Dressings, Dips & Spreads

Vegan S’mores Dip

Vegan baked s’mores dip made with dark chocolate and vegan marshmallows. Serve with graham crackers and fresh fruit as a summer dessert or appetizer!

Vegan S'mores Dip by Flora & Vino

Remember how we counted sleeps before Christmas?

Well today is my last sleep before the big move.

Tomorrow I have friends and family come and help me muscle stuff from Virginia to Maryland.

I’m slowly accepting the chaos that is life in flux right now.

I finally realized that letting all of the uncertainties and unknowns remain uncertain and unknown is a lot easier than desperately trying to control them.

You’ve heard of the hot girl summer, right?

Well, here I am, proud of my hot *mess* summer.

My time and creativity in the kitchen has been limited, too.

I’m mostly working my way through the fridge and freezer; using up random jars of sauerkraut and frozen peas in a desperate attempt to lighten up the U-haul situation.

But that’s okay because the recipe I have to share with you today requires minimal ingredients and prep!

This Vegan S’mores Dip is so easy to bake and enjoy for whatever season you’re in this summer.

It’s made vegan, gluten-free, and refined-sugar-free with just three ingredients and your choice of dippers!

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Strawberry Chia Seed Jam

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Easy strawberry chia seed jam to made on the stovetop with frozen fruit and chia seeds and naturally sweetened with lime and maple syrup.

This Strawberry Chia Seed Jam has been persistent in my recipes this past week.

In the past 7 days, it’s showed up in my Nut Butter & Jam Breakfast Quesadillas AND my SunButter & Jelly Brownies.

So I thought I might as well post it on the blog so it has a forever home here at F&V.

Because, and this is on record, I will love it forever.

It’s sweet, strawberry-y, and spreadable, with big strawberry chunks and a fantastic chia texture.

Oh, and it makes everything from breakfast to snacking to dessert more fun and delicious with minimal ingredients and cook time.

This Strawberry Chia Seed Jam is made with just 5 ingredients on the stovetop for a sweet summer spread!

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Cherry Tomato Salsa

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Fresh homemade salsa made with sweet cherry tomatoes! Enjoy as a dip with your favorite crackers or as an addition to tacos, burritos, and bowls.

Today I had a coffee date with a girlfriend that I haven’t seen in over a year.

We parked our cars outside of the Starbucks drive-through and socially distanced sipped on coffee, bridging the gap between our cars with conversation.

Guys, I had forgotten how nice it is to be in the company of another woman and catch up on life as we know it.

I came home with an empty coffee cup and a full heart, ready to take on a photo shoot and blog post writing.

Lately I’ve been all about mixing up my routine; making small changes to embrace an awakening world.

I’m currently enrolled in not one but TWO 7-day free trial via workout apps.

Which kind of goes hand in hand with the 6 AM alarm that startled me into waking up after the third snooze this morning.

I feel like I’ve been in a deep sleep or meditation for the past year and I’m just starting to regain consciousness.

Like, Rip Van Winkle level sleepiness.

An in-person game night with my cousins and sister is planned for two weeks out; the first date we’re all fully vaccinated.

We joked that no games would be played– the entire night will probably revolve around hugging.

So much hugging. And food!

What better way to embrace summer celebrations, in person and afar, then with a fresh dip?

This Cherry Tomato Salsa is made with just six ingredients and served with my favorite grain-free crackers!

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Raw Walnut Cashew Butter

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#ad// This post is brought to you by Bare Snacks, but all words and eats are my own. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that keep me hungry!

2-ingredient homemade raw walnut cashew butter made super creamy in under 10 minutes Serve it with Bare Snacks Banana Chips for an easy snack!

Did you pull any epic pranks on April Fools Day?

After one of my aloe plants fell out of it’s pot for the fourth (or fifth?) time last week (it was poorly potted and in a precarious position), I had a plant funeral and buried the evidence in my trashcan.

RIP, aloe.

As part of an April Fools day joke, I purchased a new plant and propped it up on the late aloe’s plant stand on April the first, waiting for M to notice.

I smirked while he ate his breakfast, finally asking, pointedly, “So, do you notice anything different???”

After doing a lingering living room scan, he finally picked out the monstera deliciosa sitting pretty near the window sill.

I laughed, assuring him I would keep my plant murderess tendencies contained.

I’m so infatuated with this little green plant and it’s smooth heart-shaped leaves already turning towards the sunshine.

Let’s see how long it survives…

Hopefully longer than this Raw Walnut Cashew Butter that I made last week and served with banana chips.

It requires just two ingredients and a blender without any added sugars or oils.

It’s true: I wouldn’t kid about something as serious as nut butter, not even on April Fools!

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Carrot Cashew Queso

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Vegan queso made with steamed carrots, cashews, and plenty of nutritional yeast. Serve it with tacos, taco salads, burrito bowls, chips, and veggies!

How was your Saint Patrick’s Day?

I forgot to wear green, but I didn’t forget to celebrate.

M and I opened a bottle of champagne that’s been hanging out in the fridge since New Years and toasted to the cookbook manuscript’s completion.

We even played a few Irish jigs (mostly rowdy drinking songs) while we attended our weekly virtual game night with my sister and cousins.

While shuffling pieces in Bandido, we talked dreamily about meeting up later this year, in person, in a post-COVID world, full vaccinated and ready for hugs.

I literally can’t wait.

But until then, I have a cookbook to finish birthing.

It’s been a bit of a transitional week here as I re-surface into the world after my manuscript submission and start to assess the next big hurdle–

The cookbook photos.

Dun dun dun.

Yes, the cookbook photos are due in less than two months and I’m equal parts excited and anxious to start photographing again.

