Sweet potato pie

 modified by Corina from a recipe at Nora Cooks 

2 medium (or 1 large) sweet potatoes

3T Maple syrup

2C Milk (your fav - I used almond milk)

1t Pumpkin pie spice

1t Vanilla

1/2t Salt

• Cook the sweet potatoes either by cutting into pieces and boiling in a pan or by wrapping them in a wet paper towel and microwaving them for 10 min until soft all the way through
• In a bowl, mash the sweet potatoes with a fork until they have a smooth-ish consistency. I like to keep the skins on and in the pie for texture and probably nutrients as well.
• Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well
• Pour into your favorite pie crust. I used Wholly Gluten Free Pie Crust from Trader Joe's (it was great), and there are our recipes here and here and here, too.
• Bake on 350F for 50 minutes (in a gas oven).
• Garnish with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (Oatley is great) and serve

Gingerbread scenes

We started a new holiday tradition in 2019: making gingerbread scenes with our friends :-)

Gingerbread recipe: the delicious recipe is from http://www.veganchristmas.co.uk/vegan-gingerbread-house-recipe.html. This recipe makes enough for 3 gingerbread stations, which made all of the gingerbread in the pictures below for 2019 (3 houses plus lots of other elements). RECOMMENDATION: only make 1/3 of the recipe if there are only 2 people eating the gingerbread afterward.

Icing recipe: add a little bit of cold water to lots of powdered sugar (at least 2 boxes) and stir. Add more water until you have the desired consistency (not too runny because this is the glue for the scene)

Tips

• Get lots more powdered sugar than you think you need (at least 2 boxes)
• Make the pieces thicker than the instructions - then they will stay chewy on the inside the next day rather than getting rock hard
• Place them on the baking sheet with sufficient distance - otherwise the large thick pieces will grow and fuse with other parts
• Right when the pieces come out of the oven you could still cut the dough to make adjustments
• Don't need baking paper for cutting or baking though - just put flour on the surface and pan and it won't stick (not too much flour though or it gets all over the gingerbread)
• For assembly, first put icing on the surface you want to stick the gingerbread pieces to, and then put the gingerbread on it. 
• Use gingerbread as the floor and then you don't have to scrape icing off of a non-edible surface when you are done eating it. Also, you can jam the standing pieces into the gingerbread floor to make them stand up, then put icing around the bottom for extra stability.

2020 (online party)

Claudia & Freddy: houses!

Elspeth: reindeer pulling a sleigh

Corina & Dieter: Dog sledding through the Grand Canyon

Dogs from top left to bottom right: Lou, Fred, Mellori, Siro, Canelo, Mimi, Atlas, Maja

2019

Baking the pieces in the oven for 16-20 min until they are brownish

Elspeth: A gingerbread scene with a 3D tree, benches, a fire, a path, a gingerbread person, a heart, and a chocolate Santa

Dustin & Susie: A gingerbread scene with a ladder to the roof, tables, benches, cups, and plates with food on them

Dieter & Corina: A gingerbread scene with an ice skating rink, cats and a crow on the roof, crows in the yard, mountains, a snow person, two trees, a flying duck, and a dog