Christmas Dinner

'And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”' Luke 2:9-14

We watched A Charlie Brown Christmas last weekend where Linus reads this verse off at the end of their little Christmas performance. I had never seen it before and I absolutely fell in love with this cartoon. Every time I read this scripture I hear this boy reading it aloud in his cute little high pitched voice. What a simple beautiful cartoon Charlie Brown was. And how simple and beautiful does Christmas become when we make it about one person: Jesus.
Christmas here was wonderful with family, my boyfriend Ryan and dear old friends the Griffiths. We actually mixed up Christmas traditions this year and attended church on Christmas day, I sang at church with my mom who played the piano, it was such a joy. Missing from church was my dad who was at home with an eye patch. He hurt his eye on Friday, no one has any idea how, but it's red, puffy and swollen and driving him crazy. He's been wearing all these funny homemade eye patches and using all these wierd accents, pretending he's Captain Jack Sparrow and such. It really has added a whole new laugh to our Christmas holiday.
Now, of course like Thanksgiving, we served meat on our dinner table, this time prime rib and ham. We had the traditional mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, stuffing and then we had asparagus, salad and a dish that I prepared! I was so excited to make this, I had seen it done on a Tastepotting post and loved the looks of it.

Recipe
1 small red onion
2 summer squash
3 zucchini
4 cloves of garlic,
8 sage leaves
10 basil leaves
half a lemon, freshly squeezed
drizzle grapeseed oil
1/2 C or so vegetable broth
Slice eggplant, zuchinni, summer squash, and red onion 1/4'' thick. The onion may be difficult to keep together but do what you can cause the dish looks extra pretty with the red onion! Mix the garlic, finely chop the basil and sage, juice the lemon, drizzle the oil, and combine in a large mixing bowl. Mix well, tossing the vegetables in the herbs and flavors. I used my new pink spatula from Christmas!
Carefully, layer the vegetable vertically in the dish. I used a 2-1/2 quart corning ware dish. It's a little difficult to do in the beginning, use the left hand to hold them while you add more and more from the bowl with your right hand. No particular order is necessary, I just did it completely randomly.Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour the vegetable broth over the vegetables and sprinkle freshly ground black pepper. Cover the dish with the glass lid and bake for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft when pierced with a knife.
Serve over grains like quinoa or as a side dish. These were well liked tonight. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas,
<3 Dani

Christmas Eve Tradition: Pizza

For as long as I can remember our Christmas Eve dinner has been composed of one thing: Papa Murphy's Pizza. Buy it pre-made, put it in the oven and bake at home! So I took the opportunity to make another pizza, one of a healthier version of course. Trader Joe's whole wheat crust, pizza sauce and lots of veggies!

Christmas Eve was so nice and relaxing, family hanging out, A Christmas Story on the television, glasses of red wine, stockings full, I couldn't have asked for more. Before bed we completed our last tradition, opening up one present from under the tree.

Recipe
1 Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough, pre-made
1 Trader Joe's Pizza Sauce, pre-made
zuchinni
summer squash
baby bella mushrooms
red onion
kalamata olives
black pepper
Take the dough out of the bag and using a little bit of flour handle carefully. Spray a pan with oil and spread the dough over the pan into a large square. Slice some zuchinni, summer squash, mushrooms, and olives.
Spread the crust with pizza sauce and top with tons of veggies, the olives and freshly ground pepper. Now, it'll look like you have a lot on there but they'll shrink as they cook so don't be afraid to over do it! Besides, who could have too many veggies!
Now this will be my new Christmas Eve tradition! The olives were the best part so don't leave them out! Another nice addition would have been garlic, I forgot it :( I also would have preferred to make my own pizza sauce but we got so busy, I hate that excuse but sometimes it's just true. My parents bought me a VitaMix for Christmas though so now making sauces will be easier than ever! Oooh, I can't wait to try it out and have so much fun playing with new recipes!!

More posts from Christmas dinner tomorrow! Merry merry merry Christmas everyone!

<3 Dani

Sweet Corn and Tempeh Soup

I am so sorry it's been almost a week since my last post! Bianca and I celebrated our graduation with family and friends last weekend, thank you to everyone who joined us. The days since have been a little busy with the holidays and such. But tonight I managed to throw everything together for this soup and let it cook while I ran one last Christmas errand. So much shopping and not even completely done yet.

