Christmas Foods 2015!

Happy Holidays everyone! Hope you are enjoying your weekend. I'm just going to dump all my food pics. I am so full and fat from it all! Love!

My husband and I had dinner on xmas eve at our friend's place. Every year they have made a vegan friendly dinner for us. This year vegan Yorkshire puddings were a first!

Delia Smith recipe using soymilk, ener-g egg replacer and oil instead of animal products. They were heavenly!

All together now. My plate. I made the tofurky roast and orange herb gravy.

My friend Hope is a non-vegan vegan baker! She's amazing. Everything just comes out perfect.

These are Fran Costigan's Chocolate Tortes TO LIVE FOR. They really are.

Apple Cider cupcakes from VCTOTW.

Every year we make these Espresso Oatmeal Chip cookies from VCIYCJ.

I got a genius brainwave the next day. Leftover ganache and coconut milk with a little agave made delicious hot chocolate!

Sprinkled with some cinnamon.

Christmas day with my folks and brother. I made breakfast. Vegan Brunch's pastry puffs using Field Roast sausage instead of tempeh. Amazing everytime.

Broccoli quiche from Vegan Brunch. Can't go wrong.

Diner home fries from Vegan Brunch.

Leftover quiche and Bubble and Squeak made from leftover home fries and cabbage for Boxing Day breakfast! Mmmmm!

Get Well Ringo! cupcakes and Falafel Sandwich.

Sexy lowfat vanilla cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. I used strawberry soy yogurt instead of vanilla and added chopped strawberries to the batter. On top, I used full fat cream cheez frosting that I had leftover in the freezer and fresh cut strawberries.

I heard Ringo was not feeling well and cancelled a show this past week. Hope he feels better today! These cupcakes are so yummy!

Falafel recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance. I modified it a bit. Added spinach, garlic-herb oil that I made the other day with fresh sage, oregano and basil from the garden. I also subbed oatmeal and garbanzo bean flour (besan) for the breadcrumbs. And I baked instead of fried. Perfection!
Stuffed into a pita bread pocket with hummus, lettuce, arugula, cucumber, tomatoes and garlic sauce that I concocted from tahini, vegan mayo, lemon juice, garlic and cilantro. Also a few shakes of Tabasco for heat!

Carrot Cake, Bean Dip, Not-So-Dirty Rice and More Carrot Cake!

Last week on Tuesday it was National Carrot Cake Day. I had no idea it existed but my friend posted about it on Facebook. I liked the idea of that and it's been ages since I've made a carrot cake. I must have a long long time ago pre-vegan. So it was time to make a vegan one.

That day I got home from work and used what I had at home. I used Kittee's Vanilla Cake recipe and just added 1 1/2 cups of shredded carrot and some cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and ginger. Shop bought frosting, some chopped nuts and a few Halloween sprinkles later, I had a carrot cake!

This was so moist and delicious! I'm not too crazy about shop bought frosting so I made a mental note to make a cream cheese based icing next time.

Bean dip we had today. I can eat this everyday it's so good with crispy tortilla chips.

This is Bryant Terry's "Not So Dirty" rice recipe from Vegan Soul Kitchen. It's really tasty. I made a big pot of it so I can take it to work for lunches this week. I used Tofurky sausages in it instead of seitan and tempeh.

Carrot cake fever again. This time in cupcake form. I used a different recipe today from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World along with cream cheese frosting. I accidentally added extra flour so I had to compensate by adding more liquid but it still turned out good.

Food, food, wonderful Christmas food!

A tradition at christmas eve with our friends Hope and Gary: samosas from India's Sweets and Spices.

A Christmas Feast. I brought the Tofurky and gravy. Gary made the beautiful veg and Hope made her killer mash with soymilk and Earth Balance.

Tofurky roast, mash, gravy, roasted veg, piccalili.

For dessert: VCTOW's gingerbread and toasted coconut cupcakes. Heaven. To die for.

Mocha Mama cookies. These are also to die for, especially the next day with a cup of coffee.

Christmas morning, I made the tempeh sausage puffs from Vegan Brunch and waffles.

This is a mushroom and kale lasagna that I made to bring to my aunt's house for another christmas gathering with my cousins.

Cupcakes, Creme de Menthe Parfait and Lunch.

Vanilla cupcakes with shop bought vanilla frosting and sprinkles. My sweet tooth is outta control this weekend.

Sweetness is my weakness.

I had to try this idea from Midcentury Menu blog. It's a creme de menthe parfait! Vanilla soy ice cream and a healthy drizzle of creme de menthe. I didn't have any whipped cream to top it off so I added extra cherries. If you like mint flavored ice cream, you will love this.

Lunch seems to always go this way on Sundays. My husband and I were eating while watching the Dodger game.

My plate.

"Get Well Soon, Paul!" cupcakes and other weekend foods.

So the love of my life, Paul McCartney got ill the day after he arrived in Japan a little over a week ago. He was so ill that he canceled the entire asian leg of his tour. You can imagine how worried I've been! We need you to be well Macca! I forget that he is almost 72 years old. He is normally so bouncy and energetic that I can't fathom him ever being sick. And Paul hardly ever cancels shows so to hear that five shows were canceled was pretty alarming. I made some vanilla cupcakes today with chocolate icing to wish Paul a speedy recovery. So far his people have said that he is definitely recovering. I hope he gets lots of rest. I'm seeing him at Dodger Stadium this August so I am very excited.

I used kittee's moist vanilla cake recipe and a chocolate icing recipe from The Complete Vegan Kitchen cookbook. I used Ghirardelli chocolate in my icing. Yummy.

Keeping the McCartney theme, this is Mary McCartney's pan fried cheese, tomato and onion sandwich. I used Daiya vegan cheese for gooey meltiness.

Crockpot pinto beans from scratch. Just a bit of onion, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper and liquid smoke for seasoning.

Tostada with pico de gallo, avocado and hot sauce. So delicious!

Xmas foods.

Tempeh sausage pastry puffs from the Vegan Brunch book.

I thought the recipe would make good sausage rolls. I was right.

Boston vs. Brooklyn cream pie cupcakes and espresso oatmeal cookies from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World and Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar.

It is always a pleasure to receive beautiful cookbooks for xmas! Hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season!