Meatless Holiday Recipes

It is hard for me to believe, I have been a non-meat eater for over 20 years.  I became a Pescatarian soon after my divorce.

My reasons were not typical. I wasn’t on an “ethical” kick although I do love animals. The reason I decided to try giving up meat was because I really wasn’t eating or enjoying it anyway.

It made sense to make a change.

Initially, I figured if someone invited me for dinner I would eat meat if it was served, but just not at home. Upon learning of my culinary choices, my dinner invites pretty much disappeared. My friends were just too stressed about what they would cook if I was invited for dinner.

After about 8 years without meat, it sort of became an ethical thing. Why would I eat meat and take a life for it when it was really unnecessary. I was doing just fine without it.

So, here I am 20 years later finding that I am still not the purist that most non meat eaters are. I still eat dairy and fish. I believe it helps me to be a bit more balanced and sociable. Lately though I have been trying to go back to the roots of my food behavior change and eat more non animal product meals.

With the Vegan trend, it has become easier to find some tasty meal choices and recipes sans animal products.  I have been making more vegetarian meals/snacks and have found it positive in terms of my weight, health profile, hunger and energy levels.  This was also true when I initially became a Pescatarian.

My first two experiments with Vegan recipes were inspired by a fitness blog DAMY Health. The author is a trainer and Vegan. 

The two choices I made from the recipe file were excellent. First a chocolate candy made with coconut milk and cocoa then put in the freezer. It made a nice pre or post meal snack. The other was what was termed cashew cheese.  It is made with soaked raw (not really raw but that’s another story) cashews, extra virgin olive oil, sun dried tomatoes, basil and Sriracha chili (love Sriracha) I not only enjoyed this as a snack but also started having it on toast or crackers for breakfast.  It makes a satisfying breakfast that stays with you.

For Thanksgiving, I often make a stuffed acorn squash with soy meat, apples, dried fruit and maple syrup. This year I found a NY Times article listing recipes for a Vegan Christmas. They sounded not only nutritious but tasty too.  I thought I would try them.

I planned to make dinner with my sister. She came to Dallas on Thanksgiving, so we planned to have our Holiday dinner on the weekend.  Time got away from us and we never made the meal. After she left, I made the meal for me myself and I. Loved it.

I made Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms, Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Maple Syrup and toasted Hazelnuts and for dessert, dairy free Spiced Crème Brulee.

I also made myself a non dairy eggnog snack using Almond Milk, Spices and Vanilla Protein powder. A small swig of vanilla rum in it didn’t hurt a bit.

I know to true carnivores, these recipes may sound “different”. The only thing I can say is I recommend these. If you have an open mind, you might find you can enjoy a few meat free meals once in awhile.

The eggnog idea came from this recipe from P90x. http://www.beachbody.com/product/newsletters/nl_516.do?code=EML_P90XNL_138_20121204&ep_mid=114607473&ep_rid=2258079672&LID=R1_Eggnog#recipe

I did not follow the recipe. I used store bought almond milk(6oz maybe), about a ½ scoop of  LEAN Vanilla Protein Shake mix (http://www.waycooldiet.com/lean.html) for the sweetness and Vanilla flavor, about ½ a tablespoon almond butter, a shake of Apple Pie Spice and a good  pinch of allspice.

I whipped this all up in the blender with a few ice cubes until it was nice and frothy than served it with about a tablespoon of Vanilla Rum and freshly grated Nutmeg on top. Yum!

Here are links to the other recipes:

Holiday menu from the NY Times-

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/08/health/20101108_thanksgiving.html?ref=health#Harvest-Stuffed_Portobello_Mushrooms

Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/08/health/20101108_thanksgiving.html?ref=health#Maple-Roasted_Brussels_Sprouts_With_Toasted_Hazelnuts

Holiday Spiced Vegan Crème Brulee http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/08/health/20101108_thanksgiving.html?ref=health#Holiday-Spiced_Vegan_Creme_Brulee

Damy Health recipes

Icy square chocolates-http://www.damyhealth.com/2012/03/homemade-icy-square-chocolates-coconut-oil-chocolates/

Sundried Tomato and Basil Cashew Cheese- http://www.damyhealth.com/2012/08/raw-sundried-tomato-and-basil-cashew-cheese/

Tree trimming 2010

Tree trimming 2010

Since I was away the first week in December and had the flu upon my return, I didn’t plan a tree trimming party this year. So, it was a quiet year as parties go. 

It occurred to me that I am clueless as to how to decorate my tree, much less put an artificial tree together. Since I have a party every year, other people have handled the details. My job has always been the food and drink.

I still trimmed my tree this year and I still had guests, but only those close to me, my mother, my sister and Steve. I had invited a couple other close friends but both were under the weather.  I was very happy Steve came over because my mother’s interest was watching the football game. My sister thought that was a grand idea too.

Steve and I trimmed the tree, he being in charge of the lights and both of us sharing ornament placement. I must admit I was impressed with Steve’s prowess at putting on the lights, especially since we were a bit short on lights. We also did a darn good job at trimming the tree all by ourselves. Designers watch out!

I normally make “from scratch” food for my parties. This time, with little advance notice,  I took some shortcuts and made some “from scratch” food too.  I made chocolate cookies from a mix, and the same was true for the lemon bars.

I am here to say, it’s just not the same. For most people the sweets would be acceptable but for a foodie that loves to cook from scratch, the mixes really fall short. The cookies were good but not great. The lemon bars didn’t even taste like lemon, they were just sweet.  I had to squeeze fresh lemon juice over them to get even a little discernable taste of lemon.

I also made rosemary walnuts. Those were from scratch and although they are very salty, I really love them.  Normally I use rosemary from my garden.  This year, no fresh rosemary so I used the dried version.  Fresh is much better.

Rosemary Walnuts

2 cups shelled whole walnuts

2 ½ tablespoons butter, melted

2 tsp crumbled dried rosemary (use more if using fresh)

1 ½ tsp salt ( I use less)

½ tsp cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place walnuts in a single layer in a shallow pan. Mix together the remaining ingredients and pour over walnuts. Roast in the oven for about 10 minutes, until browned, shaking occasionally. Yield 6 servings

From The Pink Adobe cookbook by Rosalea Murphy

One thing I did enjoy without disappointment was the dinner I made, Santa Fe Pasta Sauce. You will find it in a previous blog called Southwestern Pasta sauce. It came from a Cooking Light recipe. Several years ago it was among the top rated Cooking Light recipes. It is healthy, filling and tasty.

I normally make changes to the recipes I use. The changes I made to this one are minor. Because I was serving it buffet style, I chose not to use fettuccini. I wanted a pasta easier to handle.  I used a mixed grain, higher fiber curly macaroni.

I was unable to find fresh jalapenos after visiting several stores and sliced pickled peppers just doesn’t work for a former Texan.  I guess this isn’t Texas, but Brazilians have their own hot peppers. I chose some red Brazilian peppers without knowing if they were sweet or hot.  Just so you don’t have the same surprise, they are HOT! They are really good though. I think I like them better than jalapenos (but don’t tell my Texas friends)!

I did not make the chicken as I wanted this to be a vegetarian meal.  The sauce is better after it sits for a day, so don’t be afraid to make it ahead of time. I hope you try this and enjoy it. For the runners out there, it would be a good healthy carb meal.