Holidays
Festive Rosemary Olive Pate
This Festive Rosemary Olive Pate is vegan and gluten free, and is made with pecans, which can easily be substituted for almonds, walnuts, or even hazelnuts.
It’s very festive, and was my vegan dish for a potluck I went to last weekend. It was one of those dishes I whipped up without a recipe, with an inkling of inspiration, and was ecstatic when tasting the first bite.
Monkey Butter Inspired Desserts From [in the oven] Bakery
We’ve been getting into the Christmas spirit and attending tons of the local craft markets. Not only are they great places to find Christmas gifts, but they also offer outlets for local artisans to showcase their amazing handmade goods. We are always drawn to food vendors because, well, we LOVE food! However, it can sometimes be tough to find vegan friendly food vendors. Luckily, we’ve come across a vegan friendly food vendor that satisfies every craving and allows us to support local business.
Chocolate Sugar Cookies with Peppermint Candy Frosting
These Chocolate Sugar Cookies with Peppermint Candy Frosting won first place in the VegNews Holiday Cookie Contest in 2011. And they won the hearts of my non-vegan co-workers! They are crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside and have a sweet peppermint topping. Is there anything that screams holiday flavours more than the marriage of chocolate and peppermint?
Vegemeister!
I have been completely inspired by Joni Marie Newman’s book, Vegan Food Gifts! It’s full of creative, beautiful gifts that you can make for your friends and family over the holidays. The book provides packaging recommendations, includes gift tags that you can scan, AND has recipes for making your own flavoured adult beverages!
VEGAN BODYBUILDING & FITNESS Review + Lentil Sweet Potato Loaf Recipe!
Ever since I can remember, I’ve admired the athletic bodies of models who graced the pages of fitness magazines and always wondered just how possible it was to sculpt a perfect physique like theirs.
Vegan Pumpkin Pie
I scoured the web looking for the perfect Pumpkin Pie recipe, and I may have just found it on the Vegetarian Times website. It got great reviews and had fairly simple ingredients, so I took the plunge, (I’ve had bad vegan pumpkin pie experiences in the past). It turned out fabulously! I made a few slight modifications, and was over-the-moon with the results. A custard-like filling and perfect crust (no butter!), with the fragrant spices stealing the show. This will not be a disappointment at your holiday table.
Hazelnut Cranberry Roast En Croute + Coconut-Miso Gravy
I had just had to share with you how much I enjoyed Field Roast’s Hazelnut Cranberry Roast En Croute. I made my Thanksgiving dinner a little late this year (two night’s ago) and am still enjoying the leftovers – very happy. On the menu: This ‘just like Mom’s’ stuffing recipe, minus the tempeh, mashed potatoes, roasted maple carrots, and the Hazelnut Cranberry Roast En Croute, all drizzled with a coconut-miso gravy – yum!
Raw Coconut Cacao ‘Haystacks’
Today I was really missing my mom, the lucky lady who recently moved to Cabo to pursue a savvy lifestyle change. So I decided to use the lovely dish and tray set she gave me as a parting gift and make a (nearly) raw vegan version of one of her most amazing holiday cookies, the haystack.
I can’t wait for our next family gathering so I can knock my mom’s socks off with the vegan (raw! shh) version of her classic!
Mad Men Inspired Cocktail Party Menu
Last night was the fifth season premier of one of our favourite shows, Mad Men. We love the cast, clothes, storylines and overall production value, and of course, the smoking and drinking all day long 
Beetroot Dip
This season’s Taste Magazine, A season for Giving Holiday Gift Guide, is full of great ideas for entertaining over the next couple of weeks. While not many of the recipes are vegan, they can be modified, with this recipe for Beetroot Dip being completely vegan on its own. I made this the other night for a group of friends and they LOVED it! It’s basically a simple hummus recipe, adding steamed beets to get that gorgeous (and festive!) bright fuschia colour.
Spicy Wine Mustard
This year for the holidays, I wanted to make homemade goodies and put it in jars to give to my loved ones. This Whole Foods Application for iphone gave me some great ideas! It is free, and really easy to navigate through the different features. You can search recipes for specialty diets such as vegan, input what you have on hand and get recipe suggestions, and lots more! If you don’t have an iphone here is the recipe for their Spicy Wine Mustard below. It couldn’t have been more simple! has a bite, so leave out the red pepper flakes if you’re sensitive to heat. Enjoy!
Butternut Squash and Potato Gratin
I was inspired to make a savoury fall dish using mostly local, organic ingredients, by Jessica’s Halloween 100-Mile Potluck at ethicalDeal.com. This dish doesn’t meet all requirements but it does come pretty close. Most of these ingredients are grown locally, seasonally and organically.
Vegan Shanghai Dumplings
These vegan Shanghai dumplings feature a tender, hand-made dim sum wrapper cradling a rich and savoury filling. This recipe makes enough for a four-person Chinese New Year celebration. These dumplings require a lot of time and love, so they are the perfect make-ahead dish. Just freeze them and steam them when you are ready to eat!
