The Smiling Onion

Vegetarian and Gluten-free Cooking

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Archives for December 2015

Coffee-Scented Gingerbread with Amaretto Cream

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Holiday greetings from San Antonio! I’m here with Bobby (my fiancé) and his family, enjoying the 70 degree weather and filling up on Indian food – one of your best options if you happen to be vegetarian in Texas. (For a complete list of the best San Antonio vegetarian spots, email me – I’ve had a couple years to figure it out :p)

Despite the warm weather, we are gearing up for Christmas, which is quite an affair down here. Bobby’s family is insanely large, and in just two days, we all get to be crammed in one home (luckily the homes are much bigger here than in New York) and fight for survival – er – celebrate. And this year my family of Yankee Jews are going to join in on the festivities for the first time! It should be a Christmas to remember.

I’m getting in the holiday spirit by baking, of course. And there is nothing that screams “holiday” quite like the smell of freshly baked gingerbread.

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Savory Fall Smoothie

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If you live in the Northeast like I do, you are experiencing a very strange December. I mean, it’s been in the 60s this entire week! People seem to be handling the uncharacteristically warm weather in different ways: some are freaking out, some are ecstatic, and some are taking it as a sign that a delicious pumpkin-based smoothie recipe I had thought was doomed to sit around until next fall is actually still very much seasonally-appropriate. (Okay, maybe just me for that last one!) But yes, I have a wonderful smoothie for you to savor during these last few (days? weeks? who knows at this point?) of warm weather, and I highly recommend that you make it before the snow hits!

This smoothie has a savory quality that I really enjoy. The frozen banana definitely gives it some sweetness – but there is also a complexity of flavor that differentiates it from your everyday smoothie. Pungent turmeric and ginger combine with creamy pumpkin puree, coconut milk, and fall spices; I chose to highlight these notes with a bit of celtic sea salt  (more than you would typically put in a sweeter smoothie) and the result was delicious.

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Carrot Latkes with Green Apple Sour Cream

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It’s latke time! Whether you’ve just lit candles for the second night of Chanukah, or all you know about Chanukah is the Adam Sandler song (one of my all-time LEAST favorite songs, by the way), you gotta make some latkes. Or at least, find somewhere to go eat them. Because Jewish or not, who doesn’t like crispy fried potatoes with sour cream and apple sauce?

That said, too much of a good thing definitely applies . And if you do happen to celebrate Chanukah, you know what I’m talking about. The first time you eat latkes on Chanukah, it’s totally awesome. But by the time the obligatory latkes hit your plate at the third Chanukah gathering you’ve been to, you may start to get a little…well…rebellious. My solution? Ditch the starchy, heavy potato and bust out your carrots! Need some more reasons to try carrot latkes? I’ve got ’em!

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