Balsamic Roasted Veggie Pasta

If you follow me you know that Thursday's have become pasta night in our house. This is a recipe I made last week and wanted to share with you! I hope you try it out!

Balsamic Roasted Veggie Pasta 

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of asparagus

1 pint cherry tomatoes

2 large red bell peppers

1 pint crimini mushrooms

2 cloves of garlic peeled

Olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

Kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper

Nutritional yeast

Garlic powder

Basil

1lb. of your favorite pasta

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 425*F

Trim the ends of your asparagus then cut into bite sized pieces (about an inch). Remove the ribs and seeds from your peppers and cut then to roughly the same size as the asparagus. Cut your crimini mushrooms in half.

In a large bowl toss all of the veggies and garlic cloves with a few splashes of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season to taste with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, nutritional yeast and basil.

Spread out the veggies one large baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes then flip the veggies around and cook for another 15 minutes.

While the veggies are cooking bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook your pasta according to the directions.

Once your pasta is cooked and the veggies roasted toss them together with a little more olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Serve with bread and a salad if you like.

I hope you enjoy!! 

My Vegan Tattoo

I've had a lot of people ask me where I got my tattoo, who did my tattoo etc. 

So, I figured it was a good time to give a shout out to the tattoo shop and artist who did my first and only tattoo. I would love to get more work done in the future.

Intemporelle Tattoo is hands down where it's at for tattoos in the Hudson Valley! Not only are the owners Zane and his fiancé Carolina young and fun, they are beyond professional and insanely talented. Everything they do is an original by them. You don't go in and pick through some generic book. They are true artists! You tell them your idea and what you are looking for. Then they draw it up themselves. If you ask me that is the definition of a tattoo artist. They are friendly and the shop is impeccably clean. I will never go anywhere else. My husband who has had a lot of tattoo work done around the area over years will also never go anywhere else now. 

My husband surprised me one day by taking me to get my first tattoo. I had been wanting a tattoo to represent my lifestyle change to being a vegan. For me this was a complete lifestyle change not just a diet. So I wanted something permanent to represent this permanent change in my life. I told Zane what I wanted and he beyond delivered. It was even more perfect than the vision in my head. 

My husband was also tattooed by Zane that day for the first time. He had my initial tattooed onto his ring finger because he's never been a jewelry wearing type of man, the sweetest part was it was his idea entirely. It came out beautiful! 

Right now my husband and Zane are in the middle of a huge cover up that most people said couldn't be done. It's looking ridiculous and it's not even completed yet. 

It's going to look sick when it's done. I'm telling you the man is a magician. 

He's taken something that my husband was embarrassed about, that no one was willing to attempt and is turning it into something he's more than proud to show the world. He still has a few more sessions, but it's already come so far I can't wait to see the finished product. 

Zane also did a memorial tattoo for my dad on my sister. It is perfect. She absolutely loves it and I know my dad is looking down and loving it. I'm so happy for her and he did an incredible job. When you are putting something so permanent on your body it is so important to have the right person doing the work. This is your body and you should respect it enough to have a true professional do the work. The saying "you get what you pay for" absolutely applies here.

Not only do I love this tattoo shop and respect the owners, but I'm thrilled that they use vegan products. The ink is vegan along with the Hustle Butter they sell for your tattoo. Just another reason to shout this place out!! 

If you want the real deal then you need to check them out. Don't bother wasting your money elsewhere. If you do though don't worry they can fix it for you!

Intemporelle Tattoo 

85 Partition Street Saugerties, New York 

Mon- 12pm-8pm

Tues-Wed- Closed

Thurs-Sun- 12pm-8pm

Appointment only

Street parking

Cash only

Facebook: Intemporelle Tattoo

Instagram: @intemporelletattoo

Russell's Vegan Tarter Sauce

Tonight for dinner my husband and I had gardein fishless filets with chips (fries) and coleslaw. My husband makes an amazing vegan tarter sauce that we used to dip the fishless filets in. I've posted about this dipping sauce a few times on social media and have received a few requests for the recipe. So, I sat down with my husband while he made it for tonight's dinner and we wrote down the recipe. I hope you give it a try, it's delicious!!! 

Russell's Vegan Tarter Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegan mayo (we had Hampton Creek Just Mayo on hand)

1 tbs dill relish 

1 tbs brown mustard (Dijon, spicy or horseradish)

1 tbs lemon juice 

Salt and pepper to taste 

Directions:

In a medium bowl whisk together all ingredients. 

Use as a dipping sauce for fishless filets or crabless cakes.

