Progressive Post: The Twelve Days of Holiday Eats

Posted byLori Posted onDecember 14, 2010 Comments14

 

On each of the Twelve Days of Christmas, my true love gave to me… well, not my true love, and not to me- to and for you! Starting today, and the next twelve days leading up to Christmas, are yours. And your presents? Recipes from a few amazing bloggers! Enjoy this progressive post (sort of like a progressive dinner) each day, as it’s updated with a new “guest” recipe celebrating the holiday season. I hope you get some great ideas from these fantastic recipes. I’ve already made a few and they are super tasty!

Twelve. Eleven. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three.

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On The Twelfth Day Before Christmas Alisa Cooks gave to you…
Quick Winter-Spiced Kabocha

When root vegetable season is in full swing, I get in a bit of a roasting rut. Last year I dug my way out with my first trials of kabocha squash. Unlike many tough winter squashes, the skin is edible and becomes nice and tender once cooked. So I simply seeded it, chopped, seasoned, and simmered for this deliciously easy and quick side dish (ready in less than 20 minutes versus 45 minutes with roasting). Try it at your holiday table for a different type of side dish, or simply enjoy it as I do, for breakfast! If you can’t get your hands on a kabocha squash, you can use another favorite squash, such as butternut or acorn, but I recommend peeling those varieties first.

Vegan, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free, Low Fat, and optionally Gluten-Free

  • 3/4 lb Kabocha Squash Smallish Chunks (cut to about 1-inch in size, skin on)
  • 1/3 Cup Water, plus additional if needed
  • 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce or Wheat-Free Tamari (for gluten-free)
  • 1-1/2 Tablespoons Evaporated Cane Juice, Brown Sugar, or Granulated Palm Sugar
  • 1 Teaspoon Fresh Ginger, minced (feel free to use more if you like your ginger)
  • 3/8 Teaspoon Chinese 5-Spice Powder (available in the spice section of most grocers)

Place all ingredients in a skillet and heat to boiling. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove the lid and continue to cook (stirring occasionally) until the liquid is pretty much gone / thickened, and the squash (and peel) is nice and tender. This takes me about 5 minutes, but if the liquid evaporates and your squash isn’t yet done to your liking, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally. Serve.

 

 

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On The Eleventh Day Before Christmas Lori & Michelle from Pure2Raw gave to you…
Pumpkin Pie Mousse

Everyone has pumpkin on their minds this time of year and we got a delicious easy pumpkin mousse recipe for you all to enjoy!

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Pure2raw Recipe: Pumpkin Pie Mousse (semi-raw, gluten-free, vegan, soy free)

Ingredients:

  • 1 14 oz can pumpkin puree
  • 1/3 cup coconut milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tsp liquid stevia*
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil or butter

Place all ingredients into your Vitamix blender, and whip together till smooth! You may enjoy at room temperature or let sit in fridge for an hour or so to set.

*Add more sweetness to your liking

Additional toppings: whipped cream or chocolate sauce!

If you need a easy vegan cream check out our cream recipe here .

DSC_0179Enjoy and happy holidays from the Pure2raw twins!!

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On The Tenth Day Before Christmas Cotter Crunch gave to you…

Savory Bread Pudding with Persimmon, Spinach, & Sage Sausage 

 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Egg Beaters
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or other milk of choice)

Seasonings

  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • handful each of fresh basil or 1 frozen basil cube
  • 1/4 teaspoon of garlic

Bread & filling

  • 4 Large Gluten Free bread slices cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 2-3 cups fresh spinach
  • 1 persimmon- diced ( you can also use apple or pear)
  • 3/4 cup diced cooked chicken sausage (I used Apple Gate Farms chicken and sage sausage)

Topping

  • 1.5 ounces raw white cheddar cheese or other dairy free cheese (cut in strips or shredded)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat an 8 x 8-inch glass baking dish or casserole dish with cooking spray.

2. To prepare custard: Whisk egg beaters and almond milk in a medium bowl. Add mustard, salt, pepper and thawed basil: whisk to combine.

3. Toss bread, spinach, persimmon, and sausage in a large bowl. Add the egg and seasoning mixture and mix well, coating all the bread. Transfer to your baking dish and push down to even out and until the mixture hits all 4 corners evenly.

