Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Falafel Dinner and Christmas Food

I am supposed to be packing for an 8:00 a.m. flight to Alabama tomorrow to visit my sister and her family, but I thought I would take a break and do my final 2006 post and get rid of some pictures.


Thursday before Christmas, Chase and Liz came for dinner and cookie decorating. We had lots of fun making our own falafel. Here they are ready to bake.



Chase was still in the decorating mood and wanted to make falafel-men and stars.



They turned out great!



I also made a tahini spread, applesauce, and quinoa salad.




I guess I made green beans too. Here's our table.



For dessert I concocted a frozen pie, using several of the nine bags of frozen bananas in my freezer. I got a store bought graham cracker crust and spread peanut butter over it.



Then I filled it with pureed bananas and chocolate chips.


I let it thaw a few minutes before cutting into it. It was really good! Can you see the layer of peanut butter over the crust?




Here are shots of the four dozen cookies we decorated. My first vegan sugar cookies!










I made some candied pecans for my dad, not vegan because I can't find a good substitute for egg white for getting the sugar and cinnamon to stick to. And I have to admit - I had a blast whipping that egg white into meringue! It had been a looooong time since I had done that.



I also made my family's favorite granola for my mom, brother, and Chase. It is vegan. Some of the add-ins I use are dried cherries, raisins, dried apricots, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and almonds.







I also made real food. For Christmas eve snacking, I made a bean and veggie salad, which everyone loved.



And a soba noodle and broccoli salad. My dad wouldn't try it and my brother said it didn't have enough sauce. I reminded him I love broccoli, not sauce. The rest of us loved it.




I made fudge from LDV. Everyone loves this!



I also made chocolate mint brownies, which I overbaked, so I called them cookies. They would have been a lot more enjoyable if I had taken them out of the oven just 2 minutes earlier!



And I made a gingerbread cake in my star bundt pan. I got the cake recipe from epicurious and easily veganized it. The cake was not great, but the apple cider sauce that went with it was.




And blueberry muffins, the first nonhealthy muffins I had made in quite some time. They are so white!



For Christmas dinner I am always in charge of mashed potatoes and green beans. This year I made a huge bunch of potatoes for my dad and brother with butter and whole milk. I set aside some smashed potatoes for Chase. I made a cranberry almond sauce for the green beans, which was really, really good. I didn't write down the recipe because I was in a rush - too bad. I also made some baked tofu and chickpea gravy for me and Chase.




Some of my favorite Christmas gifts - a pressure cooker (yea!) and Sinfully Vegan.



A scarf Liz knitted for me which is amazing, a pretty mirror, gift certificates to a spa and to cooking classes, a mug, and tray.


Dishes from Chase.


Shirts and a framed print from my brother. I can't wait for spring to wear these t-shirts!


I hope you all have a happy new year!

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

So much good stuff here!!! The pb banana pie - OMG! Looks heavenly. You have the prettiest sugar cookies. I bet it was a lot of fun decorating them. The white muffins also look great but I know what you mean about healthy muffins. I haven't eaten white muffins in ages but sometimes when I'm biting into a bran muffin I do miss them.

You totally got the greatest x-mas gifts!! Wow. Does your family know you or what?

Have a great break and a happy new year.

Dori said...

Yay broccoli, my favorite too. The festive falafel... love it!

erica said...

I love the falafel men too!
Happy New Year!

Freedom said...

Great presents and food! Someone really needs to invent a vegan version of egg whites that actually behave in exactly the same way, don't they, lol?
The broccoli t-shirts are awesome!
And I got a plate very similar to your blue one!

laura k said...

Wow, Diann, you have been so busy! I hope your flight went well and you enjoy your trip--and your new year.

That banana pie sounds incredible--how creative! And I also love the idea of making falafe shapes. Hehehe. I love falafel. I made my first vegan sugar cookies this year too and they turned out great, though not nearly as beautifully decorated as yours (I got lazy).

