Vegan Pumpkin Mac n’ Cheese (with gluten-free pasta), a vegan meatloaf, Tofurkey roast, stuffing with ‘sausage’ (homemade of course), mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, spinach salad with candied pecans, and an apple pie & pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving. I’m serving a vegan spinach and artichoke dip, some sort of hummus, and a vegan sour cream & onion dip for appetizers. They’ll be LOADS of wine and bubbly throughout the day and well into the evening. If any of us make it up the stairs for bed I will die in utter amazement! I’m carbin’ everyone the ‘f’ up and steering us into booze-ville. If we end the night with garage games I’ll be pleasantly surprised; though I won’t be holding my breath.
I didn’t anticipate shooting this pasta so these are all of the pics I have. I brought this Vegan Pumpkin Mac n’ Cheese, fresh flowers and herbs from my garden, and a bottle of pomegranate mimosas with pom seeds to my friend’s house. She hosted an awesome soiree and it was SO great to see her, as I’ve not seen her since I moved back to OR last year. Thanks for the hospitality, Bethany! 🙂
- 16 oz pasta (I used cellentani)
- 1/3 cup raw and unsalted cashews
- 1 small butternut squash - steamed and de-shelled
- 3 Tbl nutritional yeast
- 1/2 a 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp of thyme
- 1 veggie broth cube (I used the equivalent with Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Broth)
- 1 small onion - diced
- 2 cloves of garlic - diced
- Oil for pan
- Boil water for pasta and cook when ready
- Heat a pan and cook onions for 3 minutes
- Add the garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes ( like mine slightly browned)
- In a high powered blender (I use my Vitamix) add the onion/garlic mix and all other ingredients other than the pasta
- Blend until smooth
- Poor contents of the blender over the drained pasta and mix well (add water if needed)
- Done!
- Amazing dish for Thanksgiving! Also, I LOVE a good hot sauce on any mac n' cheese. If we are sympatico, go nuts!
- White wine: Chardonnay
- Red wine: Barbera
My 5 Most Popular Vegan Entrées!
My 5 Most Popular Entrées are just that. From Asian to Italian entrées, these vegan meals offer you a variety of hearty, easy, and delicious recipes for any family meal, small soirée, or of course, for some dope solo vegan grub.
I’ve been outta commission this past month. I decided to go to New York for a long stay. My parents live here and I still have loads of friends all over the state. It has been so rejuvenating to spend time with everyone. It’s also been amazing to see Grey hang with my friends’ kiddos! So crazy! Half of the friend tribes I see here are friends from 20 plus years ago. I feel so lucky to have that.
G and I started our journey in New Orleans with my brother and fam. After a few days there, we drove to NY and camped along the way. This was the escape that I desperately needed! For some awesome pics of New Orleans and our journey to NY, check out my Instagram page (@foodgalleygab – Heather Rugile). My brother’s purple classic Nola home is f’in’ suh-weet!
Let me know what you think of My 5 Most Popular Vegan Entrées. If you change up the recipe, etc. I’d love to hear it. I believe the comment section might actually be working for one of the only times in FGG’s history in the blogosphere. LOL.
Click on the title of the recipe to bring you directly to its page.
For your cooking and listening delight… (love them)!
Tahini Mushroom Dumplings
Vegan Pumpkin Mac n’ Cheese
The Cheesiest Vegan Broccoli & Cheddar Baked Potato Ever!
Vegan Grilled Stuffed Burrito w/ Avocado Ranch!
Vegan Kale Pesto Lasagna with Veggie Tofu Ricotta
*Featured photo by Vegan Liftz on Unsplash
Thanksgiving Trivia & Ramblings
Thanksgiving Trivia & Ramblings is a repost from last year. I love games, trivia included, during holidays with friends or family. Below is some Trivia about this crazy day of eating, drinking, and everything-ing in excess.
