Christmas 2007

Chestnut Tourtiere pictured. I discovered this recipe in the Homemaker's online magazine. As I have mentioned before, I grew up eating my mother's tourtiere and especially loved eating it on Christmas Eve after coming home from Midnight Mass.

For the last several years, I have tried a couple of "vegetarian" tourtieres. One with TVP, one with lentils and now this one with mushrooms and chestnuts. This one is the best so far!

Preparation was rather labour intensive (thankfully my husband got in on the act and took care of preparing the chestnuts). The end result though was OK (impressive enough) and the leftover pie even better a day or so after. But again, I must warn you, it does take some effort.

(Note: you can click on the highlighted Chestnut Tourtiere to go directly to the recipe. I adjusted ingredients to make this a vegan version ie. flax eggs, etc.)


SWEET POTATO AND COCONUT SOUP

This is the soup I mentioned in my last entry. As I had not purchased enough of the juices to make it twice, I substituted pear nectar and apple sauce which I had on hand, for the pineapple and orange juice in the original version. My family actually liked this combination of flavours better as it was less sweet. However, both soups were delicious and lovely to look at! Give it a try; I can almost guarantee you will love it!

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 onions, peeled & chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 tbsp ginger, peeled, finely minced
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp sea salt
5 cups vegetable stock
5 cups chopped sweet potato
1/4 c lemon juice
3/4 c unsweetened pineapple juice (or pear nectar)
3/4 c unsweetened orange juice (or apple sauce)
1 bar coconut cream, chopped
1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a soup pot. Add onion, celery & ginger. Saute until soft.
2. Add curry powder and nutmeg to onion mixture. Stir and cook for a few seconds.
3. Add salt, stock and sweet potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are soft.
4. Add remaining ingredients and cook until coconut bar has dissolved.
5. Remove from heat and puree until smooth.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add more stock if necessary to achieve desired consistency.

(Original recipe source: Refresh by Ruth Tal with Jennifer Houston).

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