Still Christmas Shopping? Check these out...

The secret to being vegan? A good cookbook.

For those of you who know someone who is interested in going vegan or is vegan- a cookbook is always a fabulous gift. Most of these were given to me as gifts and I LOVE them. So, if you're still looking for some Christmas presents consider these for your foodie friends ....

(Or- add them to your wish list.)

Pasta e Fagoli

When dried cannellini beans, celery, and parsley arrived in our CSA box- I knew exactly what I wanted to make. Pasta e Fagoli is a family favorite that has been passed down through many generations... (from  Nonna Scalise to Nonna Bonvino to my mom and now to me, to name a few.) My mom's grandmother would make Pasta e Fagoli for her when she would come home from college, and my mom and grandma did the same for me. Little did they all know- they were enjoying a vegan meal (minus the parmesan they would top it with.)

Dried cannellini beans from Suzie's Farm in San Diego, CA

It's a simple yet flavorful dish, perfect for autumn or winter meals. Some people make it as a hearty soup, others make is as a pasta dish. I like to make mine somewhere in between. From my family to yours- buon appetito.

Ingredients:

( Serves 3 to 4 )

- Olive oil to coat the bottom of your pan

- Salt to taste

- Crushed red pepper (just a pinch if you're like me)

- Parsley

- Tops of celery

- Three cloves of garlic

- One can crushed tomatoes

- Two cups of veggie broth (add more if you'd like it to be more like a soup)

- One can of cannellini beans (if you have fresh, dried cannellini beans- make sure they are cooked before you begin preparing this dish)

- Two cups of cooked pasta (a small pasta, preferably)

In one pot, salt and boil water for the pasta.

In another sauce pan: Mince garlic, and lightly warm olive oil in your sauce pan. Add garlic, and about a handful and a half of full celery leaves, and cook for one to two minutes. Toss in the can of diced tomatoes, cannellini beans, and veggie broth. Continuously stir for about five minutes. 

In your other pot- the water should be boiling at this point, so begin cooking your pasta. 

Add salt, crushed red pepper, and a handfull of parsley to the sauce pan. Stir and allow to cook until your pasta is ready.

Once strained, slowly add your pasta to the sauce pan and stir. Allow all ingredients to cook and blend together for about five to eight minutes. 

This pairs very nicely with a glass of Pinot Grigio, and, just like many dishes, this one has proved to be even better the day after I make it. 

XO - Theresa

Coming Soon- Vegan Mac & Cheese

Vegan and Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie Brownies

Fall is my absolute favorite season. I love getting to sip on pumpkin lattes, bundle up in my favorite sweaters and walk around in boots. Whether by lighting scented candles, or baking  fall treats, my house is always full of the aromas of my favorite fall scents that seem to warm your soul.

From: Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

I specifically signed up for "snack duty" for one of my graduate classes in October because I knew I would be aching to bake around this time. (Yes - we bring snack to our three hour, sometimes back to back, evening classes.) After flipping through all of my cook books for days, we decided that Pumpkin Pie Brownies from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar would be the best to share with my classmates. They are unique, which I love, and they've got chocolate for those chocoholics I know, and a pumpkin pie topping that reminds us fall is here (- in Southern California, it's sometimes hard to tell.)

Ginger, allspice, cinnamon, and vegan gluten-free chocolate chips 

A friend in my class is gluten-free, so we adapted the recipe to accommodate her needs. This was the first gluten-free baked good I've made from scratch, and I was pretty stoked to see how it would go. We simply used Gluten- Free All Purpose Baking Flour, and used Tapioca Flour instead of Corn Starch for the pumpkin pie topping. 

These brownies are totally genius. They're moist, delicious, and full of flavors thanks to the pumpkin pie topping. If you want to make these, I guess you're going to have to go buy Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero's fabulous little cookbook (Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar). It is definitely proof that vegans do not survive off of rabbit food. If you're close by and want to borrow it, let me know.

