Cheesecake is my most favorite dessert. And pumpkin pie ain't so bad either. This recipe is a little early but I think this would be great for Thanksgiving.
Pumpkin Pecan Spice Cheesecake CANDIED PECANS Makes 2 cups 2 cups soaked pecans, ¼ cup maple syrup (not a raw product) ½ teaspoon organic vanilla extract 1 teaspoon cinnamon ¼ teaspoon ground cloves ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Stir together pecans, maple syrup, vanilla extract, seasonings and sea salt in a bowl. Spread walnut mixture evenly on Teflex sheets. Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 12-16 hours until pecans are dry and crunchy.
CRUST 2 cups soaked pecans 2 teaspoons ground ginger 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground cloves ½ teaspoon organic vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon sea salt 1 cup of dates, unsoaked
Process nuts, spices, vanilla and salt in a food processor until fine; add dates. Continue to process until well incorporated. Transfer the mixture into a 9-inch springform pan and press evenly onto the bottom. Place the pan in the refrigerator until filling is ready.
FILLING 3 cups of cashews, soaked for 1 hour to soften ½ cup lemon juice ½ cup carrot juice ¼ cup raw agave nectar 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice 2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract
Mix cashews, lemon juice, carrot juice, agave, spice and vanilla in blender; process until smooth and creamy. Make sure the filling has no lumps. Pour the cheese mixture onto the crust. Place the cheesecake into the freezer for 4 hours or until firm. Let come to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. Garnish with candied pecans.
I always laugh whenever I make a tomato sauce. I can't get out of my head the bright red color of a cooked tomato sauce. But please don't let the color distract you from the flavorful, living sauce. It is worth a try. Oh, and add a few more red pepper flakes than needed, it's okay.
Garden Vegetable Linguine with Spicy Tomato Sauce
Linguine 1 zucchini, spiralized 1 large carrot, spiralized 1 yellow squash, spiralized ½ tablespoon Italian Seasonings 1 teaspoon sea salt
Place vegetable linguine in a large serving bowl. Sprinkle with seasonings and sea salt. Set aside.
Spicy Tomato Sauce 8 Roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped 2 red bell pepper, seeded, coarsely chopped 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves only, reserve a few for garnish ½ red onion, coarsely chopped 2 garlic cloves, pressed 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1 teaspoon sea salt
Combine ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth and silky. Pour sauce over vegetable linguine. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and parsley. Gently toss to coat. Serves 4
Nothing makes me happier than my lovely children eating and loving raw.
Mixed Fruit Ice cream 2 cups of your favorite frozen fruit 1 ½ -2 cups almond milk 1/16 teaspoon NuNaturals Stevia ¼ teaspoon NuNaturals Lo Han Extract
Place frozen fruit in blender, add 1 ½ cup almond milk or more as needed until you reach a slightly slushy consistency. Blend in the stevia and Lo Han Extract. Serve immediately.
Just for fun: Pour ice cream in 3 oz paper cups, place popsicle sticks in the center. Freeze for 4-8 hours until ice cream is frozen solid. Bishop made these for his class picnic.
This wrap is so vibrant in colors, I love it! Portobello Strips and bell pepper lettuce wraps with Chimichurri sauce
Portabello Strips and Bell Peppers ¼ cup olive oil 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 tablespoon Nama Shoyu 1 large yellow bell pepper, seeded, cut thin strips 1 large red bell pepper, seeded, cut into thin strips 4 large Portobello mushrooms, cut into strips
Whisk oil, lime juice and sea salt in a large bowl, add bell pepper and mushroom strips. Marinade at room temperature for 2-4 hours or until vegetables are soft.
Chimichurri Sauce 1 bunch fresh Italian parsley 1 bunch fresh cilantro 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons chipped fresh oregano 2 garlic cloves, peeled ½ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper 2/3 cup olive oil Sea salt Pepper
Combine parsley, cilantro, apple cider vinegar, oregano, garlic, red pepper in a blender.
Turn the blender off and on to pulse the mixture. Each time scraping the herbs down with a rubber spatula. This could take a few minutes. Have a bit of patience; don't add more liquid, just keep pulsing and scraping and pulsing and scraping until your mixture comes together.
You will have a nice puree with the consistency similar to a pesto.
Transfer mixture to a serving bowl and season with sea salt and pepper, to taste.
8 lettuce leaves
Divide mushroom strips and peppers among lettuce leaves. Spoon Chimichurri over vegetables.
This beverage is all Man on the Raw's doing. It's funny because he'll create these wonderful things and doesn't use measurements and so I have to backtrack with him. Which isn't always fun.
But I love him all the same. He is quite fabulous in the kitchen, if I must say so. And I must. I have learned a great deal from him, even if he doesn't realize.
