It was a Lyons family tradition. Every year at family gatherings or holidays my Grandma Lyons would have stuffed celery somewhere included in the spread. She would sometimes even just make it special if she knew you were coming to dinner, as it was one of the favorites! I don't know of anyone in my family who didn't like it, everyone in fact loved it, and the last piece was often fought over! My Grandma has since passed away, and sadly I have not had any stuffed celery in over 5 years, because she was the only person I knew who made it.
But that all changed last weekend, because I had leftover tofutti cream cheese from a dessert I had made, and I decided that stuffed celery sounded awfully good! I don't have Grandma's recipe, so I put my own twist on this Lyons family classic. I made it vegan, since I was starting off with tofutti cream cheese. Grandma used to use Miracle Whip, but I used vegannaise to make the stuffing creamy, and swapped out her dried onion for fresh garlic. She used to sprinkle her stuffed celery with sweet paprika, but I decided to give mine a kick and use chipotle powder.
The stuffed celery turned out awesome, and I think grandma would be proud...as long as I didn't tell her it was vegan, since she never quite understood me being vegetarian! It was just as good as hers, but I could call it my own! It was nice to enjoy this tradition in my family's food that I haven't expirienced for a while. Here is my recipe if you would like to try it for yourself to see what all the fuss in my family is about!
Vegan Stuffed Celery
Makes about 30
10 medium stalks celery cut into 3 inch sections
8 oz tofutti cream cheese
8 oz tofutti cream cheese
1/4 cup vegannaise
1 garlic clove, minced
sea salt freshly ground black pepper
ground smoked paprika or chipotle powder
Beat together cream cheese, vegannaise, garlic, sea salt and black pepper to taste in a bowl with an electric mixer until very smooth. Place in a pastry bag, and pipe decoratively into the middle of the celery pieces. Sprinkle with smoked paprika or chipotle powder (if you like a little spice). Serve!
Well I have never had it vegan, but as someone who was raised by her grandmother I can truly appreciate any resurrection of this classic. I applaud You! And yes, I will try your version, your photos are too fantastic to pass by this version. Thank you
ReplyDeleteYour stuffed celery sounds yummy! And it is beautiful too :).
ReplyDeleteBuzzed it! Loved it! And they are so pretty!
ReplyDeleteThis is just stunning Amy, cant wait to try them! You and your granny look beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYum! My mom would stuff cream cheese in celery and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. The smokey paprika you use sounds WONDERFUL!
ReplyDeletewow, your celery looks fantastic. i'm sorry your grandma didn't understand your vegetarianism. you make fabulous vegan and veg food anyway. i'm always excited to see your posts.
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Some time ago I was preparing such stuffed celery :) But I have to admit that yours look better :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! I have some Tofutti left from a dessert that I made too! This is versatile too, because Tofutti tastes good with almost anything.
ReplyDeleteThese look great, Amy! LOVE the idea of piping the cream cheese. So pretty.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun little snack. Simple and delicious! I love how you made it look fancy with the piping.
ReplyDeletegorgeous snack- love it!
ReplyDeleteI bet she is proud! It looks elegant!
ReplyDeleteYour recipe looks great. I can't wait to give it a try. One minor thing - your website background colors are so bright I have trouble reading your blog text. I'd love to read more of your words but it is very hard to read. Just a thought on colors and getting readers' attention.
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