Raw & vegan Tiramisu

This used to one of James favorite dessert but the cream would will him. I found a recipe for a raw and vegan version and didn't hesitate to give it a try to surprise him. It was not really a tiramasu like we remember but it was darn good.

Tiramisu dessert Serves 2

1 cup macadamia nuts soaked at least 4 hours

1/2 cashews nuts, soaked 4 hours

1/4 cup coconut oil, liquefied

1 tbs agave nectar

1/4 tsp almond essence

Little bit water if the "cheese" seems dry.

little bit of coco powder 

Crust:

1 cup pecan nuts

1 tbs spirulina

1/2 cup dates, soaked for 1 hour

2 tbs instant coffee powder

In food processor process nuts, coffee and spirulina until a coarse meal. Remove and set aside. Process dates until a paste, add nut meal and process until it becomes a ball Press dough into a mold. 

To make the cheese, process nuts until very creamy and smooth, stop often and scrape down sides. Add almond flavour, agave and oil and continue to blend. If it turn into a ball, add little bit of water to make it more creamy. Spread cheese over crust. Shift coco powder over. Place in fridge at least one hour. It will stay fresh in fridge for couple of days and freezes well for couple of weeks.

Vegan Sushi

I've been craving sushi for awhile but off course it's not so fun eating it when you can't use soy sauce. But today I decided to make some vegan sushi with a lot of vegetables in them and I came up with a wasabi sauce to dip the rolls into. It came out so well that even Isabella, who I had made up raviolis and broccoli for, wanted that instead.

Vegan Sushi rolls, fills about 4 nori sheets.

Filling # 1:

1 cup grated parsnip

6 tbs macadamia nuts

1 tbs flax seed oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbs Agave nectar

1tbs lemon juice
1tbs miso

Place everything in a food processor and pro

cess until rice like texture. Set aside

Filling # 2:

1 large carrot grated

1 celery stalk, julliend

1/2 red pepper, julliend

1/2 cup bean sprouts

1/2 yellow squash, grated

1 tbs lemon juice

2 tbs sesam oil
1 tbs sesame seeds

salt, pepper, paprika to taste

Wasabi dipping sauce:

1/2 collard greens

2 tbs fresh grated horseradish

1 tbs miso paste

James sushi pro who was starved loved the sushi it filled it up

Blend lemon juice, sesame oil and spices and add to the vegetables. Let marinate for at at least one hour.

Assemble the rolls by placing a small amount of filling #1 and on one end and spread in out. Add vegetables on top and tightly roll the nori up. Seal it by dabbing some water to the ends. Cut the rolls into whatever shape you want.

To make the dipping sauce, blend collard greens with 1/4 cup water in blender until pureed. Strain and blend 1/4 cup of the juice with miso and horseradish until dissolved.

My little sushi eater

The many ways of Coconut oil

I'm back from a mini vacation in Las Vegas with great friends. We had a great time and ate very well. I was very impressed to find many restaurants had organic dishes on their menus.

After eating that well but rich food it's good to be home eating healthier again. I have a new found love for coconut oil. It's now something I use daily and not only in my food. I've learned that coconut oil is good for supporting the thyroid so I've been adding it to my salad dressings and smoothies. Coconut oil contains good fats that can help lower cholesterol and blood pressure. It's good for the heart and helps strengthen the immune system as well as help you loose weight.. I also use it as a hair shine and moisturizer. It's great because it inexpensive compared to other skin and hair products and does not contain any bad residues that will be absorbed by the body.

Raw Carrot soup (or hot)

Raw vegan food seem to work the best for me to control my thyroid as well as getting over my cold. It's not hard t do raw when you live in warm San Diego where the access to good produce is good. This is soup I have made a couple times before and I always loves it. I guess you could easily heat it up by placing the soup in a pot and slowly heat it up but do not boil it. Carrots are filled with nutrients such as dietary fibers, vitamin A, C and K as well as potassium, thiamine, niacin, vitamin B6, foliate and manganese.

Raw carrot soup that serves one

1 cup carrot juice

1/2 cup apple juice

1 cup soaked macadamia nuts (soaked over night or at least 2 hours)

1/4 large avocado

Place nuts and juices in food processor and process until smooth. Add avocado and blend until creamy. Enjoy right away. I ate my soup with sprouts on top.

Healing juice

My cold continues and I have no appetite so today I simply made myself a juice to help me beat this bug. You can enjoy this juice like it is or add some water if you feel it's to strong. I also added acidophiles and Mecca protein powder to boost it up a bit. 

