No turkey here; but plenty of other good things that can make holiday meals festive yet veggie.
Although I admit to sometimes being a meat eater, I do agree that eating meat can go overboard on national secular holidays like Thanksgiving in America, and especially when I look back on how it was celebrated back in the 1880’s. This can also apply to religious holidays like the Muslim Eid al Adha holiday that coincides with the annual Hajj pilgrimage currently in progress.
Vegetarians have a particularly difficult time during holiday food fests, and I recall going to a Thanksgiving dinner back in the “old country” where some of my relatives who were vegan vegetarians and even more strict than those who simply choose not to eat meat since vegans also shun foods containing animal products. Seeing them eat a plate of boiled veggies and a green salad, while the rest of us were woofing down turkey and all the trimmings, did not seem very appetizing to say the least.
But with a little ingenuity, as noted in a recent article on Treehugger shows how a tasty holiday dinner can be had by using a bit of creativity and variety to make a meatless meal seem like something created on the popular Master Chef TV program, like the one currently being aired in Israel.
In regards to Thanksgiving, there are a number of American ex-pats living in the Middle East who still enjoy getting together to celebrate the US national holiday created by President Abraham during the American Civil War. So for the benefit of these folk who also happen to be living in the Middle East, especially in countries like Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, and also in the Gulf Region, and just happen to be vegetarian, you can still feel “connected” with the Old Country by checking out some of our past posted recipes like home made sour dough bread and fava bean salad.
For those wanting more traditional American recipes, check out some included in this site, Veggie Table Thanksgiving Recipes, and you’ll be sure to find plenty of creative ones to satisfy all your guests.
As for me, I’ll include the Turkey, even though it means ordering one several days before. No Honeysuckle Whites here, for sure.
More on vegetarian festive meals:
Enjoy a Vegawarian Dinner
Enjoy a Summer Feast in the Middle East With 7 Creative Ideas
Enjoy the holidays with Authentic Molucheya Soup and Other Delights
Author: Maurice Picow
Maurice Picow grew up in Oklahoma City, U.S.A., where he received a B.S. Degree in Business Administration. Following graduation, Maurice embarked on a career as a real estate broker before making the decision to move to Israel. After arriving in Israel, he came involved in the insurance agency business and later in the moving and international relocation fields. Maurice became interested in writing news and commentary articles in the late 1990’s, and now writes feature articles for the The Jerusalem Post as well as being a regular contributor to Green Prophet. He has also written a non-fiction study on Islam, a two volume adventure novel, and is completing a romance novel about a forbidden love affair. Writing topics of particular interest for Green Prophet are those dealing with global warming and climate change, as well as clean technology - particularly electric cars.
