Holiday Treats

Happy Holidays! Yes, I’m an enforcer of the ‘Happy Holidays’ because during this time of year it’s time for many different celebrations, not just Christian-based ones. If you say Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanza, Eid Mubarak or Happy Solstice I will repeat with enthusiasm; but because I don’t know your beliefs I stick with Happy Holidays. Now that the political cat is out of the correction bag lets talk about food, the tension equalizer.

I do not have a recipe for  you today because the lighting in my kitchen has been on constant blah for 2 weeks with the multitude of storms, if you are however looking for an amazing recipe that you can get together for gifts in the next few days may I suggest these caramels? I followed the recipe exactly and I am sure I nailed them!

If that is too much work for you I understand, while the caramels take about 25 minutes of stove-top work, cutting and wrapping them can added extra minutes to what you already might not have time for. So my second suggestion is to make some bark. Nothing can be easier than melting some chocolate, added crushed cookies, candy canes, dried fruit and nuts or cereal and topping off with more chocolate, letting cool breaking it up and voila! Beautiful quick treats for friends and family. I made some as well, I started with 300g of dark chocolate, topped with pretzel sticks, drizzled with melted peanut-butter, topped with 300g milk chocolate and then broken pretzel pieces. It couldn’t have been easier or more delicious.

Finally if you are gifting, the wrapping really makes your already awesome treats stand out. I recently bought the book Vegan Food Gifts, which has a ton of beautiful and easy packaging suggestions, complete with tags and embellishments. The ones below I created by making a tube with cellophane, folding in half and adding the bark to one side and the caramels on the other and then tying with a string. Easy-peasy!

I hope the holiday season brings you much joy and time with family and friends. See you all in the New Year with more recipes and anecdotes!

 

Bulwarks’s Limited Edition Winter Cider

Today I finished up all my major Christmas shopping, now I only have a few little things to pick up to finish up gifts; humble-bragging for the win.  I did a lot of online shopping this year and (admittedly) more of it ended up being for myself than for others. I always have the best intentions of spending frugally over the buying season but then the ‘I love giving’ feeling gets to me plus I get so tempted with all the sales and holiday products that I splurge on myself as well. Don’t tell my mother, she is a Christmas purest, never buy for yourself at this time of the year. I can hear her now…what if someone was going to surprise you with this, that or the other-thing you like? But I’m over here like ooohhaii can I get a fancy latte with that please…thanks.

I love adding a bit of the homemade into the season, and if I were more organized I would make all my gifts I give. Here’s the thing, making stuff on a deadline and making it perfect is wayyy stressful and often more expensive than just buying something within your budget that your peeps want. It’s a sad reality I learned the hard way. It doesn’t mean you can’t make fabulous homemade gifts because you totally can, but when you are as OCD as me, sometimes it better for everyone if you just shop. I do have baking and candy making planned out for the coming weeks for a few people I know would totally enjoy some sweet treats more than any product I could buy them. Pick your battles.

I feel like a mini-superhero today because this Christmas grouch even got the tree out of the basement and up (Grouch whispers…it only has 3 decorations on it due to the fact I have no clue where our decorations are packed and have no will to play jenga with my storage…. but it’s up!). I also may have written/signed about 50 cards 10 of which will hopefully be sent out in the mail tomorrow.

Bulwarks’s Limited Edition Winter Cider

After this busy day I wanted to chill out with a holiday libation and found this curious addition to the NSLC. Bulwark’s brand cider is a local company that also produces Stutz and they are currently selling a limited edition winter cider which is the perfect thing to relax with after a trip to the mall.

The holiday version seems sweeter than their regular apple cider and I’m not sure if that is due to the mulling spices they use to flavour it, or just because they have intentionally made it less dry. I usually like a cider to be drier but the sweetness complements the spice well and really does bring on the holiday cheer. Because it is sweeter it tastes more apple-y and really reminds me of apple brandy.