Cold fighting juice, I glass

I large beet root, cleaned and but into smaller pieces

4 oranges, peeled and cut into half

1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled 

Place everything into juicer, pour into a glass and enjoy right away. 

Sweet & Sour bean soup

I have a nasty cold and am not very hungry. I decided to to make wholesome soup that is warming. I also wanted to use things I had at home so I didn't have to leave to go grocery shopping. When you have a cold with a lot of congestion you don't necessary taste a whole lot but the flavors in this soup works well then. 

Sweet & soup Bean soup, Serves two

1 cup white beans

1 medium zucchini cut into slices

1/2 yellow onion, cut into pieces

1 cup mushrooms, quartered

3 small carrots cut into small pieces

1 tbs ketchup

1 tbs apple cider vinegar

1 tsp olive oil

1 bouillon cube

2 cups water

1/2 cup light soy (or regular sour cream)

Black pepper and smoked paprika to taste.

Direction:

Heat oil in medium pan in medium heat. Fry mushrooms for 1 minutes and put a side. Fry onion for 1 minute and add vegetables  and fry for 1 minute. Add bouillon, water, vinegar and ketchup and boil on low heat until vegetables are soft. Add remaining ingredients and let it get warm. Enjoy with some toast on garlic bread. 

Praise the Lord...We have cheese!!!

Finally...and it's about time there is a good, aged non-dairy cheese. Dr. Cow has come up with a tree nut aged cheese and it's sooooooooooo good. Me and my husband lived in Paris and we got hooked on aged cheese. But then my husband was diagnosed with dairy allergy and cheese was out. There are some lame soy cheeses out there and then there is TeeseCheese with is grate to use in food but there has not been a great cheese to enjoy with some crackers and a glass of wine. That is until now! Tree nut cheese is raw and vegan cheese made from nuts like cashews and macadamia nuts and then some salt and acidophiles. So compared to regular cheese it's actually good for you and how can you not love that. I could not find it any store so I ordered from VeganEssentials.

The no bake Strawberry cream Pie

I've bee craving sweets lately but really don't want to eat a lot of surgery sweets that makes my blood sugar go on a roller coaster.  On Sunday at the Farmers market we bought a raw cheese cake slice and ate it later that day. We were just so amazed how good it was. So I decided to make a raw pie to curb my sweet cravings and eat something that actually would be good for me AND taste like a yummy treat at the same time. It's even kids friendly, Isabella helped me make it this morning and she enjoyed a piece for breakfast. Why not? It's nuts, coconut oil, dried fruit and fresh food. 

Raw strawberry pie, about 24 slices

For the crust:

1 cup hazelnuts

1 cup almonds

1/2 cup dates pitted (maybe more)

For the cheese:

1 1/2 cup macadamia nuts, soaked over night

1 1/2 cup cashews, soaked over night

3/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup Agva nectar (or honey)

3/4 coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 sea salt

1 cup strawberries, chopped + extra for decoration.

 

Directions

To make the crust, process the nuts until pulverized in a food processor. Add the dates and processor until smooth. Pour into a 8 inch pie pan and press out to be even. 

To make the cheese, blend the nuts until pulverized and then add lemon, Agva nectar, gently warmed coconut oil, vanilla and sea salt into food processor and blend until smooth and fluffy for about 5 minutes. Add strawberries and process for another 1-2 minutes until all pierces are dissolved. Pour on top of crust and make it look nice and smooth. Place in fridge for a couple of hours to set. When ready to serve place sliced strawberries in a nice decoration on the pie. 

Gnocchi with collard greens and white beans

Me and my friend Jessica love food....a lot. A matter a fact it's what we talk about probably 75% of the time. We love to read recipes and then try them out. always changing them little. We found this recipe in Eating well and tried it tonight and agreed it was soooooo good.

I almost forgot to take a picture but I got one of the leftovers

Wilting the greens

Gnocchi with greens and beans, serves 4

1 tbs plus olive oil

16 ounces cooked gnocchi

1 medium yellow onion chopped

4 cloves garlic minced

6 cups chopped collard greens (or spinach)

2 large tomatoes chopped

15 ounces cooked white beans

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper

salt to taste

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese.

Heat oil on large skilled over medium heat and brown gnocchi. Put a side in a bowl. Add onions and garlic and brown. Add greens and cook 1-2 minutes until wilted. Add little bit water if it seems dry. Add tomatoes and cook for 1 minute and add gnocchi and cheese and spices. Blend until cheese is melted. Enjoy!!!!

