Veganism at Christmas – Recipes 🆙

Christmas is coming, time of solidarity, love and compassion. How about extending these feelings to animals?
The time when love is most preached is the time when most animals die. Are we not going against what we want? How can we achieve peace if we continue to murder, confine and destroy the lives of animals? Is it not time to widen this circle of compassion? How would we feel if we were in the animals' shoes just to satisfy a few minutes of taste? Because that's how we should feel, always put ourselves in the other's place. We must not cause others what we do not want for ourselves. How can we celebrate life with death on the table? I hope that in these few lines there is a reflection for change and so that we can achieve a fairer world, where ALL can live in peace.

Here are some recipes so that we can celebrate without causing any suffering to the animals. Lots of light in everyone's heart.

“Before having loved an animal, part of our soul remains unconscious.” – Anatole France

“Humans implore divine mercy, but have no mercy on animals, for which they are divine.” – Buddha

Vegan Tenderloin with Mango Chutney

By KitchenAid

400 g of cooked white beans
400 g of sweet potato
400g firm tofu
1 cup brown rice flour
2 onions
4 garlic cloves
1 pepper girl's finger
1 bunch of thyme
1/2 bunch of parsley
1 tablespoon of Syrian pepper
1/4 cup (tea) extra virgin olive oil
Himalayan pink salt to taste

Chutney
4 mature palmer sleeves
2 garlic cloves
1 onion
1 pepper girl's finger
50 g of ginger
2 cinnamon sticks
4 carnations
Juice of 4 oranges
1/2 bunch of parsley
1/2 bunch of chives
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

Steam the sweet potato and beetroot, and when cooked, process in a food processor or blender until smooth.
Process the white beans and add to the puree.
Mash the tofu with a fork and also incorporate it into the puree.
Chop the onion, garlic, thyme, chili pepper and parsley and season the puree.
Add rice flour, salt, Syrian pepper and olive oil until you get a firm dough.
Shape it into a round bowl, then turn it out onto a greased baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 40 minutes.
Serve with skewered cloves and mango chutney.
Cut the mango and onion into cubes.
Finely chop the garlic, ginger and chili pepper.
Bring all these ingredients to a boil in a pan, add orange juice, cloves and cinnamon and let it cook until the mango breaks down.
Finish with olive oil and herbs.
Serve immediately.

Yield: 10 servings

seitan with wood sauce recipe

By Andreia Lima

4 cups white wheat flour
1 1/2 cup (tea) of water
Water for soaking and washing

Sauce

2 tablespoons of oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup onion (chopped)
3 fingers of ginger, cut (+- 3 cm)
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup (tea) tomato sauce
1/2 cup (tea) of soy sauce
1 1/2 cup (tea) of water

Wood Sauce
Sauce for cooking, but strained (pass it through a sieve to remove the pieces of the other ingredients and only the broth remains).

1/4 cup dry red wine
1/3 cup of chopped mushrooms
1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons of water

Preparation

Seitan

Put the wheat flour and water in a bowl and knead for 10 minutes until you get a homogeneous mixture.
Make a ball with the dough, cover with water and let it soak for 8 hours.
After this time, put this dough in a colander (over a basin too), and wash until the water runs clear.
Leave the seitan in the colander; Meanwhile, prepare the sauce.
Note: You can find ready-made seitan in several natural food stores, if you find it, just make the sauce to complete the recipe.

sauce for cooking

In a pressure cooker, over medium heat, place the oil and sauté the garlic and onion until golden.
Add the chopped ginger, tomato sauce, soy sauce, water and bay leaf and bring to a boil.
When it is boiling, add the seitan, pour some of the broth over it and cover.
Let it cook for 20 minutes after it gets pressure and turn off.
Place the seitan with the broth in a bowl, cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 8 hours.
To better absorb the sauce, poke a few holes in it.
Remove seitan from sauce and cut into pieces.
In a skillet with about 2 tablespoons of oil, fry these seitan pieces until golden.
Arrange on an oven-safe platter and set aside.