4. Bake for about 10- 15 minutes, remove and add your cheese on top. Then bake for another 10 minutes until the egg mixture looks almost fully cooked and the cheese is almost melted. Broil the last 3-4 minutes in order to get the cheese browned and corners crispy!

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On The Ninth Day Before Christmas Katie from Making Food and Other Stuff gave to you…
Breakfast!!

I really wanted to send Lori a dessert recipe. Because, even though I estimate that 90% of my diet revolves around vegetables, its that other 10% that is most exciting and fun to share. The 10% that is made up of cookies.

You may think I’m exaggerating, but if anything, I am underestimating my cookie consumption. I post about one recipe a week for cookies, and, oh yeah. I live by myself. That’s a lot of cookies, kids, and they aren’t eating themselves.

And now that I’ve got you all excited about cookies, I’m going to talk about breakfast.

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There’s two things you need to know about my family to understand what I am about to say.

1. There are A LOT of us. Usually, on Christmas morning there are my parents, 4 brothers and sisters (with 2 significant others) and a niece and nephew. I’ll let you do the math, but let’s just say, that’s A LOT.

2. We like to eat.

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There are always (always) pancakes. Usually, they are of the chocolate chip variety, but I like to try and shake things up a bit with my pancakes.

Spinach pancakes anyone? How about some whole wheat cakes topped with sweet potato puree?

I know Lori likes to health it up, and if you are eating pancakes (with *ahem* a side of sugar cutout cookies) for breakfast, might as well sneak a veggie in there, no?

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And then there are eggs. Like pancakes, there are always eggs. Like pancakes, I eat my eggs with veggies.

I guess some would say that I eat my veggies with a side of eggs, but let’s not split hairs here.

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You can’t go wrong with lots of mustard for dippage.

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And, since it is the holidays, there are usually donuts sitting around too.

Because, come on…there doesn’t have to be veggies in everything does there?

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So everyone, you are cordially invited to come on over for a giant breakfast at my parents’ house. In addition to eggs, pancakes and donuts, there is never a shortage of bacon, sausage and toast on the table. Nor is there a shortage of Christmas music and lots of chatter.

If you’re lucky, you just might come during a year that we have a big food fight.

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If you’re unlucky, there may be some burned eggs. But, don’t worry, there are always more pancakes.

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On The Eighth Day Before Christmas From Nelly… With Love gave to you…
Grandmother’s Rohalyky

When my man’s grandmother passed away last December, a very traditional and loved recipe died along with her…rohalyky…a beautiful Ukrainian croissant like cookie stuffed with cherries…his father was devastated and so my quest began to locate the recipe and master it…it didn’t take long…the recipe was located and many batches of these cookies have been baked by this Italian.  These cookies are baked anytime there is a special holiday or event…and how fitting for Christmas…as they are rolled in walnuts and once baked I powder them the snowiest of icing sugar…enjoy!  And happy holidays to all.

Rohalyky

1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 pkg. quick yeast
2 1/4 cups of flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 lb. unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 jar of pitted cherries (Hungarian)
1 cup of walnuts, very finely chopped

Combine sugar with water, sprinkle with yeast and let stand 10 minutes.
Sift flour, sugar and salt.  Grate the hard chilled butter in short
strips on the coarse grater, combine with the sifted flour mixture and
keep cold.

Add the beaten egg to the dissolved yeast, combine with the flour
mixture, knead the dough lightly, but not to smoothness.  Cover with wax
paper and chill for 1 hour.

Roll the dough fairly thin (approximately 1/2 inch) on a floured board.
Cut into the desired size squares (2 to 2 1/2 inches).  Place the pitted
cherries on the square and fold the 2 opposite corners to overlap 1/2
inch at the centre.

Place in a greased pan and chill 1/2 hour in the refrigerator.  Preheat
oven to 450.  Brush rohalyky with beaten egg, sprinkle with finely
chopped nuts, place in the oven and immediately turn oven to 400 or 375.

Bake 12 minutes or until they turn a light brown color and are done.

NOTE:  Although yeast is used in this recipe the dough should not rise as it ordinarily would.

