Blueberry Peach Cream Chia Pudding

I saw a recipe by Susan Powers that folded blueberries and peaches into a chia pudding. I liked the idea of fruit with the chia seeds so decided to make a recipe of my own. I used some leftover vanilla whipped cream that I had made for a pie, mixed it with coconut water to create a milk of sorts that was rich with flavor and texture. The chia seeds, a great source of Omega 3 essential fatty acids, need liquid to become a pudding. The chia seeds absorb the liquid and results in something like a tapioca texture, though it doesn't taste like tapioca. Still, I like the texture because it's rich, satisfying, and filling. This recipe tastes more like dessert but would be great for breakfast as well. I love that it looks like a parfait. It looks indulgent but is good for you in every way. It's also fast and easy. Give it a try!

Whipped Cream:
1 oz. soaked Irish moss
3/4 c. coconut meat
1 c. coconut milk
1/2 c. soaked and drained cashews
1/4 c. agave
1 t. lemon juice
2 t. vanilla
2 t. lecithin (if using soy lecithin, please use non GMO lecithin)
1/2 c. soft coconut butter
pinch of salt

Blend all ingredients, adding lecithin and coconut butter last. Blend until smooth. Pour cream into a shallow pan and refrigerate until set. This usually takes a couple of hours.  You can use the leftover cream as a cookie filling or in a parfait or as a pie topping.

Whipped Cream "Milk": 
When set, take 1/2 c. whipped cream and blend with 1/2 c. coconut water. Filtered water will also work well but will lack the coconut flavor.

Chia Pudding:
4 T. chia seeds
1 c. whipped cream milk (or however much the above proportions made)
3 medjool dates, chopped finely
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 c. fresh or frozen peaches (thaw fist if using frozen peaches)
1/2 c. fresh or frozen wild blueberries  (again, thaw if using frozen berries)

In a medium sized bowl mix all ingredients except fruit with a spoon.  Allow pudding to sit for about 15 to 20 minutes or until chia seeds have absorbed the liquid. Fold in the fruit until well incorporated.

If making a parfait, keep out some of the fruit to put between pudding layers. Layer pudding alternately with the fresh fruit. Top with more fruit as your last layer.

Serves 3-4.

Brazil Nut Truffles

I went to visit a friend who had taken a bad fall and needed something to bring along that was quick and easy. I didn't have a lot of time to fuss. These little truffles, along with some of the previously posted peanut butter cups, did the trick. They look kind of fancy but take no dehydration time and very little fridge time. The blender does all the work, but you get all the credit.

Brazil Nut Truffles:
2 c. raw Brazil nuts soaked for two hours and drained*
4 T. sesame oil
1/3 c. liquified coconut oil (softened to oil)
4 medjool dates
2 T. agave
2 t. vanilla
1/4 t. sea salt
1 c. raw cashews ground to flour

Blend all ingredients except cashew flour in a Vitamix. You'll need to use your tamper to get them processed into something resembling a nut butter. Scrape the mix into a bowl and fold in cashew flour. The cashew flour will give the truffles a little body. Refrigerate the mixture for about an hour. Roll into balls of any size you wish. Mine were about one inch. Place truffles on a silicone tray or a shallow pan.

Chocolate Sauce:
1/4 c. liquified coconut oil
1/2 c. raw cacao powder
1 t. vanilla
2 T. coconut nectar
pinch of sea salt

 Whisk ingredients together until you have a smooth, silky chocolate sauce. Pour sauce into a bottle with a cone lid (like those bear shaped bottles your honey used to come in or like the mustard and ketchup bottles found in restaurants). Alternately you can use a sandwich sized Ziploc bag, cutting a small corner off the bottom of the bag (simulating a pastry bag).  Squeeze the chocolate into squiggle lines on each truffle. Place in the refrigerator or freezer once again to firm up chocolate, approximately 15 minutes. Then take them to a friend's house, have a cup of tea, and make each other laugh.  Keep any extra truffles in the fridge or freezer.

*You can skip soaking the nuts if you are in a hurry, but Brazil nuts are hard and soaking makes them easier to blend.

Almost Seven Layer Bars

Remember those gooey, rich, decadent seven layer bars you ate when you were a kid? I remember them being full of sweetened condensed milk, chocolate and butterscotch chips, coconut, and I don't know what else.  Well, maybe people are still making them, but I haven't eaten anything like that in decades. Until now. These bars are reminiscent of those I occasionally ate as a child. Even though these are raw and definitely a better choice than the ones from my youth,  raw desserts should still be consumed with moderation. These are delicious, indulgent, and decadent, but they are also really sweet. I rarely say that as my sweet tooth is highly developed, but these did me in. So a little goes a long way. And then a little more....you know how it is...

