Pesto Pasta With Roasted Asparagus

My favorite go-to lunch or dinner would have to be my pesto pasta with roasted asparagus! It's quick, easy, and satisfies my carb cravings. It only requires 3 super simple ingredients!

What I used:

• Any kind of pasta
• Basil pesto - homemade or store bought is fine!
• Asparagus

1. Boil pasta, follow box directions. Don't forget to salt the water!
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
3. Prep the asparagus by cutting off the ends, cut them so they're an inch, toss in olive oil, sea salt and black pepper to taste. Roast until tender.
4. Mix pasta, pesto, and asparagus!

PS I am planning on doing a separate post outlining how to make homemade pesto! Enjoy!

Flashback Friday - Hot Spot Restaurant

Known as "asian-style fondue", Hot Spot, located in Fairfax, VA, is sort of reminiscent of an asian version of the Melting Pot. So basically, you cook your own food. This was my first time having hot pot and it was very interesting to say the least.

The way it works:

1. Choose a broth to cook in. I chose the veggie broth.
2. Choose your proteins and veggies. It's all you can eat, so you can check off anything from a menu they provide.
3. You have the option of preparing a sauce at their sauce bar.
4. Dip everything in the broth and let it cook up.
5. Dip in sauce and eat!

In general, I was very overwhelmed by it all and I didn't think it was a typical complete meal. By the time you feel like you have everything cooked, it's a lot to eat. Overall, it was difficult to keep up with and I probably won't go back but it was definitely a cool experience! 

Berry Crumble Recipe

My recent baking mood was kickstarted by this awesome dessert I made, a berry crumble! It's super easy to do and can even be made ahead of time.

What I used:

• Ramekins - Found at Bed Bath & Beyond or Crate & Barrel

Crumble Topping

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup of oats
• 6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces

Berry Mixture

• 4 cups of mixed berries - I used blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries 
• 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons of corn starch

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. To make the crumble topping - combine flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt, oats, and butter. I mixed it all by hand. Make sure to keep it cold until you're ready to use it!

3. For the berry mixture - combine berries, corn starch, and sugar. Toss it all together! 

4. Add crumble mixture to the bottom of every ramekin, divide the fruit evenly between and then top it off with more crumble topping. Don't be afraid to pack the crumble on there because the fruit will cook down and you'll end up with even less crumble topping than anticipated. 

5. Bake until the crumble is golden brown and the fruit has bubbled - approximately 30-35 minutes. You can either serve it warm or cold! 

Mmmonday - Halloween Sugar Cookies!

This past weekend was jam packed with fall and Halloween prep! I went Halloween crazy buying decorations, pumpkins, AND recipe items for my pumpkin themed sugar cookies! I've been in a baking mood lately and I know I have yet to make a baking post so now that the holidays are coming around, I have decided to do some baking experiments and improve on my baking skills.

For my halloween themed sugar cookies, I stopped by Crate and Barrel but they unfortunately ran out of most of the cookie cutter shapes so I decided to continue with a pumpkin themed sugar cookie. It's slightly ironic because I dislike pumpkin flavors... Thus I chose to do only a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter with NO pumpkin flavors (ick). I originally did a test run of a small batch of cookies and then I was able to perfect it on the second try.

You can choose to add any flavoring that you want, decorations, frosting, etc. I'm just posting a basic cookie and icing recipe, along with how I chose to decorate my cookies.

Here is what you'll need:

• Cookie cutter(s), any shape
• Sprinkles

Sugar Cookie Recipe

• 1-1/2 cups softened butter
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 5 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

Icing Recipe

• 2-1/2 egg whites
• 2-1/2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Beat egg whites in clean, large bowl with mixer at high speed until foamy (use only grade A clean, uncracked eggs). 

2. Gradually add sugar and lemon extract. Beat at high speed until thickened.

To decorate: 

1. After the cookies have been baked and fully cooled, apply a heaping tablespoon of frosting and spread. I could have added orange food coloring but I was inspired by my baby boo pumpkins I got and decided to keep the frosting off - white.

2. I decided to sprinkle black and orange sprinkles all over the frosting! Once you let the frosting sit for a little bit, it will harden with the sprinkles. 

Flashback Friday - Crepe Amour

Last weekend I had the pleasure of having breakfast at Crepe Amour - Creperie and Espresso Bar in Vienna, VA. Almost a hole in the wall, they serve a variety of customized crepes! They have a menu showcasing both savory and/or sweet crepes for you to choose from. I have only ordered savory crepes in the past but I decided to switch it up and try something sweet. I ordered the fraise amour made with nutella and strawberries. It was simple and satisfied my sweet tooth.

