My best wishes to all of my readers and friends, and I sincerely hope for a peaceful and joyful New Year for all of us!
Just a quick post today-- some photos of our Christmas Dinner and our Boxing Day (December 26th) gathering with family at my daughter Sarah's house.
VEGAN CHRISTMAS DINNER, 2014:
(CLICK ON THE PHOTO FOR A LARGER VERSION)
Our vegan friends Mike (whose partner, Fireweed, could not come due to illness), Holly, David and Tanya, and my stepson Laurence enjoyed this "Beefy" Seitan Roast" wrapped in crunchy artisan bread dough for the main dish-- I hadn't made this for quite a few years. I'd almost forgotten how delicious it is!
"Beefy" Seitan Roast in a French Bread Crust au Jus was originally from my book "The Almost No-Fat Holiday Cookbook", but this time I used my newer version of "Beefy" Seitan Roast and my No-Knead Crusty Bread dough (and baking mehod), both from my book "World Vegan Feast". I baked it in a large pre-heated covered roasting pan at 475 degrees F for 45 minutes. The roast is pre-cooked in a very flavorful cooking broth and then thinly sliced and the slices then tied together with twine.
The crusty bread dough is rolled out fairly thin and a mixture of herbs and garlic is spread on the dough. The seitan roast is placed over the herb mixture, and then more of the garlic/herb mixture is spread on top of the roast,. The rest of the dough is pulled up and around to enclose the roast completely, placed seam-side down in the hot roasting pan, and baked until crusty and golden. After you cut the top of the bread all around with a bread knife, you can lift it off and then snip the twine and pull it out. The seitan stays moist and tender, and the herb and garlic mixture flavors the crusty bread that you pull off.
It's easy to serve, since the roast is pre-sliced. I serve it with some of the cooking broth, thinned with a bit of water to taste and then heated (this is the "Jus") and I also thickened some of the cooking broth with some cornstarch and added some Port wine to that for a thin-ish, silky gravy.
**The leftovers make a great vegan "French Dip" sandwich!**
Rounding out the meal: (CLICK ON THE PHOTO FOR A LARGER VERSION)
Clockwise from the top left:
1.) Mike brought Fireweed's beautiful and delicious broccoli salad, with other fruits and vegetables and topped with pomegranate seeds, and I made simple roasted Hubbard squash slices with my homemade vegan palm-oil-free "Buttah", brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans.
2.) I also made roasted German Butter potato wedges with olive oil, rosemary (from my herb garden) and Maldon flake salt.
3.) My friend Holly brought delicious vegan lemon curd tarts.
4.) David and Tanya brought some awesome homemade Dark Chocolate/Almond Butter Cups, and a luscious Arborio rice pudding, which was eaten before I could photograph it!
Yum, yum, yum!
FAMILY BOXING DAY BUFFET 2014:(CLICK ON THE PHOTO FOR A LARGER VERSION)
We had a lovely afternoon get-together in Courtenay, BC at my daughter's Sarah's house with Sullivans, Grogans, McKenzies, and Clarks, and dogs Phoebe and Bessie, of course! My oldest daughter Bethany came from Hornby Island with her husband Parker and my two eldest grandchildren, Levon and Savannah. Sarah's eldest daughter Kate was home from Vancouver for a couple of weeks, and of course, her younger sisters Hannah and Cleo, as well as my son's daughter Mariah. Joining us were stepson Sean, Kate, Hannah and Cleo's Dad, Ben, and their Grampa Tony.
Clockwise from the top left:
1.) Granddaughter #5, Cleo, and the Boxing Day buffet.
2.) Tofu Pot Pie, roasted cauliflower, No-knead Bran Rolls, sauteed Brussels sprouts, Seitan "Ham".
3.) My homemade palm-oil-free "Buttah", gravy, mashed spuds, homemade cranberry sauce, Sage, Onion and Celery Bread Stuffing, Seitan "Turkey", No-Knead Bran Rolls, roasted cauliflower, sauteed Brussels sprouts and Tofu Pot Pie.
**Oh, and I forgot to photograph the dessert table, which was consisted of my vegan Coffee Coffee Cake and Triple Ginger Espresso Cake; Sarah's Pumpkin Gingerbread Cookies and Vegan Chocolate Toffee Bars; Bethany's Panetone (Italian Christmas Bread), Candy Cane Shortbread and Chocolate Chip Blondies.**
Full, and happy, tummies all around!
Happy Holidays!
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