The Mail-Order Catalog for Healthy Eating

A Colorful Vegetarian Christmas

Vegetarian Celebrations is your source for festive holiday fare

Spiced Carrot and Orange Soup
Creole Green Salad
Leek And Corn Stuffed Peppers
Wild Rice Pilaf With Apples and Pecans
Sautéed Red Cabbage
Cocoa Mock-Mince Pie

Though feasting is a large part of "making great cheer," the holiday season's abundance of poses a challenge to those whose diets are restricted or who are simply loath to go overboard. How does one resist those buttery Christmas cookies, rich eggnog, and caloric meals? Vegetarians in particular still must find their own niche during the holidays.

Let me admit first off that I am not of the Christmas-celebrating persuasion, so I have gleaned many of my ideas from accommodating friends, adding my own spin with an abundance of traditional late-season produce. I have tried to include the flavors, spices, and aromas of the season, those that seem to imbed themselves so deeply into wonderful holiday memories.

SPICED CARROT AND ORANGE SOUP
8 to 10 servings

A warming soup with the cheering color of carrots and the zesty flavor of citrus.

2 pounds carrots, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fragrant nut oil or light olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
2 large celery stalks, diced
1 1/2 cups fresh orange juice
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon each: ground cumin, coriander, ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup low-fat milk, rice milk, or soymilk, or as needed
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
3 tablespoons finely minced scallion

Reserve and set aside about 1/2 pound of the carrots.

Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Add the onions and celery and sauté over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until golden. Add the carrots (except for the reserved batch), along with 4 cups of water, the 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.

Return to low heat and stir in enough milk 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.

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.

CREOLE GREEN SALAD
8 to 10 servings

2 cups stemmed, torn spinach leaves
2 cups watercress leaves
4 to 6 ounces mixed salad greens
3 scallions, minced
1 large celery stalk, finely diced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, hulled and halved
French dressing as desired

Combine the greens, onion or scallions, celery, and tomatoes in a large salad bowl. Toss together. Add enough dressing to lightly coat and toss again; or pass the dressing around separately so that guests may dress their own salad.

LEEK AND CORN STUFFED PEPPERS
8 to 10 servings

Fresh southern corn is widely sold this time of year, and it is usually quite good. Use it if you can, leaving frozen corn only as a last resort. This dish makes an attractive centerpiece for this dinner, encircling the wild rice pilaf that follows.

10 medium green or red bell peppers, or a combination
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large leeks, white and palest green parts only, chopped and well rinsed
2 tablespoons minced shallot
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups cooked corn kernels, preferably fresh
1/4 cup fine bread crumbs
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried summer savory
1 teaspoon ground coriander
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Wheat germ for topping
Paprika for topping

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Carefully cut away the top stems of the peppers and remove the seeds. Cut a very thin slice from the bottoms so that the peppers can stand. Arrange, standing snugly against one an other for support, in one or two very deep casserole dishes or a roasting pan.

Heat the oil with two tablespoons of water in a large skillet. Add the leeks, shallots, and garlic. Saute over medium heat, covered, lifting the lid to stir occasionally, until the leeks are tender. Stir in the remaining ingredients except the toppings. Cook, stirring, another 5 minutes.

Distribute the stuffing among the peppers. Top each with a sprinkling of wheat germ, followed by a dusting of paprika. Cover the casserole or roasting pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the peppers are tender but still firm enough to stand. Arrange in a circle on a large platter surrounding the pilaf, following. Serve at once.

WILD RICE PILAF WITH APPLES AND PECANS
8 to 10 servings

Wild rice, apples, and pecans just seem to belong together. The texture will invigorate your palate.

2/3 cup wild rice, rinsed
2/3 cup long-grain brown rice, rinsed
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
2 tablespoons reduced-fat margarine
1 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup finely diced celery
2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1/3 cup orange juice (from 1 large orange)
2 scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced
1/4 cup currants
Dash each: cinnamon, nutmeg
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Bring 3 3/4 cups of water to a simmer in a large saucepan. Stir in the wild and brown rice and the seasoned salt, return to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until the water is absorbed, about 40 minutes.

Heat the margarine in a very large skillet. Add the onion and celery and sauté until the onion is golden. Add the apple and sauté another 5 minutes. Stir in the cooked rice mixture along with the juice, scallions, currants, and spices. Season to taste with pepper.

Sauté over low heat, stirring frequently, another 5 minutes. This may be done somewhat ahead of time to this point, then left covered off the heat until needed. Just before serving, heat through, adding a bit more liquid if the mixture needs it, then stir in the parsley and pecans. Mound in the center of a large serving platter and surround with the stuffed peppers, above.

SAUTEED RED CABBAGE
8 to 10 servings

A cheering winter recipe, and a great side dish for Thanksgiving, it gets its New England character from maple syrup.

1 tablespoon light olive oil
1 large red onion, quartered and sliced
6 cups thinly shredded red cabbage
1/4 cup dry red wine
3 to 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, to taste
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons poppy seeds
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet or 3-quart saucepan. Add the onion and sauté until golden. Add the cabbage, wine, and vinegar. Cover and sauté until crisp-tender, about 12 minutes, lifting the lid to stir occasionally.

Stir in the honey and poppy seeds and sauté over very low heat, stirring occasionally, another 8 to 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then transfer to a serving container to serve.

COCOA MOCK MINCE PIE
Makes 1 9-inch pie, 8 servings

Mince pies are a long-standing Christmas tradition, but of course the standard versions use mincemeat or suet. Nineteenth-century American housewives began making mock mince pies, and they're so good that I suspect no one ever missed the meat. My version has an additional twist—a bit of cocoa for a deep, rich flavor. If none of your guests have offered to bring additional desserts, you might want to double this recipe.

1/4 cup dry, unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1/4 cup natural granulated sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1/2 cup dark raisins or currants
1/2 cup golden raisins
2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped
3/4 cup fine fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon each: ground ginger and nutmeg
1 prepared pastry crust

Topping:

1 tablespoon nonhydrogenated margarine
1/4 cup fine fresh bread crumbs
2 tablespoons natural granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a large saucepan with 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a simmer and stir until smoothly dissolved and combined. Add the currants, raisins, and apples and simmer over low heat, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

In a mixing bowl, combine the bread crumbs, nuts, vanilla, and spices. Pour in the mixture from the saucepan and stir until thoroughly combined. Pour into the pastry crust.

Melt the margarine in the same saucepan used previously. Remove from the heat and stir in the bread crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the top of the pie. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the crust is golden.

Let cool and serve just warm or at room temperature.

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