Citrus-Ginger Refresher 2 cups orange juice 1 lemon, juiced ½ tablespoon ginger 4 cups sparkling water
This soup could easily be Cheezy Broccoli, Cheezy Cauliflower. It's darn cheezy.
Cheezy Brussels Sprouts Soup Brussels Sprouts Juice of 2 lemons 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoons sea salt 2 cups Brussels sprouts, quartered
Whisk together lemon juice, oil and sea salt in a bowl. Toss in Brussels sprouts to coat. Marinade at least 6 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
Cheeze ¼ cup cold filtered water 2 cups raw cashews, soaked for 1 hour 2 cups zucchini juice ¼ cup lemon juice 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped 1 garlic clove, pressed ¼ cup diced onion 2 tablespoons Nama Shoyu 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast 1 teaspoon dried yellow mustard powder
Red Pepper flakes, garnish
Combine cashews, zucchini and lemon juice in a blender; process until cashews are smooth. Add in bell pepper, garlic, onion, Nama Shoyu, nutritional yeast and mustard powder. Blend until smooth and silky. Transfer cheese mixture to a large serving bowl and fold in marinate Brussels sprouts. Serves 4-6.
Are you having a party soon? Do you have your menu planned yet? Might I suggest the book “Raw Food Celebrations Party Menus for Every Occasion" by Nomi Shannon and Sheryl Duruz? And once it has been decided the menu will be one featured from the book, is it too rude of me to invite myself to the party?
After using “Raw Food Celebrations Party Menus for Every Occasion” there should never be a reason why anyone couldn’t effortlessly prepare a raw food meal and dazzle friends. NEVER A REASON. With six different menus to choose from, Italian, Thai, Brunch, Cocktail, Traditional and Light Luncheon buffet, Ms. Shannon and Ms. Duruz lay out the ground work for you.
Easy-to-follow recipes with step-by-step instructions, equipment lists and a “Planning Ahead” section makes it feel like these two ladies are in the kitchen with you. From someone who loves to prepare ahead, that section is my favorite.
It breaks everything down for you, from when to grocery shop, set the table, which components of recipes can be prepared ahead of time and so much more. Make sure you pay attention to the “Serving Suggestions,” sections. They are chock-full of useful tidbits for creating a memorable meal.
Last weekend, I created the Thai Menu as an early anniversary celebration. I didn’t prepare everything on the menu but the items I did make were visually stunning and tasted incredible.
Daily Raw Café Annversary Celebration On the MenuThai TeaThai Coconut SoupThai Cucumber Salad Phad Thai Phad Thai, pg. 35
Thai Tea (adapted from Raw Food Celebrations) 8 cups water 4 cups loosely packed Thai basil leaves (approximately 32 leaves) Juice of 2 medium-sized limes ¼ teaspoon stevia* 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh peeled ginger
Combine water and basil in a blender. Process until basil is chewed finely. Stain the mixture through a nut milk bag. Return basil water to the blender; add lime juice, stevia and ginger. Blend until well-combined. Serve on ice.
*I used NuNaturals Pure White Stevia Extract
Thai Cucumber Salad (recipe from Raw Food Celebrations) 6 Kirby cucumbers or other small cucumbers, thinly sliced 1 red bell pepper, sliced 2 limes, juiced 4 green onions, chopped 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves 2 tablespoons light agave syrup
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until serving time. This can be made the night before.
I love salads and I go through cycles of greens to match the seasons. In the winter, I enjoyed hearty kale salads, this spring I was digging the bitter, yet lightweight frisee and coming into the summer I am moving on to herbs and parsley seems to be the herb du jour.
Parsley Salad 1 bunch curly parsley, stems removed, coarsely chopped 1 cup cherry tomatoes, seeded, quartered 1 cucumber, peeled, chopped 1 avocado, peeled, cubed Juice of 1 lemon 1 tablespoon hemp seeds 1 teaspoon sea salt
Mix parsley, tomato, cucumber and avocado in a large serving bowl. Pour in lemon juice and toss until vegetables are well-coated. Sprinkle with hemp seeds and sea salt. Give a gentle toss. Serve.
Sometimes I am not in the mood for another green juice or I'm too lazy to pull out the blender and make a smoothie. And if a tray of granola isn't in the dehydrator as we speak and my almonds aren't in a bowl of filtered water, then I am short out of luck, in the breakfast cereal department. In the raw food land of soaking, sprouting and dehydrating, I was hard pressed to find something substantial and quick to eat without too much prep time. Until chia seeds entered my life.
Who would have thought the little seeds that sprouted on the bodies of clay rams, cows and kittens provided more than a catchy jingle and goofy 80s entertainment?
The Aztecs did. Warriors and runners are believed to have sustained themselves for an entire day on just a tablespoon of chia.
Nutritionally, those little buggers are high in omega 3 fatty acids, protein, fiber and calcium.
