Pumpkin Curry Chickpea Salad Sandwiches

Today I had the honor of appearing on the Jane Velez-Mitchell show, Lunch Break Live! I was invited to showcase how easy it can be to make a quick vegan meal, and to promote my appearance at the CA Vegetarian Food Festival next weekend. 

With the first day of fall just a few days behind us, I wanted to use pumpkin. But, man, oh man, it has been at least 80 degrees out lately, so baking, or pumpkin spice anything just didn't sound good. So...I came up with a no-cook pumpkin dish that can provide all that fall flavor without having to turn on the oven (or turn to a latte!)

Connecting the Dots: Green Goddess Bowls

This past weekend I had the honor and privilege to be a guest chef at the Connecting the Dots event, in Santa Ana, put on by Living Ubuntu. I was humbled to be invited to feed and teach amongst this amazing line-up.

I could spend all night writing about the inspiring speeches given throughout the day. But I know you are here for "just the food" so I will say this...please visit the Living Ubuntu Connecting the Dots: Finding Compassion Through Our Differences event page and click around. There were five amazing young people (Jose Trinidad Castenada, Nyajouk "Sunday" Kuany, Amina Mohamed, Arthur (Trey) Carlisle, Audrey Waight) speaking about everything from immigration reform, to the housing crisis, to the refugee crisis, to genocide, to racism. The future is in good hands!

After a brief intermission we were able to enjoy some fruit and cupcakes (Thanks, Susan! They were amazing!) and then we settled in for the second session. It started with a video presentation by Aph Ko, followed by three more inspiring speakers...Asian American Studies and Animal Rights Professor, Claire Kim; iACT’s COO and Camp Darfur exhibit, Katie-Jay Scott; and Farm Sanctuary's Gene Baur.

Tanaka Bowl - Recipes from Plant Fest at Tanaka Farms

This past weekend marked the second Plant Fest at Tanaka Farms. The first one in September of 2017 was so successful, the fine folks over at Tanaka Farms were kind enough to host us again! And...guess what?! This one was even more successful than the first! So, we will definitely be back, in early June, to do it all again! Extra special thanks to the hard-working volunteers from SoCal VegFest for helping to make it all happen! Plant Fest is a project of SoCal VegFest which is a project of the Animal Protection and Rescue League - a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

Chili Con Jackfruit...because REAL chili has NO beans!

Last weekend I competed in the Long Beach Vegan Chili Cook Off at 4th Street Vine on 4th Street in the heart of Retro Row. Growing up in Long Beach, it's amazing how this strip of boutiques, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and vintage stores have not only kept their doors open over the years, but have been flourishing! That section of Long Beach is so popular these days! It's pretty exciting to see (and rather difficult to park!)