Yule 2020

Happy winter solstice! I know most of my blog friends are in the USA or other parts of the northern hemisphere, so will have just passed the summer solstice. But here in Australia, it is winter. And last week, we just celebrated the winter solstice, and our shortest day of the year.

Yule aka Winter Solstice (21st of June, 2020)

Yule fell over a weekend, and while I was working on the Saturday I had the Sunday off. For a few years, I used to mark Yule by making a huge feast. But the last couple of years time and energy have been against me, so I celebrated by making an easier but delicious wintery meal.

Deep, Dark Stew a La Sicilia from World Vegan Feast by Bryanna Clark Grogan: I knew I wanted to make this for Yule as soon as I saw it in the book earlier this year. This delicious stew uses TVP chunks (reconstituted in stock before you start the recipe), which are one of my favourite things. You can use cubed seitan instead, but TVP chunks are so much better. There is also carrot, mushrooms, and celery (I only had sticks, no leaves) in the stew, and I added some frozen peas as well because why not. The stew is made with an intriguing mix of ingredients such as sherry (though I used white wine), mushroom stock (I used the tip in the book of mixing porcini powder with vegetable stock for ease), cocoa powder, bacon bits, and yeast extract (Vegemite in my case), as well as a few other things and a blend of herbs. I got six servings, and I served it over mashed potatoes. The TVP chunks are coated in flour, sauteed, and set aside at the start of the recipe. I couldn't see where to add them back, so I did it about halfway through cooking time.
Rating: :)



Cranberry Apple Crumble from Vegan Casseroles by Julie Hasson: This is a lovely sweet and tart crumble. It uses granny smith apples and cranberries. While it called for fresh cranberries, that is not a thing here, so I used some of my very precious frozen cranberry stash, partially thawed. I also added a touch more cornstarch to the filling mix to make up for the extra liquid of using frozen cranberries. The topping is a nice cinnamon-laced mix of oats and flour, and I used melted Nuttelex as the fat. I would next time increase the amount of that from 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup, as the topping was a bit dry still, it didn't brown that well until I stuck it under the grill for a moment. I served this lovely winter treat with some So Delicious Snickerdoodle Ice Cream.
Rating: :)





Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Speaking of winter and warmth, Gizmo was a master of finding snuggly places for napping. As she got older and had some arthritis in her lower spine and hips, we would wrap her up and give her a little heat pack for her joints during the colder days, which she really appreciated.