New Year's Resolutions: Day 1 of my 30 Day Vegan Challenge

New Year's Eve, at around 11:50pm, I was sitting on the ground on an old comforter with 2 sleeping dogs and 1 sleeping husband surrounding me. Ears and bums were scratched (dogs) and husband was poked every few minutes to keep him awake until midnight (not working). At 11:59pm, I shook C awake, waited, and wished everyone a happy new year! We got up to go to bed and I noticed that the clock I was watching was fast! Ugh! I had 3 minutes left. Oh well, this bought me one last chance at non-vegan treats. I am ashamed to say that at 11:59pm, I was eating as much Greek Yogurt as I could get into my mouth! I regret nothing. I stopped before the clock struck twelve and with one tick of the clock, I was now a vegan for the next month.

I woke up the next morning, after a well deserved sleep in (both hubs and the dogs shared that sentiment) feeling motivated and excited for a new year! I just have to interject here that as I type this (C is at boxing and America's Next top Model is on in the background), Maggie is snoring so loudly that I can barely hear myself think! She is laying in Butter's little bed like a cooked turkey. Hilarious! Back to the story...

So, up and motivated, it was breakfast time! Slow cooked oatmeal with chopped dried apricots. Hearty and tasty.

C and I sat at the table with some fresh brewed coffee and discussed our plans for the new year. While I've never really made resolutions in the past (I believe changes should be made as needed, not once a year), we chatted about what improvements we'd like to make over the next year. We decided on some key mutual goals that we'd like to achieve.

Here is our list:

1) Eat clean(er) - vegan month (incorporate more vegan all the time)

2) Make and follow a workout schedule

- M: Lose 7lbs, be bikini ready for Cuba trip (gym 6 days per week)

-C: get in shape for Cuba; fight ready by spring

3) Walk and play with the dogs more

4) Read more books (add books to my Kindle)

5) Do our budgets on time: save $ ahead of time and plan better

6) Plan house projects: execute them on a timeline (we have major building to do)

What do you think? Do you have some similar goals? Completely different?

Feel free to share some of your resolutions.

first vegan meal

 I'm thinking that the vegan foods we/I ate for day 1 were pretty boring and not worth posting, so, onto Day 2! Well, I already had oatmeal waiting, so I switched it up by topping it with some raw almond pieces and maple syrup (honey is off limits). I thought to balance this off, I would make smoothies: almond milk, frozen strawberries, and fresh cranberries. A fresh coffee with almond milk and I was set to start the day. Off to the gym!

smoothie in the making

vegan breakfast, yum!

 After the gym, I made a trip to Bulk Barn with a coupon in my hot little hands. If I was going to experiment with vegan cooking, as opposed to just cutting up some veggies for my meals, I was going to need some new ingredients. I washed out some containers (hey, reduce, reuse, recycle!) and made labels. Once I have a real pantry, I plan to do it up like Michael Smith's on his show Chef at Home with everything in clear glass Mason/canning jars. Oh, just seeing raw cashews in a washed out pasta sauce jar made me giddy!

So, here is what I bought: raw cashews (they cost me an arm and a leg - good thing veggies are cheap - they will be used to make fake cheese sauces and for snacking), sprouted grain bread (sprouted grains are recommended on many vegan sites), nutritional yeast (again, used in fake cheese sauces and in seitan recipes), vital wheat gluten (this is the bases for making one of my main proteins - seitan), soy slices (marinate for 15 minutes in hot water then use as you wish: stir fry, stews, etc), TVP (textured vegetarian protein - a soy protein used like ground meat, dehydrated in this case, you could use Yves ground round too), and powdered soy milk (I buy almond milk to drink, this will be for baking or cooking - I do the same with dried skim milk powder, saves money and doesn't go back as quickly).

vegan ingredients, at the ready

 I think I may have mentioned but I have been reading a ton of vegan blogs (well, I've read them in the past but now it was a matter of survival!). I have been bookmarking pages of recipes that I want to try here is one of them. It's called Mushroom and Spinach Manicotti and can be found on the Epicurean Vegan blog, here.

The recipe promised a vegan ricotta filling that can be used in many other recipes. We would see.

