Tag: vegan

aurora spring + New York recap

aurora spring

This post was created in partnership with MacKenzie-Childs. All opinions are our own.

Two weeks ago, we visited upstate New York. Thirty minutes north of Ithaca rests a charming town called Aurora with a population of just five hundred people. Filled with picturesque gardens and cute colonial houses, we enjoyed walking around the village, admiring the vibrant tulips and pink blossoming cherry trees that lined the sidewalks. We were invited by MacKenzie-Childs to tour their headquarters, meet the staff, and get a behind-the-scenes look into how they make their handmade products. This was an easy decision for us since we were already fans of the company, and the east coast is beautiful this time of year.

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sparkling dragon fruit margarita

sparkling dragon fruit margaritas

Even though there is an eight year difference between us, we have never noticed. Technically, it’s eight years and three months, but who’s counting? The only time it was an issue was when we first started dating: Ryan was nineteen and wasn’t allowed into some of the shows that Adam’s band was playing because he was still a minor. It’s funny to think that in the mid-eighties when Adam was in middle school, Ryan was just starting kindergarten. We both remember jelly bracelets and garbage pail kids, parachute pants, and the brightly colored neon fashion which illuminated that era. The vibrant color of this glowing cocktail we are sharing today reminds us of those days, and you won’t believe us when we tell you that the hue is all-natural and comes from a tropical fruit. This Cinco de Mayo we are going back… to the future!

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spicy garlic edamame

spicy garlic edamame

Our first kiss. September 23, 2001. Los Angeles, California. We had known each other for almost four months. Ryan had just moved back to USC for his sophomore year of college after a summer break in Portland, spent chatting together for hours every night over aol instant messenger. We had been on several casual dates since his return, and the only physical contact was a friendly hug at the end of each evening. But this night was different. Little did we know, as we sat nervously on the couch in Adam’s tiny Los Feliz apartment watching the Ken Burn’s Jazz documentary, that this night would be the beginning of a relationship that would eventually turn into a lifelong marriage. Neither of us ever had a boyfriend before, so this was all new territory and somewhat daunting. Ryan was feeling brave, and before getting together at the apartment that night he proposed a big question over the archaic dial-up internet connection, “What’s the deal with us?” And for good reason: we had been on a handful of dates, and didn’t go a day without speaking on the phone, sometimes for hours on end, but there was still no sign of a kiss. Well, cupid must have had perfect aim that warm Sunday evening, or perhaps there was some particularly romantic jazz music playing in the film, but whatever it was, we found ourselves moving closer and closer on the couch. Miles was wailing on the trumpet and Art Blakey pounded on his drums, while cupid pulled his arrow all the way back, further than he had ever pulled before, and using all his concentration and focus, he let go—never taking his eyes from the arrow as it shot through the air, pierced both of our hearts, and our lips touched for the very first time. Five years after that fateful night, we were married in front of 150 of our closest friends and family, and we have never looked back.

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chocolate avocado pudding

chocolate avocado pudding

For those of you who made it past the unexpected title, welcome! You are in for a treat. One of our favorite restaurants to visit on special occasions is The Stinking Rose. They are famous for menu items like their 40-clove garlic chicken, but since we are both vegetarian, we choose from the array of garlicky pasta selections on the menu. The meal officially begins when the server delivers bagna cauda to the table: a hot iron skillet sizzling with roasted garlic which spreads onto crusty slices of baguette like smooth butter. If you still have room after the main course, you cannot leave without trying their famous garlic ice cream with caramel molé sauce. As odd as it may sound, it is actually quite delicious, and from this eclectic eating experience we have learned to not judge a dessert by its title. While some of you may think that mixing avocado and chocolate is sacrilege, let us assure you it is quite the opposite. In fact, if you didn’t know there was actually avocado in this chocolatey dessert we are sharing today, you would probably never guess. With just eight simple ingredients, this creamy no-bake pudding is here to shock your mind and your mouth.

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broccamole

broccamole

Our relatives in Spain couldn’t stop laughing when we showed them the photo of our skinny young avocado tree. Just a year old and not even four feet tall, its trunk was as slender as a thumb. But it wasn’t the tree that was funny, it was the large pink umbrella set up next to it, protecting the poor thing from the blazing midsummer southern California heat. It hung on for dear life, but didn’t survive the brutal days of September when Los Angeles makes its annual transformation into a walk-in pizza oven. So we replaced the torched avocado with a tropical loquat tree that loves the sun and has been generously producing plump, juicy fruits these past two years. Eventually, we’ll find a shadier spot and plant another tree where it can flourish and make millions of avocados for us. Considering they sell for two or three dollars each in the store, one could save a lot of money owning a tree, especially if you’re a fanatic follower of this fantastic fruit like we. You may have questions at this point: Where is this going? And what the heck is broccamole? We promise this is leading somewhere… and of course, it happens to be somewhere incredibly delicious. To learn more, simply scroll down to the next paragraph…

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