Vegan Holiday Recipes from Matthew Kenney

I know the idea of Vegan Holiday Recipes will not exactly titillate the non vegans out there, but these vegan holiday recipes are truly scrumptious. I had the pleasure an honor of being immersed in a very special Miami spot called The Sacred Space Miami. This resplendent oasis is a refuge of beautiful energy that is also were the marvelous Plant Food and Wine raw vegan restaurant is located. You can see the full review of this mesmerizing restaurant here.

Plant hosts many Matthew Kenney Culinary School’s plant-based cooking workshops and I was lucky enough to attend the Vegan Holiday Recipes edition. It was a 5 hour workshop led by adorable and talented Chef Rick Yan where we gleefully learned how to cook awesome raw vegan holiday meals. The class was fun, insightful, delectable and surrounded with stellar energy from the chefs and participants. Vegans just have way better energy compared to the normal population.

If you are ever in Miami I can not urge you enough to visit The Sacred Space Miami. There is a plethora of health and wellness programming you can see in the link. Karla Dascal is the lovely souled founder who created this special venue that can help people nourish and improve their souls.

Here are some of my favorite vegan holiday recipes I made:

This vegan eggnog (Veggnog) tastes way better than regular nog. Feel free to add as much rum as spending time with your family dictates:

Eggnog

½ cup soaked almonds

½ cup soaked cashews

1 ½ cups water

1 date

2 tablespoons agave

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1-inch vanilla bean, including pod

1 teaspoon nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon chia seeds or chia flour

pinch of salt

Blend well. Strain through cheesecloth or sieve and serve.

vegan holiday recipes

This vegan kale salad was stellar. The dressing is addictive and the pomegranate and candied pecans pair perfectly with it!

Kale Holiday Salad

pink peppercorn, candied pecans

4 ounces of kale, stems removed and cut into small pieces

¼ cup fennel, shaved

2 tablespoons dried cherries or cranberries

2 tablespoons candied pecans, roughly chopped

PINK PEPPERCORN DRESSING

½ cup cashews, soaked

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil

1 teaspoon agave

1 teaspoon sherry vinegar

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pink peppercorns, ground

Blend all ingredients until smooth.

CANDIED PECANS

1 ½ cups pecans, soaked 6-8 hours

1 tablespoon maple syrup

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon maple sugar powder

Dehydrate nuts for 24 hours. Mix together salt, cinnamon and maple powder. Combine maple syrup with vanilla extract, and toss with nuts to coat. Sprinkle coated nuts with maple powder mixture until evenly coated. Spread on dehydrator screen and dehydrate for 24-48 hours.

ASSEMBLY

Mix 1/4 cup of pink peppercorn dressing with the kale and toss gently until kale is well coated. Add cherries and fennel. Top with candied pecans. Garnish with cracked pink peppercorns.

vegan holiday recipes

Both these potatoes made me swoon, but loved the sweet ones way better.

Mashed “Potatoes”

4 cups jicama*, peeled and chopped

2 cups cashews, soaked 1-2 hours

1 teaspoon salt

1-2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons nutritional yeast

black pepper to taste

Process jicama in a food processor until grain-like consistency is achieved. Press out excess liquid in strainer or cheesecloth. Blend with remaining ingredients until well-combined. Serve immediately or warm into dehydrator until ready to serve.

*Jicama can be substituted with kohlrabi or turnip if you prefer.

Herbed Sweet Mashed Potatoes

2 ½ cups sweet potato, peeled

¼ cup pecans

¼ cup pine nuts

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

1 clove garlic (optional)

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped

Grind the potato in a food processor. Transfer to a strainer (cheesecloth, nutmilk bag, etc.) to squeeze out excess fluid. Put the sweet potato pulp in blender, along with remaining ingredients. Transfer to a bowl and stir in fresh thyme. If the mixture is too wet, leave in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight to firm up.

vegan holiday recipes

These balls were the best dessert I ever made. The coconut dusted ones were my fave.

Ginger Cinnamon Truffles

2 cups almonds, finely ground

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves

pinch salt

—

1/4 cup date paste

2 tablespoons agave or liquid sweetener of choice

1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins

Process almond and spices in food processor. Add wet ingredients and process. Fold in dried fruit and roll into balls. You may roll in cacao powder, coconut flakes, etc, or leave plain.