maple peanut butter chocolate tart

I am a sucker for a pretty dessert - give me a mug of steaming hot Chai and pretty plated dessert and I'm in 7th heaven.  Beautiful desserts don't need to take a lot of time to create, sometimes the simplest of desserts are the most pleasing to the eye. Take this tart for example - minimal ingredients, no refined sugar, a  helping of healthier than average ingredients plus pretty plates and you have yourself a super awesome dessert that plates up even prettier. I love desserts that look like a lot of effort but can be made in no time at all.

This here is one of those desserts -  plus this is totally a Mother's Day worthy dessert if I ever did see one

DIY kitchen series: instant chai

A good chai instantly puts me in a good mood - I love when my sister arrives on my doorstep Sunday Morning's to hit the Farmers Market with a Chai in hand for each of us.

 I love that girl, she knows the way to my heart.

Problem is, Coffee House Chai's can be an expensive habit. Not only expensive, but FULL of sugar - for those two reason's I decided to try my hand at a homemade vegan instant chai mix. The idea was born after seeing this pin on Pinterest (is anyone else head over heels in love with Pinterest - I sure am!) .

falafel // homemade flatbreads + tzatziki

I was first introduced to falafel 9 years ago, in the form of a Near East box by Justin. Ever since, I have been in love with the little chickpea rounds of goodness. Early Summer, our city holds a Multi Cultural day where several of our neighbors gather to celebrate the different cultures found in our City. We have several groups of refugees that call our little City home. I love seeing what a diverse culture we have, I also love all the amazing food each group brings to the table. Families set up tents throughout downtown, where they make and sell food that showcases the area from which they are from. One vendor sells an amazing Falafel - my sister and I love heading down for Falafel {along with some amazing Bhutanese food!) then finding a seat in the Rotary Park to watch some pretty incredible performers. Performances from African Dancing & Drumming, to traditional Indian Dance are scheduled every hour throughout the day.

I thought it was about time that I created my own version of Falafel, one that is inspired by the traditional Lebanese preparation - each region has their own way of preparing Falafel, this is the one I favor the most.

DIY kitchen series: flavored salts

I am a huge fan of finishing salts - truthfully I love any unique salt. Salt can bring out the best in a dish, elevating the flavors to the next level. I have a home arsenal of salts - they have their own dedicated shelf in the spice cabinet. Gourmet salts can be a bit pricey, I thought it was about time that I start making my own. Not only are they super easy, making your own gourmet salts is economical and allows you to experiment with different flavor combos that are unique.

Welcome to number 2 in the DIY series: make your own flavored salts.

If you missed last week- check out the first in the series here!

bitter & sweet asian salad ~ at vegan richa

Richa  from the Vegan Richa fame is one of the most inspiring ,compassionate & strong Ladies I know. Not only is her personal story and life journey inspiring, when she's in the kitchen that is really where the magic happens - Richa turns out the most creative and inspiring recipes I have ever come across on the blogosphere. I am honored to share with you a dish that so very much reminds me of Richa, bright, happy, definitely not bitter despite the name but definitely sweet.

Thank you Richa for sharing your space with me today and for being such an amazing friend and beautiful person. The world is so very lucky to have you.

Join me over at Vegan Richa to check out this Recipe along with Richa's amazing Blog!

carrot cake

I absolutely adore Carrot Cake, so does Justin. This post is a little late considering Easter was a couple weeks back. I have never been that organized of a blogger to pull together a week's worth of themed treats just before a holiday. Another reason you see many holiday posts after the actual holiday is I like to enjoy all my "themed" treats on the holiday, not weeks before. So a day late and a dollar short I present to you my contribution to the Easter Dessert Table - really though, do you need Easter as an excuse to make this cake? I didn't think so - Carrot Cake, in my book is an anytime cake to bake.

DIY kitchen series: homemade vanilla extract

Making homemade vanilla extract has been on my to do list for ages. I love the idea of homemade extracts, salts, mustard's, drink mixes. My problem isn't bookmarking an idea, it  is finding the motivation to actually start the project - I have had all the necessary supplies to make vanilla extract for month's; minus the vodka...but it sat, and sat and then sat some more- that's when the idea of a DIY kitchen series came to mind. Sharing these ideas and projects with you would give me the motivation to complete some pretty neat kitchen DIY's. I hope you enjoy this series - let me know if there is a DIY you would like to see a post on!

Welcome to the very first post in the series: Homemade Vanilla Extract- and it couldn't be simpler.