beet & maitake stew with turmeric quinoa~ kosher vegan

hi friends! boy, do i have a special treat for you today - Tori, from the Shiksa has invited me over to her blog for a special guest post. you may have see the button or heard the chatter on facebook or even visited or seen a post or two on pinterest for her wonderful event the Passover Potluck.

Tori has invited a variety of very talented bloggers, all with very unique and different backgrounds to participate in her Passover Potluck - i truly feel honored and am so excited to be a part of this.

So, head on over to check out Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes Kosher Vegan for Passover Beetroot & Maitake Stew with Turmeric Quinoa. When you stop by, make sure to say hello to Tori, stay awhile and check out her beautiful blog - just click on the button below and enjoy your visit!

blueberry banana coffee cake

who doesn't like coffee cake - i for one am a huge fan.

perfect for Sunday mornings with a few slices left over for a quick breakfast to go the next morning.

back in  the day  - my pregan life, i use to make a coffee cake that was amazing.

what wasn't so amazing was the full stick of butter that went into the cake, plus another 1/2 a stick for the crumb topping. so when the craving struck this past weekend for coffee cake, i though to myself "i can do better than 1 1/2 sticks of butter". so i set to work on a just as good, if not more awesome and healthier version of my beloved morning treat.

artichoke + spinach pesto

this is the time of year in which i start to get antsy.

antsy for just picked greens from the garden, local asparagus and all things spring.

i day dream everyday about riding my pretend bike with the cute basket on the back to the farmers market and wandering through the garden barefoot searching for the first string of peas to appear.

i crave green, fresh and bright. this was the best i could come up with this weekend while hunkered down in the house listening to the rain beat off the windows and 40mph winds...so much for the quick taste of summer we enjoyed last week - father winter wasn't so quick to leave us just yet.

s'mores cake

let me tell you the truth about this cake.

it is probably the most "unhealthiest" cake i have ever made.

albeit it was one of the most tastiest cakes that has ever passed these lips - i would consider this cake a "once in a life time" cake.. it is the type of cake that you make for a celebration, a celebration that takes place away from your home and includes a whole lotta other people that you can share this cake with. also be sure to encourage others to take a slice or two home - the goal is to share the cake with as many people as possible.

yes, make that your goal when you bake this cake

it really is too tempting to sneak a piece when the late night snackies hit - so why not leave the temptation somewhere else?

rice puffed fridge bars

i love quick and easy snack recipes. i am a true snacker - better yet you could call me a grazer.

i like to munch on healthy snacks throughout the day versus eating three big meals that always end up making me feel way to full.

awhile back i bought a huge bag of organic puffed cereal. for some unknown reason i had it in my head that i was buying the "healthy organic" version of golden crisp - a favorite cereal of mine from the 80's that has zero nutritional value (mom. what were you thinking buying us this!)

i rushed home with my puffed rice cereal, tore into the bag the minute i got home and shoveled a huge handful right into my mouth. boy, my taste buds were surprised to find zero sugar and packing peanut textured puffs that were stuck to the insides of my mouth. yeah, not quite golden crisp.

so the puffs sat in my cupboard for a bit until  this past weekend i had a craving then a brainstorm of an idea - gluten free puffed rice granola bars. ha - i was in business and the feeling of waste fullness was gone as i had found a new and useful purpose for those step sister like puffs.

fiery sweet potato quinoa rissoles

this week the weather has been absolutely beautiful. march has been an unseasonably warm  here in New England, it is as if we completely skipped spring and dove head first into summer.

i had every intent to share this amazing recipe with you on Monday, however the warm weather was calling my name. you learn very quickly here in New England when the weather screams your name you go and you go fast and enjoy all her spring time glory because you never know when the next blizzard or 20 degree days will return. March is a funny month - one day 80, the next 40. So the pup and I took advantage of the beautiful weather with a walk along the lake ending with her very first spring swim in the lake of the year.

so without further delay my friends, i give you fiery sweet potato quinoa rissoles in two words:

so. (freakin') good.

irish whiskey + chocolate bread pudding

i am sitting at my desk eating spoonfuls of chocolate peanut butter as i attempt to write this post

as joy would say - real life

what was that, you ask is there anything better than eating peanut butter by the spoonful?

 

why yes, yes indeed there is

chocolate, booze & bread

baked in a custardy filling and topped with brown sugar and baked again until just caramelized

cottage pie

a friend of ours started a st patty's day tradition way back in the day; every year he cooks up a traditional corned beef dinner and invites his buddy's over to celebrate with a few Irish lagers

as we all know life happens- this friend of ours found an amazing girl, fell in love and moved in

the tradition was set aside but not forgotten; i was just saying to Justin how i missed the traditional st patty's day dinner when i received a message from our friend - the dinner is back on this year

i cannot tell you how super excited i was  - i mean so excited that i committed to the dinner even before asking Justin if we had plans....well regardless, i had my plan -

i was heading to celebrate the holiday with or without him

this friend of ours is super sweet - he knows that we are vegan/vegetarian, the first thing he wanted to know is what he could cook for us. i know how much work he puts into the dinner so i volunteered to bring a few dishes to share. he loves to cook and explore different ways of cooking so i am sure he will have something fabulous for us all well.

