Berry minty strawberies n' mint

Craving something sweet, yet light? 

All you need are 3 ingredients for this sweet little treat. 

Ingredients:

 

 

• Mint, minced.

• Lemon juice, fresh squeezed. 

• Fresh strawberries, sliced. 

Combine the 3 lovely ingredients until well coated. If you are totally tempted, feel free to eat right away. Or if you can manage the wait, it will be well worth it to allow this berry minty mix to sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
The natural sugary goodness of juicy strawberries and zesty lemon added to the fresh herbal finesse the mint offers is lively when combined.

Guiltlessy indulge in this summery sweet treat....even for breakfast if you feel so inclined my darlings.

Made with love,
Emily

cilantro-lime corn on the cobb

Cilantro-lime corn on the cobb

Forget about rolling your next cobb of corn all over that greasy stick of butter. Here is an upgrade.  

Ingredients:

• Corn on the cobb 
• lime -juice and zest 
• fresh cilantro, minced
• S&P

In a bowl mix the juice of 1-2 limes, zest, and s&p. With a brush paint the juicy mix all over the kernels of corn.
 Place the cobbs on the grill and allow to char, trust me, those blackened crunchy bits are the best. Turn several times until all sides are cooked to perfection.

 

 Serve as a side, but don't be surprised if this is the star of the meal.

I served mine up along side black bean & bella 'shroom taco tortillas with a heap of guacamole.

Corn is the best this time of year, don't miss out on the farm fresh sweet corn at your local farmers market.

Made with love,
Emily 

Pancake perfection

There is nothing better than waking up early on a Sunday morning, heading straight to the kitchen, all sleepy eyed while still in pajamas, throwing on an apron, and whipping up some pancakes. All pancakes should be made and eaten while still in pajamas, really.
This particular Sunday I was with my mini helper, A. We had a late night story time slumber party the night before while her mom and dad were out of town. Pancakes were prerequisite to our busy day spent swimming in the pool.

The pancakes came out perfect.
Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 c flour
•  2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbs canola oil 
• 1 1/2 c soy milk 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 

 Combine all ingredients

 Stir until all the lumps are gone. My mini helper, A, is great at getting all the lumps out.

 Of course we had to use cute cutouts for special shaped pancakes.

Just make sure you spray the cutter with oil to avoid sticking.  Flip when top starts to bubble.

  

Always be generous with the maple syrup 

Sprinkle with confectioners sugar.

  

These little cuties were crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside. 

 

Our breakfast was complete and healthy, 3 pancakes, a side of fruit, orange juice for my mini helper, coffee for me. 

 

We made a mess!

Made with Love, 

Emily

presto pesto pasta

I am fortunate. I work for a fantastic family as a personal assistant/nanny/chef. Chef being my favorite. They are always up for any culinary concoction I create. Their kitchen, which I like to think of as my office, is a dream. Open, modern,  has every single appliance or tool you could possibly need, artful bamboo cutting boards, great set of knives, the cutest serving dishes, a 3 slot sink great for quick cleaning, and a 6 year old sous chef who loves to assist me.

 When I cook for them I don't have my Nikon with me, so I generally don't post recipes I make for them, but this time I used my phone, so you will have to excuse the iphone photography.

This is a go-to meal, easy, fast, tasty, and healthy. The 4 most important qualities in weeknight cooking.  Some people tend to be deterred by home made pesto. Not sure why, nothing beats the bold flavor of made-it-myself sauce- this pesto is literally 1 min of prep. with impressive flavor.

Presto Pesto Pasta

Ingredients 

•  Pasta, I used Fettuccine
• Asparagus
• Sun dried Tomatoes
• Artichoke 1 can
• Leeks chopped
• Garlic minced
• Mushrooms (I always add shroomies in mine, but I leave them out by request of their daughter)
• Olive Oil 
• S&P 
• Pesto  (home made) -put following ingredients in food processor and pulse until smooth
• 2c fresh basil
• 1/4 c pine nuts
• juice of 1 meyer lemon
• 1 avocado
• 1/4 c EVOO
• 2tbs nutritional yeast
• S&P
• a few splashes of H2O if it is really thick

 

saute garlic and leeks until tender, meanwhile cook pasta according to pkg and

 chop asparagus, sun dried tomato and quarter artichokes

 Add all veggies

And S&P

 Once the pasta is done and drained combine with pesto and veggies. Lovingly stir until every inch is coated in the flavorsome pesto.
Serves 4 and takes 20min to make.