Vegan Cinnamon Sugar Bread

With tomorrow being Mothers Day I wanted to make something to bring to my moms for brunch tomorrow. I ended up making this delicious cinnamon and sugar bread. It was fairly simple to make. I love how my whole house smelled like cinnamon while it baked in the oven. My mouth was seriously watering. Cinnamon is one of my favorite flavors and the swirls of cinnamon sugar are just perfect in this bread. It's perfect with a cup of tea or coffee. I hope you give it a try. 

Vegan Cinnamon Sugar Bread 

Ingredients: 

2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour 

1 tsp baking soda 

1 tsp baking powder 

1 tbs cinnamon

1/2 cup room temperature organic vegan 

butter (I always use Earth Balance)

1/2 cup organic brown sugar

1/2 cup organic sugar 

1 tsp organic vanilla extract 

1 flax egg (combine 1 tbs ground flax meal with 3 tbs water, let set for 5 minutes)

1 cup vegan buttermilk (mix 1 tbs lemon juice with 1 cup non dairy milk, I used plain almond milk, and let sit for 10 minutes)

Cinnamon Sugar:

1/2 cup organic sugar

1 tbs cinnamon 

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350*F 

Grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan

In a large cup whisk together 1tbs lemon juice with 1 cup plain almond milk. Set aside 10 minutes.

In a small bowl combine 1 tbs ground flax meal with 3 tbs water and let set for 5 minutes.

In a small bowl combine your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.set aside. 

In a large bowl cream together your butter, sugars and vanilla using an electric mixer. Mix until light and fluffy. Next add in your vegan buttermilk and flax egg. Once well combined add in the flour and fold in with a spatula. Do not over mix. Batter will be lumpy. 

Make your cinnamon and sugar topping

Spread half of the batter into your prepared pan. 

Top with half of your cinnamon and sugar mixture. 

Swirl into the batter then spread out the top. 

Top with remaining batter. Swirl in the rest of the cinnamon and sugar. Even out the top. 

Bake 45-55 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. 

I hope you enjoy!!

My Favorite Things: New Faves

I wanted to take some time to shout out some vegan products I've recently tried and loved. I always look forward to finishing a product because it means I'll be trying out something new. I had just finished up products from each of these companies and couldn't wait to try these out! So here they are, a few of my newest favorites. I'm very passionate about supporting vegan companies. It's important to me to support cruelty free products. I really hope you'll give at least one of these products a try. 

First is a Tropical "Dream Getaway" Body Scrub from one of my all time favorite companies Timeless Organic Skincare. This is the third body scrub I have tried among other products. I haven't tried a product I didn't like from this company located in New Jersey. I have to say though this tops all of the other body scrubs. Mostly because I'm completely obsessed with anything pineapple or coconut. This scrub left my skin glowing and smelling like a piña colada and that is definitely okay with me!!

The next company I've become hooked on is Acure Organics and this is the second shampoo I've tried. The first shampoo I tried was their straightening shampoo which I fell in love with from the first wash. I'm really enjoying this volume shampoo as well. The mint scent is refreshing and soothing. I also love the deep clean I feel I get with this shampoo. Just like the straightening shampoo my hair felt light and lovely afterwards, not at all weighed down like products I've used in the past that were filled with all sorts of crap that I'm sure I'd rather not know of.

Last, but certainly not least is an amazing charcoal facial cleanser called Dark Angels by LUSH Cosmetics! I've never used a charcoal cleanser before and this was completely life changing. My skin has never felt so clean and refreshed. It leaves my skin glowing and super soft. I really recommend this one!!! Be sure to rinse extremely well though because the charcoal can leave behind a tint, but when rinsed thoroughly should not be a problem. 

Vegan "Chicken" Cacciatore

Today is Thursday and in our house that means it's Pasta Night!!! Well at least for the past three weeks that's what it's meant. I received so many requests for this recipe I made last Thursday so of course I had to share it with you!! I hope you give it a try!! It was a huge hit in my house!!

You can see what pasta dish I make tonight for my husbands birthday dinner tonight by heading over to Instagram and following me @veganwife.veganlife or following my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Vegan-Wife-Vegan-Life-229319020775860/

Vegan "chicken" Cacciatore 

Ingredients:

2 green bell peppers

1 red bell pepper

1 pint crimini mushrooms

1 pint baby bella mushrooms 

1-27oz.can diced tomatoes

1 24oz jar of your favorite marinara or make your own

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder

Basil

Nutritional yeast 

1 package of Gardein Meatless "Chicken" strips

1 pound of your choice of pasta (I used a Penne style pasta)

Directions:

Prepare the peppers by removing washing the skin, removing the ribs and seeds. Next dice the peppers into approximately 1 inch pieces. 

