Strawberry Pear Smoothie

I absolutely love this smoothie! It's an unusual combination of ingredients, but the flavor is so unexpected and complex that I was reinvigorated by the smoothie idea. Originally I got the idea of the red pepper from Meredith Baird, and it is that flavor that is unexpected, but I also really like the addition of some heat into smoothies as a surprise hit.

Strawberry Pear Smoothie:

2 cups frozen strawberries
1 red bell pepper
1 pear
1 lemon peeled
1/2 c. orange juice (or 1 orange)
1 red hot chili pepper

Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender. Serves 1-2.

Spicy Mango Smoothie

I'm still riffing on Meredith Baird's Everyday Raw Detox recipes. This morning I needed a little sunshine in my smoothie. This recipe is pretty much the same recipe as in her book with a couple of substitutions. I love grapefruit and a hot pepper together. The grapefruit flavor in this smoothie is subtle but goes well with the spice. The mango is what you see and taste. It's a bright, sweet smoothie with just the right touch of spice.

Spicy Mango Smoothie:

2 cups fresh or frozen mango
1 1/2 c. grapefruit juice
1 lime peeled
1 red hot chili pepper

Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender. It's so naturally beautiful no garnish is needed, but I sprinkled a dash of cayenne pepper on it anyway. Serves 1-2.

Spinach Grape Smoothie

In full disclosure, I made a ton of things after my power outage a few days ago. Most of the posts of the last week were all made the day I got my power back in the attempt to save the food. I've just been holding  the posts in a queue since I made so much at once. Here is another smoothie recipe made during that time. It has an interesting flavor that I like. Sweet and tart. Fruit and vegetables. Green and purple.

Spinach Grape Smoothie:

1 c. hazelnut milk
2 c. spinach
1 c. red grapes
1/4 c. chia seed powder or 1 banana
1 lime

Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender.

Note: I don't use bananas because I have an adverse reaction to them. I find that chia seed powder can resemble the flavor of bananas in smoothies. The chia seeds don't do this, but the powder works well. You can substitute a banana or you can use chia seeds for thickness. Chia seed powder combines the benefits of the two.

Cantaloupe Orange Grape Juice

Still posting pics of things I made post storm. I had to call some friends to come and help me drink all this.

Cantaloupe Orange Grape Juice:

1 cantaloupe peeled
2 c. green grapes
2 oranges
2 lemons

Run all ingredients through juicer. Garnish with lemon.

Maybe the universe was telling me it was time for a cleanse after that tiramisu. Inadvertent juice cleansing is about the only way I'd do it. I like to chew my food.

Papaya Cantaloupe Juice

Bear with me while I post juice recipes from my emergency juicing after the storm. I made this one while still trying to save produce. I'm not a big fan of papaya alone, but I really like it in this juice. The cantaloupe mellows out the papaya. What I do like about papaya are the digestive enzymes in the fruit. It's been used to treat intestinal problems, including cancer and parasites. It's also great for the skin and has been used to treat acne and may have anti-aging properties.  Consider this an internal beauty and health treatment.

Papaya Cantaloupe Juice:

1 large papaya
2 cantaloupes
4-5 limes
1/4 c. mint leaves (thanks to my brother for giving me a plant while I was home)

Run all ingredients through the juicer. You can also add sparkling water to this juice for a nice summer drink.

Watermelon and Grapefruit Spritzer

While I was visiting my mom there was a big, big storm in Minneapolis. The devastation was pretty severe. Huge trees are down everywhere. I send blessings to those affected. Luckily for me I only lost power for about eighteen hours. That's nothing compared to a tree in your living room. But I did have a refrigerator and freezer completely packed with food quickly thawing. So what is a gal to do but get busy juicing and dehydrating what she can before it all goes to waste. Here is one of those mad attempts to save what I could. Feel free to cut recipe in half.

Watermelon and Grapefruit Spritzer:

2 small seedless watermelons
2 1/2 grapefruits
2 small red chili peppers (I put dried ones in with the grapefruit as I juiced)
2 limes
1 big knob of ginger

Run all ingredients through the juicer. Either drink the juice as is or add sparkling water for the spritzer. It tastes like punch. Garnish with lime.

