First off, happy holidays!!! Can you believe we’re about to celebrate another Christmas and New Year’s season?! Where has the time gone…?

I’m happy to say that Christmas so far has been a hot and sunny affair for me. I arrived in Newcastle, Australia last week (near Syndey) and have already done a TON of really cool things. I don’t have too much to share in the way of vegan eats and treats, since I’ve mostly been eating out (Thai, salads etc.), except that the fruit here is INCREDIBLE! As an Alaskan who endures the lame fruit selection all winter long, I have been pleasantly gorging myself on fresh mangoes, apricots, pineapple, avocadoes, tomatoes and more. This is the life!

I have a million more photos to upload, but the connection here is so slow that I’m putting it off until later. So, for now, I hope you and yours have a very merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving for me was a brief, but much needed, respite from the frenetic pace that usually accompanies all end of semester activities. I was blessed to spend the holiday with family and friends, who had a little trouble envisioning a vegan Thanksgiving feast, but were supportive nonetheless. The pictures from our day were not as amazing as I had hoped (you all know how that goes), but here’s a very short recap of the festivities.

For me, dinner consisted of mashed potatoes with horseradish (a delicious twist on the traditional variety), sweet potatoes with toasted coconut and ginger, steamed brussel sprouts in a light vinagrette, homemade pickled green beans, and maple-glazed tempeh with dijon mustard (served with cranberry sauce). The meal was SUPER tasty and downright easy to prepare.

The rest of the day was spent toasting various things/people we were grateful for, playing cards, napping and enjoying each other’s company…