fresh fruit tart with citrus banana cashew cream on a buckwheat crumble crust

today, i loved colors.  well, more than usual, and in my food.  i am fully aware that it is much hotter and muggier in other parts of the world than it is here in minnesota, but today was our first really hot day.  my one-block walk to work left me uncomfortably hot and sweaty, which was an unfortunate follow-up to the morning of fun food-making.

i had some soaked cashews waiting to be used in the fridge and a bunch of bananas on the counter, which i thought would pair well together to make a rich and creamy topping for the buckwheat crumble (again, from living cuisine) crust i’d made over the weekend.  and though i love bananas and have been adding them to smoothies and eating them plain, i thought they might work well with some citrus flavors for variety.  at work i have to bake these (unfortunately not vegan) citrus pistachio shortbread cookies that smell SO good.  until i feel inspired to turn my oven on and veganize them, i thought i’d borrow the intoxicating trio of lemon, orange, and lime for this little creation.

most of my raw eating has been from cookbooks because i am far less familiar with the concepts and i wanted to learn new ideas and techniques.  this time, however, you’re in luck if you’re jonesing for a homemade recipe!  i’m going to go out on a limb and say you could probably make this with all bananas and no cashews if you can’t eat nuts, as well as subbing avocado for bananas if you’d like to keep the creaminess but skip the banana flavor.  it works equally well as a pudding with granola and fresh fruit.  or you can do it like i did.

citrus banana cashew cream filling (makes enough for a 10″ deep pie crust, maybe more):

1 ½ cups cashews, soaked 6-8 hours
2 bananas, peeled and broken into chunks
8 dates, pitted*
1 whole orange, zest and juice
½-1 lemon, zest and juice (start with 1/2)
½-1 lime, zest and juice (start with 1/2)
2 teaspoons vanilla, or vanilla bean

water, as needed

Place soaked and drained cashews in a food processor or blender and process into a meal. Add remaining ingredients (except water), and blend thoroughly, scraping down the sides as needed, until as creamy and smooth as possible. Add water as needed to adjust thickness (how much juice you get out of your fruits will affect this too). This may take 5 minutes depending on the strength of the processor/blender (but if you choose the no-nuts route, far less time). Taste and add more zest if desired.  Use as a pudding or pie/tart filling with fresh fruit, eat, and pass out from creamy deliciousness.

*the dates do darken the cream up a bit, so you can use agave to taste if you prefer, or leave it out if you just want to rock the banana.

why yes, i did have a piece for breakfast!

after a quick rinse in the sink, the bowl went back on the food processor to whip up some pea mole (that’s the guacamole kind of mole) for a “torta” i was planning to bring to a dinner party later.  however, that’s when i had to get creative.  the “torta” crust i had made the day before out of sprouted wild rice and some other things didn’t smell quite right.  i noticed this about the wild rice the last time i rinsed it - it smelled off in a way that made me worry it had gone bad.  i rinsed it really really well and the smell seemed to go away, but after dehydrating it the smell was back and i just couldn’t risk sacrificing perfectly good fillings on a crust that might make me (not to mention my friends) sick.  painful as it was, i tossed it and hoped i could come up with some sort of elaborate new dish.  but i had no good ideas, and not much time.  luckily my eyes landed on the massive container of rosemary crisps sitting innocently on the kitchen table, and i found my purpose.  the summer manitok torta from living cuisine became, instead, spicy pea mole with avocado and tomato on rosemary crisps:

i actually added garlic (and some cayenne for kick) to the mole, since that flavor was meant to be in the wild rice crust, but otherwise kept it the same.  instead of a torta, i had individual servings with a slice each of avocado and tomato, and parsley for garnish.  despite a slightly less crispy cracker from being prepped in the morning, these were well received as my somewhat self-conscious contribution of raw.  since i sadly couldn’t partake in the delicious-looking quinoa and garbanzo salad, i had three mini tortas!

