Christmas Lunch 2019

What's on my vegan Christmas plate this year? Let me show you!!

I made the Isa Chandra Moskowitz recipe for Xmas glazed ham which has been sitting in my drafts for years! It didn't turn out as good as I was hoping but it was still delicious! Just wish I could have had the marinade get into the middle of the tofu and have the tofu chewier but I used a shallow dish so I think that's why there was too much liquid while baking!

Glazed Xmas Tofu Ham

Also on the plate; Rosemary Potatoes, Roasted Veg (red onion, garlic, radish & turnip), Southern Style Collard Greens (my current addiction), mushroom gravy (pureed this year) & Xmas Jelly.

I wait all year for apple pie! YUMMMMM! Served with vegan vanilla ice-cream.

Xmas Glazed Ham

From the amazing genius of Isa Chandra aka Post Punk Kitchen chef. One of the few GF recipes I've found! Have been wanting to make this for AGES! It didn't turn out as well as I hoped, I marinated overnight and still didn't feel like the middle really got any flavor. She recommends pressing for 30 minutes on both sides which I didn't do. It still tasted pretty good. I'm wondering if I pureed the tofu and added in seasoning like with the vegan turkey then follow the recipe below if that would have helped. Definitely very edible to me, just not so much for the non-vegans in the house :(
Also I used a shallow dish and I think it allowed for too much glaze, baking it in liquid essentially. I felt like the cloves looked really impressive but gave too strong of a flavor and also annoying to pick out. I served with Christmas Jelly.

Xmas Glazed Ham

Ingredients

Marinade; 
1⁄4 cup olive oil
1⁄4 cup tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
1⁄4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons liquid smoke
1⁄4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
FOR THE TOFU:
1 (14-ounce) package extra-firm tofu, pressed
8 thin orange slices
20 to 25 whole cloves

Glaze;
1⁄2 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons smooth apricot jam
1 tablespoon whiskey
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1⁄4 teaspoon ground ginger
1⁄4 teaspoon smoked salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Method

MAKE THE TOFU: In a shallow dish, whisk together all the marinade ingredients. Place the block of tofu in the marinade, turn to coat, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, and up to overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
Arrange the orange slices in an even layer in the center of the parchment. Place the marinated tofu block on the bed of oranges.
Carefully score the top of the tofu block with a sharp knife in a diamond pattern, about 1⁄4 inch deep. Press the whole cloves into the intersections of the cuts (at the corners of the diamonds). Bake for 1 hour.

IN THE MEANTIME, MAKE THE GLAZE: Combine all the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until reduced by half and thickened, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

After the tofu has baked for 1 hour, remove it from the oven and pour the glaze evenly all over the top. Bake for an additional 30 minutes.
Allow the tofu to cool for about 5 minutes before slicing to serve.

Homemade Toothpaste

I got this original recipe from Authority Dental and I used it as a base to create a new one.

Homemade Toothpaste

Ingredients

2 Tbls Baking Soda
2 Tbls Coconut Oil
10 drops of essential oil (Peppermint, Clove, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus, Tea Tree, Rosemary & Wild Orange are good ones to use.)

Method

Heat coconut oil and baking soda on a low heat and until melted.
Whisk until well blended and whisk in the essential oils.
Allow to sit for a few hours or in the fridge to harden.
Keep in an air tight container.

Gingerbread Cookies

Taken from Cara Reed's book Decadent Gluten-Free Vegan Baking. Check out her awesome website Fork and Beans! I made a huge batch for everyone at work so I just used a sprinkle over some icing sugar instead of making the royal icing.

Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients

For cookies: 
1/2 c vegan butter (I used Miyoko's)
2 c gluten-free all purpose flour mix (I used Bob's Red Mills)
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c molasses
1 flaxseed meal egg (1 Tb flaxseed meal + 2 Tbs warm water, allow to sit for 5 minutes to thicken)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves

For Icing:
1 c powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
non-dairy milk
natural food coloring (optional)


Method

In a large bowl, beat margarine with an electric mixer on medium to high speed about 30 seconds or till softened.
Add about half the flour.
Add sugar, molasses, flax egg, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.
Beat till thoroughly combined.
Beat or stir in the remaining flour.
Divide dough in half. Cover and chill about 3 hours or till easy to handle.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Grease a cookie sheet, then set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, roll each half of dough in to 1/8 inch thickness.
Using a cookie cutter of your choice, cut dough into shapes.
Place 1″ apart on the prepared cookie sheet.
Bake for 7 to 10 minutes or till edges are firm. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute.
Transfer cookies to a wire rack.

