some festive meals + a cookie or two

rejuvenate with some wholesome veggie packed meals plus two brand new cookie recipes just for you

This time of year is for slowing down, spending time with loved ones, and having fun with food. Three things I’ve found myself in major need of after an incredibly challenging and eventful year. If you have the capacity to slow down, I hope you allow yourself to do that.

Rest is incredibly underrated and under utilized. I spent a lot of time this year fighting against rest because there were a million things I wanted to do and accomplish. However there is just one of me, and I ran myself into the ground until I was forced to rest and recover. Do not recommend that.

Please instead take this time to recoup, do things you love, and find joy with food. Hoping that some of the things below bring about that much needed joy. And if in the very least, I know the sweets below will spark some joy.

You can be miserable before you eat a cookie and you can be miserable after you eat a cookie, but you absolutely can't be miserable while you're eating a Giant Crinkled Chocolate Chip Cookie!! - Ina Garten (words to live by)

In case you need something cozy or some inspiration to fill your holiday table this year, here’s a round up of some of my favorite plant-based recipes including some brand new sweet treats.

Mains

• Herby Lentil Mushroom Stuffed Honeynut Squash

• Crispy Herbed Tofu

• Maple Sage Glazed Carrots with Crispy Chickpeas

• Herb Roasted Chickpea Vegetable Wellington

Sides & Beyond

• Hot Maple Roasted Potatoes and Cauliflower

• Moro de Guandules con Coco

• Garlic Sage Toasted Quinoa Salad

• Shredded Cauliflower and Squash Salad with Apple Butter Tahini Dressing

Sweets

Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies - Okay, these might be my most favorite cookie. They are loaded with caramelized toffee bits and nutty buttery flavors from the brown butter. The perfect cookie with crispy edges and a chewy gooey center. Obsessed is not a strong enough word for these.

Candy Cane Sugar Cookies

I’ve been a little slow with uploading blog posts (again, rest has been a priority), but I just had to include these cookies in this newsletter. They are a fun take on the classic sugar cookie, don’t take a lot of work to make, and no ridiculously long chill time required for these!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) vegan butter, room temperature

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

• 1/4 cup plain unsweetened plant-based yogurt

• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)

• 1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)

• 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, spoon and leveled !!!!

• 1/2 tsp cornstarch

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 1/3 cup candy cane finishing sugar (I got this at my local grocery store from McCormick)**

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line two half baking trays with parchment paper.

2. To a bowl add the butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar then use a hand mixer or stand mixer to cream them together until fluffy in consistency.

3. Add the yogurt, vanilla, and almond extract then use the hand mixer to mix everything until smooth.

4. To a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt and whisk to combine.

5. Add the flour mix to the wet ingredients, then use a spatula to fold the flour into the wet ingredients until just combined. Make sure to avoid over mixing. Cover the dough and place in the freezer for 10 minutes to set. As you wait, pour the candy cane finishing sugar into a shallow bowl.

6. Use a large cookie scoop (about 3 tbsp of the cookie dough) to scoop the dough. Roll each scoop of dough into a ball then roll the dough in the candy cane sugar to completely coat.

7. Place the coated dough ball on a baking tray making sure there is about 2 inches of space between each ball of dough.

8. Bake the cookies in the oven for 7-9 minutes. The edges should be set while the centers will look slightly underdone or doughy (they will continue to set as they cool). To get the cookies to be perfect circles, get a large circular cookie cutter and fit it over a cookie, moving it in a circular motion until round.

9. Let the cookies cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. Then enjoy!

** If you can’t find candy cane finishing sugar, you can make these into regular sugar cookies by coating the dough balls with granulated sugar. You can also turn these into sprinkle cookies by folding in the same amount of festive Christmas sprinkles into your cookie dough before baking.

In case you are still looking for some last minute things before the holidays (I know I am). Here are some things I’ve been using a lot this year.

Cooking Things

• Hot Like Fuego Dominican Hot Sauce Set by Pisqueya - I gifted a few sets of these last year to a some of my spice loves, and they loved them, so I got a few more this year to gift. Also feels great being able to support a Dominican, woman-owned business who also happened to have their hot sauce featured on Hot Ones!

• Flat Cooking Spatulas by Earlywood - I started using them to cook with this year and they are easily one of my most used cooking tools. Perfect for scraping up all the cooked bits while you are cooking without damaging your pans. And they are just such a beautiful addition to the kitchen.

• The Cutest Glasses by MWM at Home - The most stylish glassware. Love to enjoy an iced matcha with these, but they can make any fancy drink look beautiful.

Cookbooks

This has been the year for cookbooks and these were some of the best that came out that totally belong in your kitchen.

• Plantas by Alexa Soto - A highlight of the beauty of traditional Mexican food with a plant-based twist. This is a true celebration of the incredible things plants can do.

• Big Vegan Flavor by Nisha Vora - If you are familiar with Nisha’s cooking, then you know that she is one of the most valuable cooking resources in the plant-based community, and for good reason! Her new NYT bestselling book is absolutely the perfect gift for those wanting to take their plant-based cooking to the next level.

• PlantYou: Scrappy Cooking by Carleigh Bodrug - A fantastic book loaded with ideas for how to reduce your food waste. One of the most resourceful books I own, and can’t get over how Carleigh managed to find ways to use up just about every common fruit and vegetable imaginable.

• Peaceful Kitchen by me! - This book is a collection of over 100 plant-based recipes designed to comfort the body and nourish the soul. And it goes beyond that, finding ways to plant as many helpful nutrition lessons as I could fit throughout. An approachable book that I hope can spark some joy and get you excited to be in the kitchen and eat your vegetables.

---

A long one, and if you made it this far, thank you! Here’s to all your fun festivities! Maybe one of these ideas or recipes will make their way into your holiday celebrations. Regardless, sending you some peace and rejuvenation your way.

Peaceful eats,

Catherine

---