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On The Seventh Day Before Christmas What Runs Lori gave to you…
Rosemary Pistachio Cookies

These babies are festive (sort of), low on sugar, gluten and dairy free, vegan, and can be considered Paleo, if you want! And don’t let the rosemary stop you from making these. All-in-all, they’re fantastic! (recipe adapted from Delicious Living Magazine)

Rosemary Pistachio Cookies

  • 1 1/4 cup almond flour
  • pinch of sea salt
  • 1-4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 cup applesauce (or oil of choice)
  • 2 tbsp agave
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
  • 1/2 cup chopped pistachios

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, salt, and baking soda. In a small bowl, whisk together applesauce, agave, and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into dry. Fold in rosemary and pistachios.

2. Form dough into 1/2 inch to 1 inch balls, pressing (and flattening out) onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for about 6-8 minutes, until golden.

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On The Sixth Day Before Christmas Nelly gave another to you…
Shortbread Cookies!

I have always loved shortbread cookies…but have always been intimidated…I thought they would be extremely difficult to make…boy was I wrong…

I played around with a few recipes…and came up with the most perfect one…and a few people will attest to this fact…

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup 2 Tbsp icing sugar
  • 1/2 cup cornstarch or rice flour
  • 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder (1 tsp vanilla extract)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 300 °F. Beat butter until light and fluffy. Sift in icing sugar and beat again until fluffy, scraping down sides of the bowl often. Sift in cornstarch or rice flour and blend in. Sift in all purpose flour and salt and mix until dough comes together (it will be soft). Stir in vanilla.
  2. Spoon large teaspoonfuls of cookie dough, dip your hands in some flour, shape into balls, place onto an un-greased cookie sheet, leaving 2 inches between cookies place them on, flatten with a fork, add any type of sprinkle, or leave plain, and bake for 10 to 13 minutes, until bottoms brown lightly. Remove from cookie sheet to cool.

Enjoy, I know santa did…………..

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On The Fifth Day Before Christmas Loves Veggies And Yoga gave to you…
Chocolate Peppermint Donut Holes & Creme de Menthe Bars

 

Thanks, Lori, for asking me to contribute a recipe to your progressive 12 Days of Christmas theme.  I’m Averie from Love Veggies and Yoga

These Donut Holes are Raw/No-Bake, Vegan, and Gluten-Free.  They take about 5 minutes to come together in a Vita or food processor.  And yes, they actually taste great. I think anything chocolatey + pepperminty is such a lovely flavor combination for the holidays.  I hope you all enjoy my little Holiday contribution.

Raw Vegan Chocolate Peppermint Donut Holes

Raw Vegan Chocolate Peppermint Donut Holes

and

Vegan Creme de Menthe Bars (No-Bake)

Vegan Creme de Menthe Bars (No-Bake)Now, it’s back to the beach for me.  I’m in Aruba for the holidays with my family!  Happy Holidays, everyone!

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**Check back tomorrow, and each day leading up to Christmas, to get a new, creative, delicious recipe to try out!**

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14 People reacted on this

  1. Thanks for adding my recipes, Lori!

    I love everyone else’s contributions and wish everyone a great holiday season!!

    🙂
    .-= Averie (LoveVeggiesandYoga)´s last blog ..Pool Pictures- Winter Solstice- Tips for Free Goodies =-.

  2. […] to add a disclaimer right up front. This is a recycled post that I wrote for Lori for part of her 12 days of Christmas series. I am driving across the frozen (literally) ice-covered highways of Wisconsin. I’ll be back […]

  3. Thanks for featuring my recipe Lori! I am totally drooling over that pumpkin mousse and can’t wait to see what’s up next!
    .-= Alisa Cooks´s last blog ..My Christmas Gift List … =-.

  4. Love the texture of kabocha… I swear that’s the most savory thing about it. Slathered with almond butter and maybe a little chocolate… it’s soooo good. It looks like you eat the peel… I’ve been planning on eating the peel, but I keep buying kabocha’s that are all marbly and moldy-looking on top.

  5. yummmmm!!!! Our Christmas fare is more mangoes and prawns, but I miss hearty winter veggies so much! Pumpkin + ginger = winner. Always!
    .-= Kate @ Green & Juicy´s last blog ..Gone bush =-.

  6. can’t wait to see all 12 days!! 🙂
    .-= Averie (LoveVeggiesandYoga)´s last blog ..Caribbean Citrus &amp Veggie Stir Fry- Favorite Type of Cuisine =-.

  7. this looks so good! I need more Kabocha squash recipes!
    .-= Lindsay Cotter´s last blog ..Wordless Weekend thus far…… =-.

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