A Very Vegan Christmas 2011

I didn't realize until just now how long it has been since I've put fingers to keyboard to write a blog post. It doesn't feel like two + weeks have passed. I guess that's what traveling does to you.  It has a weird way to make time stand still while also moving quickly at the same time. That has to make sense to more than just me.  That feeling when you're on vacation when you've packed in so much activity at your destination that it seems you've been there for 6 days when it's really only been two; and then, suddenly before you know it, 6 days has passed and it's time to head back home again before you're ready to.

This Christmas, Jacques and traveled around the northeast, attending a wedding, visiting with friends and family, and utterly exhausting ourselves by hitting 6 cities in 10 days. We ate at so many vegan and vegan friendly restaurants, with so much amazingly delicious food. While in Manhattan, we dined elbow to elbow with a large group of non-veg friends at the very vegan Angelica Kitchen; and, my very non-veg dad introduced me to Franchia cafe, a cozy vegan Korean tea house on Park Avenue. Jacques' very non-veg Greek dad even managed to seek out a mostly vegan Mediterranean restaurant in Bethlehem, PA, of all places.  I was touched by the effort that his parents put into making me comfortable and well fed during our visit with them. (And dang, did we all agree that the falafel at Petra Mediterranean was among the best we've all ever tasted!)  I know you're probably dying to see mouthwatering photos of all the glorious food I consumed. Alas, despite getting a new phone (with an 8 megapixel camera for the purpose of taking photos on the go) just before our trip, I was so distracted by catching up with people and stuffing my face, that I forgot to whip out that phone to actually take photos of the food I was eating to share with all of you lovely blog readers.

What I do have pictures of, however, is the very vegan Christmas meal I prepared for my family. I was a little nervous to feed my entire family a healthy, whole foods, vegan feast, when they are used to hams and green bean casserole made with Campbell's cream of mushroom soup on Christmas, but it was a success!  This was a much more basic meal than the previous two years, as I tried to keep things as familiar to my family as possible, although adding a healthy twist. Even my uncle, who generally wouldn't even touch a vegetable if it slapped him in the face went back for seconds!

On the menu:

Starter
Cream of broccoli soup













 
Entree and Sides
Mashed potatoes with herb gravy
Green bean casserole (made from scratch with fresh green beans, and without a can of soup)
Roasted butternut squash and brown rice stuffing
Stuffed Seitan Roast


















 
Dessert 
Homemade apple pie