Thanksvegan

I have a problem.  My doctor recommends I move to a vegan diet, to bring my blood pressure down. I don't mind that, really, I'm not wedded to the concept of eating animal products, it's just that I was raised that way and it's convenient. I'm transitioning slowly (... my body does not like sudden change...) with an occasional "meat cheat" which, surprisingly, is less pleasurable than I had thought.
However: Thanksgiving.

 How is there Thanksgiving without turkey? Stuffing isn't stuffing without the giblets chopped up fine. And mashed potatoes - whipped as my brother Joe taught me, with a beater using my variable-speed drill blending cream cheese into the spuds - simply have to be formed into a volcano with real pan-drippings gravy filling the crater. Otherwise, it's just a meal with family and friends.

(Talk not to me of tofurky. I like tofu well enough, but only when it is not pretending to be something it is not. We must be true to our natures.)

Thanksgiving this year will be salmon - the Pilgrims were more likely to have eaten that than turkey anyway - with a double order of the sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top. On the plus side, this leaves more room for pie.

Maybe I'll just start with the pie: pumpkin, apple, pecan, rhubarb, lemon meringue ...

hmmm .... 

 ...ya know, I am not sure I have a problem after all!