I have one of those machines that can carbonate tap water. I generally haven't been a fan of carbonated water, but since I got that machine, I've been having a great time making spritzer drinks. This juice is good either way.

Watermelon Rehydrator

With so much watermelon left over from making the meal for my family, I had to use up the rest. I came up with this drink that my mom really liked. I could have juiced all the ingredients but didn't have a juicer available, so I blended them all into this delightfully refreshing drink. It was perfect after my thirty plus mile bike ride with another brother. Watermelon has a high water and sugar content, but in this circumstance, it was exactly what I needed to replace the electrolytes I lost on the ride. Interesting combination of ingredients, to be sure, but don't be frightened off by them. It's truly delicious.

 

Watermelon Rehydrator:

6 c. watermelon (this was about one half of a large round watermelon)
1 c. green grapes
1/4 c. lime juice
1 inch knob of ginger (my mom freezes hers and then the skin just peels off)
1/4 large jalapeno (or 1/2 small)
handful of mint

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender. Garnish with mint. Be prepared for the energy it gives you. Serves 4-5.

Light Summer Meal

I just got back from a visit with my mom. I love spending time with her. It's always a mad rush of creativity, a combination of experimenting in the kitchen and trying new sewing projects. This time she picked out a few recipes she wanted to try from Sarma Melngailis' Living Raw Food. My mom keeps this book on hand for when I come home, and she's made some amazing raw food for me using this book. This time I returned the favor, though she had already done much of the prep work with the help of my stepfather. I especially loved her dehydrated raw pine nut parmesan. I made the "Watermelon, Heirloom Tomato, Cucumber, and Herb Salad", as well as the "Herbal Guacamole and Spicy Jicama in Romain Leaves" from the cookbook. I followed the recipes, which is a rarity for me, but in doing so I would be violating copyright laws by reprinting them here. So I'm posting the pictures of the meal instead and giving you the link in case you like the idea. You can get the book from the library if you don't trust my recommendation of it.

First I made the guacamole recipe and served it as little burrito wraps for lunch, but later I just blended the ingredients into a salad to serve for dinner. I served the two dishes to my mom and brother, who don't love to eat with their hands as much as I do. Serving it as a salad allowed the use of a fork. I'm grateful for the willingness of my family to try new things. My brother is a really willing sport, and I love him for that and his general ease. It's not too easy to ruffle him, and he's always a calming presence. In short, a perfect dinner guest because he's grateful for whatever is set before him. We finished the meal off with cherry coconut ice cream because, in my family, no meal is complete without ice cream.

Basically the watermelon salad is a combination of watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers, cilantro, parsley, mint, scallions ( I used chives from my mom's garden), jalapeno, lime juice, and avocado, with a dehydrated pine nut cheese sprinkled in.  The proportions of the ingredients are pretty much in descending order, if you want to experiment. 

The jicama and avocado salad is basically mashed avocados with cilantro, parsley, lime juice and jalapeno pepper. The jicama is slivered and coated with lime juice and cayenne pepper. To make the wraps, use romaine lettuce leaves and place a large spoonful of the avocado in the center of the leaf. Add some of the jicama. Roll the wrap up like a burrito. If you want the salad, simply tear up romaine lettuce and combine with avocado and jicama.

Good food was never so simple. I feel blessed to have a family who loves what I do and is so willing to share it with me. Tomorrow I'll post a recipe I came up with to use the rest of the watermelon used in this meal. Tune in then.

Lime Carrot Pasta

I have a ten pound bag of carrots begging to be transformed into something lovely. I chose to make pasta out of the carrots because the orange swirls please my fancy. Making noodles is more time consuming than just cutting the carrots into slices, but the end result is so worth it. In this pasta salad, I used arugula to add some bitter in contrast to the sweetness of the carrots. I made Thai flavored sauce that went well with the combination. Light, easy, beautiful.

