This week's Meatless Monday dish is adapted from a recipe Veg Kitchen which came to me by way of my mother who shared it with me last fall. At first I thought "Broccoli? Apples? Peanut Butter? Really?" I"m a huge fan of each of these separately, but I was a bit leery about how the combination would pan out. Once I finally got around to cooking this dish, I was pleasantly surprised to find that yes, broccoli, apples and peanut butter do indeed go quite well together. If you're looking for

_Broccoli, Apple and Peanut Soup

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
32-ounces of vegetable broth,
2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ginger (fresh or jarred)
2/3 cup natural peanut butter
6 cups  broccoli florets
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Raw peanuts for garnish, optional

Heat oil in a soup pot. Add onions and sauté until translucent. Add garlic and carrots. Sauté until onions are golden. Add broth, curry powder and ginger. Bring to a boil then lower and simmer for 15 minutes. Once carrots and apples are tender, remove from heat. Meanwhile, boil a pot of water for the broccoli and steam to desired texture (I like my broccoli to be a bit crunchy).

Transfer solid ingredients from the pot to a food processor. Be sure to not over-process, you want the vegetables to be a chunky consistency. Stir puree back into soup pot. Add peanut butter to soup, stirring as you add. Once broccoli is cooked, drain water and add to the soup mix.

Ladle into soup bowls and top each serving with raw peanuts. Enjoy!

Meatless Monday is a social movement started by The Monday Campaigns, a non-profit public health initative. The aim to is to introduce mainstream America to the idea of living without meat for one day a week. Well going a day without meat is certainly not a problem for me, the Veggie Vixen since I go every day without it. But I realize that many of my readers might not have the same vegetarian lifestyle that I enjoy. I've have many folks this past year lament about how they just "cannot give up meat"! Well I bet you can, in fact I know you can! It's really not as hard as you think it is. So why not start by going meatless for one day a week? Just one measly day a week! You can't find a baby step much smaller than that! Check back with me every Monday to check out my new tasty suggestion for your Meatless Monday and dip your toe into vegetarianism. Trust me you'll survive. 

The first recipe on the roster for Meatless Mondays is a burger. That's right, a burger, but hold the meat and bring on the deliciousness! My falafel burger recipe is a variation from "Skinny Bitch in the Kitch", a recipe book penned by the Skinny Bitch duo Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. If you're a fan of Middle Eastern fare I suggest you give this dish a try for your first Meatless Monday. Remember, baby steps. 

Falafel Burgers (Serves Two)
For falafel:
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1/4 onion, minced
2 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons garbanzo flour or whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons Italian parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground corianer
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

For sauce:
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoon tahini
1 tablespoons olive oil
1/8 teaspoon paprika

For burger:
Two 6 inch pita breads
Burger fixings (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, avocado- your choice)

Preheat oven to 350. 

Combine garbanzo beans, onion, panko, flour, parsley, cumin, coriander, pepper, garlic cloves, salt and pepper into a food processor. Pulse to form a coarse paste. Shape into 4 baseball sized rounds. Place on baking sheet. Flatten the balls to patties with a spatula. Bake 45 minutes, turning halfway. Meanwhile juice lemon.  In small bowl whisk together lemon juice, tahini, olive oil, and paprika. When burgers are done assemble into pita pockets. To assemble cut off top of the pita forming a pocket, add falafel and your choice of burger fixings. Drizzle each sandwich with tahini sauce. 

It was a low-key Christmas for the Veggie Vixen this year. Taking a tip from Charlie Brown, everything from the meal to the gifts were focued on the spirit of the holiday rather than consumption and commercialism. In fact, I didn't step into a single store with the intention of a Christmas purchse this holiday season. In the past few weeks coworkers have frequently asked me "all set for Christmas? Shopping all done?" to which I've replied "Yeah, I was done before I began. I'm actively not purchasing anything for Christmas this year." Hold the [vegan] mayo, not purchasing anything for Christmas? What kind of Scrooge are you?  

