Month: December 2011

Vegan New Years Eve Menu

New Years Eve is spent with a good friend from grad school. I’m vegan and she isn’t vegan. I asked her if she was going to bring chicken to eat and she said no, she was bringing humus. See, she is an amazing friend. We have shared pizza for years, so we must keep on the menu. We relax, share about the past year, plan for the future, set goals, create vision boards, enjoy each others company, and ring in the new year.

2011 New Years Eve Vegan Menu

dairy free pizza – veggie

green salad (keep the gut extra healthy)

humus – three varieties

crackers

chips

salsa

artichoke spinach dip (if it turns out wonderful [4 stars] will share the recipe)

hit: the base is humus, the inspiration is the dip from Costco (pre-vegan fave)

blackberry crisp

21Day Vegan Kickstart

Horray – a new year and a new 21 Day Vegan Kickstart!!

Are you signed up for the new kickstart? I have joined several times and each time I learn more, strengthen my resolve, and become a healthier Vegan. Don’t forget to sign upon NutitionMD as well – this site is a lifesaver when recipes and grocery lists are needed.

Check back on my blog as I blog about cooking for one or two and have my own slant on cooking whole foods and working full-time.

Hope to meet lots of new people and familiar bloggers on the Kickstart’s Blog.

Vegan Fare for New Years Eve and Day

What’s on the menu?

We Vegans need to prepare ahead in order to have food that is palatable and Vegan.

Now that Christmas is behind me I am planning a quiet fun New Years with a friend. We have gotten together the past few years to sip wine, set goals for the New Years, and welcome in the New Year. So have some planning to do – check back as I share the planning and welcoming in another glorious year!!

Simple Christmas Eve Menu

Oh Christmas Traditions – my sweet mom cooked Lasagna & Oyster Stew (my dad’s fav) for many years. She didn’t break tradition.

I’m breaking tradition!! I now prefer a simple hearty, healthy vegan meal for Christmas Eve, cause we graze and eat finger foods on Christmas Day. No one else in my family is Vegan, so there will be a variety of foods served and that’s cool. I love Lasagna, don’t get me wrong. Once again, I will save the Lasagna for another time, create new memories, and savor my past.

I struggled with the wine choice this year because my choices are not totally Vegan, yet. I found an amazing local (Washington state) winery in Everett, WA: Port Gardner Bay Winery. They use a minimal amount of microbes and sulfites and I appreciate the care they use in their wine making.

My daughter and I attended a wine making class this fall at Port Gardner Bay Winery. I wanted to scrutinize the process to see why wine wasn’t Vegan. I was pretty certain it was the microbes, but turns out it’s animal proteins. I do want to have a discussion with the vintner about animal proteins – I don’t think he uses them, but will follow-up. Now back to the menu.

 

Vegan Small Fare’s 2011 Christmas Eve Menu

Minestrone Soup (I have an old recipe from the Sunset Magazine – now Veganized)

Homemade Stecca (Jim Lahey’s Recipe)

Port Gardner Bay’s 2010 Columbia Valley Riesling

Port Gardner Bay’s 2009 Columbia Valley Petit Verdot

Bon Appetit!

Red Lentil Dahl

Yum! We all know how hectic the holidays can be and then we slip a bit and grab fast or overly processed food. No need with a quick Lentil soup packed with Indian flavor.

I was having one of those evening. I needed to stop and return a gift after work and was longingly looking at all the restaurant on the outskirts of the mall. Sigh!  I headed home and was so hungry. The last think I wanted to do was cook dinner. I love soup and found what appeared to be a quick easy soup recipe. Quickly, I added water and red lentils to my soup pot and added an onion and spices. Cooked for 30 minuted and added the juice of a lemon. Easy breezy and so very tasty.

Healthy Cooking Process

I read a very interesting article this weekend at http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com regarding Healthy Cooking Methods and Advanced Glycated End Products by Nancy Appleton PhD and G.N. Jacobs. Definitely worth a read.

I have been a vegetarian for about 20 years and a vegan for almost a year. Back in the day when I ate meat I liked the sugary bake hams and char broiled crusted meats and highly cooked cinnamon rolls (I still like those on occasion baked with vegan margarine).

The most disturbing thing for me was the effect on the body when we actually eat too much sugar and cook our foods a high heats. Makes me glad to be a Vegan and feel that I am making better choices now.

Still Cooking Indian Food

I am back from the funeral and back to work at my day job and my kitchen cooking. So nice to be home. Currently trying to get my Vegan Christmas menu stably paired with wines and breads, but am not quite there yet.

This week I attempted to make Tofuless Matar Paneer for the 21 Day Vegan Kickstart, but quickly realized I didn’t have all the ingredients (ha – has that ever stopped me before). I made a different version. I added spinach instead of potatoes and peas and only had the mustard seeds on hand.

One of the pleasures of experimenting is the new learning. I haven’t roasted mustard seeds until they popped before and almost gave up because they weren’t popping and I was afraid they would burn. Suddenly they began hopping and popping around the pan. So very cool and they browned up beautifully. I need a bit more work on this recipe before I share my rendition.