#PinterestFail

So I write recipes, I rarely follow them. I feel cooking is an art, a little of this, some of that, etc. Which would explain why I'm a TERRIBLE baker, like seriously, the worst... Well, I found this yummy Forks Over Knives recipe for stuffed potatoes, supposedly a plant-based take on deviled eggs. Sounded like the perfect Easter snackie. So about that...

Fail #1. I forgot Dijon mustard and The Captain had to do a 9 o'clock grocery run. He got himself a boozy reward, so don't feel bad for him.

Fail #2. As I gathered ingredients on Easter Sunday I realized I had forgotten THE most major ingredient when making hummus. Chickpeas. I forgot the mother flippin garbanzo beans. What. The. Crap. I did, however, have a can of great northern beans, so I crossed my fingers that they would work.

Fail #3. I completely misread didn't read the instructions for the hummus at all... I threw everything in my vitamix and started blending. I wasn't supposed to add everything. The green onion were supposed to be mixed in after the hummus was smooth.

Fail #4. I added water too quickly after I got impatient adding a tablespoons at a time and I ended up with white bean hummus soup. COME. ON.

Sooooo I went and sat on the couch. Maybe I cried a little, so what?! I'm pregnant I cry 2-3 times an hour. Hormones. Am I right??? And I thought "okay how can I turn this around??" I had baby red potatoes and a delicious white bean green onion "Hummus" with a dressing-like consistency... And it came to me. Potato Salad. Boom.

So here's what I did oh-so-wrong, but tastes oh-so-right!

Hummus:

1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added white beans, drained and rinsed

2 large cloves garlic

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped green onions (4 to 5)

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Zest of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

6 tablespoons water

Throw it all in the blender until pretty and smooth.

Tatos:

12 small red potatoes, diced

Pinch of smoked paprika, for garnish

1 green onion, finely sliced, for garnish

Boil potatoes until fork tender and drain. Once dry, mix with hummus and garnish with paprika and green onion!

Hope you enjoy my fail!!!!!

Fried Green Goodness

Because coommmmmeeeee onnnnn!!! Look at them!!!! I mean first off, finding green tomatoes in Southern California is a small feet of victory in and of itself. No, I don't want effin tomatillo!! Thank the Lord for Whole Foods and heirloom green tomatoes that cost WAY too much, but were totally worth it!!! Second, I looked up a recipe or two and was super disappointed by what vegans thought a fried green tomato should be comprised of, like come on, are they even from the South!?!? Doubtful! I had to figure it out on my own and as it turns out, I am a super awesome Southern girl. Made enough for 2-3 very hungry people

2 huge green heirloom tomatoes, sliced thin

1 cup of unsweetened Almond Milk blended with 2 tablespoons of Flaxseeds

1 cup flour for dredging + 1 cup for breading mixture

1 cup fine yellow cornmeal

2 teaspoons of garlic powder

1 teaspoon of salt + a little more to help draw out moisture

A pinch of cayenne pepper

Safflower oil for shallow frying

So I started by sprinkling the tomatoes with salt and let them sit for nearly an hour. Then wipe them off with a damp paper towel. Start about an inch of oil going in a frying pan. Put the milk mixture in one bowl, flour in one, and the flour/cornmeal mixture with the spices in another. So this is a 3 dipper. First, tomatoes go into the flour. Second, into the milk "egg" mixture. And thirdly, into the breading. Once the oil is all warm and bubbly start frying!! Flip when they are golden brown and then set on a paper towel lined plate to soak up the extra oil! Enjoy with some mashed tatos, corn on the cob, some cornbread, and the only thing missing from my meal string beans!

I think that if you wanted to health this up that it would be really easy to get a tasty and delicious result without frying. I would bake at 450 on a wire tray placed on a sheet pan. I would think a solid 30-35 minutes would crisp them up just nicely!!

Holiday Delights

My holiday table | Photo via Kelsey Erin Photography

Holiday food is the bombdiggity!!! It's warming and delicious and perfect and fabulous. Being vegan, I've had to make some considerable changes to the classics, but I assure you they are tasty and just as satisfying. I find inspiration everywhere! I love reading vegan and non-vegan cookbooks and blogs. I love turning a recipe into a veggie delight! It brings me such joy! Such joy!! And when it tastes so freaking good,  I'm so happy I wanna run into the streets screaming good tidings and kiss a good looking stranger right in the face. Here are 3 recipes, one created from my mind hole, one exactly as it was written, and one adapted to my plant based lifestyle! All of them are magical holiday dishes!! Enjoy!

