Archive for celebrations

Vegan Steakhouse Dinner

By Leslie · Comments (3) · February 12th, 2016

A steakhouse dinner is probably the most popular dinner for Valentines Day and I’m saying leave the meat and the restaurant behind! Make this fantastic dinner in the comfort of your own home!

Leslie’s Vegan Steakhouse Dinner

Twice Baked Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

Serves 2

2 russet potatoes

1 sweet potato

4 tbsp. Earth Balance (vegan butter)

1/4 tsp. chipotle powder (more if you like spicy!)

maple syrup

big pinch of salt

1/4 cup chopped, toasted walnuts

Coat the clean and pricked potatoes and yam with olive oil and bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes at 400 degrees until fork tender.

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out insides into a mixing bowl. Be careful to preserve the shells of the Idaho potatoes. Discard the yam skins.

To the potatoes, add Earth Balance, chipotle, 2 tbsp. maple syrup, and a big pinch of salt. Smash with a potato smasher until smooth. Gently spoon the potato mixture back into the Idaho potato skins and score the top with a butter knife, two lengthwise and 3 sideways. Place on a cookie sheet and bake an additional 20 minutes at 375. Remove from oven and top with the chopped walnuts.

Roasted Garlic and Sautéed Rainbow Chard

Serves 2

1 clove of garlic

10 stems of rainbow swiss chard

3 tbsp. of olive oil

a pinch of salt

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the stem side of the garlic off and place in an oven for 30 minutes. Chop the chard into bite size piece. In a large frying pan, heat up the oil and toss in the chard to coat. Add the pinch of salt and saute until the chard is tender and wilted. Chop 3-4 cloves of the roasted garlic and add to the chard. Serve warm.

Wine Poached Portobello Mushrooms with a Cabernet Reduction Sauce

Serves 2

2 large portobello mushrooms, stems trimmed

2 1/2 cups cabernet sauvignon

1 large shallot, finely chopped

a pinch of salt

1 tsp. agave nectar

In a medium pan, sauté the shallot in a tbsp. of olive oil for about 1 minute. Add the wine and salt. Place the mushrooms in the wine gill side down and let simmer for 5 minutes. Carefully flip the mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and slice thinly. Add the agave nectar to the wine sauce and let simmer until reduced by half. Spoon over the mushrooms.

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Categories : celebrations, featured

Happy ReNew Year!

By Leslie · Comments (0) · January 30th, 2016

For me, 2016 is going to be a year all about renew. The definition of renew is: to make (something) new, fresh, or strong again. To begin (something) again especially with more force or enthusiasm.

So this is me. I’m starting over again. Only a few people close to me know that the last 5 years have been pretty brutal. Not all brutal! There have been amazing times, huge leaps in my career, fun adventures around the world, and have cultivated some wonderful friendships. The brutal parts came in the form of a long divorce and a bad car accident. They were the two biggest challenges I’ve ever been through. I know I have come out a stronger person, but I would never wish either experience on anyone.

In 2016, I’m getting back to what brings me joy. I am happiest in the kitchen creating new recipes. I’m happiest on television, educating people on the benefits of treating your body to delicious healthy foods. I’m happiest throwing parties for wonderful people. I’m happiest connecting with people who are out there reading this and have been so supportive to me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter!

I kicked off this renew year with Alana and Heather, the fabulous strong women over at Clover PR. (all photos by Matthew Dean Photography)

We put together a little party at Cold and Thirsty for some favs in the social media world. It was so fun to bring everyone together! There was cryo-freezing, yummy cocktails, of course lots of vegan food, and fabulous networking!

Clover Cloth had their adorable line at the party and everyone got to go home with a piece! They plant a tree for every item sold!

My girl Taryn Southern picked out the perfect tee for her!

Of course I did a ton of vegan food! Recipes coming soon

Chickpea salad stuffed mini peppers:

Mediterranean antipasti skewers:

Eggless mushroom & leek quiche and my spinach artichoke dip with coconut bacon:

Pineapple with chili lime salt:

John Salley jumped in the cryo machine to check it out for himself. He was a 7 foot popsicle when he came out, but thought it was really cool and could see the benefits.

Catching up with the lovely Tara Buck, actress and wine maker.

My girls Alana from Clover PR and super star Dawn McCoy from Beauty Frosting and Amanda Goodfried from The Body Book. (ps how cute is the back of my Della dress?)

Whitney Lauritsen from Eco Vegan Gal and Eva Bloomfield from Dirty Rotten Vegan and me sipping cocktails made from Renew juice and Le Grand Courtage bubbles!

