Cranberry Parfaits

Since we have gallons of cranberry sauce in our fridge, I've had to get creative. My favorite so far are cranberry parfaits, a delicious combination of creamy rice pudding and cranberry sauce. So, so good! Cook up a batch of rice pudding and layer the cooled pudding in glasses with cranberry sauce. Wow! I used the Red Wine Cranberry Sauce recipe on Everydaydish and the Creamy Vegan Rice Pudding from this blog. You've got to give this dessert a try.

I've also got a couple other ideas for "the sauce" if you're in need. It's delish with soy yogurt and granola for breakfast, stirred into oatmeal, blended into a smoothie, shaken with chilled vodka and a twist of lemon or lime, tossed with shredded carrots and served as a salad (this idea was courtesy of Trader Joe's), spread on ginger cookies (my daughter's contribution), stirred into a salad dressing or vinaigrette, on a Tofurkey sandwich, dolloped on top of pancakes or waffles or as an ice cream topping. Oh, I also forgot to add that it freezes well too, so there's always that option.

Although I had every intention of photographing our Thanksgiving meal, it didn't happen. Everyone started digging in as I was putting the food on the table. My family is certainly not shy about eating. Fortunately, I was able to snap a couple pics of some of the dishes while we were cooking. Everything was delicious and worth the three days that I spent in the kitchen. Now I want to eat nothing but soups and salads for the next month.

Mashed yams with sautéed apples, bourbon maple syrup and crushed ginger cookies (before baking), that my brother and I made. This is definitely one of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes.


Vegan pumpkin pies (Bryanna's recipe). One was baked in a gingerbread cookie crust (the pie on the left), which completely stuck to the pan. I guess I didn't grease it well enough. The other pumpkin pie was baked in a traditional oil crust. They were both very good.


I needed a dessert for the night before Thanksgiving, since everyone was arriving at dinnertime. So thanks to Deirdre Jean for her suggestion, I made the Lower-Fat Chocolate Bundt Cake from Veganomicon. Deidre said it needed a topping, so I glazed it with chocolate ganache. The cake was fabulous, moist and devoured in no time. Since we had a mixed bag of eaters (mostly omnis at our vegan Thanksgiving), I was hoping that chocolate would seal the deal. It definitely did. We also had Bryanna's amazing award winning chili, but that was eaten before I could get a picture.


Now that Thanksgiving is over, I'll start posting some yummy soups and stews. It's definitely in the air now, at least around our house.

I hope that everyone had a fantastic holiday!

Julie

Cranberry Sauce

Believe it or not, we were able to squeeze in a Thanksgiving segment this week. It's really thanks to all of the hard work by my husband Jay. I don't know how he does it, but somehow he does and then it magically appears on our website.

We filmed my favorite cranberry sauce. Now, before you start thinking "oh, just cranberry sauce", think again. This one has sangria flavors, which in my opinion takes cranberry sauce to a whole new level. Red wine (or port), cranberries, lemon and orange. It's so good. In fact, the entire pot of sauce that we made while taping the segment, quickly disappeared before I even had a chance to refrigerate it. My kids came home from school and immediately started eating it out of the pot. If you're worried that my kids were eating an alcoholic sauce, don't. The alcohol cooks right out. You can find the recipe and segment here.

I've also been trying to figure out what our Thanksgiving menu will be. Every year I think that I'll change things up. Every year my daughter protests that I can't change a single thing. I've decided that this year I'll jazz up our traditional menu. For the mashed potatoes (made creamy with plain soymilk and a little Earth Balance), I'll spice them up with finely minced garlic and parsley (whizzed in the processor). This might not seem like much, but the flavor of finely minced fresh parsley and garlic is amazing. Fresh, bold, vibrant... The magic ingredient that my French grandmother stirred into all of her dishes.

Yams are another favorite around our house. I usually roast the yams in a 400°F oven until they are just soft. Once cool, I peel and cut into thick slices. I layer the yams with sliced apples that I've sauteed until soft with apple cider and spices. Then I make a sauce, reducing apple cider, brown sugar (or maple syrup) and spices. I pour the sauce over the yams and apples, sprinkle with more spices and cover and bake until bubbly and soft (basting yams as needed with the juices). I think I almost like this better when made the day before and re-heated on Thanksgiving. This year I think I'll punch it up with a little bourbon and orange or tangerine zest. It's also amazing sprinkled with gingerbread cookie crumbs.

