The Stamford Advocate

By Natasha Lee
Staff Writer

NORWALK – The traditional Thanksgiving feast features a golden roasted turkey flanked by mashed potatoes, stuffing, yams, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.

But recent emphasis on healthy eating and the environmental effect of meat diets on global warming has many opting for alternatives this Turkey Day.

Vegan Priscilla Feral has ditched typical Thanksgiving dishes for those based on soy and inspired by vegetables.

Feral, president of the Friends of Animals, a nonprofit advocacy group, adopted a vegan lifestyle 15 years ago and has been championing a plant-based diet for more than 20 years.

“I don’t think there’s a benefit in meat. I dispute it. The more we get away from meat, the better we are,” Feral said yesterday from her kitchen as she gathered ingredients for her chestnut soup.

Feral’s “veganized” menu has all the fixings with appetizers, a main course and dessert.

For starters, guests will enjoy carrot pate seasoned with olive oil, dill and miso. There are side dishes of green beans with almonds cooked with vegan margarine and Feral’s favorite, mashed Yukon potatoes whipped with soy creamer, sea salt and chives.

The main dish, tempeh London broil, a soy bean-based cake marinated in olive oil, wine, lemon juice and tamari – a wheat-free soy sauce – is a “crowd pleaser,” Feral said.

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