[What I should have made for our Christmas dinner this year. . . . ]
What. . . is it December 27th, already?? Hope you’ve all had a wonderful holiday season so far! I must confess, the last few days have been among the laziest of my life. And you know what? It felt great!
So what have the HH, the Girls and I been up to since I last visited this space? Here’s a quick recap:
The Girls Express their Annoyance. The Girls posed for their 2010 Christmas card, and if all your comments are any indication, they clearly seemed peeved at having to don those costumes. Let’s just say I’ll never be another William Wegman. (“Mum, we weren’t annoyed so much as impatient. . . for our presents! Thanks for those treats we got! And can we have more of that white stuff? Oh, and who is that handsome Weimeraner in that photo?!”).
Start the Day Off Right. After sleeping in until we awoke naturally sans alarm, the HH and I bounded out of bed to open our gifts. And while they were polite enough not to disturb us while we slept, the Girls were certainly lively enough as soon as they confirmed we were awake:
["Elsie, play with me or I will eat you!"]
So, while the HH took the dogs for a trail walk, I set about making a hearty brunch to tide us over until dinnertime:
[These fabulous pancakes, topped with homemade sweet almond-coconut butter and plum sauces, with eggplant bacon (recipe coming soon).]
Best to Stick with Tradition, Even if It’s Non-Traditional. Those of you who’ve been reading DDD for a while will likely recall that our regular holiday tradition for the past few years has been an Indian feast, often shared with the CFO. Well, when my sister couldn’t make it this year, the HH proclaimed, “I want something traditional! I want TURKEY!”.
Regular readers will also know that the HH eats, well, everything. And as long as he prepares his own food, I don’t attempt to influence what he consumes. So off we went to get an organic turkey for him to cook. While he roasted his turkey, I prepared my new recipe for a holiday nutroast.
By 7:00 PM, dinner was finally served. Here’s my plate:
As I said, I shouldn’t have messed with our (non-traditional) tradition. While tasty enough, my nut roast was not what I’d call a success. I do have an inkling of how to improve it and will share as soon as I give it a try.
Turkey =Doggie Crack. The Girls, on the other hand, devoured their turkey scraps in no short order. This was the first time Chaser ever tasted turkey, and let me tell you, the crazed look it sparked in her eye was even more frenzied than usual. I got the stare pretty much the rest of the day.
[What was that white stuff, Mum? And can I please have some more?"]
And Elsie wasn’t immune, either:
[I've just got to be patient, and I'm sure there will be more turkey forthcoming. . . . "]
It’s Good to Chillax. I think that last week of school, frantic prepping for Christmas, buying a new car (so that the HH can have my old car, since his was totalled) and various and sundry other errands has wiped a goodly portion of my mind clean, sort of the way reformatting clears out your hard drive. I’ve felt pretty much incapable of any sustained thought or activity since Christmas morning, wandering around the past few days in a bit of a haze (albeit with a semi smile on my face and a very full belly), without much to say in this space. The HH is off work until the first week of January, so we’ll be spending quite a bit of time together.
["Life is so rough when you're waiting for turkey. . . *sigh*."]
Yesterday morning, for instance, the HH and I (after sleeping in yet again), spent most of the AM reading the entire newspaper, front to back, for the first time in months.
[The HH's coffee cup, and the news: freak east coast snowstorms and Boxing Day Deals.]
Then we proceeded to clean up the detritus from our Christmas dinner:
[The HH's wine glass, the morning after. Sadly, no wine for me this year. Damn you, ACD!]
We sat by the fireplace, sipped on coffee/matcha tea and listened to music (including my new Pink CD, a gift from the HH):
[On the left: my matcha tea. On the right: the HH's wine glass. . . afternoon incarnation.]
I also went to see How Do You Knowwith my friend Eternal Optimist yesterday afternoon (we had planned on The King’s Speech, but they were sold out; still, Reese Witherspoon is always winsome, and that Paul Rudd is such a cutie).
And now, after even more lounging about today, I finally feel ready to leap back in to cooking and blogging about recipes.
["Elsie, do you think we'll get any more turkey?"]
Sorry to say I won’t be sharing that nut roast recipe just yet.
In the meantime, here’s the recipe for the African Sweet Potato Stew I mentioned in this post, which some of you asked about. It’s a tried-and-true success that I’ve made many times in the past. It’s hearty, filling, with chunks of sweet potato and chickpeas bathed in a rich, creamy coconut milk gravy that’s infused with a variety of spices and the mineral-rich addition of collards.
