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My Journal

Autumn Celebration Feast

November 30, 2014

Happy sunday friends! As I’m writing this, I’m actually still in a food coma. Lucky for me that I don’t have to leave the couch anymore today, because that would probably be very hard. 😀

 

The table setting

The table setting

 

Yesterday we had friends over for a Thanksgiving/Autumn Celebration dinner. To me, it’s always great fun to plan and prepare dinners or other special occasions like this. Back when I was a kid, I already loved looking at the pictures of Home & Garden magazines that my mom had bought. Later, when I discovered Martha Stewart I was hooked on her magazines and actually bought her book about entertaining. My boyfriend always teases me, saying “making it nice” whenever I start getting my Martha Stewart syndrome, but I don’t care, I stand by my little “making it nice” tick. 😀 Don’t get me wrong though, I probably have even greater talent for creating chaos, especially in the kitchen, but I save pictures of that for another time.

For yesterdays dinner I wanted to keep everything plant based, even though my significant other was a bit sceptical at first, understandably since he has always loved the traditional Thanksgiving meals. So I was especially happy seeing him gobble down the food and approving vegan Thanksgiving. I did use eggs for the pumpkin pie though. Not because there aren’t any vegan recipes for it (there are actually a lot of tasty looking ones), but because I still had eggs from the animal sanctuary sitting in the fridge and wanted to use them. As an additional dessert I made a raw vegan pecan pie from the Rawsome Vegan Baking Book, which turned out delicious. But let me start from the beginning and share some of the other recipes and pictures with you.

 

Soup as a pre course

Soup as a pre course

 

As a pre course I made pumpkin maroon soup. It has a lot of flavor and is the perfect autumn soup. You can find the recipe on the blog.

 

Pumpkin Chestnut Soup

Pumpkin Chestnut Soup

 

And after the soup came everything else.

 

Ready to stuff our faces.

Ready to stuff our faces.

 

The Cranberry-Cornbread-Stuffing is a favorite of my boyfriend. The recipe is from, who else, Martha Stewart. 😉 There is no need to add the eggs that are mentioned in the recipe and I also replaced the chicken stock with vegetable stock. Find the recipe here.

 

Cranberry-Cornbread-Stuffing

Cranberry-Cornbread-Stuffing

 

It was not that easy to find a good vegan cornbread recipe. But after some tries and adjustments I now made a lovely one, which I will share on the blog next week.

 

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

 

Something I love making is mashed sweet potatoes. It’s so simple to prepare and makes a great side dish. I just cook the sweet potatoes and while mashing them I add some vegetable butter, a bit plant milk, finely chopped garlic and salt to taste.

 

Walnut Lentil Loaf

Walnut Lentil Loaf

 

Instead of the traditional meat loaf I tried a non-meat recipe from the amazing Oh She Glows cookbook. A Walnut-Lentil Loaf! It was so good! You can find the recipe on her blog too.

 

Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry Sauce

 

Since I never ate cranberry sauce before, I was keen on making it this time around and I found a great recipe on the blog A Cozy Kitchen.

 

Brussels Sprouts Salad with Dates and Hazelnuts

Brussels Sprouts Salad with Dates and Hazelnuts

 

As a salad I made an adapted version of this recipe from Feasting At Home. A brussels sprouts salad with dates and hazelnuts – such a lovely combination! I used less brussels sprouts and added some mixed salad leafs instead.

 

Vegan Mushroom Gravy

Vegan Mushroom Gravy

 

Lastly, mushroom gravy. For this I used another recipe from the Oh She Glows cookbook. Yummy!

 

Keeping it hot!

Keeping it hot!

 

We all loaded our plates to the max. Happy times! 😀

 

This is no time for dieting!

This is no time for dieting!

 

Oh and I haven’t shown you yet the beautiful bouquet that our friends brought. Thank you again guys! It’s so beautiful and seasonal.

Just lovely!

Just lovely!

 

As you could see, the food was way too little (caution for irony), so we needed to add some cake and tea on top.

 

Bring on dessert!

Bring on dessert!

 

Raw Vegan Pecan Pie and Pumpkin Pie

Raw Vegan Pecan Pie and Pumpkin Pie

 

After all this we finally reached the filling limit of our bellies. Afterwards I was glad that I was wearing a skirt, which I could just pull up a little with every course. Pants would have probably popped open. Haha!

 

Lots of candles for a cozy evening

Lots of candles for a cozy evening

 

Ok, now after all this food talk, I’m off to the kitchen to get some left-overs. Sending a lot of love to all of you!

 

 

 

MerkenMerken

MerkenMerken

MerkenMerken

  • Reply
    Eva @ Four Leaf Clover
    November 30, 2014 at 6:50 pm

    Oh, wow… I was wishing I was there just from the teaser photo you put on facebook! Everything looks SO delicious! I love the little pot to keep the gravy warm, so cute! The bouquet is beautiful and so festive! I also think we may have the same teapot, hah!

    • Reply
      Greenderella
      November 30, 2014 at 7:10 pm

      Thank you for your nice comment Eva! I should probably stop eating for 2 days to make up for this weekend, haha! The little pink pot is from Riess btw, couldn\’t resist when I saw it. I\’m a sucker for table- and cooking ware. 😀

      • Reply
        Eva @ Four Leaf Clover
        November 30, 2014 at 7:40 pm

        But then who would eat all the leftovers? 😉 I\’d go on a hunt for that pot, but I\’m meant to be moving soon so probably best not to, haha!

        • Reply
          Greenderella
          November 30, 2014 at 7:49 pm

          Oh yeah, when you\’re moving it\’s probably best to travel light, though that pot is really small (in case you still need an excuse) 😉 Where are you moving to? Are you staying in Switzerland?

          • Eva @ Four Leaf Clover
            December 10, 2014 at 12:10 am

            No… I\’m pretty sure it\’ll be back to America for me!

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