First things first, ingredient prep to make to cooking process quick and easy. Always read through a recipe before starting so you aren't surprised by a step or by something that needs to be done quickly. Have everything you need on hand and nearby, including your tools. So, chopped onion, mushroom, and spinach, waiting...

veggies for the manicotti filling

 The ricotta filling would be made with firm tofu instead of cheese...for $1.99 a block at Superstore, this seemed like a pretty good deal! (although I supposed it would balance out with those damn cashews for a cheese sauce).

extra firm tofu is a bargain!

 All of the tofu goes into a food processor with a ton of fresh basil (grrr, I want to grow my own herbs!), garlic, nutritional yeast, rosemary, salt and pepper.

ricotta filling ingredients

 Let the processor do it's work and voila! Instant basil flavoured ricotta. So easy! The texture is much denser than ricotta so I was a little worried that this wouldn't taste light and creamy.

basil tofu filling

 Here is where being organized helps. I had the water on to boil while I was preparing the filling. I dropped a box of manicotti shells into the rolling boiling water while I blended the filling. I only cooked the shells for 6 minutes: they were partially cooked but still held their shape...I figured they would soften in the oven with the sauce.

cooking pasta

 While the pasta cooked, I had plenty of time to saute the onion and mushrooms.

mushrooms and onions

 The cooked onions and mushrooms get added to the basil filling with the chopped raw spinach.

filling, done!

 So far, so good. This recipe was proving to be pretty easy. I was worried about the next step though...stuffing the shells. I have read that to stuff manicotti, it's easiest to fill a pastry bag or ziplock with a corner cut off, and then pipe in the filling at each end until it hits the middle of the shell. I knew this wouldn't be possible since the filling was so dense. Oh well, this wasn't ground meat and I wasn't shy. I just jumped right in! Whenever doing something messy with cooking, I try to keep one messy hand and one clean hand: this will give you a lot options if you need to pick something up that you don't want to get dirty. So, left hand holding the shell, my right hand scooped up the filling and just jammed it in with my fingers, from each end. It wasn't pretty, but it got the job done. I poured some pasta sauce into a 9x13" pan and then carefully laid the finished stuffed manicotti into the dish. I definitely get very corny when I am cooking alone and often personify my ingredients or unconsciously make up stories about them. I thought about the scene from Disney's The Little Mermaid when Sebastian gets trapped in the French chef's kitchen. The chef catches Sebastian, thinking that he's a runaway protein from one of his plates and proceeds to prepare him while he sings...."now I stuff you with bread, it don't hurt, 'cause you're dead, and it's certainly lucky you are!!!"...hmm, reading it doesn't sound as child friendly as I remember it, but it's really a great scene. So, I'm feeling a little sorry for my manicotti, as I'm stuffing them to the gills... But, it's for their own good and now I can carefully put them into their cozy bed of comforting sauce, and they are happy again! Smiles. By the way, the firm manicotti, perfect for this dense filling! If this pasta were cooked anymore, its limpness would have made it impossible to fill.

almost ready for the oven

 With the little pastas tucked snug into their bed of rich pasta sauce, some vegan shredded cheese on top (Daiya), they went into the oven for a nice warm bake. Picture a day at the beach, ahhh :)

baking manicotti

Since I am still waiting for scratch n sniff blogging options, let me just tell you that this dish filled the kitchen with the smell of a rich Italian dish. I was so excited to try this!

tofu mushroom and spinach manicotti

 I served this with some simply sauteed cauliflower and wow, what an awesome meal! C and I both really enjoyed this and there was plenty for leftovers. I would dare to say that this would freeze well. This would make an excellent dinner for guests, vegans and non-vegans alike! Go for it, give this a try at home. Don't tell anyone there's no cheese inside and see if anyone notices. Oh, but don't let them read this blog first. 

Italian vegan dinner

*   *   *   *   * 

Part of my new year's resolutions, while not on the list, is to be more contained in my note taking, clippings, and thoughts. I pulled out a fresh notebook and it is now my food book. This is not for keeping track of what I eat, but for making notes about meals or recipes that I want to cook, ingredients I'll need, where I found the recipes (so I can locate them again if they were in a blog), etc. So far, so good.

