Carrot Ginger Soup

This morning is cool and crisp, a whisper of the seasons changing. Fall always makes me want a warm bowl of soup. These days when I crave soup, I just whirl it in the Vitamix for several minutes and let the warmth of the motor running warm the soup. Sometimes I also put it in the dehydrator to warm it up, but the Vitamix warms it pretty fast. It never gets as hot as I used to eat my cooked soup, but it does the trick for me.

Today I made this delicious soup using some fall produce. It's sweet like the carrots and pears that make it up, but it's also a little savory because of some of the spices. A nice combination.

Note:  Keep a tight lid on your blender. Carrots are hard on a blender. I got a dreadlock head-full of carrot soup when my lid worked its way off and my soup landed in my hair.

Carrot Ginger Soup:

5 large carrots chopped
1 cup water
1/2 c. coconut milk
1 pear
1/2 c. shredded coconut
1/4 c. cashews
one large knob of ginger
1 garlic clove
1 t. garam masala
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. allspice
pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender. Garnish with chives, chive blossoms, and a dollop of almond butter.

I wanted almond butter with this soup. A little on top was enough. Feel free to omit it. It might just have been my daily almond butter craving.

Strawberry Citrus Mint Cupcakes

I made some cupcakes for a friend's birthday. They look similar to a cupcake I've posted before, but this one has a citrus mint frosting. Unlike many raw desserts, cupcakes are relatively quick to make and require no dehydrating. So you can whip up a cake in less time than it takes to bake one. The frosting requires some refrigeration time to set, so give yourself a few hours from start to finish. You can also make the frosting prior to the cakes and have it already set in your fridge or freezer. There are endless possibilities for flavor combinations. For a sweet little book on raw cupcakes, check out Nataliakw.com who has figured it all out for you in her sweet, little cupcake book, Cupcake Heaven.

Strawberry cupcakes:
2 c. chopped strawberries, packed
3/4 c. raw honey or agave (I used agave)
1/2 c. raw coconut oil ( I melt mine in the dehydrator. You can also put some into a Pyrex measuring cup, place that cup in a pan of water, and heat it on the stovetop at the lowest possible setting)
seeds of 2 vanilla beans
pinch of salt
2 c. raw coconut flour

Place the strawberries in your food processor fit with the S blade and process until smooth. Add honey or agave, coconut oil, vanilla, and salt and process again until well combined. Finally add the coconut flour and process until completely combined. Fill your cupcake liners to the top and press firmly to form their shape. Freeze for two hours to firm. Once solid, pop the cupcakes out of the liners , and they're ready to be frosted.

Frosting:
2 1/2 c. raw cashews, soaked for 2 hours and drained/rinsed
1/2 c.  agave
6 T.fresh squeezed orange juice
1/4 c. water
1 t. lemon zest
1 t. lime zest
1 t. orange zest
1 t. vanilla

pinch of Himalayan sea salt
1/ 3 c. raw coconut oil ( in liquid form)
2 T. mint leaves

Place all ingredients except coconut oil  in a blender and blend until very smooth. Add coconut oil and blend again until just combined. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours until firm.  Alternately, freeze for one hour until firm. When thickened, frost the cupcakes. Garnish with strawberries.

Shake Your Money Maker

I am performing in a modern dance piece this weekend and needed some quick energy  and stamina to get me through the day.  I remembered a smoothie recipe from Matt Amsden's book, RAWvolution, that was full of great antioxidants and superfoods. He called it "Shake Your Money Maker." I looked it up for inspiration and then made my own version. This smoothie is full of ingredients that will power me through my performance. And I love that it is so aptly titled as I am about to shake it, alright. 

 

Shake Your Money Maker:

1 c. coconut milk
1 c. spinach
1/2 c. raspberries
4 medjool dates
1/4 c. goji berries
1/2 c. cacao nibs
2 T. cacao powder
1/2 c. hemp seeds
1/4 c. raw almond butter
2 T. mesquite powder
1/2 T. maca powder
1 T. cacao butter
1 T. chia seeds
1 t. vanilla
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. spirulina

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth. Garnish with cacao nibs and goji berries. Serves 1-2.

