The Twins 29th Birthday

Our twins turned 29 today. It is so hard to believe that they started as 30-
week preemies. Today they are hard working, productive very handsome men. I am so grateful to have them in our lives. They are always supportive in our life.
We will celebrate at my parents this weekend. My parents served a meat based meal. We brought whole food plant based meals for our youngest son and myself. I brought desserts. The twins loved the Apricot, Fig, Cashew- based Mascaapone Cheese Tart, so i made it. I also brought the remaining half of the White Chocolate Raspberry Tort from Thanksgiving, as well as, Turtle Candies.

Happy Birthday to two of my favorite men!!! I am so proud of who you have become!!!

The 12th Day of Christmas - Drummer Tots

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas I made my loved ones 12 Drummer Tots from She Likes Food

Eleven cups of piping hot chocolate

Ten Leaping "Frog-less" Legs

Nine Vegan Ladies' Dancers' Legs

Eight Maids' Buckets of Aqaufaba cheese

Seven bowls of Swans of swimming soup

Six Chocolate eggs

FIVE Golden Onion Rings

Four Calling non-bird pies

Three French Crescents

Two turtle candies

And a pear muffin

INGREDIENTS

• 3 large russet potatoes (1.5-2 pounds)
• 2 (14 ounce) bags frozen broccoli florets that have been thawed, or 8 cups steamed broccoli florets
• 2 teaspoons salt, plus more for sprinkling on top
• Olive oil
• 12 toothpicks

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INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place potatoes in on instant pot rack with 1 cup of water in the bottom. Set the manual setting for 3 minutes. Drain water and let potatoes cool until they are comfortable to handle. It’s best if they are still warm.
2. Once potatoes are warm enough to handle, remove the skins either with your fingers or with a potato peeler.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Grate potatoes on the large side of a box grater and place into a large bowl.
4. Place the broccoli into a food processor and blend until it’s in very small pieces, 30 seconds – one minute. You may need to do it in two batches. Place broccoli onto a kitchen towel and squeeze all excess water out.
5. Add the broccoli to the grated potatoes along with the salt and mix everything together. Make sure to mix very well because if you have pockets that are mainly broccoli the tater tots won’t form together as well.
6. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Use your hands to form small cylinders with the mixture. Use about 1 tablespoon per tater tot. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for about 10 minutes to allow them to firm up.
7. Brush the top of each tater tot with a small amount of olive oil and sprinkle each one with salt. Bake tater tots until browned a crispy, about 30-40 minutes, flipping halfway though.
8. Cut toothpicks in half and place on top of tots as drum sticks

The 11th Day of Christmas - Piping Hot Chocolate

On the eleventh day of Christmas I made my loved ones Eleven cups of piping hot chocolate. I used the recipe from Nutritionfacts.org 's Daily Dozen December calendar recipe from Holly Olmstead

Ten Leaping "Frog-less" Legs

Nine Vegan Ladies' Dancers' Legs

Eight Maids' Buckets of Aqaufaba cheese

Seven bowls of Swans of swimming soup

Six Chocolate eggs

FIVE Golden Onion Rings

Four Calling non-bird pies

Three French Crescents

Two turtle candies

And a pear muffin

Ingredients for 1 cup of hot chocolate
1.5 TSP cocoa powder
1.5 TBS hemp seeds
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 large medjool date, pit removed
10 ounces hot water

Directions: Place all the ingredients in a high speed blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into a mug and enjoy!

The 10th Day of Christmas - Leaping Legs

On the Tenth Day of Christmas, I made my loved ones Ten Leaping "Frog-less" Legs,

Nine Vegan Ladies' Dancers' Legs

Eight Maids' Buckets of Aqaufaba cheese

Seven bowls of Swans of swimming soup

Six Chocolate eggs

FIVE Golden Onion Rings

Four Calling non-bird pies

Three French Crescents

Two turtle candies

And a pear muffin

Ingredients for marinade:

10 parsnips, peeled and toes slit at the bottom
1/4 lemon juice
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1/8-1/4 tsp truffle oil
1/8-1/4 tsp liquid smoke
salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Marinade for 6+ hours
Roast marinaded parsnips at 400 for 30 minutes

Ingredients for sauce for parsnips and pasta:
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 onion, diced
8 oz sliced mushrooms
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 TBS fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Cooked 1 pound of pasta of choice according to package directions

Directions:
Saute the onions, mushrooms and garlic until soft, 3-5 minutes
Use the white balsamic to de-glaze the parsnip pan
Stir in remaining ingredients and  heat for 10 minutes

To serve:
place the parsnips over pasta and top with sauce

The 9th Day of Christmas - Ladies Dancers' Legs

On the ninth day of Christmas I made my loved ones Nine Vegan Ladies' Dancers' Legs

Eight Maids' Buckets of Aqaufaba cheese

Seven bowls of Swans of swimming soup

Six Chocolate eggs

FIVE Golden Onion Rings

Four Calling non-bird pies

Three French Crescents

Two turtle candies

And a pear muffin

Ingredients:

Vegan Ladyfingers:

• 3 tablespoons vegan margarine
• 1/4 cup daiya cream cheese
• 3 tablespoons tapioca starch or other starch
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Pinch of turmeric for color, if desired
• 2/3 cup aquafaba
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 3/4 cup sugar (superfine, if you have it)
• 1 1/2 cups flour, thoroughly sifted
• semi-sweet chocolate for dipping the lady fingers
• crushed candy canes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F, and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
2. Combine the vegan margarine, daiya cream cheese, tapioca starch, vanilla extract, and turmeric in a stand mixer or large bowl.
3. Whip with the paddle attachment until smooth and fluffy. Set aside.
4. Pour the aquafaba into the bowl of a stand mixer equi pped with the balloon whisk, and add the cream of tartar.
5. Whip until stiff peaks form, 4-5 minutes.
6. Gradually add sugar, whipping after each addition.
7. Gently fold the whipped aquafaba into the creamed mixture.
8. Gently fold the flour into the mixture, folding until just combined.
9. Transfer the dough into a pastry bag equipped with a large round pastry tip, or a large ziptop bag with the corner cut off so that the cut edge is about 3/4-inch wide.
10. Pipe 4-inch long logs of dough onto your prepared baking sheet, leaving about an inch of space between cookies.
11. Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until golden and firm.
12. Crack open the oven door and let the cookies start to cool while in the oven before gently moving the tray to a cooling rack to firm up completely.

The 8th Day of Christmas - Maids' Buckets of Aqaufaba cheese

On the eighth day of Christmas, I made my loved ones, Eight Maids' Buckets of Aquafaba cheese

Seven bowls of Swans of swimming soup

Six Chocolate eggs

FIVE Golden Onion Rings

Four Calling non-bird pies

Three French Crescents

Two turtle candies

And a pear muffin

Ingredients:
• 1/4 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight or boiled for 15 minutes
• 1 cup aquafaba (preferably chickpea or other light colored bean)
• 2 tbsp tapioca starch
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp miso paste
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp turmeric (for color)
• 3/4 tsp salt*
• 6 tbsp refined coconut oil, liquid
• 1 tsp raw apple cider vinegar

*You may need to adjust the salt level a bit lower if using salted aquafaba.

Directions:
1. Blend softened cashews and aquafaba in a high speed blender until as smooth as possibly. Strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove any large particles and return to blender. It should be very smooth after blending. You may find there are still a few cashew particles if you’re using a lower quality blender or food processor, which is why I recommend straining.

2. Add tapioca starch,  tomato paste, miso, onion powder, nutritional yeast, paprika, turmeric and salt and pulse in a blender to combine.

3. Add coconut oil and blend again very briefly. Mixture will be smooth and a little thick.

4. Heat in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat while stirring regularly. It will look like quite lumpy as the tapioca starch activates. Continue to stir, and it will eventually turn glossy and smooth, like melted cheese. When it reaches 170°F, it is done. You will see it begin to bubble around the edges and maintain its thickness. Quickly add the apple cider
vinegar and remove from heat. If your emulsion breaks (the oil starts to separate), remove from heat and stir quickly to recombine. If it’s already too far gone, you can use an immersion blender to combine it again.

The 7th Day of Christmas - Swans of Swimming Soup

On the seventh day of Christmas I made my loved one Swan wings of Swimming Soup is swimming with vegetables and farfalle (wing shaped) pasta. This recipe is altered from Oh She Glows

Six Chocolate eggs

FIVE Golden Onion Rings

Four Calling non-bird pies

Three French Crescents

Two turtle candies

And a pear muffin

Ingredients:

For the soup:

• 3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked
• 6 cups vegetable broth, divided
• 1 tablespoon vegetable broth
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 2 diced sweet onion 
• 1 heaping cup peeled and chopped carrots 
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 1/2 cups peeled and chopped butternut squash
• 1 heaping cup chopped celery (about 2 stalks)
• 1 qt canned tomatoes, with their juices
• 1 to 2 tablespoons Homemade 10-Spice Mix, to taste
• Fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 to 3 cups baby spinach 
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas or other beans, drained and rinsed
• 12 oz farfalle pasta (we added)

Homemade 10-Spice Mix (makes 1/2 cup):

• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
• 1 teaspoon turmeric (we added this)
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Place cashews in a bowl and add enough water to cover. Soak the cashews overnight, or for 8 hours. For a quick-soak method, soak the cashews in boiled water for 30 to 60 minutes. Drain and rinse the cashews.
2. In a blender, combine the soaked and drained cashews with 1 cup of vegetable broth and blend on the highest speed until smooth. Set aside.
3. In a large pot, heat the broth over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Add Herbamare or sea salt if needed.
4. Add the carrots, bell pepper, potato, celery, and diced tomatoes with their juices, the remaining 5 cups broth, and 1 to 2 tablespoons 10-Spice Mix (to taste). Stir well to combine . Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Season with salt and black pepper.
5. Simmer the soup uncovered for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and black pepper. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, stir in the cashew cream, spinach (or kale), and drained beans. Add more 10-Spice Mix, to taste.
6. To freeze, ladle the soup into containers (leaving 1 inch for expansion), cool completely, secure lid, and place in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.