Thanksgiving Feast! November 27, 2009
Posted by a-k in ExtraVeganZa, Thanksgiving, burgers and patties, dehydrator, dessert, dressings and sauces, gluten free, grains and flours, herbs, nut cheese, nuts, parties and happenings, raw, salad, tempeh, vegetables.12 comments
I think my favorite thing about any big celebratory meal is getting to channel my totally unfeminist dreams of being a midcentury housewife: cleaning the house, cooking massive amounts of food, setting the table, getting to use my pretty (though very unmatched) vintage servingware, lighting candles, and playing Astrud Gilberto and Les Baxter records. I love the spectacle and dreamy domesticity of it all, later balanced out by a late-night drinks and karaoke visit to a new Roman Empire-themed gay bar in Minneapolis (yeah, that’s right).
Various stages of available light make up all of these photos, but even the less fancy ones should get the deliciousness across! First, the table before most of the food got on there, but you’ll see the gravy bowl (full of carrot, rosemary, and sherry gravy) and my Pyrex holiday casserole dish atop its candle-warmer stand (it’s filled to the top with colcannon):
I took some individual shots of my appetizer contributions. First, the cashew cheese log which I sprinkled with black pepper and chopped rosemary and served with balsamic marinated and dehydrated red onions and some tasty gluten-free crackers (and yes, it was super tasty!):
I also made roasted mushrooms, tossed in a splash of olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and fresh rosemary…they gave me an excuse to bust out my favorite vintage cocktail forks!
By the time our two lovely guests arrived, it was dark outside, so the picture of my appetizer plate is a bit dark. Along with the cheese and crackers and mushrooms, we got to enjoy spicy stuffed mushrooms and sweet spiced nuts – I think the roasted nuts might be my favorite!
We all agreed we could have spent the whole night just eating appetizers, but we restrained ourselves in order to sit at the table and begin the “real” dinner. You can’t see all of it, but this plate is loaded with roasted brussels sprouts, colcannon and carrot gravy, a tempeh-wild rice burger, raw cranberry relish, gf pumpkin cornbread-cranberry stuffing, pecan-topped sweet potatoes, and a yummy raw veggie salad:
As you can well imagine, we were pretty full after dinner, so we sat down to a game of canasta and let our digestive systems do their thing. Eventually we felt brave enough to each have a piece of pumpkin pie, which were smaller than the photo might make them out to be and I baked it in a small springform pan. I took a risk and went with the Voluptuous Vegan pumpkin pie recipe without having made it before, though to make it gluten-free I made a buckwheat-walnut crust based on a recipe from Extraveganza. Though I was nervous about the filling not seeming to set up after baking and cooling (it looked and felt like tinned pumpkin on top), slicing it was not a problem. The flavor was awesome — nicely spiced, just a hint of maple sweetness — and its lightness (a pretty low-fat pie filling recipe) was a great contrast to the flaky, rich crust with an earthy buckwheat flavor. This is my next-day-leftovers picture, and it’s topped with barely-sweetened cashew cream and ground cinnamon:
Today I ate the same thing all over again! It’s a good thing this was pretty much the only meal I had each day, or I probably wouldn’t be able to move. I’m not generally someone concerned with how much fat I’m eating, but this is definitely far more than I eat on a regular basis. Now I’m drinking heaps of water and planning on some very light meals over the weekend to give my body a little well-deserved break from heavier (though delicious) foods. I was lucky enough not to have to work today, so I think I’m going to spend the night curled up with a movie or some crossword puzzles, and get to bed at a good hour. Til next time!
VeganMoFo: Middle Eastern Dinner October 10, 2009
Posted by a-k in grains and flours, veganmofo, vegetables.17 comments
My ladyfriend is into Italian, South Asian, and Middle Eastern food most, and tonight she called requesting we try our hand at homemade spinach pie. There’s a great Lebanese deli in Northeast Minneapolis called Emily’s that makes the best tabouli EVER, and their hummus and baba ghanoush is nothing to sniff at either! They also make spinach pies which I remember being awesome (but I’m fairly certain they’re made with butter, so I haven’t had one in a few years). Because of the spontaneous nature of this dinner, I ended up using the other half of my pizza dough from VWAV. The dough for spinach pie should have quite a bit more oil in it, but the substitution worked out pretty well. For the filling I sauteed lots of onions and fresh spinach, then added salt, za’atar seasoning, cayenne, pomegranate molasses, and black pepper.
