Season's Eatin's

After the hustle and bustle of holiday festivities, we had a few days of peace and relaxation. Which explains why I'm a little late in posting our Christmas dishes. Dinner this year was at Mom's house and I wasn't used to the lighting in the dining room, so only a few of the pics are decent enough to share.

Sarah made a Cranberry Edamame Salad which was bright and festive.


Wayne and Penny made a roasted vegetable dish.



I made a raw Shaved Fennel with Blood Oranges, Pomegranate, and Pinenuts salad.



We also had mashed potatoes, dressing, Chickpea Cutlets, veggie gravy, butternut squash and carrots. I almost didn't have room for anything on the cookie tray. Almost.

For Second Christmas, we tried to minimize the gluten in the food. I made Vcon's Spaghetti Squash Mexicana with Tropical Avocado Salsa Fresca with Sweet Potato Fries and Corn Muffins from How It All Vegan. The squash was a relatively easy and tasty dish, although I will split the squash lengthwise before baking next time, instead of across the "waist". I loved the salsa.



We topped it with Sour Cilantro Cream also from Vcon.



Sarah made a Spinach Salad with marinated mushrooms. I could have eaten all of the mushrooms, they were so tasty.



Two days later for J's birthday dinner, I made Veganomicon's Black Bean Burgers which looked so pretty topped with red onion, tomato, and avocado slices and the Sour Cilantro Cream. So pretty in fact that I ate mine before I even thought about taking a photo. Luckily I remembered before cutting the cake - Lower-Fat Deep Chocolate Bundt Cake from guess where... Veganomicon! It was so moist and delicious that even I, someone who doesn't get too excited about cake, really enjoyed it. Please excuse the candle divet.



We tried the Red Wine Roux on the Chickpea Cutlets and were kind of turned off by the colour, but pleasantly surprised by the flavour. I still want to try the Mustard Sauce before I declare a Cutlet Sauce winner.



I had planned to make the BBQ Black-Eyed Pea Collard Rolls (from Vcon) for New Years Eve, but by the time the evening rolled around and after a raw key lime pie disaster, just the thought of making the BBQ sauce was too much for me. I'm glad I waited, because I started early on New Year's Day and had the sauce simmering on the stove and everything prepped ahead of time. It was then just a matter of assembling the rolls. They were really yummy. When I make them again, I'll add a little brown rice inside to soak up the saucy goodness.



Last night I tried Vcon's Pumpkin Baked Ziti with Caramelized Onions and Sage Crumb Topping. It was savoury and I can see why it is popular as a comfort food.



Now it's time to cut back on the hibernation food and eat a bit more lightly. There are one too many cookies hanging out on my bathroom scale.