Creative title, I know. At least I managed to convey a bit of enthusiasm, right?
So, Christmas is the name of the game today! It's already over?! No, 362 days until Christmas. You see, there is a bright side.
Let's start with Christmaas Eve!
Me ready for the feast: The Feast! Not the best picture in the world, but I was a little bit more focused on the plate of food in front of me than my photography skills at that moment. But who could blame me for being distracted when maple glazed veggies (from Happy Herbivore, click here for recipe; highly recommended as even my parents loved them - score for fixing veggies that everyone will eat!), a homemade bread roll, potatoes au gratin, and chickpeas with my dad's amazing garlic rosemary sauce were staring me in the face? Definitely the best meal of the year. Especially when followed by my mom's chocolate cream pie:  Yes, I am the world's worst pie slicer - and proud of it too! ;) Gifts were the next morning! Look what I got! I am also now the proud owner of the cutes Christmas dishes ever. Told you so. ;) I got some other foodie stuff too, but you'll have to wait for my next post...
My brother got me Jillian Michael's yoga DVD!! I was so excited and went through level one later Christmas day. I was sore the next day! I'm used to pretty intense work-outs, but the yoga poses and movement used different muscles so it was a great challenge! And was followed by loose leaf ginger lemongrass tea. (In the cutest mug, remember?) All together, my Christmas was wonderful! Full of lots of superb food, gifts received and given (I'll have to show ya'll what I got my dad at some point), and, most importantly, lots of time spent with my wonderful family!
And now (insert drumroll here) time for a donut!! Lemon Cake DonutThis donut has a light, refreshing lemon flavor. If you want the lemon more pronounced, increase the amount of lemon zest in the donut batter. You can also increase lemon juice (though I haven't personally done this). If you do increase lemon juice, you may need to add additional sweetener and increase the baking time by a few minutes.Serves 1 For the donut ingredients:- 1/4 cup brown rice flour (or other flour of choice)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- zest from one small lemon (about 1/2 teaspoon of zest)
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 egg white
- 2.5 tablespoons Greek yogurt
- 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Sweetener, to taste (e.g. agave, maple syrup, stevia, granulated sugar - I used three drops stevia)
Donut directions:- Preheat your oven 350 degrees and grease one donut mold in your donut pan (I used coconut oil).
- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, lemon zest, and dry sugar (if using).
- In a separate bowl, whisk the lemon juice, egg white, yogurt, vanilla, and wet sweetener (if using).
- Stir the wet mixture into the dry. Mix until well combined, but don't over mix.
- Spoon mixture evenly into the greased donut pan, and bake in preheated oven for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Ingredients for the icing:- Coconut butter
- Lemon zest
- Lemon juice
- Sweetener, to taste
* Adjust amount of ingredients according to taste. I used about 1.5 tablespoons of coconut butter, 1/8 teaspoon zest, 1 teaspoon juice, and a drop of stevia. Next time, I would probably use more zest, less juice, and either more stevia or a teaspoon or so of maple syrup.Directions:- Place the coconut butter in a bowl and microwave it until the coconut butter has melted.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients.
- Spread onto the donut as soon as you transferred the donut to a plate.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! And, since it's only a few days away, Happy New Year!!
Finals are over, and it is time for CHRISTMAS!!! To celebrate, since I don't have a recipe (though I do have a recipe "tip" later), I thought it would be fun to do a little survey that's been floating around the blog-sphere. It's absolutely perfect for a Christmas Eve post! Ready for Christmas fun?! 1. Eggnog or hot chocolate? Hot chocolate! I like eggnog alright, but for me, hot chocolate is the ultimate comfort drink around the holiday season. I've been drinking it every night. (Well, a version of it - you will see later... :)2. Does Santa wrap present or just put them under the tree? Always wraps. In the cutest, most sparkly paper. Just in case you were wondering. ;)3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Some of both on my house, colored on my tree!4. Do you hang mistletoe? No. :'( I always thought it would be fun to, but we can't find any.5. When do you hang your decorations up? Hmm, depends on the year. The day after Thanksgivins marks the Christmas season in my house, so sometime after then. But when we do do it, we go all out! Snowmen crammed into every corner, garlands above the fireplace and adorning the railing, random Christmas trinkits on every piece of furniture... we leave nothing bare. (Not even the door handles - they are the official home of our eight stockings. Yes, eight. My dogs and cat and horse need presents too.)6. What is your favorite holiday dish (not including dessert)? Let's see... this is hard since I can't include dessert. Who says I can't? My favorite holiday dish is my mom's chocolate cream pie! Best in the WORLD!! Now to answer the question, probably the bread rolls. I used to say I could live on bread and water. I still think that often. Especially on Christmas Eve.7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? I loved them ALL so much! I don't think I could choose. Though I loved coming down the stairs on Christmas morning to find a stuffed animal in the top of my stocking. Come to think of it, I still love coming down to a stuffed animal in my stocking! One is never to old for such things. ;)8. What is on your Christmas wish list? Peanut flour, coconut butter, donut pan... seeing a constant theme here? At least it's all practical. 