Almost Seven Layer Bars:
Crust:
3 c. cashews ground into flour
4 medjool dates chopped
1 T. agave
1 T. coconut oil melted
1/2 t. sea salt

Pulse ingredients in a food processor until dates are incorporated.  Try not to over-process because the cashews will blend into butter. Pat into the bottom of a brownie pan.

Topping:
1 c. chopped pecans
1 c. cacao nibs
1 c. coconut flakes
1/2 c. agave or maple syrup*
1 t. vanilla
1 t. sea salt

Mix all ingredients by hand until well incorporated. Spoon on top of crust. Dehydrate at 105 degrees for about 4 hours or until warm and chewy.

*not raw

No Chicken Noodle Soup

People often ask me how I eat raw during cold Minnesota winters. I admit, sometimes it isn't easy. Sometimes nothing would feel better than having my hands around a warm bowl of soup. Usually you'll find my hands around a warm cup of tea, instead, but every once in awhile I do crave a bowl of soup. This was one of those days. It's unusually cold in Minneapolis right now, and I wanted the comfort of warmth. My solution was this soup that looked a lot like chicken noodle soup but was a healthier version using daikon noodles as the pasta. Warmed in the dehydrator, it did the trick.

No Chicken Noodle Soup: 

For veggies:

 2 c. spiralized diakon noodles

2 large carrots chopped

1/2 c. chopped green cabbage

1 T. chopped jalapeno for garnish

Broth:

3 c. warm water

2 heaping T. white garbanzo miso

3 limes

1 clove garlic 

1 jalapeno

Blend broth ingredients in a Vitamix for several minutes so that the power of the blender warms the broth. Pour over noodles. Serve immediately for a warm soup. Alternately, warm the soup in a dehydrator until it is your desired temperature. If staying true to raw is important to you, then warm at about 118 degrees or lower.

Root Vegetable Soup

This soup delighted me. I've been having too many treats lately, many of them full of heavy nuts. I wanted to give my liver a break and thought some root vegetable would help. Daikon and burdock are great detoxifiers for the liver. I also added maitake mushrooms, which are excellent immune boosters and are said to inhibit or reverse tumor growth.  I have to admit that as I was making it, I thought I was doing something good for my body, but I didn't necessarily think it would be something I'd love to eat. I was wrong! The flavor in this soup was so delicious that it was just as good as a treat. Better, really.  I have to remind myself of this often, given my sweet tooth. Sometimes a really good combination of vegetables is more satisfying than sweet. My mind just tricks me into thinking I want dessert (constantly).  I certainly feel better after eating vegetables. This soup is chock full of them. I didn't even need dessert afterwards. My body thanked me, and I bet it'll do the same for you.

Root Vegetable Soup:
Broth:
3 c. unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 c. liquid coconut aminos
2 limes, seeded
1 T. coconut nectar (optional)
2 stalks lemongrass thinly shaved
1 inch ginger
1/2 jalapeno
1 small clove garlic

Blend all ingredients in a Vitamix. Pour the broth through a nut milk bag* or cheesecloth to strain out the lemongrass and ginger pulp. Blend broth long enough to warm it up.

Vegetables:
2 peeled burdock roots cut on the bias
2 daikon roots cut in half moons
1 yellow bell pepper
1/2 c. thinly sliced green cabbage
1/2 c. sun dried tomatoes
1 c. maitake mushrooms
2 T. almonds

Place all the vegetables in a large bowl. Pour the broth over the vegetables. Serve immediately or warm later in the dehydrator at 118 degrees or lower.

*I make my own nut milk bags out of a very fine tulle mesh. My sister, Mary, taught me this. The material is inexpensive and can be found at any fabric store. Simply sew a small rectangular bag about the size of a large mason jar, leaving one end open. The opening at the top of the bag should be a bit larger than a mason jar. Fold over the top edge and run a seam around it, leaving a small opening to run elastic through the hem.  Run a thin piece of elastic through the hemmed opening and sew in the hem. You now have a nut milk bag that can be used to strain the pulp of your homemade milks, or in this case, strain the pulp from vegetables. These bags are washable and reusable and much easier to use than cheesecloth.