I remember the second Thanksgiving I celebrated in Beijing. I had taken the Wednesday off from work so that I could prepare food and drinks for approximately 20-25 people. It was fucking nuts! I started at about 9AM on Wednesday morning and went straight through until about 11 PM – solo. And what’s even more nuts, is that I totally loved every second of it! I had the apartment to myself, I drank wine, listened to music, and got my daily dose of ‘therapy’ in – hardcore. Cooking = therapy. Hands down. I wasn’t even thinking about the fact that almost everyone who was attending my party had never celebrated Thanksgiving. There were about 3 Americans, a few Canadians (who celebrate their own Thanksgiving about one month prior to ours), and a bunch of Brits, Australians, and some other randoms. Mind you, at the time, I was vegetarian (since I was 8); now vegan. Therefore, everyone chowed down sans Turkey. I made my stepdad’s awesome ‘meatloaf,’ pumpkin mac n’ cheese, au gratin potatoes, mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy (oh how I miss the variety and cheapness of shrooms in China), stuffing (homemade), cranberry sauce (homemade), roasted maple veggies (brussel sprouts, carrots etc), and my mothers fall salad – mesclun greens, candied pecans, blue cheese, shredded carrot, sliced red grapes, and diced apples topped with a homemade honey dijon dressing. SO GOOD! For drinks, we had mulled wine, beer, and wine. I decorated the apartment with laminated pictures of funny Thanksgiving facts/images, and we had a Thanksgiving game (I remember making it but I don’t remember what it was). It was one of my best parties that I threw whilst in BJ. In these reflective moments, I actually do miss it! In fact, it was probably my best Thanksgiving ever. Sorry, fam! 😉 And, my foreign friends fucking loved the shit out of it! Happy T-day, everyone! For a vegan Thanksgiving menu, click the title below:
The BEST Vegan Thanksgiving Menu
-FGG
*Featured image by, Icebreaker Ideas (Click to bring you to link with more Thanksgiving Trivia questions)!
THANKSGIVING TRIVIA
1- What is the real reason people get so tired after eating on Thanksgiving?
2- Who thought the turkey should be America’s representative bird?
3- Which president wouldn’t declare Thanksgiving a holiday due to his strong belief between separation of church and state?
4- What was the name of the ship that the religious separatists set sail on from Plymouth?
5- Which US state consumes the most turkey on Thanksgiving?
6- Which turkey actually ‘gobbles:’ Male or female?
7- What is the name of the most famous Native American to have helped the Pilgrims?
8- What year was the first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?
9- What does the US president do every year for Thanksgiving?
10- Where were the pilgrims meant to land?
Click on ‘more’ for the answers!
The BEST Vegan Thanksgiving Menu
Happy almost T-day, everyone! This is mostly a repost from last year with a few additions. In this post, I am giving you my recipes AND my favorite premade vegan roasts. Honestly, I serve at least one every year. It’s 2019 so we have options, people! When I was 8 years old and vegetarian, it meant I could eat a lot of potatoes and some sides. As a vegan? I would’ve had nothing but some veggies. Then came Tofurky. It was okay at the time. Now, Tofurky has jazzed it up and we have Gardein and Field Roast to give Tofurky some serious competition.
This year my vegan thanksgiving will look a bit different. One, I’m divorced. Thank. Fucking. God. Well, not yet, but soon. It couldn’t come fast enough. I’m doing a Friendsgiving, okay, one of my sisters will be here too, at my new and awesome apartment. I thought I’d miss my house SO much. Turns out, I don’t. I guess home is wherever and whatever you make it. This year, I’m serving many of the recipes below and a roast. I’m also adding a staple salad from Thanksgivings of my childhood. My mother made this salad every year. I don’t have a pic of it, however, I use mesclun greens, red onion, sliced purple grapes and small bits of apple, candied pecans or walnuts, garbanzo beans, vegan blue cheese or vegan feta (optional), and a homemade honey mustard dressing. SO GOOD! My friends, their kids, the Macy’s parade, lots of jazz records, awesome cocktails, dresses that stretch to match my belly as it begins to bust, my couch, and a massive sleepover at my place will complete my holiday of fun. Hell yeah!
