SPICED CARROT CAKE with CASHEW YOGURT FROSTING

Hello! I have returned after a loooong hiatus! I've just been, you know, getting through this global pandemic and trying to take care of myself. These past few weeks have been really good for me, though, and I feel myself starting to get inspired again. The skies are opening up, and so is my spirit. So, there's no better a time than now to share a wonderful recipe I have been working on.

PERFECT FLUFFY CRISPY POTATOES

So I found something amazing and wonderful and now I've put my own spin on it. Last week I was having my breakfast before I went to the gym and while I was scrolling through Instagram photos (I don't do it AS MUCH these days but it's still more than I'd like... oops) I saw this picture of insanely perfect-looking potatoes; they were crispy and fluffy like clouds at the same time. The rest of the day I couldn't stop thinking about them and decided I NEEDED to make them myself, but there wasn't any recipe given for the photo. So I googled "crispy fluffy potatoes" and added "vegan" just cuz. I found an oil-free recipe that looked pretty damn divine, so I tried it out but with a few of my own tweaks. Instead of using white flour to coat the taters, I used various herbs and spices. The method here is what makes the magic: we are gonna partially boil the potatoes so their outsides are soft, then shake 'em up with a few different herbs and spices so they get marred and fluffy around the edges. THEN we bake them and suddenly we have potatoes that are perfectly crispy and browned on the outside, and fluffy and soft on the inside.

ALMOND COOKIES with SPICED APPLE SLICES

This recipe is part of a Family Favourites series hosted by Angela over at Canned Time. The theme was to veganize a recipe that you used to love as a kid and/or that your fam would regularly enjoy together. Honestly, I had trouble thinking of sweet recipes that I hadn't already veganized for my blog (like pumpkin pie, berries and whipped cream, ice cream, chocolate cake) and most of the savoury dishes I loved eating when I was little are just sooo not ideal to veganize (think Thai-style omelettes and baked salmon). There were a lot of savoury foods I ate growing up that I COULD made vegan now - pizza pops and chicken nuggets to name a couple - but they wouldn't be that healthy or simple and I'm not into spending lots of time making recipes for dinner, especially if they have more refined ingredients.. I'd rather just bake eight potatoes, sprinkle on some salt and pepper and be done with it. Seriously, my dinners are pathetically easy when I'm not writing a savoury cookbook. 

MANGO CURRY with CHICKPEAS

Finally sharing this amazing recipe from Richa Hingle's newest cookbook. It is the best curry I have ever had / made and you need it in your life, even if you think you're doing ok without it (... you're the ones you need it most). I've tried a bunch of other recipes from the book - Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen - as well and loved them all; like spicy potato-filled samosas, flavourful veggie-filled dishes and loads of DIY spice mixes. The recipe I am sharing from the book today is magical for me since I've always adored curries but have never been very good at making them. This curry is sweet, spicy, SO CREAMY, thick, and basically just mango, coconut milk and garam masala. When you pair it with rice and cilantro, the whole world kind of falls away as you take a bite; you and the curry become one. I was trying to listen to The Savage Lovecast while I ate it but it was hard to concentrate because of all the flavour explosions that were happening in my mouth. I'm serious: best curry I have ever had.. and I have had a lot of curry. Now I've said and thought the word 'curry' too many times so it doesn't seem like a real word anymore. Don't you love it when that happens? It illustrates how fluid and temporal the meanings of language actually are.

MY CURRENT FAVE SMOOTHIE {RECIPE}

As the title blatantly shouts, this is my smoothie of choice right now. I made it for the first time maybe four days ago (when I was still hungry after dinner) and ever since I have been having it every morning with my oatmeal before I go to the gym. It came together randomly and ended up blowing my mind. It's nice and sweet but also super nutritious. I just put in all the ingredients for this drink on cronometer.com and here's what we've got going for us when we sip it down: nearly 20% of your recommend daily intake for protein, 58% for riboflavin (B2), 79% for pyridoxine (B6), 499% for vitamin C (!!!), 107% for copper, 28% for vitamin K, 37% for magnesium, 64% for manganese, 36% for potassium, 30% for selenium, and I could just keep going.

THIS IS IN ONE [DELICIOUS] DRINK, PEOPLE. HELLO.

CREAMY VEGAN MAC + CHEESE with OTHER GOOD STUFF

This cheese sauce recipe is based on the one from Buzzfeed that every vegan on earth tried a couple weeks ago. Jack was one of those vegans and he made it for him and me because he's a sweet heart. He tripled the recipe - we eat a LOT - so I got to have cheesy leftovers for a whole week! I loved putting it on rice along with steamed kale and beans. You can see my week of cheese on my Instagram feed.