i don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but i do have a small bowl of leftover mole, tomatoes, and avocado, so they will likely end up in something.  that, and i have half of the fruit tart left (yep, it was all me).  perhaps i’ll conjure up an appropriate vehicle during my haircut after work tomorrow?

it’s been awhile, due to tweakings on zine tester recipes and the loaning out of my camera’s memory card. luckily, the recipes have been sent to the testers, and the memory card came back today! so i set to work making something tasty.

i’ve mentioned before that i’m planning to do about a week-long raw fast at the end of the month. i’ve been doing lots of research and a few experiments (some of those should pop up around here soon). the early summer weather has got me craving raw foods from ecopolitan a lot, but i often push that aside to preserve my pocketbook and being able to eat “acceptable” meals with my partner and my friends. i’m trying to make more food at home instead of running across the street (though ecopolitan’s desserts are heavenly. HEAVENLY. last week i had a slice of purple heart pie and i don’t know everything that was in it but i almost fell off my chair it was SO good!), especially since i don’t want to end up broke after a week! i’ve heard of people who did a raw cleanse and spent 500$ on groceries for five days’ worth! i can only imagine that they’re making recipes from raw food real world or the like, and relying far too heavily on nuts. at any rate, that’s not the plan i have in mind.

after a trip to the store, i scored huge in the freebies-for-employees produce (including a cherimoya that’s nearly the size of my head and looks to be just about perfectly ripe!) as well as some other things i needed around the kitchen. i made a smoothie based on this recipe, only i juiced the rhubarb and a cucumber together to use in place of water, and i only had about 5 nuts sitting in my fridge. there was some leftover juice which i added water and lemon juice to as a “summer cooler” that i plan to drink while gardening this afternoon.

strawberry-rhubarb-cucumber smoothie for breakfast

for lunch, i’ve been having visions of raw spring rolls, with colorful fillings bursting out of them. originally i’d thought of using daikon as the wrapper, but got some daikon sprouts instead. i’m the first to admit i only thought until i started looking into raw food that only alfalfa and mung bean sprouts were in existence. and if you go by most supermarkets, you might think so too. i’ve never been a fan of alfalfa sprouts - to me, they’ve always tasted like dirt and got in the way of other sandwich fillings. but when i heard about radish sprouts, i knew i had to try them. they’re spicy, and their little leaves are generally a bit larger than alfalfa sprouts. i also went with carrots, a ripe champagne mango, zucchini, cilantro, and fresh basil as fillings.

i don’t have a recipe, per se, for these rolls. but i do have some tips about making raw spring rolls.

1) if using a leafy green that is pale on the underside, remember to place your fillings on the pale side. this way when you roll it up, the color will be on the outside (and it will probably roll more easily that way too). if there is a thick stem or rib at the base of the leaf, cut it out and overlap the two sections to keep the fillings from spilling out.

2) pick a nice variety of textures, flavors, and colors. having crunchy carrots and sprouts with soft mango and zucchini was a nice mix for the delicate butter lettuce. in the flavor department, fresh herbs are your best friend! regardless of the zestiness of the daikon sprouts and the creaminess of the mango, for example, the cilantro and basil really would have been missed. likewise, pairing whatever your fillings end up being with a good dipping sauce will really help expand the flavors, as well as moisten everything. lastly, having a lot of colors not only makes it look pretty, but also means you’re getting a wider variety of nutrients.

3) don’t overstuff. like their rice paper wrapper cousins, using too much filling will make them difficult to roll and hard to keep closed. however, you can combat this by using toothpicks to hold them together. and regardless of how careful and exacting you are, these can get pretty messy to eat. napkin recommended!

i also made my first raw cookies today. a really great benefit to making your own nut and seed milks is that you can use the leftover pulp as a base for cookies or cheeses. in this case, i had some pumpkin seed pulp that i added dates, ginger, cardamom, carob, and almonds to. we don’t have the world’s greatest food processor, so i ended up adding too much water to try and get the dough to stick together. but dehydrated for a few hours and they weren’t half bad for a recipe-less first attempt, although they tasted an awful lot like the topping for the apple crisp i made (i think it was the ginger). next time i’m going to add more carob powder and maybe some cinnamon!

