Oh, this Christmas post is late! I’m always a bit slow to get back into action after the big day. It also took me a while to get all the pictures from everyone’s devices and cameras. But here they are – finally! And here’s my report on our 2 lovely Christmas celebrations, plus the inevitable leftovers.
Yesterday the sun was shining again. We walked the dog, and then I felt all inspired to do homey things. I started by sweeping leaves and then planted some new lettuces. That was enough outdoorsy stuff for me! I retreated to the kitchen to find something delicious to make for dinner.
It’s been an unusual week, with lots of ups and downs. We’ve had a death, a birthday, a painful cyst and tomorrow, we have a big exam (or our son does) – and all of these occasions called for vegan foods that I don’t usually make. I did quite a bit of Googling and flicking through cookbooks, and here’s what I came up with.
What is Melbourne’s weather doing! One morning it’s 6°C, and the next it’s 21°C! Either way, it’s getting gloomy* and (often) chilly and I’ve had a hankering for warm comfort food.
Vegans in the northern suburbs of Melbourne had barely dried their eyes following the closure of the Radical Grocery Store when a new vegan grocery store opened its doors in Thornbury. H and I made a visit to Mad Cowgirls a couple of Saturdays back and found some exciting stuff – including the cookbook everyone’s talking about – Veganissimo!
I thought Veganomicon was supposed to be the ‘ultimate vegan cookbook’, but I think it may have been deposed.
I know I was probably the last vegan in the world to get my copy, but I’m absolutely loving Isa Does It! Before it arrived last month, I’d been imagining it to be a soft-covered book of about 100 pages – one of those cookbooks that are a bit like a thick magazine. It was such a lovely surprise to rip the package open and find a beautiful, big, hard-cover book with gorgeous colours and photos and illustrations.
Melbourne really turned it on for Christmas this year. After a miserable week, we finally got some amazing weather.
Now Christmas is over, and I’m chillin’ on the verandah with a soda water. The dog is roaming around the sunny garden, and I thought this would be a good time to catch up on a bit of blogging. Christmas didn’t turn out exactly as I’d planned, but it was very relaxing, a lot of fun, and way too much great food was devoured by all.
I’m just gearing up for my first Christmas as a vegan. This will be interesting! I’ve had about 20 years of family get-togethers as a vegetarian, but that meant that all of the cheesy and eggy alternatives were available. This time I’m going to have to be a bit more inventive when I choose my contribution – after all, I’m representing vegan food…and the animals are depending on me to show everyone else that it’s REALLY good!
Wilbur says, “Don’t mess it up!”
I’m one of those list makers. I hope I haven’t just revealed some deep psychological weirdness with that admission, but it will explain why I was so excited to see the recent ‘A-Z Bookish Survey’ going around recently. It’s not (necessarily) animal rights/vegan related, but I’m going to do it anyway, because…well, I can’t resist a list!
The good kitchen fairy has been at it again! I came home to a batch of lovely vegan chocolate chip cookies. My daughter had veganised a recipe from one of our family favourite cookbooks. So that decides my Vegan MoFo post for today.
The Lentil Institution 