Sips, Sweets & Snacks

If you loved our All Pink Dinner Party decor I’m pretty sure you’re going to love our 3 course pink menu even more! With such epic contributions from so many amazing makers, like a pink ombre floral arrangement by Wild North and a pink coconut cream pie for dessert by Plum Lucky Pie Pi, we really wanted to step it up in the cooking department.

Other than the tiny fork swirl lines on each gnocci (which Italian Nona videos on youtube make look soooo easy) I think we totally killed it with this menu. Can’t wait to see you guys’ colourful creations!

Scroll down for Pink Spiralized Salad, Beet Gnocci and Pink Alfredo Sauce!

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PINK SPIRALIZED SALAD //

Candy cane beets
Watermelon radishes
Pink lady apple
Pear
Red beet
Rainbow carrots
Grapefruit

for the dressing:
1/4 cup Rose wine
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
Pinch of himalayan pink salt
1-2 tablespoons grapefruit juice

Use a spiralizer for all fruits and veggies except carrot and grapefruit. Peel the outer skin from the carrots and discard, using the vegetable peeler create long ribbons and add to the salad, toss well. Supreme the grapefruit, and cut segments from half the fruit, garnish the salad with them. Squeeze the other half into a bowl removing all seeds and pulp. Mix in with the rest of the dressing ingredients and serve immediately.

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BEET GNOCCHI //

1 cup beets, peeled and boiled
1 cup white potatoes, peeled and boiled
1 egg (or egg replacer)
2 cups of flour + extra for dusting
a pinch of kosher salt

Peel and boil both the beets and potatoes separately, potatoes should take 20-30 mins depending on size while beets will take approx. 50 mins.

Drain and place in separate bowls. Poke the boiled beets with a fork and allow extra juice to drain into the bottom of the bowl, save this juice for the alfredo sauce*. Allow to cool to lukewarm temperature. In a large bowl add the flour, making a small well in the middle. With an electric mixer, mash in the beets and then the potatoes. Add egg and salt and pulse until the dough is smooth and free from lumps. Use the extra flour to dust your surface and hand, knead the dough 5-10 times. Remove a small handful of dough and roll it out into a long cylinder, using a floured knife cut 1/2 inch lengths, pinching the middles with your fingers as you go. Lay each gnocchi out on a lightly floured surface until ready to boil.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. It’s important to not overcrowd the pot with gnocchi, so add about 10 at a time. When fully cook the gnocchi will rise to the top of the water, use a slotted spoon to remove. Serve immediately with the following Pink Vegan Alfredo.

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PINK VEGAN ALFREDO SAUCE //

1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight
3/4 cup water
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup red onion, diced
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons himalayan pink salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1-2 tablespoons beet juice*
Fresh basil for garnish

After the cashews have soaked overnight in cold water, drain and rinse well. Add all ingredients except beet juice to a high power blender and blend until completely smooth.
Using the excess beet juice from boiling the beets for gnocchi, slowly add to the blender and mix until you’ve reached your desired pink hue.

Heat on the stovetop on low heat before serving.

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Dinnerware / Ikea
Flowers / Wild North
Kitchen faucets / Delta Canada
Kitchen / Home Depot Canada
Pink coconut cream pie / Plum Lucky Pie Pi

Sips, Sweets & Snacks

I have a confession to make – until recent years I was never ever a salad person. For some reason the crisp of cold veggies just didn’t appeal, and I was almost offended when someone offered this healthy dish to me… maybe because everyone assumed it’s all I would want as a vegetarian!

These days I’ve finally come around, often opting for salad instead of pasta or other heavy carbs (ok, who am I kidding: I’ll get salad on the side) and whenever I have fresh local veggies in the fridge I try to add some green to my lunches.

Johanna and I were lucky enough to be invited to a picnic at Fresh City Farms that included all sorts of amazing local veggies. We ended up loading up our shopping bags with special goodies to take home, and got creative with a garden-inspired local summer salad! Complete with lavender honey dressing, this recipe tastes like warm summer days spent in sun and soil, with flowers and veggies in abundance.

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What you’ll need //

Local spring greens
Easter egg radishes
Watermelon radishes
Local garlic scapes
Snap peas
Cherry tomatoes
Grated purple carrot
Apple or Grapes
Pansies or other edible flowers for garnish

Dressing //

2 tablespoons Lavender-infused Olive Oil
2 tablespoons Raw Honey
3-4 tablespoons Boiling water (to dissolve honey)
Juice from half a lemon

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Sips, Sweets & Snacks

Making nut mylk is one of those things that just makes sense – it’s quick, simple, and yields a really delicious and nutritious end product. We’ve been trying to get on board with nut mylk and cheese in favour of dairy as much as possible, for the sake of ourselves, animals, and the environment, and luckily we have Amanda from Blueberrymoon here to help!

Cashews are one of the best nuts to use in dairy-inspired recipes thanks to their creamy rich texture. We made this version a bit more fun by adding some fresh local strawberries and a touch of beet juice to make our pink milk that much more pink! It’s super delicious on it’s own, in a strawberry banana smoothie, or blended with a bit o vegan ice cream for the ultimate strawberry shake!

Scroll down for the recipe

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Hey guys! Blueberrymoon here. I just wanted to add some notes and tips about making nut mylk at home! As noted above it’s so simple and so much better than store bought. Since cashews don’t have skins and become so soft once soaked, there is no need for a nut straining bag. If you’re using nuts with skins such as almonds, hazelnuts, brazil nuts or walnuts, a straining bag is required. However even with the extra step, you’re still looking at an easy process! When storing your mylk, make sure it’s kept in an air tight container or jar in your fridge and consumed within 3-5 days.

What you’ll need //

1 cup soaked cashews
1 cup fresh strawberries
4-6 dates
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
beet juice

Instructions //

Soak cashews in water for 4-8 hours or overnight.

Once soaked, rinse well adding all ingredients to your high-speed blender, we used our Vitamix.

Blend on high for about one minute.

If you like your mylk sweet, add a touch of honey or maple syrup!

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Sips, Sweets & Snacks

Let’s face it – everything is better in shades of pink! Around here, pink is a neutral, and we’re always looking for ways to include more of it in our daily lives. Que this super simple, super pink recipe!

Pink pickled onions are a great way to add flavour and a pop of pink colour to almost any food you can think of. We’ve served them here atop avocado toast (a breakfast staple at HQ) but they work with everything from salad and rice bowls to tacos and sandwiches. Baking potatoes? Put some pink on them. Serving hors d’oeuvres at your next soirée? Put some pink on them!

The secret to this rosy-hued recipes lies within the beet juice, our favourite pinkifying ingredient. Feel free to play around with adding less or more beet to alter the shade of your onions, and though they only need overnight to taste delicious, they’ll turn more pink the longer you let them sit.

Scroll down for the recipe!

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What you’ll need //

1 medium size red onion

1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon cane sugar

1 teaspoon pink salt

2 teaspoons beet juice

Recipe //

Chop 1 red onion into small strips, separating from each other as you go. Fill a glass jar with tight-fitting lid 3/4 full.

In a separate jar stir the vinegar, sugar, salt and water together. Add about two teaspoons of beet juice until the liquid turns bright pink. Now stir well and pour the liquid over the chopped onions in the other jar. Seal the lid tightly and shake it up until all the onions are covered. Leave it in your fridge for about a week and you’re ready to enjoy on all your favourite snacks! We used them on a simple avocado toast, along with candy cane beet and a sprinkling of nutritional yeast.

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