Perhaps I should add it to the menu for next year’s Christmas feast.
The list of ingredients does seem long, but so much of this is spice that the actual prep time isn’t as much as you’d think. The recipe makes a huge vat of stew, so you can package and freeze it for later consumption, too.
1 Tbsp (15 ml) coconut or extra virgin olive oil, preferably organic
1 large onion, chopped
1 thumb-size piece ginger, peeled and chopped
4 garlic cloves, chipped
1/2 cup (120 ml) cilantro leaves, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored and chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper, minced (or use 1/2 tsp/1.5 ml chili flakes)
1 Tbsp (15 ml) ground cumin
1 tsp (5 ml) whole mustard seeds, brown or yellow
2 tsp (10 ml) ground coriander
1 tsp (5 ml) ground turmeric
1 tsp (5 ml) paprika
1/4 tsp (1 ml) cayenne pepper
1 large can (19 oz or 500 ml) diced tomatoes, drained (reserve the juice)
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes
2-3 medium white potatoes, chopped into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes
1 can (12 oz or 400 ml) coconut milk
1/3 cup (80 ml) natural smooth almond or peanut butter (use almond for ACD)
1 pound (500 g) collard greens, midribs removed and shredded
2 cups (480 ml) cooked chickpeas
Heat the oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat; add the onion, ginger, garlic and cilantro and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 7 minutes. Add the red pepper, jalapeno, cumin, mustard seeds, corinder, trumeric, paprika and cayenne and cook a couple more minutes. Add the tomatoes, sweet potatoes, potatoes and coconut milk; cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until the potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes.
Place the almond butter in a small bowl or glass measuring cup and scoop about 1/2 cup of the liquid from the stew, adding it to the nut butter; mix well, until smooth. Pour the mixture back into the pot and blend it in. Add the collards and chickpeas and continue to cook until the greens are soft, another 5-10 minutes. If the sauce is too thin, allow to simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until desired thickness is reached. Serve over rice or cooked quinoa. Makes 6-8 servings. May be frozen.
To all who celebrate, wishing you a very Merry Christmas, and a happy, happy holidays to all! Here’s to days of fun and relaxation, time surrounded by loving family and friends, great food and treats, and all the gifts you dream of.
“Mum, you know we’d never be doing this if not for the “treats” part, right? But that’s okay, because I LOVE the treats part! Oh, and the presents! And the playing catch in the snow!! But maybe I could take off this Santa hat first. . . and oooh, this Santa collar is kind of itching me a little bit. . . ”
“Chaser, what do you have to complain about? Look at the getup she’s got ME wearing this year! Just zip it–or we’ll never get out of these darned costumes. . . *sigh*. “
With all of my 175 students’ assignments, exams and final marks finally submitted–I am now officially on holidays until 2011–whoo hoo! That makes me one very celebratory gal. Par-tay, I say!
And how about having everything all ready to start cooking my big holiday meal?
Um, no. (Insert sheepish expression here).
“Mum, did you say, ‘sheep?’ I’m half border collie, you know. And just being off-leash at the trail is enough of a party for me!”
In an ideal world, I would not only know exactly which dishes I’m cooking, but would have prepared an entire rehearsal Christmas dinner already, expressly for the purpose of photographing and writing about it for this blog (excuse me while I guffaw).
For the past two years, the HH and I have shared an Indian feast at Christmastime with the CFO, who’s made the trek from Montreal. The CFO isn’t able to join us this year, and I have a feeling that the multi-course Indian buffet will also make itself scarce, at least for this year.
I do have a couple of great ideas for potential dishes I’ve been wanting to try (and about which I’ll post, post-holidays.) But what with the HH’s accident; frenzied shopping for a new car; a fire at the campus where I teach resulting in only TWO days to mark all my students’ exams and submit them; a last-minute invitation to appear on a local daytime TV show (which happened this very morning)–I haven’t yet decided exactly what we’ll be eating at the festive table. Throw in a couple of doctor’s appointments, a visit to the vet, a haircut and typical holiday-time social activities, and there has been precious little time to cook.
If you’re like me and still thinking about what to prepare, I thought I’d share this list of some of my favorite holiday-worthy recipes (many of these are not yet listed in the Recipe Index–updating it is one of my new year’s projects!).
