The Main Meal

Avocado & Cucumber Rolls with SunButter Sauce

Avocado & Cucumber Rolls wrapped in toasted sushi nori sheets with a creamy SunButter Sauce. Perfect for a date night meal!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I never really got back to “normal” after the pandemic.

I didn’t really need to, because my normal can be working in pajamas in the comfort of my own home.

Outside of teaching yoga once a week, climbing, and heading to our favorite coffee shop every Saturday, I otherwise don’t *need* to venture out.

During the pandemic, my house became my safe space, my place of work, and my workout studio.

I stopped attending hot yoga at the local studio (something at the time I couldn’t imagine living without), and started practicing exclusively at home.

So it was rather magical this weekend, when I attended my first hot yoga class in over 5 years during my 300 hr YTT program.

Sitting in an easy seat chanting with a chorus of of “OM” vibrating around me, tears prickled behind my closed eyelids.

THIS, I thought, is what yoga is about.

It’s nothing short of magical and it’s about me but it’s also about embodiment inside of community.

While I’m grateful for my strong personal practice at home, I’m remembering what drew me to yoga classes in the first place.

I’m so glad that I ventured outside of my comfort zone to learn, grow, and connect again; it’s been a while.

It’s also been a while since I’ve made sushi at home.

It’s interesting because sushi is both so simple and so complex at the same time.

It has a few parts that take some foresight, but if you take the time to plan, you’ll be very grateful that you did.

These Avocado & Cucumber Rolls are wrapped in toasted sushi nori sheets with a creamy SunButter Sauce.

It’s the perfect meal to make with others so dinner is a shared experience.

…

Easy Vegan Pasta Salad

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Easy Vegan Pasta Salad made with your favorite noodles and raw vegetables in a simple red wine vinaigrette. Perfect for summer meal prep!

This coming weekend is the second meeting of my 300 hr yoga teacher training, which also is technically my *first* weekend because I missed the first due to sickness.

I’ve found myself planning, replanning, and agonizing over the details of work, life, and yoga this week, wanting everything to be *just so* for a successful weekend.

I’m nitpicking at my clothing, my accessories, my gear; the small things that I bring that I feel are in my sphere of control.

The training is forcing me out of my routine, out of the state of Maryland, out of my comfort zone.

In a sense, it feels very much so out of my control.

But I try to keep reminding myself that there is no perfect yoga pants, morning routine, or notebook that will make this weekend EASY.

And it’s good to do HARD things frequently in life, right?

The one thing I know that I’ll need is a quick healthy lunch that doesn’t need reheating, assembly, or fussing.

And contrary to what I said about doing hard things, I like my food choices and recipes to be without a doubt easy!

This Easy Pasta Salad is made with your favorite noodles and raw vegetables in a simple red wine vinaigrette.

It’s perfect for summer meal prep, camping trips, weekends away, and anytime you’re craving something simple and fresh.

…

Vegan Refried Bean Tacos

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Vegan Refried Bean Tacos with pinto beans and seasonings in 1-pan on the stovetop. Serve in hard shell tacos with your favorite toppings!

Last weekend I taught yoga outside at one of my favorite local gluten-free breweries.

Between you and me, I was grateful to finish class without a coughing fit or a sneeze attack.

Yes, this time of year I have special kind of jealousy reserved for all of the people I see outside, enjoying the beautiful weather, and doing it allergy free.

Sure, they could all be heavily medicated, but I have at least a few friends who claim that the thick yellow dust that coats my car every day doesn’t bother them.

Blasphemy, right?!

So I’ve been hiding indoors in self pity and self preservation, until I realized that Flora is bringing the outdoors indoors via her double coated fur.

One shake from her is all it takes to make my throat scratchy, my eyes watering, and my nose stuffy.

There’s only so much cleaning I can do, and let me tell you, my robot vacuum is heavily employed right now.

It’s an all hands on deck situation as I fight a never ending battle against nature.

This past week was also cinco de mayo, and whenever I think of cinco de mayo I remember a trip I took with my sister at the beginning of May to New York.

Now, I think my allergies are bad here, but they’re *nothing* compared to what I experienced in NYC 5+ years ago.

I remember walking through Times Square, the wind whipping between the sky scrapers, bringing with it lots of…whatever it is I’m heavily allergic too (I think oaks!)

My respiratory system was NOT happy.

I sneezed through every crosswalk, tears streaming down my face, my pockets full of soggy used tissues.

My sister looked over and asked repeatedly, “Are you OK?!” to which of course I responded, “Yes, I’m fine, it’s just allergies.”

