15th wedding anniversary at C & O Cucina.

Our anniversary is tomorrow but we went out tonight instead for drinks and dinner at C&O Cucina. The Rat Pack Lounge which is inside the restaurant was packed so we had our drinks at the table. I had a valentine special, the Raspberry Lemon Drop. Husband had a real martini (with gin!). I usually have this too but wanted to get a sweet drink. Mine had vodka, raspberry puree and lemon.

We started with the Mediterranean salad and ordered it without the goat cheese. It had a nice balsamic dressing. In the salad: mixed greens, artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, red onion and radicchio.

Dinner was delish! I had the penne arrabiatta.

Nourishing soup.

For dinner, I  wanted a big belly hug of a bowl of soup so I made my blind Scouse recipe and changed it up by adding shaved Brussels sprouts. Tastes amazing. So comforting!

Recipe:
2 T Olive oil
1/2 large onion chopped
3 large carrots sliced
4-5 small to medium yellow potatoes, peeled and chopped into large chunks
One handful pearl barley
2 big handfuls of shaved Brussels sprouts, chopped (I used the bagged sprouts from Trader Joes)
1 tsp mixed dried herbs (Rosemary sage parsley and thyme)
2 veggie stock cubes
1 can white beans drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the onions and carrots in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Cook until the onions are a bit soft. Add the potatoes, barley, Brussels, herbs, stock cubes crumbled, salt and pepper and then cover with water. Bring to the boil and cook for a few minutes. Add the white beans, bring to the boil again and then lower the heat to simmer for one to one and a half hours to ensure the barley is soft and veggies cooked. Add water if it seems too dry.
Adjust seasoning to your taste.

LACMA Cafe

Went to Los Angeles County Museum of Art primarily to show Henri the Metropolis II installation  by Chris Burden. I saw it four years ago and it's as fun and fascinating as ever.

 Thousands of matchbox sized cars and trains zoom by over and over!

H also got to have fun painting at the Children's gallery! Future art major like mama?

Levitated Mass installation.

For food we stopped by LACMA cafe. I was lucky to get a garden burger with vegan aioli. They also have a vegan wrap.

Leftover Taco

The other day I made these quick and delicious tacos with leftover butternut squash chili and sautéed mushrooms. They were great. This morning I made breakfast tacos with leftover mushrooms and scrambled tofu. Don't have a pic but it was a great way to use leftovers!

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles.

Went to the NHM today and it was so much fun! H absolutely loved it! 

Heads up! The cafe has a vegan cheese option for the pizzas. I ordered the veggie Neapolitain without the pesto and subbed vegan cheese (Daiya). I was a happy camper.

Some good food.

My pizza lunch from yesterday!

Epic vegan nachos! Cheese recipe from hot for food! It's on YouTube!

Brussels Sprouts Tater Tots

I made these awesome tater tots from the So Vegan website and H loved them! They are basically boiled potatoes and Brussels sprouts combined and baked into tater tot shapes. Super easy. You grate the cooked potato and chop up the cooked sprouts and add sautéed onion and garlic. 

Amazing dipped in ketchup!

Recipe: Brussels sprouts tater tots