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| Happy Holidays! Follow Foods For Long Life on FACEBOOK ! |
Happy Holidays!
It's hard to believe that 2011 is coming to an end. Before I put my full attention to celebrating the holidays with the family, I will leave you with some ideas for a vegan holiday menu. All recipes, except for the celebration roast, are gluten free.
For the appetizer, try the roasted garlic and kalamata olive hummus. Hummus is perhaps the easiest appetizer to make from scratch. The basic ingredients include garbanzo beans, tahini, garlic, lemon juice and salt. But you can add many different ingredients to change it around. Besides roasted garlic and kalamata olives, try adding roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, avocado or spice it up with a jalapeño or cayenne. Top with chopped parsley or a drizzle of some good extra virgin olive oil. You can even substitute the garbanzos with different beans, such as Great northern or cannellini. Don't have time? Pick some up at the store, chop up some olives and mix them in. Almost every good market offers ready made hummus.
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| Hummus is versatile and easy to prepare. |
Now for the soup! I posted this creamy vegan mushroom and artichoke soup with 3 types of delicious mushrooms the other day and I've made it 4 times since then! I brought it to a potluck, made it for my book club dinner, and prepared it for some other friends. Everyone's really enjoyed it so I don't think you can go wrong with this one. Stir in a touch of vermouth or sherry to give it some added complexity. You can make it ahead of time but don't add the coconut milk creamer and fresh parsley until you are ready to serve it.
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| Mushroom and artichoke soup - perfect for the holidays! |
For the main course this year I've chosen a simple celebration roast from Field Roast. Just rub with some herbs and pop it in the oven and you're done. Field roast products have the texture of meat unlike some of the other faux meat products. This "grain meat" roast is stuffed with Field Roast vegan sausage, butternut squash, mushrooms and granny smith apples. It is made from vital wheat gluten so it's not appropriate for those on a gluten free diet. Also, don't add salt to the roast until you taste it as it is already well seasoned. Find a store near you or buy online.
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| Rub with herbs and a touch of olive oil and bake according to directions. |
For a few tasty sides, try collard greens with julienned carrots and twice baked potatoes. These can both be made earlier in the day. The greens can be heated and the potatoes can go in the oven right before dinner.
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| Collards and carrots are colorful and festive looking! |
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| Make ahead and bake right before dinner |
If you have an ice cream maker, try creamy vegan pumpkin pecan ice cream for dessert. You can blend all of the ingredients a few hours before dinner, store in the refrigerator and put in the ice cream maker 30 minutes before you are ready to serve it. You can either add the pecans to the ice cream maker a few minutes before it is complete or just serve them at the table as a topping. For added yumminess, select glazed pecans!
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| Creamy vegan pumpkin ice cream |
Whatever you serve, have a wonderful holiday and I'll be back soon!
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