I hadn’t thought to pack allergy meds and was too stubborn to buy them, so I suffered through the trip half-seeing and half-crying all the time we were outdoors.

Telling this story always makes me feel better, because whatever Flora is dragging inside, it’s nowhere near what NYC on the 5th of May has to offer.

So here’s what I have to offer this first week of May.

My favorite Vegan Refried Bean Tacos that we’ve been eating on repeat here for taco Tuesday.

I wanted to get this recipe out before Cinco de Mayo, but, it’s always a good day to eat tacos, right?

…

Cauliflower Cashew Alfredo

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

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.

…

Mushroom & Asparagus Risotto

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Mushroom & Asparagus Risotto made with miso paste, shiitake mushrooms, and arborio rice. Perfect for a spring meal with umami flavor!

It took me 36 years to try making my own risotto.

Almost 37, considering that next week is my birthday.

I saw a recipe on social media for a risotto with spring vegetables, and the possible pairing infiltrated my subconscious and refused to retreat.

So, I made risotto.

My first surprise was that you need a special kind of rice for risotto, and not just the leftover rice in my pantry.

I bought some arborio rice and read the instructions and prepped my space.

The second surprise came in how much liquid you need to use…almost 5 cups per one cup of rice!

(I didn’t follow this on my first recipe test and that’s why the recipe came out my fried than anything else. M shrugged and loyally ate it so I didn’t have to.)

The third and final surprise was how much you need to stir risotto.

I believe the word on the instructions was “constantly”.

Or maybe it was “consistently”.

But either c-word requires a level of attention that I’ve never devoted to rice in my life.

I watched my dream of hiding upstairs to read and sip kombucha while the rice cooked disappear a little more every time I swirled the spatula over the steam.

But the smell of the rice cooking encouraged me to forgive it for being so maintenance.

It smells HEAVENLY.

“Look, it looks like risotto!” I shouted at M when he entered the kitchen to see what smelled so good.

After stirring in the mushroom and asparagus, I was 10/10 excited to try this recipe.

After the first bite, I forgot how much effort risotto takes to make and vowed to have this Mushroom & Asparagus Risotto every day!

Put aside your risotto-fears and make this creamy Mushroom & Asparagus risotto made with spring veggies and arborio rice!

It’s bound to be your new favorite “splurge” meal this spring.

…

Vegan Pink Pasta

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Vegan Pink Pasta made with gluten-free pasta and a homemade tomato-cashew sauce. Served with fresh basil and vegan parm!

This is a recipe I made for Valentine’s Day and never shared.

As per usual, M and I didn’t make a big fuss over the whole Valentine’s Day thing.

In fact, after a gift heavy holiday season and new year, we decided to put a moratorium on gift giving, too.

This year, we’ve decided to stay in and cook a nice plant based dinner together at home with Flora.

We planned to complete the meal with one of the “better” bottles of red.

You know, the bottle with a more expensive price tag that you feel a little weird about opening on a random Thursday.

I *really* like cooking with M, so the act of making dinner becomes an activity in itself.

Lately, it usually becomes dog training, too, so the whole family gets involved.

Flora, now 7 months old, is a huge counter-surfer, meaning, she loves to jump on all of the kitchen counters and steal anything within her reach.

So we reward the sh** out of the sits and stays and (try to) patiently correct the pursuit of chopped bell pepper, the kitchen dishcloth, and my rubber gloves.

Dinner might take twice as long, but we love giving Flora more freedom to roam, explore, and learn.

While she isn’t allowed upstairs yet, our downstairs is her kingdom to conquer!

What say you to conquering upcoming celebrations or just dinner plans with this Vegan Pink Pasta?

This Vegan Pink Pasta is made with gluten-free pasta and a homemade tomato-cashew sauce.

It’s perfect for a weeknight dinner for the family but can be gussied up for a date night-in experience, too!

…

Pumpkin Chickpea Curry

By Flora & Vino 1 Comment

Pumpkin Chickpea Curry made in 1-pot with pumpkin, coconut milk, vegetables, and chickpeas. A cozy curry for cold weather!

Now that we’re looking into February, it’s a good time to assess where you fall with your new years intentions.

So, how’s it going?

In some areas, I feel like I’m crushing it, and in others, eh, let’s talk about that in March. 🙂

Lately I’ve been checking in with my girlfriends to make plans together for the year, share goals, and keep each other accountable.

They say it takes 21-days to form a habit, right?

If so, I’m currently in the habit of making a big pot of soup for the week ahead.

