Rika was on a mission to find the perfect sangria recipe for our first brunch, and we’re about 110% sure that she accomplished that. Not only, but she made some last-minute alterations that we were pretty fond of.

ingredients

• 3 C ice cubes
• 1/4 C lemon slices
• 1/4 C orange slices
• 1/4 C pineapple chunks
• 1/4 C seedless grapes
• 3 slices grapefruit**
• 2 C red wine
• 1/2 peach brandy***
• 1 C orange juice
• 1 C lemon/lime soda

instrux

1. Slice up the fruit and put in pitcher
2. Add wine, brandy***, orange juice and soda
3. Let steep. An hour is ideal

**this is an addition to the actual recipe
***we didn’t use peach brandy in this one, just a can of sliced peaches + the juice

SERVES: 1 pitcher/4-6 people
CREDIT: Guy Fieri, The Food Network & alterations by Rika

This was a last-minute concoction on Sunday. Kale is probably my favorite dark green, and realizing we needed something a little less rich than maple syrup and cashew butter, I picked up a bunch, sauteed it a little and went at it. Here’s approximately what I did.

ingredients

• 1 bunch of kale, washed, stemmed
• 1 C of quinoa, cooked
• 3-5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 C flax seeds
• 1-2 C dried cranberries

instrux

1. Wash kale, cook quinoa and mince the garlic
2. Heat a little bit of olive oil in a large pan and add garlic
3. Toss in the kale and flax seeds and sauté for 3-5 minutes until the kale is bright green
4. Add in cranberries and quinoa and mix

SERVES: 4-6
CREDIT: Meghan Louttit

Our first documentary, which we viewed in October, was appropriately the catalyst for the beginning of The Blackened Brvnch - Forks Over Knives. 

I was fortunate enough to see a screening of this film in D.C., hosted by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Ever since, I’ve been trying to get everyone I know to watch it. The film strongly advocates what they call a “whole foods, plant-based diet,” and features the groundbreaking research of Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, which supports that position. And the reason I believe the film is so important, is because of it’s message that our health is something we can control. You are not doomed by your genes. For someone whose family has a scary history of heart disease, on both my mom and dad’s sides, it’s a very important message to hear.

For more information on the film, here is the website: forksoverknives.com/

I strongly encourage you to watch it on Netflix, rent it on Amazon, or borrow the DVD from me :)

For our first brvnch, Natasha Shepherd, the fiance of my fried-chicken-loving co-worker, Josh Williams, graciously made us a loaf of mouth-watering banana bread. Then she generously shared the recipe with us over our e-mail chain (before we got hip to Tumblr). Here is it, in it’s full glory:

Meghan/Rika — thanks for having us over and changing my opinion of kale.

MAKES: 1 loaf
CREDIT: Natasha Shepherd

We made this with a combination of apples picked from a farm in Germantown, Md. and ones bought at the Union Square Greenmarket.

ingredients

• 4 medium apples
• 1 T cashew butter
• 1 T arrowroot mixed with 4 T water
• 1/3 C vanilla soymilk
• 1/2 C whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 t vanilla extract maple syrup cinnamon

instrux

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Peel, core and slice apples thinly
3. Mix arrowroot, soymilk and vanilla. Then stir in flour
4. Heat the cashew butter until it gets all melty and put it in the bottom of a baking dish
5. Arrange the apples on top of the cashew butter in a swirly pattern and pour the batter on top
6. Swirl on maple syrup and cinnamon
7. Lower the heat to 350 and bake the whole thing for 15 minutes

SERVES: 10(ish)
CREDIT: HxL Sarah in Bark + Grass Zine, Issue 2