strawberry-avocado green salad with chickpea relish and fresh basil.

do you ever have one of those dinners where you realize you are shoveling your food frantically into your mouth as though you’ll never eat again? that’s what happened to me tonight. i had to stop myself, put my fork down, and breathe a little. i think this was a combination of not having eaten since my morning smoothie and my meal being mouthgasmic.

one of the big perks of my co-op job is that there’s often produce that can’t be sold for whatever reason and is free for employees to take. sometimes they really are past their prime, but most often you can either work around a bruised spot, or it is simply a perfectly ripe vegetable ready to be eaten within a day or three. a couple of days ago i got a free pint of strawberries, and today i unburied a few avocados and a bunch of cilantro. when i have strawberries and avocado, i think of them as perfect mates for a green salad, rather than separating them for sweet and savory individual purposes. a sprinkling of fresh basil and a sudden inspiration to use my recently soaked and cooked chickpeas as well made for a giant salad perfect for one person’s dinner, or two as a considerable side salad.

strawberry-avocado green salad with chickpea relish and fresh basil (serves 1 as a meal, 2 as a side):

1/2 head red romaine, chopped
6 strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 avocado, sliced
1/2 c chickpeas
2 tbsp red onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
splash white balsamic vinegar
splash lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
4-5 leaves basil, shredded or cut into chiffonade
dressing of choice (optional – i used goddess dressing)

place romaine on a plate or in a wide shallow bowl. top with sliced strawberries and avocado (you can sprinkle a little lemon juice on the avocado to prevent browning). make the chickpea relish by combining the chickpeas, red onion, olive oil, balsamic, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl, tossing to coat. sprinkle over the salad and top with basil leaves. serve as is or with optional dressing.

the second half of my meal was inspired by pondering cauliflower. i’d thought about making a raw coconut cauliflower “rice” dish with green peas, or a soup, or just roasting it. today ended up being rather dreary and gray, and crispy roasted cauliflower sounded just right. but not just with olive oil and a couple of spices. i wanted something spicy, flavorful, and different. how about chilies? how about cilantro? how about chocolate? yes. chocolate. mole-roasted cauliflower it was.

i’m certainly not a mole expert; i’ve had it a few times to varying degrees of likeability. one of the world’s “master sauces,” i read somewhere that authentic mole uses 100 ingredients and a bit of time to prepare. but since my cauliflower didn’t need a thick sauce for roasting, i improvised more of a simple marinade. it’s far from 100 ingredients (and probably authenticity), but full of flavor and a nice kick from the cayenne. go ahead and make your roasted cauliflower a little sexy.

mole-roasted cauliflower (serves 2-4):

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp epazote or oregano
1 tsp sesame seeds
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cumin
2 tsp cocoa powder
2 cloves garlic
3 tbp canola oil
1-2 tsp lime juice
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
chopped fresh cilantro to garnish

preheat oven to 425F. in a medium mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients except cauliflower and cilantro. add cauliflower and toss well to coat, then place in a wide, oven-safe dish. roast for 25-35 minutes until edges are crispy, and sprinkle with chopped cilantro. serve hot. (you could also use any leftovers pureed with vegetable stock for a quick and easy soup.)

i was generously awarded the excellent award blog awhile back by lisa of show me vegan.  i am meant to award this to five other bloggers whom i find excellent, but this task overhwhelms me as i feel there are so many amazing blogs out there(and i know i only know a small fraction of them) and i have seen this award floating around on several within the past few months.  i try very hard to keep up with all the blogs on my blogroll as well as a handful of others, but i’m not always a visible visitor (i don’t comment very often).  therefore, in order to prevent double-awarding/repeats (which i was guilty of causing with my last meme), i am forgoing passing this award on to only five blogs, and going to leave comments on the blogs i visit regularly instead of being shy.  and again, if you have a blog or know of a blog i don’t have listed here, please let me know!

