So in my last post, I told of my recent visit to Santa Cruz where I visited my sister Alia's garden. Here's the booty I snuck away with:
And here is what I did with it:
Already I had in my produce drawer an onion, thyme, basil and mushrooms- so I sauteed them up together with some olive oil, braggs, salt and pepper. 
I soaked some sunflower seeds and cashews in water for a half hour and then drained them and threw them in the food processor with the mushroom/onion saute. 
I added a half of an avocado that I had, a spoonful of tahini, some braggs, lemon juice, agave, curry, cayenne, cinnamon, salt, pepper and cumin. It reached a wonderful texture and taste- thick and almost meaty. Dynamic, deep flavors with both spice and sweetness. YUM! I set this aside. 
I cut up the rest of my onion and all my garden produce (zucchini, yellow baby squash, eggplant and Pablano peppers) into long strips like I would use with sushi. I sauteed these in olive oil and lightly spiced.
Simultaneously , I had been steaming the garden kale until cooked yet not completely soft and wilted, and drained it to cool down. I placed it in a large bowl and added fresh lime juice, agave and braggs. 
I had scored bag of my sister's cherry plums from her tree, so I cut these up to add to the kale, deciding to make cold salad. 
I cut up the fresh squash blossoms we had picked off her squash plants and added them raw.
I added raw sunflower and sesame seeds. 
Lastly, I finished with carrots I had and the cucumber from her garden. I set my salad aside once it was tossed in some light olive oil and more lime. 
Back to the mushroom/nut "pate"...
I found some nori sheets in my cabinet and quickly decided these where the perfect vessel for my improvised pate. 
I spread a thick layer of pate over 3/4 of the nori sheet like I would with rice for sushi. 
I lined up stripes of my sauteed veggies in the middle of my spread...
And rolled and sliced the same as sushi.
My roommate Annie and I ate and ate until we could eat no more...
And even though we were beyond full, it felt so light and clean it kept me energized and stoked all day long! I seriously could eat this 5 times a week and not get bored or sick of it!
Working at a restaurant that feeds me organic, delicious food everyday (The Plant Cafe) obviously has its perks and I save a lot of money, but it makes finding opportunities to cook exciting meals at home for myself that much more difficult. I had a rare evening off last week and decided to walk down to my favorite Haight Street Market and find what fresh local ingredients I could get my hands on to make, what I considered, a well-deserved feast.
The first thing my eyes jumped to was a huge pile of gorgeous, organic sunburst squash. I had never cooked with them before so I jumped at the opportunity.
I also was tempted to splurge and buy one of my favorite fake meat products on the market: Vegan Field Roast's Celebration Roast. If you are not familiar with Field Roast's products, by all means click on that link and find out where you can get them! Their "meat" is dense and delicious and has no hard-to-digest soy like so many veg options out there, but rather grains and vegetables. I usually go with the sausages (my fav is the apple sage) but every blue moon I splurge and go for the squash, mushroom and apple stuffed celebration roast.
I decided to keep it simple and roast my squash in the oven with some olive oil, onions and garlic. I did this at 350* until they were cooked through and starting to golden, but not get completely limp. I spiced with lemon, pepper, and cayenne while roasting and splashed some brags and lemon on them at the end.
I sauteed some more onions and garlic in olive oil with a handful of sliced crimini mushrooms and spiced with salt, pepper, lemon and oregano.
I sliced a few inch-thick pieces of my celebration roast, layered on my mushroom mix, and threw it in the oven for about 10-15 minutes to heat it up and make it almost crispy on the edges. 
I also bought a bunch of fresh, organic fixings (butter lettuce, broccoli sprouts, an apple, an avocado, and some tamari-roasted almonds from the bulk bins) and tossed them with lemon, olive oil and brags for a killer salad to go with the meal.
This was so simple and quick, but made me feel like royalty to sit down to with a crisp glass of Gruner Veltliner. 
I'll celebrate with this vegan roast any day!
I could easily spend Easter Sundays longing for the days when my parents scattered tie-dyed eggs and chocolate bunnies throughout the house, but then I would be missing any twenty-something's greatest excuse to have a mimosa-centered morning-time party with all of my favorite San Francisco pals. 
I walked down to the local market early in the morning before our guests arrived and found some gorgeous, organic squashes that I just had to get. I immediately came home and popped on the oven at 400* so I could begin roasting the squash, some yellow bell peppers and onions in some olive oil and garlic to eventually make a puree filing for the filo dough I had also bought and set out for the occasion. 
Once the squash, peppers, and onions were cooked and soft (after 30 minutes or so) I threw them in my trusty food processor, and added 1/2 can organic garbanzo beans, 2 tbls tahini, several cloves of garlic, salt, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cayenne, paprika and a splash of OJ and blended until nice and smooth. 
Basically a roasted squash & yellow pepper hummus- SO DELICIOUS!
I layered my filo dough sheets and coated them lightly with olive oil, then spread a generous helping of squash puree. I lined up two columns of fresh sliced apples and strips of my favorite vegan field-roast sausages (the apple-sage flavor!).I rolled them up like giant sushi rolls and added another light coating of olive oil on the outside before putting them on my greased cookie sheet and sending them into the hot oven.
I cooked each tray at 400* for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown,flaky and cooked through. They were so much bigger and crumbly than I had expected!
I sliced them up into inch-thick pieces, topped with fresh spinach, and luckily snapped a quick picture before they were completely devoured! I also made an egg souffle and piles of french toast with a vegan mango-strawberry compote, but with all the guests arriving and the starting of the mimosa's, I failed to document them!Not a bad way to get over childhood nostalgia!
