“When you think of Las Vegas, the first image you have in your mind is that of the Strip. . . The Strip is the main focus for over 38 million people who visit Las Vegas each year to see the town for business or pleasure.”

Sounds like the start of a thriller, doesn’t it? But it isn’t, it’s the beginning of Paul Graham’s excellent book, Eating Vegan in Vegas. The thrill has been publishing this book and sharing with millions of people the possibilities of vegan meals in a town no one ever thought would be one of the top ten destinations for vegan food in the US.

Now we are in November and looking at our next major holiday with all the attendant family, travel and food issues rolled into one. This is a time that can drive a vegan to despair or at least to questioning how to make it through this time of year with one’s vegan needs truly met.

Search no further for support, ideas and more.

Over the next few weeks, until it is Thanksgiving Day, we are going to make sure that you have some options, some recipes and some wise words from the man who began for Sullivan Street Press the Vegan Journey.

We’ve enlisted some other folks also working on making sure that these location-focused blogs can help you to find what you need to walk away from your Thanksgiving Dinner feeling “proteinated,” as a friend of mine said after leaving one of the vegan feasts my wife, Suzanne Pyrch, had cooked.

We’ll begin this blogging holiday adventure with a recipe from the Jazzy Vegetarian, Laura Theodore, taken from her new book, Vegan-Ease. Bringing a dish to your family or friends for Thanksgiving? Why not start thinking first about the dessert? After all, that is what I certainly make space for at these scrumptious meals.

Dessert, Please!

Pumpkin Spice Cheeze-Cake
Makes 8 to 10 servings

This delicate yet rich-tasting cake makes the perfect dessert for your festive Thanksgiving table or any winter holiday event. Creamy, smooth and oh-so-pumpkiny, this pie will surely become a tradition, year after year!

CRUST
1¾ cups cookie crumbs (ginger cookies work well)
¼ cup vegan margarine, melted

FILLING
2 tablespoons rolled oats
14 to 16 ounces firm regular tofu
1 can (about 16 ounces) unsweetened pumpkin purée
2⁄3 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon allspice

TOPPING
3 tablespoons cookie crumbs
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Liberally coat a 10-inch round springform pan with vegan margarine.

To make the crust, put 13⁄4 cups cookie crumbs and the melted margarine in a medium-sized bowl and mix with a fork until well combined. Pat the crumbs firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake the crust for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool 5 minutes.
To make the filling, put the rolled oats in a blender and process into coarse crumbs. Add the tofu, pumpkin purée, brown sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon and allspice and process until smooth and creamy.
Pour the filling into the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a wire rack. Cool for 15 minutes, then carefully run a table knife around the perimeter of the cake to ensure it does not stick to the side of the pan.
Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of cookie crumbs evenly over the top of the cake, gently pressing them into the top, so the crumbs adhere. Release the side of the springform pan to unmold.
Cover the cake very loosely and refrigerate 3 to 24 hours before serving. Covered tightly and stored in the refrigerator, leftover cheeze-cake will keep for about 2 days.

Recipe taken from Laura Theodore’s Vegan-Ease. Reproduced by kind permission of Laura Theodore. Visit Laura on Facebook and follow her on Twitter for daily recipes and tips for serving delicious, plant-based meals.

Amount per serving, based on 10 servings: 154 Calories; 7g Fat; 1g Saturated fat; 5g Protein; 62mg Sodium; 20g Total Carbohydrate; 15g Sugars; 2g Fiber