Christmas Special: Vegan Holiday Loaf

Merry Christmas everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday full of friends, family and delicious food. I cooked for the first time in my apartment's newly renovated kitchen! It was also my first time cooking a legitimate meal since Nutcracker performances began. I didn't have to cook nearly as big of a feast as for thanksgiving, but I chose two dishes that I felt would stay in the traditional Christmas realm of foods, but were also vegan and healthy!

I'm only sharing one of these recipes today, since I feel that the other one needs some work and troubleshooting. Here is the main course for the evening!

Vegan Savory Holiday Loaf
Adapted from A Tasty Love Story

Ingredients:
12 oz mushrooms
1 1/4 cup cashews
1 small celeriac (aka Celery root), peeled and cubed
2 white onions
4 cloves of garlic
10 prunes, sliced
1 Apple, sliced
2 T soy sauce
1/2 t salt
Pepper to taste

Step 1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Boil celeriac cubes for 10 minutes, or until tender and soft. Remove from water and blend in food processor or blender until smooth.

Step 2: Chop each ingredient EXCEPT the apple and prunes in the food processor until finely chopped. It is best to chop each ingredient individually as to retain the unique textures. The loaf won't be as good if you blend everything at once.

Step 3: Mix together all chopped ingredients and celeriac until evenly blended. Add salt, soy sauce and pepper.

Step 4: Spread half of the mixture in a greased or nonstick bread/ loaf pan. Next, spread the apple slices in an even layer across the top, followed by a layer of prunes. Leave a few  apple slices for garnish. Cover the fruit layer with the rest of the mixture and place remaining apple slices on top top.

Step 5: Bake for approximately 45-50 minutes, or until loaf is golden and slightly crispy on top. Let cool for 10-15 minutes. Loaf will be soft and probably won't hold the shape of a slice, but will taste delicious.


Enjoy! Happy holidays!

Thanksgiving Special: Apple Pear Crisp

Here's my dessert choice to share!

I can't even remember where I first found this recipe, but I've been making it for a couple years now. It's been a success among all that I serve it to, and I absolutely love it cold with vanilla yogurt the morning after as well!
                                                                                         The dessert selection from Thanksgiving. The crisp is on the right.
Apple Pear Crisp
Ingredients:

Filling:

2 ½  cups pears

2 ½  cups apples

1 tbsp lemon juice

¼ cup sucanat

1 tsp cardamom

¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp vegetable oil

Topping:

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2/3 cup safflower oil

4 tbsp sucanat                                                         

2/3 cup walnuts

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375°. Add all of the filling ingredients to a bowl and mix well. Oil a 9x13 baking pan and spread the fruit mix into the pan.

Step 2: Mix the topping ingredients. Pour on top of the fruit in the baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown. I usually bake it for a bit longer. 

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Special: Apple Chestnut Stuffing

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I know I haven't posted in ages, but that doesn't mean I haven't been cooking! Brace yourselves for an onslaught of recipes.

First off, I'll share a couple of the dishes I made for Thanksgiving. Since some of us couldn't go home for Thanksgiving, we all got together for a potluck! Here's my first pick:

Apple Chestnut Stuffing
Adapted from Vegetarian Times
Ingredients:
20 slices of hearty, crusty bread, cubed (I used a Multi-seed whole wheat and a Cranberry walnut from whole foods)
Olive oil to saute veggies
1 sweet white onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 ribs celery, chopped
2 tart apples, peeled and chopped
1 cup peeled roasted chestnuts, halved
1/4 cup chopped sage
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
Salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: Preheat oven to 325 degrees f. Spread bread on a 9x13 baking pan and toast in oven for about 15 minutes.

Step 2: Saute onion and garlic for 2 minutes. reduce heat to low, cover, and let cook for 7 minutes. Add  apples, chestnuts, and sage and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat.

Step 3: Add salt, pepper, bread and broth to mixture and stir until evenly incorporated. Transfer mixture to a greased baking pan.

Step 4: Increase heat to 350 degrees. Cover pan and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 15- 20 minutes, or until top is crispy and browned.

Serve Warm!

Enjoy!