Let’s be a bit more inclusive this year for Christmas by providing vegetarian options!
As a vegetarian of course I wanted to write this article but also because I can see a lot of people struggling for the Christmas dinner when they invite over some vegetarian guests.
I wanted to give you some options to cook a very easy and simple dinner for your friends and family, with maybe less animal products. Of course it’s not part of my usual craft field, but it’s part of the creativity you have to develop.
The classic French menu for the end of the year celebrations
Christmas is a holiday in France during which we usually dine on a lot of dishes rich in animal products.
As a starter there are often oysters and seafood, accompanied by salmon or shrimp. Then there is the traditional goose or duck foie gras. A delight for the taste buds but a terrible breeding practice for poor animals. Then the main course is usually made up of poultry: turkey, capon, goose… it all depends on the number of guests. Accompanied by potatoes. This is followed by the cheese platter with good bread, and the sweet ”bûche”/cake made up the dessert.
In short, Christmas is very plentiful in France and it is not always easy for a vegetarian like me to find something savoury and indulgent to eat.
The vegetarian menu for the holidays
So here is a gourmet and vegetarian menu that should delight you for the end of the year celebrations (but not only!). The idea is to adapt your usual meal to the vegetarians who are at your table.
The starter
As a starter or as an aperitif, you can offer eggplant caviar or tapenade toast. I often find eggplant caviar finer and tastier for a holiday menu. This will easily replace foie gras toasts. There is also “vegan foie gras”. A kind of vegan foie gras. Each brand has its own recipe but my favorite is the faux gras from the Gaia brand. It is sold in the Netherlands, France and Belgium.
The main course
Rather than making a special dish for your vegetarian friend, why not just take the poultry off their plate and replace it with some mushrooms and chestnuts? This is usually hearty and tasty enough for your guest. Being vegetarian does not necessarily mean that we want to replace meat / fish in our dishes at all costs. We are happy to only have what we consider “accompaniment”: vegetables and starches.
Cheese and dessert
As for the rest of the meal, if your guests are vegan then there are various vegan cheeses on the market. Do not ruin yourself, very often at this stage of the meal the guests are not really hungry anymore...
Finally, the dessert can consist either of a traditional yule log, or of fruit and chocolates. It is increasingly easy to find vegan products (like logs or vegan cakes) in stores, but you can also make your own vegan dessert.
I hope that through this article you will find the inspiration you need to cook vegetarian or vegan for the holiday season.
Christmas cookies
As Christmas is this Saturday, I think you will enjoy putting yourself in a christlassy ambiance by cooking these little Christmas biscuits.
If you’ve come to one of the wreaths workshop in December you might have tried some of these… and it’s all about butter and sugar!
Ingredients
250g butter
250g sugar (brown sugar if you have is better)
2 eggs
500g flour
10g baking soda
30g vanilla sugar
5 drops of orange blossom
Instructions
Melt the butter
Mix all ingredients in a bowl, with your hands or an electric mixer.
Let it rest for 1 or 2 hours.
Flour the surface and pull out the dough. Make the little biscuits using cookie cutters to make any shape you want.
Bake in the oven for 10minutes at 210C
Let the cookies cool down for a bit. You can decorate them or just enjoy them like that!
You can store the biscuits in a metallic box or a jar for approximately 2 weeks… but you might eat them all before that
Tell me if you tried them and send me some nice pics!
Drying Oranges at home
Why drying oranges?
For this winter you can decorate your home with slices of citrus fruit to make in the oven. It’s easy to make, cost effective and gives a very nice sent in your home during the preparation. If you have an oven you should defenitly try it!
You can use these dehydrated slices for:
decorate your Christmas wreaths
make a 100% natural garland
decorate a potpourri in the living room
decorate your Christmas table
decorate gift packages to your loved ones
In this post I would like to tell you how I did it for the first time this year. It was really easy but I must warn you that it can take a long time to dry well. Let’s see how to make some at home…
Preparation
Tools
To make some nice orange slices you will need :
Oranges of course. Count approximately 2 oranges per cooking grill in your oven. So if you only have 2, then dont buy more than, 4 big oranges.
