If you don't already watch Downton Abbey, you should definitely start! Set in the Edwardian Era in Britain, the show follows the lives of an aristocratic family as well as their household servants. Think a more contemporary Jane Austen drama which deals with issues such as women's rights, social class and aristocracy. It's amazing.
To celebrate the premier of the third season (in the U.S.), my family and I made high tea. We're all vegetarian but to give this meal a little extra oomph, we made it vegan and healthy!
Vegan High Tea Menu:
dainty cucumber sandwiches
baked brussel sprouts
lentil soup
vegetable soup
jammy dodgers
and of course, tea!
Cucumber Sandwiches
Lightly toast cocktail bread slices if desired. Mix Ranch salad dressing with a container of Tofutti cream cheese. Slice tomatoes and cucumbers. Make dainty and delectable cucumber sandwiches by spreading cream cheese Ranch mix on a slice of bread and layer one slice of cucumber and one slice of tomato. These sandwiches have protein due to the tofutti, are low calorie AND use fresh produce. Props if you have organic tomatoes and cucumbers.
Baked Brussel Sprouts
After cutting the brussel sprouts of the stem, make a crosswise slit into each. Toss the sprouts in a bit of olive oil, garlic powder, rosemary, thyme, basil, etc. whatever italian spices you like really. You could even sprinkle with a bit of nutritional yeast to get that parmesan taste. Or if you're making a vegetarian version, go ahead and sprinkle parmesan itself over the brussel sprouts. Bake for approximately 20 minutes in the oven set at 350.
Lentil Soup & Vegetable Soup
Funny story on this, we wanted to make a delicious carrot-ginger soup I had made for my family for Thanksgiving. Since my dad and sister had missed it, my mom and I thought this would be a perfect opportunity for them to enjoy this particular soup. We went to four different stores and couldn't find ANY ginger anywhere! So, in defeat, my mom bought a family size minestrone soup packet but for some reason forgot to read the ingredients. Turns out there were both chicken and beef in the soup. We decided to go with Amy's soup cans instead. One lentil soup can served my dad and myself and one vegetable soup can served my mom and my sister. Amy's brand is great because they offer many vegetarian and vegan options, although I find that I generally have to add a bit of salt and some spices to most of their frozen food-but then again, that's what you get with frozen food.
"Jammy Dodgers" AKA Thumbprint Cookies
If you're wondering what the heck a "jammy dodger" is, don't worry, I was too when my sister saw what I was baking and excited started shouting (in a very bad British accent) "I LOVE JAMMY DODGERS!!!!" Turns out, they are what we Americans call thumbprint cookies. These were my favorite part. But then again, baked desserts generally are to my liking. I followed this recipe but edited it a bit to fit my family's requests for a sweeter dessert. I increased the maple syrup to 3/4 cup instead of a 1/2 cup to sweeten it up a bit and consequently baked the cookies an additional five minutes. I used two different types of jam for the middles: strawberry and sour cherry. I love trying new flavors and I thoroughly enjoyed both. They were beyond delicious! AND since they were so healthy, my family had multiple helpings of the dessert-a very rare phenomenon.
Ambiance & Setting the Table
To set a proper mood, we put a log in the fireplace and I set the
Am I forgetting something? Oh, YES! The TEA!! Well, actually we didn't drink any tea because it was evening time (AKA best time for acid reflux) and we try our best not to drink more than one cup of caffeine a day.
XOXO,
MissEcoChic
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