Raw Cacao Almond Butter Pie

Watching the commercials for peanut butter pies made me want to make one we could eat.  Here is what we created. Even the hubby liked it!

Ingredients:
crust:
1 1/2 cups almonds
12 pitted medjool dates
1/2 cup cacao powder
pinch salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
grind the above ingredients in a food processor until it looks like graham crackers
we added 3 TBS cacao butter melted and process to incorporate
line a pie pan with parchment paper and press crust into pie pan

Almond Butter fillings:
1 cup almond butter
1/2 cup maple syrup (or use 8 dates soaked in 1/2 water)
3/4 cup water (use1/4 cup water plus the dates' soaking water)
1/2 cup cacao butter melted
1/4 tsp salt
mix the above ingredients until well blended, we used our high speed blender. Pour over the crust. Refrigerate or freeze until set.

Cacao ganache:
2 TBS maple syrup
2 TBS cacao powder
2 TBS cacao butter, melted
pinch salt
1/4 tsp vanilla
In a small bowl combine until well mixed. Drizzle over the set, cold pie.
Slice and eat.

Vegan Broccoli Soup

This recipe is from Hummusapien.
We used vegetable broth instead of water, omitted the oil and the salt. We added 1-2 TBS of nutritional yeast to give it a cheesy taste.

The creamiest broccoli soup there ever was...completely healthy, guilt-free, and vegan!

Alexis: Alexis Joseph, MS, RD, LD

Recipe type: Soup

Serves: 6-8

INGREDIENTS

• ¾ cup raw cashews, soaked
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 16 oz broccoli (about 7 cups, packed)
• 6 cups water, divided (vegetable broth)
• 1½ tsp salt (or to taste)
• freshly ground pepper
• 1 TBS nutritional yeast

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place cashews in a small bowl. Cover with water. Soak for at least 30 minutes, or overnight. (I brewed water in a tea kettle, poured the boiling water over the cashews, and let them soak for 15 minutes. If you have a high-speed blender, they won't need to soak long.)
2. Add oil to a large pot (I used my dutch oven) over medium high heat. Once hot, add onion and a pinch of salt and sautee for about three minutes. Add celery and carrots and sauté for another five minutes. Add garlic and broccoli and sautee for another five minutes.
3. Add 5 cups water, salt, and pepper. Stir and bring mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
4. Drain cashews. Place cashews and 1 cup water in a blender (I used my nutribullet). Blend until very smooth and creamy. There should be no clumps. Set the cashew cream aside.
5. Puree soup using a large blender or immersion blender. You'll likely have to do this in batches.
6. Once soup is pureed, stir in cashew cream. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, if desired.

Matzo Brei

One of my husband's favorite breakfast dishes is Matzo Brei and he wanted it added to the recipe blog. He serves it with a couple of slices of pork bacon

Ingredients:
1 egg
1 and 1/2  matzo squares, crumbled
1-2 TBS maple syrup

crumble crackers in the scrambled egg and soak for 1-2 minutes (until the egg is absorbed)

Pan fry. When done add maple syrup to the pan to heat the maple syrup.

Beet Root, Balsamic, Macadamia cheese Ravioli with Basil Oil

We saw the paperback version of Raw Organic Goodness by Megan May at Wholefoods while in Atlanta. It is a beautiful book containing so many wonderful recipes with amazing pictures. I felt this cookbook was worth $20 and the kindle version for $2.99 is a steal.
We made the "Beet Root, Balsamic, Macadamia cheese Ravioli with Basil Oil". It was amazing. We have made other Beet Ravioli which have been fine but the marinade and the macadamia cheese made this dish. The beets were softened but not mushy texture. The marinade made an incredible dressing for the leafy greens.
Two other recipe series we plan to make are the chili and the Mediterranean Platter.

Coconut or Oatmeal Raw Thumb Print Cookies

A couple of years ago we made raw thumb print cookies. When we made them this week, we couldn't believe how "greasy" they were, so we reinvented the recipe. The fat is from whole food sources, almond butter and coconut flakes, without using the coconut oil. The soaked dates bring the needed moisture to the mix.

