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?

raw eggplant jerky, lemon hummus with fresh salsa, raw no-wheat thins, and roma tomatoes.

here in minneapolis, we are lucky to be having pretty decent weather right now. it’s warming up, but we still have cool nights, and the humidity hasn’t gotten nasty. still, i appreciate breaks from using the oven whenever i can, living in the attic level of an old house.

this makes dehydrator life very appealing! while it still emits some heat, 105 degrees is far preferable to, say, 400. i have just started learning how to plan for dehydrating more than one thing at a time (though i still only made two simultaneous creations for today’s post), which is a better use of energy, of course. besides the cookies and cereal, i made one sheet of strawberry-lemon fruit leather (devoured promptly on saturday at midnight, hence the lack of photo). so on monday, my day off, i got up early and sliced some eggplants on the mandoline and made a “jerky” marinade for them. then i soaked some almonds for making a fresh batch of milk, the pulp of which formed the base of some “no-wheat thins” made later in the day. that’s one things i really like about making raw food (which, i’m sure, could be adapted in several ways to non-raw food): getting to re-use leftovers from recipes (like nut or vegetable pulp from milk or juice) to make all-new recipes (like cookies or carrot cake!). maybe i should say that i know that i and many people use cooked leftovers in creative ways, but you seem to be left with a lot more unadulterated base ingredients when preparing raw food. or maybe i’m just really excited about doing this cleanse, and i want it to sound more exciting than it really is? anyway, onto the recipes.

if you don’t want to experiment with turning your oven on and off to recreate a dehydrator, or the sun and humidity isn’t cooperating, or you’re into diy projects, you can go here to learn how to build your own solar food dehydrator. hooray!

i adapted this recipe for eggplant jerky to suit and set my own quantities. the texture becomes very jerky-like, but the flavor isn’t very much in that vein because, of course, nothing gets smoked in raw food. the flavor is still really amazing though - rich, tangy and spicy. i did discover that i do not like chewing through a slice of eggplant peel, so i would recommend discarding the outer peel slices (but the peel-edged slices were great!). i needed two large containers to marinate the eggplant slices in, but in the end they shriveled up into one medium-sized quantity.

raw eggplant jerky (makes about 1 quart):

2 medium eggplants (about 1 1/2 lbs.), sliced thinly (halved if large)
1/2 c olive oil
1/2 c balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic
1/2-1 red chili pepper, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons of raw agave
1 1/2 tbsp fresh ginger, sliced
1-2 tsp salt, or to taste

cut the eggplant into quarters lengthwise, and cut off the stem end. slice thinly using a mandoline, vegetable peeler, handheld cheese slicer, or with a knife. place into one or two large airtight containers, with enough room for some shaking. in a blender or food processor, process the garlic, chili pepper, and ginger until fine. add the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and agave and blend until emulsified. pour the marinade over the eggplant, cover, and shake to saturate all the pieces. marinate in the fridge for at least 8 hours (i cheated the original recipe) or up to 24 hours. place on lined dehydrator trays and dehydrate for 12-24 hours, flipping once, until jerky-like. (my slices were pretty thin, so it only took about 12 for me).

**alternately, if you don’t care about keeping it raw or necessarily having a super-chewy texture, you could bake these in the oven at 350F for 15-20 minutes or until crispy.**

for the no-wheat thins, i’m going to point you in this direction, since i followed it pretty faithfully. i used wet almond pulp so i reduced the amount of water a little bit, and had to pre-grind my flax seeds in a spice grinder because my food processor isn’t that powerful. also, i added some cracked pepper and nutritional yeast for extra fun times (sprinkled on top of the spread cracker “dough”). these were really light and tasty, and i am excited to experiment with adding buckwheat or other seeds for more texture and flavor. if you omit the pepper and nooch, they could be a great base for sweet toppings too!

ps - if you’re wondering about the title of this post, my ladyfriend asked me to change it from simply “afternoon appetizers” to its current incarnation as a nod to maya deren’s film.  she’s cute, eh?

