Holiday-Friendly Recipes + Umeshu-kan (Japanese vegan jello shot)

Cream Puff

Just thought I’d round up some holiday-friendly recipes before the Thanksgiving whirlwind (recipes from this blog and tasty-looking recipes from other bloggers).

Note – The holidays are probably not the time you want to experiment with recipes you haven’t mastered, but it can be nice to try out new things!

make ahead dishes, for the day or two before

• My Third Grandma’s Cranberry Salad; (this is a smash, smash hit whereever it goes);
• Three Bean Salad; (very delicious and inexpensive)
• My Tropical Fruit Salad; (no added sugar & will be totally adored by your guests.)
• Kohi Kanten (Japanese Coffee Jelly) ; (a so sooo delicious, extremely low-calorie, and vegan dessert – nice contrast to rich foods

oven multi-tasking

• Roasted Portobello and Asparagus; (super easy)
• (Kalyn’s Kitchen) Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Pecans;
• (Wednesday Food Blogging) Spinach and Tofu Strudel; (vegetarian and looks spectacular); and
• Cream Puffs. Delightful and terribly Easy; (very scrumptious, inexpensive, and can be made ahead). Yes, the picture above shows one in close-up.

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Umeshu-kan

Umeshu-kan mise en place

Umeshu-kan

I have read about people using umeshu (Japanese plum wine) to make kanten desserts. It went on sale the other week, so I pounced on it! It’s been many, many, many years since I’ve had umeshu. I quite forgot that it is VERY potent, like any other fruit-based liquer.

I made a very small amount of umeshu-kan, just enough to test. I’ve never had a Jello Shot, but I think it’s similar…except that it’s fancy and delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup boiling water;
• 1/2 cup of umeshu;
• 1″ x 2″ rectangle of agar-agar if using the sheet form (least expensive form of agar-agar).

I poured out all of the boiling water into a large mug, then returned 1/4 cup to the saucepot. I threw in the agar-agar, making sure it really melted all the way. Then I added the umeshu, let it heat up, and put it in a mold. I let it set in the fridge for about 1.5 hr. It was ready for eating. So I and my taste testers sample it. It was SO good. But I could not have very much of it because of the potency (made with distilled liquor!). Very good with a big cup of black tea.

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Container Gardening Update

My two first broccoli rapa (container-grown). They were delish!

in the container

Enjoy your Thanksgiving!