raw vegan zucchini rollatini

looking to wow your friends and show them how amazing raw, animal-friendly food can be? well do i have the dish for you! these bite-sized rollatinis look fancy, taste incredible and can be served as a nutritious appetizer or main dish.

john ate his right up and declared "these are great! the sauce mixed with the cheese reminds me of something my mom used to make." coming from a man whose a) mother is an exceptional cook and b) response has been an unenthusiastic "not bad" to many of the things i've been making lately, this really means something.=)

the rollatinis were actually john's suggestion. we love raw zucchini lasagna but it can be a bit of a production to make. these rollatinis do require the same steps (minus the walnut meat) but to me, they're worth it! you can also make some of the filling ahead of time and keep it in the fridge.

soak: the first thing you want to do is get some ingredients soaking in water to make them easier to blend. for the cheese you'll need to soak 1 1/3 cup cashews, and for the tomato sauce 3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes and one medjool date. they can soak anywhere from an hour to overnight, whatever works for you.

slice: next you want to slice your mushrooms thin and get them marinating. you'll want to use about 12 baby bella, cremini, or button mushrooms. mine were tossed with a drizzle each bragg's liquid aminos, extra virgin olive oil and some fresh thyme from the garden. if you don't have bragg's you can use soy sauce, lemon juice or balsamic vinegar. fresh or dry herbs are optional.

blend: while your mushrooms are marinating, make your cashew cheese and sauce in a high speed blender. you could also use a food processor but your cheese may not come out as smooth. to lessen the clean-up and add a little creaminess to the sauce, i make the cheese first, pour it into a ramekin, then make the tomato sauce right in the messy blender.

cashew cheese
(this recipe makes enough cheese for about 16 rollatinis)

1 1/3 cup raw cashews, soaked
1/4-1/2 cup water
2 tsp lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 T nutritional yeast (optional, to taste)

drain the cashews and place all ingredients in a high speed blender. process until smooth. you can see that i stirred some leftover kale salad into the cheese. you could also add chopped chard or spinach, or nothing at all. it's up to you, but i do recommend the simple kale salad! 

tomato sauce
(adapted from delightfully raw by carmella soleil, also makes enough for about 16 rollatinis)

3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked
1 large tomato, chopped
1 medjool date, soaked
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
fresh or dried herbs, to taste (optional)

drain the date and sun-dried tomatoes, and give them a little squeeze to remove the excess liquid. place everything in a high speed blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

 

now we need to cut 16 thin rollatini strips. to do this you'll need two medium zucchini and a mandolin or v-slicer. spread about a tablespoon cheese and marinated mushrooms onto the zucchini strips like in the picture above, then roll carefully from bottom to top.

to serve your rollatinis raw, gently warm them in the dehydrator at 118 degrees for three to four hours. if you don't own a dehydrator, you could probably warm them in the oven on the lowest setting. the heat may be too much to keep them "raw", but they will still be good and healthy.

lastly, top with tomato sauce and chopped basil and enjoy your homemade, raw gourmet meal! yay for the garden still producing zucchini because i can't wait to make these babies again! do you think you'd give something like this a try?

xoxoxo 

creamy pasta primavera with kelp noodles

it's spring thyme! (see what i did there?) today is cold and rainy, but one beautiful sunny day in early april i was so inspired by the new season and its veggies that i created this creamy pasta primavera, or "spring pasta" as it translates.

when i made this meal i remembered to jot down the recipe for the sauce, but forgot to measure and note how much of each vegetable. whoops. guessing i used a head or two of broccoli, five or six mushrooms, half a cup peas, a few carrots and some sprigs of thyme. the thought that tender raw asparagus would have been perfect in this bright creamy sauce keeps nudging me. next time!

pasta primavera sauce (serves two)