oatmeal pancakes with maple syrup, raspberries and peaches

a and i woke up and made oatmeal pancakes (recipe from how it all vegan) and coffee, and i popped down to the coop to get some raspberries and peaches to have with it. two pancakes apiece later, we were stuffed and ready for the day!

we rode our bikes to the may day parade on bloomington ave, a parade of progressive politics, puppetry, dancing, drumming, colorful costumes, stilts, bicycles, pagans and art (to name just a few). you can check out my may day parade photos on flickr. it’s fun to see so many people you know, and it also feels like a celebration of spring, when everyone emerges from the cold, dark winter in bursts of color and warmth.

after getting sufficiently sun-kissed, we stopped at the jasmine deli for a much needed snack of mock duck spring rolls, and then went home to make a potluck contribution for my friend’s birthday party. a lot of my friends are vegetarians, but not vegans. however, they always consider me and i don’t have to worry about only getting to eat what i brought. here is my plate of savory goodies (unfortunately sans the delicious piece of sea salt focaccia that peter baked… you can find a picture of me stuffing my face with it on his flickr account):

there’s another raw recipe (my potluck contribution) coming your way below. i decided to make a raw apple crisp, which i’ve had once, but never made before, so that was a bit nerve-wracking. but it worked out wonderfully and people really liked it. spiced, moist, crisp apples topped with a nut and seed topping, and served with a dollop of vanilla cashew cream. yum! fresh food tastes so good!

raw swedish apple crisp (serves 8-12):

(part of this is adapted from ani phyo’s recipe for all-american apple pie)

1 orange, peeled and deseeded
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 handful dates, deseeded and chopped
1 tsp vanilla extract
water as needed
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp (or more) ground ginger
1 tsp cardamom
6-7 crisp apples (use one or a variety, i used pink lady)

1/2 c raw almonds, dry
1/2 c raw pumpkin seeds, dry
1/2 c raw walnuts
5-6 dates
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
water as needed
1/2 c dried, shredded coconut
2 tbsp black sesame seeds

blend the orange in a blender or food processor, then add the lemon juice, dates and vanilla to make a syrup. if the mixture seems too thick or isn’t blending well, add some water. pour syrup in a medium mixing bowl and add cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom. (cinnamon and cardamom can taste slightly bitter, so if the syrup seems so to you, you can add a little more ginger to tone the bitterness down.) wash and chop or slice the apples, adding them to the syrup as you go and tossing them to prevent browning. place apple-syrup mixture into a casserole dish or baking dish (mine is a bit small at about 7×10).

to make the crisp topping, place almonds, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts in a food processor and pulse into a coarse meal (you don’t want to overprocess them, as they provide the bulk of the texture in the topping). add the dates, vanilla, and cinnamon, and process until well mixed (you can add water if there isn’t enough moisture holding it together. transfer to a bowl and stir in the coconut and black sesame seeds. press this mixture evenly on top of the apples. (at this point you could probably dehydrate it if you want a crispier topping, but i don’t have a dehydrator and i think it turned out just fine!)

vanilla cashew cream (makes a little over 1 c):

1 c raw cashews, soaked overnight
water as needed
2-3 tbsp agave nectar
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8-1/4 tsp ground turmeric (optional)

drain the cashews and place in a food processor. blend into a fine meal, then add agave nectar and vanilla extract. process, adding enough water to make a thick, smooth cream. i added turmeric to make the cream slightly yellow, which stems from a personal, nostalgic desire to emulate the vanilla cream you get with swedish apple cakes and crisps, but not necessary. serve on top of your crisp (or a baked pie, in place of ice cream!).

besides the cashew soaking, this whole endeavor took about 45 minutes from start to finish. and it’s good for you (well, for a dessert anyway)! i had a lone leftover piece for breakfast this morning.

