If you know me, you know I love a fun little non-alcoholic drink, especially when hosting a gathering! I was recently inspired by Olivia Noceda’s batched cocktail/mocktail recipe (one of my fave creators, GENIUS) and decided to make my own batched drink over the Thanksgiving holiday. We hosted both our families, one after the other, respectively, so I wanted something low-key & easy, but still impressive & festive. I figured a chai-inspired drink with a bubbly element would work nicely.
What a whirlwind of a season it has been! I am more than ready to be cozy for the fall, but ATX weather has other ideas, and technically summer doesn’t end until September 22nd. I’ve recently been taking a lot of late evening walks to savor the last few balmy nights…but knowing Texas, we will have plenty more balmy nights until October at least. Mostly I was taking more walks to incorporate some kind of physical activity as I was going insane from reading about recent events, as well as recently recovering from COVID (for the first time ever)…thankfully I am all better!
With a new year that already doesn’t feel too celebratory (besides the incredible senate seat wins in Georgia!), I truly hope you are taking care of yourself, friends! My gift to you today is this spicy, warming soup–I hope it can help you find a moment of zen during this brutal, cold beginning of 2021.
Continue reading
These cookies will punch you in the throat–in the best way. Think warm gingerbread spices, with an Asian twist–these cookies pack a fiery kick and will leave a zingy, lingering burn in your throat. These go well with a creamy glass of nondairy milk or a hot cup of peppermint tea!
Hi friends! I don’t know about y’all, but I am feeling BURNT OUT. Between work stress, Zoom fatigue, the pandemic, and this election cycle, I’ve been feeling so much pressure and anxiety from all angles. Naturally, I have turned to baking as an outlet, and have been occupied with various #BakersAgainstRacism efforts. Always, but especially in these isolating and uncertain times, I find it is so meaningful & important to put our energy towards causes bigger than ourselves (in whatever capacity we can).
While fall is my favorite season, this year, I’ve actually found myself fondly holding onto the last few days of summer. It’s not that hard to do here in Texas, because it’s still hot AF. This past summer has honestly been one of the best I’ve ever had: graduation, traveling to Taiwan, Vietnam, Tanzania and Kenya, and some exciting collaborations (involving pizza and the Dallas Farmers Market), with many more exciting projects to come!
With the weather being so warm, I find myself still sticking to refreshing foods full of cooling greens and herbs, like spring rolls and vermicelli bowls. Vietnamese vermicelli bowls (bún) are heavy on veggies, quite easy to assemble, and there is lots of room for improvisation. Traditional Vietnamese vermicelli bowls feature various protein toppings, which include grilled pork (bún thịt nướng), lemongrass beef (bún thịt bò xào sả), eggrolls (bún chả giò, or sometimes lemongrass tofu (bún đậu hũ xào sả). Nowadays, these toppings are easily veganizable. Today I am sharing a vermicelli bowl featuring my five spice beef as the protein!
In Vietnamese, this would be called bún thịt bò chay (which translates to rice noodles & vegan beef).
POTATOES. That’s it, that’s my intro for this recipe. Are you hooked?
Hi friends! I’m back with another recipe, and this time it’s in collaboration with some blogger friends, in honor of #NationalPotatoDay! What an awesome concept–a day to celebrate one of my favorite ingredients. Most, if not all, of the following recipes can be veganized–let me know if you guys need advice or have questions about going about that! For the event, I decided to feature the beautiful purple Japanese sweet potato!
Continue reading
Summer is almost upon us! Time for all the refreshing foods, like this green papaya salad!
My apologies for the huge hiatus on the blog, y’all, my design thesis has been my main priority for about a year now! I am happy to report that I have successfully defended my thesis to graduate. This past weekend, I finally graduated with my Master’s in Landscape Architecture! It still feels so surreal to type those words. I’ve been an emotional, nostalgic mess, and am preparing for an international trip to 3 countries, but that didn’t keep me from getting back in the kitchen!
I’ve had a few potlucks in the past couple weeks, so I’ve been making this green papaya salad a lot. Everyone has been loving it! It’s a classic Thai/Vietnamese dish, and yesterday I made it again for mom for Mother’s Day. Besides spring rolls, Vietnamese salads are one of my mom’s favorite things to eat! Continue reading
What’s the one food you could eat everyday? For me, the answer would be spring rolls! There have been weeks where all I eat for dinner are spring rolls, especially during the long blazing heat of Texas summer. There are just so many ways to make them–they’re so fresh and fun! Plus, I think it’s the best way to get a lot of greens in (I’ll take spring rolls over salad any day).
It’s actually amazing that I don’t have a spring roll recipe on the blog yet, considering how much I eat them. Today, I am happy to share this spring roll recipe with you, in collaboration with one of my favorite vegan brands based in Texas: It’s Jerky Y’all! My dear friends at Sprinkles Creative and I teamed up to make this adorable how-to video for the recipe. I’m so happy my friends and I got to work together on this; we all had a blast. For the full written recipe, scroll down.
Who else gets excited when they can sneak veggies into their desserts? I like to make healthy choices most of the time, but I’m also not opposed to treats, like this nana-politan ice cream parfait I whipped up with my friend Brooklynne (@beetsbybrooke)!
We got together to create a Galentine’s Day menu featuring beets! We made a divine heart beet pizza and salad for the main meal, and for dessert, we decided to go crazy and put beets in our banana ice cream too! Beets have a lovely sweetness that is truly marvelous. #beetcrush Continue reading
plantcrush 