Samhain Feast!

I celebrated Samhain (the spiritual side of Halloween) a few days after actual Halloween since my friend Greg was in town. The cross-quarter for Samhain was November 6, which was a Sunday, so that seemed perfect. I ordered a new Sabbats Almanac for 2023, which starts with Samhain (the witchy new year), and as always, it has seasonal recipes for the celebration.

But they're not all vegan (and most aren't even vegetarian). I enjoy finding ways to veganize them though! For this Samhain, they included a recipe for roasted chicken with herbs, so I made Roasted Seitan with parsley and thyme. I used the White Chicken Seitan recipe from Viva La Vegan that's become my go-to. The book also had recipes for Maple Glazed Carrots and Oven-Roasted Potatoes, so I veganized those, too.

The carrots had butter, so that was an easy switch. And the potatoes were supposed to be roasted in beef tallow, but the recipe suggested using vegetable oil for a plant-based version. I used olive oil for an even healthier swap. And you know what? These were the best dang oven potatoes I've ever made! They were boiled first and then very liberally coated in oil before roasting. I loved how they were very crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

For dessert, there was a recipe for Whiskey Bread Pudding, which sounded delicious! To make it vegan, I swapped the butter for margarine, and I used sweetened condensed coconut milk in place of the heavy cream and sugar. There are vegan heavy creams out there, but I had a can of that condensed coconut milk in the pantry that needed to be used. For the bread, I used my homemade sourdough, and it was soooo good. I have a tad bit of pudding left, and I'm excited about it.

As always, we set a place at the table for all of our dead friends and family for a Samhain Feast of the Dead. Paul participated, but he got ramen takeout because he basically only eats noodles these days. I also did a compost blessing for our compost bin!