A salad my niece made, with vegan dressing.
Thanksgiving? But, you say (I can hear you), it's almost Christmas! The excuse of my life, but I have been busy. In any case, if I post my dishes from Thanksgiving I can hopefully help you bring some ideas for Christmas dinner to the table (quite literally).
This was my first major food holiday being vegan, and it went quite well. My sister-in-law and niece (who's becoming quite the chef/baker) intentionally made some vegan dishes which was amazing! I didn't anticipate getting stuffed to the gills, like I usually do, but I did so I count that as a success!
Dish #1: Whole roasted parsnips (from Kirsop Farm). I rinsed, cut off the ends, tossed in sunflower oil, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and ground rosemary (grown by my friend Maggie, dried and ground by myself; super fresh). I actually roasted these in our toaster oven (out of necessity, because holiday baking), so it was good to know that it works.
Roasted Parsnips
Dish #2: Butternut squash wedges (squash from Alvarez Farms). I peeled the squash (tip: using a carrot peeler works a lot better than using a knife, like I'd been doing for years!), cut it in half and deseeded it, and chopped it into wedges (think potato wedges, but you just have to work with the contours of the squash). Then I tossed the wedges in sunflower oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, and freshly chopped sage. I baked them for about 45 minutes and accidentally broiled them for half the time, which worked out well as it gave them some crispness.
Pre-baked.
Mmmm.
Dish #3: Lime Cheesecake, from The Splendid Table website. I'm still trying to perfect my vegan cheesecakes. My goal is to get them as smooth and creamy as Liberation Bakery, so I'll just keep buying theirs at the Ballard Farmers Market for motivation and, of course, for deliciousness.
This crust has so many good flavors going on.
Freshly poured, before freezing.
Yum.