Happy Christmas!

Or Kwanzaa...Hannukah...Festivus...Happy Whatever You Celebrate!

My Beloved and I, although secular in disposition, do enjoy a good celebration - especially when it entails a couple of days off work, alone with each other and our Little Ones, and the chance to sit by the fire, drink wine and open presents that we really do not deserve.

So yesterday - Christmas Day - was just a delight.

We started the day comparatively early by making some vegan yummy french toast (from Sarah Kramer's La Dolce Vegan) with local maple syrup and a pot of steaming coffee. The sun was out, the sky a gorgeous shade of blue and the snow had receded just a touch, so we planned the hearty brunch to sustain us through the later walk with the boys. With temperatures actually above freezing, we figured Sir Humphrey wouldn't mind a little ambulation around the neighbourhood - to sniff his p-mail, shout at passing dogs and greet random folks on the street with his customery nose to the groin.

So this was the breakfast:



The boys were unsure were unsure as to whether they'd been naughty or nice all year and were worried that Santa Paws may have skipped them altogether. Sir Humphrey (aka 'Captain Piddles') was particularly concerned.....



However, the scene that greeted us was one of plenty:



How thoughtful of Santa Paws to put all of the gifts out of doggie-reach!

The boys had a great time:







And My Beloved was thrilled with his vegan cordials....



The rest of the day was spent lounging by the fire, Skyping with our relatives in New Zealand (Hi Kiwis!!) and playing with our own toys. I was totally spoiled by My Beloved this year and received an iPod Touch! Oh man, I love that little gadget! The first app I downloaded was from VeganYumYum and it's a recipe database, complete with step-by-step photo instructions for each dish. Magic! I was like having a tiny laptop in the kitchen and meant I no longer have to run between kitchen and study to check a recipe, or wastefully print out the recipe. The app's available free through iTunes and I am in love with it already!

So much so that we made VYY's stuffed seitan roulade for Xmas dinner. OK, it didn't come out as fancy as the original, but we enjoyed it with lemon roasted potatoes, herb roasted roots (carrots, parsnips, garlic cloves, celery and onions), and a garlic-mustard gravy. The stuffing was forbidden rice-pistchio-pear-cranberry, based on a recipe over at Nava Atlas' site here and slightly adapted.

And this was the end result:








We had a chocolate bundt cake sitting in the sidelines but were waaaaaaay too stuffed to contemplate even a slice-let, so that survived the day!

Darwin was exhausted by all the gift opening and the strain started to tell:






Snooze well, little guy!

Oh, and stay vegan, Friends! :)