Today I am sharing one of my favourite super easy vegan chunky vegetable soup recipes! Those of you who wonder if I have surrended my teeth will be pleased to discover that I am, at long last, featuring another non blended soup! My father and I have had a 30 year debate about the virtues of chunk versus blended soups. We have agreed to disagree and acknowledge that there is room in the belly for both! I made a pot of this soup as a quick dinner last night and changed my mind about my scheduled post at the last minute and decided to share this recipe. Scott was so taken with it, I thought it deserved a mention. You know when you have been making a recipe for so long you take it for granted? It's kind of how I feel about this soup. It is... Keep Reading
Piggies! I was in artichoke HEAVEN the other night when I tasted this incredible cream of artichoke soup at a birthday party, and I simply HAD to share this quick easy recipe with you today in honour of St Patrick's Day. Being Irish, I look forward to it every year! Those of you who have been following me for a while would be familiar with my dear friend, Mika, and her two boys Rei and Kai, who I lived with when I first moved out to CA in 2010. They are my family here; and through Mika, I have met some of the most wonderful people I have ever known -- Liz and her adorable son Flynn; and the Mohr Family: Jim and Toshiko, and their gorgeous children, Selina and Sean. Our monthly "pot luck and games night" has become one of my "can't live... Keep Reading
Piggies! It is DAY 20 of "I LOVE Vitamix" and we have had an overwhelming response to our Vitamix 5200 blender giveaway. If you have entered yet, simply create a piggy name, enter your email address, and share on Twitter and Facebook for bonus entries. The more your piggy name is mentioned in subsequent entries by family, friends and followers, the more chances you have to get your hands on that blender! Good Luck! Today I am celebrating one of my favourite people in the whole world - Scott's mum, Sandra. She is one of the smartest, most interesting people I have ever met, and I absolutely ADORE her! She is a wonderful cook and I love spending time in the kitchen with her. We had a fantastic time cooking together for Thanksgiving, and even... Keep Reading
Piggies! It is DAY 14th in "I LOVE Vitamix" month to celebrate our amazing Vitamix 5200 Giveaway. Don't miss out on your chance to win this amazing high speed blender. Simply create a piggy name, enter your email address, and then share on Facebook and Twitter. Every time your piggy name is mentioned in a subsequent entry you get a bonus entry. So "share" is the name of the game! Good Luck! I spent a fabulous day with my friend Suzie Stitt. She just spent an amazing month travelling around the country with her two children and was heading back to Australia. Before I dropped her off at the airport, we whipped up this simple fresh soup for dinner, and I thought it was worthy of sharing today. Suzie has a wonderful flare for fresh flavours... Keep Reading
Piggies! It is DAY 7 of "I LOVE Vitamix" month in honour of my fabulous Vitamix Giveaway! If you haven't entered yet, don't miss out on a chance to get your hands on this amazing blender! Sign up for our amazing giveaways, create a piggy name, and then share it on Facebook and Twitter for bonus entries! Good Luck! This is a very short post today as I just picked up my surrogate sister, Kat from the airport. She was one of my best friends in high school when I lived in Singapore, and when her parents moved to Indonesia, she remained as a boarding student and my parents were her guardians. She became part of our family and will always think of her as my second sister. She is a Qantas flight attendant and manages to snag the odd trip to L.A.... Keep Reading
Piggies, the weather has finally turned in Southern California! In my world, that means it is “bug-in-a-rug” soup season! As much as I mourn the loss of “Hot Summer Nights”, daylight savings, and sunshine, I do look forward to cuddling up in front of the fire with a delicious bowl of steaming vegan soup. Those of you who know me will say that it doesn’t need to be Winter for me to extoll the virtues of a healthy bowl of soup, and you would be right. Whether, it is “Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall” a delicious bowl of soup (hot or cold) never ceases to satisfy me. It is the ultimate comfort food that seems to nourish the body and the soul. But aside from the romantic “warm and fuzzies”, soup is practical! It is quick, easy, hearty,... Keep Reading
This is one of my favourite times of the year. Those of you who who have been following me for a while know my penchant for vegan soups! Check out some of my past favourites, my vegan cream of spinach soup, vegan roasted sweet potato soup, vegan coconut lentil and pumpkin soup, vegan mint pea soup, and the delicious vegan garlic potato soup. Today I add to these delectable offerings and share my creamy vegan roasted butternut squash soup. YUMMO! I love heading up to the local market and seeing pumpkins, acorn squash, and my beloved butternut squash! The gorgeous oranges and yellows of the squashes just sing out to be exploited. I bought some local onions, carrots, ginger and cilantro, and I had everything I needed for my simple Winter soup... Keep Reading
Today I am feeling more grateful than ever for my health. After what has been the most challenging year of my life I am finally back on the road to optimum vitality and abundance, and I owe so much to the extraordinary women in my life, who have nurtured me with love, understanding, compassion, and a lot of incredible comfort food! I owe a huge part of my recovery to Dr Elaine Carter who has changed my life, and to Sharon and Lois who work with her. Today we are celebrating another wonderful vegan recipe cooked up with these three wonderful women who have been such guiding lights and wonderful friends this year. I am grateful every day for their wisdom and insight. We have so much fun cooking together and sharing stories over delicious... Keep Reading
Fellow avocado lovers, today is your day! Prepare to dip your snouts in the avocado trough of Heaven. For those of you who have not yet embraced the joys of avocado – this avocado gazpacho just might intoxicate you! This quick and easy raw gazpacho is like “liquid guacamole” that kicked me into a pleasure-induced coma and that had me “coat-checking” my teeth and dreaming up a raw vegan recipe for a “taco in a glass”. Hmmm…food for thought. But for today, I continue my celebration of “all things gazpacho” inspired by Janet Mendel’s wonderful article in the LA Times Food Section. Janet posted an exotic white gazpacho recipe (Ajo blanco con uvas) - an unusual emulsion of white garlic, almonds and grapes that has its origins in the... Keep Reading
About a month ago I read a wonderful article in the LA Times Food Section written by Janet Mendel celebrating Spanish gazpacho in all its incantations. It was a scorching afternoon and the title phrase “this Spanish soup is adaptable as it is refreshing on a hot Summer’s day” had me lunging for my blender ( my Vitamix ) filled with inspiration to create my own raw gazpacho variations. I whipped up a basic raw tomato gazpacho soup on the spot, which was as tasty as it was refreshing. So I had to share this easy healthy recipe with you today, as a quick delicious treat to serve up at your next steamy lunch. I have had a bit of a “gazpacho obsessed” Summer, so I will share more fruits of my labour this month and celebrate “all things... Keep Reading