A NICE GREEN SMOOTHIE with MINT + TURMERIC

I was gonna call this a "healing" green smoothie blah blah blah but then I though, "Hmm, don't wanna buy into that pseudoscience stuff so I'll keep it simple." Because honestly I don't know if this smoothie will heal anything for you, but in my opinion it's at least certainly nice and yummy and green. I'll leave it at that. I am not a doctor. 

SUMMER ROLLS w/ GARDEN VEGGIES, BASIL + TAHINI CHILI SAUCE

YAY 4 SUMMER ROLLS! I always wanna give credit where credit is due: these are inspired by the traditional Vietnamese dish Gỏi cuốn (although my take on them is pretty untraditional). These are super cute and even more delicious to eat. I am sorry I haven't been posting very often lately. I'm going to be spending more time on this blog again now that my third book, The Rawsome Vegan Cookbook, is finished! You can pre-order it now if you'd like (you'd like). On that note, this recipe for summer rolls is a great example of the kind of recipes that fill up my new cookbook so if you dig these rolls, you will REALLY dig the book.

CRUNCHY GOOEY SWEET CARAMEL CHOCOLATE BUCKWHEAT SLICES

So these are really decadent.

A new and now very dear friend, Sophie, stayed with me for a few days over the last week/weekend and we made these up before watching a movie called Inside Out. It's funny because when were discussing our fave movie genres I basically just listed a bunch of dark, depressing films where people die (*shrugs with helpless look*) and Sophie was like: dude, I love kids movies and chick flicks. EVEN STILL: we both really liked Inside Out. It's a kids movie but I tell ya, directors for kids movies are now A) giving the lil ones way more credit than ever before and B) considering the parents and other non-kiddie folk. This movie had a lot of mature themes and basically was about explaining the psychology of the human brain... in a really entertaining way. The main character was a girl but I was so pleased to see how traditional gender expectations were blatantly being broken: the girl was in pretty gender-neutral clothing the whole time and her fave hobby was hockey. Progress.

BAKED YAMS with TAHINI (AKA HEAVEN)

I eat this nearly every night and it never gets old. Ask anyone who knows me, they probably feel jealous of the yams and/or sweet potatoes. There actually IS a difference between yams and sweet potatoes. I like both though. I love both, to be honest. Sometimes I really question the deepness of my devotion to certain plants. Like last night I baked some potatoes and just stood there in the kitchen gobbling them down plain, while murmuring phrases of adoration to them. Is this normal? Ah, whatever the answer... I LOVE YAMS AND I DON'T CARE YOU KNOWS IT! As long as I have baked yams and/or sweet potatoes in my life, I am at peace with the universe. 

10 day juice fast: day 10

day 10 is here! and almost done! it's really strange to think i won't be only consuming juice tomorrow... i will be having solid food. crazy. a part of me is a little scared to go back to food. i know i'll have no regrets once i eat but i've gotten used to juice, and i love what the fast has done for me. at the same time, tomorrow is like christmas!

i spent my final day of fasting having a great time with amber. we drove downtown and got E3 Live shots at Buddha-Full. i won't lie... i prefer wheat grass. but then i LOVE wheat grass juice. i know some people think it's too strong but personally i think it's delicious and sweet on it's own! the E3 Live however was pretty bitter. we had orange and lemon slices for chase. 

what do you think of E3 Live shots? compared to wheat grass?

next we stopped at sejuiced and got... you guessed it. juice. amber is having a raw day :) i got the "body and soul" juice and she got something with "energy" in the name. can't go wrong there.

then we went to kits (hippie central: my home land) and visited banyen books. I LOVE THIS PLACE! my mom had been telling me it was my kind of store and that i needed to go for awhile now, but i didn't have a chance until today. oh boy. heaven. they had a book on tiny houses, a whole shelf dedicated to juicing, fasting and raw food (and two others for vegan, whole foods and vegetarian diets), and everywhere you looked was something to do with harmony, om, buddha, chimes, meditation music, and generally just beautiful things.

finally we walked down to the beach and sat on opposite ends. i was able to meditate and reflect on the past 10 days, as well as anticipate the near future and my feelings about both strands of time. exactly what i needed. after that i fell into a om-like state and have stayed that way since. i will sleep very well tonight i think, and wake up tomorrow to face a day of eating!

oh and i do want to mention, tonight i had some nut milk. this is my juice fast and i'll do it the way i want to, tonight i felt nut milk would hit the spot. some people might be stricter and consume nothing but juice for 10 days (which is essentially what i did, of course), but i'm totally fine with eating a strawberry here and there, and having nut milk on the last days. my body is thrilled either way ;)

i got an idea from this glass of milk actually... i'm gonna make a cashew banana chocolate milkshake tomorrow ;) stay tuned, my darlings! i want to thank you all for the support and positive energy you gave me during these past 10 days.