Your Xmas Cookie List

What cookies will you be making this year? Sugar? Gingerbread? Chocolate Crinkles? Or are you more of a cupcake person?
Tell me all about it. Santa wants to know what to expect when he busts open your door. Not too many houses have chimneys anymore.
Here's my list:

Sugar Cookies from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar
Chokoladballs from "
Chocolate Crinkles from "
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies from Vegan On the Cheap
Probably a shortcut cookie
Soft Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies from The Vegan Cookie Conoisseur
????????


Any GF ideas? Tell me about them.

It's not________, it's this...

If I had a dollar for every time I heard "I can't go vegan because I could never give up ______", I'd be wearing my weight in gold chains and be knee deep in fly girls. I know what it feels like--wondering if there's any way you can get over having chocolate sans milkfat, tortillas without duck feather preservatives, the gooey stringiness of cheese, smoky crisp of bacon, and the salty hot tang of buffalo wings.

I don't eat fake food, I eat real food. When I want something that I crave from the pregan days, I simply go to some real eats that have those characteristics. Perfect example is this buffalo chicken salad with smoked almonds and guacamole dressing. This made me forget that it was the end of November. If there was a vegan version of Applebee's, this would be a top seller.

• The greens are a spicy mesclun mix which has a peppery bacony flavor. You can use any green you want, but I went this route.
  
• The buffalo seitan is a chicken like wheat meat lightly breaded and coated in Frank's hot sauce plus a little Earth Balance vegan margarine.
• Smoked almonds give me the savory salty crunch I seek. No, it's not bacon but pigs everywhere will thank you and so will your heart.
• Here's the one you don't thing belongs: guacamole dressing. The cool creamy avocado is a nice flavor against the greens, almonds, and the hot wing sauce. Individually these ingredients don't really say much, but when they all hang out and discuss how to please your taste buds, it's a combination that sings a joyful noise.

Eating this way isn't about achieving sainthood by depriving yourself of yummy food. Veganism is cheap, fun, accessible, and absolutely delicious.

Anatomy of a vegan Txgiving dinner

Here, we view the mishmash on my plate. Doesn't everyone's plate look like this, esp. the day after the Big Feast? Why don't we get a closer look at the **magic**?

I'm so in love with this years tricked out sweet potatoes. I took a recipe inspired by an old skool casserole cookbook and added some PITA vegan flair. Don't you see the flair?

The green bean casserole was a hit. We attended the UU pitch in and I made sure to bring plenty of stuff for myself and a little extra to share. I made enough for 6 ample or 10 small servings of the following: stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes w/ garlic and arugula, gobbler slices, and roasted butternut squash w/lime and Caribbean Ms. Dash. Oh yeah.

I was only able to take a plate of about 1/4 to 1/2 c. servings home. Everyone else ate it all! Score for team V!

What did you eat on the big day? Did you introduce an omni or vegetarian to the glories of Planet Vegan?

Jen's Tricked out Sweet Potatoes

You'll need

• 1 GIANT sweet potato, equaling 2 c. worth cooked and cubed
• 1 overripe banana
• 2 c. of frozen fruit, I used a pear and a couple of small peaches.
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/4 c. Smucker's Marshmallow Ice cream topping--chemical but vegan!
• 1/4 c. finely chopped nuts- I used pecans
• 1/4 c. shredded coconut

Set the oven to 300. Spray a pie plate w/ nonstick spray or canola oil. Set aside.

In a food processor, put in the cubed cooked sweet potatoes, mashed banana, and chopped frozen fruit. Fruit is pretty easy to chop when it is frozen and has been left out for about 20 minutes. You could always go the easy route and chop up some overripe stuff, but why make the holidays easy? Pshaw. Toss in the cinnamon and marshmallow topping. Pulse until whipped, but it doesn't have to be 100% smooth. Now spread that stuff in the pie pan and smooth over with the back of a spoon or spatula. Sprinkle the nuts and coconut on top. Cover and bake for about 45m, then 15 uncovered. Allow to cool about 15 before serving. This is SO FORKING good. If you have doubts, just look at that photo again.