I feel like the best way to recover from a holiday weekend is to indulge in a fabulous breakfast!  I’ve got this basket of peaches that I picked up this weekend just staring at me… I think my eyes were bigger than my stomach when I bought them at the farmers market.  They are so delicious, so the pressure is on to make incredible things with them.  When my husband asked if we could have pancakes this morning, I said, “ok, as long and we can put peaches in them!”  Who knew they would turn out so fantastic!  I switched up my “normal” pancake recipe by making them whole wheat and vegan, which you don’t have too, but they are a little healthier and still taste light, fluffy, and yummy.  I hope these will help you recover from the long weekend!

Whole Wheat Peach Pancakes

Makes 8 large pancakes

What you’ll need:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (you can use white if that’s all you have)

3 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt (kosher salt if you have it)

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1 cup soy milk (or regular)

1 large ripe banana smashed (or 1 egg)

3 tbsp. Earth Balance butter, melted (or regular butter)

2 tsp. vanilla Extract

2 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

dash of nutmeg

1-2 peaches

What you’ll do:

Sift together the flour and baking soda and gently mix with the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a big bowl.  Make a well in the center of the flour mix.  Add in the soy milk, banana, melted butter, and vanilla.  Mix.  The batter should be slightly lumpy.  If it’s still too thick, add a little water.  In a heated pan, sprayed with cooking spray and drop large dollops of batter in the pan.  Arrange your sliced peaches on the pancake.  Cook on 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.  Enjoy with fresh maple syrup.

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The perfect Valentine’s Day dinner for me always includes cooking in!  Who wants to deal with the crowds and getting pushed though a restaurant that is charging double for a tasting menu?  Cooking for someone shows them how much you love them.  So surprise the one you love tonight with a candlelit dinner for two!

Eggplant Wrapped Quinoa

Serves 4

What you’ll need:

1 large eggplant, ends cut off and sliced thin lengthwise

1 cup quinoa, cooked according to directions on package

a handful of spinach, chopped

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/8 cup raisins

8-10 basil leaves

tomato sauce (your recipe or mine)

What you’ll do:

Grill or broil the eggplant with some salt and olive oil until browned and soft.  Set aside.  Cook the quinoa according to the package.  When done, stir in the raisins, nuts, and spinach.  Heat up your tomato sauce on the stove.

On a clean workspace, lay out a slice of eggplant.  Place a basil leaf in the middle of it and dollop a spoonful of quinoa on it.  Carefully roll the eggplant up and place either on a plate with the tomato sauce on it (like in the picture) or in a 9X9 baking dish with some tomato sauce at the bottom.  Continue until you’ve rolled all your eggplant.  Serve immediately or you can refrigerate the baking dish full and reheat them in the oven.  You could also top them with cheese if you are into it

Enjoy!

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Take a look though the pictures and I hope you enjoy!

The Location: Downtown Los Angeles on this gorgeous terrace.

Guest List: 35 close friends and family

Activities: There was swimming, handmade pinwheels, an artist doing characachers, and a balloon artist as well.

Some of the adults getting in on the mask fun:

The Drinks: Sticking to the vintage theme, there was Mexican coke, orange soda, and sparkling water.

Oh yeah, and of course there was food too

Menu: popcorn:

We also served nutella and banana sandwiches and peanut butter and jelly.  Of course there were a few desserts as well

The dessert table was covered with brown butcher paper and decorated with felt ric-rac trim.  Here are a few dessert details:

These are yellow cupcakes with cream cheese frosting which I dyed.  I was going for pink, but ended up with a more purple shade…

Here are chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting, drizzled with chocolate and sprinkled with peanuts.

Chocolate dipped pretzels:

Tania and Liat getting a little help blowing out the candle:

For even more details, check out Tania’s site!

Happy Valentines Day!  What better way to celebrate the day than with gourmet chocolates!?  I have to tell you, I’m very picky when it comes to chocolates!  I came across these Ococoa chocolates the other day when I was at Unique LA (if you have never been to one of their events you must check it out!!)

What caught my eye was how beautiful they were!  I sheepishly asked if they were vegan, knowing that they were probably not… Much to my surprise they are!  The owner of Ococoa Diana explained to me that she never set out to make a box of vegan chocolates, but they just happened to turn out that way!  These chocolates are sooooo good!!  My personal favorites include the ‘sesame fig’, ‘peanut butter’, and ‘cashew apricot’.  Ococoa was just named “Best Chocolate in America” by Bon Appetit Magazine!

Now Ococoa has generously agreed to giveaway box of chocolates to one of my readers!!  All you have to do to enter is to follow me on facebook and or twitter and follow Ococoa on facebook or twitter AND leave a comment below saying which you do  A winner will be picked on Valentines Day! (February 14th!)  The contest is open to people in the US only, sorry!  The box you will receive is pictured below (it contains one piece that has honey in it, but they will gladly sub it out if you don’t eat honey )

Good Luck!!  And Happy Valentines Day!!

xoxo!

THE SHABBY APPLE WINNER IS BLAIR! I’LL BE SENDING YOU AN EMAIL SHORTLY. CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR ENTERING!

This is the official “Welcome to the New Website” launch day and to celebrate I have a fabulous giveaway to offer you!!  Just in time for Valentine’s Day is this gorgeous ‘Spanish Steps’ dress from Shabby Apple.  If you don’t know their clothes, you will now!  They make beautiful sustainable clothing with super chic style.  I’m absolutely obsessed with their new ‘Mad Hatter’ line!

