Our Traditional Ethnic Themed Christmas Dinner

Last year we started a new Christmas tradition. It was my first year making Christmas dinner as a vegetarian, so we opted for a Thai dinner instead of the traditional turkey or ham dinner. It was AWESOME! I made a couple curry dishes, a chickpea curry and a vegetable curry, spicy noodles, and my stepmom brought salad rolls with tahini dipping sauce.

This year we did a Japanese theme dinner. I have a good friend that lives in Tokyo right now, and we are hoping to visit her in the next couple years if we can save enough money for the trip. We want our son to try Japanese food before we go. Although I’m vegetarian, most of our guests are not, so I made a vegetarian and a meat version of the meal.

We usually invite a few friends and family over for Christmas dinner, making it potluck which makes it much more manageable for me, the host.

MENU

Appies: Vegetable spring rolls with dipping sauce, Sushi

Starter: Miso Soup

Main Meal: Vegetable and Beef Teriyaki Stir Fry, Sticky White Rice, Sesame Noodles

Beverages: White Wine

Dessert: Pumpkin pie (had to have something “traditional”)

TABLE SETTING

Red bamboo placemats, black napkins, asian chopsticks, a skinny tall straight side glass vases with two simple red flowers, square plates with an asian design, wine glasses, and low glass candle holders with tea lights.

My only regret? Totally forgot to take pictures of the table setting. It looked amazing though, and the food was delicious!

Kamut Bread for Bread Machine (wheat-free, sugar-free, egg-free) Recipe

This bread recipe is adapted from here. I prefer a multi-grain loaf, and only sweeten my baking with agave. I found the texture of this loaf the best I’ve found yet for a wheat free bread. It slices without crumbling, and toasts nicely. The flavor is very much like a regular wheat multi-grain bread. (Note: Kamut is not gluten free, but many people, including myself, with a gluten sensitivity find this ancient grain does not affect them.)

3.5 hours | 10 min prep

1.5 lb loaf

Wet Ingredients:
3 tablespoons coconut oil
0.25 cup agave nectar
1.5 cups warm water

Dry Ingredients:

4 cups kamut flour
2 teaspoons salt
0.5 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 T raw sunflower seeds
2 T raw sesame seeds
2 T ground flax meal

3 teaspoons active dry yeast

1. Remove bread machine pan from bread machine, and insert kneading paddle.
2. Measure liquid ingredients into bread machine pan.
3. Measure all dry ingredients in the order listed, except for the active yeast.
4. Make a small well in the flour with your finger, and measure yeast into the well.
5. Set the bread machine to the Wheat setting, light crust, 1.5 lb loaf and press start.

Moroccan Chickpea Potato Soup Vegetarian Recipe

Dr. D introduced us to the Whole Life Nutrition cookbook by Tom Malterre, CN and Ali Segersten. This is one of their recipes, and I adapted it slightly as I found it needed more flavor. It is hearty, filling, and warm on a cold winter night.

Makes 18 servings (1 cup)

Ingredients

1 T coconut oil
2 cloves garlic
0.5 red onion
3 t curry powder
1 t turmeric
1 t cardamon
1 t cumin
2 t bouillon powder
4 cups chickpeas
10 cups water
4 potatoes, peeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and finely grated
2 t bouillon, vegetable
1 small can tomato paste
rice vinegar to taste

Directions

1. Saute onion and garlic in oil.
2. Add curry powder, turmeric, cardamon, cumin, bouillon powder, and saute for a minute or so to bring out the flavors.
3. Add water, beans, potatoes, and carrots.
4. Bring to a boil. Turn down and simmer for 30 minutes till veggies are tender.
5. Add a splash of rice vinegar and the tomato paste,. simmer till tomato paste is completely dissolved into the soup.
6. Serve hot.

Cooking dried beans:

For a quick soak, put 2 cups of dried chickpeas in 6 cups of water in a pot. Bring it to a boil for 2 minutes. Turn the burner off, put a lid on, and let them soak for 2 hours. Drain the beans.

Fill the pot with 6 cups of fresh water with the dried beans, and add a strip of kombu (this will help tenderize the beans and make them more digestible). Do not add salt! Bring to a boil, turn down, and simmer on low heat for 1 hour. Drain and rinse the beans. They are ready to add to your soup now.

Dairy-Free Spinach Frittata & Dairy-Free Pesto Vegetarian Recipes

I’ve been eating 2 fried eggs on kamut soda bread every morning for more than 4 months and I am just so sick of fried eggs I can’t bring myself to eat another one. I started looking for different protein breakfasts, and came across some different frittata recipes. Unfortunately they all had cheese and milk in them, so I took the basic components of a frittata and adapted it to be dairy free.

Ingredients:

2 cups baby spinach leaves
2 T spicy cilantro pesto (recipe below)
1 medium red onion, diced
1 cup boiled peeled potatoes, diced (about 2 small potatoes)
1 large clove garlic, minced
8 large eggs
2 Tbsp rice milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Boil potatoes.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and milk, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. Saute onions and garlic in coconut oil over medium-high heat.
4. Add pesto, and potatoes and cook till warmed through. Add spinach and saute until slightly wilted.
5. Spread out spinach pesto mixture evenly on bottom of glass cake pan. Pour egg mixture over spinach mixture. Use a spatula to lift up the spinach mixture along the sides of the pan to let egg mixture flow underneath.
6. Put the whole pan in the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until frittata is puffy and golden. Remove from oven and let cool for several minutes.
7. Cut into quarters to serve. Serves four.

Optional – to make this recipe vegan, replace eggs with crumbled soft tofu.

Spicy Cilantro Pesto

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh cilantro
3 large garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 t ground red pepper
1/4 cup raw hulled sunflower seeds

Instructions:

1. Add all ingredients together in a food processor or blender.
2. Puree until almost smooth.
3. Any leftovers can be frozen in ice cube trays for individualized portions or refrigerated for up to a week.

Optional – for Basil Pesto replace cilantro with basil and leave out ground red pepper.