Surprise Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found this post in my drafts and thought I had already posted it, but alas, I had not. So when I said in yesterday's post that I had slipped zucchini into cookies, these were the cookies I made.

Surprise Chocolate Chip Cookies:

1 large zucchini pureed in a blender
2/3 c. agave
1/2 c. softened coconut butter
1 1/2 c. oats ground into powder
1 1/2 c. oat groats ground into flour
1/2 c. cacao powder
1 cayenne pepper chopped into flakes or 1 t. cayenne
1/2 t. vanilla
1 c. chopped walnuts
1 c. cacao nibs

Blend zucchini puree, agave, coconut butter and vanilla in a high-speed blender. Set aside. Mix oat powder, oat flour, cacao powder, and cayenne pepper in a big bowl. Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Combine well. Stir in walnuts and cacao nibs until thoroughly incorporated. Spoon mixture onto a Teflex lined dehydrator sheet using an ice cream scoop or large spoon. Shape the cookies as large or as small as you desire. Dehydrate at 105 degrees for five hours. Flip cookies and remove Teflex sheet and dehydrate a couple more hours until the cookie is still chewy but holds its shape and texture. Makes one dozen large cookies.

Chocolate Icing: optional

1 c. raw agave
1/3 c.  plus 1 T. c. raw cacao powder
1 t. vanilla
1/2 to 1 cayenne pepper
pinch of sea salt
1/4 c. coconut oil

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender. Drizzle onto cookies and refrigerate for 30 minutes so icing can set. The icing will still be a drizzle and won't get hard like a frosting, but just lick the extra off your fingers and enjoy.

Zucchini Bread

I made zucchini bread using up the last zucchini from my garden. I was, frankly, tired of zucchini pasta, which was why I grew them in the first place. But zucchini has that way about it. A little is great, a lot is too much. How many ways can a person use it? Well, after spiralizing it, putting it in hummus, juicing it, and sneaking it into cookies, zucchini bread was what was left. This bread won't fool the non raw foodist, but it's a pretty great option for those that want their food to be as alive as possible. It's moist, flavorful, and doughy, a feat not always so easy to achieve by using a dehydrator. Experiment with it and let me know how it goes.

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Zucchini Bread:

2 apples cut and quartered
2 large zucchini shredded
1/2 c. raw agave
 3 c. almond flour (almonds milled into a fine powder in your high speed blender)
1/2 c. flax ground into powder
1 c. walnuts

Puree the apples with the agave in a high speed blender until smooth. Next, mix together the almond flour and flax powder in a large bowl. Pour in the apple mixture and the shredded zucchini into the dry ingredients. Stir until thoroughly incorporated. Fold in the walnuts.

Spread mixture onto Teflex lined dehydrator sheets. The mixture should be about one inch in height. Dehydrate at 105 degrees for ten hours. Flip the mixture, removing the Teflex sheet, and dehydrate another ten hours. Use your own judgment on dehydrating time. The outside should look baked while the inside is moist. Cut the bread into desired sizes with a knife.

Enjoy the last of your summer's bounty.

Tahini Tomato Soup

Another quick meal for a too busy life. I have to work on that. Luckily I love all I do.  This soup can be made in minutes. Basil can be used to replace the pesto. If using basil, I'd also throw in 1/4 pinenuts or walnuts to give that pesto flavor. I used tomatoes, parsley, basil, and chives from my garden. I love being able to walk outside and pick half of the ingredients. Now I'm off to my neighborhood farmer's market to see what's available that I don't grow in my backyard. The market is so close it almost feels like it's in my backyard, and that makes me happy. It's a good day.

  

Tahini Tomato Soup:

4 Roma tomatoes

1 chunk ginger

1/2 c. raw organic tahini

2 t. cumin

1 t. cardamom

1 t. caraway

1 garlic clove

1/4 c. basil pesto (fresh basil will work, too)

1 handful parsley

3 T. olive oil

1 T. Bragg's Amino Acids

Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender. Garnish with red pepper and chives. Serves 2-3.

On a Mission Smoothie

I've been trying to eat more greens lately and sneak them in where I can. Smoothies are an easy place to use up a handful of spinach, kale, lettuce, or chard.  I used spinach in this recipe along with black mission figs and green grapes. I really, really love figs, but they are quite perishable. When I buy them I have to have a plan to use them up quickly. I came across a really good deal on figs, bought a ton, but didn't have my normal plan. So in the smoothies they go. Well, that and simply eating them as they are. That never gets old for me.