XO - T

Plum Jam

Last weekend we couldn't resist the $10 "fill your bag" deal at our farmers market which left us with a ridiculous amount of plums and asian pears. The pears made for great arugula, fennel, asian pear salads, (recommended by a lady at the market) but we barely made a dent in our drawer full of plums. Over the summer Nick's aunts made an excellent plum jam, something I had never considered before, so I thought I'd give it a try before our plethora of plums go to waste. This is a very simple, pectin free recipe, and makes enough to fill a large mason jar. And now we can enjoy a favorite summer fruit throughout the rest of the year. 

Ingredients: 

4 Cups of Sliced Plums

1 1/2 Cups of Vegan Sugar

2 Lemons

Many recipes tell you to peel the skin off of the plums, but we decided to leave them on to create a more tart jam. So, if you want your jam to be very sweet, then go ahead and peel the skin. If not, simply slice them into tiny pieces and place them in a large, rounded skillet.

Who says you can only use one variety of plum?!

Next, slice and juice your two lemons. 

Pour the lemon juice over the plums in your non-stick skillet, begin to warm them on medium to high heat for ten minutes, stirring occasionally. After ten minutes, add the two cups of vegan sugar, and continue to stir occasionally. 

Thank you to Jenny for the adorable measuring cups ! 

With  a whisk or a spoon try to mash up the larger pieces. Lower the heat, and continue to stir and mash occasionally for about 40 minutes.


Once it has reached your desired consistency, pour the jam into your mason jar, and allow to cool to room temperature before refrigerating. And... enjoy. I hope this inspired you to jar your favorite summer fruits before it's too late. XO- T

Our locally grown and homemade vegan plum jam 

The Best of San Diego, California

My vegan food favorites of San Diego...

Best Sangria: The Linkery
      -Both the red and white are to die for. They also have delicious (local) vegan food. Rumor has it that they also serve the same sangria at El  Take it Easy.

Best Vegan "Fish & Chips": Ritual Tavern
      -Beer battered eggplant with fries... genius.

Best Vegan Pizza: Blind Lady Ale House
      -The vegan pesto, topped with arugula, crimini mushrooms, and pickled onions is my favorite.

Best Vegan Veggie Burgers: Veg-N-Out
      -They have a huge variety of veggie burgers- all delicious.

Best Soy Chai Tea Latte: Caffe Calabria
      -Spiced or vanilla, iced or hot. Step aside Starbucks, Coffee Bean, and (sorry...) Peet's, these guys make the best chai latte, hands down.

Best Vegan Mexican Food: Ranchos Cocina 
       -Their vegan lentil, avocado, and vegan cheese burrito is my favorite. They have vegan/ vegetarian specials everyday, like "carne esada burritos". Another plus- it's family run and owned!

Best CSA Box Supplier: Suzie's Farm 
       -Amazing organic and local produce for a very reasonable price. You can find them at Farmers Markets all around San Diego- Little Italy, Hillcrest, North Park, La Jolla, Ocean Beach, etc.

Best Tea Shop: Halcyon Tea
       -Adorable little shop in South Park, with a very nice variety of tasty loose leaf teas.

Best Vegan Popsicles: Viva Pops
       -These guys make some unique pops, and always have a handful of delicious vegan ones to choose from.

Best Vegan Friendly Grocery Stores: People's Co-op and Sprouts

(And I'm sure I'll be adding more.)
xo - T

Nick's Stuffed Cabbage

Coming soon

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

Just last week I joined Suzie's Farm here in Southern California. I'm very excited to belong to such a wonderful farm and I am even more excited for the organic and seasonal produce I will be receiving every other week. For more info click here. 

Wild Rocket Panini

A few weeks ago, I was exploring my motherland on a trip of a life time... drinking phenomenal wines, sipping on limoncello, attempting to speak the beautiful language, lounging on a tiny beach with the locals, eating copious amounts of carbs, soaking in the breathtaking landscapes, art, and beautiful people, touring ancient ruins, milking goats on an organic farm, befriending a donkey, and picking berries for breakfast. Although at the end of my trip I was craving an American breakfast and some good Mexican food, Italy knows what's up when it comes to food. 

