The Smoothie Vegetarians

Hi All, How everyone is doing well this fine Monday morning? Right now it is about 7 PM Sunday night and there is no snow in sight but it is freezing out! On a cold day there is nothing I enjoy more than cooking. I wanted to focus my discussion today on a couple of inexpensive, easy dishes that will feed at least two people for two meals. The main ingredient for these two dishes is a single eggplant. For the first dish  after I peeled the eggplant ( you don't really have to but I prefer it without the skin) I sliced it into 3/4 of inch rounds. I picked out 4 of the slices that were roughly the same size. At this point I realized that I did not have any BBQ sauce at home to marinade them. So I had to whip some up.  As you all may have realized I am a firm believer in using what you have at home so I mixed some siracha, ketchup,molasses soy sauce, maple syrup and a bit of brown sugar and created my own. Again if you don't have these ingredients on hand yo...

Asian inspired Spring Roll -recipe below This morning I woke up and it was raining. For some people this could either make or break their day. It all depends on how you choose to look at it. Just think about it, if it happened to rain on your wedding day, would that be the worst thing that could possibly happen? You might even think it was a sign signifying that the marriage was bad luck from the start. However, in some cultures, rain on your wedding day is considered good luck and even symbolizes fertility and cleansing. Anyone can find something wrong in the best situation if you try hard enough.  Did you ever meet someone that you know is struggling and their life is absolutely falling apart yet they always seem to be happy? This is someone is actively chooses to be happy. Then there is the person who lives in a beautiful home, has everything they could possibly want and is miserable all the time. Now granted, there are two extreme situations and many of us fall so...

Hope everyone had a great holiday! If any one saw this picture on my Instagram last week and wondered what it was, as promised here is the recipe. Mediterranean Pasta 1 box of your favorite pasta ( I used Ditalini ) 1 bunch of  broccoli rabe 1/2 lb of sun dried tomatoes Yellow and Red roasted peppers ( made them myself but you can used jarred roasted peppers if you have them on hand ) 1 can of black olives I washed and trimmed the broccoli rabe with scissors. I used to hate this vegetable because of its stringy nature and tough stems. For this recipe I cut it into small pieces and did not use the thicker tougher stems. As a side note, you can save the pieces you do not use and add to other leftover veggies to make a stock. I then steamed them in water until they were tendered and drained and put them to the side. I cut up the sun dried tomatoes into pieces, sliced the olives lengthwise and cut the roasted peppers while the pasta was cooking. Once the pa...

            Honestly, who doesn’t love a great brunch with friends? Having a brunch event at home can be a better way to save money and feel cozier than going out. I’ve thrown together some great brunch recipes and ideas so you can host your own brunch and invite your friends over to enjoy! These recipes are all delicious so you can show your friends how tasty vegan food is. As always, feel free to modify anything to make it specific to your taste buds and get creative. Jelly Rolls 1 package of crescent rolls (Most are vegan, I used Pillsbury) 16 Tablespoons of Jam (2 tbs for each roll, I used Crofters) Optional: vegan butter First, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Then unroll the dough and separate into 8 triangles or as instructed by your roll’s directions. Spread in approximately 2 tablespoons of jam into the center of each triangle. Roll up the dough into crescent rolls. Place them on ungreased cookie sheet a...

Hope everyone had a great week! Do you get tired of hearing "What's for dinner?" and then getting the response "Not that again!"  Are these common phrases in your house? I may have a solution for you! This week's creation! Sometimes I feel like I am a contestant on the Food Network Show "Chopped". I used to have random ingredients and struggled to come up with a meal. Over the years I have gotten pretty good at this and at this point enjoy challenging myself to come up with quick, easy and inventive meal that tastes good. I am not one for planning meals in advance so a lot of times I make up things as I go. I often incorporate leftovers into new creations. Todays recipe is simple but made a delicious meal. The idea originated last night when I walking around Chelsea Market in lower Manhattan. Chelsea Market is full of history and was the original home of the National Biscuit Company also known as the Nabisco Factory. It is now...

            When my friend Madison cooked me this mac and cheese for the first time, I was shocked at how delicious it tasted. It reminded me of that Velveeta mac and cheese because its so rich and creamy. She made it again for a pot luck we went to and EVERYONE (even the non-vegans) at the event was raving about it and saying it was the best mac and cheese they have had. I wanted to make it for my mom, aka the biggest cheese lover I know, and see if even she would like it. I asked Madison for the recipe, she sent it to me, and I was shocked! It was basically the easiest recipe I have ever seen. I would not even call it a “recipe”, just throwing some things in a pot. Long story short, I made it in like 15 minutes and even my mom loved it. So, I thought I should share it with everyone!             I know Daiya vegan cheese gets a bad reputation in the vegan community,...

"keto" friendly eggplant serving suggestion I was hanging out with a friend the other night and she looked absolutely fantastic, I had to ask what she was doing and she told me that she was following the keto diet. Now just to let everyone know up front, she is not vegan or a vegetarian, I immediately thought of having to eat lots of heavy, fatty foods. When most people (including me) think of the keto diet, since it is high fat, they automatically think of  cheeses, meats, cold cuts and alike, but ladies and gentleman don't be fooled, the keto diet can work for everyone whether you eat meat or not. First off, I am not condoning or endorsing this diet but wanted to share some of the information that I found interesting. This particular diet turns your body into a fat burning machine, carbs are limited and  about 70-80% of your food intake is made of healthy fats. Very simply, here is how it works, the human body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose, whi...