Beautifully Connected and Bound

            My fellow coworker and her fiance Lee are to be wed this coming Friday! I'm so very excited for them two! This whole marriage thing has really been getting me thinking... I'm wondering about when I would want my wedding, what colors, what location, what photographer, what food, what cake and soooo much more! Would I want it next to a holiday, even though I love the fall? Would it be indoors or outdoors? Can I have Jose Villa, please? Vegan or non-vegan? Far tooooo many decisions for me at this age in my life. But I admire her sensibilty and calm spirit. She has been working this weekend and yet looks completely unfrazzled, or anxious, I'm amazed at this women's balanced emotions! I know for sure that I would frazzled consistently through the entire process, being a terrible decision maker does not help a bit. But I decided to bake the lady a dark-chocolate lavender & cardamon tarte Inspired By to soothe any last minute emotions that may arise. 


      While this tarte isn't vegan, it is gorgeous. I would have preferred to have cooked it in a long tarte pan like the original so it could be cut and wrapped individually but it was still very pretty with the home made cardamon and lemon crust. I adore this ladies blog, entitled "Desserts for Breakfast", her use of flavors and spiced really pair well with one another and enhance each other. Plus, her pictures are beeeauuuutiful and that wins me over right there! But, continuing on, I wrapped it in a white box, tied it with very fall festive colored fabric that i tore into strips and tied around into a bow, and then a bundle of dried lavender from the farmers market. It was a splendid way to spend foggy cold evening inside. 

Neon Carrot Orzo Salad

     A couple weeks back my Mom and I decided to try a new restaurant in SLO (San Luis Obispo) called "Neon Carrot". The name already had me hooked. My Mom was a bit hesitant to go, fearing the worst of not enjoying her lunch, but we were both quite pleasantly surprised! We decided to split a vegetable pita with a nice squash puree and a lemon caper topping, then on the side she got their potatoe salad and I ordered the Orzo salad. The Orzo was light and vibrant with flavor and color, purely fresh for our taste buds sliding into winter weather. So i decided to attempt the salad myself and this is what i came up with...

 

Fresh Orzo Salad

Ingredients:

~1 Package of Orzo Pasta

~5 Mini bell

~1 Can of artichoke hearts

~1 Handful of asparagus spears

~10-12 Kalamata olives

~2 Tbsp Olive Oil

~Juice of 1/2 a Lemon

~Salt-n-Pepper

~Fresh Basil

Steps to Follow:

~Roast the bell peppers over an open flame. They will be ready when they begin to char and blacken. From there you can remove the skins (rinsing may help) and cut open to remove seeds. 

~Boil a handful of asparagus spears and blanch. I personally just heated up some frozen spears to make things a tad easier.

~Cook the Orzo Pasta according to the Package directions

~While the pasta is cooking, go ahead and chop up the bell peppers, artichokes, asparagus, and kalamata olives. 

~When pasta is done toss with olive oil and vegetables. Then        

season with lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. 

~I recommend refrigerating the pasta so that all the flavors begin to mingle with one another. Before serving toss in some freshly torn basil and enjoy!

     

                     Rice shaped pasta is just lovely

                     

Garden Pita

THE most AMAZING vegan pizza that has yet to come.  

(well it's not even necessarily a pizza, it deserves it's own appreciation)

  Crust:  ~1 whole wheat pita

  Sauce: ~1 Large tomato chopped

             ~3 fresh basil and 3 parsley leaves

             ~1 Clove of Garlic minced

             ~a dash of dried oregano, salt, and pepper

             ~about a half to a whole tablespoon of olive oil for the cookin'

  Topping: ~ 1 small zucchini sliced thinly 

                 ~ 1 cup of fresh spinach chopped

                 ~ 2 large leaves of swiss chard chopped

                 ~ 3 or 4 spears of asparagus chopped

                 ~ 1 clove of garlic minced

                 ~  about half to a whole tablespoon of olive oil for the cookin' 

Finale: ~1-2 kalamata olives minced

            ~Juice of about 1/2 a small lemon

            ~Sprinkle of Balsamic Vinaigrette 

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

 Heat olive oil in a pan, toss in garlic till diffuse flavor, add tomatoes. once tomatoes soften break them up with spoon, add herbs and cook on low till complete soft.

 In a second pan, heat olive oil, add zucchini and cook for a couple minutes till the color becomes a bit vibrant. Toss in spinach, swiss chard and garlic. cook until the greens are "al-dente" 

Turn off the heat on both pans and throw the pita in a cast iron skillet to heat in the oven just for a minute. take out and top with sauce and then vegetables. Place back in the oven for about 5 minutes, possibly less...

Once it is taken out top with 1-2 chopped kalamata olives, a squeeze of half a lemon, and a sprinkle of balsamic. 

Lastly, Enjoy It's Majesty.

To finish it off, 

Vegan Hot Cocoa

I mug of Almond milk

About three teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder or to your liking

About a tablespoon of raw sugar or agave to your liking

Sip and enjoy : )

I'm sorry to say i have no pictures to show since i happened to eat it too quickly. But I am quite sure I'll be making it once again in the future and I'll make sure to set aside my drooling taste buds to snap a photo.