An Italian kind of Christmas

Sorry for the lack of posting but with the holidays right around the corner I have been running around like a mad woman trying to finish last minute Christmas shopping.

  Instead of waiting until Christmas to exchange gifts with my girl friends I decided to throw a christmas dinner. Normally I would have gone the Asian route but this time I wanted to find a dish that could be served "family style" because my girls are my family. So to the cookbooks I went. Needless to say I have fallen in love Betty Goes Vegan by Annie and Dan Shannon. Its a vegan version of the classic Betty Crocker cookbook, what's not to love!   I don't reprint recipes from cookbooks without permission because that is just a foul to do. So I reached out to Annie, via email, to ask if she would allow me to reprint her recipe, with credit of course. I honestly didn't think she woulI   remember me for Vegfest but she did and she said I can reprint the recipe!!!! I was totes excited!  I decided on the Manicotti with a Kalamata Olive Pesto Tofu. This dish is an undertaking but it was well worth it.

Manicotti with a Kalamata Olive Pesto Tofu

1 Package 10-12 Manicotti Tubes (cooked per directions on the package - you want them to be a little firmer than al dente so they don't get mushy when baked and keep them from tearing while you're filling them)

1/2 Cup Daiya Mozzarella Cheese
2 Tablespoons Vegan Parmesan Cheese
Olive Oil Cooking Spray
Dried Oregano and Red Pepper Flakes to sprinkle over the top
Sauce
1 Jar of your Favorite Pasta Sauce
3 Tomatoes (diced)
2 Cloves of Garlic (minced)
2 Tablespoons Braggs
1/3 Cup Red Wine
1 Teaspoon Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
2 Teaspoon Oregano
1/3 Cup Fresh Basil (diced)
1/3 Cup Fresh Spinach
2 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley (diced)
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Kalamata Pesto Tofu Filling

1 Package Extra Firm Tofu (drained)
1/2 Cup Fresh Spinach
1/4 Cup Fresh Basil
15 Kalamata Olives
5-6 White Mushrooms
1 1/2 Teaspoon Roasted Pine Nuts
2 Teaspoon Sun-dried Tomatoes
2 Cloves Garlic (minced)
1 Tablespoon Nutritional Yeast
Heat oven to 350.

Put all the Sauce ingredients in a large pot and heat at a medium heat. Stir periodically. 

Put each ingredient in a food processor or blender (one at a time) and blend them till they are a paste. Don't worry about wiping out the machine after each ingredient - you'll be mixing them anyways. Put all the processed ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a large spoon until blended. If you have a pastry bag set or decorating gun, fill that with the Tofu filling and set it up with the largest tip.

Spray a lasagna dish with Olive Oil Cooking Spray. Take your cooked Manicotti Tubes and fill with the Filling - either with your pastry bag, decorating gun or just use a spoon and be gentle. After you fill each one place it in the lasagna dish. You should end up with just the right amount of Filling to fill the Manicotti Tubes.

Pour 2 ladles of the Sauce over the top and sprinkle the Daiya and Vegan Parmesan Cheese.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. You'll know it's done when the Daiya is melted and the Sauce is bubbly. Sprinkle Red Pepper Flake and Dried Oregano and more Sauce if you'd like over the top when you serve.>

I've never tried to make Manicotti, vegan or not so I had no clue what I was getting into. At one point Keithon came into the kitchen and said are you still cooking. I told him yes now go away. I love that this recipe calls for a lot of fresh herbs and veggies and it used my fav go to of tofu for ricotta! The manicotti shells are what I was most fearful of because I did not want them to tear because if they did then my dinner would be ruined and Cassi would be in tears. Needless to say even with all my careful planning and timing a few shells did break. When life gives you torn manicotti shells you make mini lasagnas. I do not waste food and there were no tears. A few curse words yes but tears no.  With my food processor being broken I was glad that the recipe said that I could use a blender to make the tofu ricotta and I am glad that I did because there was no way I was getting all of the mixture into my baby food processor. Once I stuffed the shells, I set to work on the salad. My plan was to do a simple green salad but I had a shit ton of fresh spinach and pine nuts left so I decided on a Spinach, mushroom and pine nut salad with a blueberry balsamic dressing. Now an Italian dinner wouldn't be dinner without a rich dessert so I whipped up some Diva Delights and an orange vanilla frosting so I could make Whoppie Pies. After dinner we sat around trying to come up with a catchy name for the pies but after a few glasses of wine we failed. My girls RAVED about the Manicotti which totally excited me because Bianca and I are the only vegans in the group. Had I not told them I'm sure they wouldn't have know it was vegan aside from the fact that I don't cook with animal products. My Christmas lunch was a success and no one notice the torn shells. I was a happy camper and I even pulled out the good wine for lunch, by good wine I mean my last bottle of 2 buck Chuck. Mama loves her 2 Buck Chuck but today I shared with my girls.