Green Beans with Shallots and Almonds Serves 4 as a side

1 pound trimmed green beans

1/4 cup sliced almonds

4-5 large shallots sliced into rings

a sprinkle or 2 of whole wheat pastry flour (any will work)

1 tablespoon olive oil for the beans and 1/2 cup or so sunflower oil to fry the shallots

a splash of veggie stock (I like to add some stock to help the beans steam)

salt and pepper

So this is super easy. I've made it twice already and I'm sharing the more naughty version. After light dredging the shallots in flour, I shallow fried them in a frying pan until golden and crispy! Once out of the pan lay them on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. YUM! You might need to make more because you WILL eat them as they cook up. Then start the green beans, get a tablespoon of oil heating in the pan. Toss in the green beans with the oil and add a pinch of salt and a few turns of the pepper mill. Toss in a splash, roughly a tablespoon, of stock and put on the lid. Check every 2-3 minutes, you want them to be soft, but still have a bit of a crunch! You definitely want them to keep their brilliant color!! Once they hit the sweet spot toss in the almonds, shallots, and another pinch of salt. Sauté for a min or so and serve!! Soooooo good!!! If you want to make the healthy version, omit the oil and sauté beans with only veggie stock and instead of frying your shallots place them on a cookie sheet in a 450 degree oven for 10-15 minutes!! Fat free masterpiece! 

"Christina Hendricks's Rub All Over Your Body Stuffing" Sorta...

Serves two thousand people

day old cornbread (I use this whole recipe minus the green chilies)

day old biscuits (I use this whole recipe from The Kind Diet, but switch the oil for apple sauce)

1 cup celery, finely chopped

1 large onion, finely chopped

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons salt

4-6 cups veggie stock

1 tablespoon dried sage

1 teaspoon parsley flakes

1/2 cup melted Earth Balance (I use the sticks for this)

optional: Field Roast's Smoked Apple Sage "sausage" crumbled

This is so easy. I make the biscuits and cornbread the day before and try not to eat them. I actually like to chop my veggies and measure out my herbs too. Then the day of I just crumble up the biscuits and cornbread and dump everything else into a huge baking dish! Preheat the oven to 350. I pour over the earth balance and start with 4 cups of veggie stock. Bake for an hour, adding stock if it begins to dry out.

This was a hit. Creamed Kale is where it's at!!! I found this recipe at Food to Glow and holy bananas!! MIND. BLOWN. I can't even believe how delicious this dish tasted. So simple. I can't wait to make it again!!! Can a person be in love with Kale? Like truly, deeply in love?? Because I am. I definitely am. Check out the recipe here and make the vegan version, DUH. Enjoy these delicious recipes!!!!!!!

The Perfect Acai Bowl

Ever since we moved to Cali I noticed acai(pronounced ah-sah-EE) bowls on hippie menus everywhere, I was always intrigued, but had never ordered one. A few months ago my sisters-in-law came to visit and whilst out and about in La Jolla we saw a couple devouring the most massive acai bowl and it looked amazing. We spent the next afternoon in hot pursuit of a freaking acai bowl. Place after place was closed, WTF!?! We just wanted a delicious bowl of Amazonian fruit! Well, I promised that I would perfect my recipe annnnnnd oh boy have I!!! I make this meal often, I like to have it for lunch or anytime you want a sweet treat. It's so filling and totally satisfying. And since San Diego hasn't gotten the memo that it's fall and I will continue to devour them! You have antioxidants, b vitamins, potassium, zinc, and so much more! It's a power house meal! No wonder San Diegan's love them so! Serves 1

1 packet frozen acai

1 frozen banana

1 tablespoon whole flax seeds(pre-ground if not using a vitamix)

3 tablespoons up to 1/4 cup almond milk (depends on how much liquid your blender needs to get moving.)

