October 2017 – VEG VIBES

Vegan roasted red bell pepper sauce

Published on October 24, 2017October 24, 2017 by ashley@vegvibes2 Comments

YOU GUYS. This recipe is a winner. With one of my closet friends as my inspo (read about her wedding we just went to here), I whipped up this vegan roasted red bell pepper sauce to serve over spaghetti squash tonight and it’s so creamy, you wouldn’t even know there isn’t cheese in it.

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I’ll admit, there’s a bit of prep work (more than I usually do on a Monday) with roasting the bell peppers. And I made my own cashew milk, which obviously added time. You can prep the cashew milk the night before to save a few minutes but I do highly recommend making your own nut milk for this one; since it’s a savory dish.

I know you can buy unsweetened nut milk but it just always has a hint of sweet in my opinion. Besides, if you can avoid added ingredients, why not? Making your own nut milk is actually super simple. The only pitfall is it doesn’t keep for too long (no preservatives!) but I’ll give you the exact amounts I used for this recipe below.

That means, this post is actually two recipes in one! Your lucky day, friends.

As mentioned, I put this sauce over spaghetti squash (that I did prep the day before) but you can dip bread and veggies in it or use it as a sub for a more creamy pizza sauce.

Vegan roasted red bell pepper sauce

Prep time: 45 minutes – Cook time: 5 minutes – Servings: 2 – 3

Ingredients:

2 red bell peppers
2 chopped shallots
2 – 4 cloves of chopped garlic
1 – 2 Tbs of olive oil
3/4 cup cashew milk*
2 Tbs of nutritional yeast
A few dashes of red chili flakes (optional)
Basil for garnish

Directions:

Roast bell peppers in a 450 degree toaster oven for 30 minutes or until skin is charred
Tent bell peppers in tin foil to steam for 10 minutes and then remove skin and seeds
Sauté shallots and garlic in olive oil
Add peppers, sautéd shallots and garlic, cashew milk, nutritional yeast, and red chili flakes to blender and blend until smooth
Garnish and serve 🙂

*For the cashew milk:

Simply soak 1/2 cup unsalted cashews in water for ~8 hours (I soaked mine while I was at work today)
Drain cashews and add to blender with 1/2 cup of water
Blend and strain in a nut milk bag

A Washington Wedding

Published on October 24, 2017 by ashley@vegvibesLeave a comment

This girl loves a good wedding and this weekend Mike and I attended one that will go down in the books.

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We flew to rainy Washington to celebrate our good friends Morgan and Joe getting hitched. Arriving early (ish) Friday evening and piling on layers to adjust to the low temps, we checked into The Hyatt in Bellevue with just a few minutes to get ready before the welcome party. A French braid and leaving the hotel with wet nails it was!

We met up with other friends who had also flown in from the Bay Area for a quick drink in the hotel lobby and then headed to Wild Ginger to see the soon to be Mr. & Mrs.

Unbeknownst to us, the restaurant had recently moved locations. We walked right past the new location on our way to the old location, which sucks when it’s cold out and you’re in heels! But we made it there eventually, joking that we all deserved another drink from our added steps.

With the wine flowing and plenty of “hellos” to go around, the night was a great start to a wedding weekend! You might say it was a little too much fun, leaving both me and Mike severely hung over for most of the next morning. Ek. (In retrospect, we realized we just didn’t eat enough the night before, distracted by the good time we were having.)

After finally rolling out of bed around 1pm on Saturday, we walked to Earls for lunch; again bundled up for the cold stroll. It was sprinkling outside and, truth be told, I was happy for a quintessential Washington afternoon. I, of course, ordered the avo toast (any time it’s on the menu, #mine) and Mike got a NOM rice bowl (that I ended up eating half of). After lunch we walked in the rain to get tea at a cute cafe nearby and rid the rest of our hangovers! It was an uneventful afternoon but fun nonetheless.

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Then it was time to get wedding ready! Glam’d up and ready to celebrate Morgan and Joe, the group of us all staying at The Hyatt piled into a Lyft and headed to the venue. By this point, the weather had graduated from a light sprinkle to full blown rain. Washington decided to really show off for all of us out of staters. 😉

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The first person I saw when we entered the venue was the bride! Morgan was gorgeous and chic, standing there in a floor length black dress with a glass of sparkling in her hand. It was great to see her before the wedding and was a refreshing twist on tradition.

After everyone had time to mingle for a bit, Joe parted the crowd to make an aisle for Morgan to walk down. Again, another refreshing, no fuss take on standard wedding practice. Minutes later, Morgan was walking down the aisle – lined with love – in a white, lacy dress that swooped down in the back. She walked to the Imperial March which 1. is 100% Morgan and Joe and 2. (proud of myself for this one) I knew was Star Wars related without anyone telling me.

Morgan and Joe’s vows were personal, not too long, and cavity-causing sweet. The perfect combination! They had their husky by their feet while saying “I do,” and their respective best friends officiating. It was such a special moment to witness. I think everyone there felt honored to be experiencing it with them.

Next up? Dinner! The menu included a salad and bread to start, vegetarian meatloaf (a paradox), roasted potatoes, an array of vegetables, and pumpkin ravioli. So delicious, and no meat! Love that.

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There was a macaron bar was for dessert and then it was time to dance, snap selfies, and toast to many years of love, laughs, and happiness for Morgan and Joe! My favorite PNW couple.

IMG_20171021_231212 — Mike and Ben, at it again!

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olive oil chocolate chip cookies

Published on October 5, 2017October 5, 2017 by ashley@vegvibes1 Comment

I’ll admit, I’m not much of a baker. I cook like the Balinese* with little direction and not a single measurement. From what I gather, baking requires all of the direct and pretty much exact measurements.

Not my world.

Until I saw a recipe for olive oil chocolate chip cookies and I thought, well, that sounds de-lish.

Reading the recipe conjured up images of rolling hills, a perfectly breezy-sunny afternoon, and olive trees. Olive trees all around me and Mike! On a picnic! Romantically sipping rosé, staring into each other’s eyes, and eating these cookies.

A girl can dream!

Real life though, I pulled out our measuring cups, propped up my iPad, and scrolled through the recipe every 3.5 seconds to re-read the same line again and again. Why is it so hard to remember what comes next and how much of it?! Eventually these gems came out of the oven and – one word – bliss!

* When we took a cooking class in Bali, our instructor was making the corn fritters and cracked 4 eggs into the mix. As he did, he said something along the lines of “this recipe takes 4 eggs… or 5 eggs.. or 3 eggs… really how ever many eggs you have will work!”

Mike and I immediately exchanged glances because that’s exactly how I cook; how ever many I have …works!

olive oil chocolate chip cookies

Prep time: 15 minutes + 20 minutes for chilling – Cook time: 10 – 12 minutes – Servings: 12 cookies

Ingredients:

6 tablespoon melted butter
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 bar dark chocolate, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In large bowl, mix together butter, oil, and sugars until fluffy
Add egg and vanilla
In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt
Mix flour mixture into sugar mixture until combined
Fold in chocolate
Chill in refrigerate for 20 minutes
Scoop 1 inch balls and place on baking sheet 1 inch apart
Bake for 10 – 12 munites
Take out, let cool slightly, break and enjoy!

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