All are ACD-friendly recipes (ie, gluten free, sugar free, dairy free, egg free, low glycemic) unless otherwise specified.
And to everyone who’s celebrating this time of year: have a wonderful holiday season!
As I mentioned in a previous post, the CFO came to visit over the holidays, and we had a truly lovely time together, chillaxing (I can’t understand why that word has evaporated from the lexicon. I mean, it just seems to capture so perfectly the concept its meant to convey), laughing, watching movies*, laughing, shopping, playing with The Girls, laughing, and eating far, far too much. I’m happy to say that my sister also bonded with both of our furry babies, who have been wandering aimlessly around the house since she left this morning.
(“Mum, what do you mean, ‘she left’? Doesn’t she live with us now? Where did she go? And, um, who will rub my belly tonight?”)
It does seem like ages since I’ve written on this blog, when in fact, it’s been just a few days. I’m just fascinated by the science fiction-like relative quality of time at the holidays: the space-time continuum stretches infinitely as you wait for the Big Day (or Days, depending on your belief system); then, like the Big Bang, it’s over in a flash.
Not to belabor the physics theme or anything, but I think my stomach has taken over the role of a black hole this holiday season. Truly, I didn’t know it was possible that so much food could be sucked into that abyss in so short a span. Ah, if only time could stretch as infinitely as my appetite (and if only the waistband on my pants could do the same. . . ).
Ah, what the heck, it’s the holidays. While the CFO was here , in effect, we enjoyed two major feast meals: the first on Christmas Day, a semi-traditional repast that blended the Judeo-Christian cuisines; then, the following night, an Indian-themed feast, because we felt like it.
Although neither my sister nor the HH is vegan (or even vegetarian), the bulk of the menu accommodated my dietary restrictions, so that we could all enjoy freely. And despite much good-natured ribbing in both directions (the CFO pooh-poohed almost every recipe I suggested on the grounds it was “too Veeee-gan”, while I countered by calling her a “rabid anti-Veegite“), it was the dish about which she was most skeptical, the wheat-free, egg-free, dairy-free pumpkin bread pudding, that turned out to be the star of the show.
For the holiday meal, I relied on several tried-and-true recipes such as herb-roasted root vegetables, balsamic-dijon brussels sprouts and roast on the 25th, plus (in keeping with the Hannukah theme I started with those latkes the other day) an apple-noodle pudding (or kugel). Even though this was a sweet kugel and more of what I’d consider a dessert, it did work well with the other dishes, offering a bit of luscious creaminess punctuated by tart cherries, along with the similar sweet-tart contrast in the brussels sprouts. In fact, this noodle pudding would be perfect for breakfast, I’d venture.
[Apple-Noodle Pudding with Tart Dried Cherries]
The bread pudding my sister so loved began with a pumpkin bread (recipe from Simple Treats), soaked in a pumpkin “custard” based on the mixture I used in my French Toast Soufflé. I baked the puddings in individual ramekins, but you could easily do a single pudding in a loaf or square pan and scoop it from there. I topped the puddings with a homemade caramel sauce–a concoction based on a sweetened condensed milk experiment that went awry–that I’d kept warm.
[A bite of pumpkiny-caramelly bliss.]
The result was spectacular–warm, slightly crisp on the outside but moist and spongy on the inside, über-pumpkiny, slightly spiced, and with the smooth, glossy thickness of warm caramel blanketing the whole affair. This is a chic, stylish dessert, yet one that was really simple in its preparation.
The next night, though still full from the Christmas dinner, we managed an incredible follow-up with an Indian feast that, we decided, will go down in the annals of Most Memorable Meals in the DDD household.
The menu included a lentil dal recipe I first saw about a week ago on Lisa’s blog; peas in a creamy sauce (adapted from a recipe I once borrowed from Gemini I); an aloo saag (well, not really–I just don’t know the word for “kale”) that combined potatoes and shredded kale in a spicy tomato sauce; coconut brown basmati rice; and homemade chickpea pancakes from Meena Pathak’s Indian Cooking for Family and Friends. I can tell you, there was a symphony of lip-smacking, lentil scooping, potato spooning, and sauce sopping going on, as well as a mellifluous refrain of friendly chatter and wine-glass clinking that evening. Very chillaxing.
