recipe

Eat your Pastels // Unicorn Fresh Rolls

September 15, 2017September 11, 2017 by Alyssa Garrison

Whenever something magical and pastel starts circulating around the internet, we take it as a personal mission to test the trend. Scrolling through Pinterest a few weeks back I came across a post headline that read “Unicorn Noodles Are the Biggest New Food Trend”.

It was my solemn duty to investigate this new claim.

Apparently there’s a totally natural way to dye glass noodles pink, AND you can make them change colour! Various blogs all over the internet claim by cooking the noodles in purple cabbage they’re turn a vibrant shade of turquoise, and when citrus like lime is added to the mix the noodles change to shades of purple and pink. It seemed almost too good to be true, so we got to work testing this theory on our next staff lunch break.

Turns out, the rumours were TRUE! We made the prettiest rainbow fresh rolls with no added food colouring, just natural enchanted veggie magic! Scroll down to find out how we did it.

What you’ll need //

1 package vermicelli or glass noodles
1 package Rice paper
Half a head of purple cabbage (roughly chopped)
Blue Majik Capsules

Avocado
Mango
Cucumber
Purple carrot
Green onion
Lime

Sweet Chilli Thai sauce for dipping

Instructions //

Begin by making the magic blue noodles, in a pot over high heat boil a handful of purple cabbage with 2-3 cups of water. Stir and boil for 5-10 minutes, the longer you boil the cabbage the darker blue the water and final result. Take the pot off the heat and strain out the boiled cabbage with a spoon. Add the noodles, stirring occasionally to ensure all the noodles are covered with liquid. Cover and wait 2-3 minutes. If you want to add a little extra colour to your noodles, we used a capsule of Blue Majik opened and stirred it into the strained noodles!

You’ll find that adding an acid, like lime will start to change the blue to pink!

Set the noodles aside, and cut up veggies. Grate, or slice thin vertical pieces of each item and line them up ready for assembly. Fill a large bowl with hot water, not boiling. Slowly place one sheet of rice paper in the bowl at a time until it softens. Carefully shake excess water off and drape over a plate. Place a small handful of noodles and veggies along the middle of the plate and fold both the bottom and top inward. Now roll it up from the sides, the rice paper is very sticky so it will help to shape the roll.

Once you’re done rolling, cut each one in half and serve with a dip! Add a little extra lime juice if you’d like.

Sips, Sweets & Snacks

#EatyourPastels Rainbow Cauliflower Tacos

July 24, 2017July 24, 2017 by Alyssa Garrison

As you all know very well, the more pastel coloured foods we can get our hands (and mouth) on, the better. So, when Amanda proposed Rainbow Cauliflower Tacos as the next adventure for #EatyourPastels we were more than just excited. It’s no secret everyone loves tacos – they’re adorable, bite-sized, and packed with flavour, so what’s not to adore?

Eating vegan 24/7 can be tough – I know I struggle with cutting certain foods out of my diet, especially when dining out. It’s easy to fall into the pattern of eating plain veggies and carbs and ending up a bit bored. These recipes are quick and make it easy for anyone to eat vegan at home. The tacos we made for this post use lentils as the base, instead of the traditional meat or faux products. Lentils are a great unprocessed alternative to using tofu or other protein replacers, and with the right spice blend they taste surprisingly meaty.

Scroll down for the recipe!

What you’ll need //

Lentils:
½ cup lentils
1 cup water
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp chili powder
¼ tsp cumin
1 tbsp tamari

Seasoned Cauliflower:
½ head cauliflower
1 tbsp coconut or olive oil for frying
1 tbsp taco seasoning
salt to taste

Guac:
1 avocado
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp garlic powder
½ lime juiced
cilantro to taste

Garnish:
shredded candy cane beet
pickled onions (learn how to make your own here)
watermelon radish
nutritional yeast
tortillas

To Make:

Lentils:

Start by rinsing your lentils. Combine with water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once they reach the boiling point, reduce heat and simmer on low for 20-30 minutes. Keep an eye on them and add water as needed. When lentils are finished cooking, season with tamari, garlic, chili, smoked paprika and cumin.