one of my contribution's to the st patty's day potluck will be this very cottage pie

cottage pie is a traditional Irish dish made of lamb & potatoes;

in England it is made with beef and called Shepard's pie.

 let me share with you my version of cottage pie

green tea multi seeded bread

it is no secret that my ultimate weakness is bread- straight out of the oven freshly baked bread

left alone i would more than likely eat the entire loaf still warm and slathered with vegan butter

bread making for me is much like meditation

after my stressful cupcake making session i opted for a more soothing recipe

for the past week i have been bouncing around a few different bread recipes; those recipes are written down on about 6 different sticky notes, some are filed away in my noggin

this is the final version , an accumulation of all those random ideas- the green tea was added sporadically

did i know it was a good idea at the time? no.

was it a good idea? YES!

double chocolate espresso cupcakes // ganache filled

ever have one of those days that nothing seems to ever go right?

your pants seem tight - but they fit last week!

you woke up later than you planned - which throws off your entire well planned

down to every minute day

and the cupcakes you are baking are just- well, plain difficult

first the bag of flour has a slit down the side which you did not see and now you are covered

 head to toe in flour including the just vacuumed floor

when filling the bag of  ganache you get more ganache on your hands and counter than in the bag

the beautifully envisioned piped frosted cupcakes is a huge fail because you were impatient and did not allow the cupcakes to fully cool before frosting

i almost gave up on these cupcakes- I'm sure glad i didn't though

they are so incredibly tasty

even though they nearly caused me to breakdown in the middle of the kitchen floor

yep- that was the kind of day i had yesterday

but at least i ended it with some sweet cupcakes that are sure to put a smile on any ones face no matter how good or not so good a day they have had

boozy black + white truffles

boozy truffles

so much fun

going to a party?

bring your boozy truffles

forgot to make your eldest aunt valentines day treats?

give her boozy truffles and she will forget all about those missing vday treats

wanna be the most awesome friend ever?

make your bestie boozy truffles and bring a bottle of champagne along

you get the point - boozy truffles are pretty awesome

they are made even better with not one type of chocolate but three!

creamy avocado chipotle sweet potato soup

one thing i can never get enough of during the winter month's is a nice big bowl or two of homemade soup - everyone should make homemade soup more often

it really is easy - and so much better for you, not to mention a heck of a lot cheaper then canned, boxed or frozen soup which typically has loads of sodium

making your own soup can take as little as 10 minutes - you can pretty much throw anything into a soup pot pour water, stock or broth over it simmer and call it soup

and it will taste good, i promise

you know why?

because you made it and everything made at home 9 times out of 10 is better

i say 9 times out of 10 cause, you know we have all been there and have had a disaster or two- read inedible experiments or recipes that just plain go wrong

this soup is the latter - nothing but goodness in a bowl

i went back for seconds, maybe you will too

spring rolls

 

i have always wanted to try making my own spring rolls

up until this weekend i have been a bit, dare i say scared of rice paper

c'mon whose a scaredy cat of rice paper

maybe it was how delicate it seemed to be - paper thin, i could just picture myself tearing 5 sheets before even getting to the rolling part

looks can be deceiving, we could also say don't judge a book by its cover

surprisingly rice paper is pretty strong and forgiving

i bought a pack about 2 weeks ago thinking that i may give it a try

then i promptly hide it amongst the back up canned goods in the pantry

boy, am i sorry for waiting this long

before i knew it i was a spring roll making maniac

soon i will have enough Asian inspired recipes to make a pretty good go of a full on

 Asian takeout party

the last thing to tackle will be pineapple fried rice - but that's for another day

we're talking spring rolls here

weekend fun; getting to know me & you!

a little saturday fun for you all; lets play get to know your fellow bloggie friends!

i was tagged to play along by the Chocolate Chip Uru

so let's have some fun shall we? grab a cocktail or two and lets go!

cocoa roasted cauliflower + grape farro

i have been inspired

it seems the end of February was cauliflowers time in the spotlight

everywhere i turned the misunderstood cauli was being showcased in beautiful recipes

either you love cauliflower or just plain not a fan of the humble veggie

if you treat her right she will love you right back with amazing taste

court over at  The Fig Tree started up my most recent cauliflower craving with her Sicilian Cauliflower Pasta

this recipe was considered a bit of an experiment; i read an article on food pairing and it mentioned cauliflower and cocoa were a match made in heaven...i vaguely remember learning this in college

so i put this match in motion and bring to you cocoa roasted cauliflower & grape farro

almost raw lime cumin avocado tacos + Liebster!

avocados and i have been bff's lately, i cannot get enough of her

she tops my burgers, sandwiches , is even eaten straight up by the spoonful or slice

however, my little addiction, the ultimate way to enjoy avocados

at least in my opinion - is via almost raw tacos

fresh, filling & healthy

tacos that won't leave you wanting to unbutton your jeans

but will leave you wanting just one more bite