Broccoli Cheese Casserole

It's been a while! I have not forgotten about my little blog, my life has just been busy busy! I'm going to cheat this week and re-post a couple great recipes for Thanksgiving!!!  No table should be without the famous BROCCOLI CHEESE!!! *As is, this is not Gluten Free, but with a few simple substitutions, it easily could be! BONUS: If you're thinking about making a Green Bean Casserole, you can use the Cream of Mushroom Soup recipe below!

Thai Teak Restaurant

Michael's Pineapple Fried Rice with Tofu...incredible!

 On our way home from running errands today, we found the cutest little restaurant in Santa Monica called Thai Teak.  They also do massages and sell orchids, but we just stopped in for the food - which was OUTSTANDING!  For $20 we got 2 entrees and an appetizer the size of an entree.  It was fresh, insanely delicious, and very filling - we both had leftovers! The kitchen was super clean and the man who served us our meal was so sweet.  It's the perfect little place for a quick lunch or dinner or maybe even a date :) The tables are bar-style by the windows, but it was still quite cozy.  I would give this place a perfect 10! 

I had chow mein tofu! YUUMM!!!! 

So if you're in or near Santa Monica, I'd definitely give this place a try!! It's located at:

2400 Main St
Santa Monica, CA 90405

Lentil Bowl

 This is very similar in taste to the Lentil and Brown Rice Casserole, but it's made with quinoa and cooks in a pot instead of in the oven..and in half the time.  It's the perfect dish for a stormy summer night.  Easy to make and easy on your budget, this is definitely a new staple!

Pizza Bellos

 While drooling my way through the prepared foods section at Whole Foods, I spotted these little guys.  Although I was tempted to buy them, I knew I could make them in 15 minutes for a fraction of the cost - so I responsibly made my way over to the produce section.  I'm big on texture, so I think I was more excited for cute mini pizzas than actually biting into a portobello crust, but.... once again I was pleasantly surprised.  They were so scrumptious and completely satisfying.  Now you can have pizza every night!! Much better than that English toast concoction my mom used to always make - sorry ma...

*if you don't use the veggie sausage they're gluten free
 

Strawberry-Watermelon Granita

Photo Credit Thomas J. Story*

 I love everything about this.  The name is delicious, the dish is beautiful, and it cools you from head to toe the second it hits your tongue.  I had a giNORMOUS watermelon that I knew we'd never finish, so I went to watermelon.org for inspiration - these people are passionate about watermelons!  I put my own spin on their watermelon granita to cut out the sugar and add a little extra somethin somethin.  The slushy flakes of granita are so light and cold and flavorful, it's the perfect dessert for a hot summer day.

In the Meantime...

Wedding season is among us! A HUGE congratulation to Kristen and Elias and Corey and Caitlin!  Cooking has taken a back burner (hehe), but I promise to get some recipes (Watermelon Granita, anyone?) up soon! In the meantime, my cousin sent this to me today and I just had to share - too cute!

(click to see full size)

Gluten Free Cinnamon Pancakes

Since cutting gluten from our diets, Michael and I had yet to have a fluffy, melt in your mouth, good ol' fashion pancake.  Well, days of "I don't mind the texture because it tastes pretty good" are over.  We've tirelessly eaten pancakes every Sunday for the past couple months in an attempt to perfect this recipe.  I know, it's tough, but someone's gotta do it.  Trial 1: we bought a mix from whole foods and they were good...if you like soft pretzel-y pancakes.  Trial 2: we added a little buckwheat.  Also good...if you like soft pretzel-y buckwheat pancakes.  Trials 3, 4 & 5, we halved the mix and played around with other flours.  Not bad, getting closer, but we knew they could be better.  Trial 6 (or 7?): The winner!  Fluffy, melt in your mouth, good ol' fashion Sunday morning pancakes.

How to Make Almond Milk!

 When I make my own almond milk each week, I feel like I've one-upped Betty Crocker.  It's fun, delicious and oh-so satisfying.  And compared to boxed milk, it's much more rich and creamy.  Yum! You're going to need a liter-sized mason jar, a big bowl, and a nut milk bag.

It might seem like a big to-do at first, but after you've done it once or twice and get the hang of it, it's super duper looper easy.

