Hi everyone!
Thank you for your kind words about my Pumpkin Pie Cinnamon Rolls entry for Challenge #8! The post was in the works for about 3 weeks now and I was soooo happy to finally hit publish. Voting is now open if you care to show your support. They are cutting 50% of contestants, so only 12 will remain for round #9.
What’s with all this snow, you ask?
Eric and I are in Alberta visiting my family for an early Christmas celebration!
We leave on Wednesday and I am already very sad to say goodbye to my family. I’m pretty sure I am going to stuff my nephews in my suitcase and make a run for it. ;)
We were a bit scared during the days leading up to our trip out West because we heard that there was a deep freeze going down in the Prairies…
Burrrrrr.
Luckily, OSGMOM told us that it would be ‘warming up’ to –10C by the time we arrived.
Err… ;)
I need layers…lots and lots of layers.
I have also been drinking my body weight in hot chocolate and tea.
Luckily, fur ball Rudi has been keeping us warm…
He is never cold!
Well, sometimes…when he wants to snuggle up to The Cat Whisperer (Eric).
I hope Sketchie doesn’t see this!
They have a view of The Rockies from their backyard. I guess this makes up for the cold! :)
Gorgeous, eh?
My mom and sister Kristi surprised us with a mostly vegan Christmas dinner on Sunday night.
It was very exciting.
I came into the kitchen to find that they were working hard on a bunch of my recipes!
This time I got to have it made for me!
Mom said, ‘I hope you will still love me if I screw up these recipes!!’
I said, “I don’t care what you do as long as I don’t have to cook!’ ;)
I had total faith in my worker bees.
I kept them in line with a spoon!
I got to make the vegan gravy and then I forgot about it on the burner and nearly fried it! Just a day in the life…
The non-vegans had stuffed chicken and myself and my friend Ashley had In A Jiffy spelt veggie patties.
They were awesome in a roll with vegan gravy! It was a great idea to make for the vegan protein portion.
High Protein Garlic Mashed Potatoes:
I also brought along Soft Peanut Butter Cookies for my nephews and the rest of my family. They were a huge hit!
Mmmm, I filled my plate and was one happy vegan!
I had a whole wheat dinner roll with vegan butter, peas, butternut squash, This Ain’t Grandmas Sweet Potato Casserole, High Protein Garlic Mashed Potatoes, In A Jiffy Veggie Spelt patties, vegan gravy, and Cranberry, Pear, and Pecan Spinach Salad.
For dessert, my mom made my Pumpkin Gingerbread with Spiced Buttercream!! Gosh I love this dessert.
And some non-vegan layered cake!
The boys watched the Grey Cup football…
The ladies did not. :)
Then we exchanged gifts with Kristi and the family. I got some amazing pictures of my nephews, a new apron, a holiday table runner, and artwork from my oldest nephew. :)
I told my nephew that my fridge was covered in his artwork, but I was going to add all of the new drawings to it too, and his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and he said, ‘REALLY???’
Then Papa and mammoth Kinder Eggs stole the show and that was that!
Well, we are off for another day of adventures. See you later!
What a beautiful view!!
Oh my that is cold! I am soo happy that you have an amazing family that is so willing to cook for you :)
This post made me finally decide to bake your pumpkin gingerbread cake with frosting. Yummy!
I love how everything looks so festive! Spending the Holidays with family is what it is about, isn’t it? And how lucky that they made an entire vegan feast for you to enjoy! My extended family is still a little leery about my vegetarian ways, a veggie feast that i didn’t have to prepare would be like a dream come true.
Oh what a gloriously happy, fun post! I can feel the happiness you have for your family, and to be home (even tho it sounds friggggggid out!) I grew up in a freezing cold place and never wish to feel my skin freeze in 2 seconds flat…ha!
The food, the desserts, the fact that YOU didnt have to cook, the time w/ your fam…so lovely!
And oh, all you girls are just gorgeous! Lots of blond hair and blue eyes and gorgeous-ness going on in this post :)
Enjoy the last few days w/ your family…and any leftover PB Cookies :)
Love the snow pictures!!! Makes me excited for it to start snowing here :)
Jen
1. That is darn cold!
2. That may be the cutest kitty ever :) Don’t let my cat hear me say that, though!
Awww….I miss that view! Where is your family from in AB? Mine lives in Lethbridge, Pincher Creek, and Calgary. I absolutely love it there…
I will definitely be making that pumpkin gingerbread for my Christmas feast as well :)
Is Rudi a himalayan? He looks exactly like my parents cat, Winston. Rudi is adorable!!
I used to have a himalayan and he looked just like Rudi as well! I miss him :0(
Brrr! Chilllly! So not ready for snow… haha
Where did they get those bowls? I love them!
Speaking of high protein garlic mashed potatoes… haha!
