Category: vegan

Summer Zucchini & Corn Chowder

Hello everyone,

Today I am so excited to share my latest recipe for Summer Zucchini & Corn Chowder using Pacific Foods Cashew Vanilla Unsweetened Non-Dairy Beverage. I just love a creamy, sweet and savory soup for a long summer day. If you’ve sought out a non-dairy beverage to replace milk, you’ve probably seen Pacific Foods on the shelf at your local grocery store. Pacific Foods actually offers the broadest range of shelf-stable plant-based beverages including almond, coconut, hazelnut, soy, rice, oat, hemp, and cashew.

For today’s recipe, I used Pacific Foods Cashew Vanilla Unsweetened Non-Dairy Beverage. It added the perfect touch of sweetness and contributed to a creamy base for this dish. Using summer fresh veggies and a limited amount of spices, this soup tastes fresh and light, yet comforting.

Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think! Printable recipe below!

Cheers & happy eating!

Jocelyn

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Summer Pasta Salad

Hello everyone,

Happy almost summer! One my most often requested recipes by friends and family is my go to Summer Pasta Salad. In fact, a coworker just asked me for my secret ingredients! Well, I decided to give a video recipe a try. How’d I do? A printable text version of the recipe is below. Comment and let me know what your favorite summer side dish is!

Cheers & happy eating!

Jocelyn

* Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As always, all opinions are my own!

5 from 1 vote
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Summer Pasta Salad

This quick & easy dish will be a hit at your summer picnic!

Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword pasta salad, side dish, summer side, vegan
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 7 minutes
Chill 2 hours
Total Time 17 minutes
Servings 12 people
Author The Vegan Hostess

Ingredients

Pasta Salad

  • 1 box elbow, spiral or other dry pasta
  • 1 15.5 oz can garbanzo beans (chick peas) drained and rinsed
  • 1 15.5 oz can kidney beans drained and rinsed
  • 1 15.5 oz can large olives drained and rinsed
  • 1 red bell pepper diced
  • 1 yellow bell pepper diced
  • 1 stalk celery diced
  • 1/2 cup red onion diced
  • 1/2 cup banana pepper rings chopped

Dressing

  • 1 cup italian dressing I like Wishbone Far Free Italian.
  • 1/2 cup liquid from banana pepper ring jar
  • 1 tbsp oregano
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Rinse and drain all canned ingredients and set aside.

  2. Chop/ dice all vegetables and set aside.

  3. Combine spices, Italian dressing, and banana pepper juice and set aside.

  4. Cook the pasta according to package instructions.

  5. Combine the vegetables, beans, olives, and pasta. 

  6. Pour the dressing mixture over top and mix well.

  7. Chill for two hours. 

  8. Garnish with your favorite vegan cheese, freshly mined parsley or other herb and enjoy!

 

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Vegan in Amsterdam

Hello fellow vegan travelers,

Who knew being Vegan in Amsterdam was so easy? I just spent a week and a half touring my fair share of the Netherlands—even making a quick excursion to Ghent, Belgium. I was pleasantly surprised by how vegan-friendly most restaurants were, plus there were many vegan or vegetarian specific eateries AND vegan dominos. Yeah, that’s right. Vegan dominos. Boom.

It was a bit more difficult to find vegan milk alternatives when I ventured away from the major cities, but even then, the espresso is so good in Europe there is no need to drink anything else. It’s almost criminal how much worse espresso is at most coffee shops in the US. Honestly.

Zaanse SchansZaanse Schans 1Zaanse Schans 2Zaanse Schans 3Zaanse Schans 4

On one of our day excursions to Zaanse Schans, we stumbled into In de Gecroonde Duyvekater (a bakery & museum) located in an adorable 1658 home in the windmill village. Can you believe I found a vegan apple hand pie and vegan pizza bread?! I was stunned, and didn’t hesitate before purchasing both. They hand pie was warm and soft,  and the pizza bread was surprisingly fluffy!

