Vegan Holiday Menu

What's on your vegan menu for the holidays this year? If you're answer is silence then maybe I can provide some inspiration by sharing what will actually be on our holiday table this season! Here is a link to all "Christmas" and gathering posts.

Appetizer

Warm Artichoke & Spinach Dip

The family will be fighting over this dip. It's so moreish!

Mains

Veggie Pot Pie

This will be a hit with everyone, so delicious.

Tofu Turkey

Hubby likes to slice and lightly fry them after baking.

Sides

Green Bean Casserole

Christmas vegetables

We will do mash potatoes as well but these roast veggies are so comforting.

Condiments

Cranberry sauce

Golden Gravy

This simple gravy is always a hit!

Dessert

Apple Pie

Classic dessert for Christmas (I love doing Pavlova as well!) Make sure you get your vegan vanilla ice-cream to go with it....sooo good!

Mince Pies

Fruit mince pies are something I grew up on at Christmas time, they are so good with a cup of tea in the afternoon :)

Extras

Cinnamon Cookies 

I make these before Christmas to share with my friends, family and work colleagues. Always a huge hit!

Candy Cane Fudge 

 I make this after Xmas (assuming the kids haven't eaten all the candy canes) because it's a delicious way to get rid of those last couple candy canes you may still have.

Drinks

Eggless Nog

Vegan Baileys

Hardly seems necessary now with Bailey's releasing it's almond milk variety but incase you want to control the ingredients :)

Hot Cocoa

Don't forget your mini vegan marshmallows

Vegan Chick Fil A Sauce

 Copy Cat Chick Fil A Sauce adapted from Family Fresh Meals.

Vegan Chick Fil A Sauce

Ingredients

1/4 cup vegan honey, golden syrup or agave

2 tablespoons yellow mustard

1/4 cup vegan barbecue sauce

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise

Method

Whisk until smooth and enjoy!

Veggie Pot Pie

Hubby made this vegan version of his chicken pot pie the other day and it was SOOO GOOD! We were all fighting over the leftovers LOL. I think it would work well with faux chicken too! Switch mushrooms for faux chicken and you vegan chicken pot pie ;)

Veggie Pot Pie 

Ingredients

2 thawed pie shells (I used the Wholly Wholesome GF pie crusts - they come in a 2 pack)

Filling

1/3 cup vegan butter or margarine

1 medium chopped onion

1/3 cup rice flour

2 teaspoon salt or veg seasoning

1 teaspoon pepper

1 cups vegetable broth

1 cup cashew milk (or very creamy non-dairy milk)

1 1/2 cups chopped/sliced mixed mushrooms 

2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

Method

Heat oven to 425°F. and put one pie crust in to cook for 13 mins, then remove

In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. 

Add onion; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until very tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and thickened.

Stir in meat substitute and mixed vegetables. Remove from heat. Spoon mixture into cooked pie crust from step 1. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust. (this is where I differ, I am lazy and just like to throw the top pie crust ,tin and all, on the top and pinch the edges together. After about 15 mins of cooking you can safely pull the top pie tin off and the crust should stay in place. )

Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

I’ve made individual ones (when I only had one pie crust) with faux chicken pieces instead of mushrooms and halving the recipe. Took about 20-30 mins at 425F.

Mint Patties/Mint Slice Biscuits

These are very easy to make and you could make mint slice biscuits too by adding the chocolate biscuit component! Recipe from Vegan In The Freezer. I thought they could use a bit more peppermint flavour so next time I think maybe 6-8 drops.

Mint Patties

Ingredients

2 cup Powdered Sugar, vegan/organic
1/2 cup Coconut Oil (melted)
4 teaspoons Peppermint Extract (food grade)
2 cups chocolate of your choice for dipping.
2 tablespoon extra of coconut oil to mix in with the chocolate.


