sweet + spicy roasted chickpeas

You guyssss!  Oh wow, just WOW - these chickpeas are so freakin' amazing.

A little sweet, just the right amount of heat and so easy to make!

This is good vegan eating on the cheap - super inexpensive and wicked versatile.

sweet & sour tofu spring rolls

I absolutely love spring rolls; to think a couple years back I was intimidated to try my hand at making a basic spring roll. Don't let the paper thin wrappers scare you off, they are quit forgiving. Plus the more you make them the easier they are to roll, all you have to do is get your own rolling technique down. The beauty of a spring roll ; the endless filling possibilities. Check out this version & this one - both are incredibly easy to make and please most crowds. You really can't go wrong with fresh veggies, some sort of protein such as quinoa or tofu; crispy mushrooms or avocado are also insanely good!

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!) .

"cheezy" kale chips

Oh the kale chip. We were not properly introduce until about a year ago - at VegFest in Baltimore. It was at this event I had my first kale chip - Brad's Raw Nacho Cheeze Kale Chips, freakin' a they were good!

The only problem with store bought kale chips- they are expensive and I can eat a whole package in one sitting- this very quickly did not become a very realistic "everyday" afternoon snack.

mexican salad pizza // quinoa crust

Justin and I have a few food traditions that began early on in our relationship - Sunday morning breakfast and Friday night pizza, beer & movie night. We have continued with these "dates" religiously, hands down Sunday's and Friday's are my favorite days of the week.

I love salad pizza's, a warm pizza loaded with veggies and topped with fresh greens - this pizza has a Mexican flare which I love and topped with a healthy dose of greens & fresh tomatoes, which I love even more.

maikate mushroom crostini

my love affair with bread continues

in the form of a crostini - little toasts

so cute

you can virtually put anything on a crostini and it would be good

and you look will look pretty fancy bringing a tray of crostini to your next get together

bread + veggies = love

or in this case

bread + maitake mushrooms = wow!

i LOVE finding new ingredients  - i have never seen maitake mushrooms before

sunflower had just happened to start carrying these new mushrooms

i was super excited; the pain au chocolate i was going to attempt to make this weekend went out the door, and in came the humble mushroom crostini

humble, however totally flavorful and fancy pants because its served on a crostini

mini pepper poppers

mini pepper poppers

say that 10 times fast

aren't these the cutest mini sweet peppers you ever did see

i think so - not hot but sweet as can be

filled with a "bacon bit" sourcream & pineapple mixture

topped with a bit of daiya

these were totally big on game day

almost as big as the patriots going to the super bowl

i only know that because of all the facebook chatter

justin and i were too busy playing buzz quiz on ps3

with me beating him on all the fashion & food questions

but him winning the game

winner winner chicken dinner

mini veggie tartletts // spinach tofu ricotta

ever since seeing bon appetit's january cover i have had veggie tarts on the mind

the photo was unpretentious but beautiful

food simply at its best

i am officially in love with my mini tart pans

is that healthy? to be in love with your kitchen products

this weekend was a weekend full of finds

first the dandies

then the confetti eggplant, i had never come across one before saturday

it was love at first sight

mexicali phyllo wraps // chipotle cilantro cream

round two of game day snackies - aren't you excited

... i can't believe i just used the word snackies

moving on

mexicali phyllo wraps made a very welcome appearance on sunday

i love the simple combination of flavors these wraps have

make a little or allot - you can customize this recipe to do either

don't you just love that - you can also customize the filling

to sum it up this is a very customizable recipe

quinoa spinach bites // gingered orange honey dipping sauce

game day snacks

i am pretty sure that has a different meaning to justin and i, than to everyone else

see- we are not huge sports fans <gasp!>

from new england and not drooling over tom brady every sunday, how can that be?

our game day consists of scrabble or battleship, card games (naughty minds anyone?) or PlayStation 3d move games - yes, we like to live outside the box, dare to be different

so, i thought i would share with you one of our game day snacks from this past sunday

quinoa spinach bites with a gingered orange honey dipping sauce