Flourless rhubarb pie

This is one of our new favorite dessert we eat on Sunday afternoons. It's so easy and the it's completely flour less and so wheat and gluten free. But it does not mean it's boring, far from it it filled with flavors and sweetness. 

Rhubarb pie serves 2

1 cup pecan nuts

1 cup raisins

1/4 cup toasted, shredded and unsweetened coconut

1 tbs coconut oil

1 cup rhubarbs, peeled and cut into half inch pieces.

Preheat oven for F350. Place nuts, coconut and raisins in food processor and blend until and dry crumbly mass. Add oil ad blend for a second or two. Place dough into a small pie shell and blend in rhubarb. Place pie in middle of oven for 20 minutes. Enjoy with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Spicy vegetables with lentils

Our friend Andrea cooked a lunch for us a couple of weeks ago and it's been fresh in my mind ever since so today I decided to try cook the same meal. It turned out pretty well. We ate this meal with sprouted brown rice. 

Vegetables and lentil dinner serves 2

Lentils:

1 cup yellow lentils or split peas

1/2 tbs canola oil

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cilantro

1 tsp turmeric

salt to taste

1  1/2 cup water

Soak lentils over night and then drain and rinse well. Heat oil in pot and add spices, let cook until then begin t pop. Add lentil and  stir. Add water and cook until lentils are soft (about 30 minutes.

Vegetables:

2 cups white mushrooms cut in half or quarters depending on size.

1/2 medium cooked acorn 

1 zucchini, sliced ad cut into quarters

1/ 2 yellow peppers cut into small pieces

Cumin, chili peppers, coriander and salt to taste

2 tbs olive oil

Heat oil and add spices and let cook for 20 seconds. Add mushroom and cook for 1 minutes, stir constantly. Add remaining vegetables except squash and stir while cooking. Add squash ans let get warm. Remove vegetables after about 3 minutes and enjoy with rice and lentils.

Green fried tomatoes

My tomato plant has had these two tomatoes hanging on it forever so I finally decided to pick it and instead of trowing them away use them and made fried green tomatoes. Boy was it good. I was planning a BBQ lunch with grilled vegetables so the tomatoes added a nice touch to the lunch. The green tomatoes works better than red ripe ones since they are firmer and make it easy to fry them. It's really nice to place some crumbles goat cheese at the end and let in melt on top the tomato.

Fried green tomatoes serves 2

2 large green tomatoes

1 tbs olive oil

Flour to coat the tomatoes in

salt & pepper to taste

Crumbled goat cheese

Slice the tomatoes and brush the oil on them and then coat them. Sprinkle salt and pepper ad place on BBQ in low heat. Turn after a few minutes. 

Mmmmmm snack

I discovered dried tempura zucchini chips and they are yummy and healthy  alternative to potato chips or just as a great snack. As I said in a earlier post I try to find good and healthy snacks to feed my toddler and if they happens to include vegetable, well let's put it this way, I do a little happy dance. I already found these dried peas at Whole Foods that Bella absolutely loves. They are called just peas and guess what? They are just peas, nothing more, nothing less. What a great way to get your picky eater to get both protein and vegetables in one snack. Now I found these zucchinis at NaturalZing.com They are dehydrated vegan snacks and again they contain only natural things and no sugar. The best part...I love them too!

Just peas 

Zucchini tasting as great as potato chips

Super fast and easy creamy pasta sauce

I'm working a lot right now and spending a lot time traveling between studios.  So as you probably can tell from the lack of posting I don't have much time to do creative cooking. I favor fast and easy dishes made from whatever I happens to have around. Today I made a swooooosh dinner from peas, horseradish and cream on top of whole wheat pasta. Yummy, healthy and swoooosh fast. You can easily substitute peas for any other vegetables for example spinach works really well. Use whole wheat pasta for a healthy alternative to pasta. 

Green pasta sauce serves one

1/2 cups frozen sweet peas

1 tbs grated horseradish 

1/2 cup soy or regular sour cream

1 tbs olive oil

salt & pepper

Place everything a food processor or blender and mix until creamy. Heat in a pot over medium heat until warm. If the sauce feels thick just add little bit of water. 

Yes I have weaknesses too

Actually I have many weaknesses but one particularly right now is Himalania Goji berries. My person favorite is the chocolate covered (but since they do contain soy I can only eat them once in a while) and the yogurt covered ones.  Goji berries contains a lot of anti-oxident power so it's good to eat them. How often can you say that about your weakness? Not very often.