Pad Thai with Squash Noodles

I had a huge butternut squash begging to be made into noodles. The color of the squash looks like Pad Thai to me, so I made a spicy sesame and tomato sauce, and voila, I had a pretty convincing Pad Thai. I added red and yellow bell peppers, red onion, green peas, and jalapenos to give it some color. Paint your Pad Thai with whatever vegetables call you.

Pad Thai:
Noodles:
1 large butternut squash spiralized into noodles
(alternately you can slice them with a mandoline)
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1/4 c. chopped red onion
1 c. green peas
1/2 chopped jalapeno

Put all ingredients into a large bowl. Mix well.

Sauce:
1 c. sesame oil
1/2 c. sun-dried tomatoes rehydrated
1/2 c. fresh chopped tomato
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
3-4 dehydrated red hot chili peppers
1 lime
1 T. black sesame powder

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until liquid. Pour over noodles and toss well.

Garnish:
1/4 c. cashews
1 T. sesame oil
pinch of sea salt

Toss nuts in oil and salt.  Top each Pad Thai serving with a spoonful of nuts.

Note: Depending on how large your squash is, this recipe will vary in servings. My one huge squash made enough for 4-6. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge

Ok, I know that peanut butter isn't raw, but after I made the white chocolate pecan fudge, I agreed with Heather Pace that peanut butter would be great in the recipe. So I went out and bought some because it's not something I keep on hand. I meant to make her version, but I couldn't get online to see the recipe. Instead I made this super simple version which tastes like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. I have to admit, I wasn't trying hard, so the end product wasn't as pretty as if I had been trying, but the taste was so good that I had to post it anyway. It also uses maple syrup, which is not raw either. So for the purists, this recipe may not be for you, but you could amp up the rawness by adding lacuma powder, maca powder or any other superfood powder. For the novice raw eaters or the part raw eaters, give it a try.

 Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge: 
1 c. organic peanut butter
1/2 c. softened coconut butter
3 T. maple syrup
2 t. vanilla

Blend all ingredients in a small food processor. Spoon into silicone molds or a shallow pan.  Set aside.

Chocolate Topping:
2 T. softened coconut butter
2 T. Navitas Naturals Cacao Paste shaved into pieces
1 T. maple syrup

Put all ingredients into a small bowl. Place that bowl in your dehydrator until the chocolate is soft enough to whisk. Whisk ingredients until you have a thick chocolate sauce. Spoon some chocolate onto each piece of fudge. When finished with the chocolate, place the fudge trays in the freezer until hardened. This shouldn't take very long, maybe about thirty minutes.  Pop fudge out of the trays. If using a shallow pan, cut pieces and remove them from the pan.

I'm keeping mine in the freezer so they'll last. One little bite after dinner is just enough to make me feel like I've had my dessert.

Note: Since this recipe isn't raw, you could also melt the chocolate in a double boiler method. If you don't have a double boiler, just put the ingredients into a small saucepan. Then place that saucepan in another larger saucepan that contains some water. Place the larger saucepan containing the smaller saucepan on the stovetop at the lowest heat. Whisk as chocolate is melting until all ingredients are well incorporated.  Follow recipe directions from here.

White Chocolate Pecan Fudge

This recipe was inspired by Heather Pace's recipe at sweetlyraw.com.  I made it a little simpler because I didn't have all the ingredients she used, but the idea of flavors is hers. The beauty of this recipe is its ease. It blends quickly and sets up quickly as well. No need to make it far in advance. Make it alongside your dinner, and you'll have a sweet treat to enjoy for dessert before the dinner dishes are even cleared.

White Chocolate Pecan Fudge

1/4 cup melted Navitas Naturals Cacao Power
1/4 cup cashews
1/4 cup melted coconut butter
1/4  pecans
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine all  ingredients and blend until smooth in a high speed blender. Spoon into a silicone ice cube mold or candy tray. Alternately you can spoon the mixture in a shallow pan and cut into pieces when chilled.
Chill for an hour in the freezer. Pop out the candies and store in the refrigerator.

Mushroom and Spinach Quiche

 Here is the mushroom and spinach quiche recipe.  Similar to the spinach and cheese quiche, this pie uses the same crust recipe but has a different filling. The mushrooms give it a meaty flavor that is less reminiscent of an egg quiche and more like a savory pie.  Still delicious whatever way you cut it.

Crust: 

3 large sweet onions

3/4 c. flax meal

3/4 c. sunflower seeds ground to flour

1/4 c. plus 2 T. coconut aminos

1/3 c. olive oil

Slice onions as thinly as possible. When finished with slicing, add all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Take one half of the mixture and blend it in a high speed blender. Return the blended portion to the unblended portion and mix again. 