1/2 cup soaked cashews
1/4 large avocado
1/4 small red bell pepper
juice from one lemon
1/4 tsp miso
1 garlic clove
cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt, to taste
nutritional yeast or go veggie parmesan cheese alternative (to taste and optional)

blend all ingredients in a high speed blender. toss with a package of kelp noodles and vegetables. serve at room temperature. this sauce would also go well with zucchini pasta, and a mix of kelp noodles and "zasta" or "zoodles" with basil and tomato would be great for summer!

have you tried kelp noodles? how do you like to prepare them?

march kitchen madness

i've had a lot of energy in the kitchen lately, which seems to be common for me this time of year. it was five years ago this month that i finished up a vegan cooking class and decided to "go veg". maybe it's the promise of spring that gets me motivated. who knows, but i'm going with it!

on instagram i've been sharing many of my creations. it's just easier to post there, but the downside is i can't go into too much detail. so i thought i'd do a little round-up here in case you wanted to try something i posted.

1 // banana soft serve. this stuff never gets old. (actually, it does. ha! we go through phases with it.) this time i added peanut butter and raw chocolate and the taste reminded us of turkey hill peanut butter ripple ice cream. mmm! cold bits of peanut butter in frozen chocolate creaminess...

banana soft serve:

blend 3-4 frozen bananas in a food processor until smooth and "fluffy". you may want to let the bananas thaw about 15 minutes and you'll probably have to stop a few times to scrape down the sides. once a frozen banana flew up and broke the lid right off my old food processor, so now i hold the lid down tight and let the bananas thaw so they're not so hard. there are also gadgets that make banana soft serve (like this one) but i haven't tried them so i'm not sure how well they work.

2 // raw chocolate peanut butter cookies. john is a sweets lover and wants dessert every night. this week we said no to the processed vegan cookies at the store and i had to hear about it every night. lol, not really. i like to make john treats - he's so appreciative and sometimes cleans up my messes. yesterday i came home to a spotless kitchen, floors and all! i say that deserves dessert.

these cookies were his idea, actually. i used to make raw chocolate chip cookies with a cashew base, and john suggested i try a similar approach with peanut butter and chocolate. (noticing a trend here?=) so what i did was grind one cup raw cashews in the magic bullet, then stirred in peanut butter, melted coconut oil, raw cacao powder, liquid vanilla and maple syrup until a nice dough formed. when i make these again i will take note of the exact measurements and share.

3 // liquid vanilla. i am a huge vanilla fan. when i was a teen i wore vanilla-scented perfumes. a few years ago i got very angry with john for bringing me peanut butter fudge and not vanilla (do you even know me?!). tired of paying $12 for a bottle of organic vanilla extract (the conventional stuff is usually made with corn syrup, even the ones labeled pure), i decided to make my own vanilla flavoring. with the help of sweet gratitude raw dessert book and my vitamix, i easily whip up liquid vanilla in a ratio of 1/3 cup water to 1 vanilla bean. it stores for weeks, even months in the fridge.

4 // chocolate and coconut cream swirl. i've shared this recipe here before. the chocolate cream is made with avocado and the coconut with meat from young thai coconuts. they used to be hard to find, but now our local produce outlet is selling young coconuts. i make both creams in a high speed blender (the magic bullet or vitamix) but i'm thinking the food processor might do the trick.

i hope you all have a very sweet weekend. daylight savings time is here!!!

xoxoxo

hemp heart patties

last night we tried the hemp veggie burgers and they were delicious. and johnny boy agreed. yay!=)

as mentioned previously, the original recipe from delightfully raw calls for irish moss paste to bind the patty all together. since i was out of irish moss, i thought that psyllium powder mixed in water would do the job, and it worked, phew! i also used flax in place of chia seeds because i am out of them too, and i changed the seasonings, having recently discovered the joy of cumin + coriander.

these burger patties may seem like a lot of work, and i'm going to be honest and say they kind of are, because of some extra steps. but these steps keep the patties easy to digest, so you put in a little extra kitchen effort to give your body a boost and your tummy a rest. not a bad payoff, eh?

hemp heart patties
adapted from carmella's hemp veggie burgers

makes 6 burgers

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds, soaked
1/2 cup raw walnuts, soaked
1 T psyllium powder
1/4 cup water
1 T flax, ground
2 garlic cloves
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped carrot
1/4 cup finely chopped red pepper
1/3 cup chopped button mushroom
1/2 cup hemp seeds
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp coriander
3/4 tsp salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp chipotle powder


1. soak sunflower seeds and walnuts in cool water for at least four hours, or overnight.