Also on the menu will be either green beans or roasted brussel sprouts and a salad with greens, sliced persimmons, candied pecans and a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds. Oh, and in place of stuffing this year, I'm going to make wild rice with dried cranberries, wild mushrooms and toasted chopped hazelnuts. I'm full just thinking about all of the food. Oh, I forgot that I'll also make one of Bryanna's seitan roasts, because I love it so much on sandwiches with cranberry sauce. I'll also make her amazing gravy (wheat-free), which we've nicknamed "crack gravy" (it's really addictive). I'll add shitake mushrooms and a splash of sherry to the gravy too. I was going to make roasted butternut squash and shallots as well, but I think that might be overkill. Can you tell how much I love this holiday?

My brother loves to put together an appetizer spread, to pre-stuff us before the meal. I think we might have crostini with Caviart (a really good vegetarian caviar) and Tofutti sour cream. Anyone who thinks that vegans are deprived should think again.

Oh, I forgot the desserts. Should anyone have any room left, I'm going to make Bryanna's pumpkin pie and a mixed berry crumble, which I like to bake in a large cast iron skillet. It's a really fun presentation. For the crumble I cook together frozen mixed berries (blueberries, boysenberries and raspberries) with a little water, sugar and cornstarch to thicken. Once thickened and glossy, I scoop it into the skillet and top with a crumble topping (flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and a little melted Earth Balance). I bake the crumble until the topping is golden brown. Voila, easy as pie!

Soul Food

It's not always easy to get creative with dinner, especially after you've been baking pies all day. But a girls still gotta eat, and so does her family. Here's something that I made last night, and actually remembered to photograph before we dug in.

I decided to try my hand at Susan's Barbecued Ribz from the Fatfree Vegan Kitchen. Let me just say that they are AMAZING! So, so good! They're also very easy to make, especially if you have a grill or cast iron grill pan. Don't double the recipe though, that was where I ran into a few little problems. Follow the recipe exactly. I also used smooth peanut butter and lots of BBQ sauce. Oh, and the Ribz are even more amazing the next day, after being chilled overnight.


To go with the Ribz, I cooked up some greens and some Mac & Cheeze (it was a Southern dinner after all). For the Mac & Cheeze, I used some brown rice penne pasta from Trader Joe's (love the stuff, but you could also use regular macaroni) and topped it with a variation of Bryanna Clark Grogan's Melty Chedda Cheeze recipe. It was a really delicious dinner. Thanks Susan and Bryanna for some awesome recipes! Here's my sauce recipe for you.

Julie's Version Of Bryanna's Melty Cheeze Sauce
makes about 2-1/2 cups

2 c. water (or you can use 1 cup water and 1 cup plain unsweetened soy milk)
2/3 c. nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon taco seasoning, optional
1/2 teaspoon sweet (Hungarian) paprika
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (pimenton)
1/2 teaspoon garlic granules
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons light miso
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup water or plain unsweetened soy milk to thin (or more as needed)
1 to 2 tablespoons Earth Balance (I use the whipped organic)
Salt to taste

Place the water, yeast, cornstarch, flour, taco seasoning, paprika, pimenton, garlic, salt, miso and lemon juice in blender, blending until smooth. Pour the mixture into a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously, until sauce is very thick.

Whisk in water or soy milk and Earth Balance, stirring until smooth and is thin enough to use as a sauce. Add salt to taste and drizzle immediately over cooked pasta and serve.

**This sauce is also really good on nachos. If using for nachos, use 1 to 2 tablespoons taco seasoning (or to taste) and add a little ground chipotle, cayenne or chopped Jalapenos for heat.

Fresh-Baked Cinnamon Rolls

Although I'm in the kitchen cooking all the time, I don't always have time to bake for fun. I love my job, but every now and then it's fun to bake something special that has nothing to do with work. Case in point...these home-baked cinnamon rolls. And yes, they're vegan too.

My son has this thing for cinnamon rolls, and he nags me regularly to make them. Of course, he has a few rules too -absolutely no raisins or nuts! I decided to oblige him and bake up a batch. I adapted a recipe of Bryanna Clark Grogan's for her awesome Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls (the recipe's in her subscription newsletter). I was out of pumpkin for the filling , so I rolled them up with some softened Earth Balance, brown sugar and lots of cinnamon. The icing on top is powdered sugar, vanilla and a little soy milk. These were absolutely delish, and my son was one happy camper.

Happy Baking!