VeganMoFo 2016 #29: Roasts through the ages

29th: Holiday Test Run – It’s always good to practice – show off your hits and misses.

Like I said back on day 2 of VeganMoFo, I don't do practice runs of food before food related events. I just dive on it. So I thought I would present a history of Christmas Day roasts through the years.

Holidays Past: When I first went vegan back in 2000, my beautiful mum found a delicious vegan potato and mushroom galette recipe. We made this recipe every year for years. Though it is quite time consuming, so we haven't made it the last several years because we are streamlining Christmas. I do love this, though.



2007: I don't actually have any photos, but according to my 2008 blog post I made the Pot Roast from Vegan Vittles for Christmas in 2007. So here is a photo of that pot roast, though not taken at Christmas time. It is really delicious



2008: I remember this Christmas well. I was on call the night before, so didn't leave the clinic until 8am on Christmas morning. I was super sick, and so tired. And went home and made a stuffed and glazed seitan roast before lunch. It was the Roast Seitan with Ginger Peach Stuffing and Glaze from Vegan Dad. I note in the original blog post that I didn't mention that I was sick, I guess I was sparing you the details. As for the roast, it was nice though the glaze was too sweet. But I was pretty impressed with myself.



2009: As time has gone on we have been big fans of simplifying Christmas. So this year I made marinated tofu. I don't know which recipe I used.



2010: 2010 continued the simple and easy route, with the delicious Soy-Glazed Tofu from 1000 Vegan Recipes. This recipe is so quick and simple and tasty, and goes with almost any meal you can think of.



2011 We are now entering the three lost years of blogging, where I didn't blog anything about Christmas. But I still have lots of photos. This was Gizmo's last Christmas at home, after a week in hospital, and shortly after she would go back to hospital for her final two weeks. So I was just in no blogging mood. 2011 saw more Soy-Glazed Tofu, I definitely didn't have a lot of time for fussy meals that year. Apparently I really like using this serving dish for tofu.



2012: My first Christmas without Gizmo, and my holiday spirit and cheer was non-existent. I decided to go even simpler and just buy a roast. 2012 was the first year that Tofurky hit Australia, and I made a roast with lots of veggies for Christmas. Not bad.



2013: This was the year of the Suzy Spoon Roast, which was actually delicious! It is wrapped in yuba, giving it a delicious crispy skin. Definitely my favourite Christmas roast so far. I had to mail order this, and because the courier was an idiot they didn't deliver it until the following day. It was OK, we didn't get sick, but not ideal. So I didn't order one again. However Suzy Spoon's is now rolling out their products into vegan shops around Australia, so I may be able to get one again one day without worrying about courier times.



2014: Christmas blogging is back! This year I went back to my vegan roots, with a Sanitarium Vegie Delight Roast. This is available in supermarkets, and was probably the first vegan roast that came out in Australia. It is very simple, not filled at all. It comes with a lurid orange powder to make a glaze, which I now avoid and just use a bit of soy and olive oil. It isn't fancy, but it hits a nostalgic spot with me. Plus, easy availability to all and not as expensive as the other ones (though very small). In 2015 we also had a second Christmas, because my brother came home from the UK a week afterwards. This was a very simple and fresh meal, and the centerpiece was beautiful seared mushrooms glazed in HP sauce.





2015: Last year I ordered a Vegan Meals Delivered roast. I am sorry to say that this was not the best. It was so bready and heavy. There is actually some stuffing in there, but it is just very small. I actually gave it a better review in the original blog post that I would in retrospect today.



As for 2016, I am excited to say that I have a Field Roast fancy roast currently waiting in my freezer for the big day. Field Roast is my favourite plant based meat company, so I can't wait!

What is your favourite sort of 'roast'?

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post





A bit out of order from the routine of going through my kitties, but I spoke so much about Gizmo in this post that I couldn't not make this about her. Gizmo passed away in January 2012, and I had her home for a glorious Christmas week in 2011 (which I thankfully had almost entirely off work). The first photo is one of my favourite photos of the two of us. I know the second one is a bit blurry, but I actually think it worked out kind of pretty. I love Gizmo so much, and I miss her everyday.