Tina Tangalakis from Della LA. Like my dress? It’s Della! John Salley, Annabel Acton from Never Liked It Anyway and Alana from Clover PR

Such a fun party! I hope you have a wonderful 2016 and all your wishes come true!

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Categories : celebrations, featured

The Perfect Healthy Holiday Appetizer!

By Leslie · Comments (0) · December 15th, 2015

Indulge guilt free this Holiday season with my Avocado Stuffed Tomatoes! They are full of flavor and oh-so-good for you!

Comments (0)

Categories : celebrations, featured, Vegan

Green Festival Portland

By Leslie · Comments (2) · December 13th, 2015

I am so happy to be speaking in one of my favorite cities! Thank you for joining me at Green Festival Portland! Here are the recipes I made during my presentation. I hope you enjoy and come back to see me soon

Autumn Perfection Salad

1 1/2 lbs. baby kale

1 lb. brussels sprouts, finely grated or shredded

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds

1 avocado, diced

1 apple, diced

dressing:

1 shallot, minced

1/2 cup lemon juice, about 1 lemon

3 tbsp. dijon mustard

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Toss all the salad ingredients in a bowl. Whisk dressing ingredients together, pour over the salad and toss.

Spinach Artichoke Dip with Coconut Bacon

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

5 mushrooms, chopped

1 can of artichokes, drained and chopped

1 lb. spinach, wilted, strained and chopped

1 package silken tofu

1 cup cashews, soaked overnight and rinsed

1/2 cup vegenaise

juice of 1 lemon

2 tbsp. + plain almond milk

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

2 tbsp. smoked paprika

salt and pepper

coconut bacon:

3 cups unsweetened shaved coconut

3 tbsp. tamari or soy sauce

3 tbsp. liquid smoke

2 tbsp. dark maple syrup

In a large frying pan sauté the onion, garlic, and mushrooms on medium heat until the onions begin to soften. Add in the artichoke hearts and spinach. Stir and reduce heat to low.

In a blender, puree the tofu until smooth. Add in the soaked cashews, vegenaise, lemon juice, almond milk, nutritional yeast, paprika, salt and pepper. Puree until smooth. Add more almond milk if it’s too thick to blend.

Pour the cream sauce over the veggies in the frying pan and stir well. Pour into a dish and serve immediately topped with the coconut bacon or you can make this the day before and heat up in the oven. 20 minutes on 350 degrees. Top with bacon after you heat it up.

Coconut bacon:

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the tamari, liquid smoke and maple syrup together and toss in the coconut. Let sit 10 minutes. Spread over a foil lined cookie sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, toss and return to oven for another 5 minutes. Be very careful. These will go from perfectly golden to burt to a crisp very fast.

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Categories : celebrations, featured

Feather Free Thanksgiving

By Leslie · Comments (2) · November 24th, 2015

Photo by Jackie Sobon (Vegan Yack Attack)

It’s Thanksgiving week!! I LOVE to go home and spend Thanksgiving with my family, but I also love doing Friendsgiving! Do you do this too? It’s so fun to have more than one! I was so excited to be working with Dole Foods on Thanksgiving recipe content that I decided to make a whole night of it with the dishes I created for them as the stars! So here are my pics, Jackie Sobon’s pics (which are the gorgeous ones!!), and of course my recipes. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones and when you post your pics on social media use the hashtag #FeatherFreeThanksgiving to enter to win a personal holiday gift from me

The campaign I am doing with Dole is called #ChainOfCheer Here’s how it works:

Toast to the holidays with Dole and share a photo of your favorite cocktail + recipe and tag your post #ChainofCheer. Make a toast and tag the people you are thankful for this year. Then have them do the same. Get it? Like an old fashion chain letter The toast could be something you are thankful for, what you look forward to in 2016, or anything that will inspire. Ask your followers to “pay your toast forward” by making their own toast on their favorite social network with a photo, tag it with #ChainofCheer #Dole for a chance to win $100 Dole gift card. Cool right!?!?!

Speaking of cheering, here is the recipe for one of my favorite cocktails! A Pineapple Mojito with Cinnamon and Sugar! I made garnish sticks with the Dole Pineapple Chunks and froze them. That way your drink stays cold and cute!

Cinnamon & Sugar Pineapple Mojito

makes 2

10 mint leaves

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 lime, cut in half again

4 oz. white rum

2 oz. Dole Pineapple Juice

club soda

for spice rim:

1 tbsp. sugar

1/2 tbsp. cinnamon

mix the cinnamon and sugar together and pour onto a plate. On a separate plate place a couple tablespoons of water. Dip the rim of your glass in the water and then into the cinnamon and sugar.