My three year old loved helping with the rolling and cookie cutting ;)

Mushroom Basil Pasta

Original recipe from doTERRA Blog.

Mushroom Basil Pasta

Ingredients

4 servings vegan pasta noodles
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ onion, chopped
Sea salt, to taste
300–350 grams brown mushrooms (Italian or Crimini)
1 drop Basil oil
1 drop Black Pepper oil
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons pine nuts
Fresh basil leaves, to garnish


Method 

Using a damp paper towel, wipe each mushroom to remove any dirt, or lightly rinse the mushrooms with cool water and pat dry with paper towels. Do not soak the mushrooms as they will retain too much water to cook properly.
Chop onion, and mince garlic. Cut mushrooms by trimming and discarding thin slices from the end of the stems. Slice the mushroom from top to stem to your desired thickness.
Cook pasta according to package instructions in salted water.
As pasta is cooking, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a pan. Roast onion and mushrooms in the heated oil for about 10 minutes, or until mushrooms are golden and the onion is clear and soft. Add garlic about 2 minutes before lowering heat, watching carefully so as not to burn. Remove from heat.
In another pan, toast pine nuts until golden.
Once pasta is al dente, drain. Mix together 1 tablespoon olive oil with 1 drop Basil and 1 drop Black Pepper oil. Pour oil mixture over noodles, and toss until evenly coated.
Add mushrooms, onions, garlic, and pine nuts to the noodles and mix until combined. Salt to taste.
Serve hot, topped with fresh basil.

Caramel Sauce with Coconut Cream

This is an easy caramel sauce recipe perfect for ice-cream!! Original recipe from Alternative French Girl.

Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

130 ml canned coconut cream
2/3 cup unrefined vegan brown sugar
2 tbsp vegan margarine


Method

To make the caramel sauce, add in a saucepan on high heat, the 3 ingredients and bring to boil while whisking.
Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 10 to 15 min.

Homemade Pizza Sauce

This original recipe was from Joy Food Sunshine. I freeze mine in ice cube trays which is around 2 Tbls per ice cube. I use around 2-4 ice cubes per pizza.

Homemade Pizza Sauce

Ingredients

6 oz can tomato paste
15 oz can tomato sauce
1-2 Tbls oregano to taste
2 Tbls Italian seasoning
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
½ Tbls garlic salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1-2 tsp sugar vegan sugar


Method

Mix tomato paste and sauce together in a medium size bowl until well combined (all the lumps of paste are incorporated into the sauce).
Add the rest of the ingredients (oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, garlic salt, pepper and sugar) and mix well. Freeze left over sauce in ice cub trays, then transfer to an air free container once frozen.

Pumkpin Pie

This vegan pumpkin pie recipe comes from Loving It Vegan and was amazing. The kids loved it and it was easy to make! It was so rich we didn't need any extras. It came out a darker colour than I expected! We used Truwhip for serving. I also love Wholly Glute Free pie crusts for sweet or savoury!

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

1 15oz (425g) Can Puréed Pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)*
3/4 cup Coconut Milk (full fat)
3/4 cup vegan Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Cornstarch
1/4 cup Maple Syrup
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice*
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Vegan Pie Crust homemade or store-bought (must be uncooked)

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
Add all the filling ingredients to a blender and blend until perfectly smooth.
Pour out over your uncooked pie crust and smooth with a spoon.
Bake in the oven for 60 minutes.
When you remove it from the oven, it will still be quite wobbly in the center, this is completely fine, it will firm up when cooling.
Allow to cool on the counter and then place into the refrigerator to set completely, around 4 hours at least or overnight if possible until completely chilled and set.
Decorate the pie and serve with whipped coconut cream.
Keep leftovers covered in the fridge where it will last for up to a week.

Pumpkin Pie Spice
3 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon
2 tsp Ground Ginger
2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1 and 1/2 tsp Ground Allspice
1 and 1/2 tsp Ground Cloves

Homemade Dishwasher Tablets

This is a recipe from doTERRA which works beautifully. I initially misread the ingredients and used On Guard EO instead of the cleaner concentrate...it smelt amazing but was definitely too much for washing dishes LOL
This worked better than the Seventh Generation ones I was using, no hard water marks or grainy soap residue.

Homemade Dishwasher Tablets

Ingredients
1 cup baking soda
¼ cup citric acid
1 tablespoon doTERRA On Guard Cleaner Concentrate
5 drops Grapefruit oil (I used lemon)

Method

Put baking soda, citric acid, doTERRA On Guard Cleaner Concentrate, and Grapefruit oil in a mixing bowl. Mix together until the mixture is an even consistency.
Place in silicon molds and let sit for four hours. Remove tabs.
Store in an airtight container.
Use in dishwasher in place of store-bought dishwasher tablets.