Lime Carrot Pasta:

4 large carrots spiralized in a spiralizer
3 c. arugula
 2 limes squeezed over the carrots and arugula to keep carrots  bright orange while making the sauce

Tahini Black Sesame Sauce:

1/2 c. raw organic tahini
1/4 c. fresh squeezed lime juice
1 c. water
1 T. white miso
1/2 to 1 jalapeno diced
2 T. black sesame seeds or powder
Himalayan sea salt

Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender. Pour over the pasta salad. Garnish with cilantro and crushed cashews.

I wanted currants in this salad for some reason. I don't even like currants, but that's mostly because I don't like them cooked in things.  Fresh currant in a salad is alright by me. I thought the color would also be a nice contrast. But since I don't like them, I didn't have them. Food for thought....

This salad makes a lot. My carrots were huge, and four would feed about four people. The sauce also makes a lot. I'd say it was about a cup and a half of dressing. Use any extra dressing as a kale chip dressing or a salad dressing. It's actually a pretty good dip for vegetables, too.

Zucchini Pasta Soup

I'm still on a soup kick. I just love the ease of them. It's so simple to blend a bunch of vegetables. I just throw them in the blender without all the chopping that making an actual dish requires. I love doing food prep, but sometimes it's great to know I can still eat really well even when I'm super busy. And the easy digestibility of raw soups gives me the energy to keep going. No after lunch slump!

Zucchini Pasta Soup:

3 zucchini (use 2 in the blender and one for pasta)
2 stalks celery
1/2 red pepper
1 c. corn kernels
1 lemon
one handful chives ( I just grabbed them from the garden)
1 clove garlic

Blend two of the zucchini and all other ingredients in a high speed blender.  Spiralize the remaining zucchini into noodles. Pour soup into two small bowls. Spoon in the zucchini noodles. Garnish with chive blossoms.

I didn't salt this soup because I find celery salty enough. Feel free to salt and pepper it. I also think it would be good with a hot pepper to give it more warmth. Or even a little tahini for thickness and protein. I wanted it light today, so I didn't use the tahini, but I wanted to.

If you don't have a spiralizer, just throw all the zucchini in the blender for a liquid soup. The taste will be basically the same. I just like the noodles for texture and for their slurpiness.  Who doesn't like to slurp noodles?

Coconut Curry Soup

It's a rainy, cold day in June. That's becoming all too common in Minnesota. Our April showers now show up in June, and summer hardly comes at all. It's looking like Portland, OR here these days, which is not a bad thing. I love Portland. Always wanted to live there. Now I kind of do.

On cold days there is nothing like a hot soup. Except in the raw world soups aren't hot. At best they are warmed by letting the heat of the blender do the work. So that's what I did today. I made a spicy Thai soup, let it warm up in the blender, and  then it warmed my throat and belly. It was perfect. Quick, easy, and satisfying. Now for a nap on my porch while it rains.

Coconut Curry Soup:

1 c. water
1/2 c. shredded coconut
1/2 chopped red bell pepper
1 inch of ginger chopped
2 T. coconut aminos
1/4 t. chili powder
1/4 t. curry powder
1  small jalapeno pepper
2 T. white miso
1 lime
 black pepper and sea salt to taste

Blend  all ingredients in a high-speed blender. Garnish with 1 T. chopped red bell pepper and a few sprigs of cilantro. If your soup is too spicy, add a little coconut milk to cool it down. I like it hot. You can also omit the jalapeno. Let the blender run for a few minutes to warm the soup. Serve immediately.

This made one big mug of soup. Perfect for me. 

Raspberry Cacao Parfait

Still using up meringue from that pie. I made this parfait last week and am just getting to posting it now. This parfait is made with the cacao buckwheat cereal I dehydrated a couple of days ago. Simply layer the buckwheat cereal broken into pieces with raspberries and coconut creme meringue. See the post on dehydrated fruit for the buckwheat cereal instructions. Crunchy, sweet, and smooth. Yum.