I decided I would make these for Thanksgiving, my attempt at sneaking something vegan and healthy into a non-vegan household/holiday. Well, everyone loved them! Rave reviews, but of course I couldn’t share my secrets! I did decide to roast the garlic in the oven first, then add it to the beans and a little Earth Balance in food processor. Then I mashed the whole mixture up with a potato masher. They were fabulous, thank you!
Glad you liked them!
Angela, SO great to finally meet you in person! You are every bit as lovely as your blog indicates :) Thanks again many times for the invite and the DELICIOUS dinner!
Let me know what you think of The Coup if you make it there ;)
I made the Gingerbread with Buttercream frosting and it was delicious. Everyone raved about it! Thank you so much for offering such delicious recipes! You are fabulous!
all that food looks wonderful!! You have my vote :-)
All of the food looks amazing!!!!!!!!!!!! The scenery does too! Just this week I was in West Virginia with my family, and it snowed on Saturday. We went to see a waterfall, and it was beautiful!
I never knew Alberta was so beautiful…or so cold! Chicago hasn’t had snow yet, but I’m bracing myself for the unbearable cold that I know is in our future! :)
What a lovely time. Such good food and a lovely family. :)
Stay Warm!
I can’t believe it’s that cold out there already…
That cat is hilarious…sort of looks like a cat pancake.
What an AMAZING view! Lovely place to visit family :-)
AHH!!
I love your blog and have been reading for a looong time and when I saw you were in Alberta I got really excited, but I was even more excited because telling by the photos you took I know which city and which community you are in as well because I have family in that community too!!
Thats so neat!
Tracey
Ah, so does this early Christmas celebration explain the Christmas morning do-it-yourself cinnamon bun bar in November? I was wondering about that from your last post.
Cast my vote for Foodbuzz – good luck!
What a beautiful holiday with the family, a true blessing.
So my question to you is how tempted were you to run that snowy mountain road? I would have been so tempted. =)
Awesome pictures! It looks like you are having fun :)
awe, such fun!! cold & snow like that is SO foreign to me. I cant even imagine…
Heidi xo
What a fun time. Love all the eats.
I am so jealous of the kinder surprise eggs you have in canada. Do they have a vegan one? they should.
How fun, looks like a great time.
I’m glad you enjoyed your time in my province! (Although far away from where I live, if you can see the mountains.)
You are teasing me with the Thanksgiving Menu! I tried on my computer and my husbands to download it, but it wont work! I WANT those recipes so bad!
it is an Adobe PDF file…I think you need to have that supported on your PC to work. :)
Oh my gosh, that’s freezing! It’s still hovering around 0 here, but that’s cold enough for me! :P
That looks like such a great early Christmas celebration! I’m glad you got to enjoy some time with your family!
Aw, how fun!!! That makes me so excited for Christmas!
That looks like the view from my sister’s house… they must be neighbors! Enjoy your family vacation.
your family seems so amazingly supportive. that must have been the best christmas gift ever.
oh, and your nephews seem too cute for words.
Sounds like a fun time! That marshmallow sweet potato yumminess looks sooo good, is that recipe in your recipe section? (not sure what its called)
I love the pic of the boys! Too cute.
An early Christmas celebration! So fun!
I havent even started shopping :O
That view is amazing!
Rudi looks like a great way to stay warm if its -33C.
I wondered where you were! Glad you are having a good time with your gorgeous family!
Your family is amazing! Their acceptance of your veganism is lovely, too. Have you done a post on that? I’m curious to know what they thought when you first went vegan!
It’s only December first and you already got your gift???? Huhu.. will you be my Santa and give me that cute little fuzzy cat? :)
Anyway, I love your dinner table. I thought you’ll include the brown ribbons in your peanut butter cookies, they look great with it.
All this good looks so good! If only I could climb into the pictures to enjoy the food with you!
That was so kind of your family! Y’all look so happy!!! :-)
Awww what a special holiday. I loved your table decor…have a great trip! It looks beautiful
The roasted butternut squash pic looks so good. Butternut is such a sultry vegetable, especially when purreed to make silky soups!
beautiful photos! i love clear teapots – i see it hidden in that photo haha!
You guys look just alike – and you’re all gorgeous! (So is the food! :) )
Oh how I’d love a piece of pumpkin gingerbread cake now! I love icing and that all looks scrumptious!
Welcome back to Alberta! It’s hard to beat on a sunny winter day, especially when you can see the mountains. It’s so beautiful here today – glad you got some nice weather in the end :) You sure look like your mom and sister. What a beautiful family. Your dinner looks amazing too! It’s awesome that your family is so supportive.
Angela,
You obviously have some mad photography skilz girly. Would you mind sharing a bit about the SLR camera that you use, and how you’ve developed your skills over the years? I am really interested in purchasing a DLSR camera, but am a bit intimidated by all the choices out there. Thanks so much!
OH my goodness – Eric, the Cat Whisperer! So adorable and funny! :) glad you are enjoying an early holiday!