I promise to share the goodies from our Indian feast in a future post, but rather than inundate you with so many recipes at once, I thought I’d start off with the lovely Apple Noodle Pudding with Tart Dried Cherries. This alone would make a great light mid-week supper–and I, for one, could certainly use some lighter meals these days.
Also: I’m a little late jumping on this bandwagon, but wanted to mention a charity drive put on by Katie over at Chocolate Covered Vegan. In honor of the season, Katie is offering to donate 20 cents to the Enough Project (an organization that works to counter crimes against humanity) for every comment she receives on this post. How sweet is that? It’s incredibly easy to help out this way–just hop on over and leave a comment!
*Christmas Day: that classic chestnut, White Christmas. The CFO and I, while sisters ourselves, bear no resemblance to either Rosemary Clooney or Vera-Ellen (well, perhaps my wrist bears a resemblance to Vera-Ellen’s waist).
Boxing Day: taking advantage of the nearly-empty theaters, Seven Pounds. What I learned from watching this movie: 1) Will Smith is (still) preternaturally gorgeous; 2) Will Smith is an extraordinarily talented actor; 3) that is one whacked reason to keep a jellfish as a pet.
Yesterday:The Dark Knight. I agree that Heath Ledger deserved an Oscar for his performance. Not only that, but also a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for being able to unravel the convoluted structure of the multi-pronged plot in this movie. (Okay, perhaps a not-entirely fair assessment on my part, as I couldn’t bring myself to watch the violent scenes. Which means I missed about 94% of the movie.)
Apple Noodle Pudding with Tart Dried Cherries
Unfortunately, I can’t recall the original source of this recipe, which I copied from a magazine several years ago in the BB (Before Blog) era of my life. Nevertheless, I’ve added several elements and changed others over the years, so I consider this my own variation on the original.
4 ounces (about 120 grams) long noodles (fettucine, linguine, spaghetti, etc.–I use kamut linguine; for a GF option, use gluten-free noodles)
1 large or 2 small tart apples (such as Granny Smith) washed, cored and grated fine (you can leave the skin on)
1/3 cup (80 ml.) dried tart cherries, cranberries, or raisins
1/3 cup (80 ml.) natural raw almonds
1/4 cup (60 ml.) natural raw cashews
1 pkg. (about 12 ounces or 375 g.) aseptically-packaged, firm silken tofu (I use Mori-Nu)
1/4 cup (60 ml.) agave nectar, light or dark
2 tsp. (10 ml.) cinnamon
1/2 tsp. (2.5 ml.) ground ginger
pinch cardamom
1/8 tsp. (.5 ml.) fine sea salt
1/2 tsp. (2.5 ml.) pure almond extract
1 tsp. (5 ml.) pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Line a 9 inch (22.5 cm.) square pan with parchment, or spray with nonstick spray.
In a large pot, boil the noodles according to package directions and drain. Place the drained noodles in a large bowl and toss with the grated apple, cherries, and pecans.
In the bowl of a food processor, blend the almonds and cashews until they resemble a fine meal (take care not to over-blend, however, or you’ll end up with nut butter). Add the tofu, agave, cinnamon, ginger, cardamon, salt, almond extract and vanilla and process gain until the mixture is smooth.
Pour the tofu mixture over the noodle mixture in the bowl and stir well to blend and distribute the tofu mixture throughout. Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly, smoothing the top.
Bake in preheated oven about 50 minutes, rotating once about halfway through, until golden brown on top. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes four brunch servings or 9 dessert servings. May be frozen.
Whether you’ve just woken up to find the Big Guy has already arrived, or whether you’re spending your day in some other way, here’s wishing you a day filled with fun, happiness, and the love of friends and family.
If you celebrate Christmas, I hope it’s wonderful.
If not, enjoy the nearly empty movie theatres today.
Talk about under the wire. Here it is, the LAST DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS, and I’m still experimenting with baking cookies (and still posting to Holidailies). And guess what? I think I’ve hit on something.
I’ve been wanting to do a Christmas sugar cookie for years. Ever since I had to alter my diet and cut out wheat and refined sugars, it’s been a bit difficult to bake traditional treats (though there are so many greatcookbooksout there, not to mention a whole lot of blogs using all-natural ingredients, which makes it easier and easier).
After baking with agave nectar for the past few years, I felt pretty good about that. But a sugar cookie? Wouldn’t it be kind of heretical to take the sugar out of it? (And what would I call it, anyway–”agave cookie cutouts”?).