Wood Sauce

Strain the cooking sauce and place it in a pan.
Add the wine, mushrooms and cornstarch to the water.
Mix and let it boil.
Pour this sauce over the seitan pieces on the platter and bake at 240ºC for 30 minutes, halfway through, drizzle the seitan with the sauce.
Place the seitan on the serving plate, and you're done!

Yield: 6 servings

Preparation time: 90 minutes

colorful rice

By blog Chez Bianca

1/2 cup of rice
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 of chopped green pepper
1/4 chopped red pepper
1 cup of vegetable broth
1 pinch of saffron
1/2 cup of peas
1/2 cup of corn
1 chopped skinless and seedless tomato
1/4 cup of raisins
1/4 cup of walnuts
Salt, pepper, chopped chives and olive oil to taste

Preparation

In a pan, heat the vegetable broth.
In another pan, heat the oil and sauté the onion for about 2 minutes. Add the peppers and sauté for another 1 minute.
Add rice, vegetable broth, saffron and salt.
Lower the heat and let it cook with the lid half-covered until the water dries up*.
Add the peas, corn, tomatoes, raisins, walnuts and chopped chives; mix well and serve.

* Prepare the rice the way you are used to, just change the water for the vegetable broth and add the vegetables.

Lentil Salad

1 cup cooked lentils
1/2 zucchini, chopped (without the core)
3 slices of palm heart, chopped
1 seedless chopped tomato
1 cooked cassava, cut into rounds
1 teaspoon of fried garlic
Salt and oil to taste

Preparation

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, leaving the fried garlic to sprinkle last.
Season with salt and oil and serve.

Yield: 4 servings

Farofa

3 tablespoons of corn cereal
3 tablespoons grated carrot
3 black plums, chopped
3 chopped apricots
1 teaspoon Himalayan salt
20 green olives, sliced into rings
2 teaspoons capers
50 g cashew nuts
50 g of walnuts
70 g Brazil nuts
1 tablespoon of olive oil (if you wish, you can add a little more)
1 clove of garlic paste
2 tablespoons of roasted soy
2 teaspoons of black sesame
3 tablespoons of coarse breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons oven-roasted soy protein
10 beak peppers
10 g of white raisins
3 chopped dates

Preparation

Sauté the breadcrumbs, carrots and garlic in olive oil. Toast the walnuts and chestnuts for about 10 minutes in an oven at 180ºC. Bake the protein in the oven for 8 minutes. Soak the raisins for 10 minutes. Drain.
Mix and sauté all ingredients except corn cereal. Adjust the salt and when it cools down, add the corn cereal. Serve!

Cheesecake

By Alternative Cuisine

120 g of raw skinned almonds
80 g pitted dates
2 spoons of coconut oil
Pinch of salt

Stuffing ingredients

200 g cashews, soaked for 5 hours
Juice of 1 lemon
100 ml of coconut oil
2 tablespoons of fresh sugar
70 ml of coconut cream
70 ml of water if needed
50 g blueberries for the colored part (optional)
Vanilla essence
Pinch of salt

Preparation of the base

Lightly toast the almonds in a skillet just to release the aroma.
In a mixer, grind the almonds and the chopped dates, you don't need to grind too much. Add the sea salt and two tablespoons of liquid coconut oil.
Pour the mixture into a removable bottom mold. Shape the base of the cheesecake. With a glass with a straight bottom, knead well so the base is well united. Reserve.

Filling preparation method

In a blender, put the cashews to soak for 5 hours, the coconut oil, coconut cream, vanilla essence, pinch of salt and lemon juice.
Blend until you get a smooth, creamy consistency, this may take a few minutes. Choose the “smoothie” function, if your blender has it. If necessary, add a maximum of 70 ml of water to achieve consistency.
When it's very creamy, taste and add the demerara sugar and more lemon juice, according to your taste!
Pour the stuffing. If you want to make a colored part, just fill it halfway, take it to the freezer and beat the other part of the filling with the fruit of your choice. I chose blueberry, because in addition to forming an incredible color, the flavor is awesome!
Place in the freezer for 2 hours and remove 10 minutes before serving.