2. mix psyllium powder and ground flax in water. this will form a gel to bind the patty.

3. process the soaked sunflower seeds, walnuts, gel mixture, garlic and lemon juice in a food processor until smooth. you will need to stop and scrape down the sides a few times. transfer the mixture to a bowl.

4. add the rest of the ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined.

5. drop a little less than 1/2 cup of batter onto a teflex sheet and form into patties (or drop into cookie cutter for shapes). dehydrate at 110 degrees for 2 hours. flip onto mesh and continue dehydrating until patty is firm but moist in the center (at least five hours).

these burgers are raw, so they're not the kind of veggie burger you'd want on a bun. that's why i called them patties and placed them on a bed of mixed greens with a creamy chiptole dressing. they would also be nice in a green bun like collard or romaine.

creamy chipotle dressing

1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup water
1 T lemon juice
few pinches chipotle powder, to taste

blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth.

tonight i came home to the smell of dinner cooking in the crock-pot. that magnificant chili made my whole day. it had the perfect amount of heat with one large jalapeno, but i have to say it was pretty spicy! i modified the recipe to include the heat factor, and i also added carrot.

john loved the chili too! woohoo! two for two.=)

i hope you're having a great week! stay warm, my fellow freezing cold friends!

xoxoxo

golden flax crackers

finally, a flavorful flax cracker that i'm proud to share! but i can't take even half the credit for these. thank you carmella and doctor in the kitchen for your delicious cracker inspiration!

the ingredients on doctor in the kitchen's flax cracker box told me to add bragg's liquid aminos and raw apple cider vinegar to my cracker batter. carmi's blog inspired me to add vegetables to make the crackers colorful and even more nutritious. good thing i had enough sense to measure and write the recipe down, because this one is definitely a keeper.

golden flax crackers

2 C golden flax seeds
2 C water
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 yellow bell pepper
3-4 leaves purple cabbage  
1 carrot or 1/2 orange bell pepper
2 celery stalks
2-3 garlic cloves 
2 T apple cider vinegar
2 T bragg's liquid amino acid
3/4 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp salt
few sprigs rosemary and thyme

in a large mixing bowl, combine flax seeds and water. allow the mixture to sit for about an hour or so. the batter will be nice and gooey when it's ready.

in the meantime, chop vegetables or pulse them in the food processor, making sure not to puree them. you can really use any kind of vegetable, or none at all if you want to make these quick. if you want to add veggies, three cups of chopped vegetables makes a nice ratio to the flax seeds.

mix all ingredients until well combined. spread onto two and a half teflex sheets and dehydrate at 110 degrees for a few hours. when the top layer is dry and cracker batter corners start to pull away from the sheets, flip onto trays and dehydrate until fully dry. if you want your crackers chewier, take them out sooner. to make sure they're extra crispy, i leave mine in the dehydrator overnight.

break them into pieces and you've got yourself a yummy gluten-free cracker. oh, i almost forgot to warn you - have a toothpick ready - the flax seeds will cling to your chompers for dear life! i hope you have a very happy monday and a wonderful week! xoxoxo

kale salad with olives and bruschetta

sweet baby jane, this kale salad is GOOD! there's just something about the combination of kale and sicilian olives that i'm crazy for. i crave this salad. the best part, it's so easy to throw together! plus it's nutritious, so i don't feel bad eating big bowls of it two nights in a row right before bed.=)

to make this savory delight, start by cleaning and de-stemming a bunch of kale. add a few pinches of salt, a tablespoon or two of extra virgin olive oil, juice from half a lemon, and massage your kale until each piece is saturated. top with bruschetta (chopped tomato, basil and garlic) and sliced olives and you're ready to go! i like to let my salad sit in the fridge a few hours for the best flavor.