Heavenly Fried Rice

Happy July!!!  This freakishly flavorful dish is adapted from The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone.  Alicia's is deeelicious; and we had a lot of fun putting our own little twist on it.  The depth of flavor from the garlic and ginger is divine.  I love this meal.  Maybe a little too much.  Don't tell Michael.  What I have listed below is the "creme de la creme" version - feel free mix up the veggies and toppings.   However! The magical ingredients I wouldn't mess with are the: vinegar, tamari, ginger and garlic.  We make this with quinoa every now and then too!  *sigh* ....it's so amazing and versatile :)

Mediterranean Summer Salad

 Could this be any more beautiful??  I love summer veggies!  This is inspired by my all-time favorite Vegetarian Times recipe - the Toasted Panzanella Salad.  I bulked it up with beans and quinoa to make it a complete meal.  This is the perfect salad to take to a picnic or bbq or to impress your friends with when you have them for dinner.   I could pretty much live on this stuff...and ice cream.  

Mexicali Salad with Chipotle Ranch Dressing

 I promise I wouldn't post a salad unless it was dynamite, and this is nothing short of that.  We have this for dinner at least once a week!  The nutrition in this is off the charts - protein, potassium, iron, calcium, antioxidants, zinc, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, folate, vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, C, E, K - to name a few...it's exciting.  What's also exciting is that you now have the recipes for our Marinated Kale and Chipotle Ranch!   They're aaaawwweesooommee!!! Essentially, this salad is 3 staple recipes thrown together: Marinated Kale, Burrito Filling, and Chipotle Ranch, so it might seem like a lot of steps, but after you've made it once, you'll see just how simple it is!

Crazy Bran Bowl

I went to see an acupuncturist to try to find out why I've been fatigued in the afternoon.  I drink my green juice, I eat my veggies, I eat plenty of protein, my sleep was good...I was stumped.  He told me that for some people, hot and cold foods really affect their energy levels.  He said that in Chinese medicine, your biggest and hottest meal is in the morning - it goes way back to the 4am start time on the farm.  Since I was having green juice and smoothies for breakfast (very cold), I thought I'd give hot cereal a try.  He was right.  Crazy bran bowl in the morning and green juice and smoothies for lunch is the formula that works for me.  It only takes about 6 minutes to make and it's delicious! Let's get crazy!

Blood Orange Fig Chutney

 I have a confession.  I almost got selfish with this one.  On Saturday we threw a surprise bridal shower for Kristen and I brought this along.  It was inspired by a recipe we learned at a cooking class taught by Rachel Carr and Kristan Andrews of SunCafe.  I also made the Southwest Quinoa Salad, hummus (I'll share that soon), and Michael made an almond cheeze log (stay tuned for that one!)  There were mostly non-vegans, and I was worried it would get looked over, but boy oh boy was that chutney a hit!   "Award-winning!" "Incredible!" "Oh my god are you kidding?!" 'What IS this!?"  "Are you a professional chef?" "This is crack!" was some of the praise this unassuming little bowl of chutney received.  So, for a good 5 minutes before I started typing this post I contemplated whether I should share it with the world, or keep it as my secret weapon.  But - alas - I want to be popular and loved so here you go ;)

Animal Acres

 This Sunday Kristen and I visited Animal Acres.  It's my new favorite place in the world and I can't wait to go back.  Here is their mission statement:

Animal Acres is a Los Angeles farmed animal sanctuary and compassionate learning center dedicated to rescuing and protecting farmed animals through rescue, education, and advocacy efforts. Animal Acres is located on a beautiful 26 acre hacienda ranch, just 45 minutes from Hollywood. We encourage people to visit, volunteer, and become involved in Animal Acres, to help create a more compassionate world for ALL.

For a $5 donation, we got an amazing hour and a half tour, interacted with the animals (who LOVED the attention), and received an incredible education on the animals at the sanctuary.  It was an eye-opening, uplifting and deeply relaxing Sunday morning. 

If you're in California, I highly encourage you to take a friend or two or twenty to spend a day at the sanctuary!  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day.

 me and Pinto....2500 pounds of pure love!

 yum yum yum

 hay heaven

 Winston fell in LOVE with Kristen...and chased away those who dared to go near her!

