Which are your first childhood culinary memories? You know, those foods that just like Proust‘s Madeleines, take you back to another time and another place with just one bite. Perhaps in your mother’s kitchen, or at your grandparent’s house, foods that are familiar yet so distant in time. To me it’s always fascinating how flavors and smells can trigger so many memories, even things we thought were long forgotten. Many times I ask this same question to my husband, as coming from different countries we didn’t get to experience the same types of food as children, and every now and then I try to recreate his favorite foods but Vegan,...
I have a confession to make. I’m not too crazy about banana bread. No please don’t leave just yet! :-) You must be thinking, I came here for the banana bread and she doesn’t even like it?! Well, the fact that it’s not on top of my favorites’ list doesn’t mean that I don’t get to bake a good banana bread as often as I can. See, it’s one of my husband’s favorite cakes instead – ah, the things we do for love ;D But this is not a simple Vegan banana bread – I’m sure you have pinned and saved many of such recipes already. This is the perfect...
In this antioxidant smoothie you'll find plenty of healthy plant-based proteins, fibers and vitamins. Blend well and enjoy in the morning or post-workout
This week, thanks to warmer temperatures, even if we’re still one month away from the actual arrival of Spring, I really started feeling vernal. Blame it on the birds just outside our windows that wake up in the morning the same time as me – making me feel like in an old-school Disney movie; blame it on the daylight that starts to linger a little longer before giving in to twilight… Anyway, today I was about to share with you my most colorful, flower-filled, spring-themed smoothie you’ve ever seen… And then this happened. I don’t usually share soup recipes, even though we cook and eat at least one each...
Booze is not something you’ll find anywhere else on this blog, nor in my life. I don’t know exactly why, but somewhere during my life I made the unconscious decision of simply not liking spirits, wine, beer nor any other alcoholic drinks. Some people think that’s kind of lame, or boring – but those are not my kind of people so I don’t mind. I often joke that my taste buds haven’t evolved much since when I was 12, as it’s pretty much the case (besides the fact that now I like things like garlic which I used to hate during my childhood). But there is one exception, and that...
You guys, it doesn’t get easier than this. Who doesn’t love lasagna? Lasagna is such a festive dish to me, perfect for family gatherings, holiday meals, lazy Sunday lunches and so on. My mom used to make it during the holidays, when “pasta al forno” (baked pasta) is always a pleasurable main dish, hearty, yummy, and whenever it was brought to the table you could hear many “ohhh!” “ahhh!” from everyone. Traditionally, this type of tomato-sauce based lasagna wasn’t a meat-less version, but so many versions exist even in the Italian cuisine! For example, zucchini lasagna, or mushroom lasagna are implicity meat-less. In that case you can just sub the...
Now that the days are getting warmer, simple, quick lunches are a must in our household. This is the perfect example of a balanced meal packed with proteins and that will keep you full for hours: a creamy pasta dish loaded with tomatoes complete with super-healthy hemp seeds. The “Alfredo sauce” is ridiculously easy to make and delicious, too – it’s rich, flavorful and velvety: it’s made from a packaged organic rice cream for convenience, garlic powder and nutritional yeast. The idea for this recipe came from an amazing soy-based Swedish fettucine pasta. Fettuccine are probably among my favorite types of pasta, but as the Italian tradition wants, they often contain eggs,...
Whether you’re the daughter to a mom, a friend to a mother, or a mother yourself it’s always fun to spoil the special moms in our lives the cruelty-free way. To help you with your gift giving for that extra special mom that probably has everything and who’s interested in living a more compassionate lifestyle, this Mother’s Day I’ve created a list of my favorite Cruelty-free Mother’s Day Gift Ideas to spoil that beautiful Vegan mama in your life :) Girl Meets Voyage Vegan Travel Wallet – $44.99* from: ModCloth plus get your goodies by 5/8 with Free Express Shipping on $150+ Orders! | Vegan Snack Box – $25* from:...
Welcome Spring smoothie It’s in honor of the days that get longer and the sweet vision of flowers blooming that I’ve made this healthy and delicious Welcome Spring smoothie. I just love its color! As I’m writing this, it’s not Springtime yet: we’ve just had 4 or 5 days of non-stop snow. Rooftops are still covered in morning frost, and most fields are still under a white coat, but you can feel Spring approaching, in some particular moments, when the wind carries the scent of distant flowers and the sun rays caress your hair in the delicate light of the early mornings. And especially because I’ve finally had such a...
So Valentine’s day is just around the corner. Love it? Hate it? I so want to hate it (and I do dislike the commercial/cheesy side of it) but I always end up preparing at least one special dish, usually a dessert, not because it’s a special day (when you’re in love, everyday is a special day) but because cooking is a way to express my love (again those Italian roots, you know?). Whether you love it, hate it, loathe it, if you love vegan foods, and you want to spoil someone (your other half, your best friend, yourself?) I’m sure you’ll find one good reason to spread some Vegan love...
Custard is one of the most famous desserts of the world, and it can be easily declined in many flavors: classic lemon, sweet vanilla, naughty chocolate, sophisticated green tea and so on. The majority of people still thinks you need eggs and dairy products to achieve that perfect luscious texture, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth! Just like you don’t need eggs to make a perfectly fluffy cake (ladies and gentlemen, proof 1 & 2) you don’t really need any animal-derived ingredients to cook just about anything, in this case you only need to take advantage of what ingredients such as cornstarch can make for you in order...
This super simple vanilla cake will be a crowd pleaser: fluffy and moist on the inside, nice and golden on the outside, this Vegan cake brings back childhood memories!
