Paisley Vegan Kitchen

Great news local vegans - there is an awesome new restaurant in Cocoa Village - Paisley Vegan Kitchen!

Paisley opened earlier this month and the food is amazing! Paisley is located at 630 Brevard Ave Suite A in Cocoa Village and is the long term dream of the owner Alyssa. Both times I have eaten there the place has been packed with an eclectic mix of hipsters, families, tourists, and locals. The food is so fresh and tasty that it will please both vegans and omnivores.

We started with one of my favorites - buffalo cauliflower bites.

We followed these with Macaroni & Cheese, the Chicken Parmesan Sub, BBQ Pulled Pork, and Lasagna Rollatini.

I sampled everything and it was all delicious. We wisely saved half of our meals to take home so that we could indulge in some peanut butter chocolate cheesecake. We were hoping to snag a cupcake of the day but they sell out quickly - guess we will just have to return another day! The cheesecake was heavenly - rich and creamy.

I highly recommend checking out Paisley and bring some omni friends so they can discover how amazing vegan food is!

Check out the menu www.paisleyvegan.com/menu/

Why I love Pinterest

Pinterest is a wonderful place to find new recipes, crafts, green ideas, and so much more! It is also a great place to organize all those amazing ideas you come across on the internet. It can also unfortunately become a place of electronic hoarding. I have been pinning things for years and besides some great homeschooling ideas, I don't attempt most of the things I pin. This year I decided I was going to create a new board for things I am going to try each week. For this week I pinned recipes,things to try with my iPhone, organizing ideas and more. Some were hits others not so much, but at least I am doing something with all those pins :)

Here are the highlights from my week:

1. I downloaded three great apps for my iPhone - Project Noah, Red Stamp, and Closet +

2. I learned how to make ringtones out of songs at http://artoftheiphone.com/2009/01/19/how-to-create-an-iphone-ringtone-using-itunes/

3. I made some yummy new recipes from Skinnytaste.com

Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower Bites from http://www.skinnytaste.com/2013/01/spicy-buffalo-cauliflower-bites.html#_a5y_p=1149459

Roasted Parmesan Green Beans http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/11/roasted-parmesan-green-beans.html

4. I prepared a cute bag to keep in my car with a bunch of essentials

I am looking forward to trying a bunch of new things this year!

Earth Hour 2013

Only 30 minutes until Earth Hour in my time zone. What is Earth Hour? It is a pledge to turn off the lights for one hour taken by over 7,000 cities in 152 countries. There is also challenges on the website to extend the pledge beyond the hour. Check it out at www.earthhour.org. Time to finish packing up for tomorrow's dive trip and to start lighting candles.

Spinach Lasagna Soup

I have to confess I love soup! It is quick to make, tastes yummy, and there are leftovers for weekday lunches. I have spotted some recipes on the web for lasagna soup but they all have sausage or ground beef in them which just won't do for this veggie girl. It was time to start experimenting in the kitchen!

Spinach Lasagna Soup

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
6 oz. tomato paste
2 cups vegetable broth
4 cups water
28 oz. can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
1 cup frozen spinach
8 oz. fusilli pasta
Ricotta cheese
Parmesan cheese
Black pepper


In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden. Stir in red pepper, Italian seasoning, and tomato paste and cook 1 minute. Add vegetable broth, water, tomatoes, and spinach and bring to a boil. * (I must confess my husband is a meat eater so to make it more filling for him I also through in 2 cans of dark red kidney beans.) Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. While the soup is simmering, cook the pasta. You can cook the pasta right in with the soup, but if you are anticipating leftovers it is better to cook it separately and add the pasta to the serving bowls otherwise the pasta will get mushy over time. To serve, ladle some soup into a bowl add some noodles, a few dollops of ricotta, a sprinkle of Parmesan, and a dash of pepper. Enjoy!