What if Christmas was about giving from your heart and not from your wallet? What has become of this holiday? I know it's talked about so much, the loss of Jesus within the hype of Christmas. But it really is something to give our attention to. It's a struggle for me. To buy and buy and buy and watch as thousands of dollars are spent on mostly unnecessary gifts. While at the mall my thoughts drift to the missionaries in third-world countries, without food or water literally sacrificing everything for the sake of the gospel. And I think, am I giving all of myself? How do I be here in this moment, shopping with my family and imitating Christ who said, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me," (Matthew 19:21). Can't I just move to Africa or India? But God has placed me here, in the midst of a family with abundant blessing unrecognized as God's gifts. Teach me Lord, how to be love. I am learning, daily, because He gives me grace to walk according to His Spirit and strengthens my character throughout.

Well, back to the soup. Mom and Nan liked it. Took my mom a bit, as usual. But she ended up really enjoying it!

Recipe
1 sweet onion
3 sticks of celery
1 chili
3 garlic cloves
1 quart low-sodium vegetable broth
6 heads of corn
1 package tempeh, 8oz
parsley

Chop the onion, mince the garlic and saute in a little grapeseed oil. Let the onions turn golden brown. Add the celery.
Cut all the corn off the cobs. Throw in the corn from three of the heads. Crumble the tempeh and toss in as well and stir.
In a food processor, blend the corn from the other three heads of corn. Pour in the vegetable broth and then the corn mixture.
Turn stove top on low and let the soup simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir well and serve with freshly chopped parsley and black pepper.

So there you go, make this soup before the winters over!

Love you all,
Dani

Butternut Squash and Kale Minestrone

Bianca made this fabulous soup tonight, another perfect dinner for a chilly night in Santa Cruz. The butternut squash almost melted into the broth making it thick and creamy, absolutely delicious! Great job Bianca!

Recipe
-3 celery stalks, finely chopped
-3 carrots, peeled & chopped
-1 white onion, diced
-1 bay leaf, dried
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp dried rosemary
-32 oz vegetable broth
-1 can diced tomatoes
-1 can white beans
-1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into small pieces
-1 bunch of kale, washed and chopped
-1 cup brown rice pasta spirals
Combine all ingredients except kale and pasta in the bowl of a crockpot. Cover and cook on low, 6-8 hours. 20-30 minutes before eating, add the pasta. 20 minutes before eating, add the kale to the crockpot and cover again. Just before serving, remove bay leaf. Ladle soup into bowls.

Enjoy,
<3 Dani

Persimmon Pudding

I love this season of fruit because persimmons are my absolute favorite! Bianca and I saw this HUGE persimmon tree today while driving to our friends house. We stopped at tried to pick some but unfortunately only got a few because it was too high. We even backed the car up real close so I could stand on it and reach higher. We're determined.

This pudding was simple and easy and delicious, like most of my recipes. It's nice for when you're wanting something a litter sweeter. I ate it for breakfast and felt like I was having dessert! Of course, you have to like persimmons or you won't enjoy this pudding at all.

Recipe
2 hachiya persimmons
2 T ground flaxseed
1/2 t cinnamon
Chop persimmons, add flaxseed and cinnamon and blend in a cuisinart. Process until well mixed and there are no chunks of persimmon, you'll want it smooth like pudding.

Yep, it's that simple! Serves for a nice little treat. You can use fuyu persimmons if you'll like, make sure there well-ripened because that puckery thing they have when there not ripe yet is terrible!

Enjoy,
<3 Dani

Bulgur Chili

I am so enjoying being home during this Christmas season. My mom and I completed the interior decorating this afternoon, while my dad and brother took control of the lighting on the house. Which as always, turns out great. We always joke that we're gonna with the lighting contest in town, even though we've never actually entered it. My dad is very proud of his Christmas display on the lawn. Oh, I just love Christmas!

