Bento Cuteness

Oh bento boxes! How I love you. I don't have one but it is definitely on my list of must haves. Here are some cute bento boxes and ways to fill them.

1. From Japan With Love 2. Lunchbots 3. Modes 4. Karaimame 5. Just Bento 6. ivillage 7. Vegan Lunch Box

Chandelier Love

Since we moved into our condo two years ago I have been pining for a new chandelier to replace our very boring one that came with the place. I see so many I love but haven't put up the cash to buy one. Here are some great ones I found online.

1. Image find 2. Anna & Rose 3. The Vintage Chandelier Company 4. Generate 5. Via Design-Milk 6. Via The Frenzels Blog

Snack Night

P and I had friends over for dinner last night and we had a yummy spread of snack-y goodness.

1. Baked pita bread with nutmeg 2. Organic chocolate truffles 3. Bruschetta 4. Sun-dried tomatoes in oil  5. Broad bean dip  6. Sautéed mushrooms with garlic 7. Roasted pumpkin seeds  8. Apple slices with lemon and cinnamon  9. Two types of veggie-pate 10. Veggie-meat slices  11. Pickled watermelon radishes 12. Lemon olives 13. Soy and sesame dipping sauce  14. Hummus


Broad Bean Dip

1 can green broad beans
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp of lemon juice
1/2 tsp of salt
pepper to taste

Put everything in a blender and add just enough water to cover the beans. Blend and taste. Add more lemon or salt or pepper if needed, then serve with a little nutmeg on top.

Sweet Drinking Glassses

We have been helping some friends paint their new place and as a thank you gift they gave us these sweet little glasses. They are made by Quebec designer TOMA and I LOVE them.

Friday Photo Collage

My week in photo's

Minty Chocolate Cupcakes

It was a coworker's birthday this week, so along with all the other baking I did for the volunteer thank you, I made Chocolate Mint Cupcakes to celebrate.

The cupcake recipe came from The Vegan Table - minus the vanilla plus 1.5 tsp of mint extract.

For the Chocolate Icing

3/4 cup soften Earth Balance

1 cup cocoa powder

1/2 - 3/4 cups of maple syrup

1.5 tsp mint extract

Using a hand mixer, mix all ingredients together. Start with 1/2 cup of maple syrup and keep adding until the correct constancy and flavour is reached.

I topped each cupcake with some smashed candy canes. They tasted awesome!

Appetizer Plate

A little while back we had some family out visiting us and decided to take them to this lovely raw food restaurant called Crudessence. We ordered the appetizer mix to start and when it came out I was blown away by how good it looked. Oh so pretty!

Pumpkin and Pickled Watermelon Radish Rice Bowl

In our latest CSA food basket we received the most amazing watermelon radishes. I had never heard of them before and when I sliced one open I was amazed. Look at how pretty they are.

I also had some roasted pumpkin in the fridge so I whipped up this rice bowl.

For the Pickled Watermelon Radish and Carrot

1 large watermelon radish
2 medium carrots
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp maple syrup

Thinly slice the radish and carrots lengthwise using a mandolin. Put into a bowl and add vinegar and maple syrup. Mix and put into refrigerator until ready to use.

For the Pumpkin Rice Bowl

2 cups cooked white rice
1 cup roasted pumpkin or other squash
1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
3 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 Tbsp chili oil
1 Tbsp maple syrup

In a container mix the tamari, vinegar, oils, and maple syrup until combined. (I usually double the batch and keep some in the fridge for salad dressing or a quick stirfry sauce) Pour over warm rice and add pumpkin.

To serve

Dish rice mixture into a bowl and top with pickled radish and carrots. Pour some of the pickling mixture over the rice and top with some toasted pumpkin seeds.

Baking to Say Thanks

I work for an organization called Apathy is Boring and we have a lot of volunteers that come into the office to help us out. Next week is our volunteer thank you week and everyone in the office is bringing in yummy treats. I spent Sunday baking some chocolaty goodies for all of our amazing volunteers.

I got started with some Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti from Veganomicon. This was my first time making Biscotti and they turned out lovely and crisp.

Next up was the Chocolate Chip Cookies also from Veganomicon. I made a few changes by replacing regular flour with a mix of whole wheat and spelt flour and leaving out the cocoa powder. I wanted these to be a more classic cookie.

Lastly were the Double Chocolate Banana Cookies from one of my absolute favorite vegan cookbooks - Get It Ripe. The recipes in this book are clean, simple and always turn out amazing. And I love these super chocolaty cookies.

After 10 dozen batches of cookies here is what my kitchen looked like!