Tiramisu

I am finally getting to the end of that Irish moss paste I mixed up for the raspberry tart. I finished it up on this raw tiramisu. The basic recipe is from Cafe Gratitude's dessert cookbook, I Am Grateful. I modified the recipe as I usually do to suit my tastes. Now truth be told, I've never had an unraw tiramisu because I haven't had dairy or sugar in over twenty years, so I don't know how this compares. But I can say this version is creamy, smooth, airy, fluffy, and a pleasure on the tongue. It's basically layers of nut crusts, some Teeccino french roast herbal coffee alternative, chocolate mousse, and vanilla cream. You could certainly use coffee, but I tend to eat dessert at night and don't want the caffeine to keep me up, so I use the Teeccino product. If you haven't tried it and want a rich coffee flavor without the caffeine, give it a try. They make it in tea bags or in 'grounds' for your coffee maker.

Back to the tiramisu...it's pretty hard not to like this. Vanilla, chocolate, coffee (flavor). I'm willing to bet this dessert stands on its own and doesn't need to be called some name you recognize. In fact, sometimes I think making raw versions of traditional meals sets up an expectation that is hard to meet. They are different ideas based on the same idea. For ease of reference, we call it 'pizza' or 'pasta' or 'tiramisu,' but I wish I had other words. I just say try it with an open mind and decide for yourself. I'll bet my money on the taste of raw food every time. Call it what you will, but the beauty and rich flavors will speak for themselves.

Tiramisu: (my modified version)

Cake:
 4 c. almonds ground into flour using the Vitamix
1 1/2 c. date paste (blend dates with a few tablespoons of water for a thick paste)
1/2 c. coconut butter softened in the dehydrator
2 T. vanilla
 1/2 t. sea salt
1 8 oz. cup of Teeccino French Roast coffee alternative

Put all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until incorpoated. Press half the dough into a casserole pan. You will use the other half of the dough to create another layer of cake later.

Chocolate Mousse: 
1/4 c. Irish moss paste (see the raspberry tart recipe for the paste recipe)
1 c. coconut milk
1/4 date paste (blend about 7 dates with about two tablespoons of water)
a scant 1/4 c. agave (Add a little at a time until sweet enough for your tastes.  You may not need agave at all. I just used dates. You can also add a few more dates to make it sweeter instead of the agave)
2 T. vanilla
1/4 c. cacao powder
1 T. lecthin
1/2 c. coconut butter softened in the dehydrator

Blend all ingredients except lecithin and coconut butter until well incorporated. Then add lecithin and coconut butter. Pour this layer over the first cake layer. Smooth as evenly as possible. Refrigerate about thirty minutes or until set.

When the mousse has set, use remaining cake to make another layer over the mousse. Be careful not to disturb the mousse layer. I roll the cake out in pieces, then place them on the mousse and press the pieces together.

Vanilla Cream:
2 c. coconut milk
1 1/2 c. soaked cashews
2 T. Irish moss paste
1/4 c. date paste
2 T. vanilla
pinch of salt
2 T. lecithin
1/2 c. coconut butter softened in dehydrator

Blend all ingredients except lecithin and coconut butter in the Vitamix until well incorporated. Then add the lecithin and coconut butter and blend until creamy. Pour this layer on top of the cake/mousse/cake layer. Refrigerate until set.

Dust the entire cake with raw cacao powder if desired.

I made this tiramisu without agave because I'm still trying to minimize processed sweeteners. I love that I can get something so creamy and delicious using only dates. Granted, it takes a few, but when divided into a whole cake, I'm okay with that.

Hope you like it!

Dehydrated Fruit and Spinach Tortillas

I'm getting ready to go on a hiking trip around Mont Blanc. When I travel overseas with a group, I'm at the mercy of the group when it comes to food. And though I've found some great raw restaurants in unlikely places (like Zagreb, Croatia and Lisbon, Portugal and Edinburgh, Scotland) I often have to supplement with my own food. So I'm starting early because dehydrated fruit keeps a long time, and I had a lot I didn't want to waste.