Along with cigarettes, classy Italian cuss words, family, vino, scooters, never leaving the tiny towns the grew up in, etc... Italians love their "rocket" (also known as rucola, rughetta, or as we call it- arugula.) Very early in my trip, I was told that the Italians love arugula so much because, since Roman times, they have believed it to be an aphrodisiac. The best pizzas I had were simple, and topped with this flavorful green. Since a good amount of the food I had on my trip was just vegetarian, not vegan, I am hoping to adapt many of my favorite dishes I enjoyed in Italy to my vegan diet, now that I am back in my own kitchen. Here is my first attempt at a vegan dish inspired by my gastronomic adventures in Italy.

Last weekend, I found this organic wild arugula at the Long Beach Marina farmer's market (which takes place every Sunday in the Alamitos Bay Marina, for those of you who are in the area- over by Schooner or Later/ Joe's Crab Shack/ Whole Foods.) I was pretty excited about finding fresh, wild "rocket" here, and was planning on using it in a pizza until I found these vegan deli slices (below) by my favorite "meat" company at Whole Foods. So, panini it was. The smoked tomato deli slices slightly resemble salami, but are only full of good stuff. (The company also makes sage-lentil deli slices which I haven't tried yet.)

Wild Rocket Panini 

(Makes one sandwich) 

2 slices of (dairy and egg free) whole wheat bread 

earth balance natural buttery spread

original veganaise 

a handful of fresh wild "rocket" (arugula) 

3 slices of field roast's smoked tomato deli slices 

a handful of daiya mozzarella (my favorite vegan cheese)

While your skillet warms to a medium temperature, lightly butter (earth balance) one side of each slice of bread. Place the un-buttered side down in the skillet first to warm but not toast. Turn the slices over so that the buttered side is down, sprinkle the daiya mozzarella cheese on each slice and allow melt. 

Once melted, remove from the skillet and spread a dab of veganaise on each slice. (Veganaise has a very mellow garlic taste so it blends nicely with the other ingredients in the panini, and helps keep the sandwich together.) Add the three slices of smoked tomato deli slices, top with arugula, and voila- you have a (vegan) taste of Italia. It's my new favorite sandwich, especially when it is accompanied by a nice glass of rosso. Buon appetito. XO Theresa

Mango- Acai Smoothie

The best part about smoothies is that they are simple- you can just throw things in the blender and not worry about specific measurements. So, I'm simply going to show you what I throw into one of my favorites. It's full of natural protein, fiber, probiotics, antioxidants, potassium, vitamin- A, vitamin-C, and more. 

Vegan Mango- Acai Smoothie 

1. Amande (Almond) Vanilla Yogurt

I recently discovered this yogurt on the shelves at Whole Foods and was pretty stoked to find a soy-free, protein rich yogurt. I love it. They also have other flavors like blueberry, peach and strawberry. But, the vanilla is my fav. 

2. Slices of banana

4. Slices of frozen mango

5. Frozen Acai Berry

(I also found these at Whole Foods)

Asparagus and Red Onion Wheat Berry Salad

"Wheat berries?," you ask? Allow me to explain... You're looking at whole kernels of wheat, before they are ground up into flour. These hearty little whole grains are full of flavor, protein, fiber, and iron (an A+ in my vegan book) and can replace rice in almost any meal. The little guys are waiting for you in the bulk section at Whole Foods, your local Co-Op, or any other health food store/ market.

The asparagus this spring is amazing and I've been trying to avoid my usual -roasted asparagus, salt, and pepper and be more creative. So, here is my first attempt at being more adventurous with my asparagus. Enjoy!

Asparagus and Red Onion Wheat Berry Salad

You will need:

1 cup of wheat berries

a handfull of asparagus

1/2 of a red onion

3 cups water

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup olive oil

3 tbsp white balsamic

2 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp honey (or agave)

Wheat Berries:

Bring 3 cups of water and 1 tsp of salt to a boil

Pour 1 cup of wheat berries into boiling water, and bring back to a boil

Simmer for 45 minutes/ 1 hour

Drain wheat berries and allow to cool

The Veggies:

Wash and cut asparagus into bite size slices

Slice red onion

In a medium sized skillet, saute onions and asparagus in olive oil until tender

While these are cooking, mix the olive oil, white balsamic, dijon mustard, and honey (or agave) together for the dressing

Mix the veggies in with the wheat berries, drizzle the dressing, mix, and allow to cool. I really liked this salad cold but it would also be delicious warm.

Buon Appetito