The book underneath is a new journal that I carefully picked out for myself. I haven't written in a journal/diary for a long time. Think about it. If you were going to be completely honest on paper, releasing all your darkness (fears, self-doubts, self-loathings, sadness, anger...everything that a proper young lady is not supposed to release to the world), would you trust this book to be out somewhere? What if it was read? Knowing this, could you be honest and use it as a release? We will see. I plan to use this book as my therapy. With my blog, you've likely noticed that my posts are good humored, upbeat and positive. I wish I could say that I am always like my blog version of myself but I am only human. I have my doubts, fears, and issues. However, my blog is not the venue for sharing that sort of thing. That is where this journal will come in. I have a name for this journal already, though not on paper yet. I like the idea of balance, that there are 2 sides of extreme and that one cannot experience or fully understand one side without the other. There is no happiness without sadness, no light without dark, no love without loss. 

This book is The Dark Passenger and the White Owl. One represents all of the negativity and darkness that needs to be released from my soul, the other represents the wise, free, and soaring spirit that understands that this too shall pass and that there is a greater good for all pain: that all things can be overcome with time and effort. This is my balance. 

The pages remain blank, but this book is around for when it needs to be. Waiting.

notes and thoughts

On the Road to a Month-Long Vegan Vacation

I had been reading a ton of vegan blogs and cookbooks and decided to try a 30 day vegan diet. I had a number of reasons for trying this: the challenge of a new way of cooking and thinking, a healthier approach (no cholesterol, no casein, hopefully less saturated fat and more healthy fats, more vitamins), a more ethical and kind diet (no animals harmed), and just getting in the habit of eating more vegetables. I planned to start this challenge in the new year, on January 1st, 2012, along with anyone that would like to join me. Despite still having a week or so before the challenge, this didn't mean that I wasn't going to experiment with some recipes before the V-day. If I was going to give up meat, poultry, eggs, dairy (ahem, cheese!), and all animal products, then I would need some good replacement recipes in my arsenal. Since C and I already eat a load of veggies, fruits, and legumes, this wasn't so much of a concern for me. I'm not a fussy veggie eater, bring on the colours! What I was worried about was cravings for meat, the texture of meat, cheese, and eggs. We already drink almond milk (usually unsweetened) so that would be fine. Yogurt, well, my afternoon snack would need to be replaced. Really, I had no firm plan, I was just going to make notes of recipes I wanted to try and go with the flow.

First on my list was a seitan recipe. According to my readings, vegan replacements for meat are usually made of either vital wheat gluten or soy. Seitan is a wheat gluten version of meatless protein. I decided to make my first attempt a Vegan Nom Nom vegan blog version found here.

The recipe seems to be pretty typical. Vital wheat gluten and nutritional yeast (I found both at Bulk Barn) get mixed with other dry ingredients, usually seasonings.

seitan dry ingredients

 Next, the wet ingredients get mixed together in another bowl. Typically, this is another way to season the dough...lemon juice, veggie broth, garlic, oil, tamari or soy sauce.

seitan wet ingredients

 Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. A spongy dough will form immediately. This recipe requires that the seitan be formed into rounds, flattened as you're able (the gluten tends to spring back) and then boiled in a broth like dumplings.

seitan mixture

seitan dough done

leftover hunks of fake meat, saved for later (these get covered in leftover broth)

 Honestly, this stuff was pretty easy to make! No slaving away in the kitchen or needing to defrost anything. Sure, you needed to make a broth, but I had other seitan recipes waiting to be tested that were simply baked. Excellent! Now, for actually serving this up. Meal one: sliced and pan fried seitan served on a slice of sprouted grain bread with homemade black bean spread (can of rinsed and drained black beans, leftover fresh salsa, onion, jalapenos, tomato, garlic and salt and pepper, all in the food processor until smooth), sprouts, a fresh tomato, and some fresh baby spinach leaves. A side of lightly sauteed zucchini. The verdict? The sandwich was filling and had a meaty flavour and texture, although more of a processed meat texture. The flavour was mostly garlic and soy sauce but quite tasty.

seitan sandwich with bean spread and zucchinis

side view of the seitan sandwich

 What else could I make with this seitan? I had 2 more large chunks bobbing in their broth in the fridge like little organs in formaldehyde. Stew! Ok, you've recently seen the beef version so you understand the concept, but would it work with seitan? Would it work with vegan margarine? We'd soon find out...

