July 2010
28 posts
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Curried Eggplant with Tomatoes & Basil
I love curry & have been getting lots of eggplant, tomatoes & basil from the CSA. This dish showcases some of summer’s finest! Click here for the recipe.
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Watermelon Radish
I received several ”Watermelon Radishes” in my CSA share. I’d never seen, or heard of them! This is what I love about the CSA, I am being introduced to so many new things!
Watermelon radishes are an heirloom variety of daikon radishes & originated in China. They’re bit milder & sweeter than regular radishes, & much larger. They can be braised or roasted like...
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Pink Lentils with Zucchini
Quick & healthy Saturday night dinner for one…
3 Tbsp. pink lentils, rinsed & drained twice
2 tsp. chopped fresh sage
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. salt, divided
1 tsp. olive oil
1 small zucchini, quartered & sliced 1/4-inch thick (1 cup)
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)
1 cup baby spinach leaves
Balsamic vinegar, for drizzling
Combine lentils,...
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Harvest Grains & Summer Vegetable Salad
There were so many vibrant summer veggies at the Farmers’ Market yesterday & lots of beauties in my CSA share as well. I wanted to make a dish that would capture the colors of summer produce & found a great recipe in the July/August Issue of Vegetarian Times for a “Corn-Quinoa Salad.” I absolutely love sweet summer corn!
This dish is a colorful mix of corn, cherry...
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Pio Pipo Tacos at Kensington Cafe
I drank a lot of wine last night at with my good friend Brian & was craving something bad today. Destination Kensington for some yummy eats!
Kensington Cafe is a cute little place just up the way from my ‘hood & they’ve got lots of vegetarian & vegan goodies on their menu.
I love to come here for breakfast & order the “Amazon Breakfast Bowl:” Acai...
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Vegan Vanilla-Fig Scones
It’s surprisingly overcast & chilly this morning, which is fine by me, as I know it’s just a matter of time before the weather heats back up again. Cloudy days always put me in a baking mood & I wanted something to enjoy with my morning espresso!
When I lived with my friend Anne, I would often wake up to her experimenting in the kitchen! She liked to come up with unusual...
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This Week's CSA Share!
Can’t wait to pick it up today!!!! Yay, eggplant!
Melon
Eggplant
Carrots
Bean (green, yellow)
Cucumber Mix
Lettuce head
Tomatoes
Micro Basil
Oregano
Basil
Watermelon Radish
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Veggie Finds at Influx Cafe
Influx Cafe recently opened their second San Diego location in Little Italy, just a few blocks up from my office (in the summer, when I’m not teaching, I moonlight at the family business).
Influx is a “modern cafe inspired by European culinary traditions, serving classic handmade danish & croissants, inventive sandwiches on freshly baked bread, healthy gourmet salads, fine...
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Vegan & Biodynamic Wines from Frey Vineyards
While at the El Bizcocho vegan affair, a representative from Frey Vineyards gave a brief presentation regarding the history of the vineyard & what it means to make “vegan” & “biodynamic” wines. I wrote about this in a previous post a while back, but thought I would share the information again, as I find it super useful & interesting!
About Frey Wines:
...
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"Food With Roots II: A Vegan Dining Odyssey"
My Mom & I had an amazing dinner at last night’s “Vegan Dining Odyssey” at El Bizcocho.
We both agreed that, overall, we enjoyed this menu far more than the menu from previous vegan event. Chef Ryan Grant was quite the character & was really up for the challenge! While he’d never cooked a full vegan menu, we thought he did a fantastic job creating &...
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Spicy Cucumber Gazpacho
The heat is on here in San Diego! In the summer months, I crave foods that are cool, light, & fresh. I received a huge variety of cucumbers in my last CSA share: “Saber Mexican Gherkin, Miniature White, Crystal Apples, Armenian, Akito, & Adam.” Most of these I’ve never even heard of! Oh, what to do?
One of my favorite summer meals is a spicy gazpacho soup, so when I...