Method

Sift the powdered sugar into a large bowl.
Add the 1/4 cup melted oil and the peppermint extract.
Mix with a hand mixer until smooth.
Get a large container or tray and line with freezer paper.
Take 1 Tbls of mixture and form a ball and then press down to form your pattie shape.
Once all mixture is used put in the freezer for about 15-30 minutes or so until it hardens a bit.
Melt the chocolate over a double broiler (I just use a stainless steel bowl that fits over a saucepan of boiling water.
Stir in the 1 Tablespoon of extra oil for thinning the chocolate a bit.
Take the mint rounds out of the freezer.
Pop one mint at a time into the melted chocolate and use a fork (or two) to coat and then using the fork place on the parchment paper.
To avoid having extra chocolate form under the pattie you can place on a cookie rack.
Place all patties into the fridge for 30 minutes or until chocolate is hard.
You can then double dip them if you like.
Once they are all hard I place them in a container in the freezer.
They take hardly any time to defrost and frankly taste pretty good straight out of the freezer!

Hilton Chocolate Chip Cookies

This original Hilton DoubleTree recipe from the Hilton Hotel stories website. I change the ingredients to make it vegan and gluten free - delicious!!

Hilton Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ingredients

½lb vegan butter, softened (2 sticks)

¾ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated vegan sugar

¾ cup packed vegan light brown sugar

2 egg replacers

1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract

• ¼ teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 2 ¼ cups GF baking flour

• 1/2 cup rolled GF oats

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• Pinch cinnamon

• 1 3/4 cups chopped walnuts

• 2 2/3 cups vegan chocolate chips

Method

 

Cream butter, sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed for

about 2 minutes.

Add egg replacers, vanilla and lemon juice, blending with mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, then

medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl.

With mixer on low speed, add flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, blending for about

45 seconds. Don’t overmix.

Remove bowl from mixer and stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Portion dough with a scoop (about 3 tablespoons) onto a baking sheet lined with

parchment paper about 2 inches apart.

Preheat oven to 300°F. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and

center is still soft.

Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet for about 1 hour.

Cook’s Note

You can freeze the unbaked cookies, and there’s no need to thaw. Preheat oven to 300°F and

place frozen cookies on parchment paper-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake until edges are golden brown and center is still soft.

Petit Vour - A Perfect Vegan Gift!

 I have a very thoughtful brother and sister-in-law. They really take the time to send a gift that is so personal. My recent birthday gift was a 3 month subscription to Petit Vour a company that sends you out a box each month of mini vegan beauty products to try. I was really blown away by the quality of the products in the selection! So I will go through each box I received, what was in there and review them! :)

Spinach & "Cheese" Puffs

I made this up on the spot because I had people coming for dinner and had planned to do spaghetti but then accidentally had spaghetti the night before lol. This was super simple was definitely very well received by all the guests, even the fussy ones. I was so excited I finally found vegan GF puff pastry at Native Sun that I'd been dying to do something with it.

Spinach & "Cheese" Puffs

Ingredients

1 box Vegan GF puff pastry (I used Schär)

Filling;

1lb bag frozen, chopped spinach

6-10oz vegan Feta cheese (I used Follow Your Heart)

Miyoko's liquid mozzarella (1/2 bottle)

6oz Vegan Parmesan (I used Follow Your Heart)

2 tsp Onion powder

1 tsp Garlic powder 

Olive oil for brushing

Method

Preheat oven to 400F or whatever is recommended on your puff pastry. 

Place your your ingredients in a bowl and mix well. 

Lay out your room temperature pastry on some non stick paper.

My pack only have two large sheets and GF is always tricky to work with so I put half the filling in one and folded over diagonally creating a large triangle and then pressing down the sides with a fork.

Repeat with the other sheet of pastry.

Transfer to baking tray with non-stick paper/silicone sheet etc.

I used olive oil spray but you can brush olive oil or vegan butter onto the top of the pastry to give it a golden brown finish.

Bake for 30mins then check and if browned on top and filling is spilling out a bit it should be ready!

Let cool for at least 10-15mins before carving up, I just cut in random triangles and served with salad.

“Beef” & Green Bean Stir Fry

Original recipe from Cooking Made Healthy.

