This year Shomrei is participating in the Synagogue Vegan Challenge. As part of this program, we will have one completely vegan event each month.

It seemed fitting to schedule our 2nd event during Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret. These holidays provide an opportunity for us to reflect on our connection to nature, food, and shelter.

Central to the holiday is the sukkah, a temporary structure reminding us of our dependence on the environment and our responsibility to protect and nurture it.

As a harvest festival, Sukkot is a natural time to celebrate the bounty of fruits and vegetables. With its focus on agriculture, it offers an opportunity for mindful eating and reflecting on the food we consume and where it comes from. Choosing seasonal, plant-based meals demonstrates gratitude for the harvest – the seven species of wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates as well as other vegetables and fruits.

On Shemini Atzeret, we first add the prayer for rain and plead to God that it should be for a blessing, not a curse – not too much or too little, reminding us of the preciousness of rain water. As we pray for rain, we can be mindful that animal agriculture requires much larger amounts of water than plant agriculture – even water intensive crops such as almonds. Animal agriculture also requires more land and results in more greenhouse gas emissions.

Vegan foods do not have to be something other and weird. In a search for vegan food options, it’s amazing to see how many of the usual foods we eat are ‘accidentally vegan’ – including Oreo cookies and Keebler’s Vienna Fingers.

Of course, there are also healthier options and Aileen planned a kiddush luncheon to showcase some of these foods. The only specifically vegan ingredients in the meal were the vegan butter and the vegan ice cream.

Keep in mind that recipes are a guide to food preparation. Feel free to adjust to your own taste.

Kale Salad
This is a no-recipe recipe. To simplify, you can buy bags of chopped kale rather than having to stem and chop the kale yourself.

SALAD INGREDIENTS
Chopped kale
Apples, cut into cubes (mix sweet and tart)
Large handful of dried cranberries or dried cherries
Couple of handfuls of shredded carrots
Salt & Pepper

DRESSING INGREDIENTS
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Maple syrup to taste
a small amount of Dijon mustard (optional)

DIRECTIONS
1.  Put the kale, apple, cranberries and carrots into a large bowl.
2.  Add salt and pepper to the salad.
3.  Mix together the dressing and pour over the salad. Use the mustard if you don’t want the dressing to separate Toss to coat.

Vegetarian Mushroom Barley Soup  (8 servings)

INGREDIENTS
8 cups of liquid – 4 cups of vegetable stock & 4 cups of water
1 cup pearl barley
1 dried bay leaf
4–6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 medium carrots, diced fine
2 celery ribs, diced fine
1 medium onion, diced fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 teaspoons soy sauce
Salt & Pepper, to taste
Rehydrated porcini mushrooms and their liquid, optional

DIRECTIONS
1.  In a medium-large pot, heat the stock and water over low-medium flame. Once liquid has heated to a low simmer, add barley and bay leaf and cover.
2.  Meanwhile, heat 4 tablespoons olive oil in a medium-large sauté pan or skillet. Add carrots, celery and onion and cook until soft and translucent, around 7-10 minutes.
3.  Add garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Put all the vegetables into the broth.
4.  Add another tablespoon olive oil to the pan and cook one-third of the mushrooms until slightly caramelized on each side, around 3 minutes each side. Season with salt and pepper. Add mushrooms to the broth.
5.  Repeat with remaining mushrooms in two additional batches.
6.  Add soy sauce to the soup with the last batch of mushrooms, and allow to simmer for 30 minutes, or until the soup has thickened to your liking. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Piccata (4 servings)
To make this vegan, we used vegan butter instead of unsalted dairy butter.

INGREDIENTS
1 cauliflower, cut into large 2-inch florets or steaks
Olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained
1 shallot, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced or more if you love garlic
Oregano or tarragon, optional
1 cup vegetable broth
4 tablespoon vegan butter
2 tablespoons capers, drained
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Parsley, minced, to garnish

DIRECTIONS
1.  Heat oven to 425F. Place the cauliflower on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper, and toss to combine. Roast for 15 minutes, add the chickpeas to the pan and roast another 10 minutes or so until the cauliflower is golden. Transfer to a serving bowl and set aside.
2.  Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and sauté until tender, about 1 minute. Add in the garlic and sauté for 1 minute more, stirring constantly.
3.  Add the broth to the pan and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer until reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Decrease the heat to low and stir in the butter, capers, and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Add herbs, if using.
4.  Pour the lemon caper sauce over the cauliflower and chickpeas. Top with parsley and serve with couscous, pasta, or quinoa.

NOTE: Piccata sauce is delicious with many other vegetables and proteins.

Roasted Fruit
This is another no-recipe dish. To make this vegan, we served the roasted fruit with vegan ice cream.

INGREDIENTS
Fresh fruit such as pineapple, peaches, grapes, apples, berries
Cinnamon
Brown sugar
Vegan vanilla ice cream

DIRECTIONS
1.  Cut fruit into chunks.
2.  Place in a roasting pan; sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar or another sweetener.
3.  Roast at 350 for about 20 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature with the vegan ice cream.

And here’s a very simple bonus recipe that even tofu haters will like. It was made for one of our regular kiddushes last year.

BBQ Tofu
Serve as a sandwich filling or with traditional BBQ accompaniments.

INGREDIENTS
1 (14 ounce) block extra-firm tofu, pressed for at least 30 minutes and cut into cubes or slabs
BBQ sauce
Cooking spray

DIRECTIONS FOR BAKING
1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2.  Place tofu on a plate and brush with BBQ sauce on all sides. Arrange in a single layer on baking sheet.
3.  Bake for 20 minutes or until browned around the edges.. Turn over the slices and brush with additional sauce.
4.  Bake for an additional 5 minutes until well browned.

DIRECTIONS FOR Grilling.
1.  Preheat grill or grill pan to medium-high.
2.  Place tofu on a plate and brush with BBQ sauce on all sides. If grilling cubes, thread onto skewers.
3.  Use cooking spray to oil grates, then place tofu on the grill. Grill for 2-3 minutes per kid, or until well-charred.
4.  Brush with more BBQ sauce.