Monday, December 31, 2012

Double Creamy Fruit Salad and Christmas, 2012!

Yes, I know, I'm barely squeezing my Christmas post in before the end of the year!  But, I'm just glad to be doing it.  I have been disgustingly sick for three weeks, and am carving out a spot of energy to do this post.  Actually, without GR and G, Christmas wouldn't have been the same.  GR baked all of our cookies and the Happy Birthday, Jesus, cake, set up the tree and its lights, and decorated inside and out.  She is my Christmas-loving girl - remember her bedroom?  And, G somehow made our tired out carpets look new with his obsessive vacuuming.  Thank you, both!  As usual, my parents came over for breakfast, and we also had two extra guests this year, so it was really nice to get that extra help.

Also, as usual, we had a dinner potluck with the larger, extended family, and I decided to make a salad I veganized from a gathering a long time ago.  When I was in college, I belonged to an environmental club, and at one of our potlucks, a guy brought this simple unnamed fruit salad that had this amazing dressing on top.  It was such a great group, and he was such a cool guy.  He was actually the first person to give me an article on how animals raised for food are treated: it was a one-page article with a photo of a veal calf.  That was the first meat I gave up.  I tried once in high school to become veg but didn't stick with it.  Anyhow, I have saved that weathered article all these years because it was so life-changing for me.  So, that was the guy, and that was his salad dressing, but it was dairy-based.  He didn't seem to really measure anything, I was chatting with him as he  basically just plopped stuff in a bowl, but I've gone strict and offered measurements.  I know some of this fruit isn't in its proper season, but it still tasted great.  Maybe he'll see this and rub his chin with the memory.

The rest of our day's food went like this:

Breakfast:

Our first gingerbread house
Cookies by GR:  Tiger Balls, Chocolate Chip, Holiday Cookies
Happy Birthday, Jesus, cake by GR
Chocolate hearts by GR
Loaded Cinnamon Rolls
Breakfast Potato Skillet
Sausage and Cheese Muffins
Chips
Amazing fruit platter by my mom (unpictured)
Juices, Hot Cider and Coffee

Dinner:

I brought:
Double Creamy Fruit Salad
Tofurky

We also could eat:
Green salad
Rolls
Baked Beans - recipe passed down for generations
3 types of cookies and an apple pie
No complaints here!

On with the pics and recipe.  Have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!  My goal is to definitely amp up my postings.  Hopefully, all the craziness and sickness are behind us now.


Our first gingerbread house!  GR and I mainly did this with JK's little hands "helping" as he could.  GR was surprisingly bossy with this thing.  It was a blast to make it with her.

Our breakfast table.  The fruit platter didn't make the shot.  All was delicious, of course.  :-)

These didn't make the earlier shot either.  GR made these chocolate hearts for us.

Our annual trek to the fire station to deliver cookies.  I love our station and all it's crews!  GR's cookies are being held by the firefighter standing next to SR.  JK's in front with some new Christmas wrestlers, GR's wearing her new Big Bang Theory shirt, SR's wearing her new Christmas dress, and she'll be getting that cast off in a couple of weeks.

A serving of Double Creamy Fruit salad.  A white dressing, in a white bowl on my mom's white counter wasn't the greatest combination, but trust me, this is so good.

Double Creamy Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

Can be flexible here.  Use several cups of your favorite fruits.  I used:

1 pineapple, chopped
2 Fuji apples, cored and chopped
2 bananas, sliced
1 cup of blueberries

Dressing:
1 cup vegan sour cream
1 cup vegan vanilla ice cream

Directions:

Put all fruit in a large bowl.  Ten minutes before serving, take out the ice cream from the freezer and set on the counter.  After ten minutes, add the dressing ingredients to the bowl of fruit and gently fold in.  Do not stir with a hard hand.  You don't want the dressing to become liquidy.  Keep it creamy and billowy.  Serve immediately.  So good you won't believe it.  It's a nice twist on the standard fruit salad.  Feeds five hungry vegans and more!

18 comments:

  1. I'm sorry to hear that you've been sick. I hope you recover fully soon and have a very happy new year!

    The salad sounds fantastic. :)

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  2. I hope you are on the road to wellness! It looks like a great spread of deliciousness. I love the gingerbread house, so cute! Happy New Year to you and your blessings!

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  3. Molly, I'm sure I'll be well soon. Happy new year to you and Mike!

    Ingrid, I'm definitely doing the gingerbread house again! Happy new year to you too!

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  4. I know how awful it can be when you're sick during the holidays. I hope you're on the mend, and I'm wishing you lots of health in the new year!

    I love your gingerbread house. I always think about making one, but I worry that I'd eat it as soon as I was finished! :)

    sagegrayson.com

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  5. Happy New Year to you. May you have a blessed year with everything beautiful.

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  6. Happy new year! Am very glad to hear you're planning to post more - I do really like reading your blog! Hope all the sickness really is in the past now!

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  7. Sage, I am ready for this illness to be done, for sure. Almost a month now. The gingerbread house was more fun making it than eating it, believe it or not.

    blackhuff, thank you and to you, too. :-)

    Joey, yes, I've been so negligent with my blog, but mainly it's been due to outside circumstances. Hopefully, I can get back on track.

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  8. oh my friend, I hope you feel bettr soon. I will pray for you to recuperate quickly...I truly love this salad and I also love the gingerbread house, it is so cute.Tell the kids they have been super great in helping out...nice job!

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  9. Wow! Your kids have really grown up. Guess they're getting the proper nutrition after all.

    Hope you're fully recovered from your illness and I'll bet that guy from your college environmental club is sitting at home wondering whatever happened to that Blessed Coed.

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  10. Millie, thank you on all counts! I'm hoping to get better soon.

    SV, wha-? Are you saying vegans can eat in a way that's healthy for their bodies? As far as the guy, I've often wanted to bump into him just to let him know the influence he had on me. Little does he know.

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  11. Oh, the food, the food, the food. I have eaten so much over the past few weeks. You'd think I'd never want to look at food again, but instead I'm staring at your fruit salad. Sour cream and ice cream and fruit? It sounds awesome!

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  12. Stephanie, this, at least, is light, so indulge!

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  13. What a feast you had! Sorry to hear you were sick though. But with all this food, you're bound to feel better! What a yummy fruit salad bowl! I've never actually bought vegan sour cream, will try to see if I can find some at the store. Happy New Year to you! :)

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  14. As usual, it all looks yummy. My Mom would make fruit salad with a dressing blend of mayo & coolwhip. A little sweet and a little tangy. She also would use sour cream & mayo. for the center of jello salad molds.

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  15. Hello, I am contacting you to let you know that you are the winner of the Happy Herbivore Abroad cookbook, which you entered to win on my blog (http://justaudreyblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/happy-herbivore-abroad-giveaway.html).

    Could you please send me your name and address to forward to the publisher? My email is justaudrey(at)live(dot)com

    I have been unable to contact you via email. Please respond as soon as possible so I don't have to pick a different winner. Thank you!

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  16. Lovlie, The sour cream really makes the dressing perfect. I hope you can find some.

    Lynette, ah, yes, a bit of sour cream adds just the right amount of tang.

    Audrey, I sent you a reply today. I've been sick, and I got injured, so I wasn't on the computer. I understand if you've picked another winner.

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  17. I think I had a little case of bronchitis last week, so I'm hearin ya. Man, did your kids suddenly age several years? How old are they? Merry Belated Christmas, and I hope I stop being so absent with my vegan friends.

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  18. Jenny, they just keep growin'! :-)

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