Also, I talked to one of my sisters the other day, and she received an Excalibur dehydrator for Mother's Day. She's excited to make breads and crackers, so I thought I'd start putting some dehydrating recipes on the blog. In part for her and in part for you.

For this upcoming hiking trip I dehydrated fresh pineapple, mango, and kiwi. I also made some cayenne dusted mango to put in a spicy trail mix I'll make closer to the departure date. This time I used cayenne, but habanero pepper works well, too. To make the spicy mango, slice mango into pieces. Put 1/2 t. cayenne in 1 t. agave and mix well. Coat the mango in the agave.  Spread on dehydrator sheets. The rest of the fruit is just plain fruit cut up into pieces with no added sugar.

I also made some spinach tortillas by blending about 5 cups of spinach with 1/4 c. flax powder, 2 small limes and some Himalayan sea salt. I spread that into a big square on the Teflex-lined dehydrator sheet

Lastly, I made some chocolate sprouted buckwheat cereal that I will break into pieces and use as layers in berry parfaits. I'm still using up meringue, so instead of nuts, I'll layer fruit, meringue, and chocolate buckwheat, which is a really high protein grain. I simply soaked the buckwheat overnight, then sprouted it for one day, then hand mixed into it 5 dates blended with 3/4 c. water and about 1/4 c. cacao powder and some vanilla.

The top of the tray held the seeds of the papaya from the Papaya Pineapple Smoothie posted earlier. I put the dehydrated seeds in my pepper mill along with peppercorns and use them as a spice. The papaya seeds take days to dehydrate. They must be really dry to keep from molding, so let them over dehydrate if you question when they're ready. I had them in there about three days while I rotated other things through the remaining trays.

I took some pictures of the dehydrator trays before and after dehydrating to give you an idea of what happens in the dehydrating process. I think the trays are so pretty when they are full of fruit. I also love the look of a full dehydrator. It feels so abundant.

I dehydrated everything at 105 degrees. The timing for the fruit and tortillas were the same. Basically I cut the fruit in the afternoon and took it out the next morning. I let the cereal stay in a little longer, about 24 hours, flipping it after about 18 hours. There's no science to the flipping. Just do it at some point to make sure the underside gets dehydrated, too.

Ah, the bounty....

beautiful fruit

before dehydrating

after dehydrating

Cream of Mushroom Soup

I was in a hurry, with a long day ahead of me. I had a dance class, a dance rehearsal, and a long shift at work to get through but didn't have enough time to make food. So I threw some vegetables in a blender and made this soup to drink throughout the day. I have to admit, it took me a few years to appreciate raw soups. I love a hot, hot soup on a cold day. But as I've continued on the raw path, I've come to appreciate a cold soup on a hot day. And I love the ease of making them. They are a nice alternative to a sweet smoothie when I'm in a rush but still want lots of nutritional value in what I consume. Why is it that when we are rushed, we are tempted to make poor food choices? Raw soups have helped me with this conundrum. No need to equate fast food with poor food. Throw it in a blender and go. Your body will thank you.

 Cream of Mushroom Soup:

2 T. almond butter

1 c. water

3 stalks celery

1 1/2 c. mushrooms

1 T. tahini

3 T. chives or scallions

1 T. chickpea miso

1 T. coconut aminos or Bragg's amino acids

1/4 t. turmeric

1/4 t. curry

Pepper to taste

Parsley for garnish

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender except parsley. Add the parsley as a garnish.

Note: if you blend this soup long enough, the heat of the blender will warm the soup but not at a high enough heat to destroy the enzymes of the food. This is a way to get a warm soup that might be easier to swallow until you adjust to soup being cold. It is especially good for this soup. Mushroom soups taste better warmed up a bit.

Vibant Green Juice

Here is a green juice recipe that sparks of life. Enjoy.

Vibrant Green Juice:

2 cucumbers
4 stalks celery
2 pears
2 apples
1 1/2 lemon

Run all ingredients through juicer. Add a little ginger for spice.  Serves 2-3.

