Chili Mac.

I was craving this so I made it. 

Weekend eating.

Another visit to El Arco Iris in Highland Park.

Potato tacos, no cheese.

Donut Friend!!! Top two are Custard Front Drive. Bottom left Panda Berry and bottom right Nutellavision (this one was not vegan for my husband).

C&O Cucina: penne arrabiatta. Yum.

Homemade dessert: whole wheat pancakes layered with berry compote and coco whip. My sweet tooth is outa control! I am 19 weeks pregnant (surprise!) so I must watch my sugar intake!!!

Mother's Day Lasagna.

Immense lasagna for Mom's day! Lots of photos to drool over. Insides consist of sautéed zucchini, mushrooms and onions, roasted red peppers, cashew tofu ricotta and Trader Joes vegan mozzarella and topped with marinara. Mom said it was The Best!

One Pot Linguine

I've been wanting to try the "one pot pasta" recipe that's been going around. You only need to Google it and off you go.

I chucked the following into a pot: 1 lb. linguine broken in half, 1 can diced tomatoes, 4 1/2 cups water, 4 cloves garlic, sliced, 1 red onion, sliced, 1/2 cup marinated artichokes chopped, 1/2 cup kalamata olives, sliced, 1 basil cube (that I froze in oil), 2 tsp salt, a nice drizzle of olive oil, black pepper, a pinch of sugar and 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper.

Bring it to a boil and cook for 9 or so minutes, turning with tongs frequently until pasta is cooked al dente.

Perfect for quick mid week meals!

This came out so good. Really lovely. I served it with Parmezano Sprinkles (almonds, miso, nutritional yeast, salt).

Parmezano Sprinkles from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook. Great stuff!

For dessert: Italian coffee and Speculoos bicuits!

Backlog Photos Of Foods I Ate.

When my husband cooks for me, he almost always makes me pasta. This is a simple spaghetti with marinara (we buy Gina Rispoli, Newman's, or Mezzetta) and Trader Joe's meatless meatballs. Very hearty and filling.

Homemade sandwich on whole grain with Tofurky italian deli, Chao cheese, avocado, red onion, lettuce, tomato and Vegenaise!

Awesome sandwich.

Had my sandwich with a cup of Annie's tomato soup. This is so good if you don't have time to make your own soup.

Last Thursday was my birthday and I made my own cake! Chocolate with penuche frosting. I got the frosting recipe from a vintage Betty Crocker cookbook. It's a brown sugar frosting that is sooooo good.

My dad bought me a birthday pizza from Domino's. Thanks Dad!

For my birthday weekend, my husband and I spent time in Santa Barbara. We ate at the following restaurants:

British fish n chip shop. The chips are so good.

While my husband ate fish n chips, I had chips n baked beans.

At The Natural Cafe there are some good vegan options.

Like this sandwich. It's called the "Local's Favorite". Ask for no mayo and get a side of tahini sauce. Such a good little spot to grab lunch.

On our last night we hit up Galanga for amazing Thai food.

Spicy Mint Noodles with tofu. Make sure to order without fish sauce and egg.

Delicious veggie red curry. No fish sauce.

My plate. I was so full afterwards. Can't wait to go back to SB!

Creamy Cashew Leek and Spinach Pasta with Tempeh Bacon.

Hey guys, here's a great pasta recipe that uses a vegan version of creme fraiche. You basically soak about 1 cup of cashews in hot water for 30 minutes, drain and then blend with 1/2 cup water, 2 TB lemon juice and a couple pinches of salt. Then you cook up some leeks, garlic, spinach and mix in with cashew sauce. I added tempeh bacon to mine. This is optional.

Some ingredients: spinach, vegan cheese and pasta. You will only need 1/4 cup cheese. Save the rest for pizza later in the week!

Chop up your leeks (I used 2) and garlic (2 cloves) . Quickly fry up the tempeh bacon that has been cut into bits.

Saute the garlic and leeks in olive oil over medium high heat. Once leeks have softened, add half a bag of spinach that has been roughly chopped.

This is what your cashew creme fraiche looks like all blended up.

Stir the cashew sauce into the leeks and spinach. It'll be very thick. At this point you can add some unsweetened soy or almond milk to thin it out, or even hot water. Add the 1/4 cup of vegan cheese. Season with salt, pepper, a squeeze of lemon, red pepper flakes.

After the sauce is nice and hot and creamy, mix in the pasta. Add the tempeh bacon bits.

Eat!

Chickpea Almond Melt, Grocery Finds and LYFE Kitchen Review.

My fave chickpea salad made with chickpeas, ground almonds, celery, green pepper, red onion, vegan mayo, garlic powder, a bit of mustard and salt and pepper. It's truly delicious! I made a scrummy melt with whole grain bread and Daiya cheddar. It was so gooey and satisfying.

If you haven't tried this, do it TODAY!

Yummy accidentally vegan treats. The cashew brittle is to die for.

Asian pasta salad I made with quinoa pasta. I liked it at first but then the next day it sucked. Never buying quinoa pasta again. It fell apart and was hard yet overcooked at the same time.

LYFE Kitchen in Culver City. This was my first time. It has something for everyone: omnivores, veggies, vegan, gluten free. I got this corn chowder which was really good.

The caesar salad with Gardein chicken was good too.

Grilled Portobello Sandwich, Pesto Pasta Salad, Scones

Grilled portobello, red pepper, red onions on toasted whole grain bread with Vegenaise, arugula pesto and fresh arugula. Amazing sandwich.

Served with arugula pesto pasta salad.

Arugula and spinach pesto mixed with Vegenaise made a great pasta salad dressing.

Cranberry and raisin scones.