I'm not a Scrooge at all! In fact, I daresay this year I've had more Christmas Spirit this year than ever before! Back in November, T-Rex and I decided that we weren't going to buy anyone presents- even for one another. And let me tell you, it has been one relaxing Christmas seaon in our house! No rushing around at the stores among the harried shoppers, no wrapping presents, no dwindling bank funds. Instead we chose to focus on the spirit of the season, enjoying time with family. We decorated our home and tree quite festively, sent out our holiday photo cards and invited both our families over for low key Christmas meals. And the only presents I doled out to my family and friends this year were handmade cards! But while T-Rex and I were actively not participating in gift purchasing, our wondeful families were not and we still  ended up with some lovely and thoughtful purchsed present for which we are thankful.

Focusing on the present, rather than the presents gave me time to pause and reflect on the people I am grateful for in my life and allowed me to focus on the experiences I want to create in the coming year. Taking the time to slow down and downsize this year was a fantastic idea and a tradition I think T-Rex and I will continue in the coming years! I highly recommend you try a present-less Christmas for yourself next year!

Below you'll find the recipes I created for my low-key Christmas meals. Enjoy!

Christmas Eve Quinoa
1 cup quinoa (uncooked)
2 cups water
1 12 ounce jar roasted red peppers, chopped
1 cup whole olives
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4 cup onions, diced
2 T olive oil
salt and pepper (to taste)

Combine water and quinoa in a sauce pan. Bring to boil. Chop vegetable and combine with olive oil in a small bowl. Once quinoa is at a bowl, reduce to a simmer and cook 10 minutes. Add vegetable/olive oil mix and stir. Cook another 5 to 10 minutes (until quinoa is at a consistency you like- I like mine more wet, but cook longer if you prefer the dish to me more dry). Serve alone or alongside your favorite vegetable (I highly reccommend it with portobello mushrooms!)

Baby Bella Brisket
1 10 ounce package Baby Bella "Cremini" Mushroom Caps (mince stems)
1/4 cup red onion, minced
2 T olive oil
2 T white vinegar
2 T Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or low-sodium soy sauce)

Remove stems from mushroom caps. Mince stems along with red onions. Marinate onion, stem mix in mixture of 1T each of olive oil, white vinegar and Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce). Marinate mushroom caps in a second mixture of the same. If you have time, marinate overnight. But a half hour to an hour works fine. Once marinated, place mushroom caps in a baking pan with excess sauce mixture. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. In the last 10 minutes that the mushrooms are baking, sautee the mushroom stem/onion mixture in a stovetop pan. Spoon mixture over the mushroom caps and serve!

Simple Rice Pilaf with Cashew Spinach
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 cup onions, minced
1/2 cup long grained rice
1/2 cup orzo
1 cup non-dairy milk
1 cup water
Salt, Pepper to taste
1 package of baby spinach
1/4 cup raw cashews

Sautee onions in olive oil until translucent. Combine oil, onions, rice, orzo, water, and milk  in a stovetop pot. Stir over medium heat, then add water and broth. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and let simmer for 25 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is soft. If you are cooking with a rice cooker, use the "brown rice" setting. In the last 10 minutes that the rice is cooking place mushrooms and cashews in a large frying pan and sautee until spinach has wilted. Add salt and pepper to both dishes as desired.

Happy third day of Hanukkah friends! Last night the roommates and I celebrated the festival of lights in true old country form- with lots and lots of fried food! We served up Potato Latkes, Applesauce Donut Holes and (though technically not a Hannukah dish) Matzo Ball Soup. While I can't that our meal was the most healthy (what with all the sugar, starch and oil) but I can say that they were 100% vegetarian and vegan to boot!

The latke and donut recipes came courtesy of Alicia C. Simpson's Quick and Easy Vegan Celebrations and the matzo recipe simply came from the side of the matzo meal box! It took a few attempts to get the latkes and donut holes fried correctly (the first batches were WAY too ugly to be photographed) but after a few tries we were frying things up to golden perfection. I'd have to admit though they provide absolutely no nutritional value, the applesauce donut holes were my favorite part of the night!

