Hi Guys! Exciting news! I’ve been nominated for a Homies Award! They highlight the best food and home websites out there. If you like this site and what I do, I would love if you could take a second to vote! There is a login, but you can do it with an email or your facebook or twitter! Here is the link: The Homies Awards
Thank you so much!!
xoxo
Leslie
PS my awesome design friend The Tao of Dana has been nominated too!
Even though my Chargers are not in the Superbowl, I’m still going to enjoy the day cooking and sharing 
Here are some of my favorite recipes to serve for the big game!
Caramelized Onion, Spinach, Avocado Dip
Hope you have a fun day and your team wins!!
Merry almost Christmas! Hopefully, you’ve got all your holiday shopping done and now we can focus on the food! Whether you are hosting or you are brining a dish to your Holiday gathering, here is a roundup of recipes that will be sure hits!
1. Apple Cranberry Chutney! This dish will make your house smell like Holiday Heaven!
2. Avocado Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes! My Grandma used to make these and don’t they just look like little adorable ornaments??
3. Gigante Bean Salad! Easy, light, and a perfect antipasti.
4. Chi-Chi Bean Toasts! A yummy
5. Italian Layer Dip! This is a HUGE hit every time I make it! And it’s super festive looking 
6. Zucchini Carpaccio! This raw crudo dish is packed with flavor!
7. Aunt Rose’s Caponata! This is my Great Aunt Rose’s traditional caponata recipe
8. Marinated Mushrooms & Artichokes! This is a great make ahead dish! The longer it sits, the better it tastes!
9. Antipasti Wreath Centerpiece! Did you catch me making this on Home & Family?
xoxo
Thanksgiving is next week! Holy carrots!! Where did the Summer go?? Here is the menu that I’m planning on for Thanksgiving. Whether you are throwing an all vegan dinner or you just need some ideas for side dishes, I hope you find some inspiration For even more Thanksgiving recipe ideas, check out my Pinterest board! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and remember to love and appreciate everyone this year! And if you are interested in adopting a Turkey this year, head over to Farm Sanctuary’s website!
xoxo
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
Holy cow! I’ve been chosen by Angeleno Magazine, Verizon, and Blackberry as a game-changer This is a super cool honor, but even cooler because I get to win money for one of my favorite charities: The Humane Society of The United States! Now, this does require a little bit of your help! I need you to vote from each of your devices everyday! And if we all do it I really think I could win the $10,000 for the animals!
Here’s the link: http://gamechangers.modernluxury.com/los-angeles/
Please help spread the word!! Sending giant virtual hugs!
xoxo
Leslie
PS if you’d like to be placed on a list for a daily reminder to vote during the contest, email me at veggiedreamgirl@gmail.com Thanks!
You may have noticed Fresh Brothers Pizza popping up all over Los Angeles. But, as with most other pizza places, I didn’t notice too much because I assumed it was just another pizza place. Oh was I mistaken! I was invited to a pizza party there by the lovely Whitney Lauritsen, also known as Eco Vegan Gal (if you’ve been living under a rock and don’t follow her, do it now!) So I grabbed my favorite gluten-free, veggie-eater Fiona Gubelmann and with empty bellies we made our way to one of the newer Fresh Brothers locations in Hollywood. (Right around the corner from Upright Citizens Brigade, not only am I an alum, but one of my fav places for a comedy show!)
Fresh Brothers tantalized our tastebuds with an array of thin crust, gluten-free, and deep dish pizzas (all vegan of course!) They top their vegan pizzas with Daiya Cheese. Which typically I don’t like (you all know I’m not a fan of the processed foods) but I have to say it wasn’t too bad! I think when I go back I’ll order it “light on the cheese”. But man, I’m still dreaming of that deep dish crust! Two big thumbs up from this gal!
Fresh Brothers is a welcomed delight to the list of vegan and gluten free places in Los Angeles! If you are having a pizza party, don’t forget to invite me!
Happy 4th of July!! I hope you have a wonderful day and weekend! I’m out in Long Island with my (huge) family! It’s a tradition to come out here every 4th and enjoy the beach, food, and company Check out this vid for making my veggie burgers and stay tuned because I’m about to release my (1st!) veggie burger ebook!
And don’t forget to serve my famous Red White and Blue Potato Salad!
xoxo!!
This past weekend I got to go to a super cool event with one of my dearest friends, actress, Fiona Gubelmann. We are both big time animal lovers and we were delighted to go to Veg Appetit, a fundraiser for The Humane Society. The event was hosted by Emily Deschanel and Kathy Freston as the Event Chair. There was food featured from Tal Ronnen and Yves Fournier. Everything was delish! I really enjoyed finding a new brand of nut cheese called Treeline (look for it at Erewhon if you are in LA) and of course I had a huge helping of Kind Kreme, my favorite raw vegan ice cream!
The Humane Society does so much great work and I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be working with them a lot more! Specifically with their Meatless Monday campaign Stay tuned!
xoxo
L
Summer is here! If you are like me, you love grilling veggies! Here are some popular ways of grilling them and the benefits of each.
- Baskets are great when you want to keep the char off your veggies, but still want to get that smoky flavor. It’s great for smaller veggies that may fall through the slats on the grill. You also don’t have to worry as much about them sticking. Great basket veggies include: mushrooms, squash, onions, peppers, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and cubed eggplant.
When choosing a basket I recommend one without a long handle. You might not be able to close the lid on your grill. Go for one like this one made by Charcoal Companion
- Skewers are also a great way to grill your veggies! I love using these when I am marinating small veggie pieces. Again, skewers like baskets will keep your veggies from falling through the slates, but skewers will allow you to get that char and grill marks on your veggies. Great skewer veggies include: mushrooms, tomatoes, squash, onions, eggplant, brussel sprouts, and even fruit.
There are a bunch of skewers out there on the market. I like metal stick ones like these by Charcoal Companion these Fire Wire skewers like this that let you place your skewers and whatever shape you need to on the grill.
-Straight on the grill is good for your larger vegetables. Sometimes all you need is a grill and a vegetable… I recommend vegetables like portobello mushrooms, corn, eggplant, onions, cabbage, asparagus, brocolini, artichokes, and squash to be cooked like this. You can always cut the veggies into smaller strips after you’ve grilled them in larger pieces.
Happy Grilling!
PS What’s your favorite way of grilling?