On a Mission Smoothie:

1 c. spinach
1 c. black mission figs
1/2 c. green grapes
10 almonds
1 t. maca powder
1/3 c. coconut milk
1 cinnamon stick

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

Cherry Tomato Tart

I've got tomatoes from the garden in abundance right now, so I made this savory tart, created by Matthew Kenney.  The crust is pine nuts, the cheese filling is cashew and basil. The cherry tomatoes are the colorful garnish along with basil. Simple, beautiful, satisfying and delicious. This made one medium size tart that was perfect for two to three people.

Tart Shell:
1 c. pine nuts processed to crumbs
1/4 c. almonds processed to flour
1/2 t. nutritional yeast
1/4 t. salt
1 T. olive oil
2 T. water

Place ingredients in a medium bowl and combine using your hands. Press into a round shape, bringing the sides up to make a tart shell. Alternatively, use a tart mold to shape the dough. Dehydrate about ten to twelve hours.

Cashew Cheese Filling:
1 1/2 c. cashews soaked for two hours and then strained
1/2 c. filtered water
3/4 c. fresh lemon juice
2 t. nutritional yeast
1/4 c. fresh basil

Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender. Refrigerate until crust is ready.

Tomatoes:
1 pint cherry tomatoes cut in half
3 T. olive oil
pinch of sea salt

Toss tomatoes with oil and salt about thirty minutes before serving.

Assembly:

Fill tart shell with cashew cheese. Top with the marinated cherry tomatoes with cut sides facing up.  Garnish with a sprigs of  fresh basil.

Maple Cheesecakes with Pecan Crust

Ok, I'm really into this pecan flavor lately. I've been loving that smoothie I posted so much that I made these mini cheesecakes to expand on the maple and pecan flavors. I used the pecans as the crust and then used a variation of a pretty common cashew cheesecake recipe with maple syrup as the sweetener. Maple syrup isn't raw, so this isn't a truly raw pie, but I wanted to pair maple with pecans because it's such a nostalgic taste. I don't normally like traditional pecan pie because it's too sweet even for me, but this gave me the flavors I wanted without being too, too sweet. I served these to a friend, and they were a big hit.

Maple Cheesecakes with Pecan Crust:

Pecan Crust:
2 c. pecans chopped into flour (don't over-process or you'll have pecan butter, which is delicious but not what you're going for)
3 T. maple syrup
1 T. vanilla
1/2 t. salt

Hand mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Press about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of crust into silicone mini cheesecake or cupcake molds. Put aside.

Maple Filling:
3 c. cashew flour (simply process cashews into flour by using your highest speed on your blender)
1 c. hemp milk
1 c. coconut milk
1 c. maple syrup
3 T. lemon juice
1 T. vanilla
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
1 c. coconut oil in liquid form

Blend all ingredients except coconut oil in a high speed blender until smooth and creamy. Add coconut oil last and blend until it is thoroughly incorporated into mixture. Pour filling into each mold.

Freeze for 2-3 hours before serving. Freezing the cheesecakes will give them more body so they pop out of the molds easily.  After the cheesecakes feel hard, carefully pop each one out of the silicone mold.  The cheesecakes can be refrigerated after they are out of the molds without losing their shape. Dust with cinnamon and cardamom. I chopped up cinnamon sticks to give more texture to the garnish. 

This  recipe made twelve mini cheesecakes.

Pecan Date Smoothie

This smoothie is luscious, rich, and indulgent. It's not something for everyday, even though I've had it the last three days because I can't get over how good it is. It's like dessert in a glass, and as such, should be enjoyed sparingly as an occasional treat.  That is, unless you are an extreme athlete and need this kind of protein power.  That, at least, is my justification for indulging in it lately. Well, that, and I really need to go grocery shopping. I needed to make something out of what I had on hand, and I always have nuts in my freezer for when I'm in a pinch. So this smoothie was the result.

