C20's birthday celebration was fit for a Queen.....

Big thanks to all the friends and family who helped us celebrate C20's birthday basically the entire weekend!  Showing up and calling means a lot!  Without friends and family, what is there?

Today started off with a vegetarian breakfast feast, sugar, friends, and a massive dinner at Fuku Asian Bistro which never disappoints.  Now we are on to (cake part 2) and cannoli and binge-watching Netflix.

Happy birthday again to one of the greatest kids/young adults out there!

Hurry up Thanksgiving.....

Also on the menu, roasted veggies.

Basically, I just make this up as I go.

This is red potatoes, zucchini, and Brussels sprouts.

Wash and chop the veggies, season with olive oil, soy sauce, salt, pepper, and garlic.

Toss veggies and seasoning until coated.

Put into a baking pan, cook for 30 to 45 minutes at 400 and done.

New Thanksgiving ideas......

I found this roasted vegetable pasta salad recipe at Rabbit and Wolves Vegan Comfort Foods, and it looks so delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Brussels sprouts, halved or quartered
• 1 Leek, sliced
• 1 Cup Sweet potatoes, chopped(about 1 small one)
• 1 Cup Mushrooms, halved or quartered
• 4 Cloves Garlic, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons Olive oil
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 16 oz. Pasta

Vegan Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing

• 1/4 Cup Vegan Mayo
• 3 Tablespoons Olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons Apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons Agave
• 1 Teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 Tablespoon Poppy seeds
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon Onion powder

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Cut all the vegetables and garlic and put them on a sheet pan. Then pour the olive oil on top and sprinkle the salt on top and toss the veggies to coat them all in oil and salt. 
3. Now, roast the veggies at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are cooked through and the veggies are getting a bit brown. I like to toss the veggies around after about 10 minutes. 
4. While the vegetables are cooking, boil the pasta. Cook according to package directions. Drain and let cool. 
5. Next, make the poppy seed dressing. Add all of the dressing ingredients to a small mixing bowl. Whisk together until fully combined. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. 
6. Then, when the veggies are done roasting, remove them from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes. 
7. Now, add the pasta to a large mixing bowl, then add in the veggies and then pour the poppy seed dressing on top. Toss to coat everything in the dressing. Serve immediately, or chill and serve later! 

Eating in LA......

Much to my surprise, I did not find LA to be all that vegan/vegetarian-friendly.  It was actually disappointing.  I just had it in my mind that meat and dairy would be harder to come by than almond milk and tofu but now I know.  It could explain the $23 veggie burger though.  Still have trouble believing that. 

Luckily, we did find Stuff I Eat Vegan Restaurant and had dinner there before we went to see Imagine Dragons in concert at The Forum. 

The restaurant is super cute and very open.  Pink Himalayan salt, fruit-infused water, and picnic tables with benches to eat at.  The place was extremely clean too.  Good vibes all the way around.




The girls both ordered the organic soul food platter.  This was a massive amount of food including yams, vegan mac'n'cheese, BBQ tofu, kale greens, black-eyed peas, cornbread muffin, vegan potato salad, and coleslaw.

I ordered the Sumthin-Sumthin which included wild rice, seasoned tofu, black beans, corn, guacamole, carrots, un-tuna, and two corn tortillas.

The food is a little expensive but considering it is made to order, insanely large portions, vegan, and 95% organic it was a good investment.

If you are in that part of LA, I would definitely recommend having breakfast or dinner at Stuff I Eat.  Check out their website here.

A birthday filled with food......

Homemade pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast.

Homemade flatbread pizzas for dinner.

Sauteed cherry tomatoes.

Organic spinach.

Baby bellas and green peppers.

MorningStar veggie strips.

Feta cheese, mozzarella, and vegan cheddar.

My masterpiece!  It was way too much but YOLO!  

And the birthday cake finale.  Yes, I am 29 again!  My kids are so funny, like me.

Thanks to my girls for making today such a great birthday!  And friends and family for lunch Friday and Saturday.  Cannot wait!!!

New Year's Day dinner.........

Homemade cornbread, over-night black-eyed peas, sauteed green beans, spinach, and MorningStar Spicy Buffalo veggie nuggets.  I probably should have had more greens.

~

The gifts are all opened, the food and desserts are all eaten, and my family is happy snuggled up in new blankets with new pjs.  Life is the best it has ever been.

Merry Christmas

We have the best friends anyone could ask for, and I am so thankful for all of them.........

Santa's Elves showed up today bringing a whole lot of awesome.

Homemade vegan veggie soup which is my absolute
favorite thing to eat even when its 100 degrees outside.

Check out all these goodies.  Homemade chocolate bark and pretzel sticks
dipped in white chocolate.  Apples, oranges, bananas, popcorn, candy from around the world, and
a few Bai infusion drinks. 

Homemade cookies.

And finally homemade cinnamon rolls.

Thanks again to our awesome friends.

Merry Christmas to all.

chick'n & dumplings without the chick'n. As soon as it is cold enough, we are makin' it........

Fear TWD and Falafel wraps........

Tonight we made Falafel balls and put them into wraps, and they were so delicious.

 This one was mine and as you can clearly see, I was a little overzealous in making mine.

We fried and baked the falafel then added tzatziki sauce, Greek olives, carrots, organic cherry tomatoes, lettue, and cucumber.  So delicious!

We had a green dinner for St. Patrick's Day.........

So many good foods, so little time. Hurry up Thanksgiving!!

I found this idea at Annie's Eats and cannot wait to try it for Thanksgiving.  Find the recipe and more here.

Portabellos with Herbed Stuffing and Sweet Potatoes

Yield: 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium sweet potato (about 12 oz.), peeled and cut into ½-inch chunks
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 6-8 portabello mushrooms
• 1 small onion, diced small
• 1 stalk celery, diced small
• 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
• ½ tsp. minced fresh sage
• 3½ cups cubed or torn whole grain bread (crusts removed)
• ½ cup vegetable stock
• 
  

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 400˚ F.  Add the sweet potato chunks to a baking dish.  Drizzle lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Bake until just fork tender, about 12-15 minutes.  Remove from the oven but maintain oven temperature.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.  Remove the stems from the mushrooms and carefully scrape the gills from the caps with a spoon or paring knife; discard.  Place the mushrooms caps on the baking sheet.  Drizzle each lightly with olive oil.  Roast the caps about 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven, maintaining the oven temperature.
• While the mushrooms are baking, add about 2 teaspoons of olive oil to a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and celery to the pan and sauté just until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the thyme and sage and cook 1 minute more, until fragrant.  Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes.
• Gently stir in the bread cubes, vegetable stock, and sweet potatoes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Mound a portion of the stuffing mixture into each mushroom cap.  Return the pan to the oven and bake 15 minutes more, until the stuffing is golden brown.  Serve immediately.

Funny dinner conversations.

Tonight when we were having dinner, the topic of what a commonwealth is was asked by my oldest daughter.  She needs to know everything but that is another blog post.  I was trying to explain it to her in a way that she would understand but I guess I was fumbling on my words so I grab our student dictionary and read the definitions out loud.  While we were waiting on my youngest daughter to finish eating, my husband picked up the dictionary and just started looking at random words.  He came across the word nincompoop and started to laugh.  So my youngest daughter asked him "What is a nincompoop?"  He read the definition which said a nincompoop was a stupid or silly person.  My youngest daughter laughed and said "You are a nincompoop daddy!"  Laugh, laugh!  These are the moments that I live for.