Recipe for: A Birthday Picnic

My lovely friend, Elisheva, recently had a birthday. To celebrate, our girlfriends threw her a summery surprise party on a pier on the Hudson River!


We lead her there through notes hidden at some of our favorite village cafes like Third Rail Coffee, Soy Cafe, and Mojo Coffee. In order to receive her note at each stop instructing her where to go next, Eli had to say an assigned funny phrase (like, "You are the most ridiculously attractive person I have ever seen") to the barista on duty. They were really into it and played along quite well! When she finally arrived at the Hudson, a friend blindfolded her and brought her to our picnic set up. By then, many other picnic-ers had watched us setting up and helped us shout, "Happy birthday!" It was a lovely picnic surprise. To have a party like this...


You'll need:
1-4 large blankets
1 iPod with music player
1 package of balloons
1 roll of streamers (or more!) and tape
1 package of candles (don't forget a lighter or matches!)
1 pin the tail on the donkey (we found ours at Rite Aid)
plates and napkins (and a few serving utensils)
sunscreen
flowers

Our Food:
3-4 cups homemade guacamole & chips
3-4 cups homemade hummus
1 sliced green or red pepper
5 sliced carrots
1/2 head of broccoli
1/2 cucumber
7 large beats (sliced)
1 (or more) sweet to share (we used a giant vegan brownie to hold her candles)
3 cups of dried fruit and spiced, roasted nuts
2 large packages of strawberries
1 dozen grape leaf rolls (from Mamoun's)

Yield: about 7 servings

For surprise adventure:
note cards placed at each spot with instructions on where to go next and what to say to the clerk
a blindfold
a brave birthday friend

Yield: One awesome birthday afternoon

Recipe for: A Quick Vegan Bite

This quick vegan meal took about ten minutes to whip up and was a perfect fill-me-up before a trip to the movies with my mom (don't worry, we left room for popcorn).

You'll need:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (and a little extra to drizzle on top if desired)

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1 can red kidney beans

juice of half a lemon

1/2 cup fresh chopped tomatoes

1 teaspoon of chili powder

sprinkle of garlic power or dried garlic bits

3/4 cup instant brown rice

salt & pepper to taste

fresh cilantro to sprinkle

Yield: two servings

In a small pot heat olive oil on medium and add onion. After about a minute, lower heat and add mushrooms. Saute until they begin to soften (about two minutes while stirring occasionally). Add the kidney beans and lemon juice, and stir well (you might want to add a little water, only a tablespoon less). After a minute start the instant rice in a separate pot (cooks in 5 minutes). As the rice cooks, add tomatoes, garlic and chili powder. Mix well and let cook until the tomatoes create an almost chili/gumbo like consistency and the rice is done (5 minutes). Add rice to mixture. Salt and pepper to taste. Cut some cilantro from herb garden to sprinkle on top, drizzle extra desired olive oil and/or lemon juice on top. Serve. Enjoy!

Note: To add extra protein cook a half cup of soft tofu finely chopped (or shredded) with the onions.

Recipe for: Tasting the Rainbow

In this case, it started with the egg...

On Easter, my family and some friends gathered at our Cape Cod cottage, Little Brownie. We sat outside and enjoyed the spring air as we decorated eggs. Before we knew it, our creations were done, and we had run out of eggs (we had gone through over a dozen, though a few were broken through the giggles of blowing the eggs out of the shells).

We decided we needed to continue our artistic endeavors and dyed our drinks! With a color to call their own, guests knew which drink was theirs (and had a lot of fun creating it).

You'll need:

1 package of food coloring

2 bottles of white wine

1 bottle of seltzer (1-2 tablespoon per glass of wine)

2-3 sliced lemons or limes

Yield: 8 glasses of colorful wine

Pour wine in glasses. Add seltzer into each glass (we choose about two tablespoons) to dilute it. Add one to five drops of color per glass. Experiment with colors.

For the brightest outcome use one drop of coloring, or add extra seltzer. Finish them off with a fresh slice of lemon or lime for a refreshing twist.

Note: Kids can join the fun too! This recipe works well with lightly colored juices (like apple). To explore the color wheel try this on both still water and richer (yet translucent) juices (like grape or cranberry).

Recipe for: A Fresh Beginning

This refreshing bite of poached egg over a ripe tomato was easy to make and delicious!

You'll need:
1 egg
1 small fresh tomato
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons of chives finely cut
1/2 cup baby arugula

Poach egg. While egg is cooking (no longer than 3 minutes), dice tomato. Prepare tomato as a bed for egg on plate. Sprinkle with salt. Place egg on tomato pieces. Pepper. Sprinkle fresh chives. Enjoy!

Note: To soak up extra yoke I later added some fresh baby arugula (about a half cup). The spicy greens and the sweet tomato made a perfect pair.