A Weekend in Carlsbad

I just spent a FANTASTIC weekend at home visiting my family and my boyfriend's family.

One of the highlights was a visit to The Greenery Raw Food Cafe in Encinitas with my mom and my brother.

For lunch everything is pre-made and in a refridgerator. Everything we ate tasted like it was made moments before, it must be prepared fresh every morning.

They also served shots of E3 Live, sunflower sprouts, and several bagged goodies to go such as sesame sticks and...

Kale chips! Oh my goodness... these were so good. They're covered in a nut cheese that is out of this f-ing world, the next time I'm in town I'll be buying a bag... or three.

My mom and I decided to try the Zucchini Cannellonis, filled with a nut/seed pate. They were creamy and rich, I loved the dipping sauce. I should have taken better notes as we were eating but as you may be able to tell from the pictures, we didn't even wait to leave the car before devouring the yumminess!

We also tried the Cream Cheese Sandwich. The bread was made partially from sweet potato and so it was sweet and soft. I've been to a few raw vegan restaurants here in Los Angeles and the bread I've eaten has been consistently tough and chewy. I even told my mom before she began eating that it may be hard to bite through-but not this bread folks! This sandwith is not too dense, flavorful and refreshing. This was both me and my mom's favorite.

Thumbs up for the Cream Cheese Sandwich!

Our last selection was the Pizza

The crust was just as soft and yummy as the sandwich and the toppings were perfect, no one flavor overpowered the rest. It was sweet, spicy, salty, tangy, and nutty in every bite.

I really can't wait to go back for dinner, just thinking about it is making me hungry!

That night my mom made ratatouille for dinner, a great all veggie dish. I love that my family has a passion for cooking. My mom is a vegetarian, she and my stepdad have a veggie garden and go to the farmer's market every week. I can always find a vegan treat and fresh produce while I'm there. I'm actually very lucky, my boyfriend's dad is also a vegetarian and his family purchases only natural foods-only Food Made of Food! It's nice both to have eating options wherever I am but also not to have to explain my eating choices.

The last night we were there my boyfriend, his sister, her boyfriend, and I went to visit my brother for dinner. We decided to do what we do when we go camping: fill foil up with veggies, tofu, meat (if you eat it), dressing, and seasonings then wrap it up and let it sit on the grill for 20-25 minutes. I did eggplant, mushrooms, summer squash, zucchini, garlic, onions, tomatoes, organic tofu, Annie's Shiitake & Sesame Vinegarette, some salsa verde, pepper, and garlic powder. My brother's room mate Lauren gave us some vegan potato salad, I have to get the recipe from her, it was simple and tasty. There's something so perfect about the foil on the flame method, all the flavors combine perfectly and the veggies retain their color and crunch. This is an example of the way I think all meals should be: flavorful, delicious, satisfying, and mostly veggies!

Here is my brother Kelly, Sarah, and her boyfriend Andrew enjoying the feast :)

I also had a wonderful conversation with Kelly's room mate Lauren about children, parenting, food, politics, alternative medicine, etc. etc. It's so nice to find like minded people who are just as passionate about the things you are. It was a fulfilling weekend for both body and mind.

Cheese Craving

I have to get this recipe down before I forget it. I've been watching a lot of the food network lately, and after and episode of Giada's Italian Kitchen, I started craving something creamy and cheesy. The result was this indulgence:

Rice, 'Cheese', and Veggie Pocket

3/4 cup uncooked jasmine rice

1/2 cup small broccoli florets

1 small zucchini, chopped

3 tbsp crushed garlic

1 tbsp tahini

1/2 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp black pepper

2 tbsp lemon juice

3-4 scallions sliced

1/4 cup Daiya Italian style cheese

1/2 container Tofutti cream cheese

vegan filo pastry

I added 1 1/2 cups of water to the rice, brought it to a boil then turned it down to a simmer. After five minutes I added the broccoli and zucchini then covered and cooked over low heat until the rice was cooked through. I then turned off the heat and mixed in all the other ingredients. I rolled out and cut the filo dough into 5-6 inch squares. I used five sheets for each pocket, brushing a thin layer of olive oil between each sheet. I put a heaping spoonful of the filling toward one end of the pastry square, folded down the top and bottom then rolled the whole thing up. I baked four of them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper at 350 degrees for about half and hour.

My boyfriend's decided this is him new favorite dish, here he is digging in.

I didn't feel like wrapping all the rice into the filo, so I saved it and ate the rest with zucchini roasted with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. I can't decide how I like it better, it paired so well with the zucchini!

As the holidays draw near I've been craving a holiday treat. I bought some of Trader Joe's gingerbread mix. Instead of the egg I added apple sauce and followed the directions otherwise. It was so yummy, I'll definitely be making it again this season. I feel like using the apple sauce made it extra moist, really delicious!

I plan on using this mix to make gingerbread cookies for Christmas. I'm so excited to create vegan dishes for the holidays!