 Baby Cocoa was shy but slowly warmed up to us!

 Cow kisses from Peanut!

 Sweet little guy...

 Prince would've jumped on my lap if he could have - cutest little kid!

 afternoon nap time :)

Orange-Glazed Tempeh

 You are going to LOVE this.  I was in the mood for some comfort food, so I decided to experiment with some Tempeh!  It's sooo easy and you'll feel like a pro.  Tempeh is a great alternative to tofu because it's fermented.  This means it's not as processed and much easier on your gorgeous insides :) For those of you who have yet to try tempeh and are a little put-off by it, just got for it! Once you make it, you'll love it and it won't be a stranger anymore. You can do it!

Cheater Chili

 This dish was created out of the combo of a bare pantry, and a very hungry girl who was not in the mood to chop or measure. At first, I wasn't too proud of my dinner creation as I thought is was lazy and kind of boring, but when I took my first bite, I whipped out the camera so I could share it with the world! It's bangin!

Juicy Veggie Burgers

 The idea for this recipe is inspired by a recipe Kristen found on ChoosingRaw.com.  I make big batches of juice twice a week and always felt beyond guilty throwing the pulp in the trash.  After all, there's still tons of fiber and great nutrients left in that green stuff.  Now, not only will we NEVER waste that stuff again, we get twice as much food for our buck!  We now have 8 burgers in our freezer ready to go for a quick meal! This is really exciting stuff, ya'll!  Aaannndd, these are seriously the most delicious veggie burgers I've EVER had.  They don't fall apart on the grill, and they're moist and....juicy!  Shout out to Cathy who got us the cutest little green grill for our wedding! It was perfect Cath!

Still here!

 I'm still here I'm still here! I have some exciting recipes coming your way! Stay tuned for Cheater Chili (THE easiest and most delish chili you ever did see) and Juicy Veggie Burgers (never waste your juice pulp again)! For now, I'll let Cagney entertain you.  We call this, "You want me to lose how much weight??"

Good Mood Maca Smoothie

My friend Kristen created this recipe and I'm pretty much addicted.  It's a great little afternoon pick-me-up.  Ladies, maca is great for helping with pms.  This smoothie becomes my best friend at a certain time of month...and I double the cacao!

Oprah, Ice Cream, and Vegan Heroes

On her recent show, "Final Harpo Hookups," Oprah told us that you never know when something good is going to happen to you.  Well, she was right!  I just found out I won the Coconut Bliss contest for a ticket to Vida Vegan Con!!!!!  Sorry, Kiley, for breaking your eardrums on the phone.  I couldn't contain my excitement!  It's right around Michael's birthday, so we're going to take a road trip to the amazing city of Portland.  He'll explore while I learn from my vegan heroes and make lots of new friends.  So thank you thank you THANK YOU friends at Coconut Bliss for giving me this incredible opportunity. 

Coconut Blissful Cheesecake

 When I found out about a vegan blogging conference in Portland, I was bouncing off the walls.  When I discovered that it was sold out, I stopped bouncing.  But alas! There's still hope!  The generous people at Coconut Bliss are holding a contest for a golden ticket to Vida Vegan Con!  There is also a song contest, which sounds like a lot of fun, but ya'll don't wanna hear me sing!  After weeks of racking my brain, I had a brilliant idea.  Why not just combine my two favorite desserts in the whole wide world? Ice cream and cashew cheesecake!!!  Holy coconuts did this one turn out to be a winner.  Hopefully the attractive, talented, successful, wonderful, generous, kind, fantastic and amazing staff at coconut bliss will think so too ;)  Whatever happens, I came out a winner in three ways: I found my new favorite brand of ice cream (seriously, this stuff almost didn't make it from the grocery bag to the freezer), I now know what Michael's birthday cake will be, and I had a blast with this recipe.  On a very serious note, Luna and Larry know how to make some kick-ass creamy ice cream.

Southwest Quinoa Salad

Michael made this for me for lunch the other day.  He was inspired by all of the fresh food shown in the documentary Forks Over Knives.  I know I always say this - but this is our new favorite!!!  We'll be making this a lot this summer - it's fresh, clean, easy and DELISH!

