Sundried Tomato Cream Sauce

Despite my totally uninspiring photo, the Sundried Tomato Cream Sauce from Yellow Rose Recipes is brilliant. I made it three times - one after the other - because I just love it so much. It's good on everything! Pasta, homemade gnocchi, raw veggies, on it's own, just genius. After making it the first time, I added more sundried tomatoes than the recipe called for but that's the only change I made. I also tripled the recipe after the first time because a single recipe is just not enough for a sauce so tasty! My dad even tempted fate by eating some (he is allergic to soy), which really just speaks to the power of this sauce. It is so good, you would rather risk death (or an EpiPen) than live without eating it.

What was that? You just realized that you don't own Yellow Rose Recipes and the shame is overwhelming you? Don't fret! Buy it from Herbivore!

Christmas Eve

I know, I know. Christmas Eve was weeks ago. Whatever! Now is the appropriate time for me to post what I cooked!

Pictured above is my (totally awesome!) vegetable Christmas tree. Orange sweet pepper, broccoli, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, and pretzels. I was the most proud of this, even though it just involved putting chopped veggies on a tree-shaped plate. It was a big hit though. I was worried that people would be like, why are there raw veggies (and fruit! and pretzels!)? This is a holiday celebration - we don't have time for sensible appetizers! But no one can resist things in tree shapes.I served the veggies with Peanut-Sesame Hummus (from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan), Red Pepper Hummus (from Yellow Rose Recipes), and the Cashew-Cucumber Dip (from Veganomicon - not pictured). The Peanut-Sesame was the most popular, although the Cashew-Cucumber is my all-time favorite dip. I was a bit disappointed in the Red Pepper - I had to add a lot more roasted red peppers than it called for and the addition of curry powder really overwhelmed all the flavors anyway. The texture was great though and I will probably try to make it again, sans curry powder.

I have been looking for an excuse to make the Cheater Baked Beans (Veganomicon) for several months now. These are distinctly different from canned baked beans but still totally delicious. I am now curious as to why canned baked beans are brown, since these were a nice red color. Mystery! I didn't have any light molasses, so I just used regular molasses and added it until it tasted right. These beans also had considerable more texture than their canned brethren. I will definitely be making these again sometime.

For dinner, I also served Carrot Bisque (Vegan with a Vengeance) in adorable little bowls. Additionally, there were mashed (riced!) Yukon Gold potatoes with almond milk & Earth Balance
and roasted applesauce (Vegan with a Vengeance). Everything was a big hit, which means that all of these dishes are very omni-friendly.

My dad and I made gluten-free (and vegan, obviously) versions of the spritz cookies from one of Betty Crocker's cookbooks. I was unimpressed but, after eating one of these, I realized that I didn't like spritz cookies even when I was younger - so pretty but not tasty. My dad loved these those and that's all that matters! Plus, I got to dye things. YAY!