i often crave the pizza luce vegan chocolate peanut butter bars (tagline: you won’t believe they’re vegan)… so i decided to try and recreate them.  this is my first attempt.  tasty, and healthier than the original i’d imagine, because they’re a bit less sweet.  (feel free to add a little more sugar if that’s how you roll; there’s no rules against taste-testing the mix before you press it into the pan!)  but this is not healthy by any stretch of the imagination.  a crunchy, crispy layer of salty-sweet peanut buttery goodness covered in a layer of sexy chocolate.  make sure you refrigerate them for a few hours so they firm up really well and soak up all the liquids.

vegan chocolate peanut butter bars (makes one 8×8 pan)

1/3 c vegan margarine
1 c powdered sugar
1 c peanut butter (i used smooth, but crunchy might add more…crunch)
1 1/2 c of your favorite granola (i used nature’s path hemp plus)
1 1/2 c crisp brown rice cereal
1 c vegan chocolate chips

melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  combine granola and rice cereal in a mixing bowl (breaking up any large clumps of granola if necessary), then add sugar, peanut butter, and melted margarine.  stir until well combined, then press into an 8×8 cake pan.  melt the chocolate in a double boiler and spread evenly over peanut butter mixture.  place in refrigerator to chill and set (2-4 hours).  cut into squares and gobble up!

*notes - you may need to add a little salt if you use unsalted peanut butter or are just a salty kind of person.  next time i am going to try pulsing the granola and brown rice cereal in a food processor a couple times to get a bit more of an even texture.  hopefully this will also let them soak up the liquid a bit better — they were a tiny bit softer than their original counterpart, but not mushy by any means.  also, adding some crushed peanuts might be tasty!  the recipe above is as i made it, though i think i’ll tweak it a bit in the future.

baby romaine with sliced bartlett pears, carrots, radishes, and sahale soccoro blend nut and fruit mix with annie’s papaya poppy seed dressing

i started going to yoga classes this week, and after an intensive and really good class, i went across the street to the coop and picked up a couple of things to make a giant salad.  i used:

1/2 bag organic baby romaine
1 large carrot, sliced
1/2 bartlett pear, sliced
3 radishes, sliced
1 handful sahale soccoro blend (macadamias, hazelnuts, papaya, and mango with chipotle)
a good drizzling of annie’s papaya poppy seed dressing

so simple and good!  it was fun to make the salad pretty, though i do apologize for the lack of natural light, which would have made it even more scrumptious-looking.

i also recently made the maple pecan cookies from extraveganza…highly recommended!  behold how beautifully crinkled their texture is:

fresh out of the oven, they were soft and chewy and just subtly sweet.  i had some wine and passed out for the night (oops), so i neglected to put them in a bag which i think dried them out a bit the next day.  but they are still tasty when crispy!  i’ve eaten ridiculous amounts of them already (and the recipe made 30).  it’s a good thing i’ve got that yoga thing going on.

the first time i was showing a how to use the juicer, she looked at all the pulp being pushed out and asked me, “can you eat that?”  a test taste quickly proved that it was generally a more bitter version of whatever was being pushed down the chute, and i thought then that only thing you could do was compost it.  but we live in a city apartment with no outdoor space, and my attempts at hoarding food ends in a sealable plastic bucket to be taken to my garden last summer never really worked out.  due to laziness, and the nauseating prospect of having to open that tub after it had been cooking in a humid apartment.

then i stumbled across a cake recipe in ani phyo’s book (i seem a little obsessed with this book lately, don’t i?) for raw carrot cake, which used leftover pulp from juicing carrots.  and what do we have in our vegetable drawer but six pounds of carrots (due to a little miscommunication over two separate grocery trips)?  and a pint of dates?  and shredded coconut in the freezer?