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!

lemon zucchini bread (pictured on a bamboo plate purchased from twin cities green**)

after a bit of a break due to hectic-ness with work and life, i’ve promised myself i’d develop a few more recipes this weekend to test for the zine.  today got me baking, sautéing, and giving one of the older recipes a new twist:

polenta-baked maple-mustard-chili *tempeh* over spicy kale with thai peanut dressing

for a change, i thought i’d try my recently amended marinade on some tempeh instead, coat it in some polenta, and bake it - instead of my usual naked tofu/grill route.  it turned out delicious!  a told me it looked like baked fish sticks (”but not in a gross way”).  i served it over spicy sautéed kale with thai peanut dressing, inspired by a similar coconut-peanut-spinach curry i love to get at true thai (only, i imagine, quicker to make and less fattening).

i also baked some lemon zucchini bread, which has the perfect lemony hint and deliciously moist interior for a summer treat.  i’m bringing it into work tomorrow morning, also, in hopes that they’ll start making it in the bakery (because sadly, our vegan mini bread selection is in quite a depressed state).  here is an inside shot, fantastic alone, though also great with a little earth balance spread on top.

**twin cities green is a local eco-friendly retailer and information center that sells recycled, reclaimed, sustainable, fair-trade, natural and organic furniture, home/kitchen goods, clothing, bath products, books, baby stuff, etc.  even their labels and gift certificates are printed on the backside of used cereal boxes!  they also hold workshops on several topics like diy, bike maintenance, and eco-friendly alternatives.  if you live in the twin cities, i recommend checking them out.

pineapple-cucumber gazpacho with jalapeno and cilantro

awhile back i ranted about the book raw food real world.  and while i still find classism and elitism at the root of my various issues with the book, i thought i’d give it another look-through to see if there were any relatively simple, less exotic (read: cheaper ingredients) recipes i could try out.

with the arrival of spring comes a renewed interest in light and fresh foods for me, particularly raw ones.  i’m sure that many people living in cold climates manage to sustain some high level of a raw diet, but i’m not going to be one of them.  however, i am trying to be more conscious of what i am eating, which includes eliminating certain ingredients (mostly refined/white and overly-processed ones) and eating more raw fruits and vegetables.  the green smoothie thing is still going pretty strong for me, provided i have the ingredients and don’t have to be at work by 630 am (this happens three times a week)…my blender sure is getting a workout lately!  but luckily it’s a lot easier to clean than other blenders i’ve used.  and i know i’m not alone in trying green smoothies or trying to “be better” about what enters my digestive system.

so, back to my day-off raw (or mostly raw) food endeavors… this makes it easier because i don’t necessarily have to worry about whether a will eat it because she’s at work.  this actually spanned last night’s dinner, and today’s breakfast and lunch (dinner is tbd).  i got a free organic pineapple from work last week, which was really the thing that reminded me of rfrw - one of the recipes i made from it when i first got it was a cheater version (i used canned pineapple) of the pineapple-cucumber gazpacho with jalapeno and cilantro.  it claimed to make four servings, but it was easily two (or maybe i was really really hungry).  since it was an extra-light soup, we had it with some quinoa.  it was delicious!  i could easily eat this on those blistering, muggy summer days, and it doesn’t require anything fancier than the pineapple.

because i wanted something different, and because a took the last banana to work, i ended up making a different kind of drink for breakfast this morning: the fig and grape cleansing shake.

red grapes, black mission figs, star anise, vanilla, a pinch of salt, water and ice.

i don’t have a vitamix so this wasn’t as smooth as it could have been, but it was a nice change, and very filling and hydrating.  i haven’t had grapes in ages!  i think it would be good with some ginger too.

and lunch today was definitely the most labor intensive of the three (though because of some nut soaking) and by far the most expensive (again because of the nuts).  it is titled celeriac and green apple soup with black truffle.  but i wasn’t going to buy myself a black truffle (much less know where to find one) or black truffle oil, when i already have a (seemingly endless, though tiny) bottle of white truffle oil.  nor did i want to buy a plastic container of chervil to use as a garnish.  all of this especially since i was using 3/4 c of macadamia nuts, which don’t come cheap!  i didn’t follow the recipe exactly; i eyeballed measurements as far as the celeriac and green apple, and added some rosemary that i had in the fridge.  my half batch this time seemed to make a lot, but the soup was elegant and tasty despite my lack of straining out the pulp and nut particles.  i’d make this again for a special occasion, but it won’t be going on my list of regular raw soup recipes (that list isn’t actually real).

i still prefer ani phyo’s book to this one because of the simplicity and wallet-friendliness, but if i were to, say, plan a romantic candlelit dinner involving some raw food, i would probably use rfrw.  i think i still need to work on the idea that raw food doesn’t have to mean a gourmet meal from ecopolitan, and try out some recipes that use seeds rather than nuts.  this year’s garden should provide plenty of opportunity to make my own creations too.  however, cooked food is not forgotten here, it’s just being supplemented.