Pecans contain more fat than other nuts, and I generally use them sparingly for this reason.  It's also probably why I had so many in my freezer.  But don’t let fat content fool you or completely scare you off.  Pecans are rich in numerous vitamins and minerals known for promoting various aspects of health, including manganese, copper, thiamin, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, and carotene. The health benefits from pecans are numerous. These little nuts promote digestive health and relieve constipation because of their high fiber content.  They boost heart health due to the monounsaturated fats they contain ( like oleic acid) and by inhibiting unwanted oxidation of blood lipids.  The oleic acid in the pecans also helps to decrease breast cancer risk.  Because of their high mineral content (esp. magnesium), pecans are anti-inflammatory.  Magnesium rich foods are also good for the heart and may reduce high blood pressure and the risk of stroke.  So what's a little fat when you get all these other benefits?

In addition to the above reasons to try this recipe, I think it would also make a great ice cream. Praline pecan, anyone?

And, with that, I'm off for my run.

Pecan Date Smoothie:

1 c. hemp milk (see the Chocolate Hemp Pudding post for directions on hemp milk)
2/3 c. pecans
5 medjool dates (maple syrup is also great with pecans but doesn't result in as thick of a smoothie)
1 T. chia seeds
2 t. vanilla
1/2 t. cinnamon
pinch of cardamom
pinch of Himalayan sea salt

Blend ingredients in a high-speed blender. Garnish with a dusting of cardamom. For ice cream, chill prior to putting in ice cream maker. Follow directions for your ice cream machine.

Coconut Spirulina Wonder

Honestly, my kitchen is pretty bare these days. I'm a little too busy to be making much food.  Things will slow down next week, but, in the meantime, I'm relying on quick, healthy, superfood combinations that give me many nutrients in small servings. This recipe uses spirulina as its star superfood.  It is of the blue-green algae variety. It is easy for the body to absorb its high micronutrient content because it doesn't contain a hard shell that the body has to break down prior to digestion. Just three grams of spirulina contain more antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients than five servings of vegetables. Crazy, right? Spirulina is also rich in chlorophyll and helps to alkalize the body. And, believe it or not, spirulina contains 50-70% protein as well as all the essential amino acids, making it one of the best protein sources for its weight. So, in my opinion, spirulina isn't just a superfood. It's a wonder food. I mean, really, how can so much nutritional value come from this one small source. I don't know the answer to my question, but I know my body loves it. I feel energized and oxygenated when I consume high chlorophyll foods. So for a busy day, go green!

Coconut Spirulina Wonder:

1 c. shredded unsweetened coconut
1 c. coconut water
1/2 c. unsweetened coconut milk
2 limes
1 T. softened coconut butter
1 t. spirulina
1/8 t. cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of Himalayan sea salt

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth. Garnish with a lime slice. Serves 1-2.

Chocolate Hemp Pudding

Last night I made a really light salad for dinner but wanted something sweet afterwards. The only downside to raw desserts is that they often take a few hours to set up in the fridge or even more time in the dehydrator. Finding a quick treat can be tricky. I have my go-to's. One of them is pudding made out of avocados. I also  love a lemon avocado pudding, which I made yesterday and have posted previously. This one, however,  uses a base of hemp milk. Hemp seeds have a high saturation of protein and boasts all essential amino acids. They also have a wide range of minerals, especially magnesium, iron, and potassium.  The raw cacao powder provides a great source of antioxidants in addition to being rich in minerals, especially magnesium, iron and calcium.  The combination makes a thick luscious pudding that is so much better than the boxed pudding I grew up with. Try it for yourself. Avocados will take on a whole new meaning. What will be next? An avocado key lime pie, perhaps?

Hemp Milk:

1 cup hemp seeds
5 cups water
2 T. agave
1 t. vanilla

Blend all ingredients for a couple of minutes. Pour through a nut milk bag if desired. I find straining this milk isn't really necessary because the hemp seeds puree well in a Vitamix.  With other milks straining is more necessary. Use your own judgment.

Pudding:

2 avocados
1 c. hemp milk
1/4 agave
1/4 c. coconut nectar
4 dates
2 t. vanilla
1/4 t. cinnamon
1 red hot chili
pinch of salt

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor. My Vita-mix produces a really fluffy and smooth consistency.  This recipe serves 2-3.