“Beef” & Green Bean Stir Fry

Ingredients

 

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

2 Tbls mirin

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 tablespoons canola oil

3/4 lb textured vegetable protein chunks/soy curls (I used Just Like Beef)

1 lb green beans trimmed

2 teaspoon ginger minced

2 cloves garlic minced

1 teaspoon of sesame seeds optional

Method

In a small bowl or measuring cup mix the soy sauce, mirin, cornstarch and sugar.

Add the canola oil to your skillet on medium high heat.

Cook the faux beef in batches in the skillet for 1-2 minutes on each side before removing from the pan.

Add in the green beans and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds while stirring.

Add the stir fry sauce into the skillet and cook for 30 seconds, then add the beef back in and toss to coat.

Garnish with sesame seeds if desired.

Graveyard Cupcakes

These were a big hit last Halloween, I made something different this but kept getting ask about last years so here they are :) I've made choc mint ones by adding a couple drops of DoTERRA peppermint to both the cake mix and frosting mix. 

Another version I’ve done is with chocolate ganache or butter icing and ground cookies to resemble dirt. (recipe below)

Graveyard Cupcakes

Ingredients

Cake;

175 g all-purpose gluten-free flour

1 tsp bicarbonate soda

A pinch of salt

50 g cocoa powder

225 g coconut sugar (vegan brown or regular sugar will work too)

275 ml hot water

60 ml sunflower oil or other mild-tasting vegetable oil

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Butter Icing;

225g vegan butter 

350g icing sugar

1 Tbls non-dairy milk (optional)

Any food colouring (add one drop at a time as you don't need much)

If wanting chocolate butter icing add in 30g cocoa powder.

Decoration;

Vegan chocolate bits

Graveyard mold

Green vegan food dye (I used yellow too for a more Fall look)

Shredded unsweetened coconut

Method

Preheat the oven to 180c. / 350f. and line a muffin tray with 12 cases.

Mix the dry cake ingredients together until well combined.

Stir in the remaining wet ingredients until the mixture is smooth and lump-free.

While cake is cooking you can double broil your chocolate pieces until melted, pour into mold and then refrigerate until needed. You can also prep the coconut but mixing a few drops of food color in a bowl with the coconut until the desired color has formed and then set aside.

Divide the mixture equally between the 12 muffin cases/or greased tin and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Use a cake tester or skewer to test the middle of the cupcakes come out clean.

If not, bake for a further 5 minutes.

Once cupcakes have cooled to room temperature make the icing.

In a large mixing bowl add the vegan butter (at room temperature) and sifted icing sugar and beat until mixed.

Add any food colouring you like and beat until mixed.

If too thick add the milk slowly. Either spread onto cupcake with a spoon or knife or pipe.

Pipe onto cupcakes, place upside down in the bowl of coconut and gently shake excess.

Once all cupcakes have icing and coconut then remove the chocolate gravestones from the fridge and place one in each cupcake.

Refrigerate until eating as the butter icing can easily melt.

Version 2

Replace the butter icing with chocolate ganache

1/3 cup non-dairy milk

2/3 cup vegan chocolate bits 

2 Tbls maple syrup/agave/date syrup

Vegan GF chocolate cookies or crackers (I used about half a box of the ones below)

Method

Blitz crackers in a food processor until resembling breadcrumbs, then set aside.

In a small sauce pan heat the milk until hot but not boiling. Add chocolate bits and syrup and stir continuously until completely melted. Set aside to cool to room temperature before using. 

Once ganache is cooled place cookie crumbs in a bowl and spread a small amount of chocolate on a cupcake and push down in the cookie crumbs.

Refrigerate before serving and when ready to serve push the gravestones in. 

*the fondant version is just the butter icing version with a small disc of fondant on top - I had a spider press mold.

Aloo Gobi (Potato & Cauliflower Curry)

Original recipe from Cook with Manali a great source of vegan and vegetarian Indian dishes! I served with Saffron Rice.

