The Christmas Dinner

 

Fa la la la laaaa la la la laa! Lol Yes I counted how many la's are in that hook.  I crack myself up. I'm mean really! Yes I did!

 

I'm going to get straight to it.

Entrée:
Salisbury Steak
Mashed Potatoes
Spaghetti Squash with Greens Beans (recipe below)
Mediterranean Stuffed Collards
Green Peas
Dessert:
All American Pear and Cranberry PotPie with Ice Cream
Pomegranate Pistachio Cake

Yes it was quite a menu.  The Golden Hits were Stuffed Collards, Pomegranate Pitachio Cake, and PotPie with ice cream

Salisbury Steak, Mashed Taters, Spaghetti Squash and Green Beans, and Stuffed Collards

All American Pear and Cranberry PotPie






Spaghetti Squash and Green Beans
1 spaghetti squash
1 chopped onion
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 lb green beans
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp sage
1 tsp better than bouillon
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 large tomatoes chopped

Preheat oven to 350
Cut squash in half.  Oil it and place squash down on baking sheet.  Bake 45 min.  Let cool, then scrape with fork to remove squash put in bowl. 

Add oil, onion, garlic and green beans to a skillet and sauté 5 minutes.  Add squash, spices, bouillon paste, and water.  Cook an additional 5 minutes. Stir in lemon, salt and tomato.

Well in my porky the pig voice.  That's all folks !



Happy New Year and as always Happy Eating :)
















Christmas Time is Here

C H R I S T M A S   C O O K I E S

 

 

On the 24th day of Christmas my true gave me.... 24 hand decorated Christmas cookies.  We made Christmas cookies and decorating them today on Christmas Eve!  Whew am I tired.  I had to go by the store and get Christmas cookie cutters stand in line and wait.  Who likes that??  It was worth it to spend the time doing this with my son.  He really enjoyed baking these. Cinnamon tea pairs well with these.  The Cookie Recipe was used from Colleen Patrick Goudreau's  Vegan Baking Cookbook.

Cinnamon Tea

4 cups water
4- 5 Cinnamon Barks
1 tsp Agave  more to taste.

Add all items to  saucepan.  Boil 20-30 minutes until tea changes colors.  A light bronze color.  That's all!

 

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Goodnight.  Enjoy your friends and family and the true reason for the celebrating!!

 

I'll will share photos of our Christmas Dinner Tomorrow

 

Happy Holiday Eating :0) 

My Sweet November We Must Catch Up II

VEGFEST!!! The 2nd annual Vegfest in Atlanta is one of the great highlights of my November.  It was super special because I was a volunteer! Helping the vendors, seeing vegan chefs, authors it was such a great place to be.  The crowd was pretty thick.  We had a line outside well before the event started.  To make everyone aware of the festivities that lie ahead of them, as a courtesy, I lend a hand in greeting the amazing people waiting patiently outside, and it was a chilly morning.  My 'tis was a wonderful way to spend my Saturday!  And get this, after the show was the after party =) at least for the volunteers and such.  There were cooking demos from many chefs, to name a few Meet the Shannons, Afa Ibomu, and Isa (coauthor of Veganomicon, and author of a slew of cookbooks herself).  I grabbed a hug from her I was so excited, Veganomicon was my first vegan start.  It taught me the basic of vegan cooking.  So it was such a pleasure to meet one of the authors of this inspiring book.  Many Atlantanian vendors were there showcasing their vegan cuisine, I chose Dough had a bacon, egg biscuit and yes it was vegan.  It was a heaven for plant based eaters because it was so many choices all under one roof.  Volunteering was great as you get the behind the scene before the action begins.  Enjoy and review the list of vendors and the snap shots.

 

 

 

--Healthy Essence Food Truck--

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                   

      Isa (vegan author) and Atlantanian Elena Paulsen (cofounder Veganesp)

 

Find more information regarding the vendors right here ==> VegFest 2013 Vendors 

 

 

 

--FAVORITE TREASURE--

One of my treasured take aways from this year's Vegfest is dum dum dum dummmmmm!!!!! Teeccino Herbal Coffee!!!!!!!   I've always loved the smell of coffee and for a couple years I drank it but the caffeine is not good to the body so for vitality health I stop ingesting caffeine.  But miss the taste of coffee.  This is the best alternative to coffee, and I'm the biggest herbal tea lover, this is a great addition to my herbal tea collection.

--RECIPE TIME--
As always I'll share a recipe.  Just ate these for breakfast this morning!

Apple Cinnamon Waffles Topped with Walnuts with  a bowl of strawberries and Yogurt.

 

 

 

 

 

Apple Cinnamon Waffles
1 1/4 c flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp sugar

1 c milk

1 apple chopped finely -food processor
1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp. oil

 

Preheat waffle iron. 

Mix dry ingredients flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar in one bowl.  In separate bowl mix wet ingredients milk, apples, vanilla and oil.  Add wet ingredients to dry.  Combine. 
Cook until brown.  Top with chopped walnuts and maple syrup. 

Happy Eating :)
 

My Sweet November We Must Catch Up I

Happy Thanksgiving!  I know I'm running behind I had every intension to post something earlier before thanksgiving, but with my indecisiveness I couldn't narrow down what I wanted.  I didn't go to the grocery store early to avoid the mean crowds the day before Thanksgiving, and because I was traveling to my mom's I couldn't just leave and arrive thinking I would have food ready for me to eat since I'm solo on the vegan train at my family gatherings.  So I search the cabinets and fridge and came up with a last minute throw it together Thanksgiving dinner.  The menu included:  Acorn squash with roasted root vegetables with parsley and onions, Cornbread Dressing, Macaroni and Cheese, Collard Greens, and a Lentil Loaf.  For dessert I bake some oatmeal cookies that I had frozen for a later date to make. 

My photo didn't turn out great as I forgot my camera and used my sorry phone camera to take photos.  I have a confession to make I loved my cornbread dressing it's so delicious with collards. The collards were cooked by my mom but she knows how to make them good without the traditional southern seasonings.  It was delicious very pleased with my dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

Cornbread Dressing:

 

1 large onion, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

1 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp sage

1/2 tsp thyme

1 tsp parsley

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups whole wheat bread, cubed

2 cups corn bread, cubed

1/2 cup vegetable broth

2 Flax Seed Egg 

--2 1/2 tbsp. ground flax 6 tbsp. water = 1 egg-

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Sauté the onion and celery in oil. In a large mixing bowl, combine the seasoning with the bread and cornbread, mixing well. Add the onion and celery and stir to combine. Add broth and blend mixture.  Pour into oil pan and Bake for 20 minutes. The edges should be crispy. If you don't have a recipe for vegan cornbread check out a post done previously.

 

**Since I'm playing catch up I must create a couple post to tell you all about my Sweet November**

 

Happy Eating :)  More to come......