Place the mint leaves and sugar in a cocktail shaker and muddle with a cocktail muddler or handle of a wooden spoon. Add rum, pineapple juice, lime juice and shake. Pour into 2 ice filled glasses with the spiced rim and top with club soda. Garnish with mint leaves and pineapple skewers. Enjoy!

Those are a great way to get your party started!

I decorated the table with all edibles. Why use flowers that you will throw away when there is so much beautiful Fall produce in season! I used squash, apples, pears, persimmons, oranges, and jelly jars with candles in them.

Photo by Jackie Sobon (Vegan Yack Attack)

Ok, let’s talk about the most important part: THE FOOD! I created a fun twist on a classic dish by making Autumn Fried Rice. Most of the prep for this dish can be done ahead of time and then put together quickly right before eating so it’s a perfect Thanksgiving idea.

Photo by Jackie Sobon (Vegan Yack Attack)

Autumn Fried Rice

Serves 6-8

1 acorn squash, halved and sliced

1 cauliflower head, broken into bite size pieces

1/2 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 8 oz. can Dole pineapple chunks

1 tbsp. soy sauce (or tamari)

2 cups cooked wild rice

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Arrange the acorn squash on a foil lined cooke sheet and spray both sides with some olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and roast in the oven about 15-20 minutes or until fork tender. (keep an eye on them, they go from tender to mush pretty fast) set aside to cool.

Using the same cookie sheet (why not?) arrange your cauliflower pieces and spray with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Roast in the 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until fork tender. Set aside to cool.

In a large wok or frying pan, heat a couple tablespoons of coconut oil on medium high heat. Add in the onion and sauté until they are soft. Add in the garlic, can of pineapple juice and niblets, 1 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari), cauliflower, and the cooked rice. Sauté a couple minutes until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice. Remove from the heat and stir in the pomegranate seeds, walnuts, and chopped parsley (saving a tbsp of each for garnish on top).

Arrange your acorn squash on a platter and pour fried rice in the middle. Top with a few more pomegranate seeds and chopped parsley. Serve warm.

For dessert, again I decided to put a twist on a classic and make a Pineapple Rum Upside down Bundt Cake! For those of your who follow me on periscope (if you don’t, get on it!) you got to see me create this recipe live for the first time!

Pineapple Rum Upside down Bundt Cake

For the cake:

2 1/2 cups sifted flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/4 cup sugar

4 ripe bananas, smashed

1/4 cup dark rum

1/2 cup pineapple juice from a 20 oz. can of Dole Pineapple Slices

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. butter substitute like Earth Balance

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

for the frosting:

1/4 cup dark rum

1/4 cup pineapple juice

8 tbsp. butter substitute like Earth Balance

1/2 cup sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Sift your dry ingredients into a bowl and set aside.

In medium bowl, using a hand mixer, mix sugar, bananas, rum, pineapple juice, vanilla and butter. In batches add the dry ingredients and fold into the wet.

Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray or coat with a thin layer of coconut oil.

Arrange the walnuts at the bottom of the pan. Cut your pineapple rings in half and arrange on the sides of the pan.

Pour your cake batter over the nuts and pineapple, slowly as to not disturb their placement.

Bake for 40 minute until you can pull a toothpick out dry.

While the cake is baking, make the frosting by melting all the ingredients together in a small pot. Bring to gentle simmer and reduce heat for 5 minutes. Let the cake sit about 2 minutes on the counter and then pour your frosting sauce over the cake. Cover with foil and let cool, 30+ minutes. When cool, using a plate, flip the cake over and remove the pan. Enjoy!!

You know it’s a good party when this is what your guests do when dinner is served:

Want to know what else I served? Here’s the rest of the menu:

Cranberry Chutney

Roasted Butternut Squash and Cranberry Soup (recipe coming tomorrow)

Spinach Mushroom Roll

There was a lot of instagraming happening! Make sure to follow these fabulous foodies for more fun:

Happy Happy Thanksgiving!! I can’t wait to see your pictures! Don’t forget to use #ChainOfCheer and #FeatherFreeThanksgiving so I can see your posts!!

xoxo!

Comments (2)

Categories : celebrations, featured, Thanksgiving, Vegan

Vegan Thanksgiving

By Leslie · Comments (2) · November 5th, 2015

I love my girl Carolyn over at Healthy Voyager and we teamed up to give you some twist on classic Thanksgiving dishes. Hope you enjoy! My recipe for Apple Cranberry Chutney is below Happy Thanksgiving!