So all you have to to enter is 2 simple things: 1. Like Shabby Apple on Facebook and 2. Like my page on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.  And if you already do these things, don’t sweat, you are still in!  Just leave a comment below and let me know what you do

Bonus entries include following Shabby Apple on Twitter, following their blog, or following my blog.  Or tweeting, facebooking or blogging about this giveaway.  :)

The winner will be announced Monday February 13th.  The dress is available in any size you like.  This contest is limited to people in the US only (sorry!!)  So enjoy and spread the word!

xoxo!

It was a dark and stormy day yesterday in Los Angeles and it was perfect for making a big pot of soup!  I hadn’t made tortilla soup in ages and had a sudden craving, so voila, tortilla soup for all  The bright flavors in this soup are sure to warm anyone in chilly weather!  This recipe is a result of a lot of trial and error and is super easy to adjust.  To make this a meaty version add in some shredded roasted chicken at the end.

Tortilla Soup

Serves 6

What you’ll need:

1 medium onion, halved and sliced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 jalapeno, diced (I take the seeds and ribs out of mine)

1 tbsp. cumin

1 28oz. can of diced tomatoes

4 cups water (more if necessary)

2 vegetable bouillon cubes

1 tsp. chili powder

1 ear of corn, kernels removed

1 14oz. can of black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 lime, juiced

salt and pepper to taste

Garnish:

diced avocado

green onions, chopped

tortilla chips, crushed or tortillas, sliced and baked to crisps

What you’ll do:

In a large stock pot on medium heat, saute the onions, garlic, jalapeno, and cumin in a little olive oil.  When the onions are soft, add in the tomatoes, water, bouillon cubes, and chili powder.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer.  Let simmer for about 10 minutes.  Add in the corn and beans and let simmer again for about 5 minutes.  Add in the lime juice and season to taste.  Serve warm with the garnishes of your choice.

Enjoy!

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I do wish there was more of a restaurant to Cruzer Pizza.  I’d love if it had more of a real pizzeria feel, but with the few bar stools facing the wall, the place is really a take out and delivery restaurant.  If you are in Los Angeles, definitely make the trip over, you won’t be disappointed!  I can’t wait to go back and try more like the Falafel Mediterranean pizza and the Ratatouille pizza!

Cruzer Pizza

4449 Prospect Ave.
Los Angeles, CA
Phone:323-666-0600

With the Superbowl this weekend, I got thinking about my favorite things to eat during the game (of course!).  Judging by the answers I got on Facebook, looks like we are on the same page, Mexican food and beer! lol!  A taco bar is one of the easiest and most pleasing things to serve.  Most of the prep can be done ahead of time so you can also enjoy watching the game  So here are my favorite things to include in a taco bar:

Ultimate Taco Bar

taco shells or tortillas

lettuce (I like using romaine, but you could do iceberg or a blend)

tomatoes, diced

olives, sliced

green onions, sliced

jalapenos, chopped (I find it’s always best to leave the bulk of the food mild in spice and let people kick it up if they prefer to)

beans (I like black beans, but you could do pinto whole or refried)

onions and peppers (I always have to have sauteed onions and peppers with some chili powder… soooo good!)

taco faux meat (yes, that’s faux meat in the picture!  It’s Litelife’s Smart Ground Mexican crumbles, which is actually pretty tasty…)

salsa

and last but not least!:

guacamole (to know me is to know that I would put guacamole on everything in my life if I could…)

cheese (of course optional, you could do real or faux)

What else do you like serving with your tacos??

Even though it’s a delightful 75 degrees in California, I just got back from two weeks in the frozen New York City (yes, that has been why my posts have been sparse!)  and I was in need of a good stick to your bones, comfy, cozy winter soup!  This concoction of most of what was in my refrigerator turned out fabulous and is definitely going in the go-to recipe pile!  ps yes those are carrots in the soup, they are heirloom purple, orange, and white carrots I got from the farmers market

Comfy, Cozy Lentil Soup

Serves 8

What you’ll need:

1 medium onion, diced

3-6 small to medium carrots, sliced

2 small (or 1 big) leeks, sliced (light part only)

32 oz. vegetable broth

2 cups water (plus some if needed)

4 oz. lentils, rinsed

1/4 tsp. oregano

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced and halved

5 cloves of garlic, chopped

14 oz. white beans

2 cups of fresh spinach, sliced

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

What you’ll do:

In a large pot, saute the onions, carrots, and leeks in a few tablespoons of olive oil until the onion is just soft (about 2 minutes) on medium heat.  Add in the vegetable broth and 2 cups of water.  Add the lentils and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and add in the oregano, mushrooms, and garlic.  Let cook covered for about 15 minutes.  When the lentils are soft, add in the beans, spinach, and parsley.  Stir to wilt and season with salt and pepper.  Serve warm and enjoy!

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I was invited to a dinner party the other night and offered to bring a dish.  Knowing I would be the only veggie, I wanted to bring something substantial for me and tasty and inviting for everyone else.  The host of the evening said she would be making salmon for the main course.  I immediately thought to make something lemony and quinoa is always a good idea for a dinner party.  Turns out this dish was a huge hit!  Success!: all the fish eating folks thought it paired perfect with their dinners.  And doesn’t it look pretty on the new plate my sister got me for Christmas?  Love these Lisa!

Zucchini and Lemon Quinoa

Serves 6

What you’ll need:

2 cups quinoa

3 zucchini, shredded

1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/4 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped

the zest of 1 lemon

3 cloves garlic, chopped

What you’ll do:

In a medium pot, prepare the quinoa according to the directions on the package.  When it’s about 3/4 of the way done cooking, add in the chopped garlic and continue cooking.  When the quinoa is done, keep it in the pot and toss in all the other ingredients and gently mix.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!