 

Made with love, 

Emily

MaryJane and her organic goodness

I want to live on a mountain. Mostly because of MaryJane. No, not that MaryJane. This MaryJane. She has changed my hiking, backpacking, and camping eating experience forever. MaryJanes Farm has put a whole lot of love into the culinary experience for the camper. She has an assortment of organic vegan dehydrated meals to choose from. 

  So, I was recently on a 50 mile backpacking trip in the Sierras through the sequoias. I had to carry all my gear and meals on my back in a bear proof canister. After hiking for nearly 10 hours in one day my body was exhausted, and I was starving. I felt like I could have ate a pile of dirt and pine needles and been satisfied. But, thanks to these effortless and enticing entrees, I did not have to resort to such a measly meal. 

I purchased these perfect little pouches directly from her website and they were delivered to my doorstep in a matter of 3 or 4 days. The flavors I chose were 

Wild mushroom couscous

Kettle Chili

Southwestern couscous

Ginger seseme pasta

Couscous & lentil curry

Lentils & Indian spice

I honestly don't have a favorite, they are all so deliciously good. Although when my friend took a bite of the wild mushroom couscous his eyes light up and said it tasted elegant. I agree. That spork full of adorable little couscous balls is probably the closest thing to elegance that came in contact with my dirty sweaty self.

 

Just look how clean and simple these ingredient lists are. No added crap. Just clean eats. Although the only  cooking I  did  involved very few steps, like boiling mountain river water, pouring it into these eco friendly bags and stirring and eating with a spork, my taste buds did not feel like I made any sacrifice while being away from the convenience of my kitchen.

  As a matter of a fact I almost preferred my outdoor kitchen. There is absolutely NO clean up, not only do the meals cook in the pouch it comes in, the pouch can be burned after eating, there are no harmful materials in the packaging. Less trash to carry out. Every ounce counts when you are backpacking.  

Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of the prepared food.  By the time we got to camp each night, set up, and ate, it was too dark to take a photo, and frankly, I was too sleepy. Here is a photos of breakfast, however. Simple oats and dried fruit.

 What are some other items a vegan should bring on a backpacking trip you ask? Well this is what my backpack pantry was stocked with....

 With love,
Emily

P.S. to see other photos from my trip click here

Couscous a food so nice you say it twice

This week has been a bit busy. We are leaving for a backpacking trip tonight. All week we were occupied with planning and prepping our survival for the coming weekend. So for our dinner had to be quick, healthy, tasty, and full of protein. This couscous dish is just that. It is such a versatile dish, and can be made so many ways as long as you have a grain, bean, nut, dried fruit, fresh herbs, vegetables, garlic lime, dried cumin, cinnamon, and other spices you are all set. It can be made for dinner, lunch, cookout, picnic, potluck...
possibilities are endless.
This particular night I threw all these goodies into the mix:

• 1c. whole wheat pearled couscous
• 1 can chickpeas
• 1/4c pine nuts
• 1c. apricots
• 1 bunch green onion
• 1 bunch fresh mint
• 1 lime, juiced and zested
• garlic
  
• 1tbs cumin, and cinnamon (the marriage of the two are delightful)
  
• S&P

 While the couscous is cooking (according to pkg directions)

dice dried fruit

 mince mint

chop green onion

 and rinse garbanzo beans.
The couscous should be done by now, add all the ingredients in the pot and mix until well coated with the herbs and you have created a beautiful mosaic of color. This dish can be served hot or chilled.
It literally has all the flavors you could wish for: sweetness of the dried fruit, spice of cinnamon, depth of cumin, crunch of crisp green onion, zest of citrus, and bold flavor of fresh mint. 

 

**The lime should give the dish enough  juice to moisten it up, but if you want to give it a little extra creaminess add some earth balance or EVOO. 

In the past I have made this salad with white beans, dates, pistachios, mint, and pomegranate seeds. Or black beans, cilantro, pepper, mango and cucumber and avocado. Or basil, sun dried tomato, parsley, almond, pepper and onion.... again the possibilities are endless! This dinner doesn't have to involve a trip to the market, just look in your kitchen and play around.

