It’s a pretty good time to be a vegetarian. Modern food engineering has brought a simulated soy version of just about anything. Even an avowed carnivore like myself can’t get help but get excited for Beyond Meat – supposedly a very convincing faux chicken – to go national. But Thanksgiving must be a bummer for this set. Without a huge centerpiece of flesh at the table rising like a king above the side dishes, is it really Thanksgiving? Just eating side dishes for dinner doesn’t exactly sound mom-approved either.

It’s probably going to take awhile for the labs to work up fake meat to the point of simulating a large, festive bird. Thanksgiving is all about symbols anyway. So if you’re a vegetarian looking for a large, gleaming something to pull your table together next Thursday and pay tribute to “abundance” – aka “thank god the Native Americans bailed the Puritans out. . .whatever happened to them anyway?” – may I recommend the Veggieducken?

Not to fear, it doesn’t have duck or chicken as the name might imply. This moniker is simply an homage to the meta-beast that is the turducken. The Veggieducken takes a novel approach, transforming small Thanksgiving side staples squash, sweet potatoes, and stuffing into a creative veggie-fueled take on the classic roast.

ia Cooking Channel

Maziar AziziTwitterFacebook

Maziar is an East Coast transplant who thought he didn't like LA - until he moved to Orange County for school.