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Avocado Pesto Pasta
I have been dying to try vegan chef Chloe Coscarelli’s ”Avocado Pesto Pasta” ever since seeing her darling video for VegNews. It’s Farmers’ Market day in my neighborhood, so I picked up some fresh basil, summer lemons & ripe California avocados so I could make this tonight!
Avocado Pesto Pasta
OMG! Amazing! I absolutely love avocados, but never thought to...
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"The Love Bag" by Susan Nichole Handbags
I’m in love with “The Love Bag” in Pink by Susan Nichole!
“Love is in the air when you are carrying The Love Bag. This super fun & funky bag just can’t help but put a smile on your face. Inside you’ll find two open & one zippered pocket for easy organization. Original artwork by Rob Padilla.”
100% cruelty free & vegan friendly construction....
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French Macarons, Vegan!
I love Paris. My Mom & I vacationed there in October of 2006 & had the BEST time! One of our fondest memories was a visit to “Ladurée” on Rue Bonaparte.
Ladurée is famous for their candy colored macarons, luxury cakes, & delectable pastries. We greatly enjoyed the Tarte Au Citron, Chocolate & Vanilla Éclairs, & of course a mini box of macarons & their...
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Inspired Salad...
I was inspired by the “Strawberry & Tomato Salad” recipe that I posted earlier from The Blissful Chef. I threw this together for lunch, mostly with good stuff I had on hand from the CSA.
Vegenista’s Strawberry & Cherry Tomato Salad with Arugula, Basil, Walnuts & Avocado
I usually make my own salad dressing, but I cannot get enough of Brianna’s Blush Wine...
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Shaved Fennel in Lemon Broth with Wild Rice
I never know what to do with fennel & I received 2 bulbs of it in my latest CSA pickup. Fortunately, I’d ordered the special issue Vegetarian Times Farmers’ Market Cookbook & found a recipe utilizing fennel in the “Soup in the Raw” Section.
The recipe suggests enjoying this dish on its own, or with sprouted or wild rice to make it more hearty. I opted to add the...
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Purple Cabbage Slaw
I’ve had a head of purple cabbage from the CSA sitting in my fridge for ages! I decided it was high time I put it to some good use. I combined a few recipes I found on the Internet, “veganized” it, & added a few of my own little twists.
Vegan Purple Cabbage Slaw
1/2 medium head red cabbage, finely shredded
1/4 cup finely minced white sweet onion,
2 organic fuji...
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"Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries"
Especially fresh, local, summer cherries…straight from the farmers’ market!
I love cherry season!
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Favorite New Vegan Chef & a Fine Looking Cupcake
The vegan world has been a-buzz about up & coming vegan chef extraordinaire, Chloe Coscarelli, who won The Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars” with, you better believe it, VEGAN CUPCAKES!
One of the winning recipes…..
“Vegan Raspberry Tiramisu Cupcakes.” Hello, lover!
You get it by now, I adore cupcakes & Tiramisu takes a close second! After all, my...
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This Weeks CSA Share!!
My fridge is totally empty & I can’t wait to stroll over to the Adams Avenue Farmers’ Market tomorrow to pick up my CSA box! Yay, tomatoes!!! Time to start scouring my cookbooks & get some yummy summer meals planned!
Red Monarch Kale
Cucumber Mix
Socrates Green Bell Pepper
Bloomsdale Savoy Spinach
Zefa Fino Fennel
Tomatoes
Mixed Summer Squash
Dill
Basil
Baby...
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Happy to be home....
After a very long day of flight delays, missed connections (apparently Hurricane Alex is causing quite the commotion in the world of travel), a lot of time killed in the Houston Airport, & really horrifying plane food (which I didn’t eat, duh, but had to take a photo of because it is soooo bad - except for the carrots, of course……What happened to Vegetarian options on major...
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Last Night in Costa Rica
Well, here I am, my last night in Costa Rica! It’s been an amazing trip!
For one last, relaxing day before returning to reality, I treated myself to a night at the “Hilton Garden Inn” by the Liberia Airport. Now, to us Americans, the Hilton is hardly “posh” in comparison, but by Costa Rican standards, this is très, très chic, or shall I say “muy...
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