With this chilly winter weather my mom and I are finding lots of delicious soup recipes! Tonight a bulgur chili with cornbread. Never cooked with bulgur before but I will certainly be venturing more into it now. This dinner was such a success, especially the cornbread! I was so excited as I opened up the oven and saw how beautifully it had risen. Never before have I had any success with gluten-free vegan cornbread, until now! I went so far as to say this was my greatest success, only to have my career driven dad come back laughing with, "Even more than college". It was quite funny, as you can tell I get over excited about my cooking at times.
Chili Recipe
1 T grapeseed oil
1 yellow onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 large green bell pepper
1 jalapeno pepper
1 t cumin, chili pepper, paprika
1 pint cherry tomatoes
3/4 C bulgur
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 15 oz can kidney beans
3 C vegetable broth
Dice the onion, mince the garlic, chop green bell pepper and jalapeno and saute in oil on medium eat. Add spices and let the flavors mingle until the onions are beginning to brown. Add the tomato sauce and halved cherry tomatoes. Next, add the vegetable broth , kidney beans and bulgur. The soup will thicken as the bulgur begins to absorb the liquid so add more broth accordingly.
Cornbread
1 package Bob's Red Mill gluten-free cornbread mix
1-1/2 C almond milk, unsweetened vanilla
2 T ground flaxseed
3/4 C water
In a small container, mix the flaxseed with the water and let sit. It will begin to thicken in a few minutes, this is the egg-replacer. Now, I combine the cornbead mix with the almond milk and then folded in the flaxseed mixture. However, it was very difficult to mix them thoroughly this way. Next time I would try combining the almond milk with the flaxseed mixture then folding in the flour. Spray a 9x9in baking pan with non-stick spray and lay in the dough. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
Like the Christmas decor? We've got it everywhere!

Merry Christmas,
<3 Dani

Pumpkin Barley Soup

Finally, back to having time to post again! Bianca and I are both officially done with school, wohoo college grads! Time certainly flies, it feels like yesterday we both left to go away to college. So sadly, the Sisters are no longer living together and only have three more weeks to hang out as Bianca will be coming back to our home in Santa Cruz and I will be remaining in Santa Barbara. The blog will continue though :)

First night back home and I went straight to cooking. So nice to be back in my home kitchen and my mom generally likes my cooking too. I'd actually say that she likes that I cook more than what I'm cooking. Though she's liking a lot more of what I've been making! And this soup she really liked!

I saw a recipe in a magazine, can't remember which one now but it was for a Pumpkin Barley Soup with Sausage. I liked what I saw, minus the meat of course, so I bought all the other ingredients and put my own twist to it. I love pumpkin so I enjoyed the soup a lot! My mom cooked up some vegan sausage patties to replace the sausage I had seen in the original recipe and she loved the combination.

Recipe
1 C barley
1 15oz can pureed pure pumpkin
1 quart low-sodium vegetable broth
2 shallots
2 cloves of garlic
1 T grapeseed oil
6-8 sage leaves
salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Dice the shallots, mince the garlic, chop the sage leaves very finely and saute in the grapeseed oil on high heat until shallots begin to brown. Add the barley and stir for a few minutes letting the flavors mingle with the barley.
Add in the pumpkin puree and vegetable broth. Stir until well mixed, cover and let come to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for an hour or so until the barley is soft.
I know, so simple right! And so delicious! Make this before the wintery season is over, it's perfect for a chilly night.

Blessings,
<3 Dani

Thanksgiving Dessert: Pumpkin Pie

And for the finale, vegan pumpkin pie!! The essential dessert for a perfect Thanksgiving feast! Now, last year I tried two pumpkin pies, one was raw and vegan and one was just vegan. Neither were a huge success. So this year I was hesitant and even looked up other recipes for pumpkin muffins but in the end I knew the meal wouldn't be complete without a pumpkin pie. And this was was really really good!

Recipe
1 vegan pie crust, pre-made
1 15oz can pureed pumpkin
1 12oz silken firm tofu
3 T agave
1 T chopped ginger
1 T pumpkin pie spice
1 t nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a Cuisinart and blend until pureed.
Fold into the pie crust and bake on 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Then allow to sit out and cool and then refrigerate so the pie will thicken. It will need to be refrigerated or it will not thicken.

As much as the pumpkin pie was necessary so was the turkey. And yes, we had a large turkey at our Thanksgiving dinner, for those who would like to eat it. There is Ryan taking it of the oven, the 17 lb Turkey was probably the favorite and after a leftover turkey soup there is barely any left!
Happy Thanksgiving!
<3 Dani

Thanksgiving Side Dish: Sweet Potatoes

The other traditional side dish for Thanksgiving is sweet potatoes, my absolute favorite! What I really love most about sweet potatoes are that they are so great all by themselves. This dish was so simple and my mom and Nan really loved it because of the apples.

Recipe
3-4 sweet potatoes
1 small apple
handful of raisins
Cut the sweet potatoes in 1" slices and chop the apple into small bits. Now you may be tempted to peel the skin but this is the best part for you and you'll learn to love it! Place in a 2 quart baking dish.

