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Virtual Vegan Potluck: Homemade Schnickers Bars

10 May
Yep, it's food porn.

Yep, it’s food porn.

Ding ding! Round three! The Virtual Vegan Potluck is such a wonderful highlight in my blogging world. It’s amazing that so many bloggers get together and make this whole thing happen! There’s 169 bloggers from around the world this time. Of course, there’s a few superheroes at the helm that keep us all in check: Annie at An Unrefined Vegan; Somer at Vedged Out; and Jason at Jason and the Veganauts. Hurrah and huzzah to these lovely folks! It must be like dealing with a huge class of kindergarteners.

vvpLOGOAnd this time I’m doing a dessert—homemade Schnickers Bars—after two rounds of main courses. If you want to check those out, they are here and here. I’m happy to say that you can make this a raw vegan dish, but I used roasted salted peanuts and roasted peanut butter, so it’s not technically raw. You could make this paleo by subbing the peanuts for almonds, but I didn’t have time to do that. But at the rate these treats are going to get eaten, I’ll have a chance to try that out very soon. Continue reading 

Paleo Pumpkin Lasagne

29 Apr
Who doesn't love a good lasagne?

Who doesn’t love a good lasagne?

I’ve been wanting to post this blog for some time. Not just because I love writing my blog, which I do, but it also turned out so delicious!

But man, I tell you, I love my new house too. I’ve been doing a bunch of cooking, but now that I don’t live in a 650-sq.ft. house with a tiny yard, I’m going crazy. I’ve got all sorts of things happening in the garden, from kale and radishes to squash and peas. Even turnips! Anyone know when it’s time to pick turnips? I’m guessing not quite yet, since I started them from seed a few months ago.

Hey, who else is shocked that it’s May next month? That’s also what’s freaking me out. We moved to our new place officially in December, and almost five months have blown by? I guess that shows how seriously romanced I’ve been by this city and our home. Between the two, sitting at my computer for more than what’s necessary for work is hard to do. Continue reading 

Spaghetti Squash Chorizo Bake

12 Mar
Yes, this was just my first serving...

Yes, this was just my first serving…

Well, it has been hard finding time for this blog since I moved into the new house. I have to admit it’s because we’ve been so wonderfully spoiled with our new home! First of all, we’ve got the landlord to beat all landlords, a ridiculously big lot perfect for planting a garden and letting the dog run like crazy, a spare room for guests, plenty of storage space for bikes and a spare freezer…oh, the list goes on. Sorry to go on about it, but after living in what now feels like a cave for five years, I’m more than a little excited about what I’ve got now!

And between having our lovely friends drop in for visits, digging and planting the garden, training for a half-marathon and actually working, it’s been hard to sit down and get some of the recipes on to the blog. This is one that I conjured up with stuff out of the fridge a few weeks ago when The Husband was back down in Laguna on business and I was all on my lonesome.

I put it down for breakfast, lunch and dinner categories because I actually ate it for all three meals. That’s how good it was! I made it with my favorite sausage—Mulay’s all the way—but if my vegan friends wanted to sub Soyrizo and use some vegan cheeze, you’d have a mighty tasty meal. Seriously. This was hard to share with The Husband when he got home. Actually, he’s lucky there was any left!

This is a great thing to make with spaghetti squash, especially if you need a cold-weather dish of comfort food. And a tip I learned recently—stop trying to cut the squash in half! If you’ve got the time, bake it whole. Stab it a few times (carefully) with a knife, then stick the whole thing in the oven on a baking tray for 40 minutes at 350°F. At that point, cut the stem end off, then slice in half. See if it’s fully cooked; if not, roast it open faced for about 10 more minutes.

Also, I only cooked the squash al dente, as this gets cooked a little more at the end. Enjoy! Continue reading 

Curried Sunflower Dip (And Giveaway Result!)

11 Nov

Today’s first order of business is to congratulate Yvonne, one of my commenters, on winning the Sweet & Easy Vegan cookbook! Yvonne, since you’re not one of my regular followers, please get in touch so I can get your information to get the cookbook sent to you.