Below are recipes for soups, salad, appetizers, entrees, and amazing cocktails. Enjoy the grub and please leave a comment if you make these or even one of these recipes, and let us know what your thoughts are! -FGG
Click on a recipe to bring you directly to the link!
PS- The featured image is by, RUNNING ON REAL FOOD
PPS- I remember seeing this when it aired. I was having a sleepover and my friend and I were watching this from my mother’s bed. I LOVED Adam Sandler. Cheers to the past! 😉
Creamy Vegan Carrot Sweet Potato & Mushroom Soup
Pumpkin Coconut Curry Soup
Lentil Soup with Sauteed Mushrooms (Vegan)
Sauteed Veggie & Farro Spiralized Zucchini Salad
Artichoke Balsamic & Basil Hummus (If you use the parm, my favorite vegan parm is Go Veggie Vegan Parmesan)
The BEST Pumpkin Seeds Ever!
Premier Tomato Bruschetta with Olives & Capers
Vegan Mushroom Lentil Wellington
Vegan Pumpkin Mac n’ Cheese
Vegan Kale Pesto Lasagna with Veggie Tofu Ricotta
Crazy Delicious Veggie Couscous
Sun-dried Tomato and Basil Stuffed Portobello Mushroom
A Maple Bourbon Fruit Fling Named Rosemary
Blackberry Royale
Amazon Link To My Two Self-Published Books!
Image by, Player.One
Thanksgiving Trivia & Ramblings
Thanksgiving Trivia & Ramblings is brought to you by the crazy cats at FGG. 😉
I remember the second Thanksgiving I celebrated in Beijing. I had taken the Wednesday off from work so that I could prepare food and drinks for approximately 20-25 people. It was fucking nuts! I started at about 9AM Wednesday morning, and went straight through until about 11PM – solo. And what’s even more nuts, is that I totally loved every second of it! I had the apartment to myself, I drank wine, listened to music, and got my daily dose of ‘therapy’ in – hardcore. Cooking = therapy. Hands down. I wasn’t even thinking about the fact that almost everyone who was attending my party had never celebrated Thanksgiving. There were about 3 Americans, a few Canadians (who celebrate their own Thanksgiving about one month prior to ours), and a bunch of Brits, Australians, and some other randoms. Mind you, at the time, I was vegetarian (since I was 8); now vegan. Therefore, everyone chowed down sans Turkey. I made my stepdad’s awesome ‘meatloaf,’ pumpkin mac n’ cheese, au gratin potatoes, mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy (oh how I miss the variety and cheapness of shrooms in China), stuffing (homemade), cranberry sauce (homemade), roasted maple veggies (brussel sprouts, carrots etc), and my mothers fall salad – mesclun greens, candied pecans, blue cheese, shredded carrot, sliced red grapes, and diced apples topped with a homemade honey dijon dressing. SO GOOD! For drinks we had mulled wine, beer, and wine. I decorated the apartment with laminated pictures of funny Thanksgiving facts/images, and we had a Thanksgiving game (I remember making it but I don’t remember what it was). It was one of my best parties that I threw whilst in BJ. In these reflective moments, I actually do miss it! In fact, it was probably my best Thanksgiving ever. Sorry fam! 😉 And, my foreign friends fucking loved the shit out if it! Happy T-day, everyone! For a vegan Thanksgiving menu, click here:
Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes & Menu
-FGG
THANKSGIVING TRIVIA
1- What is the real reason people get so tired after eating on Thanksgiving?
2- Who thought the turkey should be America’s representative bird?
3- Which president wouldn’t declare Thanksgiving a holiday due to his strong belief between separation of church and state?
4- What was the name of the ship that the religious separatists set sail on from Plymouth?
5- Which US state consumes the most turkey on Thanksgiving?
6- Which turkey actually ‘gobbles:’ Male or female?
7- What is the name of the most famous Native American to have helped the Pilgrims?