Since I didn't need to brown the meat, there would be nothing in the pan to de-glaze. Hmmm...I decided to make a roux instead...flour, garlic, and vegan margarine. Whisked up until thick and then I poured in some veggie broth.

the start of a vegan stew

 Since I wasn't entirely sure how this would turn out, I thought that making a smaller batch might be practical, in case it wasn't as edible as I hoped. I chopped up a couple of potatoes, some carrots and celery.

veggies for the stew

 Since no meat needed to be cooked until tender, this wouldn't need to stay on the stove for too long. I chopped up the seitan into bite-sized chunks and into the pot!

chopped seitan

 With all of the chopped ingredients in the pot, it was time to season the stew. It wasn't getting as thick as I had hoped so I started with the seasoning...some red wine, a bay leaf, thyme, pepper...left to simmer.

meatless stew

 With the stew shaping up and not quite ready to eat, I decided to make myself a quick stir fry. With C out of town, I was cooking for one. I stir-fried some broccoli, cauliflower, soy slices (dehydrated fake meat from Bulk barn), and soba noodles. I stole some of the seitan's liquid to cook the meal and poured it all into a brightly coloured bowl. A little bit of cherry sauce on top to finish and I was ready for a filling meal! Chopsticks in hand, I plopped myself onto the couch for a relaxing dinner.

delicious stir-fry

 We had bought a package of curry flavoured tempeh strips (fermented soybeans, pressed into a block) and I loved them! I found a recipe for tempeh bacon that sounded good on Epicurean Vegan but couldn't find any plain tempeh at Superstore. I looked up how to make my own tempehfacon (fake bacon) out of firm tofu? See the base recipe that I used here.

I just made sure to drain and press out as much of the liquid from the tofu as I could before marinating the sliced bacon-sized strips.

Water, liquid smoke (I found a hickory version at Superstore), maple syrup and soy sauce. I left the tofu to suck up as much flavour as possible for about 20 minutes.

marinating facon

 Carefully placing the delicate tofu strips into a hot oiled pan to cook until golden...

facon cooking

 A careful flipping and more of the sauce poured over top of these golden, crisp, and sticky beauties. The smell was fantastic! The liquid smoke and maple definitely made the kitchen smell bacon-y.

facon almost done

 Now, what could be better than a BLT? Except, I had no lettuce...so, I had to use sprouts instead. No matter, they would nicely hold the sliced tomatoes in place. My vegan mayonnaise, Nayonaise, was also from Superstore. Another variety is called Vegenaise.

BLT ingredients 

cross-section of the sammie

 Served with some sauteed zucchini and mushrooms and some steam asparagus and we had ourselves another fine meal. C approved of this dinner and so did I. I would definitely be making this fake bacon again and again, I was already thinking about trying it with the seitan instead of tofu.

Facon sprout and tomato sammie and sides

 I tasted the stew before packing it up into the fridge for later and C did as well. It was actually rather tasty. The wine flavour came through first, and it was salty and more like a rich soup. Not bad but it could be perfected.

With my brand new orange Bodum coffee grinder just waiting to chomp up its first beans, we drove down to Cornelia Bean on Corydon to buy an inaugural bag. After indulging in some decadent loose leaf tea, we made our way home to grind our first batch of beans for our little French press. The aroma was unbelievable and the coffee was amazing! This grinder was quick and precise and hardly made any mess at all. Guests will be definitely treated to freshly ground coffee at our place now!

freshly ground coffee

 The vegan experiments were going ok but I was still not officially on the wagon, so to speak. On New Year's Eve, C and I went to Polo Park Shopping Centre for a little impromptu shopping as he owed me a trip for Christmas. I was bought a very cute little strapless sweetheart neckline navy polka-dotted dress and then to my dismay and C's good fortune, the mall was closed. With another hour and a bit until our reservation at Sushi Cushi (which we like to call Sushi Oushi), we decided to stop into Earl's for a drink. Had I known that we were going to be "going out" I would have worn something a little nicer than jeans and a brightly coloured hoodie. No matter. I was there with the love of my life, away from it all, for a night. We sipped our drinks, his Whisky Sour and my slushy Lemon Meringue, and slyly smiled at each other as a large plate of fries was presented before us (a little pre-dinner snack). The salty crisp hot fries were perfect and was cheers-ed each other while discussing our new year's resolutions. With fries eaten and drinks finished, our hunger settled just enough, we left to make our sushi reservation. We had received some money from my grandparents for Christmas and decided to use that to treat ourselves to this lovely night out. We had about $35 left and this bought us some Bakudan, Volcano, Happy Mouth, and one other roll, along with edamame beans and my first taste of sushi pizza. Mmm! The meal was tasty but a little too heavy and fried tasting for me. We headed home to relax, spend some quiet time with the girls, and sleep. Happy new Year's, everyone. I hope that you had a great year and have some great resolutions that you're working on for 2012. Cheers and goodnight.

