vegan french toast.

Although the French would probably frown upon my new creation, I think it was a delicious alternative. I recently got allergy tested and found out I am allergic to eggs and dairy, along with my wheat and gluten intolerance this makes baking sound like a dream- NOT! But, it does create an interesting challenge. This morning I woke up and the overcast weather was a refreshing reminder that fall is indeed rolling in. I am secretly relieved there will be a  break from the very hot  summer we have had in southern California. I started to make my coffee and  had a desire to make some french toast. But not wanting to disrupt my allergies I started thinking of egg substitutes.

How about ground flax seeds and my french vanilla creamer? It’s worth a shot! I whisked the mixture and added some cinnamon.

First I toasted my wheat and gluten free bread, (which is a trick I like to do when making any type of french toast, I feel like it helps lock in the flavor and keeps your bread from falling apart.) ThenI soaked the toasted bread in my mixture I punched little holes in the toast as it was soaking, to get some of the mix inside the bread.

I then heated up my cast iron with some coconut oil. I had the pan on a medium heat, coconut oil can burn easy and so will your french toast if you have the heat on to high.

I then cooked the toast for about two minutes on each side or until batter crisps and browns. It turned out  wonderful the texture was remarkably similar to normal french toast, if not better. It was nice and crispy on the out side with a soft sweet center. I served it with some maple syrup and some fresh peach perfect almost fall breakfast!

Austin, Texas

I just recently took a two-week trip down south with my boyfriend, Mikey. We started in Austin Texas for the 5th annual Austin Psych Fest. It is a 3 day music festival featuring some of the hottest psychedelic rock bands world-wide. Also the festival offers some bitchn’  vintage and custom clothing and accessory booths, as well as great food truck vendors. We also took some time to explore Austin which is such an amazing city, it seems like you can find live music just about anywhere as well as great food.

One of my favorite spots we went to was the San Jose Hotel, which is located on South Congress Avenue. It’s an old spanish style building built-in 1939, that has been transformed into a beautiful urban  hotel. We sat in the luscious green courtyard and enjoyed a drink by the pool. I had a drink called the Compassion, which was a passion fruit Champagne cocktail it was delicious!  

    

Also home of the famous I LOVE YOU SO MUCH wall. South Congress Ave is a super hip area of Austin, where you can find great vintage shops and restaurants. We were there during the weekend so there was some swap meet action happening along the street as well. Right as we walked out of the San Jose hotel I found the most incredible pair of rattlesnake Justin boots, that fit me perfectly!

I also found a pair of  black leather vintage children’s roller skates, with clay wheels. I could not resist getting them for my 2 year old niece. It is going to be a few years till she fits in them. Im sure her parents are thrilled with the idea of putting their little baby in skates, but what are crazy aunts for, right?

 

humble humboldt picnic

I drove down to Arcata to visit my younger brother, Jimmy who is living down there going to massage school. We both really enjoy healthy cuisine so I knew our time together would include some good eating. For breakfast we went to a little vegetarian cafe in  town, called Wildflowers. We shared  wheat and gluten-free blueberry, banana pancakes topped with toasted coconut and almonds and a tofu black bean scramble with avocado and salsa, it was great.

Then he took me on a lovely picnic in a green grass lot down the street from his house. He made us some vegetable hummus sandwiches and we had a little bit of champagne to celebrate my graduation from school! There where these three chickens that lived in this lot that joined us for lunch. They were super friendly and cute. It really complemented our vegetarian meal!

All in all, it was a great day hanging with my little brother!

Culinary Arts and Management Degree

I have always dreamed of going to culinary school, I spent my first couple years out of high school in and out of junior colleges, working and traveling. But this last year I finally got to fulfill my dream of culinary school. I packed up and moved to Portland, Oregon to attend Oregon Culinary Institute. I have to say this was one of the best choices of my life. Everything about this school was amazing, all the chefs and classes were great and inspirational. I learned so very much about this industry and I had so much fun while doing it. Today is my last day of school I finished the program two months early! I plan to move back down to southern California at the end of this month. I don’t know what the future has in store for me but I do know, what ever it is will be richer and brighter after attending OCI for my Culinary Arts and Management Degree.

soak your nuts.

Nuts can be a great source of unsaturated fats, Omega-3 fatty acids, fiber. Vitamin E & B, plant sterols and L-arginine.

But nuts also contain some nutritional inhibitors and toxic substances, so that is why, its important to soak your nuts to help break down and remove these toxins.

Real easy process, just put them in some water overnight and strain them in the morning and eat them wet or let them out to dry.

your body will thank you.

sparkling mimosas, literally.

I love champagne.

So, a mimosa served with sparkling fireworks and rose petals, I adore.

Going through some pictures from my trip to Paris and found this one, my friend Deidra and I had just gone to the Norte Dame, and stopped for some brunch across the street. Tourist attraction or not, just when you think champagne cant become any more fun…

pie is the new cupcake.

Pie is a classic treat and can go in many directions, sweet or savory, hand pies or cream pies. Lately it seems like pie is becoming very popular again in the culinary world. I think a cute way to serve pies are in little canning mason jars, not only is it appealing to the eye but its a great way to serve pie to one! These are an assortment of mini pies I made from fresh blueberries and peaches I picked at Sauvie Island Farms.