But recently, I also started baking chia seeds (yes, those selfsame seeds that used to grow into little animals in pottery shapes for kids), only edible. One could say that “chia is the new flax,” since it contains the same healthful Omega 3 fatty acids, only more so than flax. Further, chia is lighter in color and texture–perfect for a creamy white, snowy “sugar” cookie.
Sugar cookies are also, traditionally, rolled and cut. When baking with agave, however, the cookie dough is more often soft and most suitable for scooping or smoothing into pans, to be cut later into bars (since agave is a liquid sweetener, after all). So what to do? I decided that the combination of coconut butter instead of butter (since it’s also solid at room temperature), and chia as an egg substitute would work best, since the chia would absorb some of the excess moisture in the agave. That way, I would be able to use almost the same ratio of flour to sweetener in a “regular” sugar cookie.
I’m happy to report that the dough came out beautiful! It was a teeny bit softer than expected when first mixed, so I split it in two parts, and scooped the first half (at room temperature). These cookies came out just barely golden on the bottoms, uniform in shape, with a beautiful, tender crumb and delicate flavor. Truly, they were delicious–a great plain all-occasion cookie that’s not too sweet.
I put the second half of the dough into the fridge to sit for an hour or two and firm up. I’m going to roll it out later, cut it into shapes (should be interesting, as we haven’t yet unpacked all my baking supplies, and I’ve got neither a rolling pin nor my cookie cutters), and bake it that way; I’ll post those photos as soon as they’re ready.
[Edit, December 2008: The dough was perfect once chilled--firm and easy to roll. Here's what the cookies look like rolled out, and cut with cookie cutters:]
In the meantime, I’ll share this recipe for those of you who may want to play around for next Christmas!
[EDIT, NOVEMBER 2011: I've since created a gluten-free version of these cookies, which is posted (along with a few other recipes) in this blog post.]
Ricki’s Sugar Agave Cookies (aka Sugar-Free Sugar Cookies)
6 Tbsp. (90 ml.) light agave nectar
1 Tbsp. (15 ml.) finely ground chia seeds
2 Tbsp. (30 ml.) unflavored soymilk
1 tsp. (5 ml.) pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. (2.5 ml.) pure lemon flavoring
2 cups (280 g.) spelt flour
1-1/2 tsp. (7.5 ml.) aluminum-free baking powder
1/8 tsp. (.5 ml.) sea salt
1/2 cup (120 ml.) refined organic coconut oil (or use unrefined if you don’t mind the coconut taste)
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, or spray with nonstick spray.
In a measuring cup or small bowl, combine the agave nectar, chia seeds, soymilk and flavorings. Mix well and allow to sit while you prepare the dry ingredients, or at least two minutes.
In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Drop the coconut butter in small chunks (about 1 tsp./5 ml. each) over the dry ingredients. Pinch the mixture repeatedly between your thumb and fingers until all the coconut butter is blended in, no little lumps remain, and the mixture is crumbly. (It should hold together when you squeeze it in your palm). This should NOT be the same consistency as when mixing pie dough; you want all of the coconut butter to “melt into” the flour, with NO pea-sized bits of butter visible.
Pour the wet mixture over the flour mixture and stir until well blended. You should have a soft and slightly sticky dough, but one that holds together.
For drop cookies, you may use the dough immediately. Drop from a teaspoon or small scoop onto a cookie sheet about one inch (2 cm) apart. Flatten slightly with the palm of your hand or a silicon spatula.
For rolled cookies, gather the dough together and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate about an hour, until firm. Roll out to about 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) thickness on a lightly floured board. Cut into desired shapes and place on a cookie sheet.
Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, until edges are just golden. Cool before removing from sheets and decorating as desired. Makes 24-30 cookies. May be frozen.
Note, 2011: I’ve since made this recipe as a gluten-free cookie, using my all-purpose gluten free flour for the spelt and adding 1 tsp (5 ml) xanthan gum. They worked beautifully!
(“Agave is also low-glycemic, Mum, so it should be just fine for dogs. How about some agave biscuits for us?”)
[This recipe (along with about 100 others, most not on this blog) will appear in my upcoming cookbook, Sweet Freedom, scheduled for release in early 2009. For more information, click on "Cookbook" at right, or visit the Sweet Freedom blog.]
