Each week, I share some of the tasty meals I’ve been cooking/eating. This series combines cooking, life, and love into one delicious email. Enjoy this tasty mix of stories and recipes every week by signing up for my newsletter.
I feel like my life is back to “normal”. The past couple of weeks has been hectic and overwhelming. Now I’m getting my groove back. I’ve been productive in the kitchen, experimenting with new dishes and eating out less. It oddly feels like the calm before the storm.
It’s been quite miserable here in “sunny” San Diego. Cloudy, chilly, and gray. The weather does affect my mood, as I have learned the hard way. Anything under 60F is cold for me, and I don’t want to be outside. I’m naturally a homebody, and I don’t mind spending most of my time at home since I love my space, but I’m going stir crazy with this weather.
David and I are preparing for an action-packed May. We have something going on every week. My BFF is visiting, and we are moving, going to a music festival, and driving to Vegas. This means I won’t be as active on here! On Thursday, I am dropping a series I have been working on– 10 naturally vegan dishes from around the globe. Creating this challenge and making it into a series to share with all of you got me out of my major cooking rut. I am so excited to share the dishes I made and tried and all the exciting facts I learned about the originating countries.
Stay tuned for that on Thursday!
ICYMI
ten spices I can’t live without 🧂
NEW RECIPE vegan blueberry and chocolate chip muffins 🫐🍫
My BFF Cat and I discovered we have a mutual adoration for the author, Christina Lauren (it’s a pen name! It’s two women who co-author, who knew?!) It’s been a minute since I’ve read anything by them or contemporary romance. The last book I read was non-fiction and left me unsatisfied, so I browsed on Libby. The Soulmate Equation was the only one available, and it fell on my lap at a perfect time. I read this book in two sittings. I took a whole day to myself to read the majority of it. The last time I did that for a book was pre-pandemic (I’m not joking). The Soulmate Equation is cute and amusing, and the main character Jess is hysterical. The book takes place in San Diego, and it was nice to read about places that exist in San Diego; it gave me great visuals. I highly recommend The Soulmate Equation if you are looking for a light-hearted, easy read!
The podcast I knew I always needed—Borderline Salty is a weekly podcast hosted by Carla Lalli Music and Rick Martinez. I’m a big fan of Carla and Rick; I’ve been following them for years. I love their personalities and cooking styles. The first episode was an excellent starter for what's to come. We stan an educational podcast! Give it a listen if you are interested in learning how to be a brighter and happier home cook!
Blame it on the weather or my trip to the Whaley house, but I’ve been on a paranormal kick. I watch many paranormal videos on Youtube, and of course, every Thursday, I’m tuned in to Discovery+ for Ghost Adventures. Discovery+ dropped a new series called Ghost Town Terror that piqued my interest. It’s about a woman and her family who purchased a ghost town in Montana, and after living there full-time, weird and unsettling things started happening to her and her family. The season finale was this weekend, and whew, the season was a wild ride. I’m not one to get affected by these kinds of shows, but I was having nightmares from a particular episode, and I’m always on edge after watching an episode. It’s really good, and I hope Discovery+ renews the series!
SUNDAY
Breakfast: bagel with cream cheese (Tofutti is superior to all vegan cream cheeses, IMO) and jelly 🥯
📸 Dinner: shanghai scallion oil noodles
Snacks: chocolate sprinkle donut 🍩 from Whole Foods (WF has loads of vegan bakery items!), mia prosciutto slices with pretzels, and Dr Bronners chocolate (I grab any chocolate bar I have unopened I never pay attention to the flavor, sorry!) 🍫
MONDAY
Breakfast: cereal—koala crisps 🥣
Lunch: sandwich— mia prosciutto, cheese, cucumbers, and mayo 🥪
Recipe testing/Snacking: brown butter-infused cookies 🍪
📸 Dinner: gado gado salad 🥗
TUESDAY
📸 Breakfast: congee with impossible sausage and green onions
Lunch: siggis toasted coconut yogurt
Snacks: more cannacookies hehe for testing… ya know? seaweed snacks, and bbq chips
WEDNESDAY
Breakfast: congee with impossible sausage
Snack/Lunch: dirty chai latte
Dinner: Don Carlos Scripps Burrito 🌯 (we eat from DC at least once a week, I swear)
THURSDAY
Lunch: sandwich with mia prosciutto, tofurky oven-roasted turkey, broccoli sprouts lettuce, dill pickle mustard and mayo 🥪
Snacks: bbq chips and vegan chocolate chip cookies 🍪 from Sprouts
FRIDAY
Breakfast: siggis yogurt
Lunch: congee with impossible sausage scallions and sriracha
Snack: baba ganoush with tostones (odd combination but it works!)
📸 Dinner: lobio with toasted olive oil bread
SATURDAY
Breakfast: cinnamon sugar donut holes from Whole Foods
📸 Brunch: just egg scrambled, hashbrowns avocado, and strawberries
Snack: pretzels
Dinner: farinata sandwich with sundried tomatoes, mayo, roasted red peppers, and onions
*yes, everything is vegan. My daily intake varies depending on my mood and what I’m craving. I eat whatever I want when I want. This weekly food journal is for inspiration and entertainment purposes, not as a guide on what/how much to eat. Everyone’s needs are different :)
“Destiny could also be a choice, she realized. To believe or not, to be vulnerable or not, to go all in or not.”
― Christina Lauren, The Soulmate Equation
until next week ✌️
Bri