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.

vegan bun: vietnamese noodle salad with fresh veggies, ezekiel sprouted grain linguine, cilantro-habanero-almond sauce, and sunflower-pecan nutmeat, garnished with basil and cilantro

no, it’s not that kind of bun. the baked roll-thing, i mean.

i’m deeply considering a raw fast this summer for the 10 days a is away on tour. so while looking for recipe-contenders for meal-planning (i need this kind of structure for that kind of dedication), i found a website called gone raw, with member-posted recipes. i have been drooling over the creations and feeling inspired to start incorporating some raw meals more frequently. what i came up with for dinner tonight isn’t entirely raw because of the sprouted pasta, tamari, and toasted sesame oil i used, but still ended up a fresh-ful and satisfying meal. so many textures, colors, and flavors! i highly recommend making some version of this meal (the nutmeat topping could be made from tofu or mushrooms, you could spiral-slice some zucchini or daikon as noodles, and possibly add some bean sprouts like i forgot to buy) to celebrate warmer weather.

bun (which refers also to a style of rice noodle) is a vietnamese dish generally consisting of room temperature noodles, large amounts of cool vegetable garnishes, and small servings of warm meat (usually beef) or stir-fried vegetables with a sweet and spicy fish-sauce and chili dressing. i strayed from a lot of these traditions in the necessity of making it vegan; also, mine was a chilled, mostly raw salad. you can use a less fiery pepper than habanero (or omit it completely) if you’re not a big fan of spice. there might be a few leftover vegetables depending on the size and how much you use in your salad - the measurements i am including are rough estimates. and feel free to switch up the vegetables; my choices reflect what i had on hand.

vegan bun (vietnamese noodle salad) (serves 2-3):

1/2 lb. wide pasta/noodles

1/2 c (raw) pecans (soaked if desired)
1/2 c (raw) sunflower seeds (soaked if desired)
1 garlic clove
3 tbsp (or more) tamari or shoyu
1 tbsp sesame oil

1 carrot, julienned
1/2 cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced thinly
1/2 c tomato, diced
1 c green cabbage, thinly sliced
1/4 bell pepper, julienned
2 tbsp green or spring onion, sliced thinly

1/4 c cilantro, loosely packed
2 tbsp fresh basil
1 garlic clove
2 tsp lemongrass, finely chopped
1/2-1 habanero pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tbsp (raw) almond butter
1/4 c (or more) water

lettuce leaves for lining plates
fresh basil and cilantro leaves for garnish (optional)

cook noodles according to package directions, then rinse with cold water and set aside. prepare your vegetables, placing them on a large plate (this makes it easier to keep them separate and not crowd your cutting board). in a food processor, pulse cilantro, basil, lemongrass, and chili pepper until finely chopped. add almond butter and enough water to thin the sauce to your liking and process until smooth. toss with cooled noodles and clean out your food processor for making the nutmeat. pulse garlic until chopped fine, then add the sunflower seeds and pecans and process to a coarse meal. add the sesame oil and tamari and process until well blended. taste and season with more tamari or salt as necessary.

line wide bowls with leaf lettuce, then pile on the dressed noodles and vegetables. garnish with fresh basil leaves and cilantro, and serve.

close-up on those crispy vegetables, creamy noodles, and scrumptious ground nut topping

you’re probably sick of seeing these things, aren’t you? well i’m sorry, i just can’t get sick of making them. another breakfast cake, this time with a raspberry-tangerine syrup a la the strawberry-tangerine recipe. and served with a big mug of vanilla almond mylk from ani’s book.

that tasty lunch i was promising…

clockwise from top right: spinach salad with raw parm, rosemary potatoes with onions and jalapenos, grilled marinated tempeh with cashew-shallot-dill gravy, and grilled zucchini.