A very sharp knife. It is important that it is sharp otherwise you won’t be able to cut thin slices, and the drying part will take forever.
Towels or
Cooking paper
An oven that can heat at 70 to 80°C
Preheating the oven
Once you have everything in front of you, you can already preheat the oven at 75°C or 80°C. Make sure your oven stays that temperature during all the drying part. If it gets too hot, you will see your slices become brown (and we don’t want that!).
Cutting the oranges
You can start cutting the oranges in beautiful slices of approximately 3 to 4mm maximum. Make sure your knife is really sharp (and be careful not to cut any finger^^). The thinner the slices are, the easiest the drying part is gonna be. If your slices are more than 6mm, don’t use them (you can eat them right now). They will take forever to dry or will burn before they are completely dry.
Wringing the slices
Before putting the slices on the oven rack, you should wring them with a towel or paper. A big part of the juice will come out and you will save some time for the drying part in the oven. Make sure you don’t smash the slices during this procedure.
Drying in the oven
You can now put the slices on the oven rack (on a parchment/backing paper). Dispose them in one single layer, they can touch each other because they will become a bit smaller when drying.
Put them in the oven now, and keep the temperature between 70°C and 80°C.
Every 30min you will turn them upside down, so each part of the orange is dried the same way. It’s important to do so, otherwise your oranges can burn on one side.
The slices will be completely dry in 3 to 4 hours approximately, depending on the thickness of the slices, and your oven of course. Some pieces may dry quickly, in less 2 hours. Make sure that every 30min you remove the ones that are already dried.
If the oven becomes too hot, just remove the racks and let them dry a bit outside, until they completely cool down. Of course you will set your oven to a minimum temperature, or let the door open for a few minutes. Then you can put the slices back in the oven and continue the procedure (but normally this doesn’t happen if you follow the instructions).
If the oven becomes too hot, just remove the racks and let them dry a bit outside, until they completely cool down. Of course you will set your oven to a minimum temperature, or let the door open for a few minutes. Then you can put the slices back in the oven and continue the procedure (but normally this doesn’t happen if you follow the instructions).
Do not try to dry them faster by adding some degrees in the oven, it just doesn’t work.
Each time you will remove some dried slices, you can put them on a cold rack or a plate to let them cool down slowly.
How to store the dried slices
Once every slice is dried, you can let them in your kitchen during a day, to make sure they don’t stay humid or warm. Then, you can store them in a jar, a metal box, or anything that will keep them from getting dry or humid.
Of course you can use them directly for whatever you want : nice decors in your living room, setting a table for celebrations, etc.
If you have tried it please let me know I would be so happy to see it!
Make your own Granola !
The origins of Granola
Granola was invented in the early 1860s in the United States by Dr. James Caleb Jackson, manager of a health resort in New York. He uses for its manufacture a dough of flour spread in a thin layer and baked, and then calls it “Granula”, from the Latin name "granum" which means "seed".
The grunola was then soaked in milk overnight and served as breakfast to patients. The whole point of this was to provide healthy food for his patients.
A few years later, Doctor John Harvey Kellogg would have had the same idea. Following legal proceedings, Dr. Kellogg was forced to change his name from "grunola" to granola !
It was in the 1960s that the Hippie movement, which modified the basic recipe to obtain a more natural mixture, made granola truly known and healthy at the same time. They decided to add fruit and honey, for example, for more indulgence and a truly complete breakfast.
Today, the granolas that we find on the market are often of low nutritional quality or very expensive. Yet, prepared and eaten the right way, granola can offer a multitude of health benefits, and in some cases even be a real healthy snack.
When to eat Granola ?
Of course, it can be consumed at any other time of the day and even as a dessert. Personally, I never eat breakfast. I'm just not hungry when I wake up! So I eat granola as a snack at 10 a.m., or in the afternoon.
Sometimes, I even take it as dessert, for lunch or dinner, with 0% cottage cheese or yogurt. This really makes it possible to close the appetite and it is both so good!
Most of the time granola is eaten for breakfast. It represents a rather complete contribution for this important meal of the day.