so first i set about making up for abusing my stomach this morning when i drank a cold press shake at work (ouch, tummy).  i juiced a few handfuls of carrots, and threw it in the blender with a cup of blueberries and a banana:

it doesn’t look super appetizing in this photo, but it does taste good, and is really good for you (antioxidants, beta carotene, potassium, to name a few).  and then i took that prized carrot pulp and mixed a few things together, and ended up with this:

with my slice cut out:

and a magical top view (see how it glows!):

i was hesitant but hopeful, considering how much i love the breakfast cakes.  this isn’t terribly similar ingredients-wise, but the idea of the carrot cake seemed close to it.  it is sweetened with dates, spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, and covered in a cashew “kream cheeze” frosting.  and, it is really deliciously good and cake-like.  obviously, there is a bit more crunch to the texture than a flour cake, but it holds together like a cake, has a good flavor, and is neither too sweet nor too bland.  which, if you know me, is how i like my desserts.  one thing i would probably change if i made it again would be to add lemon zest in addition to juice to the frosting, for a little more tartness to counteract the “cake” part.  i made a half batch, and i am really glad, because this made a cake too big for one person certainly, and almost too big for two.  i ate a quarter of it and am stuffed!  but happy, knowing i can’t really feel too much fear/guilt about having treating myself to cake.  (i don’t often associate guilt with food, actually, which i think is pretty healthy.  however, my body has been feeling a little tired from the onslaught of a daily cookie and bread snacking i had been doing the past couple of months.)  this really makes the possibility of once-a-week raw (or more) seem very, very appealing.

when i got home from work today i set straight out to make a batch of julie’s seitan
… only i used the basic measurements and changed nearly all the spices to make it asian-style for spring roll use.  once the dough was mixed up, i went into my supplies drawer to find one small sheet of recycled aluminum foil.  it was enough for a sausage.  so i dug out my cheesecloth for the the remainder and there was only enough for two!  bah.  two items for the restocking shopping list.  i had to make three large seitan sausages instead of 5-6, but it worked out fine (just steamed them a little bit longer).

we still haven’t mastered a dipping sauce for the spring rolls - ours have been too salty, too peanut-y, and too thin.  we need to get back to jasmine deli to try and dissect their recipe!  but as far as fillings go…delicious!  i stir fried some seitan pieces in tamari, sesame oil, and a splash of balsamic.  while a dealt with the cilantro, mint, and basil, i julienned carrots and mini sweet peppers, shredded red cabbage, and chiffonaded (is that really a word?) spinach.  we also cooked the necessary rice noodles, and got to work soaking rice paper.  a bit of a sloppier job on the rolling this time, but they still tasted yummy.  perhaps we need to make less.  when you have five apiece, the tummy swells!

a couple of hours after dinner i got a craving for cookies.  i flipped through extraveganza and decided on the coconut oatmeal cookies with pumpkin seeds.  however, i had no brown rice flour… simple! i’ll just use spelt.  then i pulled out the maple syrup… only a couple of tablespoons left!  i needed 3/4 cup.  this was a bit of a blessing too, because i’ve been wanting to finish off the horribly user-unfriendly tin of syrup i got months ago (it drips onto the top and makes the lid stick).  but i didn’t know what to do.  i ended up adding some agave nectar and then making up the rest of it with sucanat and a little water.  the dough held together well, and i also added some chocolate chips.  it baked well too.  but the taste… kind of boring.  there seemed to be pockets of tastiness in the cookies, but most of it was bland and not sweet in a satisfying way.  well, more maple syrup it will be when i get to the store next.  which, knowing me, will probably be tomorrow.  i don’t really need to eat cookies anyway.  not until i start a yoga class, that is.

it might seem odd to make myself a birthday cake.  but it was kind of like a present to myself.  especially since i made one of the most unhealthy cakes imaginable, and i’ve got to cut down on sweets and eat some real food.  i didn’t follow a recipe per se, except for making a 1.5x batch of kittee’s non-chocolate cake recipe (my cake pans were slightly larger than what was called for) with some cardamom and lite coconut milk as the liquid.  i overestimated a little bit, so i also got to make some cupcakes.

