Saturday, December 27, 2008

Goodbye Christmas

So Christmas is over ... it's a relief, but it's bittersweet. No more sparkly lights or anticipated gifts. No more excuses to pig out on cookies, cakes, pies, and Tofurkey. But on the other hand, we have new presents to play with! I got a Nikon D60 digital camera (no more crappy photos!), a KitchenAid stand mixer, a travel mug coffee pot, lots of clothes, all five seasons of Saved By the Bell on DVD, and a cool "As Seen on TV" veggie slicer.

I also got to pig out at my Granny's house on Xmas morning. Instead of the traditional Christmas dinner, my family does Christmas Breakfast:

Most of the food is not vegan, so I bring my own tofu scramble, biscuits, soymilk gravy, and soy sausage. The hash browns that my Granny serves are vegan.

She also veganized her Old-Fashioned Coconut Pie for breakfast dessert (shouldn't every breakfast end with dessert?):

Wow, this stuff was AMAZING! I have a new favorite pie. My Granny convinced some waitress at a steakhouse to give her the recipe, and then she veganized it (she even made a whole wheat crust!). She gave me the recipe on Christmas morning, so I'll definitely include this in the cookbook.

As part of my Christmas gifts, my dad ordered me some more Teese and some Dr. Cow Tree Nut Cheese in Aged Cashew with Hemp Seed:

Our first impression - yuk! It had a slightly sour fermented taste, and my dad actually thought it was spoiled. But I got on the PPK forums and asked around. Apparently, it's supposed to taste like that. So I tried it again, sliced very thin, on whole grain crackers. And I actually really liked it that way. It's just not a cheeze that should be eaten alone.

If you choose to order this stuff, be warned that it is very, very small. But since it needs to be sliced thinly, it'll last awhile. I think it'd be nice with some grapes and red wine.

26 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Score on all your presents and Christmas eats!! Yum!!

Megan said...

omggg that coconut pie!! I absolutely agree that breakfast deserves a dessert; dessert is ALWAYS a necessity :)

I use a base breakfast cookie recipe that I got from the Fitnessista (http://www.fitnessista.com/).

Mix 1/3c oats and 1/2 scoop protein powder, add 1/8c non dairy milk (i usually add more). Then add 1T nut butter, and add any add ins (spices, banana mashed, pumpkin, applesauce, etc.). As long as you balance out the wet and dry, it'll be great! and you can seriously put ANYTHING in it and itll be great. Just make it the night before, but it in the fridge and itll be ready in the a.m.!

Jenn said...

Breakfast looks so fantastic! Dessert for breakfast is even better. BIG kudos to granny for pilfering the secret recipe and veganizing it with whole wheat to boot! That's love, baby.
I can't believe I haven't gotten any Dr. Cow yet. There are a few specialty groceries in NYC that carry it. Thanks for the review. Merry after Christmas!

alaina said...

christmas breakfast sounds fun! yum.

Anonymous said...

Christmas Breakfast?! YUM!

All the gifts sound great and I'm totally coming over for some of that pie ;)

Marisa L. S. said...

Your brunch looks awesome! Yes, the cheese tastes slightly sour but in a delicious way. I ate some of it with apple slices which was good, some with crackers and some on it's own! I plan to be in NYC one day this week so hopefully I can bring home some of it and avoid the shipping!

River (Wing-It Vegan) said...

OMG! Granny's coconut pie is so dreamy!! That's going in your cookbook? In the words of VeggieGirl... HOLY YUM!!

You got some fabulous Christmas presents, girl!! You must have been on Santa's good list!

Avery Yale Kamila said...

What an absolutely fabulous pie for Christmas morning! We're living in pie heaven too with two still in the fridge. And what an amazing assortment of natural foodie gifts!

Alison said...

I have tried Dr. Cow's and yes, I was surprised by how small it was, especially for the size of it. I tried it every possible way and never found a way to eat it that I could enjoy. I guess it's not a taste for everyone!

The Vegan Snorkeler said...

That coconut pie looks so enticing! Glad to hear your thoughts on that Dr. Cow stuff. I'm very jealous of your new Kitchen Aid mixer!

aTxVegn said...

Your granny is awesome and so is that slice of coconut pie! You sure got some nice gifts.

Brad and Ahnah said...

omg that pie looks so good!!! So cool that you have a family that's understanding of your veganism.

Theresa said...

Breakfast dessert! I love it! Happy christmas, belatedly...

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Sounds like a nice Christmas & that pie looks great! I liked Dr. Cow, but had many friends who didn't.

jessy said...

i have yet to try the dr. cow cheeses, but i can't wait to! thanks for the tips on slicing it thin! delicious!

the coconut pie looks amazing, Bianca! and your plate of awesomeness has me wishing i had that for breakfast instead of oatmeal.

christmas came & went too fast this year. i'm gonna miss the lights the most. sadface! enjoy your KitchenAid (superw00t!) and Saved By The Bell (hells yeah!)! that rocks so hard!

Vegan In The VI said...

I'm ready for the cookbook!!!!

Anonymous said...

So sweet that she veganized the pie :) So supportive!

Jen said...

bianca,

i got a new camera too and my food photos still look like shit. i need to take a food porn class or somethin'. glad you had a merry x-mas. i'm so jealous of your supportive meemaw--how sweet of her to do that for you.

ps-you're into saved by the bell? whooda knew....

Vegan_Noodle said...

How cool about your new camera!!

And yum xmas breakfast. That pie looks perfect.

Thanks for the heads up about the nut cheese. I will manage my expectations appropriately now. :-)

MeloMeals said...

You certainly cleaned up present wise!

I am sooo curious about that cheese..

Anonymous said...

Yay kitchenaid! And your Christmas breakfast looks super yummy - we always have tamales for Christmas breakfast.

I'm very curious about the Dr. Cow cheese, but I haven't bought any because I've heard it's super small.

Mike K said...

The Christmas food all looks so good - I didn't always like coconut (I don't know why) but that pie looks so delicious. Ordering some of that Dr. Cow cheese is on my to-do list too.

Tofu Mom (AKA Tofu-n-Sprouts) said...

It all looks delicious. I'd love to try the Cashew Cheeze, I've heard mixed reviews... Very cool!

Jenni (aka Vegyogini) said...

I tried the Dr. Cow's aged cashew cheese and thought it was gross, but I'll give it a try not plain since you said it's better that way. :)

Anonymous said...

SBTB! Yeah! That's so awesome your grandma veganized the coconut pie for you! It looks great!

Anonymous said...

So glad you had the same reaction to the Dr. Cow. My husband just bought me some for my birthday. We were so excited to try it. But then, after a taste, his facial expression was hilarious. But, inevitably the crackers were bused out and all was right with the world.