Ukrainian Christmas!
Long live the extended Orthodox holiday season! For those of you who may not know, the Orthodox religion celebrates Christmas on January 6/7th instead of the 25th, following the gregorian calendar of yore. Quite a few members of our little group have some Ukrainian in them, among other things, thus, we all grew up a on pierogies and cabbage rolls, and look for any excuse to indulge on the dairy heavy cuisine of our ancestors. Our challenge this was to satisfy our friends with a vegan Ukrainian Christmas Feast that could hopefully be comparable to Baba’s. Those were big orthopedic shoes to fill but I think we did it!
Vegan New Year’s Cocktail Party
This New Year’s Eve we all decided to travel the high seas over to Salt Spring Island for a couple of nights to ring in 2011 with mimosas, hot tubs, and good friends. The plan this evening is to get all dolled up and indulge on a decadent assortment of appetizers and cocktails, transcending into numerous rounds of shots and panties on our heads. Here’s a sneak preview of this evening’s menu:
Ninjabread Men – Amazing Vegan Gingerbread!
One of the biggest hits of the Get Baked! holiday bake sale were Jessica’s ninjabread men, which she created from a veganized gingerbread recipe and some DIY ninja cookie cutters. Here are her instructions on how you can create your own stealth vegan variation of this favourite holiday treat.
Festive Cashew-Portobello Roast with Wild Mushroom-Miso Gravy
Here’s the recipe we submitted for the CBC Radio 3 vegan holiday recipe challenge:
Vegan Artichoke Mushroom Stuffing
Christmas in Winnipeg has never been more vegan. This year at family dinner there was literally a vegan section on the table! And my meat obsessed Philipino in-laws seem to be embracing the whole concept, because everyone was digging in.
‘Tis the Season to be Vegan
Last Year The Vegan Project wrote an article for Granville Online Magazine about Vegan Holiday Baking which included a couple recipes along with tips on ‘veganizing’ your non-vegan favourites. We thought we’d whip this article out again this year because well, ’tis the season!
Brandy Alexander – Veganized!
I’m drinking this right now. It’s Christmas in a cup. It’s Bailey’s meets Egg Nog meets holiday merriment. Please excuse the promotional glassware-it’s all I have.
Ingredients:
2 ounces St Remy Brandy
1/2 ounce Kahlua
1 ounce coconut milk (French vanilla silk is nice too)
Fresh grated nutmeg
Method:
Shake vigorously over ice and strain into a glass. Top with fresh grated nutmeg. C’est Ça!
Here’s a beautiful song to complete this experience:
Enjoy!
~The Vegan Project
Sizzling Chanukah Veggie Corn Fritters – Veganized!
The Metro Vancouver newspaper’s December 1st issue this week (also the first day of Hanukkah) featured a recipe for Sizzling Hanukkah Veggie Corn Fritters from cookbook author Susie Fishbein. Now while this recipe kept in line with the Hanukkah tradition of cooking with oil for the entire eight days (find out why here ) and was kosher, it was not vegan. But that didn’t stop me! With a few minor adjustments, I veganized these fritters, cut out the microwaving step and made them (almost) gluten-free.
Roasting Veggies: Baby Beets and Brussel Sprouts
I’ve been roasting a lot of veggies lately, mostly just to fill my house with warm, comforting aromas. Here are a few really easy ways to roast two of my favourite vegetables: Brussel sprouts and baby beets. I’ve also been playing around a lot with some artisan salts I recently picked up at Make It! Craft Fair from Sea to Sky Seasonings. If you don’t have any flavoured salts, experiment by mixing course sea salt with fresh lemon zest or orange peel for a quick and easy citrus salt or try mixing your sea salt with dried herbs or powders in the blender. Who knows what you may come up with?!
Cranberry and Fennel Vegan Sausage
This recipe is a variation of The Post Punk Kitchen’s legendary vegan sausage recipe. We thought some poultry seasoning and dried cranberries would give this version that holiday feel. The backbone of the vegan sausage is the vital wheat gluten and mashed beans. From there the possibilities are endless! Check out these ones at the PPK sausage forum.
Broccoli and Cauliflower with Cheesy Sauce
A favourite product of ours has finally hit Vancouver shelves everyone-Daiya Vegan Cheese! Hailing from North Vancouver and a cult favourite among vegans worldwide, it will delightfully substitute dairy cheese in any dish and can now be found at Choices, Capers, Whole Foods and The Drive Organics. Yippee! This recipe for steamed veggies smothered in cheesy sauce is the first in what will be a vegan cheese binge over the next little while until the excitement wears off.
Vegan Latkes and Veggie Beer Sausage
I love fried potatoes! Especially in the form of a latke. I made a batch the other night and grazed on the leftovers for a couple of days. The night of, I served them with pan-fried Veggie Beer Sausage and dollops of dijon and non-dairy sour cream. This meal is NOT low fat. But it is super awesome and delicious!