Sunday, January 24, 2010

Vegan Dinner Party!

Hi, everyone! I’m back from my wonderful week of vacation at my sister’s home in Alabama. The highlight of the trip was hosting a vegan dinner party. We spent the whole day cooking and had a blast. Thanks to all of you who offered recipe suggestions. We decided on a Mexican theme because we love it, and frankly, good Mexican food is hard to come by in Alabama. Your hosts/chefs:

For our entrée, we chose the oh-so delicious Bean & Corn Tortilla Lasagna with Avocado from Eat Drink & Be Vegan.

For our sides we made Messy Rice from Vcon and added in fresh cilantro for a Mexican flair, and a tossed green salad. We plated for our guests and the plates were beautiful.


Here’s our table. You can tell which is my seat by the bowl of broccoli.


Yes, those are margaritas next to some of the plates. The meal was fabulous and our guests loved their dinners.


They also loved the TWO desserts we made. I selected recipes from Vcon which I had made before and knew would be a hit. One was my favorite, Apple Peanut Caramel Bars.



The other was my sister’s favorite, Banana Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding.





Needless to say, the desserts received rave reviews. After dinner the ladies asked for recipes, looked through the cookbooks I had brought with me, and asked me lots of questions about my diet. They said I inspired them to eat healthier, so I’m hopeful I truly did.

My sister had recently bought a Blendtec blender and received a set of All Clad cookware for Christmas. We cooked and ate a LOT and had so much fun together in the kitchen. And my little nephews are enjoying green smoothies every day! During the week I also made Hide the Lentils Spaghetti Sauce from ED&BV (forgot to take a picture) which everyone liked. And we made two soups. Boy, that Blendtec really makes some creamy soup. One was a butternut squash (not vegan because it was made with chicken broth).



The other was Potato Leek Soup from Urban Vegan. (Sorry for the steamy picture.)



Now I need to get off the sweets and back on my diet… again!

24 comments:

Julie Lynn said...

What fun to spend time with your sister and to be able to share such wonderful vegan food! The dinner party looks marvelous. Lucky guests!

Jenni (aka Vegyogini) said...

Looks like your dinner party was a smashing success! It must be wonderful to have a sister with whom you get to cook.

Lisa said...

what a successful dinner! It's impressive that you went to such trouble and you also made a good impression for veganism!

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

Sounds like a great dinner party Diann. Great menu and i am always in favour of margaritas :)

Millie said...

Hey sweety, I went on your 10 day raw detox and I lost 6 1/2 Lbs. I feel fabulous and I am now doing 2 raw meals a day. Thank you.

http://nuestracena-vegancuisine.com

nora said...

Way to inspire! It's always so exciting when your cooking helps plant seeds of change for people. That meal looks great..mm love that lasagna!

jessy said...

everything looks so awesome, Diann! i love your apron - it's just too cute! looks like you and your sister cooked up one tasty vegan dinner, fo 'sho! i love the mexican theme, and i can't believe i've never made the banana pudding or apple peanut caramel bars - i need to pronto! they look divine! hooray for your nephews really digging the green smoothies, too - that rocks!

Michal said...

Everything looks delish :) And I love that polka dot apron!

Oraphan said...

What a great dinner menu, Diann! Each plate really does look beautiful! The Lasagna looks amazingly delicious, I need to get the recipe ASAP! Both desserts also sound so yummy, your guests are such lucky people!!!
Thank you for sharing this wonderful post:)

p.s. I loved reading the part that your guests said you inspired them to eat healthier!

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Jes said...

What a great feast! Mexican is always a perfect cross-over cuisine for omnis and vegans. And those desserts look killer!

Hannah said...

That banana bread pudding makes me regret not buying bananas while I was shopping yesterday! It looks so good.

Emmy said...

It all looks fabulous! Yummy!!!

Debra said...

Yummo! Everything looks great.
Debra @ Vegan Family Style

Jill said...

I love dinner parties! The Bean & Corn Tortilla Lasagna looks delicious. I have that book and should really make it sometime.

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

How fun! Everything looks delish too!

Anonymous said...

Those desserts look amazing! I want that bread pudding!

Indiana long term disability lawyer said...

This looks so great! What a fabulous dinner.

Term Papers said...

Thanks to all of you who offered recipe suggestions. We decided on a Mexican theme because we love it, and frankly, good Mexican food is hard to come by in Alabama.

Shaheen said...

Diann,
You've inspired me to host a vegan dinner party. Now I have to think of a theme, Mexican. Maybe. Thank you

Monique a.k.a. Mo said...

This is my kinda food. Cilantro makes everything better. Mmm.

kmouse said...

Mmm! Wonderful post! Love the dinner party food.

urban vegan said...

What beautiful sisters and what a yummy dinner party!

Orlando personal injury lawyer said...

This looks like a delightful dinner! Your friends are lucky.