Thursday, December 27, 2007

Saint Nick Delivers

Our stockings were hung by the chimney with care... in hope that yummy vegan treats soon would be there.

And what do you know, maybe I should start believing in Santa Claus! Christmas day dinner with my family was full of new, yummy vegan treats. For the main course, I made the Festive Chickpea Tart (thanks to Dreena) from the November issue of VegNews.
I loved the different textures of chickpeas, paired with crunchy walnuts, tart cranberries, and the green (festive!) parsley and spinach. We topped it with a balsamic maple sauce as Dreena suggested, but since I didn't have ED&BV with me, I just made one up (combined some maple syrup and balsamic vinegar (duh) with olive oil and whole grain mustard). The whole family loved this one, and I'm kinda sad that it's already gone :-( Maybe I'll make some more before the winter season is over.
The rest of the dinner was rounded out with twice baked potatoes (topped with FYH mozzarella), broccoli, homemade bread, and a green salad with raspberries and strawberries.

And another new recipe for the holidays... I got my mom (and myself, shhh) a copy of Hannah's My Sweet Vegan and perused it for quite awhile trying to figure out what to make for our holiday dessert. The answer was obvious when I saw the Mocha Devastation Cake. Two layers of moist chocolate cake with a mocha buttercream frosting and crushed chocolate-covered espresso beans in the center and topped with chocolate ganache and more chocolate-covered espresso beans. Wow.

I think maybe I should have crushed my beans a little more because mine didn't look nearly as pretty as the one in the book. And I made a little booboo with the ganache. I got unsweetened dark chocolate, and didn't notice till I tasted it halfway through frosting. Whoops. We ate it anyway and just discarded most of the ganache. Oh, it was sooo sooo good, and I don't even like coffee.
We brought it along (since it made a huge cake) when we went to see my more extended family yesterday. It got devoured. And of course you should have seen the look on their faces when I told them there was tofu in it! I will definitely be making this cake again, but hopefully with the right kind of chocolate, I'll bet the ganache would have made it even better.

I had a wonderful time the past few days hanging out with my parents and brother and sister, this is the best part of the holidays. Since we are all grown up now, our family is cherishing those moments we can spend together as getting everyone in the same place at the same time gets harder and harder.

Sad to say, but I'm back at work today (but I have tomorrow off again). I'm so excited though because John returns home this afternoon!! Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday meals with family and friends. Now it's time to start turning our attention to the New Year... and of course what treats we'll be making to celebrate!

19 comments:

MeloMeals said...

Sounds like a great time! The chickpea pie looks amazing and that pie.. wow! I think I'm going to buy that cookbook. Everyone is raving about it!

Cakespy said...

The chickpea tart looks simply amazing!!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

haha, I love your little rhyme in the beginning of the post :0)

wow, the chickpea tart and the mocha devastation cake look WONDERFUL!! especially the cake - you made it perfectly, if you ask me!!

happy holidays, Amanda!

Anonymous said...

I'm so excited to hear that you enjoyed the Mocha Devastation Cake, and it looks so perfect, too!

jd said...

Chickpea tart?! Awesome! I've never heard of such a thing, but it sure does sound intriguing!

And, OMG does that Mocha Devastation Cake look amazing! I just got a copy of "My Sweet Vegan" for Christmas, too. Now I can't wait to make that cake - I just hope it turns out as pretty as yours did :)

Anna said...

Wow, fantastic holiday food! That cake looks incredible, and I just love its name. :) Gotta try to get my hands on a copy of My Sweet Vegan. Hope you enjoy your time off work with John!

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the little one said...

This was a very nice post. Your family sounds great and it is wonderful that y'all really appreciate your time together. Unfortunately I heard about My Sweet Vegan after I gave my loved ones my wish list! I think it will have to be a holiday gift to myself ;) Excellent idea!

Liz Ranger (Bubble Tea for Dinner) said...

ooh, I love your chickpea tart! I made that for a potluck recently and the hostess had made the *same tart*, so basically it's an awesome recipe and popular for a reason, haha. Also, your cake looks sooooo incredible... I wanna big delicious piece! and merry holidays!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Happy Holidays! I need to make that Mocha Devastation Cake! yum.

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

pretty pretty cake!

And the stockings are quite adorable as well.

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

And I will SO be coming to your hypothetical holiday party next year ;o).

Ruby Red said...

oh wow wow wow! a mocha cake with chocolate-covered espresso beans? you make me feel like i missed christmas because i did not get to try your cake! i also wished i too had tried the chickpea tart for christmas dinner. it looks divine - nothing beats a main course that features cranberries and a pie crust!

i'm so sorry you have to return to work again so soon! i feel so spoiled that i get more than a month off from school. maybe you should go back to school & study nutrition - though my school as a whole isn't perfect, i do love my nutrition program. but geology sounds really interesting! what all do you do in a typical day at work?

Ashasarala said...

The tart looks excellent and the mocha devestation cake looks like a sin in and of itself. I have really got to get that cook book. It seems like every time I finally get my hands on the latest cook book, another one comes out! Yikes! At least a good recipe will never get old, eh?

I'm glad you had a great Christmas, even if your hubby was away for a few days.

Happy New Year to the both of you. :)

J said...

Hi Amanda! I just came across your blog and have to say, your pictures are amazing! I am very very new to a vegan diet, and seeing your posts is very inspiring to me. I am still on the learning curve. :) I have a question - your family seems very supportive. Are they vegan as well, or just very compassionate towards you? I noticed your mom veganized some of her recipes - that is awesome!

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

wow, the xmas dinner meal looks and sounds wonderful. especially the twiced baked potatoes and that salad! yum.
yr cake turned out very beautiful!

Pink Theory said...

Sounds like a great holiday! As always, the food looks soooo good! I'm wanting a piece of that mocha devastation!

Kristen - Dine & Dish said...

That all looks really delicious.
Happy New Year!

vko said...

Looks like a lovely holiday and lots of good eats!