Form two crusts on a Teflex lined dehydrator tray.  Each crust should be about 8 inches in diameter. Make a small  1" lip on the crust to hold the fillings. Dehydrate these two crusts at 105 degrees for twenty-four hours. 

Remove the Teflex sheet and place crusts back on tray, ready to be filled.

Filling:

1/3 c. coconut amino acids
2 cloves garlic
4 c. baby portobello mushrooms
4 c. spinach
1/2 c. raw pine nuts

Blend all ingredients except 1/2 c. mushrooms in a high speed blender. Pour into quiche crust. Dehydrate about 10-12 hours at 105 degrees. 

Finishing: Top quiche with a mixture of  the reserved baby portobellos marinated in balsamic vinegar (balsamic is not raw), cherry tomatoes cut in half, and spinach leaves. I just did alternating layers of each around the pie.

Spinach and Cheese Quiche

I made two raw quiches for my brunch. One was spinach and cheese and the other was mushroom and spinach. I riffed off of Matt Amsden's quiche recipes. I've talked about his book RAWvolution before in this blog. It's a great book full of simple but delicious recipes. It's kind of a go-to book for raw dinners that you want to make right before eating. For many of the recipes, there isn't elaborate dehydrating or chilling time. This recipe, however, does require dehydrating the quiche crust. I also chose to dehydrate the pie for a few hours so the 'cheese' looked baked. The inside of the pie stays creamy, but the overall look is one of a baked quiche. 

 

Spinach and Cheese Quiche:

Crust: 

3 large sweet onions

3/4 c. flax meal

3/4 c. sunflower seeds ground to flour

1/4 c. plus 2 T. coconut aminos

1/3 c. olive oil

Slice onions as thinly as possible. When finished with slicing, add all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Take one half of the mixture and blend it in a high speed blender. Return the blended portion to the unblended portion and mix again. 

Form two crusts on a Teflex lined dehydrator tray.  Each crust should be about 8 inches in diameter. Make a small  1" lip on the crust to hold the fillings. Dehydrate these two crusts at 105 degrees for twenty-four hours. 

Remove the Teflex sheet and place crusts back on tray, ready to be filled.

Filling:

1 large or 2 small lemons peeled and seeded

1/4 c. plus 2 T. coconut aminos

2 T. nutritional yeast flakes

1/2 red bell pepper

1 1/2 c. pine nuts

2 c. spinach

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender. Pour into quiche crust. Dehydrate about 10-12 hours at 105 degrees. 

Finishing: Top quiche with spinach leaves and sun-dried tomato slices.

Sweet Crepes with Fruit Filling

I know these look and sound a lot like the turnovers, but the pastry is different.  These crepes were light and fluffy because they contained bananas and coconut. Bananas give cakes, cookies, muffins, etc. a moistness that is hard to otherwise achieve in a dehydrated pastry. Dehydration, as its name implies, takes the moistness out of the recipe and generally leaves you with a heavier, denser version of whatever it is you are making. So to make a light crepe in a dehydrator is nothing short of brilliance to me. Leave it to Matthew Kenney and his team to figure it out. The following pastry recipe is his and can be found in his Everyday Raw Desserts cookbook. He has elevated raw cuisine to an art, and he inspires me virtually everyday to try something new. 

crepes are the larger, lighter rounds

Banana Coconut Crepes with Fruit Filling:
Crepe: 
1/2 c. mashed banana
1/4 c. chopped young coconut meat
1/2 c. shredded coconut
1 T. lemon juice
1 c. water
1 T. coconut oil, melted (coconut oil will melt quickly in the dehydrator)
1/4 c. agave, maple syrup or honey
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. sea salt
1/2 c. flax meal

To make the crepes, blend all ingredients except flax meal until smooth.  Add the flax meal and continue to blend until well incorporated. Spread into 6 to 7 inch rounds on dehydrator sheets. Dehydrate 5 to 6 hours, until dry but pliable.

Filling:
4 c. sliced mixed fruit
1/4 c. agave nectar, maple syrup, or honey
1 t. lemon juice
1 vanilla bean, scraped
pinch of sea salt

To make filling, toss fruit with agave nectar, lemon juice, vanilla and salt.
 Fill each crepe with approximately 1/2 c. of filling. Drizzle with agave. 

Note: I sprinkled mine with shredded coconut after it was assembled. This is my addition and not Matthew Kenney's.

Serves 4-8.