Sprout & Pea

It’s always a treat to have my vegan friends join me for din­ner because it presents an oppor­tu­nity for me to get even more cre­ative than usual in my kitchen. Of course there are a many quick, sim­ple vegan dishes that I could have pre­pared when my friend came over last week, but the prob­lem was that I was crav­ing some­thing warm, savory and creamy. I’m not a fan of fake cheese or meat so I was stumped for a moment. Then I came across quite pos­si­bly the most per­fect solu­tion– but­ter bean sage sauce. Read more:

 You know those days where every­thing in your tiny lit­tle world seems to stand still for just long enough to take it all in? Those days where you just feel grate­ful for it all? Sat­ur­day was one of those days for me, and it was a sim­ple day too. I woke up, met my cousin for brunch and we enjoyed some deli­cious poached eggs with herbs and cheese out­side on a rare 60 degree day in Brook­lyn. We caught up, walked around, did a lit­tle shop­ping, and explored neigh­bor­hoods by foot. On our walk, I received a phone call from one of my most favorite peo­ple– just to say hello and that he was think­ing of me as he biked around where the wind took him on this unbe­liev­ably beau­ti­ful day. Read more:

There’s no telling what is in store for 2012 and frankly I find that excit­ing. I do know that my last days of 2011 and first days of the new year were spent in sun­shine with loved ones and good food, and if that’s any indi­ca­tion for the direc­tion this year is headed, I’ll take it. I flew down to Miami to ring in the new year with my best friend Farah, her new hubby and their gor­geous new house. When Farah started talk­ing about menu plan­ning, I imme­di­ately took the reins and tossed out dishes that I was itch­ing to con­tribute. She wanted to make an orzo pasta salad and I took that as an oppor­tu­nity to give myself a lit­tle cre­ative chal­lenge. Read more: