Where Did Christmas Go?

I have really enjoyed this Holiday Season!  Sometimes in the past, I am too busy/forget to take the time to do all of the things that make me love this time of year.  This time around - I made sure to savor each day from Thanksgiving till Christmas!  And I am so sad it is over!  Here are some pictures from my Christmas in California!  I'll be back with a recipe that will be perfect for your New Year's Eve celebrations.  

Santa came!

Stocking were MIA this Christmas - we got creative and used boots and paper bags! Haha!

Double Chocolate and Cherry Cookies from Mama Pea and my Mom's signature fruitcake!

Don't let the electric knife fool you! This fruitcake is not the brick that most people joke about - my mom's fruitcake is the best you'll ever have and soooooo delicious!

Christmas Dinner was a Vegan Wellington Loaf from Native Foods - Native Foods is a inventive vegan cafe with a few locations around southern CA.  All of their dishes are unique and they offer this yummy take on a beef wellington for the holidays!  

Look at this massive log!  You really could have killed someone with this thing!  It was heavy and frozen solid!  The directions were to place it FROZEN in a 425 degree oven for 50 min.  Well....... after an hour in the oven - the center of the wellington was still 34 DEGREES!  Dinner was FINALLY served after TWO AND A HALF HOURS  of baking!!!!  

Here is what it looked inside - seitan, mushrooms, kale, yams, stuffing, carmaelized onions, all wrapped in pastry.  It was delicious, different, and came with mushroom gravy!  However, if you buy one - remember to bake it WELL in advance of your dinner party!

Our Christmas dinner consisted of the Native Foods Wellington with mushroom gravy, double potato mash, and maple glazed brussel sprouts.  

Scouty Paws was STUFFED!

I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with their families!  I am lucky to be here in CA till Friday and get to bypass the crazy NYC snow for another week!

Love, Allison