Naturally, I’ve been procrastinating, waiting for the perfect daylight, the perfect feeling, the perfect gap in my schedule, to pick up my Canon camera.

But, you and I both know that there is will never be a perfect time, so I really just need to jump into the messiness.

Kind of like this Carrot Cashew Queso that I’m sharing with you today.

Well, it’s only messy if you blend it the way I did– with the Vitamix lid ajar on the highest setting.

I’m still finding blobs of cheezy carrot queso clinging to the cabinets and kitchen backsplash.

Lauren-error aside, this queso is super easy to make on the stovetop and in the blender for a quick savory dip!

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Tahini Date Caramel Dip

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This post is brought to you by Bare Snacks, but all words and eats are my own. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that keep me hungry!

Tahini date caramel dip made with Medjool dates, pure maple syrup, and a tahini twist. Perfect as a sweet dip for fresh fruit, crackers, or apple chips!

In my early conversations M we talked a lot about food.

It’s good neutral ground for conversation, and, well, I *am* a food blogger.

One day I remember asking him if he liked dates.

“The fruit, not the…well, date, date,” I said, blushing behind my iPhone screen.

As it turns out he liked both examples of the word, but I’m here today to talk about one.

The ooey gooey edible dates.

Because I just rediscovered them this past week and I blended them into something special for you.

This Tahini Date Caramel Dip is made with just 5 ingredients in the blender for a sweet snack with apple chips!

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Dark Chocolate Tahini

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Dark chocolate tahini made oil-free and refined-sugar-free with just three ingredients. Blend it up and serve with baked apple chips for dipping!

During quarantine, I became irrevocably infatuated with a store-bought chocolate tahini spread.

I used it like I would a chocolate dessert syrup.

Then I got M on the chocolate tahini train, too.

And, well…sharing is hard.

With a chocolate tahini shortage imminent, I knew I had one of two choices.

I could either hoard and hide those sweet sesame seed butter jars, or learn to make dark chocolate tahini myself.

Obviously, I took the higher path.

Are you proud of me?

This Dark Chocolate Tahini requires just 3 ingredients and 30 minutes to be yours to hide and hoard.

Or, you know, to share.

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Low Sugar Applesauce Apple Butter

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Easy 5-ingredient apple butter made with unsweetened applesauce. This fall spread is lightly sweet with maple syrup, apple cider, and a touch of kombucha.

I miss my extended family, guys.

Most of them are split between Indiana and North Carolina with a few scattered from coast to coast.

Our annual family reunion was canceled this year in an abundance of COVID caution.

We’re planning on connecting virtually over the holidays in a Zoom Room, but it’s not *quite* the same as exchanges hugs and laughs and food.

I texted my Aunt Janet on Halloween and told her how much I missed her apple butter.

I always coveted the little mason jars she sent to my parents and me, eating greedy spoonfuls on anything and everything.

It was brimming with fresh sweet apples, warm spices, and just the right amount of sweetness.

Feeling nostalgic, I decided to create my own apple butter this season that’s made super simple with applesauce.

You can make this Low Sugar Applesauce Apple Butter in under an hour with just 5 simple ingredients!

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Low Sugar Fig Jam & Apple Chips

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This post is brought to you by Bare Snacks, but all words and eats are my own. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that keep me hungry!

Three ingredient fig jam made with fresh figs, lemon, and a drizzle of maple syrup. The perfect fall spread to top on toast, warm oatmeal, or yogurt bowls.

It’s getting colder, but I still haven’t turned on the heat in my place.

I wake up to a cool 68 degree living room, where I stumble to the couch, swaddle myself in blankets, and do my morning journaling while sipping on a matcha latte.

I kind of like it.

Lately I’ve been working on reducing my energy consumption.

Yep, I’ve been giving the dial knob on my Nest thermostat a bit of a breather.

Like not heating and cooling to a perfect 72 degrees, but instead ebbing and flowing with the changing fall temperatures.

This means embracing chilly mornings with sweaters and long pants and warmer afternoons with open windows and tank tops.

I’ve found a nice surrender and presence in accepting and adapting to the weather outside the window.

Ah, autumn.

I’ve also been embracing all of the seasonal fall produce, like fresh figs and apples.

This Low Sugar Fig Jam & Apple Chips is the naturally sweet fall snack that you need this fall!

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Quinoa Cakes with Oil-Free Basil Pesto

By Flora & Vino 2 Comments

Easy plant-based patties packed with protein and leafy greens! Perfect for meal prep and easy weeknight meals. Serve with a nutty oil-free basil pesto!

Are you in a food rut?

I was Marco-Polo-ing with a friend today discussing our food rut probs.

Mine came on slowly with building disdain, like playing a song on repeat during a workout when each chorus inspires a little less feeling.

When I realized that I had consumed a variation of steamed vegetables + plant protein + tahini for every dinner in recent memory, I knew I needed a menu intervention.

And don’t get me started about dishes. (They’re never-ending!!!)

So, what kind of quarantine cook are you?

Are you unleashing you creativity or are you sticking to the tried and true basics?

Either way, you’re going to love these Quinoa Cakes with Oil-Free Basil Pesto.

They’re made with cooked quinoa, leafy greans, and tahini with a nutty oil-free basil pesto!

Schedule out a day next week in your menu to make this lean clean quarantine cuisine.

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Vegan S’mores Dip

Strawberry Chia Seed Jam

Cherry Tomato Salsa

Raw Walnut Cashew Butter

Carrot Cashew Queso

Tahini Date Caramel Dip

Dark Chocolate Tahini

Low Sugar Applesauce Apple Butter

Low Sugar Fig Jam & Apple Chips

Quinoa Cakes with Oil-Free Basil Pesto

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