Mega post of pre-Christmas baking

Rather than spam you with individual posts, here's one big catch-up post of everything I made in the lead-up to Christmas.

This is Potato Wedges - I just cut up the potatoes, put them in a baking pan with a slurp of olive oil, then sprinkle some salt/pepper/rosemary over the top. Then I bake them at about 190C for 30-40min - delicious!The cauliflower is Lisa's Roasted Cauliflower. This didn't turn out so well for me - but I didn't follow the recipe properly so it's definitely my fault :-). I didn't have any onion & I used a little too much sesame oil & rosemary so the flavours were all out.

Here are some gingerbread men I made from The Joy of Vegan Baking. I made them to take to a pre-Christmas afternoon tea but they were barely edible so didn't make it out of my kitchen :-(This is the first thing I have made from my favourite cookbook that didn't turn out. I think it was the molasses - the recipe called for 2/3 cup, and I used blackstrap molasses. I should definitely have used a lighter molasses or less of the blackstrap because the flavour was so overwhelming I had to bury them in icing to make them edible.

Because my gingerbread men didn't work out, I made these lovely Orange & Blueberry Muffins instead, also from The Joy of Vegan Baking.These were perfect - more like a cupcake than a muffin & the orange & blueberry were just perfect together. The recipe is for Lemon & Blueberry, but I only had an orange on hand & citrus is easy to substitute, so I wasn't disappointed.

This dish is Creamy Mushroom Pasta (see recipe below). I don't make it often, but I really do like it. The sherry is the secret I think - it really lifts the flavour of the mushrooms.
Creamy Mushroom Pasta

• 500g pasta (I used wholemeal penne)
  
• 2 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
  
• 1 large onion, chopped
  
• 1 tsp dry basil
  
• 1 tsp dry oregano
  
• 1 tsp dry thyme
  
• 3/4 cup cooking sherry
  
• 2 TBS soy cream cheese (I use tofutti)
  
• 1 cup soy milk
  
• 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
  
• Salt & pepper to taste

Cook pasta until tender. Saute onions in a little oil over medium heat for 5mins, until translucent. Add mushrooms & stir until heated through. Add herbs & season to taste.

When mushrooms are cooked, add sherry & mix in cream cheese. Let reduce a little & add milk. Add garlic & continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until thickened.

Serve over the pasta.

Nearly at the end now - this is a salad I threw together one night after a tiring day at work. I was in a hurry so served it slightly warm, but it would be equally good cold.First, I sliced a zucchini thinly, placed the slices in a baking pan, sprinkled olive oil over the top & baked it for about 15mins. Then I sliced 1 bunch of asparagus & blanched it in boiling water for about 1min. Then I tossed the asparagus & zucchini together in a bowl with baby spinach, 1 diced tomato & 1 can of chickpeas. I poured a little more olive oil over the top & added salt & pepper. It was really good, which is always a relief when I'm making up recipes as I go - I haven't had much success with this in the past.

Last but not least, here are some Felafel Burgers from my other favourite cookbook - The Vegan Table.The recipe suggests baking or sauteing these in a frypan. I chose the baking method but they turned out a little dry. Still yummy in a wrap though - I think we had these with hummus, tomato & spinach.