Take care!

Judy said...

Wow, you made some good looking food! Love the banana pie, and the falafel men too! Wish I had been at your place for Christmas!

Emmy said...

I hope you have a safe trip and a great New Years. Yum, I love falafel. I got a big kick out of seeing the falafel-men and stars. What a very festive idea :)

Your decorated sugar cookies turned out just gorgeous. Love your Christmas tins and packages. Awesome Christmas presents too. Love the dishes Chase gave you. Very cool!!

urban vegan said...

Your post made me tired. ;)

Felafel men and and improvised leftover banana pie--you have some creative genes in your family.

Kris said...

Wow, everything looks so great! And you made out with some great gifts!

The food, where to start?! I love the falafel men! Can I move in with you? I'll pay you to be my personal chef!

Harmonia said...

WOW! Lookin' good! Glad it was nice over the holidays for you! Lots of great food and fun looks like! Happy, safe new year!

I'm back bloggin', btw!
http://harmonia.bloggoing.com

Candi said...

Hi Diann!! I hope you had a great holiday and a nice visit to see your sister!

Your creations here look great! I did get a laugh out of how adorable those falafel men are! I love them!

The pie looks awesome with the layer of peanut butter!!

I brought that same quinoa salad to our Christmas Eve get together. Only a few people tried it though, and the rest had no idea what quinoa was and wouldn't touch it. Lol!

Anyhow, happy holidays to you and congrats on those beautiful gifts you received!!! :) :)

Anonymous said...

Everything looks so good - love the falafel men! What a great t-shirt. it's perfect for you. I'd love for you to share your rollout cookie recipe. I didn't have much luck veganizing the recipe I usually use.

Have a happy new year!

Kelsey said...

wow! all your stuff looks so good! the thing that really caught my attention were the falafel men? ive been wanting to try baking some falafel but do not have a recipe for it? do you have a good recipe you wouldn't mind sharing/posting? -vegteen

bazu said...

Wowza- where to start??

Those falafel men are so cute! And the pie is so creative. And the decorated cookies so cool (I didn't make any sugar cookies this year- but now wish I had!) Mmmm, quinoa. And all those treats- phew!

Looks like a magnificent Christmas, and I hope you and your family have a fantastic New Year's Eve tonight, and a fantastic year to come!

bazu said...

Oh, oh, and the soba! And bean/corn salad is one of my all-time favorites. Those dishes from Chase are fab! I look forward to seeing your culinary creations served in them!

And the broccoli t-shirt- how friggin' perfect?

Ok, I'm good now. I think I've covered everything. =)

Anonymous said...

I love that you made little falafel men! Too cute. Santa brought you a pressure cooker...yippy, they're fun. Try not to blow up the kitchen.

zenpawn said...

Too funny! I come over here and see someone else also made a frozen banana/peanut butter/chocolate treat for Christmas. I made mine as little sandwiches (see my blog for a pic).

I have had the Sinfully Vegan book for a while (a previous Christmas gift). It truly is sinful though, so I haven't made much from it, just drooled. I'll have to check here more often to see what you venture from it. With a positive review of a particular recipe, I might be prompted to follow suit.

Anonymous said...

wow so much food, i absolutely love the cookies, they looks so perfect!
have a good travel!

Nikk said...

The food looks so yummy! :)

I just bought myself a pressure cooker with my Christmas money too! It's fabulous!

I MUST find that 'Broccoli Rocks' t shirt! It would make a great gag gift for my grandfather.

jenny said...

That stuff looks great!

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year. I wanted to let you know that I made your Texas Trash and my family loved it! Thanks for the recipe.

jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

What a cookie factory you are! But my favorite amongst it all are the falafel man - awesome idea I may have to use. Happy New Year as well!

Anonymous said...

hi again:

i cant find your Texas Trash recipe, can you please help me to find it?
thanks!

funwithyourfood said...

I like how your bean salad looks. what's in it?

teddy

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