Southern Collard Greens

I'm seriously obsessed with southern style collard greens t the moment, I'm not at all sure why since I did not grow up with them but I seriously grave them!!! Anyway here's my vegan version of traditional southern style collard greens done in a slow cooker for ease although you can also just use a large pot and simmer for a couple hours.

Southern Collard Greens

Ingredients

2 (14-oz.) cans vegetable broth
2lbs chopped fresh collard greens
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 Tbls coconut oil
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
2 tsp vegetable stock powder (I used Vegeta)
salt and pepper to taste.


Method

Add all ingredients to your slow cooker and cook on low for 9-10 hours.
Keep warm until ready to serve.

Vegan Product Review - November 2019

 Some vegan products I've discovered recently....

Halloween brought me looking for vegan candy and I found! At Earth Fare I picked up individually wrapped Unreal gems such as almond butter cups and coconut bars. Plus I found individual portions of the chocolate covered peanuts!

Earth Fare had this brand (I think it's their brand?) Wholesome of vegan "Swedish" fish. The verdict from my kids was that they don't taste like Swedish fish but taste like a raspberry jelly candy/ They were good though! They also had some organic lollipops.

 

Another option of more individual portion was these Smart Sweets fish which were also good!

Yum Earth had these special edition Halloween gummy fruits with individual servings which were a hit with my three year old!

This is probably my most favorite discovery of late. My friend discovered these for me and I can never find pot-stickers that are vegan AND GF...these Feel Good Foods vegetable pot-stickers are AND they are really good! Even the dipping sauce isn't bad!

So when Wholefoods had a 50% sale on all frozen pizza I took notice even though there are normally none i can eat besides Daiya but then I saw this! Amy's now has a vegan GF pizza. Only one so far and it's pepperoni but it was actually very decent!

 Now that we are on the subject of vegan GF meat substitutes I have to say the new formula meatier Beyond Meat burger is really good! But Dr. Praegers new Perfect Burger tastes pretty similar to Beyond Meat so it will be an easy choice - whichever one is on sale ;)

 

This ground vegan beef from The Meatless Farm Co out of the UK was pretty good, I used it for meatballs that were a huge hit! I bought their Beyond Meat style burger patties as well and am excited to try them since price wise it's about the same but the ground beef is much cheaper.

These Dr. Praeger's Sunday Funday Veggie Sausage patties were a huge hit with the kids! 

We usually get Kite Hill yoghurt but these Follow Your Heart ones were on sale and I was impressed! They are more like Fruiche (like whiped almost spongy texture) than Kite Hill which is more creamy. 

I found these Lundberg Organic Grainspirations bowls, I think at Wholefoods?? ANyway they are super healthy but not a ton of flavor so I had to add some coconut aminos!

I found a vegan dip nail company called Revel Nail. I love the color range, the customer service is really good and it wasn't difficult to do at home honestly once I figured it out! Watch the videos LOL

I will say that dips in general I think for me at least work amazingly on my toes because they last for months but on my fingers I was always picking them off and that left my nails weak and ripped. It's quite an effort to get them off the proper way and I'm way too impatient! 

I'm totally in love with Coopers Hawk winery at the moment! All their wines are vegan and delicious! They have taste testings for $8. This Vin Chocolat Noir is AMAZING!!!! 

I'm fairly addicted to The Honest Stand cheese dips. The smoked cheddar is my favorite! I love heating them in the microwave and pouring them over corn chips. My three year old loves to dip chips in! 

I LOVE Kat von D's new Go Big or Go Home mascara - it's great with lengthening and definition but it is insanely waterproof so make sure you have a good make up remover!

 

This Sonoma Flatbreads vegan GF vegetable pizza was really good, I don't see them very often though.

I am quite loyal to Little Northen Bakehouse but it's so rare to find vegan GF bread products that I had to try these O'Doughs products when I saw them on sale. They were very nice when toasted!

 I found these Cedar Lane products at Sprouts. I really liked them all honestly! I also had the tofu scramble which was great. The creamed spicnach and kale was my favorite I think. I like to add pickles, curry powder and black salt to the egg salad and make curried egg sandwiches!

Very important popcorn reviews.... I tried the Lesser Evil Himalayan Gold popcorn and couldn't believe the butter flavor just came from coconut oil and salt. It was so convincing! I also really liked the Skinny popcorn butter flavor microwave popcorn and the popcorn mini cakes although the flavor was a bit overly salty.