Average time: 30 minutes for preparation + 2 hours for freezing
Yields: 1 shape 15 cm in diameter

TIPS

The consistency of the cheesecake becomes more or less creamy depending on how long the cashews are soaking, so don't skip this process.
The time of 5 hours makes the chestnuts softer and suitable to be turned into cream. If you want to leave it soaking longer, no problem.
If you want a colorful cheesecake, just select the fruit you like the most and beat some of the filling.
In this recipe I used coconut cream, which is quite sweet! This way, taste your filling before adding more sugar to avoid an overly sweet taste.
The cheesecake base isn't exactly a moldable dough, it's normal. You will have to add coconut oil to bind and mold the mixture into the base of the pan. The more you press, the better.
This cheesecake does not go through the cooking process, it is vegan and gluten free. It is extremely tasty and, best of all, anyone can eat it.

Apple pie

By Lali Lazari

Sponge

80 g of oat flour
200 g brown rice flour
120 g of almond flour
8 tablespoons of coconut oil
120 ml of water
ginger
cinnamon powder
pinch of salt

Creme

800 ml of soy milk
800 ml coconut milk
110 g of rice flour
200 g powdered demerara sugar
vanilla
cinnamon
nutmeg

Icing

5 red apples
2 tablespoons of chia oil
50 ml of water
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
cinnamon
nutmeg
crave
cardamom

Preparation

Sponge
1) Mix all dry ingredients.
2) Add the coconut oil and water and incorporate until the dough has a crumb texture.
3) Shape the dough into a shape with a removable bottom. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
4) Cover the dough with parchment paper and add beans to weight.
5) Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 180°C. Reserve.

Creme
1) In a pan, mix all the ingredients.
2) Place over low heat and stir gently until the cream is reduced.
3) Remove from heat and place in the fridge for 4 hours.

Icing
1) Slice the apples, removing the core and seeds.
2) Mix with chia oil and place in a frying pan. Saute until the apples are soft and the water has evaporated.
3) Add the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom. Mix until the broth reduces.

Assembly
With the baked dough, add the cream and finish with the apple caramel. Serve cold.

magic ice cream cake

Written by: Ana Tavares

For the ice cream layer

1¼ cup cashews
¾ cup plant-based milk (soy, cashew or almond)
½ cup of filtered water
1 pinch of salt
1 cup coconut milk (fat)
juice of 1 sicilian lemon
zest of 1 lemon
½ cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons of coconut oil
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1 full teaspoon of cinnamon
½ teaspoon of nutmeg
½ teaspoon of clove powder

to the base

1 cup of dates
1 pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1½ cup shredded coconut
1½ tablespoon of coconut oil

Preparation

In a large bowl, add cashews, plant-based milk, water and salt.
Cover and place in the fridge to rest for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Line the bottom and sides of a detachable pan with parchment paper. When the cashews are ready, start by preparing the base.
In a food processor, add all the ingredients needed for the base. Process on high speed until a homogeneous mixture is achieved.
Press the base ingredients, lining the form, and take it to the freezer.
Wash the processor, because now we are going to prepare the ice cream layer.
Add cashews (along with liquid), coconut milk, lemon juice and zest, maple syrup, coconut oil, and spices to the food processor. Process everything at high speed until you achieve a smooth and homogeneous mixture.
Place the ice cream layer in the mold, covering the base and put it back in the freezer until it is well frozen.
Remove from the mold and decorate with toasted almonds, coconut shavings and granola – or any other delicacy you have at home.
Serve chilled straight from the freezer! To cut perfect slices, heat the knife under hot water.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all beings!

“The animals of the world exist for their own purpose. They were not made for human beings any more than blacks were made for whites, nor women for men.” – Alice Walker