VeganMoFo: Raw Apple Crisp and Veggieful Dinner October 9, 2009
Posted by a-k in blog-related bizness, dessert, fruit, raw, recipe, veganmofo, vegetables, zine.19 comments
This morning I got up, went to the dehydrator, and pulled out a tray of Maple Cinnamon Buckwheat Crispies from Raw Food Real World. (No, maple isn’t really raw…ooh, controversy!) Then I sliced some apples, mixed them with a “syrup” out of dates, cinnamon, cardamom, lemon juice and coconut water, and topped them with the Crispies and little bit of chopped walnuts. Voila!
I know it’s crazy, but I had a piece for breakfast, topped with some vanilla cashew cream that I’d made yesterday. It was SO GOOD.
Since I heard we might be getting some snow, and at the very least a frost, this weekend, I’m trying to get the last harvesting out of my puny driveway container garden (we don’t have a yard). One thing I grew this year was some brussels sprouts, and they were on the more successful end of things, though only one stalk in particular was adequately productive.
I knew it was the time to make some Mole-Roasted Cauliflower from my zine*, only using brussels sprouts instead! My friend Jackie just sent me a message saying she loves this recipe, so I’m going to share it here for everyone. These are zesty, flavorful, and delicious… if you’re spice-wary, reduce or omit the cayenne. (Yes, there are still zines available!)
Mole-Roasted Cauliflower (or brussels sprouts)
1 large head cauliflower, broken into florets (or 1 lb.+ brussels sprouts)
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, minced or pressed
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 single layer in an oven-safe dish. Roast for 25-35 minutes until edges are crispy and browned, and sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Serve hot.
While the brussels sprouts were roasting, I cooked up some red quinoa that I topped with the last tomatoes from the garden:
And you know how I said in the quiz from yesterday that I was scared to work with mustard greens? Well wouldn’t you know, today I got some in the CSA box, and I decided to go for it. I sauteed some sliced garlic in olive oil, added the chopped mustard greens, and then drizzled the whole shebang in white balsamic, which is sweeter than it’s more common cousin. The mustard-y flavor was subtle and lovely, and the balsamic balanced out the intensity that I’ve always feared. Hooray for trying new greens!
In other news, I’ve been working on the new blog, and it’s tough work! Getting more creative control is hard for me because I get crazy about all the choices I have. I haven’t even begun to tackle reformatting image sizes since I have a larger layout. Woof. One day, though, it will be done. Hope everyone is having a wonderful day, and I’ll see you back here tomorrow!
Veganmofo: A Lovely Sunday October 5, 2009
Posted by a-k in baking, bread, breakfast, fruit, pizza, veganmofo, vegetables, vwav.22 comments
Sunday morning I got up and decided to whip that cornbread into a sweet bread pudding for brekkie. I kind of winged it and in hindsight should have looked at a recipe before diving in to get a more appropriate custard thing going on, but… I also added raisins, pecans, amaranth (because it is AWESOME), cinnamon, and ginger. It was pretty good, but not really worthy of recipe-ing; my ladyfriend said it was “interesting and delicious.” Here is the dishful:
And here is how we ate it, with some cinnamon-cardamom-tossed Haralson apple slices (I’m really loving Haralson apples this year along with, of course, my beloved Honeycrisp):
After a few errands, I went to a couple apple orchards with some friends from work. It was about a 45 minute drive from Minneapolis, which isn’t too bad, really, to the Carpenter Nature Center and the Fischer’s Croix Farm Orchard. They’re right next door to each other in Hastings, MN.
I really like the Carpenter Nature Center because they practice integrated pest management to avoid using pesticides whenever possible (they’re not certified organic but they practice a lot of sustainable growing), plus they’re quieter and have a nature center with tons of hiking trails. Last year my best friend and I hiked down to the St. Croix River to drink tea and eat apples and sandwiches on a chilly, gray autumn day. We started here and picked some raspberries, which are still in season until the first hard frost:
Next door, the Fischer’s Croix Farm Orchard is more of the traditional family destination, with bunnies, goats and chickens, a tractor pull, a corn maze (pardon me, the Amazing Maize Maze), a pumpkin patch, and the option to pick your own apples. We rode on the tractor pull out to the corn maze where we spent a good 20-30 minutes inside trying to find our way out to the other side – I’m telling you, it was HUGE. (There were a lot of Children of the Corn jokes in there, too.) We emerged in a pumpkin patch, where many had been piled up for easy picking:
We got back, picked up some apples and goodies from their store, drank some fresh cider, and headed back home again. I love apple orchards! They are so lovely and autumnal, and I always seem to get lucky and go on cloudy, brisk days (that’s my favorite kind of fall weather).