to balance the saltiness, add dried figs, currants or raisins (which i was unfortunately out of the third time around.) too bad our fig tree hasn't given us enough for leftovers to dry. but figgy's still a baby, four or five i think.

how do you feel about kale? delicious and nutritious? over it? only in chip form? (that's what john thinks). personally i love kale in all forms, in moderation. i did overdo it a little and got sick of kale for a while. also, greens are high in oxalates, which are no good for cystitis sufferers. i still need to tell you more about that.

happy wednesday!

xoxoxo

healthy snickers and summer harvest tacos

last weekend i tried to make chocolate cream caramel bars from this rawsome vegan life. since i didn't have or feel like making cashew butter, i used chunky peanut butter instead. i'm not sure why the chocolate layer didn't get thick and creamy, but the result tasted just like a snickers bar. all who had a sample loved them, so i will definitely make them again.

last night's dinner was a team effort of slicing and dicing. john and i used golden summer squash, corn, sweet bell pepper, cherry tomatoes and romaine lettuce from the csa along with an avocado, black beans and spiced walnut meat to make a flavorful vegetable taco. even kati found them to be enticing.=)

to warm the vegetables but keep them raw, i just tossed them in lemon juice, olive oil, agave and spices, then stuck them in the dehydrator on 115 degrees for about an hour.

it seems everyone around me is getting creative in the kitchen. my brother has been cooking, and he and his friend exchange pictures of their meals. i told him to start a blog! my mom just made eggplant parmesan for the first time and can't wait to make it again. i could talk food all day. it inspires me to hear what others are making. what have you been whipping up in your kitchen?

raw pizza three ways

if you've been reading this blog for awhile, you're probably aware of my love for raw pizza. if you're not familiar with raw pizza, let me break it down for you (with links for more information.)

the crust is a mix of zucchini (or any summer squash), sprouted buckwheat groats and flax seed.

the cheese is a delicious blend of soaked cashews, lemon juice and nutritional yeast.

the toppings for raw pizza are endless. this time we went with walnut sausage and basil, pesto and sun-dried tomatoes, and rainbow chard with raw tomato sauce, lightly heated in the dehydrator.

why raw? raw or living food is food not heated above 115 degrees, to preserve the live enzymes, amino acids, vitamins and minerals that can otherwise be destroyed or altered when heated. raw food is more nutritionally dense and is generally easier to digest, giving our systems a huge break. although i don't eat an all raw diet, i make it a point to eat as many raw fruits and vegetables as i can. it seems the more raw food in my diet, the more energy i have and the better i feel overall. 

as i heard someone say just yesterday, your body is the place you live, take care of it!

(in order to make raw pizza, a dehydrator is needed. i recommend an excalibur 5 or 9-tray system. if you search around you may be able to find a good deal. it will probably run you around $150-200. for us it was a great investment. we make kale chips, cheez-its, fruit roll-ups, eggplant bacon, crepes, crackers, raw lasagna, nori snacks, granola, green powder, buckwheat crunchies...all kinds of things! ours is running right now, making "sun-dried" tomatoes with the surplus of romas.)

enjoy your weekend! i plan to be back soon with a community garden update.

xoxoxo

raw hemp burger with mashed avocado over garden greens

it had been way too long since i last made carmella's hemp veggie burgers. though they're lacking some ingredients (celery and onion), they still turned out great.

with some greens from the garden (kale, spinach and arugula), i threw together a salad with lemon, olive oil, maple syrup, salt and pepper. an avocado was mashed with garlic, pepper and lemon.

since the burgers were made ahead of time, this dish took only minutes to prepare. my kind of meal! (thank you to my mom for the perfectly ripe avocados!=)

chocolate and vanilla kale chips

in my mind i've been calling these his and her kale chips, because he (john) loves chocolate...