Christmas Morning: a first at our house!

C and I went to bed at a reasonable hour on Christmas eve, then proceeded to spend the rest of the night tossing and turning. Apparently our minds were so excited for Christmas to come that they ignored our exhausted bodies. There's nothing worse than insomnia. Laying in bed for hours, tired, but not sleeping...at about 3am I got up to let out the dogs and at 4am C suggested since we were still up that we walk them. I declined and figured rest was the next best option if I couldn't sleep. Finally, peace came and I managed to get a few hours of sleep. After laying in bed together for a while, wrapped in our puffy down comforter, with the sun peaking in through the window and Christmas morning upon us, we finally decided to get up. We both put on some comfortable lounge clothes, brushed our teeth, let the dogs out, and gave each other a long warm hug in the kitchen.

Christmas spirit had come in the night and sprinkled itself all over us and through the house. I plugged in the white Christmas tree lights and the twinkle lights around the window to add to the charm and flipped on the radio to a station that played non-stop Christmas music. 

Time to get brunch prepared. We took a look over our brunch to-do list to see what the timing was going to be on our dishes. Before cooking a larger meal for company, I like to make a prep list which includes a timing sheet. Basically, I read over all of the recipes to see how long they are going to take to finish, then working backwards from the time that I want to serve the meal, I figure out when everything needs to either be cooked, chilled, poured, or baked. This ensures that when company sits down to eat, everything is ready at its proper temperature at the same time.

Something that we needed to consider was that a number of our dishes needed to go into the oven: two quiches, a large pan of cinnamon buns, a large pan of potato chunks, and a loaf of bread which was a present for my brother and his girlfriend. The bacon needed to be cooked but that was something to do when people arrived so it would be hot to serve. Mulled wine needed to go on soon so that it had time to simmer and allow the flavours to steep together. Cream cheese icing could be made while everything else was baking. I had set the table the night before so that we wouldn't be worrying about that this morning as well. Aside from that, we just needed to put out condiments and make coffee.

First things first, the quiche. This would take the longest in the oven and was being baked around the same temperature as the bread. Quiche is pretty easy...eggs, milk or cream, and salt and pepper get combined and then poured over top of a pie shell filled with veggies and/or meat. Cheese can be mixed in or sprinkled on top. We had sauteed the veggies that night before and made the filling then as well. This morning, all we needed to do was add the filling to the shells and carefully pour the egg mixture on top. I am always careful to place quiche onto a baking sheet in case the egg mixture overflows during baking. The deep dish pies would go into the oven for 45-65 minutes, depending on how quickly the filling sets.

veggie quiches

 Since the quiches would take longest, we put them in with enough time to come out just before company was supposed to be arriving. The braided bread went in with the quiche on the bottom rack so that it would have time to cool and be wrapped with enough time. The bread only took about half the time as the quiche and it came out perfectly.

braided Challah

 While the oven looked after its dishes, I started on the mulled wine. I had never made this before and simply searched a recipe online to try. Red wine, sliced oranges and lemons, cloves, sugar, cinnamon sticks, cardamon, nutmeg, all went into a pot to simmer.

mulled wine

 With the bread out of the oven, there was a free rack for the potatoes now. Since there was about 25-35 minutes left on the quiche, the potatoes would be done shortly before them and the cinnamon buns could take their place (these rolls only take about 10 minutes in the oven). Timing timing timing. My parents showed up on time and we all shared hugs and put the presents that they brought under the tree. Since C is terrible at waiting for presents and had been harassing me for weeks and weeks on end about what he was getting for Christmas, I made sure that his loot was all safely locked away at my parent's place. With all of the extra presents, there was a landslide of goodies, overflowing from under the tree. Christmas music playing in the background, the kitchen warm from the oven, and hugs all around, it was indeed a good Christmas morning.

So, now was the time to finish everything up. C started making the cream cheese frosting and I offered drinks. My dad jumped in to help and he took over the turkey bacon while C looked after the pork version. The cinnamon buns, potatoes and quiche were done and went onto the table.

Veggie and cheese quiche and roasted potatoes

warm cinnamon buns, waiting for their cream cheese frosting

We were all ready for a nice hearty meal.