I made place cards for the table that were Winnie the Pooh character themed and had each girl try to figure out which one they were. Bianca. This game took forever but in the end Bianca is Pooh Bear, Amy is Tigger, Brenna is Roo, Nicole is Owl, Jennifer is Eeyore and Aisha is Kanga. Now I'm Christopher Robin, I explained to the girls that the reason I did this is because I don't have a best friend and the 6 of them make up the best of me plus no one person can handle all of the crazy that is me. The gifts I gave them were also Winnie the Pooh themed. There is a series of Winnie the Pooh "life" books and each girl's book fit their personality. Bianca got the Fitness one, Amy's was the Picnic cookbook, Brenna got Cookie cookbook, Nicole received Friendship, Aisha got Tea Time and Jennifer got Life Lessons. I also made the girls chocolate from the molds I made a few weeks ago at Five in One as well as some other chocolates. Of course they gave me gifts as well and this year my girls spoiled me rotten. All of their gifts showed that they really know, listen to me and love me. This has been the best Christmas I have had in years and I have my girls to thank for that. I could not have made it through this year without them.

If you have not gotten Betty Goes Vegan visit Meet the Shannons and get a copy! I could cook from this cookbook everyday and still not finish it. Every vegan and non vegan should own a copy of the massive cookbook.

Blame it on Big Lots

If you are reading this post it means that I survived Cookie Club 2013. Before I get into what Cookie Club is I must tell you how it began. Back in the summer of 2012 I found a book, in Big Lots, by Ann Pearlman called The Christmas Cookie Club. When I opened to the first page I knew this book was for me.
Prologue: We Gather Every Year I am the head cookie bitch and this is my party. This was a Cassi book. Here is a summary of the book.

About The Christmas Cookie Club

Every year at Christmastime, Marnie and her closest girlfriends mark their calendars for a cookie exchange. Everyone brings homemade cookies and a bottle of wine to share, but this year, it’s their stories that are especially important—the passion and hopefulness of new romance, the betrayal and disillusionment some relationships bring, the joys and fears of motherhood, the stress of financial troubles. On this evening, at least, the sisterly love they have for one another rises above it all. Celebrating courage and joy in spite of hard times and honoring the importance of woman’s friendships as well as the embracing bonds of community, the delightful novel speaks to us all.

I fell in love with this book and could not put it down. So when I finished I asked Jennifer, "hey do you think if I started a cookie club people would be game?" Of course she said yes, she always encourages my hair brained ideas and I love her for that. So I sent out invites to 11 of my closest girlfriends. ( 2 of the ladies were not able to make it though) My girlfriends thought I was bat shit crazy. I asked them to bake 13 dozen cookies....from scratch. Hey that's what the book said to do. See also the cookie has to tell the story of our year. Here is Bianca's recap from last year. Let me tell you my girls are the most awesome chicks in the world. They baked the cookies but not before cursing me out in the Facebook world. Hell, I even cursed my own self out during the process. Needless to say we survived, had an awesome time and learned more about each other.

Since this is a yearly event. I sent out this year's invites and to my surprise everyone from last year was still in. I did have to replace 2 members that dropped so this year I inducted Aisha to our cookie madness. I also invited another girlfriend but she had to drop before the party.
    The cookie party is held in my home because well I'm the head cookie bitch and it's my party plus I would NEVER ask any of the other girls to host and bake cookies. That's just not fair. I also request that we keep our cookies and stories a secret. No real reason other than that's the way they do it in the book.

  Last night was filled with laughs and emotions. We inducted our cookie virgin Aisha and I also changed two of the rules because of a debacle that happened. Next year we will only bake half a dozen for each lady but we will still bake a full dozen for the charity. The second rule change is we will stick to 10 ladies. Last year we started up with 12 and ended up with 10 and this year the same thing happened. So I am taking it as a sign. 10 is a nice round number and 10 means perfect. As emotional as last night was it was perfect. Check back tomorrow to find out the cookies and all the madness that ensued. Don't worry ladies I'll only do a summary because "What's said in Cookie Club stays in Cookie Club.