by Ayla Bocaya and Isabella Regino
The Perfect Mashed Potato Recipe
by Ayla Bocaya
Happy Holiday season, Pointers! It's almost Thanksgiving, a time to be seated at the mahogany dinner table with your incredibly nosy and obnoxious family. A lovely time where you can end up eating your mashed potatoes outside because your family is just too much. But I mean, hey, we have a good time stuffing each other up! Nonetheless, it's time to give thanks that we have families who make us delicious food every year. So to show your appreciation, it’s time to give back and impress your Great-Aunt Becky in the kitchen. We'd like to give you some tips and tricks on how to help out by making these delightful and delicious staples for your scrumptious, hopefully not too nosy, Thanksgiving dinner!
Let's start with the basics: The Perfect Mashed Potato Recipe (now who doesn't love that?)
Ingredients:
~Potatoes
~Garlic
~Butter
~Milk
~Cream Cheese
~Fine Sea Salt
~Toppings (optional) chopped chives or green onions and/or black pepper
How to:
~Cut the Potatoes: Feel free to peel the skin off or leave them on. Either way works! Then cut them into even sized chunks and place them all into a pot.
~Boil them Suckers: Once you've finished cutting all of them, put potatoes in the pot and make sure to add the water about 1 inch above the potatoes. Add a tablespoon of garlic and salt to the water and then boil for about 10-12 minutes.
~Prepare the Melted Butter: Heat the butter, milk, and salt in a saucepan and place in microwave until all is melted and set aside until you're ready to use.
~Drain the Taters: Drain out all the water and let them sit in the pot for a little while longer (make sure the heat is on low) while they steam off.
~Mashing Time: Mash the potatoes with whatever your preferred tool is as well as your preferred consistency.
~Stir Everything Together: Once finished mashing, pour the butter continuously while flipping the mashed potatoes around (make sure all the butter gets soaked in). Next, add your cream cheese in and do the same. Remember not to overmix!
~Taste Test (our favorite part): Try it out and see if you need anymore salt, pepper, garlic, etc!
~Serve and Enjoy: No need for instructions here! Just make sure to share with the whole family ;)
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Other Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for you Vegans and Vegetarians:
by Isabella Regino
If you are vegetarian or vegan, it can seem difficult to find foods that match your diet. Whether it’s you or one of your friends or family members, here are some substitutes if you’re looking to cook a vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner:
Instead of eggs (for baking): Replace 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of chia seeds mixed with 3 tablespoons of water and let the mixture sit for 15 to 20 minutes. This will have the same consistency as an egg and can be used when baking cookies or pies.
Instead of using milk: use coconut milk, almond milk, soy milk, cashew milk, or rice milk.
Instead of turkey: Seitan is a vegan substitute made from a dough made of wheat flour. (Please do not eat if you’re allergic to gluten.) You can make turkey out of it. You can also use tofu as a meat substitute.
How to make vegan turkey loaf from seitan:
Note: it is a good idea to make this a day before serving, because seitan is generally better when cooled first, then reheated; it firms up better this way .
Dry ingredients:
2 cups vital wheat gluten
½ cup chickpea flour
½ cup nutritional yeast flakes
2 tsp. Onion powder
1 tbsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp. Garlic powder
¼ tsp. White pepper
Wet ingredients:
¼ cup tahini
½ grated onion, or finely chopped
1 to 1 ½ cup vegetable or “chicken-style” vegan broth
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
Basting broth:
2 cups hot water
⅓ cup “chicken-style” vegetarian broth/ broth powder
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp poultry seasoning
Directions:
Mix all the wet ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk (or with a blender) until well combined.
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl until well combined.
Slowly add in the wet ingredients a little at a time and knead for about 10 minutes. It should feel like cookie dough.
Let sit for about 1 hour, covered. Then, knead for 10 more minutes. The dough should be shiny and smooth; avoid breaking it up when you take it out of the bowl.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Form the dough into one large loaf.
Place it into an oval-shaped, greased meat roasting pan. You can line it with parchment paper if you wish.
Pour the basting broth over the loaf, and cover.
Place in the oven and bake for 3 ½ hours, turning the roast over twice within that time.
By the end of the cooking time, the loaf should almost completely soak up the broth. If not, cook until it does. Anything left over can be used to glaze the vegan turkey.
Enjoy!! You can top it with gravy or eat it with your other favorite (vegetarian) Thanksgiving dishes!
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