I don't celebrate or observe thanksgiving for several reasons. But I acknowledge that others do and I know that living abroad can be difficult for some during such holidays; especially if they don't have any family here with them. The USO offered a thanksgiving lunch today and asked for people to donate food. I offered to make some vegan dishes because I know vegans are rarely catered to on such a day and I wanted to make sure there was something for them to eat. I'm sure we've all experienced a meal where even the green beans have bacon in them :(
So I roasted some squash, sweet potatoes and carrots and added some sage vegan butter. I also made my famous red wine-ginger-cranberry sauce. When I went to pick up my pan and bowl, a lady came out and said, "You're the one with the vegan dish?"
I told her I was and she said she loved it and her husband loved it. Then she told me how her husband normally won't eat sweet potatoes unless they have this much sugar <holds fingers half an inch apart> on top. She wanted to know how I made mine. When I explained it was simply the roasted veggies with some melted vegan butter and fresh sage she said, "That's a much better alternative. I'm going to make it your way!"
So even if there weren't any vegans there today (I don't know because I wasn't there for the meal) and even if no one really cared one way or another whether the food was vegan or not, I showed one person that vegan cooking and be super yummy!