After we ate our fill of fried fare, we lit the second Hanukkah candle with the traditional Hebrew Candle Blessing
" Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam
Blessed are you, Lord, our God, sovereign of the universe
asher kidishanu b'mitz'votav v'tzivanu
Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us
l'had'lik neir shel Chanukah. (Amein)
to light the lights of Chanukkah. (Amen)"

Next Hanukkah I might even take a stab at jelly filled donuts! Until then, I hope everyone enjoys the remaining 6 days of Hanukkah!

_Potato Latke
3 pounds white or sweet potatoes, peeled & grated
2 egg equivalent ener-g egg replacer
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 onion diced
1/8 teaspoon paprika
Black pepper to Taste
Canola oil for frying

Mix potatoes, prepared egg replacer, salt, flour, baking powder, onion, paprika and pepper in large bowl until well combined. Cover a skillet with oil and warm over medium high heat. Spoon latke mixture in 1/4 cups into the oil. Use spatula to flatten them. Fry until golden brown. Serve with warmed applesauce or ketchup.

_Applesauce Donut holes
Canola oil for frying
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup plain soy yogurt
1 egg equivalent ener-g egg replacer
1/4 cup dairy-free milk
1 cup applesauce
Confectioner's sugar

Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large bowl. Whisk yogurt prepared ener-g egg replacer, milk and applesauce in small bowl. Pour yogurt mix into flour mixture and stir well. Drop dough 1 teaspoon at a time into hot oil and fry in small batched until golden. Drain on paper towels. Dust with confectioner's sugar.

_Matzo Ball Soup
1/2 onion, diced
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
8 cups vegetable broth
Matzo meal mix
1 egg equivalent of ener-g egg replacer

Put onion, carrot and celery into vegetable broth and bring to boil. Lower to a simmer and cook 5 minutes. Meanwhile mix ener-g egg replacer. Mix matzo as directed on the box using ener-g egg replacer in place of egg. Form into balls and drop into broth. When balls have fluffed up and are slightly firm they have cooked.

Today's "Streamlined Sunday" has been cancelled. Instead we bring to you an extremely overdue episode of “60 Day Sprints”. By now you should know that this blog was born out of the Veggie Vixen’s desire to whip my own own butt into shape- to get out there and finally start achieving my “Before 26 Bucket List”. The plan was to pick a handful of goals every 60 days, get ‘em done and keep a running blog documenting those goals. And while I have been pretty good about accomplishing those goals, I haven’t been very good sharing those goals with you all! So please excuse the interruption in our regularly scheduled programming as the Veggie Vixen backtracks all the way to August (I told you I haven’t been good at sharing!).

For the months of August and September I set my sights on achieving the following goals:
-Training for the Devil's Chase 10K
- Running the Rugged Maniac 5K
-Swing Dancing
-Cooking a full (vegan) Vietnamese meal
- 30 Day Monkey Mind Challenge
-Begin six month challenge to go without cable or internet TV & Movies
-Camping (?)

Even without my efforts to achieve these goals, August and September were two very busy months. T-Rex and I attended summer family parties as well as various wedding festivities that preceded a giant (300 guests!) family wedding in September. We went on a fun weekend trip with college friends to Mohegan Sun, attended a friend’s wedding and went to King Richard’s Fair with our soon to be roommate (thus achieving a goal I hadn’t even had on the list for Aug/Sept- “Shoot a Bow and Arrow at a Renaissance Fair”!) We also held a giant yard sale as we prepared to move out of my parent’s house and into our new digs. On top of all that I walked the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk with my dear friend Kimmy! You’d think that with such a busy end to summer that I would have slipped up and skipped out on a few of my goals, but nope I achieved each one (except camping, which had been a tentative goal from the start).

