(Vegan) Munchie Monday: Sweet Potato Orzo!

Holy heck, I haven't shown any signs of life on here in a while but trust me my dears I have been livin'! Work has consumed my life but it's wonderful so I don't mind it 95% of the time. I hope you all are well and take a looksy at the deliciousness that I cooked up! #ILoveFood

Ingredients:

1/2 lb of pasta (gluten free)

2 cups of cubed sweet potatoes

1/2 cup of onions

1/3 cup of green onions

1/3 cup of peanuts

2 tbsp of evoo

pinch of salt

pinch of pepper

1/2 cup of arugula

pinch of lemon juice 

Directions:

1. Boil the pasta until tender in a saucepan.

2. Cut up the sweet potatoes into 2 inch cubes, dice the onions, and chop the green onions.

3. Set a pan to medium heat, add in the evoo, then pour in all of the cut up ingredients until the sweet potato is thoroughly cooked (cut through it with a knife and if it goes through easily then you're good to go!)

4. Drain the pasta and add it into the saucepan with the cooked ingredients. Stir around for about a minute so the pasta can gather some of the flavors.

5. Roast the peanuts for about 2 minutes in another pan. 

6. Add in the nuts and the seasonings (lemon juice, salt, and pepper) and mix around for about 2 minutes on the lowest heat setting. 

7. Wash the arugula, then place it on the plate, lastly add on the pasta, ta da you're done!

A 26th Birthday Picnic

This past weekend my friends and I celebrated my 26th birthday with a lovely picnic at Brooklyn Bridge Park. All the food we prepared was vegan-gluten free- dairy free and it was a success! We all had such a great time and it was great to just spend some genuine time chatting with friends and playing games. Here are the pictures from the day below. :) #Happy

Started off the morning with a SoulCycle sesh, yes I'm obsessed, what else is new?

Then played a lot of bad mitten at the park.

On the menu: curry cous cous, avocado and cucumber sandwiches, chocolate cake, fruits, and veggies.

Juna-Willa and her fiance Dean looking as adorable as ever!

The girls taking in the view or me just being an obsessive picture taker ;)

"I don't think you should ever take life so seriously that you forget to play." - Taylor Swift

I love being a girl.

I love these girls.

A windy day calls for make-shift wind blockers to light my candles.

Love.

Loving my sparkler heart candles!

Our evening view, so dreamy.

(Vegan) Munchie Monday: Mexican Tofu Tacos

Hola mis amigos. I hope you all had a lovely weekend. I had the most wonderful time having dinner with a friend at Blossom, a great vegan restaurant in the West Village. I met a oh so fab waiter and we're going on a friend date soon! Lo-ve! Well speaking of vegan food, I made Gwyneth's fish taco recipe and of course veganified it. This is seriously one of my favorites to make especially because all of the toppings are made from scratch. And lets face it we all need to get in touch with our inner Mexican, hardy har har. ;P Enjoy!

*Ingredients:

half a block of organic firm tofu
1/2 cup (gluten free) multipurpose flour
3 tbsp of coconut oil
1/2 cup spinach
3 tbsp lime juice
sea salt to season
pepper to season
1 whole organic tomato
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup veganaise
2 ripe avocados
1 bag of tortillas (brown rice ones- for you corn allergy peeps, i.e. me.)
1/4 cup cilantro

*Directions:

1. Sift flour into a bowl, cut tofu lengthwise 5x and width-wise once, put tofu into flour bowl and cover completely.

2. Pour coconut oil into a small pan and place tofu into pan until cooked on both sides (fry for about 2 min on each side)

3. Wash and chop cilantro (only half), tomato, onion (only half), mix together in a bowl, and pour in 1 tbsp of lime juice. Set aside.

4. Cut up avocados, put into bowl. Chop up the other half of the onion, cilantro, and mix together. Pour in 1 tbsp. Set aside.

5. Into a small bowl, pour veganaise, mix in lime juice, and a dash of pepper.

6. Chop up spinach, put in a bowl, pour in 1 tbsp of lime juice. Set aside.

7. Lastly warm up tortillas for about 1 minute in a microwave or warm up in a pan on the stove. Once warm, transfer to a plate, add on two pieces of cooked tofu and desired toppings and enjoy this entire meal made from scratch! #Twerk

(Vegan) Munchie Monday: Save the Tuna Sandwich

Image Via

Growing up my Ma's go-to easy lunch was tuna on- anything! Tuna on a tostada, tuna on bread, tuna mixed with corn. Well being vegan I missed my chicken of the sea eating days. Fortunately Kriss Carr had a great recipe for a vegan "tuna" sandwich that I just had to try and let me just tell you, it's delish and super easy! Check it out below! :)

Ingredients:

1 cup raw almonds, soaked for a few hours or overnight in water
1⁄3 cup minced celery
¼ cup minced red onion
1⁄3 cup pickles, diced (Bubbies Pickles are best)
2 tablespoons minced dill
1 tablespoon minced oregano
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon agave
½ teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Dijon mustard
4 pieces of (gluten-free) whole-grain rye bread, toasted 
vine-ripened tomato, sliced
A handful of spinach

Directions:

1. Blend the soaked almonds and sunflower seeds in a food processor until finely minced (the finer the better). Transfer into a bowl.

2. Add in the celery, onion, pickles, herbs, lemon juice, agave, salt, and pepper to nut/seed mixture and blend thoroughly. Set aside.

3. Spread Dijon mustard on bread. Add spinach and tomato.

4. Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, scoop a generous helping of “tuna” on each slice of bread.

5. Finish with more black pepper, lettuce, and tomato.

(Vegan)Munchie Monday: Homemade Pizza!

Ciao! This past weekend I was having a lot of nostalgia for my time in Roma last summer so I decided to make a pizza from scratch! It's actually a lot easier than it might sound so roll up your sleeves and tap into your inner Italiano! Arrivederci. :)

Ingredients:

3.5 cups of (gluten free) flour
1.5 cups of water
1 tsp of sugar
1 packet of active dry yeast
1 tbsp of sea salt
1 can of pizza sauce
2 tbsp of minced garlic
1 cup of chopped mushrooms
handful of basil
3 tbsp of olive oil
2 cups of (vegan) mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees
2. In a large bowl mix all of the dry ingredients
3. After ingredients are mixed, slowly add in water and continue to mix with whisk.
4. Ball up dough into a round ball, add some olive oil to help it move together easily and let it sit for 1 hour.
5. Sprinkle a generous amount of flour on a hard surface and roll out dough with rolling pin, then sprinkle olive oil to baking sheet.
6. Place rolled out dough on baking sheet, sprinkle olive oil on dough, spread pizza sauce, cheese and toppings.
7. Bake for 12-15min max, let sit for 10 minutes, and enjoy...preferably with a glass of wine of course!

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* The Best Pizza Places in NYC.
* Wine and Pizza pairings guide.

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Some of my favorite pictures from my time living in Rome.

On my 25th Birthday at Piazza Navona

Crashing a beautiful wedding by the Palatino

Moseying around the Colosseum

Trying on and obsessing over this coat at an Italian boutique #Bananas

Via Cavor, I took this picture with my iphone! Amaze right??

Moseying around the catacombs