The second order of business is, of course, a recipe. I keep trying new recipes from the excellent cookbook Eat Raw, Eat Well by Douglas McNish. Everything I’ve tried has been delicious, and I keep making myself try more recipes, as it’s so good for your body to get raw, fresh produce in your body. Continue reading 

Virtual Vegan Potluck 2: Mushroom, Leek and Kale Cottage Pies

31 Oct

I loved participating in the first Virtual Vegan Potluck—what a great concept it is! I get so much of my inspiration in the Tiny Kitchen from other blogs, even if there are parts of it that aren’t friendly to my stomach. It just makes me more creative!

Like this recipe. I wanted something that would be both vegan and paleo for this potluck; after all, it’s no fun making something you can’t eat. I had a ton of ideas, but not enough time to try them all out, and this idea seemed like a winner. Something perfect for the fall weather that finally arrived in California. Something to put in the oven, since it’s cool enough to turn it on. Plus, something orange to celebrate the season! Continue reading 

Vegan Cupcakes and a Vegan Cookbook Giveaway!

21 Oct

I’ve been a fan of Robin Asbell’s cookbooks for years, so when her latest one, Sweet & Easy Vegan, came out, I immediately wanted it. How lucky for me that she sent me one so that I could blog about it! And, in addition to that, I got to be part of my second Virtual Vegan Potluck. My third will be next week, so keep your eyes peeled for that—it will not be just a vegan dish, but a paleo dish as well! Continue reading 

Tropical Ice Cream for a Heatwave

30 Sep

I was going to post about my trip to San Francisco last week, detailing all the great food I ate and what I learned about my stomach’s reactions to certain things, but the heatwave in SoCal this weekend has totally trumped that post.

It’s been a long, hot summer here in Orange County. Which is fine, but we don’t usually get hit with any temps over 80 degrees F here on the coast. I mean, it’s part of the price we pay to live here, I thought, our payback for dealing with all the tourists leaving garbage in front of our house. (Really, people? Were you raised by wolves?) Continue reading 

Shiso Overload

9 Sep

The sun shines bright on shiso-basil pesto.

We’ve been getting the most delicious produce ever from Alegría Farms, a vertical hydroponic farm that popped up in Laguna Canyon. Twice a week we get a beautiful bouquet of lettuces, chard, kale, collard greens and plenty of herbs. (And the tomatoes. OH the tomatoes! The taste is so good you could faint.) The Husband loved their green smoothies so much that he bought me a Vitamix, which means I’m a very happy girl. Continue reading 

Triple-Green Zucchini Pasta With Broccoli-Arugula Pesto

15 Aug

I think I already mentioned that I’d taken a blood test to finally figure out what my food sensitivities are. It turns out that all grains are off the menu, as are soy, beans, legumes and dairy. Well, we knew about dairy already, so no surprises there.

But it made me think seriously about my diet. Beans, legumes (i.e. lentils, my absolute FAVES) and soy are some of the first things I reach for when I’m going for a vegetarian or vegan alternative. Er, those are out the window. Basically I’ve found out that my diet falls under the “Paleo” title, which makes it easier as there’s some cookbooks out there to inspire me.

Now, please don’t think that I’ve fallen for this whole “pre-agriculture everyone was healthy and that’s how we should eat now to avoid every ailment” theory. I know it’s not scientifically accurate, but that’s not what was bothering me. It was reintroducing meat into my diet.

Continue reading 

A Raw Deal: Blueberry “Cheese”cake

12 Aug

Cool, raw and delicious.

So, nobody ever dares make me a birthday cake, and I don’t blame them. It’s tricky with my dietary restrictions, plus I guess all my baking makes a few people a little hesitant to make things for me. Although my dad did make a vegan carrot cake for me once—it was tasty, but the presentation was hilarious, mainly because he plopped it down in front of me, saying: “And that’s what you get when you don’t make frosting with real butter!” Yes, the frosting appeared less than perfect, but it was all delicious. And I loved him for making a vegan cake for me!

This year I made my own, and about a month after my birthday. What with all the celebrating, I didn’t really have a chance before that! Continue reading 

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