After getting home, I started work on some pizza dough for dinner. I used the Vegan With A Vengeance recipe for the first time, and from now on it will be my go-to recipe. It worked out great! The only thing I did differently was use 2/3 whole and 1/3 all-purpose spelt flours; spelt has less gluten so it’s not as stretchy but this was by far the best spelt crust I’ve ever made at home, crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. We went to the YWCA while it was rising, came back home and chopped up a bunch of CSA veggies, harvested basil from our plant to make pesto and voila! a pesto pizza was born unto us. (Please excuse the poor lighting in this picture.)
The only thing that could have made this day any better was if I’d had time to whip up some apple-y concoction for dessert, but I’m pretty content with how it all went.
Fruited Cabbage Kale Salad with Tahini-Garlic Dressing July 5, 2009
Posted by a-k in dressings and sauces, raw, recipe, salad, vegetables.16 comments
I’m not huge on holidays, and rather less huge on themed food for holidays (apart from Thanksgiving and the baking and beverages surrounding that one consumer holiday in December). Since we got our grill, however – because we have a space to have one now – I’m not opposed to an excuse for using it for various summertime holidays. We had a couple friends over who brough mojitos and ketchup (we forgot to get some at the store), and grilled up a lot of stuff. Not pictured are the Smoked Apple and Sage Field Roast sausages which were delightful with some of the aforementioned ketchup, grainy French mustard, banana peppers, and a little sauerkraut… but behold the strawberry and basil green salad, okra, corn on the cob*, and avocado:
*Notice those various colored dealies right above the salad? They’re corn cob prongs in the shape of dogs… corn dogs!
Despite the relative green theme of our meal, I tend to feel a bit stuffed and icky the day after a holiday feast. Trying not to spend my entire checking account on eating out at Ecopolitan (the local raw place) inspires me to try and rip off replicate a few of their dishes for a cheaper and often tastier homemade meal. Today I give you my version of their Purple Kale Salad, a name which is a bit misleading as the purple actually refers to red cabbage and not the variety of kale. The relatively bitter taste of raw kale and the accompanying red cabbage is balanced with sweet raisins, sweet-tart kiwifruit, tomatoes, and a tahini-garlic dressing that helps soften the greens. This is a case where I think my version turned out better than what I’ve gotten at the restaurant lately. But it may be the use of my CSA farm-fresh kale or that I probably add a few more raisins than they do 
Keeping the kale thinly sliced (important!) helps break up its fibrous texture, and the acids in the dressing and tomatoes help to soften it further. A great introduction to eating raw kale with little or no need to marinate or massage it!
Fruited Cabbage Kale Salad with Tahini-Garlic Dressing (serves 2-3):
1/4 head red cabbage, thinly sliced
3 large leaves kale, destemmed and thinly sliced
1 c diced tomato
1-2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 c raisins
1-2 kiwifruit, peeled, quartered and sliced
2 tbsp raw tahini
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1/4 c water (or as needed to thin out dressing)
Gomasio, to taste (omit this if you want to remain 100% raw)
Combine kale, cabbage, tomatoes, onions, and raisins in a large mixing bowl, reserving the kiwifruit. Make the dressing by combining tahini, lemon juice, garlic and water in a sealed jar and shaking until homogenized. Pour over kale mixture and toss until evenly distributed. Stir in kiwi. Let sit a few minutes if desired to help the kale soften up a bit.
Fill plates or bowls with salad and top with optional gomasio (if you like a little salt in there… my second serving was gomasio-free and equally delicious!).
Lower-Fat Rama Spinach Curry with Tofu July 4, 2009
Posted by a-k in nuts, recipe, tofu, vegetables.9 comments
With kaffir lime-cilantro rice and sugar snap peas.
I really like Thai curries, and I’ve always been a sucker for anything involving coconut milk and peanuts. But being vegan and eating Thai food means a lot of questions about fish sauce and eggs, and sometimes disturbingly not knowing whether you’re truly getting something without any offending ingredients. (At least in my experience, I’ve been told differing accounts of ingredients for the same dish by different people, and I often get told the bad news by a kind vegan server after I’ve ordered the same dish a couple of times.) On top of this, Rama Spinach Curry is pretty darn rich, what with loads of full-fat coconut milk and unknowable amounts of peanut butter, even for this not-too-fat-content-concerned lady.
