There are two things I'm ready to admit to the world:

1) I have hated mushrooms for most of my life. It hasn't been until recently that I've begun to actually enjoy the taste and texture of them.
2) I love to try other vegan bloggers' recipes

What do these two things have in common? Well, one of my favorite blogs is Olives for Dinner. Erin creates some really amazing things... not only are the techniques she uses amazing, but the flavors.... THE FLAVORS! I recently made her Shiitake Bacon and it was SO good that I created a whole dish to highlight 1) mushrooms and 2) her shiitake bacon. I'm sure this sounds like mushroom overload, but wait until you try it. It's creamy, savory, and the crunchiness from the bacon on the top makes it perfection. I never thought in my life I'd make a straight-up mushroom dish. But, I did! And I licked the bowl.

The smaller, crunchier "bacon" bits worked better in the soup, so my suggestion is to chop them up a little finer like crumbles instead of slices. Watch the cook time--- you'll probably be done after the first 20 minutes (or less).

So, anyway, last weekend I went to the farmer's market and one of the sellers had giant "mixed bags" of mushrooms. I bought a bag that included shiitakes, oysters, and enoki, and your plain white button variety. I decided to use the oysters to make Erin's bacon and wanted to use the rest to create a cream of mushroom soup.

Spring rolls take my "Cincho de Mayo" concept to a whole new level. Not only are they super quick and easy to make, but there's absolutely NO cooking involved. Hooray! Now that we're starting to have 80-90 degree days, no cooking is perfect. (Wasn't I JUST complaining about snow?)

I came home tonight not knowing which to make: Chilled Pea Soup or Spring Rolls. Honestly, I was so tired I was hoping Phil would say, "Darling, let's just grab something and take it home." He didn't. He poured me a glass of wine, invited me out to the balcony to drink amongst our plants, and we talked about our days. It was so invigorating and wonderful that I bounced into the kitchen, excited to make spring rolls with him.

I used a few different ingredients: cilantro, basil, kelp noodles (cook up some rice noodles if you don't have easy access to kelp noodles), shredded carrot, cucumber, thinly sliced jalapeno, and shredded radish. The only reason we used shredded radish was because Phil and I had a little debate going earlier this week about if radish was "spicy." I told he was nuts if he classified it as spicy. But... I tasted some shredded radish and lo and behold, it tasted spicy. Touche, Phil. It also tasted really good in the rolls. I highly recommend it. The last thing I recommend is getting your veggies all prepped and separated out on a plate so that you can easily assemble your rolls.

Obviously spring rolls are a great appetizer, but Phil and I made 8, split them, and it was perfect for our dinner.

This has been a hectic week. Do you ever have days that feel like weeks? I am highly doubtful that today is even Wednesday. Surely it's Sunday. Or maybe even sometime in June...

I know this is a common problem with most working adults today. Planning and executing meals is exhausting. I know I'm not unique in this regard. By the time I get home around 7:30, I'm just so tired I want to fall face first into bed. Besides, after I cook, eat, and clean, it'll be 9:00. What's the point? Well, the point (for me) is breaking the cycle. After taking the time to cook a warm, healthy dinner I not only felt less pitiful, but I also had left overs to take for lunch. I stopped the cycle of "eat nothing for dinner; eat take out for lunch." Chipotle is probably sad they're losing my business this week, but my wallet is happy.

Keeping with the theme of this month, this stir fry was incredibly easy to make. Granted, it's not the prettiest dish I've made, it's certainly flavorful. This is just a guideline; feel free to add additional/different veggies to make it your own. Some bok choy would be delicious!. Just make sure to add your vegetables to the pan based on how quickly they cook. For example, if you were to add cabbage to this dish, you'd want to do it in the beginning so it has more time to soften. If you wanetd to add bok choy leaves, you'd do it towards the end with the mushrooms so that they don't over cook.

Cincho de Mayo is going quite well. It's really happening at a good time, too, because I find myself coming home and not wanting to do anything. Not even eat. But... because I know that making dinner will take 30 minutes or less, it's easier to get in the kitchen and make it happen. Then once it's all done I think to myself, "Wow, that was easy. Why was I so grumpy about making dinner?"

I wanted to do a spaghetti dish, but didn't want to do the standard marinara sauce with some sort of vegan meatball creation. It's been done a GAZILLION times already and it's never quite the same as a meaty sauce. So, by opting not to do a red sauce and instead adding a bunch of different vegetables (and my favorite--black truffle oil), you get amazing flavors without sacrificing texture OR time. This was done in 20 minutes... and it tastes better than some of the meals I spend hours making. Lastly, I always count leftovers as an evaluation factor in the success of my meals-- and this one scored a 10. The leftovers were SO good I wish it never ended!

I just got back from visiting my mom in California and it was wonderful. Plenty of sun, lots of laughs, and abundant wine. She has been thinking about transitioning to a vegan diet and I was so proud of her for the number of different things she tried while I was out there. I mean.. granted... she did put a pat of butter on her otherwise vegan pancakes and washed it down with coffee and half-and-half, but she also ate tempeh, seitan, a ton of vegetables and fresh fruits.

It's so easy to be vegan in California. There are numerous all-vegan restaurants in California, including a vegan chain within walking distance from my mom's house called The Loving Hut. I wish they would open one in Denver. However, the best vegan restaurant that I visited was, hands down, Real Food Daily. I started with a walnut-lentil pate, then ate a tempeh rueben, then finished everything with a rocky road brownie. Yeah. I totally stuffed my face with vegan food that someone else cooked. Marvelous. I did manage to cook for them once while I was there.

California is known for a lot of things, but avocados rank towards the top. California produces about 90% of the nation's avocado crops. Phil and I planted an avocado tree at our wedding as a symbol of growing roots, nurturing, and seeing the fruits of your labor pay off over a lifetime. Avocados are special to us. They're also good for our bodies. Avocados provide all 18 essential amino acids necessary for the body to form a complete protein, and they are readily absorbed into the body because of the fiber avocado provides (unlike steak!). They boost your HDL (good cholesterol) and offer a healthy dose of carotenoids (think great eye health, strong immune system, and healthy reproductive system). They're also delicious. Nature's butter.

This recipe adds to our Cincho de Mayo theme this month because it takes less than 30 minutes to whip together and get on the table. Serve it as a main dish by serving two halves or as a first course by just serving half.