i hurriedly signed up to be a tester for mattye lee’s frugal raw cookbook… a cookbook idea very appealing to me. she comes up with really amazing raw meals (raw indian?!?) and i am excited to try out more soon. i used her raw parm recipe for topping my salad:

grilled zucchini: simple, straightforward. just olive oil, zucchini, and finished with salt and pepper.

i don’t have a closeup of the rosemary potatoes because they weren’t as pretty as i wanted them to be… i’ve got a recipe idea brewing but it needs some tweaking (as well as me not using store-bought rosemary oven potatoes). i keep wanting to recapture the glory that was my hangover tempeh “steak” but somehow i haven’t been able to do that. this was pretty good, however. i marinated tempeh in red wine, bragg’s, garlic, thyme, vegetable stock, white pepper, dijon, and nutritional yeast (my staple marinade). then i grilled it alongside the zucchini while i made a gravy out of shallots sauteed in earth balance, thyme, fresh dill, salt, pepper, vegetable stock, cashew butter, hazelnut milk, and a splash of vegan worcestershire. creamy and delicious! there is definitely no need for dairy in gravy, and i’m saying that as a former dairy addict (with a very unhappy tummy). believe the hype.

after a spicy garbanzo and tomato couscous dinner (sadly not documented), i made myself some spiced coffee with almond mylk. it reminds me of the ethiopian-style coffee i get at the blue nile sometimes, but as i just threw a couple spices in (and have no idea if they’re harar-style or not), i don’t think i can really say that this is ethiopian-style coffee. but it is good. simmer equal parts mylk and coffee (or whatever ratio you desire) with a couple shakes of cardamom and cinnamon and a pinch of cloves. serve warm. the owl mug brings happiness, though not necessarily more tastiness.

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.

today i decided to try out a raw syrup for my flax cake.  i didn’t directly use one of the syrup recipes in the book, but it was definitely based on that process, and using my latest produce fun-find: pixie tangerines.  they are teeny, juicy, and seedless.  this turned out so so good!  i would use it on any pancake, raw or cooked.  way tastier than plain ol’ maple syrup (but don’t worry, mp, i haven’t abandoned you)!

pixie tangerine and strawberry syrup (makes 2 servings):

juice from 1 tangerine
and
1 tangerine, peeled and segmented
2 medjool dates, pitted
3-4 strawberries, thawed if frozen
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. 

i stopped in at work and got an apple-lemon-kale juice.  delicious!  and greens to boot.  after fiddling around at home a bit, i then made the heirloom tomato gazpacho from ani’s raw food kitchen.

some changes i made: i reduced the amount of olive oil based on my miso soup experience (good idea), and also added some fresh basil to the soup base.  based on the lack of vegetables (only tomatoes and cucumbers featured) and the inclusion of some brazil nuts (which made the soup creamy), i’d say this was more along the lines of a raw cream of tomato soup + cucumbers.  not that it wasn’t good - quite the contrary - i just found it a little misleading.

for dessert i made myself a strawberry-banana-almond shake.  i wish i’d processed the almonds a little more for smoothness, but the taste was really good (sweetened with barhi dates):

as much as i wanted to make more raw food for dinner, i didn’t think that was going to fly with my lady all too well (she’s into my vegan cooking, even though she misses cheese, but is very afraid lately that i’m going to go raw.  which i’m not, but i like to eat raw once a week or so).  i have been sorely neglecting my copy of yellow rose recipes since i made the sweet potato and black bean flautas in december, and buried somewhere in my brain i remembered something called “green-wa.”  it’s been snowy and gloomy all day, so some green deliciousness and a steamy bowl of dal seemed in good order.

(the gloominess is also responsible for the lack of clarity in my photographs it would seem.)  the green-wa is delicious, though i admit to one change: i didn’t add the curry powder since i was making dal to have with it.  and really, i didn’t miss it.  a didn’t witness the preparation so when i handed her her dinner she said “why is it green like that?”  i explained the onion-spinach-cilantro sauce, to which she replied “ohhhh! it’s so beautiful!”  this certainly will be a much-used way of preparing quinoa in the future, and went great with the spicy and spiced red lentil dal (i made that up as i went along).

i’ll admit i got full rather quickly, and i think my raw meals earlier in the day were a big big part of that.  not to mention some other things i’ve been noticing, bodily, about myself, that i won’t be repeating here…