Aloo Gobi (Potato & Cauliflower Curry) 

Ingredients

2 potatoes medium, sliced or cubed

1 cauliflower medium, cut into small florets

1 onion medium, chopped

2 tomatoes medium, chopped

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon dry mango powder amchur

1/4 teaspoon red chili powder or to taste

1/4 teaspoon garam masala powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

3-4 teaspoons oil

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

salt to taste

Method 

Heat 2 teaspoon of oil in a pan on medium heat. Add cauliflower florets and fry for 2-3 minutes and then add the sliced potatoes.

Fry on medium-low flame for 7-8 minutes till potatoes and cauliflower have some brown spots on them.

Drain on a tissue paper and set aside.

In the same pan heat 1.5 teaspoon of oil on medium heat and add cumin seeds and let them crackle.

Add the onions and cook for 2 minutes till translucent.

Add the ginger-garlic paste and cook for another 2 minutes or till the raw smell goes away.

Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes till they are little soft.

Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder and amchur (mango powder).

Cover the pan and let the masala cook for 2-3 minutes and then add the potatoes and cauliflower to it and mix.

Add chopped coriander leaves and give a good mix.

Add garam masala and cook the potato and cauliflower on medium-low heat for 5-6 minutes.

Add salt and cover the pan and cook more additional 6-7 minutes on low flame or till the potato and cauliflower are tender but not soggy. If you feel the masala is sticking, you may add some water. Add 1 tablespoon at a time and only add enough to cook the veggies. I did not add any water in mine. 

Garnish with some more coriander leaves.

Vegan Honey Prawns

I had been craving Honey Prawns lately, they were one of my favourites to get as a kid at the local Chinese restaurant. I found a recipe online that was easy enough to make GF and vegan! Original recipe from Recipe Tin Eats. I made the recipe with vegan prawns and with tofu and they both came out great!

Vegan Honey Prawns

Ingredients

300g vegan prawns or tofu (frozen and then thawed works best)

1/2 tsp kosher/cooking salt (halve for table salt)

Dredging:

1/2 cup corn flour/cornstarch

Ultra-crispy fry batter:

9 Tbsp corn flour/cornstarch 

6 Tbsp GF flour (I used rice flour)

1/2 tsp baking powder (NOT baking soda)

1/2 tsp salt , kosher/cooking (h1/4 tsp table salt)

2/3 cup + COLD soda water, club soda or seltzer water 

Oil, for frying:

3 - 4 cups vegetable or canola oil (1.5" depth in a pot)

Honey Sauce (Note 8 on sweetness):

1/3 cup vegan honey (or just use thicker corn syrup/golden syrup)

1.5 Tbsp agave or corn syrup (light) 

1 Tbsp GF soy sauce 

2 tsp Chinese cooking wine (or mirin)

Garnish / serving:

Cooked rice 

Sesame seeds, finely sliced green onions

Method 

Place 1/2 cup cornstarch in a bowl. 

Dip prawn/tofu chunks in, shake off excess then put on a plate. Repeat with all prawns/tofu.

For Batter: Whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt in a bowl. 

Place in fridge while oil heats up. 

Heat oil: Fill small pot or large saucepan with 4cm / 1.7" oil. 

Heat to 160°C/320°F on medium high stove.

Make cold batter: When the oil is near target temp, add soda water into the dry ingredients. 

Then do the minimum whisks to just combine (10 or so) - a few lumps ok, better than whisking too much (changes coating texture).

Batter thickness: Should fully coat prawns easily, not be see-through, but not thick and heavy.  

Use extra soda water 1 teaspoon at a time to achieve right thickness.

Dredge: Holding a prawn by the tail, dip into the batter then hold up for a 2 seconds to let the excess batter drip off. Then carefully place in oil. Repeat with another 5 prawns/tofu chunks (6 per batch).

Cook for 3 minutes until light golden and crispy. When you pick them up, you can tell it's very crispy.

Drain and repeat: Place prawns/tofu chunks on a tray with paper towels. 

Repeat with remaining prawns/tofu chunks. 

Don't crowd the pot as it brings oil temperature down too much.

Cool prawns.

Honey Sauce: Place ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. 

Bring to simmer, turn down stove to medium low then leave to simmer for 3 minutes.

The consistency should be like maple syrup. 

Turn off stove, place lid on to keep warm (when cool, it gets too thick to toss prawns in it).