I dove into a thirteen week 10k training session, running between 30-45 minutes three times a week,  with my heart set on running the Devil’s Chase on Halloween weekend (a 6.66 mile run in Salem, MA). But as I mentioned in my post on running, a gnarly cold, post-marathon walk recovery and the process of moving out threw me off my training schedule at the end of September and I ultimately decided not to sign-up for the official race (a good decision in hindsight since this year’s Halloween weekend blizzard had us all thinking it was Christmas!)

But while I didn’t run my 10k, I did run my way through a obstacle ridden motocross course better known as The Rugged Maniac 5K. There were 6 foot walls, pools of water, a giant slide, a “Super Man” jump and there was mud, lots and lots of mud. When we first saw the track, observing the winded competitors winding their way up and down the hills T-Rex declared “Why is everyone walking? We’re gonna go hard! None of this walking business!” I fully agreed, but once we got out there I realized why they had been walking. That shit was tiring! I was grumbling and bumbling while T-Rex nimbly navigated the course (I swear sometimes I think he’s part videogame character or part ninja or something). Though he was clearly agile enough to have blasted his way competitively through the race, he stuck with me and we ended up finishing in just under an hour.

T-Rex is a fun dude to hang with. So it’s no wonder why the Rugged 5K wasn’t the only goal I achieved with him in August and September. He also was there as I crossed “Swing Dancing” and “Cooking a full (vegan) Vietnamese meal” off my list. We went swing dancing one weekend in the middle of August at the Leominster Elks, where Dance2Swing Studios hosts a public swing dancing lesson every weekend. I had been looking for an opportunity to take an inexpensive dance lesson so when I heard about this through a musician coworker who frequently sings at the event with the swing band, I was all over it! I can’t say that T-Rex and I were any good (in fact, we pretty much bombed) but we had plenty of fun laughing as we stepped and mis-stepped all over one another.
 
We had much more success in the kitchen a week later as we prepared a deliciousVieganese meal of Pho and Banh Mi. I’ve always wanted to cook a full Vietnamese meal, but since I’ve gone Vegetarian and (mostly) vegan I decided to switch it up and Veganize our Vietnamese thus, Vieganese! I didn’t miss the meat for one second and even T-Rex, a lifelong diner of authentic Vietnamese cuisine, gave it two thumbs up!

Only two of my goals didn’t include T-Rex as they were personal challenges I set myself on. One of them being a "Monkey Mind Challenge", 30 days of daily meditation sessions, while the other was the beginning of a six month challenge to "Go Without Cable or Internet Television & Movies". I'm happy to say I successfully achieved both. I began the Monky Mind Challenege on August 3rd, track, keeping track of each meditation session until September 1st. I'd dabbled with meditative sessions before, but there was something different about creating a space and time each day to simply sit in silence.

So many folks think that meditation is a hard thing to do, that they'd "love to" but they "just can't do it". I'd wager that if those same folks would see serious results if they carved out just 20 minutes a day dedicated solely to meditation for 30 days. In my 30 days I found that I could meditate anywhere, any time. Case in point, the picture at left by a broken railroad track where I enjoyed a calming out door meditation session in mid-August. I also found that I was better able to maintain levels of serenity and contentedness, even in the face of stress. And the fact that I was simultaneously  staying away from media certainly couldn't have hurt my sense of peace. I chose to abstain from all forms of television and movies precisely because I found it at times to be jarring. It's so easy to sit in front of the television and lose track of time as we are inundated with mindless mediocre information. Even when we're actively choosing our programs via the internet, DV-R or on-demand there comes a sense that we have to "keep up" or "catch up" with our favorite shows. I wanted to take a rest from that to see how it would free up my time and my mind. And so far so good.

Abstaining from television and movies is something that I continued into the months of October and November as I set out to achieve the following"
-Sing Karaoke
-Haircut
-Host Thanksgiving
-Attend a Wine Tasting
-Habitat for Humanity
-100 pushups in a row

While I didn’t complete everything on this list (namely the first two items), October and November were two very fulfilling months as the roomies and I unpacked, organized, threw a couple of successful  parties and readjusted to living on our own again. T-Rex and I hosted our first Thanksgiving , inviting my parents and grandmother over for an almost all vegan meal (there was the minor detail of, you know, the turkey). We prolonged the holiday  of Thanks here at the X-Mansion with a “Friendsgiving: Thanksgiving Part II” celebration having a few folks over for T-Day leftovers (and my leftovers I mean desserts, lots and lots of desserts!). 

