I meant to have this post up hours ago, but my new Stella & Dot summer samples arrived today, and let’s just say I’ve been distracted ever since! It’s like Christmas in April, I tell ya. I’ll introduce you to the new line very soon, and some lucky reader will win a fabulous giveaway ;). Stay tuned.
Tuesday, April 2 marked 11 years of marriage for Hubs and me. It’s hard to believe 11 years have passed already. For our tenth year, we went big with a trip to Acapulco. This year was much less adventurous, but we still had a fun local weekend. Hubs got me these GORGEOUS roses.
I think one of the yellow roses is a “triple bud”! I just made that up. But doesn’t it look cool?! I have never seen one like that before.
What better way to express my undying love than with food, right?! I decided to attempt a Hubs-style vegan meal. Something with “substance”, as he puts it. Something “meaty”. I don’t know why stroganoff suddenly came to mind, but it did.
When I found a recipe for vegan, gluten-free Mushroom Stroganoff, it sounded like something he would like.
And it was. He loved it. Personally, I wasn’t that impressed at first. I almost didn’t even post it, but Hubs said I should. Then I ate some of the leftovers last night and I loved it, which is weird because I’m not always a big fan of leftovers.
I know these are really simple additions, but for me, adding a few pine nuts and some vegan parm took it to the next level. I realize those are not traditional stroganoff ingredients, but then again, this isn’t a traditional stroganoff recipe.
Side note – I always thought stroganoff was a German dish, but after a little googling, I learned that it is Russian. Who knew?
I found the recipe on a vegan blog. It had been altered slightly from the original source, Allyson Kramer’s cookbook, Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats. I still don’t have this book (you might recall me mentioning it in a former post), but it’s on my wish list.
Had I followed the original recipe (which I found online later), I may have liked it better right out of the gate. But the modified recipe that I followed was somewhat vague and left me with an overly thick sauce. Don’t worry, I’ve linked up the detailed, original recipe for you.
Ironically, the last Allyson Kramer recipe I made (which was awesome) also contained mushrooms. Check it out.
This was a difficult dish to photograph. As I said, my sauce was too thick, and the grayish color was hardly photogenic. It looked better with the sauce on top of the noodles, rather than mixed in. But it definitely TASTED better all mixed together, so don’t skip that step!
I know I haven’t been posting the healthiest recipes lately. Easter and our anniversary were both causes for celebration and splurging. Fear not, healthier recipes are on the way!
happy anniversary! me and my husband’s anniversary is on tuesday. april is a lovely month for a wedding ;)
i recently discovered stella and dot(first heard about it through your giveaway but saw the jewelry in person recently) and although i don’t own anything right now, it’s definitely something i am yearning for ;) how awesome that you get samples!
this is definitely a perfect “manly” hearty meal! i own the cookbook and have strayed away from trying the recipe, just because it’s a bit too “stick to your ribs” for my taste. you did a lovely job of photographing it!
Happy Anniversary Caitlin! Glad to hear you are a S&D fan. Just to clarify, I don’t get free samples. I am a S&D Stylist, so I do get a discount on them. I order and pay for my own samples each season. Then I wear the samples all season long and display them at trunk shows for guests to try on. Not a bad gig ;)
oh ok! not a bad gig at all ;) i’ve never been to a stella and dot trunk show, i saw them on display at a fundraiser. if i ever wanted to purchase something, would i be able to get it through you? is that how those things work?
Absolutely! You can order online anytime at http://www.stelladot.com/livvy. The new summer line will launch online on April 8. There’s a fabulous new line of bags in all kinds of fun prints, plus jewelry rolls, wallets, travel cases and more – all coming out that day. If you ever have questions, don’t hesitate to email me!
I was going to try this recipe until I looked a little closer at the ingredients…! 1 Cup of Olive Oil plus over 1 3/4 Cups of full fat coconut milk?? WOW! Trying to eat healthy by following a vegan diet and then adding all this oil & fat into a recipe is not for me. I am hoping that perhaps the 1 Cup of Olive Oil is a misprint.
OMG, Kristi – yes, that IS a misprint!! Thank you for catching that. It’s supposed to be 1/4 cup (you could even reduce it to 2-3 Tbsp). I’ll fix that right now. And yes, as I said at the end of this post, this isn’t the healthiest recipe, but it was a bit of a splurge for our anniversary.
There is a big difference between healthy fats and unhealthy fats and oils, though. It’s actually recommended to eat as much olive oil and coconut milk and oil as possible, as these supply our bodies with the healthy fats that we need. When we eat those, our body stops holding onto bad fats and our energy levels increase. ;-)
Happy anniversary!!
Thank you!!
I tried this recipe tonight and I have to say that it is the most delicious thing I’ve eaten since going vegan 2 1/2 years ago! Absolutely phenomenal!!
Made this last nite and it was lush! so easy and few ingredients that i already had in my pantry. thank you!