Bake, covered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Add in a handful or raisins at the last minute, I threw them in after but left the dish sitting for 10 minutes so they could warm.

Wallah, delicious sweet potatoes, ready to be served!

Enjoy,
<3 Dani

Thanksgiving Side Dish: Green Beans with Balsamic Roasted Shallots

Green beans are always a traditional side dish, with slivered almonds or garlic and thyme. But this year I wanted to make something a little different. I found this recipe for balsamic roasted shallots with green beans and I was very excited to try it out for Thanksgiving. Also, a success according to my family.

Recipe
green beans
shallots
balsamic vinegar
grapeseed oil
salt and pepper
Peel the shallots, but leave the root in tact so they don't fall apart everywhere. Depending on what size shallots you get you may need to slice them in half. Mine were really large and I thought they would have been too overwhelming in a dish with green beans so I cut all of them in half. Layer on baking sheet.
Roast on 450 degrees for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile steam the green beans until they are crisp-tender, about 15 minutes also. Once ready. simply mix together and serve warm.

The shallots in this dish are so sweet and delicious I could have eaten them alone! This dish doesn't have to be reserved for a Thanksgiving side dish either you could make this anytime!

Enjoy,
<3 Dani

Thanksgiving Main Dish: Autumn Millet Bake

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." Psalm 100:4

This year I find myself in awe of His goodness. I have so much to be thankful for it's ridiculous, and with His help I am living out of a whole new place of appreciation :) When we allow ourselves to see all things from His perspective we find peace, joy and abundant life.

Thanksgiving has always been such a great holiday but now being away at college there is something extra special about coming home for Thanksgiving. Besides being incredibly thankful for all that God has given us, especially His son, the holiday itself is truly unique. Cooking and cooking and cooking, then eating and eating and eating. Clearly, one of my favorite holidays! Exploring healthy vegan, yet tasty recipes for this holiday the last two years has been really fun and this year my main dish was quite a success, I believe it will be added to our family traditions!

I actually saw this recipe in Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian almost a year ago and have been waiting to make it because it is absolutely PERFECT for thanksgiving! The fresh cranberries are a tart surprise with the buttery sweetness of the squash and the sage is a great addition.

Recipe
1 C millet
1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into little cubes
1 C fresh cranberries
8-10 sage leaves, minced
2 T agave syrup
1 1/2 C organic vegetable broth
handful pumpkin seeds

Layer the millet evenly on the bottom of a 2 quart baking dish. Then layer the butternut squash and the cranberries.
Next, evenly sprinkle the sage, shake on some salt and freshly ground pepper, then drizzle the agave syrup. Evenly pour the vegetable broth over the dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. After a half hour check the dish to see if the millet is rising and to see how the squash is doing. You may need to add more vegetable broth if it's dried up. Top with pumpkin seeds and broil for 5-10 minutes so it gets crispy on the top! Serve piping hot-it's delicious!

There will be many more posts to come from our thanksgiving dinner! I am BACK in action now everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving,
<3>

Ratatouille

Becky made this fabulous Ratatouille the other night and I was in heaven it was so delicious! I love when she cooks, really she makes wonderful dinners and is so considerate of my dietary needs :)
Recipe
1 medium onion
3 red bell peppers
1 medium eggplant
2 medium zucchinis
2 tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T dried basil
1 T dried oregano
1 T dried parsley
1 t sea salt
Cut all veggies into small chunks, add garlic and spices. Mix well and bake at 375 degrees in the oven for about 30 minutes. You may need to add a little water or veggie broth. Be sure to cover while baking.

Serve over quinoa with lentils and be ready for an excellent meal!

Enjoy,
<3 Dani

Roasted Tomato and Onion Pizza

Hello my faithful followers, I am back in action with some delicious recipes waiting to be shared. This one is from weeks ago when Bianca and I had our old roommate Natalie over for dinner. We've been wanting to cook together for a long time too because Natalie has been eating much healthier since the summer and it's always fun to try new things with friends. Bianca and I saw this amazing pizza recipe on Tastespotting this week so we figured it would be perfect for a girls night, and it was! We all loved it! Bianca said it's our best pizza yet!

Recipe
Roasted Veggies
red onion
yellow onion
tomato
basil
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
garlic
Pesto
basil
garlic
lemon
olive oil
Start with a bunch of basil, a garlic clove, half a lemon squezzed and a drizzle olive oil. Blend ingredients together adding more olive oil if it's too dry. Taste to see if you need more lemon or garlic. Add as needed.