Cauliflower:

Cut or break up cauliflower into small pieces. Add your oil of choice to a pan and fry on medium/high until golden brown. Season with taco seasoning and salt.

Quick Guacamole:

In a bowl, mash you avocado adding in all the ingredients listed until you reach desired taste. Voila! You have yourself some guac.
To assemble, be creative! We garnished our crew with some pretty pink friends; watermelon radish, shaved candy cane beet and pickled red onion. (Find the recipe here) We then sprinkled on some nutritional yeast and fresh cilantro. Enjoy these beauties with a squeeze of lime juice and maybe even a margarita!

Sips, Sweets & Snacks

#EatYourPastels Pink Strawberry Mylk

July 5, 2017July 5, 2017 by Alyssa Garrison

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

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!

Party Time

Summer Mandarin Melon Party Punch

June 23, 2017June 23, 2017 by Alyssa Garrison

Is anyone else shocked by how fast this month has flown by? It feels like I’ve been all over the place, from PEC to Muskoka and Bancroft and back again, and there’s SO much to share with you guys I don’t even know where to start! There’s a lot of really great content coming up between now and July 1st, in fact, there will be a new post up almost every single day between now and then, so get ready for a lot of FUN!

Now that I’m back in Toronto for a hot second I’m finally able to start sharing some of the awesome things we’ve been working on around here. First up, I FINALLY decided on furniture for my apartment (months after moving in) and I’m THRILLED with how our new headquarters looks now that it’s come together. We’ll be sharing a full tour with our friends at CB2 later this Summer, but you’ll get a sneak peek in this post.

So what exactly IS this post? We’ve got two main things to share with you here, one being an introduction to Eivey. I’ve always been obsessed with organizing and cleaning out my closet (my best friend and I had little “closet cleanout” parties throughout our very type-A childhood), and thought I donate most of my extras there are a few special pieces that I have a hard time piling into a bag and waving goodbye to. That’s where Eivey comes in – a new Canadian website that makes listing and selling your high-end items super simple and, dare I say, fun? You can list items to your “closet” (here is mine if you feel like shopping!) and other users can follow you to get notified when you add something new. Best of all, Eivey sends you a mailing package directly so all you have to do is pop your pre-loved item into the mail.

The amazing ladies behind Eivey approached us to host a little wine and cheese closet cleaning party with some of our friends, and my childhood nostalgia alone prompted an automatic yes! Everyone brought a couple items and we all shot photos and posted together over epic cheese plates and rosé punch. Rosé punch you say? Which brings me to the recipe portion of this post!

We pretty much live off of Zevia sparkling water here at HQ, and we figured this mini party was the perfect time to dream up a new Summery recipe! We used their deliciously refreshing Mandarin Orange flavour with a trio of our favourite melon, fresh mandarin orange slices and a splash of our all time favourite rosé, SUMMER WATER (get it here at a special price!)

Scroll down for the full recipe and more party pics!

What you’ll need //

Zevia’s Sparkling Mandarin Water
Honeydew Melon
Watermelon
Cantelope
Mandarin oranges (clementines work too)
Summer Water Rosé

Instructions //

Use a melon baller on all three melons to create a bowl’s worth of mixed colours. Peel your oranges and add the slices to your bowl. Put the bowl of fruit in the freezer for 10-15 mins. Stir melon and orange slices in a Yari mixing glass with ice, muddling a bit while you stir.

Add Zevia’s Sparkling Mandarin Water and let sit in the Yari in a cool place for half an hour, letting the fruit “steep” for more melon flavour.

Fill a glass with ice (we used this copper pineapple sharing cocktail glass) and pour the Zevia and fruit combination over into the glass (or glasses)

Top it off with a splash (or two) of rosé and garnish with slices of melon!

This post was sponsored, but all opinions are my own. To inquire about sponsored posts, please email jess@shineinfluencers.com

Sips, Sweets & Snacks

#EatyourPastels Pink Onions

June 19, 2017June 19, 2017 by Alyssa Garrison

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!

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.