Cookbook writer Tess Eden is a bona fide Christmas person who celebrates all December long, with no animals harmed in the process – and no booze consumed either. She tells Sharon Stephenson about her 25th.
I’m a huge Christmas lover. I don’t do anything until 1 December when I go full-blown Christmas, decorating the Wellington house I share with my partner Taylor and our dog Pepper. We always have a real tree decorated with DIY decorations. I find baubles at op shops which I paint green, white and pink to match our decor, using baking soda and paint which gives a clay-like surface. I’m anti tinsel, which can be controversial.
I was vegetarian for 11 years before becoming vegan six years ago. I became plant-based for ethical reasons because I believe it’s unnecessary to eat meat. Changing to a vegan diet was easier than I thought so I started sharing recipes on social media and recently released my first cookbook which is about making vegan food accessible with ingredients you can easily find at the local supermarket.
I always say that to be vegan you have to be prepared – especially at this time of the year when people can find social situations challenging. There can be lots of judgement and jokes, and things like office shouts don’t always offer vegan options. So you have to be prepared and bring your own.
This year I’m doing 12 days of vegan recipes online, including cob loaf, lolly cake and spinach and tofu ricotta rolls, which is my take on sausage rolls.
We always spend Christmas at our family bach near the beach on the Kāpiti Coast. There are usually six of us, including my parents and two brothers and sometimes one of their partners. My family are all at various levels on the plant-based spectrum so its a meat-free celebration for all of us.
We open presents while having breakfast. That’s usually fresh fruit, vegan baking and my Christmassy gingerbread granola.
Then we start prepping lunch. I’m a big believer in doing as much prep beforehand so I don’t have to spend too much time in the kitchen. For me, the prep is half the fun. That includes making all the salad dressings and drying orange slices for drink toppers.
In the past our Christmas lunch was barbeque heavy but these days it’s a big salad spread with what I like to call "not boring salads". We eat all the colours of the rainbow so that includes green salad, crunchy quinoa salad and mashed potato salad. For dessert I’ll make a rich chocolate raspberry cheesecake which tastes like the real thing because it uses vegan cream cheese. [Or try Tess's easy vegan ice cream, pictured below.]
I gave up alcohol six years ago. There was no real reason, I just decided I didn’t need it anymore. So while the rest of the family is popping champagne, I’ll pour a glass of kombucha.
I like to make my own Christmas crackers. I use toilet rolls covered in pretty paper and ribbon. I print jokes off the internet and personalise the cracker for each person.
My love language is gift giving and I lean towards sustainable gifts, such as baking, vegan treats and jars of granola. I love to receive gifts such as pottery or serve-ware, anything to do with food styling. That came in handy earlier this year when I used previous Christmas presents to style the photos for my cookbook.
I try to save money by stocking up on produce at the Sunday Wellington veggie market. Buying what’s in season can save money. Plus, if you only need a little bit of an ingredient for a recipe, say two teaspoons, go to a bulk store like the sustainable GoodFor Store where you only buy as much as you need. That saves cash and you won’t have a bag of something lurking at the back of the pantry for ages.
We usually have Michael Buble’s Christmas album on repeat but this year I’ve got Sabrina Carpenter’s Christmas songs queued up on Spotify.
I adore Christmas movies and would watch one a day through December if I could. My favourite is Love Actually. It’s not Christmas until I’ve watched this film. I try to save it for Christmas Eve.
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