Apple Cranberry Chutney

What you’ll need:

1/2 cup water

1 1/4 cup sugar

12 oz. fresh cranberries

2 granny smith apples, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/8 tsp. cloves

1/4 tsp. allspice

What you’ll do:

Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a sauce pot. Boil for 2-3 minutes or until sugar is fully dissolved. Add cranberries, apples, onion, raisins, brown sugar, vinegar, and spices. Mix well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer uncovered for 25-30 minutes or until super thick, stirring every few minutes. Chill and keep up to a week. (I actually prefer the taste after it’s sat a day or two)

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Categories : celebrations, featured

Green Festival Los Angeles

By Leslie · Comments (0) · September 23rd, 2015

This weekend is Green Festival Los Angeles and I would love for all of you to attend! Click that email button right over there —–> if you would like free tickets!

I’ve teamed up with my long-time friend and modern feng shui expert Dana Claudat from The Tao of Dana to create a really unique presentation merging our worlds called Creating Your Ultimate Wellness Kitchen. It’s a blend of recipes, simple feng shui, and DIY. Simple things that can make you feel better on the inside and out! Here are the recipes we’ll be making:

Tropical Antioxidant Smoothie

2 cups coconut water (or spring water)

1 heaping tbsp. chia seeds

1 1-inch piece of fresh turmeric, peeled (you can sub for 1/2 tsp. powdered turmeric)

1 1-inch pice of fresh ginger, peeled (you can sub for 1/2 tsp. powdered ginger)

juice of 1 lemon

1/2 avocado

a pinch of sea salt

1 apple

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves

2 bananas

1 cup of frozen pineapple

1 cup of frozen mango

Puree all ingredients in a high powered blender and enjoy!

Grow Again Summer Salad

serves 4-6

1 head of romaine lettuce

1/2 pineapple, diced

4 stalks of green onion, chopped

2 avocados, diced

1/2 cup pistachios, shelled

dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tsp. orange zest

1/4 cup orange juice

2 tbsp. lemon juice

2 tsp. whole grain mustard

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1 tbsp. poppy seeds

Toss the salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Place all the dressing ingredients in the blender except the poppy seeds. Blend well and add the seeds. Toss all together and serve.

Golden Milk

serves 4-6

4 cups coconut milk

1 2-3 inch piece of fresh turmeric

1 2-3 inch piece of fresh ginger

1 stick of cinnamon

a pinch of black pepper

optional:

1 cardamom pod

1 star anise pod

Bring all the ingredients to a simmer in a pot and reduce to low for 10 minutes. Strain and serve warm.

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Categories : celebrations, featured

A Very Veggie Birthday at Veggie Grill

By Leslie · Comments (1) · June 6th, 2015

Picture: The Sexy Vegan, Vegan Fat Kid, Actors Diet, ME!, Healthy Voyager, Never Liked It Anyway, Greg from Veggie Grill, Run Tania Run, Way of the Wong, Beauty Frosting, Eco Vegan Gal, Yvonne Deliciously Vegan

While I’m not the hugest fan of celebrating my birthday, when Veggie Grill calls and asks if they can throw you and your friends a party to taste the new summer menu, you don’t say no! I’m already a huge fan of the all-vegan fast casual restaurant that is taking Southern California by storm. I eat there on the regular and am thrilled with the new summer options! Let me walk you through the new menu items:

This is the new Mediterranean Toss with house “feta”. I like this salad a lot! It’s light and fresh and the tofu “feta” is really nice! Perfect for summer!

Next up is the Chargrilled Street Corn. You may remember this from last summer. I don’t think I stepped in a VG last summer without ordering this. It’s SO good!!!! If you only go to Veggie Grill to taste this one menu item it would be worth it! Perfection!

The Haricot Verts are the new veggie side for summer and they are super yummy! Perfectly blistered and tossed in tahini sauce, these beans are not your average side dish!

Veggie Grill reworked the previous Sonoran Bowl to bring you the Summer Sonoran Bowl! I actually prefer this one. They added that crazy delicious grilled corn. This dish is hearty, nutritious and perfect.

Finally, behold the menu item I was most excited about trying: the Grilled Quinoa + Veg Burger. Veggie Grill has some other burgers that are fine, but nothing crazy amazing to me. This burger is now going to be a staple in my ordering. The patty is a black bean base with quinoa, kale, and mushrooms. It’s topped with a piece of Chao Cheese (coconut based) and served with a side of my favorite fries in the universe. I’m very very excited about this burger. Here’s one more look:

SO good!

Lynn and I having a minor freak out moment over the new burger lol!

What’s a birthday without a little cake?? They served up a double decker signature carrot cake. So much fun and so much good food! What an excellent way to spend my birthday If you want to catch me this summer, just meet me at Veggie Grill!

