Christmas Food & Baking - 2016

[MadamSarcastra]

And I want THESE for myself!! Vegan Spinach and Artichoke Dip Cups



OMG, I adore appetizers/hors d'oeuvres/finger foods!!

Bunch of cool stuff here: Celebrate a Vegan Holiday I think I also want the Creamy Chive Mashed Potatoes with either that Roasted Garlic Gravy **drool** or that dark, delicious mushroom gravy (top of this page)....

 

[Calliegirl]

Darn...I was going to order the McVities digestive biscuits from Amazon but they have dairy.

Does anyone know what the USA equivalent of digestive biscuits is?

Check to see if your supermarket carries them. My local Vons (Safeway) has a British foods section with digestive biscuits.

 

[AeryFairy]

I've done a lot of prep for tomorrow! Chocolate tart is in the fridge, pastry parcel filling is made and cooling down, soup is done, mince pies are in, and I also baked a batch of cupcakes for husband to take to work with him next week I'm so excited! And I love spending this much time over a meal.

 

[silva]

And I want THESE for myself!! Vegan Spinach and Artichoke Dip Cups

View attachment 10538

OMG, I adore appetizers/hors d'oeuvres/finger foods!!

Bunch of cool stuff here: Celebrate a Vegan Holiday I think I also want the Creamy Chive Mashed Potatoes with either that Roasted Garlic Gravy **drool** or that dark, delicious mushroom gravy (top of this page)....

Ohhhhh yeah! I'm going to Trader Joes for vegan mozz! And it's easy!

 

[MadamSarcastra]

In regards to those Spinach Artichoke Dip Cups I desperately want to stuff my face with.... I really can't stand mayonnaise (Jerry hates it more than I do) and don't want to waste money on Veganaise or whatever that will just sit in the fridge & go bad. I'd prefer to go with cream cheese for this, and while I do consume SOME cheese, I'm a little conflicted here.... I want to keep sodium to a minimum (and real cream cheese is one of the lowest sodium cheeses), as well as avoid "fakey" ingredients/preservatives & trans-fats, but I really don't want the added cholesterol... and I've really been trying to make as many vegan-friendly dishes as I can. When I DO eat cheese, I try to go with a brand like Organic Valley (grass-fed, no hormones, no antibiotics, non-GMO produce, non-corporate, sustainable farming practices, etc.).... options are limited, though.

I've only tried one vegan cream cheese... Daiya.... it was awful. LOL To me, it almost tasted like less-sweet cream cheese frosting... same consistency, too.

Can anyone suggest an authentic-tasting vegan cream cheese?? Keep in mind, there are no Trader Joe's or Whole Foods anywhere near here. If I can't find a decent alternative at Kroger, I may end up having to go with the Challenge whipped stuff... low in sodium, good for dips.... or maybe Greek cream cheese!

 

[silva]

First- Just Mayo is the cheapest, and great in recipes, even if you don't like it plain. I never ate mayo as is, but find myself using Just Mayo quite a bit. I love to heap nooch on it (and a bit of black salt too). I find it tastes like a cheese spread-mix a little lemon in it and it's even better!
I've added it to gravies and of course my famous vegan spinach dip- which i will post here-
One thawed package of frozen chopped spinach, drained (artichoke hearts too if you like)
One box of shelf stable silken tofu
1/2 cup nooch
1 packet french onion dip mix (I guess use a mix of dehydrated onions or chives and herbs for low sodium)
garlic powder, some dill
About a 1/2 to 1 cup just mayo (I use a big spacula glob)
Whir in the food processor, let sit overnight in fridge
This is what I'm asked to bring to potlucks- omni ones. Great with veggies for sammies

 

[silva]

I think silken tofu, some lemon juice and a touch of syrup would work for creme cheese in recipes. Maybe tweak the other ingredients to compensate for not being as thick?

 

[MadamSarcastra]

I think silken tofu, some lemon juice and a touch of syrup would work for creme cheese in recipes. Maybe tweak the other ingredients to compensate for not being as thick?