Clean your mushrooms and chop them to the same size as your peppers. 

In a large pot, I love to use my Dutch Oven,  heat a few splashes of olive oil over medium heat. Add your mushrooms and cook for 5-10 minutes then add your peppers. Sauté until the peppers are almost fork tender, but be careful not to overcook them at this point because they will also simmer in the sauce. I like to season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, basil and nutritional yeast before adding in the diced tomatoes and marinara. It's a great way to get an extra layer of flavor. 

Add in the diced tomatoes and marinara. I like to make my own, but I also like to use Newman's Own Roasted Garlic sauce when I'm short on time or just simply being lazy. Season with a little more salt and pepper. Let simmer on low heat. 

While your sauce is simmering bring a pot of water to boil, salt the after and cook your pasta according to the directions. You can also sauté your meatless strips according to the package directions. 

Chop your strips into bite sized pieces and mix into your sauce. Let simmer for 15 minutes. Add in the cooked pasta. Sprinkles more nutritional yeast on top before serving.

Serve with Italian bread and a salad if you would like! I hope you enjoy!!! 

Vegan Blueberry Muffins

This past Sunday I had asked you all to help me decide on a new recipe. I asked everyone if they would like a new chocolate chip muffin recipe or blueberry and the combination of the two was so popular I made a chocolate blueberry muffin. So many people were asking for blueberry later that day though, that I decided to create a blueberry muffin recipe to share with you all. Today is the perfect day too because there is only one muffin left from Sunday's baking. I really hope you give this recipe a try. They are moist, delicious, easy to make and your house will smell lovely!!! 

Vegan Blueberry Muffins

~Makes 16 regular sized muffins~

Ingredients: 

2 cups Unbleached all purpose flour 

1 tbs ground cinnamon 

2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda

Pinch of kosher salt 

1 1/4 cups organic sugar 

1/2 cup vegan butter (I use Earth Balance)

1 tsp organic vanilla 

2 flax eggs (2tbs ground flax meal mixed with 6tbs water, let set for 5 minutes before use)

1/2 cup non dairy milk (I used unsweetened plain almond milk. You can use vanilla almond milk just note it will be a  sweeter so you might want to cut out the extra 1/4 cup of sugar in the recipe. That is unless you have a sweet tooth)

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries 

Topping:

1/4 cup Organic sugar

1 tsp Ground cinnamon

Mix in a small bowl

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 375*F

Line your muffin pan or grease and flour well.

In a small bowl make your flax eggs by mixing together 2 tbs ground flax meal and 6 tbs water. Set aside for at least five minutes.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla. Mix in the flax eggs and milk. 

Fold in the dry ingredients. 

Stir in the blueberries.

Spoon your batter into the prepared muffin pan. I like to use an ice cream scoop for this step.

Sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar onto each muffin.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool before removing from the pan. 

I hope you enjoy!! 

Vegan Double Chocolate Blueberry Muffins

I love to bake anytime, but I especially like baking on a Sunday, while the rain falls outside my kitchen window. There is something extremely calming about moments like this. I try to bake something every Subday for us to have during the week and I really like muffins because I can pack them in my husbands lunch during the week as well. Nothing can be more boring though than having the same thing every day/week so I try to make a new recipe each time. Of course there are days where I use an old recipe we love and there is nothing wrong with that. Lately I've been feeling inspired about everything so I've enjoyed creating new recipes. Today's recipe was created because that's what you guys wanted to see. It was fun letting everyone vote for which muffin recipe they wanted me to create. I will definitely be doing that again. The combination of chocolate and blueberries was most popular. So as promised here is my recipe for Double Chocolate Blueberry Muffins...

Double Chocolate Blueberry Muffins

~Makes 12 regular sized muffins~

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup organic cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of kosher salt
1/3 cup softened vegan butter
(I used Earth Balance)
3/4 cup organic sugar
2 flax eggs
3/4 cup plain almond milk
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup non dairy chocolate chips
(I used semi sweet, but dark chocolate would be delicious too)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375*F

Line a muffin pan with liners or grease and flour well

In a small bowl make your flax eggs by mixing 2 tbs ground flax meal with 6 tbs water, set aside. Must sit at least 5 minutes before use.

In a medium bowl mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the flax egg and almond milk.

Once well combined add in the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.

Fold in  the blueberries and chocolate chips.

Spoon into your prepared muffin pan (I always use an ice cream scoop for this part).

Bake 18-20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool 15 minutes.

I hope you enjoy!!!