October and November were certainly the months of hosting. In addition to Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving we also had a Halloween Housewarming and a Wine & Chesse party. The Wine & Cheese party was an excellent excuse for me to knock "Attend a Wine Tasting" off my list. T-Rex, our roomie Matt and I had gone to a "wine tasting" at a local wine shop in our neighborhood. However, I hardly can justify that as a satisyfing wine tasting event, as we sampled only a few wines. I'm not sure if an at-home wine party officially qualifies either, but there were an ample amount of wines to choose from. And while I didn't learn the finer points of wine craft or how to discern a wine's quality, I did figure out that I actually DO like red wine (or at least I know I like Nero D'Avola. The rest of the red family has yet to strike my fancy)

But Autumn wasn't all about parties and food, there was some community service and a physical challenge thrown in there too! I spent a day in in late October on a Habitat for Humanity build site in Boylston painting my way through each ceiling in the house. I met some great seasoned volunteers and learned quite a bit about the great organization. And in mid October I set out to jack up my upper body strength, taking on the "100 Pushups" training program, a system devised to have you doing just that- 100 pushups in a row! Initially I started out only able to achieve a mere 14, but worked my way up in 6 weeks to 60. I'm still working my way up to 100, but it's taking me a bit longer than expected so that goal'll have to roll over to December/January alone with a haircut and karaoke.

The full list of goals for December/January includes:

-Haircut (Bangs!)
-Karaoke
-(Finish) 100 Pushups
-Learn to Play Chess
- Sew Quilt of College Tee’s
-30 Days of Giving
-Save $$,$$$ by January 2012
--Continue 6 months without TV/Hulu/Netflix

December and January tend to be a hustling and bustling time of the year, but I think these goals are manageable enough to obtain admist the holiday cheer. Let's just hope that blogging about them is something I can obtain as well !:)

Can you believe I still had Thanksgiving leftovers until today? I have been eating Potato Soup with Fig Relish all week long, while T-Rex has been living off turkey and mashed potatoes. We finally finished off our leftovers this weekend, transforming them into new dishes. T-Rex created a "Turkey Jerk Soup" (which smelled delicious though I did not eat it) while I made Pizza Tarts with our leftover Cranberry Orange Port Sauce and Pumpkin Butter. My tarts came out pretty well, though T-Rex called them "deceiving" since they look like pastries, but taste like bread. I think they taste like mini jelly sandwiches! Try them out for yourself and see what you think. I've included the recipes for the Cranberry Orange Port Sauce and Pumpkin Butter since I doubt you'll have that lying around like I did. 

Pizza Tarts
1 Ball pre-made pizza dough
1 recipe of Cranberry Orange Port Sauce or 1 Recipe of Pumpkin Butter (See recipes below. You can also you any kind of jelly you already have in the house)
brown sugar 
confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 350* Roll the dough out into rectangular(ish) strips. Slather them with your choice of jelly. Roll them up as you would a jelly roll. Bake them for 35 minutes. When done, let cool before cutting into one inch slices. Sprinkle with brown sugar and confectioner's sugar. Enjoy with a glass of dairy-free milk! 

Vixen Weigh-In: Next time I think I would roll the dough into small balls, make thumbprints and fill them with jelly like a thumbprint cookie. The tarts didn't puff up in the same way that I thought they would and the dough on the very inside of the roll was slightly overcooked. But eh, not bad for an experiment with leftovers. 

Cranberry Orange Port Sauce
1/2 T oil
1/4 cup onion
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup port wine
1/4 t ginger
6 ounces fresh cranberries
1 t grated orange rind

Sautee onions with oil in a sauce pan. Add sugar, water, wine, ginger and cranberries. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 1 minutes (or until cranberries "pop") Remove from heat and add orange rind.

Pumpkin Butter
1/2 15ounce can of pumpkin puree
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (I made homemade applesauce*)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoons oranges juice

 Mix pumpkin applesauce, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in small saucepan. Cook for 15 mintues, then reduce heat and cook for 40 minutes, sitrring occasionallhy. Remove from heat and add orange juice. Let cool, then store in refridgerator until ready to  use. (Butter will keep for 1 week)

*Homemade applesauce
Peel one large apples and slice into small pieces. Heat small saucepan with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Add apples and cook until very soft. Mash with a fork, or whisk until they reach a sauce consistency.

This year I hosted Thanksgiving for my family. When you host Thanksgiving you end up with lots of leftovers. And when you end up with lots of leftovers you have to get creative or run the risk of eating the same meal over and over again. Which, let's be honest, can get a little boring. I chose to use my leftovers in a Vegan Shepard's Pie which my roommate has cleverly dubbed "Garnder's Pie" I adapted my recipe from "Oh She Glows" swapping the parsnips for peas and carrots.
 
I'm thankful that Thanksgiving leftovers mean quick easy meals and no grocery shopping, but after this past week of pie and potato overload the Veggie Vixen is looking forward to some lean soups and a couple of cleanse days. What are your plans for Post-Holiday Detox?

Gardner's Pie
2 cups mashed potato leftovers (or 4 potatoes, boiled and mashed if you are making from scratch)
1/4 cup leftover stuffing (optional- only use if you have it)
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup corn
1/4 cup peas
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 t Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)
1 T red wine (optional)
1 T Earth Balance

Sautee carrots and celery in 1 t Bragg's, red wine and Earth Balance until partially tender. Add mushroom, corn and peas. Cook until vegetables are soft. Spread a layer of stuffingto the bottom of a small casserole dish. Scoop in vegetable filling. Add another layer of mashed potatoes. Bake in the oven at 425 for 30 minutes and oila- Garnder's Pie!

Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday. It is one of the few (perhaps only) holiday that hasn't been completely commercialized here in America. Of course the over-hyped Black Friday hoopla immediately follows this day of grace, but Thanksgiving Day itself remains blessedly unscathed. This year T-Rex and I had the fortune of hosting my family for Thanksgiving dinner. We kept it a small affair, cooking up a delicious feast for my Mother, Father and Grandmother.  And even though I didn't eat a bite of turkey, I did admire the hardwork and dedication that T-Rex put into cooking that organic, free-range, hormone-free bird. The carcass was accompanied by a simple Green Spinach Salad, hearty Potato Soup with Camelized Fig Relish, Cranberry Sauce, Green Bean Casserole, Mashed Potatoes, a side of Carrots with Pumpkin Butter Glaze, an Experimental Stuffing (no recipe, just instinct) and Pumpkin Gingerbread with Pumpkin Butter for dessert. Quite the spread for only five people! In fact, I was still stuffed when we visited with T-Rex's clan later in the evening- a good thing too, since I wouldn't have been able to eat anything even if I wanted (every dish included meat!)

As rewarding as it was to be able to create such a feast for my family, I think I'll be planning a smaller menu for Christmas- the clean-up was surprising for such a small crowd! But no complaints here, because many dirty dishes mean I have more than enough food to eat, and for that I am truly grateful. I hope you enjoy my Thanksgiving menu- give them a try for Christmas! I expecially reccommend the Potato Soup!