Fraise Amour

Vegan Goodies

Following up from my last grocery haul post, I said I would make a separate post reviewing the two vegan brands that I have tried. I purchased them at Whole Foods if anyone is interested in trying them!

Amy's Vegan Meals - Margherita Pizza

I am not a fan of pizza, but since I wanted to be lazy and try something quick, I decided to give this a go. I tried the vegan margherita pizza made with daiya cheeze. Overall the taste was fine but not crispy enough for my liking... Maybe it just needed to be in the oven for longer. I wasn't able to finish the entire thing because it's a large portion for one person!

Candle Cafe - Tofu Spinach Ravioli

To my surprise (and slight dismay) I realized this was a frozen "TV" dinner (ick) so I didn't follow the cooking directions at all. I dumped the contents from the tray into a skillet and added a little water and cooked everything down and heated it thoroughly. The tofu spinach ravioli was slightly better than decent, however I wish there was more of it! I'm interested to try some of the other meals that this brand offers. 

If there are any recommendations of other vegan brands or meals to try, let me know!

Mmmonday - Grocery Haul

Since I'll be away for most of the week, I didn't need to splurge on groceries for this week. Instead I did a mini haul, mainly as an opportunity to try some new vegan treats! All of these items can be found at Whole Foods.

• Light soy milk
• Amy's vegan margherita pizza
• Vegan tofu spinach ravioli
• Sandwich pockets

I will have a separate post reviewing the two vegan brands later on this week!

Flashback Friday - Beauregard's Thai Room Restaurant

Although it's a late Friday post I wanted to quickly do a Flashback Friday restaurant review! A while back I ate at the Thai Room in Richmond, VA. The atmosphere was relaxing and the restaurant was gorgeous! The only downside was that it took a while to receive the food but it was well worth it.

I ordered my usual veggie pad thai and I tried thai iced tea for the very first time, which was DELICIOUS.

I'm very used to small "hole in the wall" thai restaurants but as a more sophisticated and less casual thai restaurant date, I would definitely come back!

25 Things That Inevitably Happen When You Start Eating Right - A Buzzfeed Post!

I came across this post by Buzzfeed, which you can find here on what a person can expect when they make the transition to a healthy (healthier?) diet. I must say that I agree with every single one of the reasons! Although, I'm still trying to focus on drinking water way more frequently throughout the day.. It's always a work in progress! 

So check it out and see if you've noticed any major changes in your health as you've transitioned or maintained your healthy lifestyle!

Sunday Treat - Granola Bowl!

Let's talk about granola......

I have never been a fan of granola until about a few months ago. When I think about granola, I think about those dry, boring, and bland granola bars my mom used to add to my lunch for school (sorry mama). I was just so sick of them, I'd end up throwing them out. It never really crossed my mind that granola can be so much more than that!

I needed a change to my "breakfast" routine (if I'd even call it breakfast.. I'm not really a breakfast person). Although high in calories, granola is a good source of fiber, protein, and other nutrients. But to give it that extra nutritional kick, it's very versatile to prepare.

What I used:

• Banana
• Organic honey
• Soy milk
• Granola oats with toasted coconut 

You can add any fruits, nuts, or toppings you'd prefer. Banana was the only fresh topping I had on hand. Now that I've played around with store bought granola, I'm really interested to start preparing homemade batches. If you have any tips, let me know!

Flashback Friday - Ipanema Cafe

I wish I could go back to last weekend so I can enjoy a wonderful date night! Another great food experience, located in Richmond, Virginia, Ipanema Cafe features very creative and select vegan and vegetarian dishes. However, I noticed that they have expanded to feature at least one non-vegan/vegetarian dish, which is usually a seafood dish. Not bad at all!

We started off with one of their tea selections - African Vanilla Rooibos tea which is South African Rooibos blended with pure vanilla cane. I definitely need to do some research and get my hands on my own blend! 

For our entrees, I got the pasta roulade which was absolutely delectable. I'm pretty sure they used lasagne noodles to construct the roulade. It was also made with oyster mushrooms, french green beans, arugula pesto, tofu ricotta, and tomato sauce. I was VERY impressed with the tofu ricotta - it definitely tied the entire dish together. 

Another dish I tried was the Tilapia fish with vegetables over rice in a green curry sauce. Spicy, spicy, spicy! 

Ipanema cafe is one of my favorite go-to restaurants that has a relaxing atmosphere. It is a very cool underground experience (literally).  It is small and intimate and perfect for quick date nights with your special one!