Category Archives: Sweet Recipes

June 17, 2013

Fruity Roasted Fennel Salad

After a fun-filled weekend, I’m back. Yes, it may be Monday, but I have a recipe that is über colorful and really, just makes me smile when I look at it. Before I get to that, let me tell you about some of the new and cool things that I experienced the past couple of days. Warning: this post has lots o’ drool-worthy pictures, so get a napkin ready. ;)

DTLA // Mohawk Bend

Friday was awesome because the weather was beautiful and I finally got to get lunch with Lindsay of Happy Herbivore. It was great chatting about her Light & Fit book coming out later this year (which as some of you know, I took food photos for) and us working together on her next book. We ate at Mohawk Bend, where I had the Hearts of Palm Sliders and we shared the vegan S’mores dessert, yum!

My Tote!

There was crafting to be done, on Saturday! I was invited by the radical Joni, to attend Crafty Commune at her sister’s new boutique in Long Beach. What was awesome about this event is that Kristen (the owner of Fox & Moon Clothing) provided handmade totes and things to decorate them with, afterward she put them in her shop to sell and when they do 100% of the proceeds are going to a local charity.

Chef Dave // Coffee // Maddy Mac // Molly describing the Gelato

After that, I made a mad dash for West LA to have an extremely tasty dinner and dessert with my friend Kedar. We met up at the new Maddy’s on Pico, with a fully vegan menu from Chef Dave Anderson (of Madeleine Bistro). I got to meet him and Molly, who were both extremely nice and helpful, plus enjoy the Big Maddy Mac (a fancier, vegan Big Mac) and a sampler plate of ALL OF THE GELATO FLAVORS. That’s 11 flavors of vegan gelato, people. They haven’t had their grand opening yet, but I seriously recommend heading over there.

Of course, Sunday was Father’s day which started off with a Bloody Mary for my dad. I told you it was a tradition! We spent the day outside, doing random yard work, cooking, but mostly relaxing. I checked up on my super-late-in-the-season seedlings, and so far I have some corn stalks, some watermelon seedlings, dill, plus some others that I’m hoping will sprout soon. :)

Now, it’s Monday, and there is work to be done! So, I have for you an easy and refreshing recipe that is great for a weeknight dinner, or even a lunch prepared the night before. This salad has fresh fruits, balsamic roasted fennel, peppery arugula and a strawberry citrus vinaigrette. Tantalizing, no?

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May 22, 2013

Spicy Vodka Lemonade

I’m flying! Okay, let me explain. I’m in an airplane right now, heading to Portland for Vida Vegan Con and am super excited. I will say that I’m not a humongous fan of flying (especially in very small planes), so I’ll be even happier when I’ve landed safely in the rain. You’ll know about it because the plane doesn’t have wi-fi, so I can’t post the blog up here. ;)

What’s even more awesome is that I am not coming home until almost a week from now! So, I’m basically expecting to gain a few pounds, be totally inspired and meet amazing vegan bloggers. Sometimes, I really don’t regret parting ways with the design industry.

I bought a new point and shoot camera for this trip, so that I wouldn’t have to lug around my fancy camera and worry about it getting damaged or hurting my neck. I’ll make sure to take plenty of pictures to share with everyone, next week!

While I’ll be busy doing bloggy things this weekend, most everyone else is celebrating Memorial Day. And people, do I have the perfect beverage for you. This ain’t your average lemonade; it has fresh ingredients, plus a kick from jalapeno and vodka.

This beverage is fantastic because you can make large batches of it and place it into a dispenser for easy refilling. Of course, you can tone down the jalapeno if it’s going to be made the night before a party, as it may be a little too spicy. Also, keep the mixture cold, because the warmer it gets, the hotter it tastes!

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May 16, 2013

Refreshing Watermelon Tomato Salad

The weather earlier this week was insane! You want to talk about a scorcher?  I thought that I was back working Coachella! Thank goodness I could jump in a pool to cool off. ;) I wish that I had this salad to cool me down from the inside out, though.

I was inspired by a salad that I had years ago, with watermelon, tomato, mint, and feta, plus some vegetarian roe for a salty kick. This one is slightly different, with creamy pine nuts changing up the texture, and a combination of mint and basil to make it interesting (and pretty!).

The best part about this salad is that it comes together in mere minutes. If you chill the tomato and watermelon before assembly it works out even better. This is the perfect side for a summer party, BBQ or as a light snack. Throw a little white balsamic vinegar on there and call it a day!

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May 14, 2013

Tropical Trail Mix & Traveling Snacks

Before I left for Indio last month, I knew that I would need to bring some snacks with me. I’m glad that I planned ahead, because our team was stuck without breakfast for the first few days we were out there. Yikes! With this post I’ll give you some tips on what to bring with you when your options are limited.

Of course, there are a crazy amount of vegan snack bars that you can choose from, when you need to hold yourself over. I love bringing a couple in my purse when I’m flying, to replace the typical “pretzel or nuts” choices. My bars of choice are Vbars, PureFit bars (which are a lot like Power Bars) and usually Clif bars (only because they are everywhere). The good thing about these types of snacks is that they are small and easy to fit in luggage/bags.

If you have a little more room to bring stuff with you, say you’re driving to a family member’s house or something like that, I would highly suggest making foods that really only need a bit of hot water added to them. Take for example, my Portable Oatmeal Breakfast. You can pack three day’s worth of breakfast into one large jar! Plus, it’s easily customizable to your preferences.

But, what I ended up making for this trip was downright awesome. It took some time because I dehydrated most of the fruits at under 118ºF, but that’s not something that you need to do. Here we have a mix of mango, banana, tart berries and coconut roasted almonds. Crunchy, chewing and filling it’s all you want from a trail mix. Next time, I’m making a massive batch of this and adding it to granola and yogurt for breakfast, it sounds so good!

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