Vegan Turkey Burger Time!

With Thanksgiving only a day and a few hours away, I'm sure you're all drooling over the thought of that Tofurky or Field Roast that will be at the center of your dinner table on Thursday. I know I am (it's Tofurky for me this year), but until then, I'll give you an un-turkey teaser.

As I've mentioned before, I'm currently working on my next cookbook project, a book of veganized trendy food through the ages. I don't really know when turkey burgers first came on the American food scene, but I remember eating a crap ton of them in the 1980s, when low-fat foods and diet fads were all the rage. So for my 1980s section, I created a Vegan Turkey Burger:

I used chickpeas for the light color and lots of poultry-esque herbs (sage, thyme, marjoram) for the turkey flavor. I wasn't sure how it would turn out. But as much as I hate to brag (okay, okay, I don't really), I must admit that this was pretty damn perfect on the first try. It's a substantial patty that doesn't fall apart, and it has an amazing flavor. It's crispy on the outside, like a patty-shaped falafel minus the lemon juice and parsley. It could easily pass for a vegan chicken patty too, but faux poultry is faux poultry, right?

On the side, I made some Green Beans & New Potatoes that I'll also include in the 1980s chapter:

Again, I'm not sure when this recipe actually dates back to, but I found a non-vegan version (with bacon! Ick!) in a 1984 issue of Southern Living.

Speaking of turkeys, if you haven't adopted one through Farm Sanctuary's Adopt-a-Turkey program, now is the time. Every year, instead of eating a turkey, I adopt one through Farm Sanctuary. This year, I chose Thyme, mainly because I love that name!

“Now is the Thyme to start a new Thanksgiving tradition: Adopt a turkey!”