Tofu?? SYRUP??? I'll keep looking for now. LOL

Thank you, though, hon... any suggestions are much appreciated.

 

[silva]

I used to cut slabs of firm tofu and sautee them in butter and serve with a drizzle of maple syrup when my kids were young! I forgot that till now

 

[silva]

I still think tofu would be a good option, maybe just a touch of lemon
I've never had any other vegan creme but Trader Joes is quite good. I know it's not Daiya, maybe Tofutti?

 

[MadamSarcastra]

I still think tofu would be a good option, maybe just a touch of lemon
I've never had any other vegan creme but Trader Joes is quite good. I know it's not Daiya, maybe Tofutti?

I just really hate tofu. I want to ENJOY these! LOL The Daiya was horrid. I dunno, I would indeed be classified as a lacto-vegetarian (the ONLY dairy being cheese now).... it's the holidays.... I'm kinda leaning toward the real deal. I hope no one is disgusted by that notion. Although, knowing me, I'll get both kinds & make two batches. Just like the shredded cheese I get for my favorite veggie sandwiches... I always buy Horizon organic AND Go Veggie. It's nice to have options.

 

[Calliegirl]

I second Tofutti. I've never tried the Daiya because I've heard it was terrible from everyone.
I use the Tofutti better than sour cream to make ranch and onion dip (mixed with Lipton onion soup mix). The onion dip never lasts more than a day here, and even my omni roommate loves it.

 

[ledboots]

This looks delicious, made from cashews. Cashew Cream Cheese - Connoisseurus Veg

No tofu (though silken tofu works great as a creme cheese base, I love tofu.)

 

[Poppy]

<<<—Adores Daiya cream cheese. Dreams of it, even.

Granted, it does not taste like "real" cream cheese, but I think it's better. It tastes delightfully tangy and has a great spreading consistency. It is wonderful in baking, with jelly or Sophie's vegan salmon on a pumpernickel bagel, or mixed with just mayo and herbs to make ranch dressing. Tofutti tastes much more like regular cream cheese, but I haven't bought it since I found daiya.

When you swear off cheese for good, I think your taste buds change and it become very unappealing.

 

[silva]

This country ham seitan from chef Michael Skye Conroy!
file:///home/chronos/u-c6a0de4df77a2e363fc70a81fd9730e3d9510481/Downloads/The-Gentle-Chef-Holiday-eCookbook.pdf
I just made it, and while I did add a Goya ham seasoning packet, I followed the directions!
It's smells like I remember the glazed holiday ham, and is sweet, smokey, and really moist. I just need some sweet gerkhins to go with it and that's a Christmas dinner I like to remember!
I think the key to the texture is that it was very very wet for seitan, and no kneading. Baked for 2 hours wrapped in foil
I also found Wrights liquid hickory smoke is by far better than Colgin!

 

[Calliegirl]

This looks delicious, made from cashews. Cashew Cream Cheese - Connoisseurus Veg

No tofu (though silken tofu works great as a creme cheese base, I love tofu.)

I made this tonight and it didn't taste anything like cream cheese. I've had cashew cream cheese before and it's delicious so I almost made a double batch. I'm glad I decided to try it out first. I'm going to try to find something I can add this to, I'd hate to waste all these cashews.

Also, mine came out yellow, not white like in the pictures.

 

[Freesia]

Good to see people are cooking/getting ideas together.

I have pretty much decided to make a stew and have it with pesto. Still not sure what will be in the stew though.

 

[Mikkel]

My menu so far.

23rd: Meze. Hummus, baba ganosh etc etc etc. A lot of small dishes. We never make a real dinner on the 23rd,
24th: Cabbage roullades with poatatoes and some side dishes.
25th: Not decided yet. I'm a bit stuck that day...
26th: Shepherd's Pie

 

[Moll Flanders]

It always feels like the closer it gets to Christmas day, the less motivated I feel to cook.

 

[PTree15]

I'm very excited! My dad asked me to make vegan sausages for him for Christmas. He really loves them!