Even I think we don’t *need* the extra food, we *always* eat it.

In the winter months, I find re-heating a bowl of soup is such a satisfying and cozy lunch.

It’s one that I always appreciate mid-day when I’m typing on my computer with chilly fingers.

This Pumpkin Chickpea Curry is my current favorite soup obsession.

I love adding pumpkin to this recipe because it makes the texture thick and velvety.

It’s made in 1-pot with pumpkin, coconut milk, vegetables, and chickpeas.

It’s an easy, cozy, and customizable curry for cold weather!

…

Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff

By Flora & Vino 3 Comments

Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff made with your favorite pasta and dried mushrooms in a creamy cashew based sauce. Serve with fresh herbs!

The days are flying by!

Each morning I change the advent calendar number in disbelief, truly baffled by where the time goes.

It goes to unhurried dog training, hurried walks before early sunset, teaching yoga class prep, and hand writing Christmas cards.

And it goes to baking Christmas cookies, dreaming of 2025, applying buckets of moisturizer, and bundling and unbundling myself in layers of clothes.

It also goes to holiday parties, cups of light roast coffee on the couch, watching Christmas Hallmark movies, and playing Christmas music on a loop until it annoys me.

The time goes to making too many social plans and then cancelling them, returning Amazon packages, replacing dead car batteries, and drinking ruby red wine.

Some also goes to reading my Kindle, moving my body every day, watering dehydrated plant babies, and rewatching all 8 seasons of House with M.

One thing is certain: the time goes.

With not many days left in 2024, I’m committing to eating cozy comforting meals for the remainder of the year.

Are you in?

Sure, I love a good holiday cookie as much as the rest, but I wanted to leave you with something hearty, cozy, and satisfying.

Something that will curb your appetite until 2025, so to speak.

This is our last recipe of 2024, and it’s Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff.

This Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff is made with your favorite pasta and dried mushrooms in a creamy cashew based sauce.

…

Vegan Chili Mac

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Vegan Chili Mac made with two kinds of beans, your favorite noodles, and vegetables. This chunky chili is great to make for fall meal prep.

Growing up, my mom *always* added macaroni noodles to the chili she made.

I loved the way the velvety noodles complimented buttery beans and veg in a flavorful tomato broth.

It’s something I didn’t see a lot in the chilis I made, ordered, and shared later in life.

So, since it’s soup, stew, and chili season, friends, I’m here to bring you my latest favorite combination of Chili + Mac.

I’m excited to share my first recipe in a bowl this Fall with you, this Vegan Chili Mac.

When I first mentioned the concept of noodles in chili to M, he looked mildly confused.

It could be said that we at F&V love thick chunky chilis in this house, so this Vegan Chili Mac didn’t disappoint.

This Vegan Chili Mac is made with two kinds of beans, your favorite noodles, and vegetables.

It’s super versatile so you can add your favorites and leave the rest.

This chunky chili is great to make for fall meal prep and reheat with all of your favorite toppings!

…

Green Pesto Pasta Casserole

By Flora & Vino Leave a Comment

Green Pesto Pasta Casserole with chickpea noodles, homemade pesto sauce, and green veggies baked to perfection. The best workweek dinner!

As a kid, my favorite colors were pink and purple.

If I ever had a choice between colors of backpacks and pens and school notebooks, pink or purple was my favorite shade.

As a teenager, I begin to. gravitate towards blue because it felt safe, cool, and inconspicuous.

As a twenties something, I loved teal and coral.

The pairing together made my heart happy and I made it the theme of my outfits and my wedding colors.

Now that I’m in my 30’s, I am in love with the color green.

From the sage of my yoga mat to the mint of my planner to the evergreen of my favorite cozy sweatshirt.

Sometimes when my cell phone case and Kindle cover color and blouse are all matching it feels like a problem, but, hey, I like what I like!

Which is why I *love* the dozens of plants scattered around the perimeter of our main level.

The color green transforms the space from empty and generic and stale to something alive: a living room.

I always look for green on my plates, too.

(Sometimes, I even heat up some steamed broccoli to serve with a monotone takeout meal for a little color…

Which I do realize defeats the purpose and gift of takeout, haha.)

Which is why I loved the idea of this Green Pesto Pasta Casserole from first glance.

It’s made in a casserole dish with chickpea noodles, homemade pesto sauce, and green veggies baked to perfection.

This is the best workweek dinner for colder weather no matter what your favorite color is!

…

The Main Meal

Footer

what’s happening now on instagram