and she (me) prefers vanilla.

the sweet kale chips were inspired by jess of cupcakes and kale. with kale chips i don't usually follow measurements - i find it easier to taste as i go. for the chocolate kale i used the same ingredients as jess, subbing vanilla water and adding a bit of maple syrup. with the vanilla chips i used a few tablespoons coconut oil, coconut flakes, chia seeds, agave nectar, a pinch of salt, vanilla water, and the insides of one vanilla bean, which were purchased fairly cheap in bulk here.

after massaging everything really well into my garden kale, i placed the coated pieces onto teflex sheets and dehydrated at 115 degrees overnight. the outcome was a sweet little snack packed with green nutrition that even he (who doesn't care much for kale) can enjoy.=)

raw raspberry brownie bites

to make raw brownies you simply need five things (dates, nuts, cocoa/cacao powder, salt and a food processor) and not even five minutes. they are one of the easiest desserts to make. you blend the ingredients for about 30 seconds, press them into brownie shapes and they're ready.

this time we added raspberries to snaz them up a bit. adding berries and liquid vanilla made the batter a little wet, so we dehydrated our brownie bites a few hours.

as raw brownies are very rich, bite-sized pieces are the best way to serve them, in my opinion. (they're actually more like a delicious nutty fudge than a brownie, but a little less dense.)

raw raspberry brownie bites
(makes about 18-20)

1 C medjool dates
1 C raw nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans, cashews, or a mixture)
1/4 C cacao powder
8-10 raspberries
3 tsp liquid vanilla*
generous pinch of salt

in a food processor, blend until batter holds together when pressed. shape into bite-sized squares.

*liquid vanilla is made by mixing three vanilla beans, chopped, with one cup water in a high speed blender. in this recipe, lv can be replaced with vanilla extract or scraped raw vanilla bean, to taste.

***

i hope everyone is having a nice weekend. we're snowed in (but not really) and i'm loving it.=)

desserts in jars: choco-coco cream

this twisted treat is decadently sweet, smooth and super creamy. add some peppermint and goji berries for a festive delight!

the chocolate cream is made with avocado and honestly, you'd never know. non raw-foodies have tried it and loved it. let's not forget, avocado is a superfood! (one that's getting mighty pricey, have you noticed?)

there i am in the spoon=)

the coconut cream is made of cashews and young coconut meat. the addition of vanilla bean makes it taste like vanilla mousse. mmm, vanilla is my favorite.  

the recipes call for raw cacao (though any cocoa powder would do) and coconut butter or coconut oil. more and more are using coconut oil (for more than just cooking, wink wink).

non-gmo soy lecithin in this recipe is optional as a thickening agent. those who like to work with irish moss gel may use that, but neither are neccesary for this dessert. you may also sub vanilla extract for the vanilla bean. i've posted the recipes before but here they are again.

coconut cream

(adapted from sweet gratitude's coconut meringue)

3/4 C coconut milk*

2/3 C coconut meat from one young coconut

2/3 C cashews, soaked about 2 hours

2 T agave

1/2 a vanilla bean (scraped insides only)

1 tsp lemon juice

1/8 tsp salt

blend all in a high speed blender until smooth and creamy, then add:

1 T non-gmo soy lecithin

2 T coconut oil or coconut butter

resume blending until fully incorporated. set in fridge until firm. 

*coconut milk can be made by mixing one part fresh or dried coconut with three parts water.

***

chocolate cream

adapted from heathy's chocolate nutless creme

one large ripe avocado

1/4 C agave

2 T water

1/2 a vanilla bean (scraped insides only)

pinch salt

1 T coconut oil, melted

5 heaping T cacao powder

in a high speed blender, blend first five ingredients well. add remaining ingredients, and continue to blend until smooth. chill for a few hours before serving. 

