Christmas is behind us and you're just going to have to trust me because there are no photos - the food was good. I hosted Christmas Eve at my house. Everyone brought appetizers to comprise dinner without a dining table. (Have I mentioned how small our house is?) My cousins both went out of their way to bring vegan fare, which was so unneccessarily thoughtful and delicious. I made the meatballs and a big pot of creamy roasted cauliflower-potato soup that we could eat out of mugs. I also made the rosemary focaccia from Veganomicon to accompany. If you are going to make this bread, read the recipe carefully- in my copy, salt is listed on the list of ingredients, but not in the directions. I had to knead it in. It turned out fine, but to be honest, I won't be making it again. My mom made the great-grandma's shrimp sandwiches. Along with sweet pickles and olives this is one of the required victuals for Christmas Eve. I made a vegan version that I selfishly hoarded in the kitchen when I ran out of time to make them look cute.
Great-Grandma's (Hey There's No) Shrimp (in There) Sandwiches
8 oz. extra-firm tofu, squeezed in a clean dish towel to crumble and remove any excess water
drizzle of tamari and agave nectar
1 c. finely chopped celery
3/4 c. vegenaise
juice of half a lemon
dash of cayenne, paprika, salt, and pepper
loaf of white bread
After squeezing out the tofu, toss it with about a tablespoon of tamari and about a teaspoon of agave nectar. Let it soak up some flavor while you prepare the bread. Remove the crust from the whole loaf, before slicing the whole thing, or each piece, in half so that you're left with perfect little white bread rectangles. Toss the tofu with the celery, vegenaise, lemon juice, and seasonings. At this point, you could rebag the bread, put the tofu salad mixture in the fridge, and assemble the sandwiches later. Or do as my great-grandma did and butter each piece of bread before sandwiching in the wet part to prevent them from getting soggy, but that just seems a bit profligate with the fat. Though you should know- my great-grandma, she smoked and drank and took the bus to work until she was 85. Anyway, if it's time to serve, then slap some of that tofu mixture between two cute little rectangles of white bread and plate them sandwiches with a garnish of parsley- that's another Christmas Eve requirement.
On Christmas morning we ate pancakes and opened presents from Santa, and I realize that's a luxurious order of events that I don't think we'll see again in this house until Desmond is in college (at a good UC). That afternoon, we played on the beach and had dinner at my dad's house. He made us a Tofurkey feast, and I've gotta tell you, I think the Tofurkey has improved. It had been a few years since we had sampled this seitan roast, and maybe it was just my dad's cooking prowess, but it seemed moister. Anyone?
We spent Boxing Day in the mountains with the mom and stepdad and stepsiblings and a lot more food, but in the chaos of Christmas, I left my camera at home, which was probably a blessing. Instead of obsessing over food photos, Paul and I managed to play three games of Scrabble and even see a movie. I just hope someone else got good pictures of Desmond waddling in his puffy brown jacket and green scarf and ear flap hat and red mittens because I don't think there's anything cuter. But again you'll just have to trust me on this one.
