Christmas Eve; Gingerbread House Decorating Party

I'm too tired from marathon cooking, baking and gift-wrapping to think of much creative tonight but I did want to get these pictures posted before the Holiday

My daughter's birthday happens to hit right in the middle of the crazy holiday season, so instead of trying to dream up party games and crafts, she invited friends over to make Gingerbread Houses, a tradition we started way back when she was 8.

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Goodness, what a great time the girls had. They always do. Our kitchen exploded with gingerbread, icing and way too much candy; What more could a teenage girl want?

We pretty much have this down to a science now, we could throw a Gingerbread party for fifty without a hitch, I swear (not that I want to!!)

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Yep, learning from past experience, I had the "house" parts all ready to go (from a kit, no vegan baking happening for these houses sorry!) before the party, icing mixed and in piping bags, and tons of candy ready to affix to the houses once assembled.

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The girls arrived late afternoon and with much teen-age giggling and sugar-induced hilarity, they assembled some very nice looking houses.

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This has been a much-looked-forward-to Holiday/Birthday Tradition with my daughter and her friends since they were in 2nd grade together . It's so fun to see how the houses and decorating have improved each year. (And how much LESS I need to supervise and "help" than in previous years!)

As you can see, the end results were quite creative.

Here's hoping your Holiday's are filled with laughter, fun and lots of sweet memories.
Peace and Gingerbread to all.

Merry Christmas.

Soup in Bethlehem

My oldest daughter is a Tax Collector's servant. She's been working in Bethlehem all weekend.

And I'm OK with this new position of hers...

Actually she's taking part in an Interactive Living Nativity that goes for three nights this weekend.

Observers (that's us, the general public) get to experience a little bit of authentic "Christmas" as they walk through the 'town' of Bethlehem - wander among market stalls, pet live camels, donkeys, sheep and interact with about 60 people dressed and acting in character as townsfolk, the Innkeeper, Roman Soldiers, fishermen, shepherds, a tax collector, Rabbis, wisemen, children.

At the end of the walk-thru, you come to the stable with Mary, Joseph and the Christ Child.

It's all outdoors, at night in the cold (how authentic!), but fortunately everyone's pretty well wrapped up under those robes.

My other two daughters LOVED it too of course and we walked thru many times.

It's a beautiful, powerful and well done rendition of the Nativity - as well as huge production that I am amazed by, but glad it's one thing this season I'm not in charge of!!

My Jessika is one of the Tax Collector's servant girls and in her 'role' she fusses around his tent while he collects taxes from those entering Bethlehem. Not really a big role, but she's absolutely LOVING it. The cold weather and long hours of basically just standing while people walk by don't seem to phase her at all - and she still has Sunday night to go as well! I'm proud of her though, it's not an easy way for anyone, let alone a restless teenager, to spend four evenings.

The cast and crew are kept warm and fed by a hidden staff of more volunteers who keep soups, coffee, cocoa and cider available for quick snacks behind the scenes.

Knowing that there were several other vegetarians/vegans in the production besides my daughter, I offered to bring a big pot of vegetarian soup for part of each evenings warm-up chow.

Did they have Potato-Green-Chile Chowder in Bethlehem? Maybe not 2000 years ago, but it certainly kept a few weary souls warm tonight while the story they shared warmed hundreds of onlookers hearts.

Whatever your beliefs, hopefully this finds you safe, warm and sharing the Season with friends and family.

Here's my soup recipe (one of my daughter's favorites) and some pictures from the Living Nativity. Enjoy.

Creamy Potato and Roasted Green Chile Chowder

--5 medium Potatoes (I like Yukon Gold, this is also good with 1 sweet potato mixed with the white potatoes)
--½-pound tub of Fire-Roasted, chopped Green chiles (These are really quite mild. I get the Bueno Foods brand, they're available frozen around here, if you live near New Mexico, you're lucky enough to buy them fresh)
--1 medium Onion, chopped fine
--2 carrots, sliced very thin
--1 stalk celery, sliced
--2 tablespoons margarine
--16 ounces vegetarian broth
--3 cups Soy or rice Milk
--½ cup Flour
--½ teaspoon Salt
--½ teaspoon Pepper
--1/2 tsp. onion powder
--1/2 cup Tofutti Sour Supreme

Cube potatoes into about a 1 inch square and place in 4 quart pot.
Add onion, carrots, and celery and pour in broth and add enough water to just cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for about 30 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients except for 1 cup of the soymilk and ½ cup of flour.
Mix the remaining milk and flour; pour into soup mixture and simmer for another thirty minutes until thickened.
Add Sour Supreme and stir in. Blend partially with an immersion blender if you prefer it more smooth. This is also good with corn added!

'Tis the Season; Concerts and Cookies

I don't know how all my fellow Bloggers do it! These past few pre-Christmas weeks have been INSANE!! BUSY!! I haven't even LOOKED at my computer!

Let's start with the last two nights alone: 2 concerts, dozens of cookies and all manner of Holiday craziness. But I guess that's typical of this time of year...

First of all, a huge deal to my two teens, I let them go to a pop concert BY THEMSELVES for the first time. They've been looking forward to this for months now!

OK, cast aside all images of smoke-filled crowds swaying to The Grateful Dead, it was only The Jonas Brothers, pretty tame Disney Channel stuff and all.

And maybe I AM overprotective and "everyone else" really does get to go to these things without their parents... but still, it was after dark, in a huge arena, in a large city; makes an ol' fashioned mom a lil' nervous, you know?

