Showing posts with label Boxing day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Boxing day. Show all posts
Saturday, December 27, 2014
PICS OF TWO HOLIDAY FEASTS & BEST WISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR!
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!
Friday, December 26, 2008
COFFEE COFFEE CAKE, A QUIET CHRISTMAS DINNER, AND A "BOXING DAY" SOUP
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| Coffee Coffee Cake (recipe below), the traditional Christmas breakfast cake in my family. |
Printable Recipe
BRYANNA'S VEGAN CREME OF ARTICHOKE AND MUSHROOM SOUP WITH PESTO
Servings: 4
An easy and delicious soup utilizing some of my favorite ingredients.
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups fresh crimini or white mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons white unbleached flour
6 cups nondairy milk (I used soy)
2 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon No-Chicken Soup Base
(OR enough good-tasting vegetarian chicken-style bouillon cubes or powder for 6 cups liquid)
2/ 14 oz. cans artichokes hearts in water, well-drained and chopped
(OR use two 9 oz. pckgs. frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, drained and chopped)
2 tablespoons non-dairy basil pesto
salt and finely-chopped black pepper to taste
a little more pesto to swirl on top for a garnish
Heat the olive oil in a 2 quart pot. Add the mushrooms and onion and stir-cook over medium-high heat until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
Stir in flour and stir-cook for 1 minute.
Vigorously stir in the nondairy milk and bouillon and let it come to a boil, stirring. Cook 1 minute, stirring consistently. Add the artichokes, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
Stir in the Pesto and taste for seasoning. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 285.1 calories; 27% calories from fat; 9.0g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 3578.0mg sodium; 1272.9mg potassium; 44.1g carbohydrates; 12.9g fiber; 14.5g sugar; 31.2g net carbs; 22.3g protein; 5.6 points.
Printable Recipe
BRYANNA'S VEGAN COFFEE COFFEE CAKE (Updated Dec. 24, 2016)
Servings: 8
Yield: One 9-inch round cake
This is a veganized version of a not-too-sweet coffee-flavored coffee cake that I've been making for years (started out with a non-vegan recipe in Sunset magazine) and make for every Christmas breakfast (and my adult kids carry on with the tradition, too). It's delicious!
THE CAKE BATTER:
Wet Mix:
1/2 cup (4 oz.) medium-firm regular tofu (or firm to extra-firm silken tofu)
1 tablespoon Ener-G or Orgran No-Egg egg replacer powder
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons dark roast,good-quality instant coffee granules OR 1 tablespoon espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Dry Mix:
2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Additional:
1/3 cup nondairy milk
THE NUT FILLING:
1/3 cup vegan butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup wheat germ (or whole grain flour)
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
THE COFFEE GLAZE:
3/4 cup organic powdered sugar
1 tablespoon strong liquid coffee (preferably espresso) OR 1 tablespoon hot water with 1 teaspoon dark roast, good-quality instant coffee granules)
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Oil a 9-inch round cake pan and line with baking parchment cut to fit the bottom of the pan. Combine the Wet Mix ingredients in a food processor and process until well-combined. It might look a bit curdled-- that's okay!
In a small bowl whisk together the Dry Ingredients.
Add the half of the Dry Mix to the Wet Mix in the food processor and pulse just to mix. Add the 1/3 cup nondairy milk and pulse to mix (stop the processor and scrape down the sides if necessary), then add the remaining Dry Mix, and process until well-combined-- no longer! It's quite a bit thicker than a layer cake batter, but moist.
Combine the Filling ingredients in a small bowl with a fork and/or your fingers until well mixed. It will be soft and sort of cling together-- it isn't crumbly.
Spread half of the Batter evenly into the pan with your damp fingers. Distribute half of the nut filling evenly over the batter in bits-- there will be some gaps between the "bits". Smooth the rest of the Batter over the Filling, and then distribute the remaining Filling over the top in the same way. Press it down slightly into the batter.
Bake the cake for 25 minutes. Cool it briefly on a rack, then loosen the sides with a table knife and turn out onto a plate, if you like (it can also be served directly from the pan).
Mix the Coffee Glaze ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle or spread the Coffee Glaze over the top of the warm cake and serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 337.7 calories; 43% calories from fat; 16.2g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 293.4mg sodium; 463.6mg potassium; 44.3g carbohydrates; 4.3g fiber; 18.1g sugar; 40.1g net carbs; 6.4g protein; 7.3 points.
Happy Holidays!
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