Christmas in quotes = I’m Buddhist. But we had a tree, exchanged gifts and enjoyed a great day of eats!
My husband made me a photo light box
and this was my first photo:
What a great holiday gift!
He also gave me this
I’m a pirate chef! Okay, on to our holiday meal. I’m holding a Veggie “Meat” Loaf, post baking.
It started off like this:
Veggie “Meat” Loaf: This delicious loaf is courtesy of Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food: 65 Everyday Meal Ideas for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with Over 150 Great-tasting, Down-home Recipes.
My modifications:
- I used both green and red peppers (Christmas, after all)
- Instead of using 1 and 3/4 cup catsup I used 1-ish cup catsup, 1/4-ish cup vegan Worcestershire sauce (Why vegan? Traditional Worcestershire sauce is made with anchovies!) and 1/8-ish cup Sriracha
- Therefore, I did not use the additional call for Worcestershire later in the recipe.
Confession time. The only thing I made for this holiday meal was the veggie loaf. Dave did the rest. In his words….
So, it’s Christmas. You just received a jigsaw puzzle of the “Custom Leg Lamp” from A Christmas Story (awesome!) and it’s time to start cooking dinner.
First things first – mimosa’s all around, thank you very much. Hey! Priorities! Now that that’s taken care of, let’s get down to business.
Mushroom and Apple stuffing
- 1 medium sized bowl full of diced / cubed bread. I used a whole wheat, hearty multigrain from the bakery.
- 1/2 large onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium apple, diced
- 4 BIG handfuls of mushrooms, rough chopped (varying sized hunks). I split it 50 / 50 between Crimini and Shitake
- 2-3 stalks of celery, medium sized, diced.
- Salt
- Pepper
- Sage
- Thyme
Hopefully you diced up your bread yesterday to let it sit overnight to reach “day-old” status. Not quite stale, but not yet fresh either. No? You didn’t? Wow. Okay, dice up your bread, put it on a baking sheet, and toss it in at 250 F oven for 10 minutes or so – or until it starts to get a little “dry” feeling.
Yes, I didn’t really measure the bread. I just diced up a bunch until it looked like enough for 3-4 people plus some leftovers. Really, you’re going to fill a 13 x 9 baking dish with your stuffing, so be creative and eyeball it.
In a pan or pot, heat some olive oil on medium heat. Toss in the onion, and stir – add some salt and pepper.
After 4-5 minutes, toss in your mushrooms. After a couple of minutes, throw in the garlic. Add some shakes of ground sage and thyme. After a couple minutes more, toss in the apple and the celery. Add a bit more salt and pepper to taste.
Let all this go for another 5 mins or so. Then, take the concoction out of your pot / pan and pour it over the diced bread in your bowl.
Stir to combine
Add some veggie stock to get the bread nice and wet (as it’s going to dry out in the oven – I know….duh!). Stir some more. When it’s at your desired consistency (if you like your stuffing more wet or dry) you’re good to go.
Now, take your baking dish and smear the bottom and sides with Earth Balance. Just take a paper towel and use some elbow grease. Spread your stuffin’ in there.
Put your baking dish in the oven (350-375F) and let it cook for the last 25 minutes or so that your main dish is cooking. Once it’s hot, it’s done. Serve (yes, take pictures in your brand new light-box – you’re welcome) and enjoy.
Smashed Sweet Potatoes
- 2 large yams or sweet potatoes
- Veggie Stock
- Earth Balance
- 2 handfuls of raw pecans
Scrub your Yams (sounds dirty, doesn’t it?) and then dice into bite sized pieces (cooks quicker)
Throw them into a pot of boiling, salted water. 20 minutes should get them to ‘fork-tender.’
In the meantime, take your pecans and put them in a skillet over med-high heat and dry roast them. Toss frequently until just a bit beyond medium warm and put them on a cutting board to cool a bit.
DON’T buy pre-roasted pecans. Buy the raw ones and do it yourself. Why? a) They’ll taste better b) You won’t hate yourself in the morning for not doing it this way – trust me.
Once they’ve cooled a bit, rough chop your nuts (wait, that came out wrong)
When the ‘taters are done, drain em’ and put them back in the pot. Add a couple big spoons of earth balance and start to mash em’ with a hand masher. Again, don’t use a hand mixer – you’ll hate yourself for not keeping it rustic.
Add some veggie stock (not a lot, just a splash or two) and throw in your pecans. Mash a bit more, and set aside.
That’s it. Serve with your favorite gravy, main course, sides, and adult-beverage of choice.
Dave also made a garlic-spinach-almond dish (saute two cloves of garlic in olive oil, add spinach, cover for a few minutes, add sliced almonds)
Dessert?
After this? So not necessary.
What fabulous vegan dish did you make for the holiday?
