Dinner with Amylicious

So, I was on the metro headed home from Kendall (ugh, except that I was there to see someone I really love), when I got a text from my friend Amy wanting to have dinner with me tonight. I was thrilled because I hadn't seen her in over a month, so I asked if she wanted to go out to eat or if she wanted to come to my house. I think we all know what her answer was! I decided on a dinner of soup and salad, and on her way here, Amy picked up dessert for us from Whole Foods.

Last week, my Mom sent me a recipe for Leek Soup from her Wegman's Magazine. The recipe called for a few Wegman's specific products, and since I don't have a Wegman's in South Beach, I modified it quite a bit.

Ingredients:
2 leeks, sliced on the bias, and separated
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
4 c water
1.5 tbsp Vogue Vege Base
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
salt & pepper to taste
Process:
Heat the oil on medium heat, Saute the leeks for about 5 minutes
Add the garlic, Saute about a minute more
Add the herbs, the Vege Base, and the s&p, give it a good stir, then add the water
Turn heat up to high, bring to a boil, then simmer for about 10 minutes.

HUGE shout-out to my Mommy for sending me the recipe, and for giving me the idea for this yummy soup on this cold winter's night (lol, it's currently 63 degrees).

Next, I made a Gigilicious Salad (in fact, for obvious reasons, I'm probably going to refer to every salad I make from now as Gigilicious, I even just added it to the spell check dictionary).

Ingredients:
1 c finely chopped spinach
1/2 c finely chopped romaine
1/4 c finely chopped cilantro
1/2 green pepper, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 can artichoke hearts in water, drained and chopped
3 scallions, finely chopped
1/2 beet, finely chopped
1/2 can white beans, drained
1/4 c quinoa, cooked
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
1/4 c Goddess Dressing
Process:
Combine everything except for the beets, and put it in a pretty serving bowl. The beets will turn everything else red, so put them in last, right on top.

OK, before I go to bed, I will leave you with a few very important words about dessert. Purely Decadent makes a coconut milk (soy free, dairy free, gluten free) CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH ICE CREAM! And with that valuable bit of information, I bid you sweet dreams.