Vegan Dishes for Thanksgiving

Let nature help with the holiday menu.  Use locally grown seasonal produce. Thanksgiving can be a time of coming together and strengthening bonds.  Sometimes that means setting aside differences and focusing on inclusion.  This often means making sure that there are foods for everyone.  If you are a guest at someone's home, why not offer to make one side dish where you can introduce the other guests to some of your favorite vegan delicacies?  A hearty root vegetable puree or tofu or tempeh stew will be very welcome this as we experience a California winter.  Maybe you can provide a dairy-free dessert ... great for folks who also keep Kosher. But it's not just about the food.  Consider how you will shop and deal with leftovers to shrink your carbon footprint.  Get support year-round from the Zero Waste Chef.  Perhaps the biggest share you can offer is preparing your own heart.  We are living in times of change, chaos and stress, and no act of kindness is wasted.  I will leave you with a quote attributed to Mahatma Gandhi which I found in,  of all places, the astrology section of the Los Angeles Times!  (Hey, it's right next to the crossword puzzle.)  "To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer."    Happy Thanksgiving and Beyond!