Watermelon Raspberry Lemonade

This was a surprisingly delicious lemonade combination. I juiced a small watermelon, a cup of raspberries, one lemon and added two drop of vanilla liquid stevia. Absolutely divine.

Watermelons make a lot of juice, as do melons. Watermelon juice is delicious if consumed immediately. It can tend to take on the rind flavor if kept too long. I find these juices a nice flavorful, colorful alternative to water. Yep, there is fruit sugar in them, but I don't worry about natural, from the source, fruit sugar. I'm plenty active enough to use it up. Everything in moderation.

Favorite Documentaries About Food

I have a friend who once gave me a great documentary called "Healing Cancer" because he knew I was interested in Max Gerson's work and in good, pure food. Since then we've talked food and sustainable agriculture. He recently asked me for a list of my favorite documentaries, so I thought it might be of interest to my blog readers. I'm including documentaries that I gave four or five stars on my Netflix rating. I've seen pretty much everything, but these are my top ones. I think I've seen all of them on Netflix, but my friend has been finding them at the library. I love the library. It's amazing how much you can find there. My library request list is almost always full. So check them out. Literally.

Food Matters
Food, Inc.
Forks Over Knives
Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead
Ted Talks: Chew on This
Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution
Hempsters: Plant the Seed
Vanishing of the Bees
Dirt! The Movie
Vegucated
Food Fight
Hungry for Change
Dive!
Queen of the Sun


Other films I liked but would only give three stars:

Ted Talks: Matthew Kenney
The Botany of Desire
Save the Farm
Dying to Have Known
The Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue
King Corn

I also recommend "Chasing Ice" as an education on global warming as it relates to disappearing glaciers around the world. It isn't about food or farming, but it relates to our environment and the ecological destruction going on around us. Everything is related.  I give it five stars.

Maybe I'll watch all of these again and give a review for each one and why I loved or liked it. I love talking food politics, so let me know what your favorite films are and why. Talk to me about food!

Papaya Pineapple Smoothie

After that raspberry tart and lemon meringue pie, I have to clean it up a bit. So I'm back to smoothies and juices and raw soups. The smoothies I make are plenty sweet to satisfy that sweet tooth, but they help me stay away from agave, which I like to use in moderation. I'm more comfortable with foods in their natural forms, so dates are my preferred sweetener. So for awhile, I'm going to stay away from agave. That means more fruit for me because honestly, my sweet tooth begs to be satisfied. I try to satisfy it with the healthiest options available. And any food in its pure form is alright by me.

Papaya Pineapple Smoothie:

1 papaya seeded
1/2 c. pineapple
1/2 c. cantaloupe juice or 1/4 c. cantaloupe chunks
1/2 c. orange juice or 1 orange
1/2 c. shredded coconut
a few drops of vanilla liquid stevia

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender. Serves 2,

A handful of cacao nibs is also surprisingly good in this smoothie. Try it!

Also, I keep the papaya seeds and dehydrate them until they resemble peppercorns. Then I use them as peppercorns in my peppermill.They take a few days to dehydrate, so watch for them soon.

Strawberry Shortcake Parfait

Since I had meringue leftover from the lemon pie I posted yesterday, I used some up by making this parfait. It tastes like strawberry shortcake without the cake. I also used the leftover candied pecans from the raspberry tart posted a few days ago. Almonds would work well, too. Almonds might make it taste even more like strawberry shortcake.  For this delicious dessert, simply make layers of strawberries, meringue, and candied pecans.

I still have some meringue left, so I'm going to put it in some smoothies over the coming days. Stay tuned.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Using up that Irish moss paste propelled me to make more pie. Not that I needed it. This is my favorite pie. I am a huge fan of lemon. It's my favorite flavor of any. Making a raw meringue isn't easy and may not fool the pie connoisseur, but I am very happy to have something close to that taste that can form 'peaks' typical to a good meringue.

Lemon meringue pie was the first raw dessert I ever had at Cafe Gratitude in San Francisco. This recipe is a variation on that idea.