Cheese
nutritional yeast
sesame seeds
In a coffee grinder, using equal parts.

Now, we had a pizza crust that was already made and you just bake it in the oven. You can do the same or use a dough, either will work out just fine. The veggies will need to be roasted before anyways.

To prepare the roasted veggies, chop tomatoes and onion into small chunks. For two smaller sized pizzas we used 3-4 tomatoes, half a red onion and half a yellow onion. Add 2 minced garlic cloves. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, roast in the oven for about 35-40 minutes at 375 degrees.

Meanwhile prepare the crusts for the veggies by spreading with pesto. Once the veggies are roasted add them to the pizzas and top by sprinkling (don't be shy) with the vegan cheese. Place in the oven for about 15 minutes or according to the cooking directions of the crust you chose.
Wallah, healthy vegan guilt free pizza! Please indulge in this amazing recipe, get some girls together and have a night in!

Have fun,
<3 Dani

Hearty Quinoa Breakfast

Hello! Sorry that it has been a while since Dani and I have posted something to all of you! It is kind of funny that I am the first one to post after such a long hiatus because, as you all know, I am not as diligent with the posts as Dani. :-D

Quinoa is such a versatile grain. You can have it for breakfast as a sort of porridge or oatmeal alternative, lunch in a cold tabouli-like dish, or dinner paired with vegetable stir fry. The possibilities are truly endless. Quinoa is an amazing grain, especially because it is packed with complete proteins.

I also put chia seeds in this breakfast. Dani and I recently discovered chia seeds. They are really fun because when you put them with water, they absorb the water and turn into a gel. Here is a link to some of our past chia posts and here is another website you can check out for the health benefits of chia seeds. And yes, these chia seeds, are the same kind that are in Chia Pets!!!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup dry quinoa
2 1/4 cups filtered water
pinch of slivered almonds
2 Tbs chia seeds
pinch of dried, shredded coconut
4 Tbs soymilk, almond milk, rice milk, etc.
berries (optional)

Directions:
1. Place dry quinoa and water in a pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 30 min or until all of the water has been absorbed.
2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
3. Enjoy!

This is a very hearty, healthy breakfast that will give you all kinds of energy for you day. It's also nice and cozy for these amazing winter months we are heading into. I absolutely love cold weather and rainy days. Dani thinks that I am crazy, but it gives me such a "cuddle up by the fire and read a book" feeling. I love it.

In His name,
Bianca

Update

Ah, followers and readers I am so sorry that it has been nearly centuries since our last post! Life has been crazy around here with Bianca and I both finishing up school in December, yes, we graduate in a month!! It's creeping up so fast. And I took a week to devote myself to prayer so the blog had to wait. All in all, I sadly don't have time to give you something fun just yet, but I wanted everyone to know that soon there will be time again for many many posts! They're all just sitting here waiting, so please remain faithful to check in!

Sorry again!
<3 Dani

Eggplant Pasta Sauce

Pasta is always an easy go to comfort food. And vegan and gluten-free dieters can indulge as well! There are tons of gluten-free pastas on the market now. Rice pasta, being the most popular and least expensive, tastes just like regular pasta. I really think that most people would never be able to taste the difference if they didn't previously know. There are pastas made with other whole grains as well like quinoa, Ancient Harvest makes an excellent quinoa and corn spaghetti. I've even seen a pasta made with amaranth. Be sure to visit a health foods store to find these pastas, although rice pasta is becoming more standard in grocery stores.
The most important part of the pasta though is the sauce and what you put in it! Bianca loves making pasta, with all kinds of pestos, marinaras, and olive oils. Recently we've been experimenting with other types of sauces. She decided to bake an eggplant and puree it with some spices to make a sauce similar to Baba Ganoush, the typical eggplant dip. Everyone at church loved it too!Recipe

1 eggplant
3-4 T olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
All-seasoning
four sun dried tomatoes
1/2 lemon, squeezed

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut eggplant into 1'' cubes, toss with oil, crushed garlic and a couple teaspoons seasoning. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and process in a Cuisinart until well blended. Add lemon and sun-dried tomatoes and blend again. Serve over your choice of pasta!

Very simple but very delicious! It freezes well too if you have leftovers or want to make a large batch and have some for busy nights. Try this out! Look out for another post soon on Cauliflower Pasta Sauce.

Enjoy,
<3 Dani