Thanksgiving this year for our family was a little different in the way things turned out. We've always had challenges in trying to get all of our children together at one time under one roof and at one table. My daughter and I were hospital nurses and one or the other of us invariably ended up working on Thanksgiving. Our son and daughter-in-law were both in the restaurant business and also had a difficult time having Thanksgiving off. This year was different in that our daughter works 8 to 5 as a nurse practitioner, I'm not working as a nurse and our daughter-in-law is out of the restaurant business starting a new career. I'm sure all of us face challenges of this sort and especially with so many families where the biological mom and dad of a child are no longer together. So what's the point of all this you're probably asking. Well - we still weren't able to get all of our children and grandchildren together at one time, but it was nonetheless one of our best Thanksgivings and we celebrated it twice. Our daughter and her family joined us on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. All of us already had had our fill of turkey and dressing and we were experimenting with raw and vegan foods. Below is a recipe that we adapted from "Seven Secrets Cookbook", which by the way is full of what look to be very good vegan recipes. We're focusing more and more on raw and vegan and it is a process. We have friends who are strict vegans and our granddaughter is a strict vegan, so we want to be able to cook foods for them. Along the way we are finding that these foods are more easily digested and we feel better when we stick closer to this way of eating.

This particular recipe was a success and fairly easy to make. We tweaked and changed quite a bit of the recipe and I think the next time I make them, I'll change it again. 

Vegan Pecan Patties

2 cups soft bread crumbs (we used dried and soft bread crumbs, a little cereal, and dehydrated nuts)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (we used walnuts this time - I'll try soaked pecans next time)
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup diced sweet onion
1 garlic clove finely minced
1/2 tsp Vege-Sal (a trademarked blend of sea salt and spices from Spike)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
2 tsps of Washington's chicken seasoning (we prefer McKay's but it contains dried milk, so it depends on how strict you are)
16 ounce brick of Mori-Nu Firm Tofu
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos

 1.  Place bread crumb mixture, nuts, oats and onions in a large mixing bowl. Add seasonings and mix together.
 2.  Blend tofu with water and Liquid Aminos in blender and then add to the bread crumb mixture and mix well.
 3.  Place evenly on a nonstick or oiled cookie sheet. We used a small ice cream scoop and ours flattened while they baked.
 4.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top and bottom.

My husband put his pattie between 2 pieces of bread with ketchup, his idea of a hamburger. We also made a raw mayonnaise and used that as a topping. They were quite good even without a topping, but there are many ways these could be served, which is why I think it is a versatile recipe and will go into my folder as a "keeper."

Let me know if you try it and how you liked it. If you have a recipe much like this, we'd love to hear about that too.

Thanks for listening!