Despite my fears, things turned out fine and the girls even came away with some great photos (if you care anything at all about The Jonas Brothers, which I don't much but hey, I remember back in the day... I would have KILLED to have 6th row seats at Duran Duran...).

Two nights after the auditorium of screaming fans, in drastic contrast - we toned things down tonight for a traditional and beautiful Children's Chorale Christmas Concert.

My two youngest Sprouts are Chorale members and the entire evening sparkled. Call me nostalgic and old fashioned, but seeing all the kids up front with velvet skirts, shiny hair bows, starched collars and sharp bow-ties; hearing traditional carols, the soaring pipe organ accompaniment; it all makes me a bit misty-eyed. Yeah, I'm a little weird that way, but I like Christmas with the old fashioned Christian symbols, celebrations, routines and traditions; not turned into some generic Winter Holiday.

But I digress; After the Christmas concert there was a short reception with coffee, cocoa and cookies donated by parents... You knew I couldn't blog without some FOOD, right?

So in good vegan form, I made basic spice cookies with cream-cheese frosting. All vegan. And gone before any of the other sparkley-sugar-coated Holiday offerings, which made me feel pretty good.

Soft Ginger- Spice Cookies

3/4 cup Earth Balance
1 cup sugar
Ener-G Egg Replacer for 1 egg
1/4 cup molasses, honey or corn syrup (I cannot STAND molasses so I use something else... the cookies are less "gingerbread-like" but still very good)
2 tsp baking soda
3 tsp finely grated ginger ( I use an orange zester, it takes a while, make sure and include the ginger juice too!)
1 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cream together the margarine, sugar and egg replacer until smooth.

Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine well.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Roll the dough in to 1 inch balls and place on a baking sheet.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until done. Cool on wire rack.

Frosting (which isn't pictured, I added it later):

8 oz. Tofutti cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup Earth Balance

3 cups vegan powdered sugar (Whole Foods and most health food stores sell it)

1/2 t. vanilla

1/2 t. almond extract

Using an electric mixer or in a large bowl with a hand held mixer, cream the Tofutti and margerine. Add the sugar, vanilla, and almond extract, and continue to beat the mixture until light and fluffy. Spread on cooled cookies.

Enjoy!

I'll be back sooner, I promise. Christmas craziness is settling down around these parts...

Floods in Western Washington

First of all, I'm high and dry, as are all of my family and friends here in Washington.

Thank you to all those who have contacted me with concerns and questions.

Here's some pictures of the flooded Interstate and valley below my folks' farm (and the home where I grew up). Fortunately water didn't reach them either. I know I've blogged several times about my Mom's wonderful garden, it would have been sad to see that washed out as so many people's land has been... It's almost surreal to realize this is all just a few miles down down the (now inaccessible) freeway from us.

So, yeah, if you've been watching the news, you may have seen the dramatic pictures of all the flood devastation here in Washington State, specifically Lewis County and towns like Rochester, Chehalis and Centralia.

At first, I was surprised how much coverage the floods were getting on National News even.

I guess I didn't realize how extreme things were at first, since we got comparatively little rainfall here at our place. Anyway, not to worry, thanks for your concerns, I live further north, far out of the flood zone.

My parents, on the other hand, live smack in the middle of the county and flood waters, but fortunately they live high on a hill, safe and dry. ( <-- <-- See the hill in the distance beyond the "airport" picture? That's 'their' hill). Granted, their "hill" is an island for the time being, surrounded by a valley that's turned into a river, but they've lived there 40+ years and been through this many a time before.

The Coast Guard offered to helicopter them if they need to go anywhere, but they are actually in great shape, they have clean well water, electricity and enough food for an army. My Dad called and said there are actually some back roads that he can get to town on with his 4 wheel drive truck, and being a physician, they've needed his services the last few days.

The photos I included were taken by family and friends of my parents, people who live in the immediate area.

Hope all of you are warm, safe and dry.

More soup.

I don't know how the rest of you in Blogger-land keep up such beautiful, appetising, informative blogs during the chaos of the Holidays...

Yes, there ARE 23 more days until the Big C, but in this household, I'm head chauffeur, cook, bottle washer (I guess we don't have any actual bottles) and general schedule manager for the troops... so with choral, piano and orchestra practice, play and music program rehearsals, costumes to make, parts to learn, and bake sales to bake for... well.. whew! I haven't made anything creative or original, or taken any pictures really worth blogging about.

So, this soup then, was sort-of a fortunate "accident" or desperation dinner - however you want to look at it. I had about 2 cups grilled, seasoned vegetables left over from last night's Mexican fajitas (sauteed peppers, carrots, onions and tomatoes with chili powder, oregano and black pepper) as well as 1/2 a can of pumpkin from previous baking.

I combined veggies and pumpkin, added about 1/2 cup coconut milk and some vegetable broth until it was a thick soup-like consistency. Simmered until heated thru, served with cornbread. There ya have it.

Warm, hearty pumpkin soup flavored with the smokey, grilled veggies and Mexican spices. Might sound like an odd combination but believe me, the flavors were awesome and it went together in about 10 minutes. What more could you need on a busy day?

So yeah, that's about all. Just thought I'd post my "soup-in-a-minute" even if it's not an elaborate 5 course Holiday Vegan spread... That'll come later.

I'll leave you with this great t-shirt I just might be getting for some unnamed person in my household... and if my children are reading this by some ODD chance... "Go back to your MySpacing or something!"

Happy - and busy - December to all of you.