The cider seemed less carbonated to me than its original version, but again I don’t mind, it tastes like a completely different product. As far as I know, you can only buy these in individual bottles (500mls) for under $5 a bottle. I chilled mine well before serving but you could serve this warm by gently heating it over the stove. Be careful not to bring to a boil otherwise the alcohol will evaporate. At 7% it has a nice kick and while I did enjoy this holiday beverage, one was definitely enough. Next up I think I’m going to try making a winter sangria with a buttery California chardonnay, this cider and loads of apples.

If you like sweeter drinks or just want to try a beer alternative, or even if you are just a huge cider fan this is definitely worth checking out. Get it while you can, as it won’t be around for long!

Slow-cooker Chickpea Curry

Happy December first! I hope all my American readers have survived Thanksgiving and black Friday with full bellies and empty wallets. No matter where you are, I hope you are all out enjoying the crisp air outside or are at least tucked away inside cozy and warm. The dogs and I were out for a good 7 km hike this afternoon and I came in craving warm ginger molasses cookies and stew; I think Winter is coming.

With the weather is slowly getting cooler, we have had a few days of mild flurries that have melted before collecting into any discernible snowfall. The holidays are fast approaching and I don’t have anything decorated, or any presents bought, and as always, minimal holiday cheer.  What I can get down for right this minute is easy-peasy recipes that produce comforting, delicious and spicy meals I can eat all week for lunches.

This first recipe I published on V-Spot was a quick and easy recipe for channa masala using canned chickpeas and a skillet. I love healthy one-pot recipes you can make up in a few minutes and I always wanted to revisit that recipe that started this blog. This time I’ve really improved on an old favorite, making it lazy weekend friendly this time it with a slow-cooker.

Slow-cooker Chickpea Curry

• 2 cups dried organic chickpeas, washed, sorted and topped with 3 inches of water left in the fridge to soak overnight

• 2 tbs of olive oil
• 1 stalk of celery, trimmed and diced
• 1 small red/orange pepper, diced
• 1 large onion, peeled trimmed and diced
• 6 cloves of garlic minced
• 2 inch piece if ginger, peeled and grated
• 1/4 tsp-1/2 tsp of chili flakes
• 1 tsp cumin seeds toasted before veggies or 1 tsp ground while sauteing
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1 heaping tbs of PC Tandoori spice; it’s a mild one made mainly of paprika, coriander, ginger, onion and garlic powder and a pinch of cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/2 a 5.5oz/75ml can of tomato paste
• 1-2 tbs Patak’s Hot Curry paste
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cups of water (1 cup is added to the pan before adding to the crock-pot)

Method

The night before rinse and pick through 2 cups of dried organic chickpeas. Place in a large bowl and cover with about 3 inches of cool water. Store in the fridge overnight. The chickpeas should double in size.

When you are ready to cook in the next day, drain the chickpeas and pour into the ceramic portion of the crock-pot.

Clean, trim and finely dice a stalk of celery, a medium large onion and a red/orange pepper set aside. Mince garlic and ginger and set aside together.

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high. If you are using cumin seeds, add them when the pan comes to temperature and toast until they start to pop. If you are using ground cumin skip this step and add onions and celery to cook for about 3-4 minutes.

Add diced red/orange pepper, chili flakes, cumin and garlic salt, tandoori spice mix and cinnamon and saute for another 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, stirring continuously for an additional minute.

Lower the heat to medium and stir in 1/2 can of organic tomato paste and curry paste and stir well. Make sure everything is well combined the tomato paste will start to stick to the bottom of pan but continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Once all the vegetables are tender and everything is well incorporated taste for seasoning. Adjust with salt and pepper, remember it should be pretty concentrated as you are using it as your flavour base for the chickpeas.

Scrape as much as you can into the crock-pot with the chickpeas. Return the skillet to the burner and add 1 cup of cool water to get the remaining bits from the pan. Pour the seasoned water into the crock pot with the spice paste and chickpeas and stir until everything is incorporated. Add two more cups of water to the crock pot, cover and turn on high. Cook on high for about 3.5 hours until the chickpeas are tender-firm.

As the chickpeas cool the sauce will naturally thicken some. Like all curries and stews they are always tastier the next day. Serve over brown rice, or with buttered naan bread.