blackberry mojitos & chickpea flatbread

SF has legitimately been swallowed by a cloud. the days have been windy and cold and the nights have been foggy and more cold. a night in with a movie was in order. the only thing that inspired this cocktail was a random bottle of rum sitting on our bar that looked full and lonely. i found this recipe and loved the moody twist on a basic mojito. i later remembered we had some heirlooms waiting to be used which brought me to make this for dinner. 

it was nice to have a quiet night at home cooking and drinking something other than wine. this chickpea flatbread is crazy delicious, but a real b*tch to make [so much chopping and cutting and mixing and waiting involved]. it's definitely worth it, but i thought you'd like to know that going in. i dedicated a good 2 hours of kitchen time to this.

bon appetit and happy weekend!
 

kale pesto pasta & vegan artichoke aioli

happy sunday, all! still trying to be vegetarian over here – so far so good. after almost a month of no meat and almost not dairy [cheese, i can't quit you!] i'm starting to crave more and more veggies, and i really do not miss meat at all. tonight i'm making a recent favorite that is packed full of protein, fiber and omega-3's. bon appetit! 

kale pesto [i plan to mix with noodles and zucchini strips]:

• 2 to 3 cloves garlic
• 3 cups packed kale (about 1 small bunch)
• ¾ cup hemp seeds or toasted walnuts
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
• ¾ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
• Red pepper flakes, optional (if you want to add some kick)
• ¼ cup flaxseed oil or extra-virgin olive oil (more if desired)

image, full recipe and directions via cookie and kate

artichokes & vegan aioli:

• 1 cup cashews [soaked for about 4 hours] these are what will give you the creamyness
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cloves garlic 
• zest and juice of 1 lemon 
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar 
• 1 - 2 pinches of salt 

image, full recipe and directions via one ingredient chef

VEGAN RECIPIE: AVOCADO GREEN SMOOTHIE

so, recently i've tried to become a vegetarian [while also trying to be vegan as much as possible, but cheese and fish find their way into my life sometimes]. my mom is a vegan and i watched two documentaries that completely sold me: cowspiricy and forks over knives. i highly recommend both. 

to be honest, the diet shift feels so good and gets me excited for change. i thought i would start sharing some of my favorite resources and recipes here for those of you who might be interested. starting of with my new morning routine, this perfect smoothie. 

Serves 1

• 1 banana, peeled [frozen gives a nice chill to the smoothie]
• 1/2 cup frozen (or fresh) mango [i also substitute this for pineapple to mix it up]
• 1/2  avocado
• 1 cup  [or big handful] spinach
• 1 1/4 cups almond milk or homemade cashew milk
• 1 tbsp lime juice [about half a lime]
• optional: 2 tbsp hemp protein powder 

place all smoothie ingredients in your blender and blend till very smooth and creamy. this recipe is from the food 52 vegan cookbook  with a few tweaks. another great vegan cookbook can be found here. cheers.