So for both reasons, making this dish at home is a pretty good idea. I’m not going to claim this is a low-fat dish, because it’s not, but it’s certainly lower in fat than anything you’re going to get at your local Thai restaurant, without sacrificing the lovely peanut and coconut flavors. You can throw it together while your brown rice is cooking, and you can control the level of wilt in your spinach by steaming it to your own preference (or just going with fresh). This is a spicy, creamy, and ever so slightly sweet curry that would go great with a fresh salad or tangy veggie side dish (I opted for some lightly dressed citrus-y sugar snap peas from my CSA share). While I recommend thawed frozen tofu for a chewy texture, feel free to substitute fresh (or go with mock duck if that floats your happy boat).
Lower-Fat Rama Spinach Curry with Tofu (serves 3-4)
16 oz tofu, frozen, thawed, and cut into bite-size pieces
splash of oil for sauteing
1/2 onion, diced
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
3/4 cup light coconut milk
1 tbsp peanut butter
1/2 tbsp red curry paste, or to taste (Thai Kitchen brand is vegan)
2 tbsp Sucanat or other vegan sugar
2 tbsp tamari
1/3 c chopped roasted peanuts
3-4 c fresh spinach
Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet or cast iron pan and add onions and tofu. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent. Add ginger, garlic, coconut milk, peanut butter, curry paste, sugar and tamari, stirring to dissolve sauce ingredients. Simmer over medium-low heat until sauce is reduced and slightly thickened, about 10-15 minutes. Stir in chopped peanuts, reserving some for garnish if desired.
Meanwhile, steam spinach until just wilted, or leave fresh. Place a bed of spinach on each plate, top with curry and reserved peanuts, and serve with a side of rice.
Friday’s Delicious, Tomorrow’s Chicago* June 13, 2009
Posted by a-k in cake, noodles and pasta, salad, vegetables.11 comments
*Not that Chicago isn’t also delicious…
Raw Zucchini Noodles with Lemon Basil Pesto
You really can’t convince me that pesto needs cheese in it… for me it’s all about the nuts and the basil and the little bit of garlic. Yum! I spiralized some zucchini noodles and tossed them with a few tablespoons of raw lemon basil pesto, then squeezed some fresh lemon on top. Rich and satisfying but light at the same time, which is what I’m aiming for these days.
Field greens with tomatoes, parsley, and Mexican Gems
I had some odds and ends in the fridge and a burning desire to grill the remaining okra I got from the farmer’s market, but it felt decadent to heat some coals just for little ol’ me; not to mention I wouldn’t have been able to finish all the food. So I had one of my coworkers and her husband over for an impromptu dinner tonight…the exchange went something like this: “Hey, M-, what you doing tonight?” “Nothing.” “Wanna come over and grill some stuff? You should bring your special manfriend.” “Hot (vegan) dog, A-K! Sounds great!” And then we made it happen. Part of my container garden this year includes some edible flowers called Mexican Gems. They’re distinctly floral and followed by a spicy kick! I don’t have too many blooming quite yet, but each of us got one with our locally grown field green salad.
Grilled Okra
Earlier this week I made my first vegan gumbo and included some okra. While good, I also wanted to enjoy okra on its own in a way that didn’t involve deep-frying. So I tossed some in a splash of olive oil and rubbed some salt and pepper in, skewered them, and grilled them over low coals for about 8 or 10 minutes. Wow! It’s kind of like eating corn, only you don’t get kernels stuck in your teeth. Soft, almost creamy, sweet centers surrounded by a slightly crisp, salty crust. I know there are a lot of people who hate okra because of the slime (I’ve only experienced the slime when slicing it raw), but I’d always been into okra the few times I tried it. I think I’m having a love affair with it now! This is the best way to make it so far.
The other day at work we were discussing our favorite smells. Most of mine are food-related, particularly spice-related. And one of them is saffron – the lovely, fragrant Spanish kind. There’s a lot of nostalgic attachment for me to Sweden and the St. Lucia bread made around Christmas time, which has saffron in it. One of my coworkers told me she thought saffron tasted like plastic, and I knew I had to convince her otherwise. I think the best way to do this is with cake. So while I was marinating tofu and slicing veggies for the grill fest, I whipped out this pretty little cake. I think I’m finding that wheat (and yeast) is doing bad things to me, but spelt seems alright so far, which is why this cake is a darker yellow than a traditional Swedish saffron cake would be. But let me tell you, this turned out moist and delicious! It’s a bit heavier than I’d like and took significantly longer to bake than the recipe I based it off of, so I won’t post a recipe yet, but once I get my hands on some more saffron, I’m all over making this again. Do you think she’ll like it?
