Cold-weather food

DC weather has been weird this month--we saw the effects of the polar vortex just like everyone else, then it was 50 degrees days later, followed by some near-freezing days. I can't remember if the past two years here were like this, but it seems really erratic.

Anyway, it's been generally cold, and we've been making some soups and curries to warm ourselves up lately. Check it out --

Ramen with smoked vegan goose, baby corn, and bok choy

More vegan holiday meals

We went to Dan's house in Wisconsin for Christmas week, and had some awesome food -- homemade pizza, soups that his mom made, and an all-vegan Christmas dinner!

Dan's mom cooked pretty much everything but the gravy (which I made, but I didn't do that good of a job!) and I helped bake the Field Roast, which is pretty low-maintenance. Clockwise from the very left, you can see the perfectly shaped homemade rolls, Field Roast with gravy and cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes & squash, brussels sprouts, and fruit. I know the sizes seem small, but this filled me up.

This was my first time trying Field Roast, and while I really like many of their products, I have to say I prefer Tofurkey to their holiday roast. But, it did its job filling us up, for sure.

Cinnamon rolls

I also carried on my family tradition of having cinnamon rolls before opening presents in the morning. When I was little, we did the Pillsbury rolls, but I don't think those are vegan -- even if they were, these are way better. I use Vegan Yum Yum's recipe and it always works, even when I accidentally use like half the yeast needed, like this time (needed, or kneaded? ha ha...) I was happy these turned out so well and Dan's family got to try them. 

Dan's mom is also an amazing baker & made tons of vegan cookies and treats -- I didn't get a photo of those, sadly (I was busy taking photos of a kitten...) -- but believe me when I say the cookies were picture perfect & their taste more than lived up to it. 

For New Year's, we were back in DC, and didn't do much on New Year's Eve (I went to work the next day, & we didn't feel much like going out). But, on New Year's Day, we made black eyed peas for good luck.

Black eyes peas, rice, and yes, that's cabbage

The recipe for the black eyed peas is from Fatfree Vegan Kitchen. We might have subbed a few of the vegetables with whatever we had on hand, but it turned out really yummy. The grocery store was out of cabbage heads -- everyone had the same plans, I guess -- so we got some shredded purple cabbage, which is totally not for this purpose, but it's such a nice shade of purple! We put some salt and apple cider vinegar on it and it all worked out.

I hope everyone else had a good holiday season and a great start to the new year. I don't really do resolutions, but I do plan to maintain a lifestyle that helps me and the people around me to feel good. Dan and I will be starting our first year as a married couple, and while I don't think marriage is what makes a partnership special, it will be great to celebrate our happiness this year with our friends and family, and then with each other for years to come. 

On that sentimental note, have an amazing 2014!