A grab bag of ideas

I asked and I received----here are a couple of unusual recipes for your holiday season, first from Christel in Germany:
Dear Eve, dear all,
here is a recipe for no-bake-damn good ( !!!! ) cookies from Rip Esselstyns newest cookbook "My Beef With Meat". Rip's sister Jane is the responsible for this wonderful recipe. I made these cookies several times and love them.
Happy Christmas
Christel
http://mindfulcooking.org/recipes/damn-good-cookies-jane-esselstynmy-bee...

Mindful of the Buddha's teaching on intoxicants, Christel wondered whether alcohol-free vanilla is available in our country. When I affirmed that it is, she said:
Yipeeeeeh!!!
The "Vanilla Aroma" from Ostmann, which I've used here for the cookies is alcohol-free,
only plant-based oil and Vanilla-aroma.
I made a phone-call today to Ostmann to verify this.
http://www.so-schmeckts.de/vanillearoma-ostmann?origin_shop=ostmann
I really recommend these cookies, the monsters in Sesame-street would love them too.
Yours
Christel

Peggy in Portland sent her recipe for an unusual holiday dish, Stuffed Green Chiles with Walnut Sauce:
I developed this recipe from recipes I found online and served it a
year ago for a Mexican themed Christmas dinner. I thought it was
quite good. It makes a festive and special main dish.
Stuffed Green Chiles with Walnut Sauce (Chiles en Nogada)

Betsy in California sent greetings, an update on the tempeh incubator project and a couple of book suggestion:
This was a big year for both of us since we both turned 80 years young
and feel younger by the day! ...

We see our dream of getting tempeh into the mainstream as a possibility
in early 2014 having met some fine people who think a tempeh incubator
would be a positive contribution to the planet...They are just as nuts about tempeh as we
are - so we get along great. We are now awaiting the prototype incubator
so Gunter can start the necessary tests to prove that all the switches,
controls, etc. work. I have been making some new recipes with tempeh and
sending them to friends and filing them away for future references and
Gunter has been taking some incredible pictures of our tempeh tests. He
has also had some time to play with other ingredients; see:
http://www.makethebesttempeh.org/experiments/
I have been experimenting with making vegan cheeses using
Miyoko Schinner's book:Vegan Cheese which has been a
hit in this home. ... My latest non fiction is:
Meatonomics by David Robinson Simon which shows how heavily subsidized
the meat industry is which impacts everyone from their health, to soil
degradation, to animal exploitation, etc. Highly recommended! ...

Best wishes for 2014
Betsy & Gunter

Jill, also in Portland, sent greetings and reminded me gently that not everyone celebrates Christmas. I think all the holidays in this season have to do with the return of the light--- appreciating friends and family-----and loving our Earth and all life. Whether we are celebrating on a particular day or on all possible days, may we all find joy and inspiration in the season ----and, of course, take time for---

Happy cooking!