The benefits of Granola
Granola, due to its composition, offers many health benefits for everyone, at all ages. Of course, it all depends on what you are going to put in your granola. But on the basis of a “classic” granola, we can easily say that it will:
allow you to maintain a sufficient fiber intake during the day, and therefore help with good transit;
constitute an excellent source of proteins;
protect the heart thanks to healthy unsaturated fats for the cardiovascular system;
help reducing cholesterol thanks to its fiber and good fat content;
to satisfy one's hunger. Indeed, it is a very satiating food that also regulates blood sugar;
fight fatigue, as well as in times of stress and convalescence. Because it gives us a lot of energy and vitality;
bring oats, seeds and nuts, which all have the excellent property of balancing the nervous system, and therefore helping to reduce stress;
strengthen your immune defenses, if consumed throughout the year;
And the best thing about granola is that it is suitable for everyone, young and old, athletes, pregnant or breastfeeding women, etc!
Why doing it yourself?
I always find it interesting to do it yourself, in general. Products like Granola are so easy to make that I don't see much point in buying a ready-made one. Especially since it gives us the freedom to put what we want inside. For a few months I have been on a diet, and I try not to eat too much of things that are too sweet or too fatty. Being able to make my own granola and take it with 0% yogurt is a great way to keep control over my diet, while having fun.
So here are some reasons why you should make your own granola, rather than buying it:
Take time for yourself: indeed, the activity, alone, of cooking, allows you to free up time for yourself. From the store stage to the oven, it is a real "project" that you do yourself. It's so many times when we don't think about work, stress, or the things that have upset us. I love cooking while listening to podcasts. It's a way for me to take the time to do things and refocus on what's important.
This is a fun and easy activity with children. If you have kids, once they are old enough, this is a fun and engaging activity to do with your kids. Of course in the first place it is a moment of sharing. But it is also an opportunity to introduce them to the different seeds and cereals, dried fruits. They will be able, without danger, to help you!
Know the composition and therefore limit sugary or fatty products. This lets you know what foods are in it, the good and bad fats that granola contains. You can make it 100% gourmet, or a little lighter!
It's really more budget friendly. Indeed, you are not going to pay the “brand”. You will buy, in bulk, seeds, fruits, cereals, and mix them. So you will probably make large quantities at once.
If you buy your ingredients in bulk, then this will also generate less pollution. Indeed, less packaging but also less printing on paper, etc.
The Basic Ingredients of a Good Granola
I think you are now convinced about making your own granola ! So, here are the traditional ingredients to make a good granola:
Oats (oatmeal): it is one of the cereals richest in protein, but also has a large amount of amino acids that promote digestion. Oats do not contain gluten.
Nuts: they contain fiber, protein, minerals, vitamins B and E, as well as healthy fats for the heart and the whole body. You can use the ones you prefer: walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, pistachios, etc.
Seeds: they all have interesting properties. Sesame, flax, pumpkin, sunflower, chia...
In general, nuts will provide you with good fat (Omega 3), fiber and minerals. And dried nuts will give you the benefit of their high fiber, potassium and magnesium content.
How to make it?
Nothing's easier ! Just mix all the ingredients together. Once the mixture is done, you can choose to add a sweet binder, such as agave syrup or maple syrup.
Here is my recipe :
Oats (60%)
Crushed almonds (6%)
Cashew nuts (9%)
Pumpkin seeds (4%)
Pistachios (7%)
Goji berries (5%)
Chocolate chips (9%)
Maple syrup (until it gets a little sticky)
Mix everything in a large bowl, except the chocolate chips.
Spread the blend on a baking sheet and bake at 170°C for 30 minutes.
Then let cool completely, untouched, to form small packets of the blend. When almost cold, add the chocolate chips on top. Then let it dry for a while.
How to store granola?
To best preserve your granola, it must be stored in a dry, cool and dark place.
It is best to place it in an airtight container such as a glass jar for example, in the cupboard.
I advise you not to store it in the refrigerator, because it will loose taste and will soften. Just use old jars of tomato sauce or jam, no need to break the bank !