Made with love, 

Emily

Veggie grill

I am not really sure how I have lived in California for 5 years, been a veggie for 3 and not gone to the Veggie Grill  yet. Luckily there are 8 locations to choose from in LA. We went to the one in El Segundo on the way to Manhattan beach. Truth be told, my man and I were looking for a lameass subway to grab a quick sandwich to-go for our beach day. As we were cruising down the road I saw a sign for Veggie grill in a shopping center.

 

I immedietly squealed and practically took the wheel and pointed it in the direction of the building while loudly and enthusiastically yelling about veggies. Nicho was driving. He is always so great about going along with my unexpected and uncontrolled excitement. He safely maneuvered us into the parking lot-which had ample space**bonus points. 

My heart literally started to race, I was that excited about this place. I have heard so many great things about it and my time had finally come to try it for myself.

This place is like the apple store equivalent to the healthy chain food. Modern, clean, neat, staff are super nice and menu is perfectly descriptive.

 

We ordered our food, and was ready to-go in less than 10 min. Off to the beach.  It was pretty hard not to devour the lunch while we were driving up, down and all around Manhatten Beach looking for street parking.

 

Nicho ordered the Buffalo Bomber, and of course he sweetly sacrificed a sample large enough to allow for my research and development of this blog post. It is almost creepy how much the texture is like a real hunk of chicken. I personally would have liked more spice to the buffalo sauce, but I am a spicy kinda gal. The sandwich was perfect in a messy kind of way. Right down to that Ranch dressing.

 

He also upgraded his side to a spring mix salad with more ranch. We love that stuff. The salad  had the delightful surprise of quinoa in it. Yum. 

 

Ill admit, this photo looks gross, it is sloppy food porn. But damn was it tasty. It is the crab cake sandwich. An obvious choice for a beach picnic. It was more than satisfying. They must have used some nori seaweed for the perfect amount of that oceanic flavoring. The crispy outer fried crabby patty paired with the creaminess of the tartar sauce was rich and savory with a hint of sweet and tangy with an added pickle. I ordered the red cabbage 'slaw. The 'slaw was so-so, but the cabbage had a fresh crunch to it. All in all it was an indulgently mellow picnic. 

I must have really worked up an appetite after all the reading and napping that took place on the beach because we also stopped back at the Veggie Grill for dinner on the way home. Twice is nice.

This time we came back at dinner time rush, for another to-go order, be eaten at home later. Even though the place was packed, the food service was quick and friendly yet again. Swoon.

 I just love the easy and simple packaging they offer with their to-go orders.

 Round 2; I ordered the All-American stack, a grilled veggie-steak sammie with pickles, lettuce, tomato, crispy onion rings, and thousand island dressing. And this time I had to upgrade my side to mac&cheese. The mac&cheese was alright, I make a much better one. I did enjoy the fact that the noodles are made with quinoa pasta. Ohhh, the problems of being a foodie,such high standards. Sigh. Don't get me wrong though, I ate every last morsel in that container, so it was not terrible by any means. The sandwich made up for any lack in the mac. A bit on the salty side, but really friggin' good. Good thing this meal was cholesterol free, other wise I would have died of a heart attack.

Oh yeah, and of course I got dessert. Chocolate pudding parfait. Perfectly sweet, layers of chocolate pudding, chocolate sauce, crushed oreo cookies, walnuts, and whipped cream. Creamy and dreamy.

I am in love with this place. The prices are just right, total cheap eats. They have SO many other healthy options like wrapping their sandwiches in kale, and lots of nutritionally charged salads to choose from.... I just chose to eat like a fat kid.

There are not many fast food vegan joints these days. There need to be more. I hope to see this place grow, with branches popping up on every corner. Maybe someday replacing all McDonnalds and Burger Kings. A gal can dream right?!
One thing I admire about this delicious, satisfying, natural, wholesome, casual and convenient establishment is their lack of the scary V word. Vegan. That word tends to scare people away. There tends to be a tainted vision of what vegan means. But their friendly and tasty approach to plant based food can be universally appreciated.

Lots of Love,
Emily