But this isn’t history or nutrition class. Think more weird science. Particularly, the fun and bizarre gelatinous effect it has on whatever it touches. It’s way cool, it‘s kind of like the blob, without the gore.
Try it. Place 1 tablespoon of chia seeds in an 8-ounce glass of water or juice and wait 15-20 minutes. Well, what are you waiting for? Go on, I’ll be here when you get back. See what I mean, isn’t that the coolest? Who knew? If you add some lemon or lime juice and raw agave nectar and you have a cool, refreshing drink.
Chia Fresca Serves 1 Juice of 1 lemon 8 ounces cold water 1 teaspoons raw agave nectar, or more to taste 1 tablespoon chia seeds Mix lemon juice in water; add agave and chia seeds. Vigorously stir until all the seeds are wet and no clumps appear. Let sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes. If texture in your drink is too much for you to handle, try a breakfast pudding on for size.
Chia Pudding Serves 4 1 cup raw cashews 3 cups water 2 tablespoons raw agave nectar, or more to taste 1 tablespoon organic vanilla extract pinch sea salt ¼ cup chia seeds
Place the cashews and water in a high-speed blender and blend on high speed until smooth and creamy. Transfer the cashew mixture to a bowl; stir in agave, vanilla and sea salt.
Add in chia seeds and continue to stir until all the seeds are well incorporated into the cashew mixture. Let sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes. You can eat it right away or it’s even better placed in the refrigerator overnight and eaten in the morning. The chia pudding will have the consistency of tapioca or rice pudding.
This is kind of thick for a flan and it doesn't have the jiggle of flan, but I love the name.
Flan de Coco y Chia 2 cups cashews, soaked for 1 hour 1 cup coconut meat ½ cup coconut water ¼ cup raw agave nectar ¼ cup Chia seeds 1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract Pinch of sea salt
Puree the ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth. Transfer the mixture into a mini spring form pan. Chill overnight in the refrigerator or until mixture firms up.
Caramel Sauce 1 cup dates ¼ cup water juice of one half lemon 1 tablespoon coconut oil 2 tablespoons maple syrup (not a raw product) ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Soak dates in the water and lemon juice for an hour. Reserve soaking water. Process soaked dates, coconut oil, maple syrup and sea salt in a blender. Using soaking water one tablespoon at time, blend until you achieve a smooth creamy consistency. Carefully unmold the flan onto serving plates. Drizzle caramel sauce over the flan.
*This is a post I originally wrote on the Amateur Gourmet's community forum.
I have a confession to make. Although, I no longer eat at KFC, I have been obsessed with the company's coleslaw. I love the taste of it. So I was bound and determined to re-create the unique combination of creamy, sweet and tangy. I think I came pretty damn close with this recipe. This is a great make-ahead salad. The longer it sits in the refrigerator the better it tastes.
Creamy Coleslaw DRESSING 1 cup raw macadamia nuts ½ cup water 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil ¼ cup raw agave nectar 2 teaspoons sea salt
Blend ingredients in a blender until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
SLAW 4 cups shredded green cabbage 2 cup finely shredded purple cabbage 1 cup shredded carrots
Toss cabbages and carrot in a large serving bowl. Pour dressing over salad and mix until well-coated. Let set in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
Falafel Balls are one of my favorite things to make and I enjoy thinking outside of the box and creating unique flavor combinations. Southwestern Falafel Balls with Avocado Spread
1 tablespoon ground coriander 1 tablespoon sea salt 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Combine seasonings in a Mason jar and give a good shake. Stores in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Avocado Spread 1 cup cashews, soaked for 1 hour to soften Juice of 2 limes ¼ cup water 2 avocado, mashed 1 tomato, seeded, finely chopped ¼ cup chopped red onion 1 teaspoon sea salt
Combine cashews, lime juice and water in a blender; process until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in avocado until well combined. Fold in tomato, onion and salt. Refrigerate, covered until ready to use.
Southwestern Falafel 2 cups sprouted chickpeas 1 cup almonds, soaked 1 garlic clove, minced ¼ cup olive oil 2 tablespoons water 2 green onions, finely chopped Juice of 1 lemon 1 small bunch cilantro, leaves only 2 tablespoons southwestern seasoning mix 1 teaspoon sea salt
Microgreens
Combine chickpeas, almonds, garlic, olive oil, water and cilantro in food processor until you achieve a thick paste. Add onions and lemon juice, seasonings and sea salt, briefly pulse until onions are combined but still intact.
Shape the falafel mixture into small ping-pong-size balls. Place balls on mesh screens and dehydrate at 115 degrees for 6-8 hours. The falafels should be slightly hard on the outside and soft on the inside.
Place patties on a bed of micro greens. Serve with a gallop of avocado spread. Serves 4