in between the cake layers i put a thin sheet of marzipan and some vanilla pudding.  i microwaved the hunk of marzipan i had left for about 5 seconds to soften it, then rolled it out with a rolling pin as thin as i could:

it took me ages to figure out what kind of frosting i wanted.  because i really didn’t want “frosting.”  the one big drawback to vegan cakes is i haven’t come across, or had access to, a whipped cream substitute.  after a lot of searching, i discovered you could chill full-fat coconut milk and your beaters, add or not add some other ingredients, and whip it up like dairy cream.  so then i whipped some coconut cream:

it was maybe a little less structurally strong than dairy cream, but it peaked and everything!  i ended up sticking the cake in the freezer after i frosted it, for about an hour, to make sure the cream stayed intact, and that worked out really well.

since baking the cakes, i ate FOUR of the cupcakes plain.  i couldn’t justify more sugar in my body by eating a piece of cake later at night so i made a mini version with just the coconut cream and my toppings of choice - toasted almonds and coconut:

i had to take a bite!

here is the final cake:

and again:

no slice shots because it was the dark recesses of the 19 and i was busy getting drunk on cheap whiskey.  but there wasn’t a piece left to bring home!

i might be reconsidering some of the raw food stuff now that i don’t have such an elitist and complicated un-cookbook. i bought ani phyo’s ani’s raw food kitchen while i was picking up a salad the other day at ecopolitan, and most of the recipes only require a knife, a food processor, and/or a blender. not that i want to go raw or no longer think there are classist issues at hand in raw foodism, but it’s given me some good ideas, and most of the meals don’t take, say 24 hours. more like 5 minutes.  i also really like that there are ideas and reasons for living less wastefully and more resourcefully, which i’m really trying to be better about.

first i tried the coconut breakfast cakes. i only have refined coconut oil at home, so they probably weren’t as coconutty as they should have been, but they were still really tasty! i topped them with raspberry puree and sliced bananas:

i wanted to share the tastiness with my lady this morning, but i didn’t pre-grind the whole flax seeds i got after work last night, thinking they’d just get pulverized with the other ingredients. not so much. i also added some medjool dates and walnuts, and what do you know, i ended up with a flax cake that turned into “oat”meal (with sunburst tangerines):

it was really quite good! but filling in that kind of when-will-this-banana-be-over kind of way. i’m sure i’ll be pretty omega 3′d and regular though, which is nice. the crunchiness of the flax was a nice touch. i think i’m into the idea of eating raw breakfasts on my non-630am workdays.

for dinner last night i wanted something tasty but different. a has a recipe for a really delicious corn bean and rice salad, and then with buckwheat on my mind from reading about the buckwheat crispies in ani’s book, i decided to cook some up in the rice cooker. so fresh-tasting, and the earthy flavor of the buckwheat was a nice change from rice. i omitted the garlic and changed up some of the spices too.

buckwheat with avocado, tomatoes, scallions, serrano chili, corn, black beans, cumin, epazote, paprika, and lime juice:

the reason for the lime juice above was because i brought home four limes from work in hopes of creating a vegan key lime pie to bring in for sampling to work. i based it off of, surprisingly considering my rant about it, the raw food real world recipe for lime mousse tart, but i switched some ingredients up knowing i couldn’t really bring that particular recipe into work (i think my manager would have a heart attack at using agave nectar as an ingredient). i also baked the graham cracker crust instead of making some kind of nut crust. AND i also made them into some cuppies (like cupcake only pie) instead of a big pie.

the flavor is kind of amazing. now, my disclaimer is that i don’t think i ever really had a key lime pie before going vegan, and the closest i’ve ever gotten to it is a key lime tofutti cutie. but this is so rich and tart and sweet in just the right way! i don’t know how it will go over at work, but i guess we’ll find out soon enough. also, i was worried from reading the recipe that the filling would discolor but so far it still looks fresh and green. perhaps i picked the avocados at just the right ripeness (and by pick i mean at the store, not from my avocado grove in the front yard). photo evidence: