| "GREEN" RECIPES : Green Christmas by Annalisa e Giampiero Cara The ideal menu for the holidays is traditional but with some innovations, special but low in fat and calories. Difficult? No, if you choose a vegetarian menu, like the one we suggest. Or like the other vegetarian and vegan menus you can find on beautiful sites all over the Web, from which we have selected every recipe in this article (and you'll find the addresses near the recipe's name). So this year you really have ample choice to prepare your ideal holiday meal. Merry Christmas, then, the vegetarian way. Spiced Carrot and Orange Soup (serves 8-10) Ingredients: 2 pounds carrots, thinly sliced - 2 tablespoons unrefined peanut oil or other fragrant nut oil - 2 cups chopped onions - 2 large celery stalks, diced - 4 cups water - 1 ½ cups fresh orange juice - 1/4 cup dry white wine - 1 teaspoon each: ground cumin, coriander, ginger - ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg - 1 cup soymilk, or as needed - salt and freshly ground pepper to taste - 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley - 3 tablespoons finely minced scallion Preparation: 1. Reserve and set aside about ½ pound of the carrots. Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Add the onions and celery and sautee over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until golden. Add the carrots (except for the reserved batch), water, juice, wine, and spices. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over moderate heat until the vegetables are quite tender, about 30 minutes. Transfer in batches to the container of a food processor or blender and puree until quite smooth. 2. Return to low heat and stir in enough soymilk to give the soup a medium-thick consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let the soup stand off the heat for several hours before serving. 3. Just before serving, steam the reserved carrots until crisp-tender and stir into the soup along with the parsley and scallion. Taste to correct consistency and seasonings before serving (back to the recipes list) Polenta with Chipotles and sun-dried Tomatoes (serves 6) Ingredients: 3 cups water - 1 teaspoon salt - 1 cup polenta or cornmeal - 2 cloves garlic, minced - 5 sun-dried tomatoes - 1 dried chipotle chile pepper. Preparation: 1. Bring water and salt to a boil over medium-high heat in a heavy saucepan. Pour polenta in slowly, in a thin stream, stirring constantly. Add garlic and cook polenta, continuing to stir constantly, until it starts pulling away from the sides of the pan. 2. Meanwhile, reconstitute tomatoes and chipotles by pouring boiling water over both and let sit while polenta cooks. After polenta is fully cooked, drain, mince softened tomatoes and chipotle and add to mixture. 3. Sprinkle drops of cold water over marble pastry board or cookie sheet. With firm spatula, spread cooked polenta onto board into a rectangle 1/4-inch thick. Let cool and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. 4. Place shapes on cookie sheet sprayed with vegetable cooking spray. Broil 4-inches from heat source for 5 minutes and serve immediately. (back to the recipes list) Luxury Nut & Seed Loaf with Cranberry, Apple and Brandy Sauce (serves ten) Ingredients: 225g bulgar wheat - 330ml boiling water - 3 x 15ml spoons soya sauce - 175g pistachio nuts - 175g pine nuts - 225g blanched almonds - 175g cashew nuts - 110g hazel nuts - 110g sunflower seeds - 110g poppy seeds - 250g onion, finely chopped - 4 x 15ml spoons fresh and finely chopped parsley - 2 x 15ml spoons dried thyme - 4 large free range eggs, lightly whisked - 4 x 15ml spoons olive oil - a little oil for pouring on roast. For the sauce: 275g cranberries - 275g cooking apples, cored and thinly chopped - 150ml apple juice concentrate - 50ml water - 60ml brandy Preparation: 1. Place wheat in a mixing bowl and pour on the boiling water and soya sauce. Cover and let swell for 25 minutes. Grind nuts and seeds to a medium fine consistency. Mix together with the wheat. Stir in the parsley, thyme, onions, eggs and oil. Mix well and allow to stand. 2. Oil a large baking sheet and line with greaseproof paper. Form a loaf shape with the nut mixture, about 10cm wide, press firmly together and prick the top with a fork. Pour on a little oil and sprinkle with some extra nuts (optional) and cap loosely with a foil hood. Bake in oven 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5 for 40 minutes. 3. Take off hood, baste with oil on baking sheet and continue to bake for a further 10 minutes. Place in a large serving dish, then cool, easing off the paper as you do so. Cover with the hood until ready to garnish. 4. Cook all the ingredients except the brandy together for about 20 minutes. Add the brandy and re-heat for 30 seconds. Serve as an accompaniment. (back to the recipes list) Rosemary Roast Potatoes with Garlic (serves ten) Ingredients: 10 medium potatoes - 4 x 5ml spoons dried rosemary, crushed - 1 wine glass of olive oil (extra virgin) - 4 Garlic cloves, crushed. Preparation: 1. Scrub potatoes in their skins and cut into four. 2. Steam for ten minutes, then toss in olive oil, rosemary and crushed garlic. 3. Place the potatoes on a warmed baking tray and roast in hot oven for 30 minutes at 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5. 4. Serve immediately, the outside should be crunchy. (back to the recipes list) Spiced Winter Pudding (serves six) This delicious vegan pudding must be made at least one day in advance. If you don't want to buy all the different types of fruit, miss some out and increase the quantities of others pro-rata. Ingredients: 50g/2oz dried figs - 75g/3oz pitted prunes - 75g/3oz unsulphured dried apricots - 50g/2oz dried peaches - 50g/2oz natural glacé cherries - 50g/20oz sun-dried bananas - 25g/1oz sultanas - 25g/1oz raisins - 20g/¾oz chopped, preserved stem ginger - 750ml/25fl oz orange juice - 2 red fruity herbal tea bags. Tie in a muslin bag: 4cloves - 1 cinnamon stick - ½tsp coriander seeds - ½tsp allspice berries - 7 medium slices soft wholemeal bread, crusts removed. For the Cinnamon Cream (serves 6): 150ml / ¼pint whipping cream 5ml / 1tsp powdered cinnamon 15ml / 1tbsp icing sugar 15ml / 1tbsp rum Preparation: 1. Use kitchen scissors to snip stalks off figs. Snip all fruit into cherry-sized pieces. Place all ingredients except bread into a large saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer with lid half-on for one hour. The fruit will be soft and the juice thick and syrupy. 2. Remove tea bags and spices. Cut bread slices in half to form strips. Dip one strip at a time into hot fruit to coat one side with the syrupy juice. Place juice-side down to line pudding basin with slightly overlapping strips. Fill with fruit mixture. 3. Place more bread strips to cover the top, cover with clingfilm and place a plate and a weight on top. When cool, place in fridge and leave overnight. 4. Prepare the cinnamon cream whisking all the ingredients together until blended and stiff, the serve the pudding with it. (back to the recipes list) | 
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