Forks Over Knives

  "If the truth be known coronary artery disease is a toothless paper tiger that need never, ever exist and if it does exist it need never, ever progress."  -Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D (an INCREDIBLE person.  Check out his bio here)

Forks over Knives presents ground-breaking, heart-breaking, heart-saving and ground-saving (while I'm at it..) clear evidence, facts, clinical studies,  and scientific studies that prove and support the healing and health benefits of a whole foods plant-based diet.   It's really no question the Western diet sucks.  America is extremely unhealthy and for the most part, surprisingly OK with it.  What if we weren't OK with it anymore? What if enough suffering was enough and we decided to start voting for and eating healthy food?  What would that look like?  It would look like a hell of a lot less cancer, diabetes, auto-immune diseases, obesity, heart disease and suffering.  I really don't know what's so controversial about wanting a healthier planet, except that a lot of really rich people from top corporations -who are trying to make us all think we need dairy for calcium, we need meat for protein or we'll DIE- would have a few less houses and boats to play with.  Ok, maybe it's not quite that simple, but it's pretty darn close. 

Who should go see this movie? People who eat.

I started this blog as a fun way to provide my family and friends with my favorite recipes.  However, since seeing Forks Over Knives last year and continuing my research on a whole foods, plant-based diet, my goals have shifted.  Disease is no stranger to my family and friends and it's hard for me to sit back knowing that in most cases its existence and progression is unnecessary, preventable and reversible.  I'm also not the type to "preach" or "push" my views and findings on others, as I tend to resist those tactics myself.  So my goal is to create a fun and delicious atmosphere that you can't resist coming back to day after day.  I provide pretty pictures and test all my recipes to show you that healthy can be fun, delicious, easy, and sexy.  I absolutely have an agenda here.  I want everyone in the world to be happy and healthy.  I want needless suffering by humans and all living things to come to an end.  I want healthy food to be the status quo.  I want people to enjoy the food they eat.   I want people to demand and vote daily (every single purchase you make is a vote) for higher quality food.  I want world peace.  There, I said it.  And I'm going to continue using my passion and talents toward reaching those goals.  Really, Rach? Eating ONLY plants? Isn't that BIT extreme?  Why, yes. I would have to say it's extremely yummy, extremely environmentally friendly, extremely compassionate and extremely fun.  Dr. Esselstyn gives his take on the "extremeness": "Some people think the "diet" is extreme.  Half a million people a year will have their chests opened up and a vein taken from their leg and sewn onto their coronary artery.  Some people would call that extreme."

I try to remain calm and refrain from getting emotional on this blog.  I try to refrain from preaching or being outspoken because frankly, there are plenty of other blogs that are much more effective than I am - thank heavens for them!!!  But know that I am asking you from the bottom of my heart to take someone you love and go see this film.  Do I want to "turn you vegan?"  Well, yeah, I have to admit, I feel that passionate that it's an incredible way to live, and I have fantasized about an entirely vegan world.  TMI? It's powerful knowing that I'm helping the planet, helping my body, and most importantly for me, no one or thing is suffering for me.  But what's also powerful is knowing the information that's out there and making informed choices at the grocery store.  It's powerful to read food labels, know exactly what's in that food, and decide for yourself if it's healthy or not.  Instead of being overwhelmed by the big words and pretty packages and having the marketing department (who is only interested in your money) make the choice for you.  I know the whole world doesn't share my views and morals, and I don't share some others' views and morals, but given the choice between healthy or sick, informed or uniformed, peace or suffering, happiness or despair, poverty or comfort, I'll bet most would opt for healthy, informed, peace, happiness, and comfort.  And you do have the choice.  You do have the power.

View trailers and find out where you can see it at FORKSOVERKNIVES.COM

Bean and Quinoa Salad

 This recipe is inspired by the yummy bean and grain salads at Whole Foods' salad bar.  I made it last night for dinner and we ate it with organic blue corn tortilla chips.   It might win healthiest meal on this blog - and it was super duper easy peasy and DELISH! Because it's balanced with lots of protein, veggies and grains, it's a complete meal.  It would also make an awesome side dish at a picnic! This salad is packed with nutrients including zinc, iron, and vitamin C.  And to add to the excitement, brazil nuts are a complete protein!  Woo hoo!!!