Transfer prawns to a metal bowl then pour over Honey Sauce. Quickly toss with rubber spatula to coat prawns in sauce. (Sauce starts thickening if you take too long, so be quick!)

Pile prawns over rice, scatter with sesame seeds, green onion and serve!

Mango Curry with Chickpea Flour Dumplings

This is a copy cat recipe I had been sent in a meal prep bundle. It was so good I knew I'd be making it over and over again.

Mango Curry with Chickpea Flour Dumplings

Ingredients

1 onion, peeled and diced (divided) 

2 tsp curry powder  

½ tsp garam masala

2 tsp tomato paste 

5.5 oz coconut milk

1 Veg Bouillon Cube (around 1 tsp powdered)

2/3 cup garbanzo bean flour (besan/chickpea flour)

¼ cup Cashew milk or dairy free yogurt

¼ tsp baking powder 

1 mango, peeled and diced

4 oz baby spinach 

8.8 oz precooked brown rice

3Tbls vegetable oil

Salt

Method

Make the curry sauce - Heat 2 tsp vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. 

Add just half the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. 

Add curry powder, garam masala, and tomato powder, and cook for 1 minute. 

Add coconut milk, bouillon cube, and 1 cup water and bring to a simmer. 

Cook curry sauce until slightly thickened, 5 to 7 minutes.

Prepare the chickpea dumpling batter - Add just 2 tbsp of the remaining diced onion, garbanzo bean flour, yogurt, baking powder, 2 tbsp vegetable oil, and ½ tsp salt to a medium bowl. 

Mix the dumpling batter.

Cook the chickpea dumplings - Add mango and ½ tsp salt to the curry sauce, and stir. 

Drop heaping tablespoons of dumpling batter into the sauce. 

Reduce heat to low, cover, and gently simmer dumplings until tender and cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. 

Rotate the dumplings halfway through cooking to ensure they cook evenly. 

Sauté the spinach - Heat 1 tsp vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. 

Add baby spinach and cook until just wilted, 2 to 4 minutes. 

Make a small tear at the top of the brown rice bag and microwave bag for 60 seconds.

Divide the brown rice between large bowls. Top with sautéed spinach and mango curry with chickpea dumplings.

 

Gold, Frankincense & Myrrh Soap

I wanted to make a soap for Christmas gifts that I'd never attempted before....Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. The only problem is Frankincense and Myrrh essential oil is SOOOO expensive and it doesn't really smell like much besides earthy. So this is my Christmassy version! The 24k gold sheets and flakes weren't really that expensive at all. I got mine from Walmart and made sure they were food grade. I have just included basic instructions below. If you are new to soap making please make sure you follow regular instructions and protocol, I have not included them here but you can find it on my soap making tutorial. I estimated $170 for the block which is around $12 a bar depending on how small you cut them. I usually get around 14 bars. So to sell this would be quite expensive but as this is for homemade gifts it's not too bad. By far the most expensive soap I've ever made!

Gold, Frankincense & Myrrh Soap

Ingredients

201g Lye

543g Distilled water

435g Coconut oil

507g Vegetable Oil

507g Olive Oil

15ml Frankincense EO ($75)

7ml Myrrh EO ($34 wholesale for 15ml)

7ml Clove EO ($9 wholesale for 7ml)

10 drops Cinnamon Bark EO ($3)

1/2 tsp ground glove

30 24k Edible grade Gold sheets (for the top of the soap) ($20)

4g Edible grade Gold flakes (for inside the soap) ($16)

Method

Please follow regular soap making instructions and protocol.

I added oils to ground clove ahead of time to have the clove soak up the scent, it helps it keep for longer.

Once soap hit trace I adding in the flakes and oil mix and used the mixer I use for soap making to break up the flakes into tiny particles.

Once poured in mold I tried to fold the gold sheets on the top and then pressed them in a bit to get a crinkle effect.

The next day when I went to cut the soap I did notice that the sheets on the top were a little oily and had some orange residue.

I will wait the six week curing period before I take final pictures and also test the PH balance to make sure they are safe to use.