I’m having a hard time picking out my favorite vegan excursion from this trip, but I will say, you do NOT want to miss the vegan cheese at Mr. & Mrs. Watson. They serve almond and cashew cheese, and both are phenomenal. I also thought the breakfast and coffee at Koffie ende Koecke was spectacular. I had oat pancakes with fresh jam that was like nothing I’ve experienced before. Check out my mouthwatering photos from a variety of visit worthy restaurants across the Netherlands below.

So tell me, where are your favorite places to travel while vegan?

Cheers and happy traveling!

Jocelyn

* Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As always, all opinions are my own!

 

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FREE Avocados with Rare Coupon & Homemade Spicy Guacamole

Hello everyone,

Tonight I’m having some company over to help me celebrate another year down. Is it just me or do birthdays lose a little something after 30? Well, I’m using the day to relax, take a bath, bake a cake, and make some guacamole …. because I stumbled on FREE Avocados with a Rare Coupon!

For a limited time, you can get up to $2.00 worth of avocados for free at Target. How? Simply download the Coupons.com app, sort by Target, and select the coupon offer for free avocados. You must clip the digital coupon by 11:59 PM PST May 6th, 2018 and then submit your receipt. Voila! You will get up to $2.00 cash back. Note, this offer cannot be combined with any other and does not includes taxes.

Why not get some free avocados and start planning your Cinco de Mayo celebrations? Check out my favorite homemade fresh spicy guacamole recipe below!

Cheers!

Jocelyn

*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As always, all opinions are my own!

 Homemade Spicy Guacamole

***Please feel free to share widely, just give me some credit or a link back

  • Prep Time: ~10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 ripe avocados
  • ¼ cup, red onion, finely diced
  • ¼ cup, tomato, diced/ seeds removed
  • 1 jalapeno, seeds removed/ minced
  • 1-2 tbs, lime juice
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tbs, cilantro, minced
  • 2 tsp, pimenton/ paprika
  • ½ tsp, course salt
  • pinch, cayenne
  • pepper, to taste
  • Green onion, finely sliced

Directions

  1. Cut the avocados in half. Remove the seeds.
  2. Score the avocado and scoop out the chunks with a spoon and place in a large salsa bowl. Discard the avocado flesh.
  3. Finely dice the red onion and tomato and mince the garlic and jalapeno. Finely chop the cilantro.
  4. Add all of the dry the ingredients to the salsa bowl.
  5. Next measure and add the liquid and spice ingredients.
  6. Combine all of the ingredients gently by folding with a fork while lightly mashing the avocado.
  7. Garnish with green onion. Serve with tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

 

Paprika-Spiced Sauteed Chick Peas

Hello everyone,

I love chick peas. I love them on salad. I love them straight out of the can. I love them coated in oil and still sorta good for you … And really, who doesn’t love a good snack? I’m certainly a sucker for them! I finally put two and two together and spawned a new favorite recipe for Paprika-Spiced Sauteed Chick Peas. 

This recipe is incredibly quick and easy. It’s the type of “thrown together” dish that will shock your tastebuds and your friends! This recipe calls for just four needed ingredients (but you can add others) and takes under 20 minutes to make. Plus, sauteed chick peas are a protein-packed, healthy-ish snack that’s perfect for your next potluck! The texture is a little crunchy, a bit chewy, and it’s chock full of flavor.If you happen to have a lodge cast iron skillet it will give the outer shell that extra crispy layer. I can’t recommend this recipe enough. Go on and give it a try!

Happy snacking!

Jocelyn

*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As always, all opinions are my own!

Sauteed Chick Peas

Paprika-Spiced Sauteed Chick Peas

***Please feel free to share widely, just give me some credit or a link back

  • Prep Time: ~2 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 2 cups
  • Supplies: cast iron skillet

Ingredients

  • 1 can chick peas, thoroughly drained (do not remove the skins!)
  • 1 tbs, olive oil
  • 2 tsp, pimenton/ paprika
  • 1 tsp, harissa powder
  • salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

  1. Place the drained canned chick peas on a paper towel and pat them down to remove excess moisture.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat until simmering.
  3. While the oil is heating up, mix the spices together and toss them with the chick peas until well-coated.
  4. Place the chick peas in the skillet. Toss the chick peas occasionally until they become brown and the outer shell looks crisp. This should take about 15 minutes.
  5. Enjoy while warm!