Thanksgiving with a Pacific Palisades Vegan: Set a place for Tom the Turkey

At Karen Dawn's Thanksgiving feast, there will be yams and stuffing with cranberries and a dessert of pumpkin-pecan pie, all set out on a table for eight.

And there will be turkeys, two of them actually -- Emily and Bruce (or possibly Brucilla -- it's a little unclear). The two 20-pounders will have most of the privileges of Dawn's other sentient guests -- a Pacific Palisades patio, a view of the ocean and vegetarian nibbles.

At Dawn's vegan holiday dinner, guests will ooh and aah over live birds. The only turkey plunked down on her table will be Wild Turkey bourbon.

"It goes beautifully with the hot apple cider," Dawn says brightly.

The start of the major food holidays is a challenging time of the year for vegans -- people who swear off using, wearing or eating animal products of any kind, including eggs and dairy products. Although vegetarians technically don't eat animals, they may eat foods produced from them, including milk, cream, butter, cheese and eggs. But those items are banned from vegan diets.

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--Carla Hall

Photo: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times