The good china sparkles around the table and steam rises from the white porcelain. Everyone's ready to eat - everyone except for some vegans and vegetarians.
"I don't relish seeing a big dead bird," said Kirsten Rosenberg, co-owner and baker at the all-vegan Sticky Fingers Bakery at 18th and T streets.
Senior Peter Larsen is a vegan and philosophy major who has turned to stoicism on many a Thanksgiving meal. Holding meat dishes before him, he said family members will declare, "C'mon, this didn't breathe."
So he got into the kitchen. Don't depend on others to accommodate personal diets, he said. "Make your own stuff."
Larsen is a customer service supervisor at the Whole Foods Market in Tenleytown and also mans the holiday catering table there. He said students should take sales seriously. For instance, one day tofu mock-meat Un-Turkey was half the price of its competitor, Tofurky, and they probably both originated from the same soybean farm, Larsen said.
Other students also said it's easier to enjoy the meatless meal by getting involved in the kitchen.
"Be proactive, help cook," said Maggie Holden, an SIS graduate student.
If you've lived off salad bars until this point and find yourself standing in front of a gleaming, judgmental row of kitchen appliances on Thanksgiving Day, stay calm. All that's on the line is justifying lifestyle choices to loved ones.
Arm yourself with a spatula (absolutely key), and remember that Thanksgiving is not just for carnivores. While it may tempt some vegetarian and vegans to fall back to eating meat, they can succeed in having a meatless holiday with the mantra: substitute, investigate and create.
1. Substitute Anyone who used to make mean mashed potatoes before the vegan days should keep in mind the good ol' boy soy milk and his lovely mate olive oil. They can replace almost anything made with milk and butter. Alternative products for virtually every meat and dairy product out there exist in specialty grocery stores. Substitution is an industry staple in vegetarian and vegan restaurants, cafes, pizzerias and bakeries.
The creator of Sticky Fingers started with pure substitution, Rosenberg said. After the vegetarian has crafted a dish by the mere replacement of a few ingredients, many friends and family won't even notice.
"People are biased," said Rosenberg with a gleeful grin, putting her hands on her hips in the bakery that smells of warmth and flour, like a grandma's hug. "After they've tasted and complimented it, I like to spring it on them."
2. Investigate "It's easy to have a decadent, cruelty-free meal," Rosenberg said.
It can be as simple as picking up a phone if you know whom to call. A vegan with a longing for his or her dairy past can call up Sticky Fingers and order its most popular holiday dessert, vegan pumpkin cheesecake. Orders from people with allergies or gourmets are accepted as well.)
A comprehensive restaurant guide can be found at vegdc.com. Surely any business out for a buck would get Styrofoam takeout boxes ready with a little notice.
3. Create Vegans and vegetarians have bucked the meat-and-potatoes American way, so why not further alter the holiday and make completely new traditions? The moral compass that guides many to give up animal products may also point to other perceived wrongs in Thanksgiving - for instance, paying thanks on a symbolic day that has historical tones of exploitation and genocide against an indigenous people.
Larsen said simply celebrating on a different day might balance one's conscience, he said.
"[That's a way to say] 'I'm thankful, but I don't want to emulate the history of things,'" Larsen said.
The national non-profit Farm Sanctuary runs a program accessed at www.adoptaturkey.org. For $20 they offer a picture of the rescued fowl and maybe some peace of mind.
For more traditional Thanksgiving recipes check out the Nov. 24, 2003 edition of The Eagle in the Archives section.