Crust:
2 c. cashews chopped to flour in Vitamix
2 T. agave
pinch of sea salt

Combine ingredients and press into a pie pan.

Filling:
1/4 cup Irish moss paste (see below)
1 1/2 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. agave
pinch of tumeric for yellow color

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender. Pour over crust. Dehydrate pie for twelve hours at 105 degrees or until filling is springy to the touch.

Irish Moss Paste:
1 c. soaked moss in seaweed form (not in flakes or powder)
1/4 c. water
2 T. agave
1/2  t. lemon juice

Soak moss for about three hours. Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender. Paste should be pretty thick and will thicken more in the refrigerator. 

Glaze:
3/4 c. Irish moss paste
1 c. coconut milk
1/2 c. shredded coconut
1/2 c. soaked cashews
1/4 c. agave
1 T. lemon juice
1 t. vanilla
pinch of sea salt
2 T. lecithin
1/4 c. coconut oil in liquid form
1/4 c. coconut butter softened

Blend all ingredients except lecithin and coconut oil and butter. Once the other ingredients are well combined, add lecithin and coconut oil and butter. Incorporate well. Pour meringue into a shallow pan and refrigerate until hardened.  This may take up to three hours. When the meringue feels set, use a spatula to spread it onto the pie filling. The pie filling should be set enough to hold the meringue. Peak the meringue with the back of a spoon.

Raspberry Tart

This is the tart I made for a friend. It's pretty easy and tastes sinfully delicious. This recipe is based on Matthew Kenney's raspberry streusel bars. I love his raw (un)cookbooks. I hope someday to study with him because he really makes food into art. I highly recommend his Everyday Raw Desserts book if you love delicious sweet things that also look beautiful.

I made slight variations to his recipe based on the ingredients I had on hand. With that said, I'd go to the master for his recipes. Still, this tart tastes great. You can hardly go wrong with the rich raspberry flavor. 

Raspberry Tart: 

Crust:
3 c. cashews ground into flour using a Vitamix
5 medjool dates
pinch of sea salt

Mix ingredients in a food processor. Press into a springform pan. (Use one 8" or two smaller springform pans.)

Filling: no variations were made to Kenney's filling recipe
 3 c. fresh or frozen raspberries
1/2 c. agave nectar, maple syrup or honey
1/4 c. Irish moss paste
1 T. lemon juice
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. sea salt

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender. Pour into springform pan on top of crust.

Irish Moss Paste:
1 c. soaked moss in seaweed form (not in flakes or powder)
1/4 c. water
2 T. agave
1/2  t. lemon juice

Soak moss for about three hours. Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender. Paste should be pretty thick and will thicken more in the refrigerator. 

 Streusel:
1 c. pecans
3 T. agave
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. cardamom
1 t. vanilla

Chop pecans in a mini food processor. Add additional ingredients and pulse a few times to incorporate. Sprinkle on top of tart. Dehydrate for 8 to 10 hours at 105 degrees.

Glaze:
3/4 c. Irish moss paste
1 c. coconut milk
1/2 c. shredded coconut
1/2 c. soaked cashews
1/4 c. agave
1 T. lemon juice
1 t. vanilla
pinch of sea salt
2 T. lecithin
1/4 c. coconut oil in liquid form
1/4 c. coconut butter softened

Blend all ingredients except lecithin and coconut oil and butter. Once the other ingredients are well combined, add lecithin and coconut oil and butter. Incorporate well.

When the tart is dehydrated, drizzle this glaze onto it in any manner you wish. I make the glaze after the tart is out of the dehydrator because this glaze will harden in the refrigerator. I don't want to make it too early, then have it harden while I wait for the tart, and then not be able to drizzle it easily.

The glaze makes a lot, so use the leftover as a meringue on a pie, or make a fruit parfait by layering it with assorted berries, or use it as a filling between raw cookies. You can also  use a couple of spoonfuls in your morning smoothie to help thicken it and give the smoothie a delicious rich vanilla flavor. I used the remainder as a meringue for my favorite lemon meringue pie.