Friday, December 26, 2008

A Little Christmas

Hi, everybody! I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season. I celebrated the best I could yesterday, with just my mom and my brother. Chase went out of town and of course I lost my dad earlier this year. So the three of us enjoyed each other’s company and plenty of good food.

I was grateful to finally be able to use my kitchen whenever I wanted. I didn’t go too crazy this year, but here are some pictures of most of what I made for us to have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

First, some test recipes from Urban Vegan’s cookbook, all delicious of course.

Lentils with Radicchio and Onions



Porcini Quinoa with Cauliflower and Toasted Pecans



Cranberry Upside Down Cake (yum yum yum yum!!)


Also, some of my favorites - good ol’ Chili Mac


Celine’s Pumpkin Whole Wheat Bread



Granola


I bought some RAZZCHERRIES out of the bulk bin to put in my granola gifts, but they were so amazingly delicious I ate them all myself! I don’t know exactly what they are, but if you see them, buy them!


Christmas Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans




Isa’s newest recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies - these were gone in a hurry!



Big Fat Sugar Cookies



I also made some GF Polenta Cookies that I didn’t get a picture of, but they are outstanding. Please visit Rachel at The Friendly Kitchen to see her picture and recipe, and check out all her other great looking recipes.


Here’s our pretty table (before the meat).




My brother gave me three new cookbooks I asked for – yay!



I don’t think they are going to fit in my cookbook case, but I’m not complaining.



That’s it for holiday cooking. And frankly, I’m ready to take a holiday from eating. I’m so glad to be UNbusy so I can see what you all have been cooking because even though I’m too stuffed to eat, it’s still fun to look!

25 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Sooo much deliciousness; and hooray for cookbooks!! :-)

Definitely relax and be UNbusy, Diann!! You deserve it!!

Andrea said...

A quiet holiday to concentrate on your loved ones is the best.

All of your food looks so good. I wonder what it's like at your house when you DO go too crazy!

Amy said...

I am superbly jealous of your bookshelf! My poor shelf has a grand total of 4 vegan cookbooks :(

And yum! Looks like you had a delicious Christmas feast!

Chris said...

Razzcherries? How come I've never heard of these?? They sound delicious! Do elaborate :P

aTxVegn said...

Hey, Chris! I found the source of Razzcherries after a quick google search - I'll post this on your blog too.

Dried Razzcherries® are a Meduri Farms original – cherries infused with berry concentrate and then dehydrated. Their intense raspberry flavor makes for a wonderful taste sensation!

Dried Razzcherries are perfect for chocolate panning or for use in packaged snacks. They can also be used in baking applications because the fruit color will not bleed like fresh fruit does. Razzcherries are also a fantastic addition to salads, yogurt, cottage cheese and sauces.

kmouse said...

Diann,
Everything looks amazing! I feel like you and I am so tired of stuffing my face with sweets and pretty much any vegan goodness I can find. Glad you were able to spend a good time with your family. Happy New Year!

Jenni (aka Vegyogini) said...

Happy holidays! Looks like you had a fantastic spread and I'm quite jealous that I'm not an Urban Vegan tester. I got Get it Ripe, too! I already have Yellow Rose, but not Go Dairy Free. I hope you enjoy all 3!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Everything looks fabulous! Happy Holidays!

Sheree' said...

Congrats on the awesome cookbook gifts! Wow, your brother is so awesome! Cranberry upside down cake delish. Happy to hear that you had a nice time with your family. I forgot my camera and am waiting for Brandie to get pictures to me so I can post. Silly me!!!

Catherine Weber said...

I'm SO jealous of your cookbook collection! What an array of ideas!

Amey said...

Hi Diann!
I"m glad you had a nice holiday, even if it was a bit more toned-down than usual. The Urban Vegan tester recipes are looking so amazing and I am feeling quite envious of all you testers!! Also, what recipe do you use for your sugar cookies? Sugar cookies are musty's favorite, but the only recipe I have is for rolled-out cookies, which I am usually too lazy to deal with. I'd love a drop-cookie recipe.

Congrats on the new cookbooks, I got a few as well - and Like you, I've got truly no where to put them! ha ha.

Love & Merry relaxing to you,
Amey

Anonymous said...

Sounds like the perfect dinner to me! Glad you got to relax a bit! And the food looks marvelous. That cake! And I have to say, my cookbook collection looks much like yours. . . time to stack 'em horizontally ;)

Lisa (Show Me Vegan) said...

those sugar cookies look puffy and perfect!

Anonymous said...

Razzcherries? Never heard of them, but now I'm really curious!

Happy holidays!

River (Wing-It Vegan) said...

Wow Diann, look at all your cookbooks! You are like a vegan library!

All the food looks so wonderful, and I'm not even a big fan of cranberries but that cake looks delicious! Your Christmas table is so beautiful!

Gina said...

Everything looks wonderful!! Especially the cookies...I do love cookies :)

jessy said...

wow, wow, wow! you've got some delicious holiday foods going on! i love the porcini quinoa, your chili mac, and the cranberry upside down cake the most! cookies are always glorious, too - w00t!

i hear ya on taking a holiday from eating. we're back to "normal" dishes tomorrow and i can't wait! i've been indulging in too much heavy stuff. while it's super tasty, i feel like i need a big salad with sprouts & some raw veggies!

hooray for more rock'n cook books! just got the yellow rose recipes, too - i love Joanna's recipes! yay!

Tami said...

The lentils and radicchio is a really pretty dish! All the food looks incredible..and enjoy those new books!

Anonymous said...

The lentils and the cranberry upsidedown cake got my attention! YUM! Your cookbook shelf is amazing! I have a bookshelf exactly yours and I have about 1 1/5 shelves dedicated to vegan cookbooks.

Megan said...

That is a great post! Awesome cookies, delicious holiday food, and COOKBOOKS. I see I have some competition as far as groaning cookbook shelves go. ;)

Susan G said...

Your bookshelf looks like mine, with the books all sideways on top of the standing books!

A.M. said...

O my gosh, that bookcase! It's official, I'm jealous! And I am not even talking about the food yet... the cranberry upside down cake looks so pretty!

Liz Ranger (Bubble Tea for Dinner) said...

haha, your cookbook shelf is awesome, and why am I not surprised? :p
and I've never seen such puffy sugar cookies, they look pretty delish!

Anonymous said...

I too am loving Isa's newest chocolate chip cookies (although at 150 calories per cookie I'm definitely rationing them).

Your Christmas celebration looks wonderful. I love the photo of your cookbook bookshelf. Too fun!

Erin said...

All the food looks delicious. And your cookbook shelves are absolutely out of control!