Turkey and pork bacon

 We all dug into the spread and aside from mmm's and ahhh's, there wasn't much other conversing for the first 5 minutes. Once we all tucked into our meal, we took some time to share news and stories and everyone seemed to be having a lovely time. I was so happy with how Christmas brunch had turned out and loved that everyone could make it to our place to share it with us. This was the first time that my brother had ever seen our house as well, so I was glad that he was able to come by.

Christmas morning 2011 brunch

 It wasn't just a first for my brother and his girlfriend to see our house, but it was a first for them to meet our new addition as well. With a Christmas tradition started by moi, every year Mrs B, and now Maggie, get a new Christmas sweater or shirt. Butters got a red and green stripped fun-fur lined tshirt that stated in sparkles "L'il Grinch" and Maggie received a lovely black and red ensemble from my mother-in-law. Doesn't she just look adorable? Apparently their revenge for the attire they were forced to endure was to produce the stinkiest smelliest fog possible. They added to the Christmas spirit by turning the air green with their puffs of putrid and kept us all laughing and holding our noses. With our holiday meal digesting and warm or festive drinks in our mugs, it was time to open presents together. My brother and I pulled out presents from the pile and passed them around so that everyone had something in front of them and we began unwrapping. C FINALLY opened the presents that he'd harassed me over incessantly and watching his reaction made it all worthwhile. He got his first pair of sparring gloves, two pairs of MMA training shorts, and a pair of hand pads. Those were on his most wanted list and he was happy as a clam and excited to get to class with his new toys. Other presents opened that day were multiple copies of Clean Eating, beautiful sweaters, sweater boots, an old-school phone receiver that plugs into a smart-phone, a sushi maker, fishing reel, coffee grinder, books, and many other thoughtful, useful, and fun goodies. Christmas morning was a huge success and once everyone made their way home after hugs and well-wishes, we cleaned all the dishes, put the kitchen back to its original state, and collapsed on the couch. With any luck, next year, we might be able to host Christmas dinner ;)

The 12 Rolls of Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a...."Butters! Maggie! Stop It!" The two beasts apparently had ants in their invisible pants and were running all over the place, chewing on each other's faces and yanking toys away from each other. It was Christmas eve and this type of chaos was welcomed. Aside from the dog's gremlin sounds and panting, the house was quiet and peaceful. Both C and I were now off work for a week and finally starting to unwind. No more shopping, wrapping, decorating...just cooking was left. 

C asked if I wanted to have my family over for Christmas morning this year (usually, my mom has my brother and I over to their place) and I jumped at the offer. C's family doesn't celebrate any holidays so they are never a big deal for him. While I've enjoyed Christmas since we celebrated it, C is more into personal events like birthdays and our anniversary. I think that C could take or leave Christmas. With our house under construction, we've never had a large family gather at our place and I have been DYING to host one of the huge holiday meals: Christmas, Easter, or Thanksgiving dinner with everyone. Having my parents, brother and his girlfriend over for Christmas brunch was just as good and I invited everyone a month in advance and agonized over the meal planning. Scrambled eggs? Quiche? Cinnamon buns are a must, but should we do other carbs like toast, bagels, muffins, potatoes...what about meat? Bacon, sausage, turkey bacon? Veggies? Fruit salad? Yogurt? Oh, decisions decisions!

After much careful thought and paring down (after all, we didn't want to have so many leftovers that our fridge was bulging out of control...along with our waistlines), we finally agreed on a menu: protein would be vegetarian and cheese quiche x2 (no scrambled eggs...Fact: I made myself scrambled eggs the morning of our wedding, at my parent's place, with my hair done, veil in, and comfy clothes on) as well as pork and turkey bacon strips. I would make the quiches and C would cook the bacon. Next. Carbs. Savory would be oven roasted potato chunks. Sweet would be homemade cinnamon buns (I'd make these) with plenty of cream cheese frosting (C would handle that). Veggies wouldn't be too plentiful for breakfast but there'd be loads in the quiche. Fruit juice. Tea. Coffee. Mulled wine. I tried this at a friend's Pirate Party for International Talk Like a Pirate Day (Fact: we were married on International Talk Like a Pirate Day) and loved the spicy, sweet, boozy taste. Menu complete.

