I am very thankful to have a few of my fellow Americans close by on this side of the pond. And I’m extra grateful that some of those friends happen to be vegetable-eating sci-fi geeks like myself. Thus was the foundation of this year’s Thanksgiving, aka Thanksgeeking, aka Thanksgivukkah, which brought me together with my friends Emily and Robert for two days and two nights of vegetarian cookery and geeky hijinks in Cambridge.

A little bit more on the geeky stuff in a moment, but first, the menu, which basically reads like a litany of blog post fodder, because everything was great – even the failures offered some learning moments.

Here’s what we made over the course of Thanksgeeking (menu shamelessly copied from Emily’s blog post):

• Pecan Pie Smoothie (vegan) – seasonal perfection, and now a highlight of my Smarter Fitter Smoothies book!

• Mushroom Ginger Matzo Ball Soup – a total stroke of Emily genius

• Pumpkin Hummus with Dukkah (vegan) – couldn’t resist this inspired idea from food to glow
• Cranberry Pistachio Baked Brie
• Orchard Cottage Apple Butter (vegan) – made with apple’s from the orchard

• NPR Cranberry Relish – Made with sour cream. I loved this. 

• Eggplant “Bacon” (vegan) – holy aubergine, batman – dehydrated eggplant may be my new favourite thing

• Cashew Gravy – Makes everything better
• Green Bean Casserole with Matzo Onions – One of our favourite dishes – leave it to Alton brown.
• Mushroom Walnut Challah Stuffing
• Kugel – Shaw family recipe. Lessons: bring the right kind of egg noodles back from Chicago; don’t use Stevia; don’t burn it.
• Cranberry Orange Kale Salad (vegan) 
• Beetroot Latkes – next time: beet/carrot? sandwiches?
• Cranberry Jello Salad – Another Shaw family recipe that I just couldn’t get right. The lesson: pineapple is the enemy of gelatine. (Science! Thanksgeeking!)

And for dessert:

• Cranberry Dutch Baby
• Graham Crackers (for shooters)
• Pumpkin Pie Shooters with Coconut Whipped Cream (vegan)
• Lemon Pudding Shooters
• Pumpkin Ice Cream courtesy of Dolcetti Gelato

The real stroke of genius is what we did with the leftovers: PIZZA. Yes, green bean casserole pizza (with crispy onions) may be even better than straight up green bean casserole. I challenge you to find out.

As to those geeky hijinks, they mainly comprised cheese boards, t-shirts, action figures and terrariums. How have I lived this long without ever experiencing Moon Sand?

And for my next geeky trick: Dragon Fruit Jellies. Stay tuned.

 

There are more Thanksgeeking pictures on Flickr.