5-10 drops liquid stevia (optional)

1 fresh banana, sliced

handful fresh strawberries, sliced

1 tablespoon raw, unsweetened coconut

2 tablespoons raw pepitas

First, I throw the milk and flax seeds and the blender to grind the seeds. Then I add the frozen banana and acai and stevia (if adding) and blend until smooth. It will look like soft serve. Add a splash of milk if the mixture won't move. I like to start with the 3 tablespoons and slowly add more to make sure that you don't end up with Acai soup, which happened the first 3 times I made it!!! Then top with fruit, coconut, and pepitas!! Devour!!!!!

Bridal Shower Mayhem

Weddings, ahhhh, Weddings. I dig a good wedding. Heck, I wrote wedding blogs for 2+ years. I love weddings. I've been in 5 weddings as a mostly-adult, but this marks the first time as a real bridal shower host. First, I was Maid of Honor [as promised in every yearbook since kindergarten] for my bestest bud when we were barely 21. I was still in college and broke as a joke, so I sorta threw a shower with my mom and the church ladies. Then was my little sis, again, super poor... I was planning my wedding too, so I don't remember how that shower went down. I know, such a jerk. After that was my dearest friend who had a surprise wedding. Yes, it was exactly as awesome as it sounds! So yeah, no shower. This year I was in two weddings. One AH-mazing affair in beautiful Negril, Jamaica and due to all of the travel, while I ended up being able to surprise my wonderful friend for the shower, I didn't get to help plan. So this July I had the opportunity to host my first real-life-grownup shower. My lovely friend Shirk Shirley got married to her Guido Prince Frankie. We had a mostly vegan shower-- what??? If I'm buying the food you best believe it's going to be healthy of sorts. Em, the ginger, hatched most of the decor ideas and the curly haired babe, Marilyn, did the drinks and baking. I, of course, made all of the food! Here are some shots of the day.Wine is the best! It was an absolutely lovely day! I made my famous pesto pasta!! I made enough to feed an army, we had leftovers for days. Here's the recipe. Serves 4 hungry people or 6 sorta hungry people

1 pound of pasta, I like Trader Joes brown rice fusilli

1 bunch of asparagus, chopped same length as pasta

1 pound of green beans, trimmed and chopped same length as pasta

Cook the pasta per package instructions. I like my veggies to have bite to them, so I throw them in with the pasta for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Now depending on how you like your veggies adjust this time. Strain and toss with pesto[recipe below].

For Pesto

Basil, about a 1/2 cup

Spinach, about 1/2 a cup

2 cloves of garlic, more if you are a big garlic fan

1/4 cup nutritional yeast [easily found a most markets and super high in B vitamins]

3 tablespoons of pine nuts

Veggie stock, salt, and pepper

Mix all ingredients in a high powered blender or food processor. Add all ingredients then add a tablespoon of veggie stock and blend. Add veggie stock tablespoon by tablespoon until creamy. It depends on your appliance and personal taste. In my Vitamix, I find 2-3 is plenty. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over pasta and serve with cherry tomatoes on top! YAY SHOWERS!!!!!

Let's Hug it Out...

I’m one of those people that could work 40+ hours, go to book club, zumba, and have 3 dinner dates planned in a week and still find time to watch tons of TV. It’s a rare gift and as I have no 40 hours to work... You get it. One of my favorite shows is Extra Virgin on the Cooking channel. It follows beloved New York native and super famous actress Debi Mazer and her dreamy Tuscan husband Gabriele Corcos. They absolutely love each other, they are so entertaining to watch, and, oh yeah, they make awesome food! Debi knows her shit. If you haven’t seen this show it’s definitely worth a peek.

People often get confused as to why I watch food shows when clearly I can’t eat a majority of the food, but truth is I LOVE Cooking Channel. I love seeing what flavors chefs put together and then work them into my own lifestyle! Nerd!!!! Yep, but I make hella good food!

On a recent episode, Debi and Gabrielle cook for Adrien Greenier. That’s right, none other than Vinnie Chase himself and to my surprise one of Debi’s creations was practically made for me, omit parmesan cheese and you have a vegan delight. Check out the recipe here! Make it gluten free by using brown rice or quinoa pasta. Make it oil free by using veggie stock in place of the oil. The perfect way to enjoy the tail end of tomato season and bonus, it has peas. Everyone loves peas. Fun fact: The Captain buys a bag of frozen peas errrry time he goes to grocery store. It's a compulsion. Anywho, it's delicious and your taste buds will thank me and Debi-- but mostly just Debi...