Vegan Creamy Tomato Basil Sauce/Soup

One of my friends recently decided to become vegan and so I have been learning all kinds of new vegan recipes. There was one in particular that she and I made together, where we made a creamy pesto soup by using cauliflower as the cream. The base of that recipe worked out very well, so much so that I decided to recreate that recipe but to make a tomato basil sauce instead. The sauce I created was so good that I would make it again and eat it all by itself as a soup. This is a great way for those who are lactose intolerant or vegan to enjoy a creamy sauce and/or soup without any regret.

Quinoa Patties

 

 Remember food, you know food, the real reason I started this blog. Well I have been cooking a lot and yet have not been posting, oops. So I thought I would start with this one. I have grown a love for quinoa and while Nick was off in Japan I decided to make these quinoa patties. They proved to be quite delicious, which is good because I made over a dozen of them. I happily ate them for what seemed like every lunch and dinner for an entire week. 

World Heritage Sites in Japan

While traveling and visiting Japan, Nick and I quickly learned that Japan has many many UNESCO World Heritage sites, in fact according to the UNESCO website, Japan has 17 World Heritage sites in total, which compares to the much larger country of America that has 21 sites. According to UNESCO, "The World Heritage List includes 981 properties forming part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value...and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria."

Here are some of the amazing World Heritage sites we were blessed with the opportunity to visit while in Japan.

Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara:

Todaiji Temple - The Great Buddha

Kasuga Taisha - a shrine with hundreds and hundreds of lanterns

Fujisan, sacred place and source of artistic inspiration

Mt. Fuji

Himeji-jo

Himeji Castle (currently under renovation)

Himeji Castle Garden - Kokoen Garden

 Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities)

 

Tenryuji Temple - Zen temple in the Arashiyama district

Ryoanji Temple - Zen temple with famous rock garden

Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) - Temple building covered in gold

Nijo Castle - Former Kyoto residence of the shogun

The Honmaru - Ninomaru Palace - Nijo Castle

Kamigamo-jinja Shrine

Yasaka Shrine

Toji Temple - Large temple with Japan's largest pagoda

Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion) - Beautiful temple

Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome)

Peace Park