Spelt Saffron Cake
Tomorrow I find out it it passes the “plastic test” (fingers crossed). And tomorrow I’m also dashing off to Chicago for 24 hours after work, so I’ll be gone most of the weekend. Hope yours is lovely!
Raw Week: Transitioning June 8, 2009
Posted by a-k in raw, salad, vegetables.17 comments
Salad greens and sugar snap peas from the farmer's market with sauteed portobellas and orange slices
Sorry for the lack of blogging the past couple days… on one hand I needed a break to work on some other projects, and on the other I didn’t really have anything blog-worthy to share. Honestly, after Thursday’s feast at Ecopolitan, I started eating very simply for the most part. A lot of straight up fruits and veggies, some repeats like the red pepper soup. I had decided that on Saturday evening I would start to eat some cooked food again.
It’s important to go back to cooked gradually or you’re not gonna feel too good in the digestive department. I’m not going to say I didn’t miss anything while eating raw, although I was really enjoying it as well. But I missed a few things like cooked grains, and the weather over the weekend has been gloomy and quite cold for June. So I continued to eat raw all day Saturday, and dinner that night was basically a giant spinach and tomato salad with tahini dressing and a small pile of quinoa cooked in veggie broth.
Sunday morning I walked to the farmer’s market and scored some delightful treats, like sugar snap peas, okra, and salad greens. I’d had a green smoothie for breakfast, but have to admit at this moment that I couldn’t pass up finding vegan tamales at the market. VEGAN TAMALES, people! They were small and I think the long walk helped, because I didn’t feel regret having eaten them. Still, I wanted to make something mostly raw for my real lunch, which you see pictured above. Yum! Salad greens with tahini dressing and a pretty edible flower, sugar snap peas, and orange slices making up the raw, and a little bit of sliced portobella sauteed in olive oil and garlic with chopped sun dried tomatoes and figs.
Sauteed portobellas with sun-dried tomatoes and figs
I’m still working on the green smoothie post, have no fear! For now I’m taking it a little easy and getting excited about all the herbs I’m growing in the window and outside. Look at this gorgeous lavender flower starting to bloom:
Lavender Lady Bloom
Raw Week: Fruity Crepe and Veggie Dressing June 4, 2009
Posted by a-k in dressings and sauces, fruit, nuts, raw, recipe, salad, vegetables.14 comments
Raw Crepes stuffed with Vanilla Lemon Pine Nut Cream, spiced fruit salad, and date syrup
Today has been a weird day. I had some weird nightmares so I never felt totally rested all day, and on top of it I had my (usually) least favorite shift at work.
However, I had an AMAZING breakfast, as you can probably see! I used the Rawmelette shells to make a fruit crepe. Or is it a fruit taco? I can’t decide. The early morning intense domestic in me decided it needed a little more than just a shell and fruit salad, so I decided on some date syrup (which I’ve wanted to make for a long long time) and some kind of sweet nut cream. In raw food, there are some nuts that don’t need much, if any, soaking in order to be pureed. Pine nuts are one of them, and I had half a cup waiting to be utilized!
I was hesitant at first, since pine nuts have a more distinct flavor, but I’m so glad I took the plunge. The delicate flavor of the pine nuts went so well with the tangy lemon and warm vanilla and it’s just lovely for dipping your finger into! I used this to “glue” the fruit salad to the shell.
Vanilla Lemon Pine Nut Cream
Vanilla Lemon Pine Nut Cream
1/2 c raw pinenuts
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp raw agave nectar
1/2 tsp acidophilus powder (optional, for a tangier flavor)
1/2 vanilla bean scraped (or a splash of vanilla extract)
Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth … It may be quite thick. Pause occasionally if the motor gets too hot and to scrape down the sides as necessary.
I also made some date syrup by soaking 1 1/2 c dates in some warm water for 20 minutes, then draining and blending with 3/4 c water and a couple shakes of cinnamon. If you have an empty squeeze bottle lying around, this is a great way to make use of it and fancy up some desserts (raw or not)! The crepe was spread with pine nut cream, filled with spiced berry fruit salad, and drizzled with date syrup. Yum!
