...11.9...Over the Weekend...

...this is going to be a really long post...so I'll start with the important bits...and then post about all the vegan foodie bits...

...so the really important thing is that Our Airman is home...Our Girl was so thrilled...she couldn't take her eyes off her Daddy all the way home...

...so we left the airport...with all his bags and headed home for the feast...he was so hungry after S.E.R.E. ...

...now on to the more mundane...I did a big shop for the feast...of note...mushrooms...(I'm going to try drying some of those - but some are for the green bean casserole)...Cuties are available once again...must be getting close to Christmas...lots of pop (Coke to you southerners - haha) juice and lots of snack-y things...

...then we spent most of Saturday getting ready...since most of the things are casseroles...it's pretty easy...French Style green beans and sweet potatoes...

...I baked the sweet potatoes...and then mashed them with the potato masher...it just makes them smoother and breaks up any little stringy bits that the mixer wouldn't...

...transfered them to the stand mixer...

...and added Earth Balance, a little salt, a couple of spoonfuls of Orange Juice, a lot of cinnamon (a couple of teaspoons), and some brown sugar...that's it...pretty simple fair...

...then I cooked the mixed mushrooms just in some Earth Balance until they were done...

...and blended them up a bit...

...and added some almond milk and cornstarch to thicken...

...it made a delicious mushroom soup...

...which I added to the green beans for the green bean casserole...extra fried onions on top for Our Airman...

...and the Man and I ate the leftover soup for lunch with some crackers...that was yummy...

...I made a quick and easy Vegan Macaroni and Cheese casserole...just using some of Miyoko's Aged Cheddar and some Violife Cheddar cooked macaroni and almond milk...

...and another casserole was ready for the oven...

...now for the tricky part...I did not have any vegan marshmallows...I know I should have planned ahead on this one...so I thought I'd just try making some...I've tried it before with non-stellar results...haha...

...this is one cup of water, 2/3 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of agar-agar...boiled for 5 minutes...

...perfectly whippe aqua faba...

...I quickly cooled the sugar 'jello' in a sink of cold water...

...and then drizzled that into the aqua faba...

...and whipped that up into a perfect sticky marshmallow cream...

...not sure at this point if the actual marshmallows will turn out...but the cream is perfect so I'd make that again...just to use as is...

...I sifted some more powdered sugar onto a plate...

...and then scooped spoonfuls of the marshmallow fluff ...it holds its shape pretty well...

...so I just dropped those onto the powdered sugar...

...and then sifted more powdered sugar on top...I'll leave them overnight to firm up and then top the sweet potato casserole with them tomorrow...

...now on to the vegan ham...(I often make this version of Vegan Ham but opted for a quicker version this year)...

...the first thing I did was to grind some TVP ham to a powder in my coffee grinder...

...and then the only other dry ingredient was vital wheat gluten...and water...and formed it into a vegan ham steak...

...wrapped it up in foil...maybe not necessary...but I wanted to make sure it didn't fall apart...

...the cooking broth is water, tomato paste (about 1 T), soy sauce, and vegan worchestershire sauce...simmered for about an hour...

...done and nice and firm...

...I gave it a quick pan fry...just to brown it a bit...

...ok...now back to the sweet potato casserole...

...I spread the mashed sweet potatoes in a casserole dish...

...so...the vegan marshmallows...definitely firmed up...and developed a bit of a sugary crust...they will be fine for the topping of a casserole...and probably even for s'mores...but not sure they'd be perfect for just eating out of hand...and they're not very pretty...they are tasty though...

...so I just topped the casserole with those...

...next time...I'll reduce the water to 1/2 cup and add another 1/2 teaspoon of agar agar...and see how that works...it's always an experiment around here...

...the table is set...the Airman's Wife's family is coming to the homecoming feast as well...

...the little tree...a.k.a. the Charlie Brown tree...

...and the big tree are ready...

...Our Girl is ready too...

...let the feast begin...

~Wishing you a lovely start to your week!