8- What year was the first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?
9- What does the US president do every year for Thanksgiving?
10- Where were the pilgrims meant to land?
Click on ‘more’ for the answers!
Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes & Menu
Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes & Menu is your go-to guide for faux T-day this November. All things delicious, all things festive, and all things healthy. Say whaaa?! I was encouraged to serve vegetarian and meat last year for T-day. I said, “fuck that!” That is demeaning to both myself and my kitchen. Why would my vegan grub taste any different than my vegetarian grub? So, naturally, being who I am, I did what I wanted. After all, it was me, and only me, who was cooking for 8 people. I’m not complaining, I love doing it solo, just don’t tell me what to do in my kitchen. Now, hope you’re not thinking I’m a cruel, control-freak kinda asshole, I assure you, I’m not. I am speaking in defense of food. If you make it well, it tastes good. Simple as that. A lesson to be taught to many who think that no food can be a meal without meat or cheese. That’s nuts-o. It’s 2018. I think by now, we should all be aware that plant-based food is DOPE! Just like any food! If you cook chicken or pasta without flavoring, it sucks. It’s alllll about flavor. I had 2 meat eaters, a gluten free-er, 5 vegetarians and moi last Thanksgiving. The result? Everyone loved the food! And I mean alllll of the food. I made everything GF as well. For me, this holiday is about eating amazing food, drinking copious amounts of delicious wine, shoveling some pie in your overflowing and about-to-burst belly, unbuttoning your pants, or losing the tights, and then enjoying good company with some good games. Last year, we somehow made it to the dart board. I have NO idea how anyone was standing long enough to make that happen. It was awesome.
Below are recipes for: soups, salad, appetizers, entrees, and an amazing cocktail. Enjoy the grub and please leave a comment if you make these, or even one of these recipes, and let us know what your thoughts are! -FGG
Click on recipe to bring you directly to the link!
PS- Sorry for the day-late post! It was my kiddo’s bday party (HUGE) on Saturday, and his actual bday on Sunday. He got all of me. No time for anything or anyone else. My heart, G-man. 😉
PPS- The featured image is by: RUNNING ON REAL FOOD
PPPS- I remember seeing this when it aired. I LOVED Adam Sandler. Cheers to the past! 😉
Creamy Vegan Carrot Sweet Potato & Mushroom Soup
Pumpkin Coconut Curry Soup
Sauteed Veggie & Farro Spiralized Zucchini Salad
Artichoke Balsamic & Basil Hummus (If you use the parm, my favorite vegan parm is “Go Veggie Vegan Parmesan)
15 Awesome Vegan Recipes for the Fall!
So, it’s been a while… a long while. I am making a vow right now that I am going to get my shit together and start blogging like I was doing before summer hit. In fact, I’m gonna blog ten times f’in’ harder than that! Why? Well, one, because I LOVE it! Two, because I’m listening to “Crushing It!” by, Gary Vaynerchuk and I am sooo inspired! It literally makes me want to pull my car over mid-drive and start blogging, writing my book, and starting my podcast. I freakin’ heart you hard, Gary. 😉
Okay, back to the title of this post: 15 Awesome Vegan Recipes for the Fall! I have compiled 15 of my favorite autumnal recipes (appetizers, salad, soups, pasta, cocktails etc) from the archives of this blog that make my soul warmer and happier in what should be called, the BEST season of the year. Who doesn’t love fall foliage, the crisp air, apple and pumpkin picking, tractor rides at farms, corn mazes at farms, all things pumpkin spice, all things maple, and of course, some warm food on a cold day?! Obviously, only the soulless! Click on the recipe title to bring you directly to the link. See you all soon… -FGG
PS- My mother had said she was listening to George Winston’s “Autumn” the other day which has inspired the musical selection for this post. Totally reminds me of my childhood!
