Tag Archives: creamy

Asparagus Portabella Risotto

Spring has begun, at least on the calendar, as I know many of you are still stuck in cold weather and snow. But, it also seems as though new things are popping up everywhere, and I’m not talking about plants. I’ll start with a little background on me, I went to school for product design and graduated with a BS in Industrial Design (no, that’s not designing factories). I worked in the field for a few years, until a quit my job a year and a half ago; that is when I started to seriously put work into my blog, freelance photography projects and basically doing whatever odd-jobs that I could to get by.

So far, that list has included doing vegan food tours for a couple of months, lots of merch gigs, writing articles and the occasional garage sale. ;) And for a few months, last year, I applied to many, MANY design jobs; nearly landing one, but it just didn’t work out. Lately, I’ve been wondering if I’d ever return to the industry in which I get my creativity from, feeling a loss. Then, yesterday, I get a call from one of my old co-workers and to keep it short, I’ll just say there is a good possibility of me returning to a full-time design position.

Oddly enough, the timing is not that great, seeing as how I’ll be gone nearly the entire month of April, doing work out in Indio for Coachella and Stagecoach. Lots of work and lots of heat, plus not a lot of computer time. But, I’m getting everything organized before I go so that you can have some awesome recipes to drool over. Now, I’m feeling more overwhelmed than ever, but feel as though everything will line up eventually, or I hope, at least. Ha!

I’ll keep you updated on that, but now, I have this delicious and satisfying risotto to show you! It’s creamy, yet still light enough to showcase some serious Spring flavors. Risotto used to intimidate me, for some reason, until I made my first one in the fall and it turned out great. So, don’t be intimidated by this rice dish with a fancy name. 

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Filed under Healthy Recipes, Holidays, Savory Recipes

Multiple Personality Artichoke Arugula Soup

Basically, this all started when one of my favorite twitter followers suggested that I make artichoke soup, today. My mind started wandering, thinking back to what I have stashed away in the far reaches of my refrigerator. I definitely had some steamed artichokes hanging out that I hadn’t used yesterday, for an appetizer. Then there were the cute, lil’ wild arugula leaves which seemed like a great companion to make for a creamy soup. Sometimes, you can make some tasty dishes just by improvising!

You may be asking yourself, what do you mean, Multiple Personality soup? After I finished making this warm, filling soup I loved the texture of it. Not too smooth, still needed some chewing, but not like a stew either. Then I started thinking, with less veggie broth this would make a fantastic dip! Another way you could go with it, would be to use less broth and double (or triple) the amount of arugula to make it into a great side; almost like creamed spinach with a few twists.

Today’s recipe is actually the kick off for a soup-filled month of February and National Homemade Soup Day. So, I’ll be making some delicious, fun, and easy soups for our #souplove Bloghop! Have any soups that you’d like to see a vegan recipe for? Make sure to let me know, and I’ll get it done for you, this month! :)

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Filed under Healthy Recipes, Savory Recipes

Quinoa Pasta with Creamy Garlic Sauce & Toasted Hazelnuts

Oh dear, is anyone else stressing out about the holidays like I am? Even though I have almost all of Christmas shopping done, I feel like there’s always more to do! Such as, coming up with what to eat for Christmas dinner; maybe I’ll say, “Screw it!” and make a pizza. ;) For some reason I’m not feeling totally inspired food-wise, and it could be that I just have a lot on my plate right now. (HA!) Or, maybe I’ll just make this quinoa pasta dish again.

Ingredients for Creamy Garlic Sauce

I experimented a bit with a base recipe for this a couple of weeks ago, mostly because I wasn’t entirely sure how good a tofu-based sauce would work. After feeding it to my non-vegan cousin, it was clear that this recipe was a hit. What’s great about this dish is that it can be eaten as an entrée or served as a side at a holiday dinner. Plus, there’s no added oil and it’s gluten-free! Sounds pretty solid to me.

Roasting Hazelnuts

If you would like to make this recipe even healthier, serve the creamy garlic sauce over baked spaghetti squash, which is a favorite of mine. Don’t like spinach? Use bite-size kale pieces instead. Also, one tip for reheating leftovers, add a little vegetable broth or non-dairy milk to get the sauce creamy again.

Making Creamy Garlic Sauce

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Creamy Roasted Veggie Soup

I feel as though today was fairly productive, which I am not sure that I can really say for the past week. It could be that I was awoken by a carbon monoxide detector that is faulty and that just kept beeping, a little too earlier in the morning. I even went to yoga today! It was the first time in a couple of weeks, and it felt great. After running errands and writing emails I made a delicious soup! And that’s what I have for you guys, tonight. Lucky you. ;)

I always love roasting ingredients before using them in a soup because it gives them a more caramelized flavor and adds a little more depth to your dish. Plus, it doesn’t get much easier than throwing things on a cookie sheet and into the oven with very little preparation. In the end, the soup kind of tastes like a creamy broccoli soup, even though there is no broccoli in it. It’s slightly thick, but light on your stomach and perfect as a starter to a meal; or if you use a bigger bowl, a meal!

But, I have to say, this was pretty hard to photograph! Just know that this soup is comforting, warm, and perfect for a chilly fall day. Oh, and that it is tasty. :D

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Filed under Healthy Recipes, Savory Recipes, Vegan MOFO!