When you adhere to a special diet, whether it be for medical or ethical reasons, Thanksgiving changes. A lot. This is probably the truest for vegans, who eschew the most iconic part of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner: turkey. There are countless vegan meat alternatives out there for folks celebrating their non-omnivorous lifestyle, but there is a growing faction of veg* folks who believe that if you're really giving up noshing on other living things, eating meat analogues just feels inherently wrong.

So what's a culinarily-savvy vegan to do when the holiday often referred to as "Turkey Day" rolls around? Those living in the Bay Area are lucky to be surrounded by some the most diverse food-centric masterminds in the country, so there's no end to vegan options for those who aren't interested in dressing up a processed, gluten-laden Tofurky and calling it Thanksgiving dinner. Besides, November is officially "VeganMoFo," or the Vegan Month of Food -- so if there's any month where autumn vegan recipes are most prolific, it's this one.

When I was vegan -- back before my food allergies kicked into high gear and I learned that meat was the only thing I could actually digest without a myriad of debilitating side effects -- I put a lot of thought into creating my first epically vegan Thanksgiving feast. I made vegan collard greens, Indian-spiced chickpea pancakes, stuffing decked with nuts and fruit, and one of the most drop-dead gorgeous pecan pies my friends had ever laid eyes on. So, I can tell you firsthand that turkey isn't a requirement for a handsome Thanksgiving dinner.

One thing we can be thankful for is the fact that the Bay Area is home to a handful of vegan bakeries, where you'll find a selection of tantalizing sweet treats to pick up if you're not into making your own dessert. I've heard wonderful things about Sugar Beat Sweets' apple pie, a cinnamon-infused creation filled with spiced apples and topped with vanilla bean buttercream and caramel. Wholesome Bakery's sweet potato pecan pie is up there on my Top 10 Favorite Desserts list, vegan or otherwise, while Nabolom Bakery in Berkeley offers a great selection of vegan desserts.

What about dinner? Wayward vegans sans dinner plans can bounce over to Cafe Gratitude for their annual free Thanksgiving dinner from 11am-3pm, where everything on the menu is 100% raw and free of animal products. Oh, and did I mention that the meal was on the house? Yup, you heard that right.

But in the end, Thanksgiving is all about what you make at home, for your loved ones. This vegan pumpkin pie recipe is one of my favorites, and it's evolved over time to include pecans and cashews, with a little orange juice in the crust to give it a little something extra. My [staunchly omnivorous] family loved this pie, and you will too.

Nutty Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Makes: two 8-inch pies

Ingredients:

Crust

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup chopped cashews

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 teaspoons sugar

1 stick of cold shortening, cut into 10 slices
3 tablespoons cold orange juice

Filling

16 ounces silken tofu

2 cups pumpkin puree
3/4 cup agave nectar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon mace
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Preparation:

Crust
1. In a food processor, grind flour, cashews, salt and sugar until coarsely ground. Add shortening one slice at a time and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add orange juice and pulse for another 15 seconds.

2. Divide the dough in half and smash each half into a flat disc. Cover and refrigerate for three hours. Once the dough is chilled, roll each half out into 9-inch circles and place each into an 8-inch pie pan. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Filling
1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Add tofu, pumpkin, sugar, agave, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and spices to a food processor and blend until creamy.

3. Pour filling into pie shell and sprinkle the top with pecans, pressing them into the pumpkin filling. Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the pie comes out clean. Allow to cool fully before serving. Top with vegan whipped topping.

If you're looking for more vegan recipes to help celebrate Thanksgiving, here are a handful of useful links that will inspire you to create the dinner of your dreams, a spread so grand that your omnivorous friends will look on in utter envy of your vegan-rific culinary prowess.

• Can you create a vegan Thanksgiving dinner in one hour? You betcha.
• Vegan recipes from the Splendid Table radio show
• Chef Chloe Coscarelli cooks up an delectible T-day, vegan-style
• Lauren Ulm presents her now infamous seitan roulade with chestnut stuffing
• Beer glazed pumpkin bread? Yes, please.
• Heidi Swanson offers up a ton of vegan recipes, perfect for Thanksgiving

Pumpkin pie is the quintessential Thanksgiving dessert. Most people eat it just once a year, and that's after first gorging themselves on turkey, mashed potatoes, yams, and about ten other side dishes. Yet more often than not I hear people say they'll take only a "sliver" of pumpkin pie, saving any available room for the other desserts. Sure, we serve pumpkin pie each November, but mostly because it's become obligatory: an expected holiday staple very few get excited about.

But pumpkin pie can be more than the standard fare of pureed pumpkin mixed with cream, sugar, eggs, and spices in a butter or graham cracker crust. I mean, honestly, do we all need to make the same pie every year? So this holiday, after a lifetime of eating traditional pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, I decided I was in the mood for something a little different. While enjoying some pecan shortbread last week, I started to wonder how it would taste paired with a pumpkin custard. But then my mind began to wander even further from the norm. Why make a regular custard filling when I could use cream cheese? I looked up some pumpkin cheesecake recipes, but most seemed more cheesecake than pumpkin pie, and I wanted to retain the pie's essence for the holiday, so I decided to make up my own concoction.

As I wanted the pie to preserve some traditional flavors, I started with the customary pumpkin puree mixed with eggs, sugar, and cream, along with the conventional spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. With my eye on making my pie creamier and richer than in years past, I then mixed in a package of cream cheese that had been whipped with some sugar, more eggs and vanilla. Then, to wake up the palate a bit, I also added in some ginger. Of course I used a pecan shortbread crust, the idea of which started this whole adventure in the first place. Finally, once the cake cooled, I topped it with sour cream that had been flavored with maple syrup simply because I wanted a hint of tartness and sugar to help balance the rich creaminess of the cake.

My new and improved pumpkin dessert was light and silky with a rich Fall flavor that wasn't overwhelming. Using only one package of cream cheese endowed the filling with a velvety sumptuousness that was more fluffy than overwhelmingly cheesy. The pecan crust's nutty and buttery crispness was also the perfect foil for the creamy center. And did I mention that you just press the dough in the pan, which means you don't have to prepare and roll out a crust? I have a feeling this new pumpkin dessert will find a place in my holiday repertoire of desserts, but I'm also open to future experimentation.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Pecan Shortbread Crust

Makes: 1 8-inch cake

Ingredients:

Crust
1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/3 cup chopped pecans

Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling
1 8-oz package cream cheese
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 15-oz can pureed pumpkin or 2 cups cooked pumpkin
3/4 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt

Topping
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp chopped pecans

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mix together all ingredients using either the paddle of a mixer or your hands.
3. Press crust into a 9-inch spring-form pan, being sure to make the bottom even and also pressing the edges of the dough about a 1/4 to 1/2 way up the sides of the pan. Set the pan in the refrigerator.
4. In a medium bowl, whip together the pumpkin puree, cream, 2 eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and salt until fully incorporated.
5. Using a the paddle attachment on your mixer, combine the softened cream cheese, 2 eggs, granulated sugar and vanilla until creamy.
6. Gently add the pumpkin mixture to the cream cheese, being sure not to over mix.
7. Take the crust out of the refrigerator and set the pan on a large baking sheet. Pour the filling into the pan.
8. Place the filled pan (which should still be on the large baking sheet) into the oven for 45 minutes or until the center only slightly jiggles. If the middle shakes like jell-o, leave it in until it sets further.
9. Once the cake has cooled down, mix the sour cream and maple syrup together. Spread the mixture on top of the cake and then sprinkle on the chopped pecans.
10. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight and serve.