Our vegan Thanksgiving dinner is inspired by recipes from Maggie's Mercantile, a restaurant in Stahls-town. The menu there, and at a second location on Atwood Street in Oakland, offers no meat or fish, milk, butter, cheese, eggs or honey.

Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette This vegan alternative to the traditional Thanksgiving feast can be found at Maggie's Mercantile in Oakland. Click photo for larger image. Margaret Raphael Maggie's Mercantile Stahlstown, 724-593-5056, and Oakland, 412-688-0608. Fax: 724-593-5057 Avocado and Spring Onion Soup Pickled Carrot Sticks Wild Rice, Cranberry and Pecan Salad Acorn Squash Stuffed with Corn, Zucchini, Onions, Mushrooms and Whole Wheat Croutons Rosemary Roasted "Red, White and Russet" Potatoes Brussels Sprouts with Roasted Chestnuts and Pecans Poppyseed Rolls Chocolate Peppermint Cake Hazelnut Soy Ice Cream Sparkling Cider

Owner Margaret Raphael relies on as much local, organic and seasonal produce as possible.

"This menu is a celebration of the harvest season," she says. "I want the vegetables to shine and taste exactly like what they are."

For people who want to learn about cooking vegan, these dishes are all entry-level, and could be served to any member of the family. Egg stand-ins are in the form of a powdered replacer, which is readily available, and protein comes mostly from soy products. Nuts are used generously.

A cold avocado soup is the first course. It is simply the marriage of freshly sliced avocado added to vegetable broth. A pinch of sprouts garnishes the fresh-tasting dish. Raphael warns that if the vegetable broth is overheated, the avocado slices will loose color.

"Mock" chicken is folded into the nutty and crunchy rice salad. Raphael also uses mock shrimp, salmon and vegan in dishes where the flavors and textures of the treated product are surprisingly similar to the real thing.

Baby red skins and baby white potatoes with russets make a hearty side dish. Dinner rolls are flecked with poppy seeds and served with soy margarine. Garnishes on the dishes are usually edible flowers and fresh herbs.

Ice cream is delicious and creamy, and anyone who has ever tried the similarly creamy Tofutti brand knows that soy is a good stand-in for dairy ice cream.

The most eye-popping dish on the menu is the chocolate cake with its high, dense and moist layers sandwiched and frosted with smooth peppermint icing.

This is one Thanksgiving where the turkey won't be missed. But to see it from the other side, these dishes would all be welcome on any Thanksgiving table.

Raphael is compiling her recipes into a cookbook which she hopes to complete this year.

MAGGIE'S STUFFED ACORN SQUASH

There is no set recipe to follow. Saute the vegetables that you like, and mix them with the croutons. Stuff into the squash and bake. It's hard to go wrong.

• 2 acorn squash, halved and seeded
  
• 4 ears fresh corn, kernels removed
  
• 2 baby zucchini, trimmed and diced
  
• 2 portobello mushrooms, diced
  
• 1 onion, trimmed and diced
  
• Vegan margarine, such as Earth Balance
  
• 8 ounces organic whole wheat stuffing cubes
  
• Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the squash cut-side down on a baking tray and roast about 50 to 60 minutes until the flesh is tender when poked with the point of a sharp knife.

Meanwhile prepare the vegetables. Add about 2 tablespoons margarine to a large skillet. Saute the vegetables until they are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the stuffing cubes and toss until well coated.

Mound the stuffing into the centers of the cooked squash.

The dish can be made in advance. When ready to reheat, drizzle melted margarine over each portion and bake in a 350-degree oven for 15 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

VEGAN CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT CAKE

• 3 cups flour
  
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
  
• 2 cups succanat or light brown sugar, lightly packed
  
• 1 cup cocoa
  
• 1 cup warm coffee
  
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
  
• 1 1/4 cup corn oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch cake pans with canola spray oil or soy margarine.

Place flour, baking soda, salt, brown sugar and cocoa in a large bowl, and whisk to combine.

Place coffee, vinegar, vanilla and oil in a pan or pitcher and mix to combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until batter is free of lumps. Pour batter into pans and bake for 60 minutes or until the surface of the cake springs back when touched, or when a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool in pan for 25 minutes before inverting the pans onto a rack. Frost with chocolate or peppermint icing. Makes a large cake.

PEPPERMINT ICING

• 1 1/2 cups dairy-free, semi- sweet chocolate chips
  
• 2 (8 ounces each) containers Tofutti-brand vegan cream cheese
  
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
  
• 1/4 cup room temperature vegan margarine (Earth Bal- ance preferred)
  
• 1 tablespoon peppermint extract

Place the chocolate chips in the freezer for 20 minutes. Take chips from the freezer and roughly chop in the blender. Set aside. This will give a crunch to the smooth icing.

Mix the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, margarine and extract until smooth and creamy. Mix in the chopped chocolate. Frost the layers as usual.

Makes enough for 1 large 2-layer cake.