One Pot Linguine

I've been wanting to try the "one pot pasta" recipe that's been going around. You only need to Google it and off you go.

I chucked the following into a pot: 1 lb. linguine broken in half, 1 can diced tomatoes, 4 1/2 cups water, 4 cloves garlic, sliced, 1 red onion, sliced, 1/2 cup marinated artichokes chopped, 1/2 cup kalamata olives, sliced, 1 basil cube (that I froze in oil), 2 tsp salt, a nice drizzle of olive oil, black pepper, a pinch of sugar and 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper.

Bring it to a boil and cook for 9 or so minutes, turning with tongs frequently until pasta is cooked al dente.

Perfect for quick mid week meals!

This came out so good. Really lovely. I served it with Parmezano Sprinkles (almonds, miso, nutritional yeast, salt).

Parmezano Sprinkles from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook. Great stuff!

For dessert: Italian coffee and Speculoos bicuits!

French Toast Breakfast and Cabbage Rolls

I finally made the Fronch Toast recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance and it was a so good. I ate all of that! I served it with some Tofurky maple tempeh bacon.

Before being drowned in maple syrup. Yum yum yum.

And for Sunday lunch my mom and I made the Syrian cabbage rolls from the Olive Trees and Honey cookbook. The insides were stuffed with rice, smashed chickpeas, onion and diced tomatoes and flavored with cilantro, garlic, mint and paprika.

I made a delicious side of dill potatoes with caramelized onions. This meal was amazing. And I have ton of leftovers!

Vegan cosmetics review: Pumpkin and Poppy Cosmetics (and one ELF product).

Pumpkin and Poppy are a wonderful indie brand on Etsy that sells a beautiful array of themed makeup that is 100% vegan and cruelty free. I placed a small order last week and got my order this morning.

I got a Beetlejuice themed cream eyeshadow and a Game of Thrones eyeshadow pencil. Great packaging and whimsical artwork!

"It's Showtime!" is a gorgeous burgundy red cream shadow with just the right amount of shimmer and sheen. "Protector" eye pencil is the perfect bronze! I was looking for a dupe of Biba's Outcast pencil and this looks pretty close!

Just look at these beautiful colors!

I got another vegan product by ELF when I went to Target today. This is not an indie company but most of their products are vegan and at great price points. I think some of their brushes are not vegan. So I got a Smudge Pot in "Wine Not" for $3.00.

Swatches of all three. ELF cream shadow at the far right. It's also very pretty. I like ELF products very much. But I do recommend shopping at small businesses such as Pumpkin and Poppy as often as you can. You will be getting great customer service, attention to quality and detail and wonderful vegan products to use. Sure beats the overpriced high end stuff out there. Pumpkin and Poppy ELF Cosmetics

Vegan Cosmetics Review: Shiro Cosmetics Part 3

So I think I have a problem. I can't stay away from vegan mineral makeup! I am amazed at the quality, variety of colors and affordability of these products. I now have quite a collection that will probably last a lifetime haha! I ordered yet again from Shiro Cosmetics because they recently came out with a limited edition gold eyeshadow inspired by Leonardo DiCaprio's Oscar win. I don't give a damn about the Oscars, or Leonardo for that matter but the eyeshadow is pretty! I made a small order that included this as well as a Nic Cage themed eyeshadow, a lipgloss and some samples.

Nic Cage and Leo shadow artwork. 

Love these titles!

Nic Cage Raking Leaves on a Brisk October Afternoon is the color of dark coffee grounds with gold sparkles. Finally an Oscar for Leo DiCaprio is a very pretty gold which leans cooler than most golds. 

 Nic Cage Doing The Charleston in a Bustling Speakeasy lipgloss is a beautiful deep berry red.

Swatched on my hand, no primer: Nic Cage lipgloss at the top. Underneath is Nic Cage Raking Leaves and Finally an Oscar for Leo.

Swatches on top of primer. Left to right: (a bit of) Don't Hurt Me, Mad As Her Master, Are You Shear You Wanna Enchant That?, Skull Kid, You Dropped Your Rod, Finally An Oscar For Leo DiCaprio.

L to R: Nic Cage Bustling Speakeasy lipgloss, Nic Cage Raking Leaves, Don't Hurt Me, Mad As Her Master. 

Yummy Sandwiches and Chocolate Topped Energy Bars!

I was in the mood for a gigantic sandwich today and I envisioned a turkey, cheese avocado and slaw sandwich. I think I succeeded. I used Tofurky and Daiya products.

The slaw is a combination of kale, cabbage, red onion, carrot with a creamy Vegenaise based dressing with mustard.

BBQ pulled " pork" made with soy tvp chunks. I wanted to use jackfruit but didn't have any. This was great with the kale slaw!

Served on toasted white bread.

These are the usual energy bars I make but this time I had slightly less peanut butter than the recipe called for so the mixture seemed a little drier to me. The remedy for that was to add a layer of dark chocolate on top that I melted with coconut oil. Worked great!

The bottom layer is toasted oats, sunflower, pumpkin and chia seeds, almonds, chocolate chips, dried cranberries and apricots. This is all mixed with melted peanut butter and agave. I pressed the mixture into a pan and chilled for a couple hours. Then topped it with the melted chocolate and chilled overnight.

St. Patty's Day deliciousness.

This year I made The Happy Pear's lentil and root veg stew again along with the kale colcannon mash. Very delicious and super healthy! For dessert I made a healthy banana, blueberry, peanut butter, cocoa, cashew milk smoothie.

More Food Photos!

Lots of yummy food I've been cooking. Bruschetta, salad, lots of lasagna and dal! And I'd like to say that TRADER JOE'S VEGAN MOZZARELLA IS THE BEST!

These are frozen basil cubes, with olive oil and with water. Looking forward to using them. I will either plop one into soup or into a hot pan for cooking!

Gardein porkless bites.

This is yummy. I stir fried onions and bell peppers with it and I regret not having pineapple! Sweet n sour "pork"!