Flora & Vino -

Smashed Edamame Toast

Smashed Edamame Toast made with tahini, seasoning, and herbs spread on sourdough bread and topped with sauerkraut and hemp hearts.

Recently, we dropped off Flora at her first doggy daycare experience.

It was significant because:

This is the first time Flora has *ever* been away from us with other people, except for the vet visits when they take her back for bloodwork.
Flora is scared of other dogs! From an early age just a dog barking or slightly approaching was enough to elicit a full blown fear response.

As her doggie parents, we struggle between the dichotomy of wanting to both protect and socialize her.

A neighbor of ours recommended a local family-owned small business that does doggie daycare, so we booked an appointment.

I’m glad that socialization won out and that all three of us were brave enough to give it a chance.

At first, we received photos of Flora looking half terrified (but alive!) and then later pictures of Flora playing with a new best friend named Maisie.

We joked that here we were all worried for nothing, and Flora was making friends easier than M and me.

(Making friends in your 30’s is HARD, y’all!)

When we picked her up at the end of the day, she was ecstatic to see us.

Tail wagging, whining, jumping, colliding, uncontrollable on a leash happiness.

The daycare providers warned us that Flora would be exhausted after a day full of mental and physical stimulation with other pups, so we planned for her to pass out.

WRONG.

If Flora is consistent about anything, it’s being inconsistent with what how dogs *usually* behave.

She strutted inside and immediately initiated play with a rubber squeaky ball while M and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

You can’t keep a good dog dow-wow-wow-wow-own (anyone get the reference?).

I propose a toast, to trying new things, like this Smashed Edamame Toast.

It’s made with tahini, seasoning, and herbs spread on sourdough bread and topped with sauerkraut and hemp hearts.

The perfect spring toast packed with protein for a light lunch, breakfast, or snack!

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SunButter Chocolate Easter Eggs

Easy SunButter Chocolate Easter Eggs with just 5-ingredients! Perfect for an Easter treat or anytime healthy candy substitute.

A few years ago, at a get together at my cousin’s house, my sister made a point of getting M to try some marshmallow peeps.

Growing up in Germany, M had no idea what to expect from Classic Peeps.

(I’ll note that this moment was made arguably even better by the fact that my sister had purchased neon pink peeps instead of the classic yellow.)

So M, ever adventurous, bit into the marshmallow fluff covered in pink sugar, chewed a few times, and said, “This is pretty gross!”

We all burst into laughter, our suspicions confirmed.

M isn’t a sugar lover, and peeps are nothing but pure sugar!

Although peeps were always a part of my Easter basket, they were never my thing, either.

They were too sweet, too airy, too artificial tasting.

Not that the rest of the Easter candy I was consuming was by any means healthful, but at least they had normal coloring.

Which is why I stand by the fact that Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs are by far the superior Easter dessert.

They always had what I’ve heard described as “the perfect ratio of chocolate to peanut butter”, even more so than chocolate peanut butter cups!

That is, until today, because I made you some SunButter Chocolate Easter Eggs that are the real winner.

These easy SunButter Chocolate Easter Eggs are made with just 4-ingredients!

They’re perfect for an Easter treat or anytime healthy candy substitute.

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Cauliflower Cashew Alfredo

Cauliflower Cashew Alfredo made with fresh or frozen cauliflower, raw cashews, and Eden Foods Organic Unsweetened EdenSoy.

Hello, friends!

Since we last chatted I had a birthday spent with M and Flora doing my favorite things.

We completed a 3.7 mile hike at Seneca Creek State Park, which happens to be the longest hike Flora has ever completed with us!

She had the *best* tongue-hanging-out-of-the-side-of-her-mouth time, even though she was afraid of the geese around the pond trail loop.

When we got home, she passed in the entry way (her favorite sleeping spot) for most of the rest of the day.

That’s when we realized that in order to have a calm puppy, we *just* need to hike her for four miles every day.

Easy, right?

On my birthday evening, we ordered a new vegan + gluten free pizza place near us that might be the best I’ve had since going vegan.

So it was a great day!

After that, it feels like the month of April was put on fast forward.

It’s been a whirlwind of appointments, commitments, and chaotic spring energy.