Raw Fruit Crepe Closeup
For lunch I thought a soup would be nice. I’d read a long time ago about “Energy Soup,” which, it turns out, is really just another term for a savory green smoothie. Being quite happy with my sweet green smoothie creations, I thought this would be no problem. Well, I was wrong. I don’t know if it was me being out of garlic, or missing some essential base flavor, or just a bad combination, but this was really acidic and frankly kind of difficult to eat. Because of the carrots it turns more of an olive green color which I tried to ignore by covering it in cilantro and red peppers. I made an energy soup once a while back that was delicious, really and truly delicious, but this sadly wasn’t. Anybody have any good recipes for energy soup?
Curried Energy Soup
When I got home from work with a bunch of free red bell peppers, I knew they had to become part of my dinner. Originally I’d planned to make a red pepper tahini dip to make lettuce roll-ups, but when I blended everything together it ended up too thin for that. What resulted is a creamy, delicious concoction with a hint of spice that I used (liberally) as a salad dressing and fed to my detox friend as a soup. If you find yourself with some extra peppers, make this! It’s so good, and such a lovely bright salmon color. I had it over field greens with sliced snow peas, micro greens, tomatoes, hemp seeds, and a side of rosemary crisps.
Green Salad with Creamy Red Pepper Dressing
Creamy Red Pepper Dressing (or Soup)
2 red bell peppers, chopped
1/2 red chili pepper, seeded and chopped
1 large garlic clove (minced if not using a high speed blender)
2 tbsp chopped onion
1/2 zucchini, chopped
1/4 c raw tahini
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp chopped cilantro, for garnish
Blend all ingredients except cilantro in a food processor or blender until smooth. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
Tomorrow I’m drinking a green smoothie for breakfast, and headed to Ecopolitan for a dinner date with my detox friend Michael. Who knows what lunch will bring? Though I have a hunch it might include avocado…
Raw Week: Tuesday Eats June 3, 2009
Posted by a-k in cookies, dessert, fruit, raw, salad, vegetables.9 comments
Torn Basil Salad with Avocado and Tomatoes
Just a quick post today… I am definitely way more full of energy than I have been in a long time. I admit it could be from a combination of things, but I’d like to think my recent eating habits have something to do with it! At any rate, I think I’m figuring out my “natural bedtime” and it’s earlier than I’m posting this now.
This morning I had the green smoothie I wrote about in the previous post, followed by lots of water. When I got home I ate the second half of my Purple Basil Kale Salad from Ecopolitan and half of a grapefruit. As an early dinner I ate the salad pictured at the top, which I’m calling the “Torn Basil Salad” in honor of Jamie Oliver and a distinct memory I have from an episode of the Naked Chef 5 or 6 years ago where he urged the hand-tearing of basil right over the greens. It also had two tomatoes, half an avocado, a few tablespoons of Juliano’s House Dressing, diced red onions, and field greens from the farmer’s market.
Triple Berry Fruit Salad
As a dinner-dessert I made a big fruit salad (with enough leftovers for breakfast!). I used strawberries, an apple, a peach, one kiwi, blackberries, and blueberries, and tossed them with cinnamon, cardamom, and fresh minced ginger. It was kind of like cheater garam masala, and it was spicy and warming against the refreshing fruit. I meant to add raisins, too, but I’d already been raisin-ing earlier to make these:
Raw Carob Walnut Cookies
I found the recipe from Ani Phyo’s new raw dessert book for these tasty Raw Carob Walnut Cookies while perusing We Like It Raw. When I was a vegetarian, one of the things that really interested me in veganism was vegan desserts – they were so much tastier, and not so cloyingly sweet! Now that I’m vegan, I absolutely adore raw desserts above traditional baked vegan desserts. While these raw cookies don’t have the same taste and texture properties of a baked cookie, they’re quite a lovely mouthful. I know there are a lot of carob haters in this world, but I love carob, and especially raw carob! It’s so nummy!
Tomorrow morning I’m planning a slightly more fancy breakfast a la Rawmelettes, though perhaps as a fruit taco kind of thing with the leftover fruit salad. A little date syrup and some nut cream and I’ll be in absolute heaven!
Also, I’m planning a tutorial post about green smoothies for the near future. After a lot of comments about different combinations and additions, I think it’s high time some green smoothie love gets spread!