Potato Soup with Carmelized Fig Relish (Adapted from Swanson's Homemade Soups Made Simple)

1 1/2 pounds white potatoes, cubed
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, cubed
3 tablespoons olive oil
Ground Black Pepper
8 Cups Vegetable Broth
1 teaspoon ground sage
2 large shallots, finely chopped
1 cup dried mission figes, chopped
1/4 cup sweet wine ( white port) or additional veggie broth

Heat oven to 425*. Place potatoes in a roasting pan, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with pepper and bake for 25 minutes or until tender. Put hald the ptatoe mixture and 2/4 cup of broth in a blenter or food processor. Blend until smooth. Pout puree into saucpan. Repeat blending process with the remaining potato mixture. Stire in remaining broth and sage. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Heat remaining olive oil in a frying pan. Add shallots and cook until golden. Add figes and wine. Cook until liquid is absorbed and figs are soft. Divide soup into serving bowl and top each with about 1 tablespoon of the fig mixture.

Cranberry Orange Port Sauce
1 T oil
1/2 cup onion
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup port wine
1/2 t ginger
12 ounces fresh cranberries
2 t grated orange rind

Sautee onions with oil in a sauce pan. Add sugar, water, wine, ginger and cranberries. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 1 minutes (or until cranberries "pop") Remove from heat and add orange rind. Serve at room temperature or chill. (If you

Green Bean Casserole
(From Vegan Celebrations)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped cremini mushrooms
3 tablespoons unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 cup plain non-dairy milk
1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans
1 1/3 cups French fried onions

Preheat oven to 350* Heat oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add mushrooms and sautee until brown. Stir in flour, salt, pepper and onion powder. Slowly whisk milk, stirring constantly until mixture bubbles and thickens. Cook for about 5 minutes or until mixture thickens. Stir in green beans and 2/3 cup of fried onions. Transfer to a baking dish. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes until casserole bubles. Remove from onion, stir and sprinkle with remianing 2/3 cup friend onions. Bake for another 5 minutes until onions are golden.

Experimental Stuffing
I didn't follow a recipe for my stuffing, as T-Rex would say, I completely "wung it"

5 slices of wheat bread
4-5 figs, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 t Garlic Powder
1 t Onion Powder
1/2 cup vegetable broth

Soak bread in vegetable broth in a caserole dish or baking pan. Add figs, celery, garlic and onion powder. Mix thoroughly. Bake at 425 for 40 minutes or until mixture looks fluffy (not soggy).

Mashed Potatoes
2.5 pounds of potatoes, peeled and cubed
Non-dairy milk (I used coconut)
Non-dairy butter spread (I used Earth Balance)
Salt, Pepper to taste

Boil potatoes in a pot of water until soft. Drain water and pour potatoes back into pot. Mash with an electric mixer adding milk and butter as needed to create desired texture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Carrots with Pumpkin Butter Glaze
(see Pumpkin Butter recipe below)

The "recipe" for Cooked Carrots is even more simple than Mashed Potatoes that I feel silly typing it up, but here you go:

1 Bag of Baby Carrots

Boil Carrots in a pot of water until soft. Drain water. Add Pumpkin Butter as a glaze. (See? I told you it was simple!) 

Pumpkin Gingerbread with Pumpkin Butter
1 cup unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (Honestly, I used another cup of regular flour and it worked fine)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup granulated sugae
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup nondairy milk
1 recipe Pumpkin Butter (see below)

Preheat oven to 350* Grease 9-inch baking pan with canola oil or spray. Mix flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in a bowl. In a seperate bowl, whisk granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, canola oil and non-dairy milk. Slowly beat in the flour mixture. Pour batter into pan. Bake for 40 to 45 mintues or until toothpick come out clean. Cool in the pan, then invert onto serving tray. Serve with Pumpkin Butter (see below).

Pumpkin Butter
(makes 2 cups)
1 15ounce can of pumpkin puree
1 cup unsweetened applesauce (I made homemade applesauce*)
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons oranges juice

 Mix pumpkin applesauce, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in small saucepan. Cook for 15 mintues, then reduce heat and cook for 40 minutes, sitrring occasionallhy. Remove from heat and add orange juice. Let cool, then store in refridgerator until ready to  use. (Butter will keep for 1 week)

*Homemade applesauce
Peel two large apples and slice into small pieces. Heat small saucepan with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Add apples and cook until very soft. Mash with a fork, or whisk until they reach a sauce consistency.