'Twas the night before Christmas and we hadn't eaten dinner yet... I was getting hungry and so brunch prep was going to have to wait. To save ourselves time in the morning, we were going to prep the cinnamon buns and the quiche vegetable and liquid filling ahead of time. Right now though, I was craving something refreshing for dinner. Refreshing but filling without weighing me down: sushi! I had nori in the pantry and we had ripe avocados in a bowl. No salmon but that was ok. These wouldn't be vegan (I didn't use Vegenaise, I wanted to use up the last of the light Miracle Whip) but they would be tasty! I got C to make sushi rice in the rice cooker while I chopped the avocado and got the dough started for the cinnamon buns.

sticky rice in a bowl to cook slightly

 If you don't have a sushi mat, get one. This makes rolling sushi so simple. Place a piece of nori onto the mat, get a bowl of cool water and keep it nearby your mat and the rice. Roll up your sleeves, it's go time! Dip your fingers into the cool water so that the sticky rice doesn't stick to you. Grab small finger-fulls of rice and carefully spread a thin layer of rice onto the nori, leave an inch at the top end. Keep dipping your fingers into the water as needed.

sushi rice on nori

 For the filling, I had the fresh ripe avocado is, but I wanted to make the roll more like what we'd order from Sushi Cushi. I took some light Miracle Whip and mixed in some sweet chili sauce. While this was resting, I spread some panko crumbs onto a baking sheet, lighty sprayed them with Pam, and crisped them up in the oven under the broiler, carefully watching them so they don't burn. My idea was that these would be like a vegetarian Bakudan roll. The panko being a healthier alternative to the deep fried crisps they use at restaurants. I spread the sauce on the rice, layered on the avocado in the middle, and sprinkled on the panko.

sushi unrolled

 Rolling time. Start at the bottom and work your way up, using the mat to keep the roll even and together. When you get to the top without the rice, use your fingers to slick some water onto the area, then press the nori flap onto the roll and press until it sticks.

sushi being rolled

 Rolls, rolls, everywhere rolls! The dough was made in the breadmaker but didn't feel right. It wasn't stretchy or soft enough. It felts too elestic-y and hard. We rolled it out anyways and hoped for the best but I was stressed about it. Normally our dough comes out perfect but nooooo

cinnamon dough rolled out

 Begin rolling the dough from the bottom up, slowly. This will be a little tricky at first but once you get the roll going, it gets easier. Make sure the roll is tightly rolled, but don't force it.

rolling the dough

 Once the cinnamon roll is done, slice it into 12 equal sized pieces. I do this by slicing it in half, then thirds, then those into halves. Use a sharp knife. A knife-sharpener is a great tool in your kitchen arsenal.

cutting the rolls

cross-section

 Again, I could tell that the dough didn't feel right but what could we do but just hope for the best? It was already getting late...

Sprinkle more brown sugar into the greased pan and lay the rounds out on top, three by four as shown. Our trick is to cover these in plastic wrap and let them rise overnight. This has always produced the lightest, fluffiest, airiest cinnamon buns ever.

finished rolls, waiting to rise

nice tight rolls

 With the cinnamon buns prepped, the rolls of sushi that were holding together in the fridge were ready for us to eat. Have I mentioned how much I love sushi? I'm not super adventurous but I like the raw salmon, tuna, and scallop varieties and was very much looking forward to these vegetarian versions. Remember to sharpen those knives! You'll need a sharp blade to slice perfect rounds of sushi that don't fall apart.

sushi sushi sushi!!

 One of my favorite things about sushi, aside from the obvious fresh, clean and vibrant taste, is how pretty it looks. Black nori, clean white sushi rice...the perfect contrast to each other, a virtual yin and yang, highlighted by warm pink salmon flesh, bright green avocado, dots of red hot pepper sauce... Sigh, sushi is a masterpiece. An edible work of art almost too beautiful to eat. If it's true that we eat with our eyes first then sushi is the ultimate feast for the senses.

I arranged the sushi onto a square white plate to add to the stunning appearance of the bite sized delicacies and felt very spoiled. We were having homemade sushi for dinner on Christmas eve.

Christmas eve sushi

our dinner

 Since we didn't have enough rice to make more than a few rolls, we supplemented this meal with more sushi restaurant inspired sides: shelled edamame beans and sweet potato, baked in the oven in some oil in a cast iron skillet. Perfect. 

Christmas eve meal

With dinner eaten and our bellies full, we sat and enjoyed some quiet time on the couch while the dogs napped on their blanket. This was going to be a good Christmas morning, I could tell.