SOUPS:
Pumpkin Coconut Curry Soup, Creamy Vegan Carrot Sweet Potato Mushroom Soup, Creamy Vegan Broccoli Soup, Lentil Soup with Sautéed Mushrooms
APPETIZERS & SALAD:
Artichoke & Balsamic Parmesan Hummus (replace real parm for vegan parm – GO VEGGIE is my fave), The BEST Vegan Nach Cheese Sauce Ever! (who doesn’t love nachos during game season?!), Sautéed Veggie & Farro Spiralized Zucchini Salad
MEALS:
Vegan Pumpkin Mac n’ Cheese, Vegan Mushroom and Lentil Wellington, Crazy Delicious Veggie Couscous, Spaghetti Squash with Cheesy Marinara, Lentil Sloppy Joe’s (replace shredded cheese with vegan shredded cheese like Daiya’s)
COCKTAILS & DESSERT:
A Maple Bourbon Fling Named Rosemary, Warm & Delicious Spiked Choco-Coffee, 3 Minute/4 Ingredient Hot Chocolate Mini-Mug Cake (Replace Egg with Follow Your Heart Vegan Egg – this stuff is awesome!)
Post-Thanksgiving Formula for Success!
Post-Thanksgiving Formula for Success! I can hardly believe that I am writing this because I’m in a food coma that seemed to roll right over into today, Black Friday. Why? Well, it could start with the fact that I literally woke up at 11, went downstairs, and immediately made a ‘ginormous’ bowl of left overs, and then promptly shoveled them down my throat… cartoon-machine-mouth style. The best part? Greyson (my lil’ dude) totally stayed in my bed with me and woke up late, too. He was way on board with left over brunch as well. We stayed up crazy late last night watching Home Alone, and, oh yeah, eating left overs! To be fair, we ate our T-day dinner at 3 so by 9, we were hungry, or at least pretending to be. 😉
I’m surviving this day by eating, eating, drinking, eating, drinking, eating, eating, resting, drinking, eating, tv-ing, drinking, drinking, drinking. That’s the formula to success, friends. Also, I plan on doing this all from the comfort of my couch, in my pajamas, with my blanket, and a consistent flow of coffee to make sure I am awake to stick to ‘said’ formula. I implore you, yes you, those who have a spouse or partner encouraging them to motivate out into the world, to ever-so-nicely tell them to “fucking shove it.” Tell them that you have a plan that involves reheating leftovers and throwing them all into one bowl, tossing them around in some sexy gravy, topped with a nice glass of red, or a hoppy IPA, and that will be the closest thing to physical activity you’ll be doing… soooo, yeah, that’ll be the most orgasmic happening of the day… soooo, yup! Forget sexy time, too. You’ll work those carbs off over the weekend. In recovery. Yesterday, we gave ‘thanks.’ We were grateful and selfless. Today, we stay selfish. Gotta keep those scales balanced! Am I right?!
For those of you who are going to brave the outside world for a good sale, I applaud you. Mostly because the only thing that is worth getting off the couch for happens to be a new TV, wardrobe, cookware etc. I’m a sucker for a sale and a mall any day, anytime. Just ask my best friend, Sureya. We used to live at the Walt Whitman mall. Smoke then shop. That was our weekly formula. It was great. Just fucking great. Ahhh… youth, money, being fit, youth, money, being fit… that cycle was just swell. However, though I applaud you, I implore you to stay home and shop from the very keys I am typing on now. Black Friday is online, friends! You can follow the post-Thanksgiving day formula AND include shopping without ever leaving the confines of your home… or shit, your couch!
Life is crazy. We work hard. We work more than we live. We feel guilty for being lazy. So today, this one day of the year, I officially shall call, “Day of the Almost Dead.” A day where we do so very little, are so completely lazy, that we seem as dormant as a doorknob, a knock a away from lifelessness, a day of sheer and utter laziness! Join me fellow Americans on this lazy day! Let us eat, drink, and be merry in our pjs, on our couch, and in our minds! Cheers to those brave enough to follow our flow. Camaraderie!
Love,
FGG
*Boyslife.org
*Boyslife.org
