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From one of my favorite bakers & cooks, Nageswari :

"I am not posting all these casserole recipes because they are the centerpiece of my personal table. Except for maybe the sweet potato one . I am posting them because they are tried and true Southern Thanksgiving recipes. At least one of them graces every Southern Thanksgiving table, I am sure. However, the addition of that dratted condensed soup prevents anyone with a gluten, dairy or soy sensitivity from eating them. I find that if you grew up eating them, you likely want to eat them as an adult as well, except that maybe you can’t because it will make you sick. That is my goal here. I haven’t had time to post all the other recipes I typically make like pan roasted brussel sprouts, oven roasted vegetables or our Night Before Thanksgiving Chili. Maybe next year!
So, the brilliance of this post is that I am going to give you a replacement for condensed soup. I searched the web and found some references to the book Country Beans by Rita Bingham (which you can buy from my local feminist bookstore here). The author of this book suggests that you can replace condensed soups by using bean flour. I love sneaky cool uses for food so I decided to try it. The first time, I tried grinding my own navy beans in a coffee grinder, but it did not work well. The second time I tried grinding the beans, I really tried to make a powder and sifted it to remove any large particles. I still didn’t like the texture or the flavor. There are lots of references to making it this way on the net, but I guess their coffee grinders grind better than mine! The third time was the charm – I broke down and ordered commercially produced bean flour and the results were amazing!

I played around with the original recipe posted online and the following is what worked for me.

White Bean Condensed Soup

2 T white bean flour ( I like the this brand.)

1 1/2 Cups water

1 cube vegetable bouillon

1/4 teaspoon celery salt

Whisk the bean flour into the water. Add the bouillon. Cook over low heat, whisking often, until the “soup” thickens. Do yourself a favor and do not taste this while it is cooking. Bean flour is very, very bitter until it is cooked.

So far I have used this condensed soup replacement in Green Bean Casserole, Dressing and White Bean Chili. It was fantastic in all three.

This cooks up in about 5 minutes. However, I made a double batch today and froze one cup portions in half-pint mason jars so that I can eliminate that step and just thaw instead. You could do that too and always be prepared. I’d also love to borrow a pressure canner and have it in the pantry.

New Green Bean Casserole

yields one 8×8 pan, easily doubled

2 cans French Cut Green Beans, drained well (see note for alternative)

1 can shoepeg corn or 2 small cans water chestnuts, rinsed and chopped (this is what I use)

1 rib of celery, chopped finely

1 small onion, chopped finely

1 bell pepper (I use red), chopped finely

1 recipe of White Bean Condensed Soup

1 Cup full fat coconut milk + 2 teaspoons lemon juice

sliced blanched or slivered almonds (opt)

nutritional yeast (opt)

Saute your celery, onion and pepper in a teensy bit of oil. Gently mix the celery/onion mix with the green beans and water chestnuts or corn. Gently mix in the coconut milk/lemon juice mix and your “condensed soup”. Taste it. Mine was perfectly salty, but you might want to add a few grinds of pepper. My kids always know when there is pepper in something and refuse to eat it. To be honest, I topped mine with sliced almonds and goat cheese, because my son can handle goat dairy. If I was doing it completely dairy free, I would toss the almonds with a tiny bit of coconut oil and then toss with about 1/4 Cup of nutritional yeast. This will give a crunchy “cheesy” topping. Bake at 350 for about 15 mins until hot and bubbly. This will freeze well, but thaw it before you bake it. One last note: you could definitely make this with fresh green beans and I have done this. Blanch the green beans in boiling water, shock them in ice water and then proceed with the recipe.

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The New Broccoli Cheese

by Chance on November 15, 2012

Another traditional dish at our Thanksgiving table is my mother in law’s Broccoli Cheese Casserole. I had never actually had this until I went to my first Thanksgiving at my partner’s. Yum. At the time, I had no idea what the ingredients were. After many years, I was trusted with the recipe and then entrusted with making it. It goes something like this:

• Blend up cheese whiz, mayonnaise, cream of mushroom soup, and onion.
• Thaw frozen broccoli.
• Cook bags of minute rice.
• Layer broccoli and minute rice.
• Pour gross but delicious cheesy goodness over rice and broccoli.
• Drench breadcrumbs in butter, mix with sharp cheddar cheese.
• Bake until melty and wonderful.

Really.
Well, I’m not going to lie and say that I haven’t eaten this every year because I have. Of course, over the years I’ve made some slightly healthier substitutions, but it’s still pretty junky. This year, however, we won’t be having dairy, gluten or soy at Thanksgiving because of some dietary sensitivities so this recipe needed a makeover.
My first thought was that there was absolutely no way to recreate a dish that is mostly made of fake ingredients. Like French Onion Dip or Ranch Dressing, you know? Then I thought, what the hay, I might as well try! I dug out an old “cheese sauce” recipe from my vegan days and decided to see if it would work. When I tested the recipe, I left out the rice, but it will work great when you make it at home. It would also work with a different grain or quinoa. The recipe does have multiple steps but they are all very simple. From start to putting a hot bite in my mouth was only about 30 minutes and could easily be worked with other recipes at the same time.
If you are using rice, another grain or quinoa, cook it first and leave it just slightly undercooked.
Fill a pot with water, add salt and put it on to boil.

Next, cut up four crowns of broccoli into bite-sized pieces. I like to use the stems, so I peel them, chop them and throw them in first while the water is heating. When the water comes to a boil, put in the broccoli florets and cook until they are bright green. When they turn bright green, drain all the water. Leave the florets in a colander to drain while you prepare the rest.

Make your “cheese sauce”:

• 2 Cups water
• 4 Tablespoons cornstarch ( you could easily use arrowroot or tapioca starch instead)
• 1/2 Cup nutritional yeast (no substitutions!)
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• scant teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/4 Cup full fat coconut milk
• 1/8 teaspoon turmeric (optional)

Whisk all ingredients together in a saucepan. Make sure to beat out any lumps. Cook over medium heat until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and continue to whisk for a minute or so, so that it doesn’t get lumpy.
Using a 9 x 13 pan, layer the rice/grain/quinoa (if using) and broccoli. Pour all your “cheesy sauce” over them in the pan.

Last, take 2 Cups sliced blanched almonds and toss with a Tablespoon of melted coconut oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Spread the almonds over the cheesy broccoli. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 mins or until the almonds begin to brown. If you eat gluten, you could also use panko here. If you eat gluten free, you could also use gluten free bread crumbs here, but I like the protein that the almonds add.


When I took this out of the oven, I first offered a bite to my partner:
“That is really good.”

Then to my daughter:
“Oh, it’s better than the real one!”

Then to my son:
“Mmmmmm. Can I have more?”