9. Do you open gifts on Christmas Eve? We used to open one on Christmas Eve, but now we save them all for Christmas day. That way we're bombarded at once 'cause who doesn't want that?10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Lots of lights, lots of ornaments, and a big star on top! Actually, the big star isn't up this year because it's broken. I may or may not have shed a tear.11. Snow? Love it or dread it? Love it. Period. 12. Real tree or fake tree? Always real. Sometimes we go up to the mountains to cut it down. There is a place where the trees grow so close together that it actually damages them. So they let people come cut the trees down to help thin them a bit and promote growth. Real Christmas tree AND helping the environment? I'll take it.13. Do you remember your favorite gift? When I was about seven, I got this big horse (fake, of course). I had wanted it soooo bad, and it was so big that it was wrapped in trash bags! Oh how I miss stuffed animals! But as I alluded to earlier, I still get them on occasion - gotta tame that 5 year old heart of mine. ;)14. What's the most important thing about Christmas for you? Baking cookies, watching Christmas movies, spending time with my family, and dreaming of a white Christmas. I don't think I've ever had a true white Christmas, but I still dream the next will be. One day, I will get my wish.15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Whoops, I already answered this above. Oh well! I'll focus on my favorite cookies instead: sugar cookies and gingerbread. That was easy. 16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Watching Rudolph and Frosty on Christmas Eve. Oh that's today! Yaaaaaay!!! Like I said earlier, I'm a five year old at heart.17. What tops your tree? Right now, nothing. But normally, it's a star (see answer to question 10).18. Giving or receiving? Which do you prefer? Um, how about giving AND receiving? It would be a lie to say I don't like receiving, but I genuinely love giving too. There's nothing more precious in the world than the smile you put on one's face by giving them a gift. So, you know, I gotta make sure that I return the favor and graciously accept their gifts. ;)19. What is your favorite Christmas song? An impossible question. Sorry. If it's Christmas themed, I'm certain to like it.20. Candy canes, yum or yuck? Yum for Christmas sake, yuck for taste sake.21. Favorite Christmas movie? Either Christmas with the Kranks or The Santa Clause. With Rudolph and Frosty close behind.22. What do you leave for Santa? Cookies, milk, and often carrots. Those reindeer get hungry too!23. Do you have a Christmas morning tradition? Once every one's up, we open stockings, watch the dogs open their presents (cutest thing ever!), and then dig into the presents under the tree!24. Do you prefer shopping for Christmas on-line or at the mall? Definitely the mall (or other stores downtown and such)! I like to be able to see and feel what I'm getting. And I love seeing all the Christmas decorations.25. Christmas letter of Christmas card? Letter, though we don't always do one. Times get so busy!Well there you have it! And now for my hot chocolate recipe/"tip" thing. All you do is combine this and almond milk in a 1:2 ratio (atleast that's how I like it - adjust according to taste). Then microwave it for one minute on high, more or less time depending on amount and desired warmth. Thank me later for this.Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night (or good day, depending on when you read this)!
I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas yesterday! Mine was truly fantastic!
I'll start this post by showing you guys the amazing Christmas Eve meal: The above plate encompasses a warm bread roll (recipe from good 'ole Betty Crocker), my Mom's amazing potatoes au gratin, Happy Herbivore's Maple Glazed Vegetables, and, yes, a piece of lamb. I thought long and hard about whether or not to have any lamb, but I finally came to a decision that Christmas only comes once a year, and I didn't think it would seem as much like Christmas without it. I admit that it tasted pretty good (Dad, you did a great job), however the texture did seem a bit odd - i probably just wasn't used to it!
An now for dessert (always the most important part of a meal): On the left is my mom's fantastic chocolate cream pie (are you seeing a recurring theme of my mom's awesome cooking skills?) and on the right is a gingerbread cupcake from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. The cupcakes, made by yours truly, tasted great in the end, but it was a bit of a struggle to get there. First they sunk take so deeply that it seemed like there was just gong to be a big hole in the center (maybe it's due to the fact that I used whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose?). Second, when I went to take them out of the muffing tin, they stuck and nearly completely fell apart. Finally, the texture definitely wasn't right. The tops were crispy and the inside was kind of firm - more like a muffin. Oh well, none of that really matters as long as the taste is wonderful, right?
The next morning was present time! Here's all the kitchen related gifts that I got: Moosewood Restaurants cookbook, A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen cookbook, a teapot, passion fruit green tea, a mini egg pan and spatula, bowls and a plate, a mini soup scooper, two mini whisks, mini spatulas, and three mini colanders (can you tell I love
minis?). I also got some chocolate black tea, but I forget to get it in the picture.
Ok, this post is getting kind of long, but I have to show you one more picture before I go: Isn't that great?! My brother gave it to me and I wore it all day yesterday!
The daily question: How was your Christmas?
As you can probably tell, mine was remarkable. I hope yours was too!
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