Do you feel this too, in the springtime, where everything seems to start at once and your energetically pulled in 100 directions?

A lot of my time and energy has also gone into trying to learn to use a new cooktop for work and reschedule all oven recipes for a later date.

The oven-less saga continues, however, we did receive an induction cooktop in the meantime so I can continue creating recipes while we wait for new oven parts.

Luckily, it’s spring time, and most of us are craving fresh and lighter recipes for incoming warmer weather.

However, we’re back down to the 30’s overnight here in Maryland this week, so I’m still craving warm dinners for the chilly spring eves.

I’m waiting to plant my seeds outside, but I’m not waiting to make this pasta.

This Cauliflower Cashew Alfredo is easy to make on the stovetop with a homemade alfredo sauce and spring vegetables.

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Strawberry Banana Almond Butter Granola

Strawberry banana granola made oil-free with creamy almond butter and sweetened with maple syrup. Gluten-free with a grain-free option! Hi friends! I bought my first big carton of fresh strawberries this week. They were the big bulbous deep red ones ones that you can’t help but stare at long and hard before sinking your teeth…

Zucchini SunButter Chocolate Chip Muffins

Super moist and delicious vegan and gluten-free muffins made with zucchini, almond flour, dark chocolate chips, and SunButter. Perfect for snacking! What are you going to miss the most about summer? I’ll miss sitting on deck chairs on our new patio facing a thicket of trees. I’ll miss the long sun-filled days that only tempt…

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Red Carrot, Apple, & Beet Detox Salad

Easy raw detox salad with shredded red carrot, tart apple, and red beets. Reset and fuel your body with fruits, veggies, and healthy fats. Hey, everyone! It’s half way through January and we are making moves. Did I tell you that I’m enrolled to take a course in plant-based nutrition starting in February? I’m really…

Easy Orange Chickpea Stir Fry

Easy orange chickpea stir fry with veggies and fresh squeezed orange served over fluffy cauliflower rice. Perfect for meal prep dinners! Do you like your dinners hot? With the weather getting warmer, I haven’t felt like turning the oven on quite as much. In fact, last night I had a gigantic salad for dinner, noshing…

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Roasted Squash & Arugula Salad

Roasted squash & arugula salad with pine nuts, dried cranberries, and apple cider vinegar dressing. Perfect for fall and winter lunches! Being a new rock climber is definitely an ego boost. I would be lying if I didn’t feel pretty darn cool carrying ropes through the state park on the approach. Hearing kids shout and…

Cran-Apple Tempeh Kale Salad

Cran-Apple Tempeh Kale Salad made with massaged kale, diced apple, walnuts, tempeh crumbles, and raw nut cheese. Perfect for easy fall meal prep lunches. Happy Labor Day Weekend! Is it just me, or are you stuck in a weird rut with your eats too: oscillating back and forth between juicy summer peaches and crisp fall…

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Double Baked Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Easy stuffed spaghetti squash loaded with chickpeas, marinara, and fun Greek veggies. Perfect for meal prep and easy weeknight lunches and dinners. Home ownership, while being comforting and fulfilling, is also a whole lot of maintenance. I never thought I’d miss that friendly repair man who came to fix everything in our old apartment whenever…

Baked Eggplant Steaks with Beets & Green Beans

Baked eggplant steaks served with diced beets, sautéed green beans, and fresh tomato. Ideal for a plant-based dinner in! This past weekend I explored farmer’s markets in my new city and discovered the cutest little spot maybe 10-ish minutes from my new house. Yippee! The market was packed with late summer veggies, so I grabbed…

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Chocolate Dipped Coconut Bars

4-ingredient Chocolate Dipped Coconut Bars made with melty dark chocolate and shredded coconut. Perfect for a deliciously simple dessert! What was your favorite candy bar growing up? For a long time mine was Mounds bars. It’s basically an almond-less Almond Joy, which was ideal for me because I had a vendetta against nuts in candy…

The Best Vegan & Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins

The Best Vegan & Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins naturally sweetened with maple syrup for a nutritious breakfast or snack. Well, well, well. If it isn’t Sunday again. I’m writing this blog post from our community pool. It’s Sunday and I wanted to bring my work outdoors. This sounds like a reasonable thing, yes? Aside from the fact…

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