***

today i'll be making more gifts in jars. it just makes sense when you've got over 100 mason jars lying around!

weekend recap

friday, my four year old niece alaina came over to spend the night and the next day with us. what an imagination she has! the best was when she turned my crochet hooks into dental instruments. it was so cute watching john the dentist work patiently on alaina's teeth with two yarn needles.=)

source

we broke up our saturday with trips to the pop shop, the collingswood famers' market, and the local library. the weather was rainy and the last time i took alaina to the community garden, she wanted to go home shortly after. and i had to carry her back. so i didn't mention it this time. however, alaina surprised me by asking, "can we go that garden place again?" we sure can!=)

 community garden 9/18/11

this time she ate tomatoes and lettuce straight off the plants. she admired each and every flower and wanted to know what the plants were called. she asked if she could pick things for me to take home. it was so sweet!

at the library, i read her some stories then let her choose some movies to watch later. she picked ramona and beezus and one of those teenie bopper's concerts whose name i can't remember. (do i sound old or what?) i chose mary poppins.=)

thankfully we didn't get to the concert, but we did watch about 15 minutes of ramona and beezus, which i enjoyed more than she did! as a child i loved beverly cleary books, and this was a surprisingly good adaptation. like many booknerds, i'm hesitant to watch movie versions, but ramona and beezus was pretty cute.

before alaina left, she told me i was her best friend, then sang a song about me being her best friend. there's nothing sweeter than her little voice. really there's nothing sweeter than just spending time with a child. i'm already planning her next visit!

we finally got some sun and i was able to photograph the results of my kitchen marathon.

first we have apple-banana fruit roll-ups. making fruit roll-ups is great because 1) they're a perfect way to use up ripe fruit 2) they're easy and inexpensive to make 3) they're a nice candy-like snack for when i'm craving something sweet and chewy.

i don't have a recipe for my fruit roll-ups, though my friend heidi has some good ones on her blog. what i do is throw about 2-3 ripe bananas and 1-2 apples in the food processor with juice from half a lemon per excalibur dehydrator tray. i've used all kinds of fruit with banana, like watermelon, pear, peach and berries.

when using ripe banana, there's so need for added sweetener. after processing the fruit until smooth, i spread the batter onto teflex dehydrator sheets thin, but not so thin that the teflex shows through, and dehydrate until dry and pliable anywhere from 110-135°. then with kitchen scissors, i cut each tray of fruit leather in sixths, roll them up, and store them in ziploc bags or glass jars.

rosemary and sage are growing gorgeously this time of year. i paired the two herbs to create savory flax crackers and raw pizza crusts.

a sweet version of flax crackers was made with apples, dates and maple syrup. they were lovely with a little peanut butter. i'd like to do some tweaking before i share the cracker recipes, as the batter was a little too thick and took a long time to dry.

my mom and i also had a nice two-and-a-half hour gabfest on the phone. we love to gush over alaina, and we're talking about doing a detox challenge together.

i hope your weekend was full of love, laughter, and yummy treats!

::floral divider source

this week i...

enjoyed cooler days with the trio in the "treehouse"...

the cat goes down the slide!

...took lots of wagon walks...

 

my childhood friend's chickies, bubby and evolet

and their gymnast cat, oscar

...finally let the munchkins explore my "white car"...

 oscar included

...ate lots of tasty salads with raw eggplant bacon...

 green leaf lettuce, tomato, cucumber, green onion and eggplant bacon with leftover nacho cheeze made with white bell pepper and cashews

 

 green leaf lettuce, heirloom cherry tomatoes, cooked quinoa, and raw eggplant bacon with extra-virgin olive oil, himalayan salt and pepper

...was rustled out of dreamworld each morning by this lil' piggy...

new nickname, claws

...started the last book of the lovable anne of green gables series...

  my mom gifted me with the collection=)

...henna'd my gray hairs

and received my new specs in the mail.

plastic aunt jemima head-wrap

...made rawlmond joys and peanut butter cups

yummy

and took photos only with my cell, just because. 

complete the sentence, if you'd like...

this week i __________.