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Categories : celebrations, featured

A Pretty in Pink Baby Shower

By Leslie · Comments (2) · February 20th, 2015

It’s not everyday my oldest friend (known her since I was 3!) has a baby, so of course it was my pleasure to co-throw this shower with her mom, my mom, and her sister. I only have nephews, so it was fun to plan a party for a little girl!

I decided to DIY the decorations and of course make all the food. Well, at least that was the plan. Most of you know I was in a little car accident a few weeks ago. I’m fine, but I definitely needed lots of help pulling all the food together for this party!

I love a luncheon for a shower. I think it’s nice and obviously I’m a big fan of food at all parties! It happened to be a gloriously sunny day in San Diego, so we decided to do lunch outside.

When people walked in, they were greeted by this table, with flowers from the local flower market, homemade pom pom’s (that will hang in the baby’s room after), pink and chevron bunting, glasses with pink paper straws, and hand stamped napkins with a “K” for baby Kennedy.

We filled the beverage dispensers with pink lemonade, and water with floating strawberries to keep with the theme and of course served pink champagne. For appetizers, I served my Italian Layer Dip with toasted baguette, Hearts of Palm Salad in a cup, and Hummus and Crudite in a cup. Side note: I just love anything in a cute bite size and these little shot glasses from Party City were just perfect for this.

For the place settings, I always like to use scrapbook paper as a placemat. I think it’s super cute, a great way to add a pop of color, and the guest of honor can repurpose them (as long as you have clean eaters) into her scrapbook of the party.

The little pink dresses are napkins folded and cut with a little bow hot glued on. For the favor, every place setting had a little baby food jar filled with pink candy, spray painted pink lid adorned with a flower, and finished with a little bow.

Lunch was a mix of rolled sandwiches and salads. We served Sandwich Roll-ups, Spinach Salad, Pesto Pasta Salad, Quinoa and Kale Salad, and Zucchini Carpaccio.

After lunch we went inside to open some presents and of course have dessert 😉 We made bunting for the mantle with clothesline and used clothes pins to secure the flags spelling out the baby’s name. Scattered through the house we also had framed copies of cute girly books.

I repurposed the appetizer table into the dessert table while everyone was outside. We served Lemon Cake, Individual Strawberry Poundcake Parfaits, and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting.

I saw this on Pinterest the other day and just loved it, if I had found it before the party, I probably would have framed it to have on the dessert table:

Here’s me with the mothers to be! My oldest friend Jennifer, her pregnant sister Jackie, and my pregnant sister-in-law Kelly! How incredible do they all look?!

And of course we had to take a “PQ” photo. PQ is the nickname of the town I grew up in and we lived on a very special street where a lot of the families were very close. We did everything together! It was such a fun way to grow up! Here’s me with my mom, my friends and their moms.

I just love throwing showers! If you feel like you need help with any party planning, I’m always available for consulting, throwing, and skype calls to guide you through your party

Comments (2)

Categories : celebrations, featured, Party Ideas, Party Ideas: Baby Showers

Plants Rule on Superbowl Sunday!

By Leslie · Comments (1) · January 25th, 2015

It’s still January, so why destroy your new years resolutions with buffalo wings and burgers?? Here are my top 5 favorite Superbowl recipes that everyone will looooooove!

1. Don’t Have a Cow Earthburger Sliders

2. Notcha Momma’s Nachos

3. Rotel-Smotel Cahew Queso Dip

4. Mexican Wonton Poppers

5. Guacummus or Avocado Cilantro Hummus

I hope you enjoy!!

Comments (1)

Categories : celebrations, featured, Party Ideas: Game Day, Vegan

Archive for celebrations

Vegan Steakhouse Dinner

Leslie’s Vegan Steakhouse Dinner

Twice Baked Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

Roasted Garlic and Sautéed Rainbow Chard

Wine Poached Portobello Mushrooms with a Cabernet Reduction Sauce

Happy ReNew Year!

The Perfect Healthy Holiday Appetizer!

Green Festival Portland

Autumn Perfection Salad

Spinach Artichoke Dip with Coconut Bacon

Feather Free Thanksgiving

Cinnamon & Sugar Pineapple Mojito

Autumn Fried Rice

Pineapple Rum Upside down Bundt Cake

Vegan Thanksgiving

Green Festival Los Angeles

Tropical Antioxidant Smoothie

Grow Again Summer Salad

Golden Milk

A Very Veggie Birthday at Veggie Grill

A Pretty in Pink Baby Shower

Plants Rule on Superbowl Sunday!

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