Thumb print cookies

Ingredients (Makes approximately 12 cookies)

• 3/4 cup raw almond meal
• 1/4 cup organic almond butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4-6 dates, soaked at least an hour to soften
• 1 cup organic shredded coconut or 1 cup rolled oatmeal
• pinch salt
  
  Cacao filling (this is our favorite cacao blend for cookies and candies)
• ¼ cup raw cacao butter
• 2 TBS cacao powder
• 1 TBS lucuma powder 
• ½ TBS maca powder
• ½ TBS maple syrup
• pinch salt

Instructions

1. Mix the coconut, almond meal and almond butter together in food processor
2. Add vanilla, salt and dates in food processor
3. Place rounded tablespoons of mixture out onto a plate and then press the center with your thumb or back of a spoon.
4. Dehydrate until firm but not necessary
5. Melt cacao butter in a pan with a little water; add maple syrup and remaining ingredients.
6. Scoop cacao out with a spoon and place inside the thumbprint of each cookie.
7. Cover and stick in the fridge or freeze for several hours.
8. Enjoy!

Recipes from Living Foods Institute's Holiday Workshop

When we went to the Living Foods Institute for their holiday workshop this was the menu
Green Smoothie to start one's day and the following for our lunch

Creamy Tomato Pepper Soup

Arugula Salad with Beet dressing

Wild Rice and Cranberry Relish

Walnut Curry Loaf

Almond Snow Balls with Raspberry drizzle

Green Smoothie
Ingredients
2 apples
2 celery stalks
2 cups water
 1 tsp ginger root
pinch cayenne
1 cup sunflower sprouts

Blend until smooth

Creamy Tomato Pepper Soup

Ingredients

4 cups red bell pepper

2 cups tomatoes

2 t basil

1 tsp salt

3 cloves garlic

2 cups soaked cashews (overnight), rinsed and drained

Blend everything, adding water as needed

Arugula Salad with Beet dressing
Salad ingredients
arugula, shredded carrots, cherry tomatoes, shredded beets

Dressing
1 cup coconut aminos
1/2 cup coconut vinegar
1 slice of a beet
1 cup olive oil
1 TBS dried basil
3 garlic cloves
Blend in a high speed blender 

Wild Rice and Cranberry Relish

Wild Rice

Ingredients

1 cup wild rice

5 cups water

Place in the dehydrator at 115 for 24 hours. This will make 5 cups of rice.

Cranberry Relish

Ingredients:

2-3 cups cranberries

2 cups apple, diced

2 cups pear diced

Place in a bowl

2 cups dates 

1 cup orange juice

Blend the dates and the orange juice to make a cream sauce

Fold the sauce over the fruit.

Combine 2 cups bloomed rice and 1 cup cranberry relish

Walnut Curry Loaf
Ingredients
5 cups raw walnuts, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
4 TBS dried basil
1 TBS dried dill
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
4 TBS coconut aminos
Place ingredients in food processor and process.
Fold in the following
2 cups celery
1 cup pepper
1 cup green onion
1 cup cilantro

Almond Snow Balls with Raspberry drizzle

Snow Balls

ingredients

2 cups soaked almonds (overnight), rinsed and drained

1 cup coconut oil (too much oil for me)

1 cup coconut flakes, divided (1/2 for food processor and 1/2 for coating the balls)

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups soaked dates (save the soaking water for another recipe)

Process 1/2 cup coconut flakes to make a powder. Blend the remaining ingredients in a food processor. Roll into balls, roll in coconut flake powder

Raspberry drizzle

Ingredients

Raspberries

puree in blender and drizzle over snowballs

December Potluck 2015

This month we have a Holiday Theme. Of course everything is delicious!!!

Creamy Holiday Soup

Ingredients

3 c. Tomatoes

3 c. red bell peppers

2 c. Carrots

3/4 t. cinnamon

2 cloves garlic

2 T onion

2 T olive oil

1 t Celtic sea salt

1 c water

1/2 c fresh parsley

1T dried basil

Put all ingredients EXCEPT water in high speed blender and blend until creamy.  Add water as needed.

Red and Green Salad with pomegrates and cherry tomatoes









The Sweet Potato Souffle recipe is from Brenda Cobb's Holiday cookbook (this was my favorite!!!)

ingredients:
6 cup diced and peeled sweet potatoes
1 tsp salt
2 tsp nutmeg
2 cups soaked over night cashews, rinsed and drained
2 cups pitted dates, soaked overnight, reserve the soaking water to use if needed

Combine in the high speed blender and blend until smooth

Fold in
2 cups raisins, soaked over night  and drained
2 cups pecans or walnuts, soaked over night  and drained

Cranberry Relish

White Chocolate Raspberry Tort  

Raw Almond and Cherry cookies

Black Bean Fudge









Hot Cocoa (serves 3)

ingredients:
2 cup almond milk
2 cup water
8 dates
4 TBS cocoa powder
1 inch vanilla bean
pinch salt

Blend in a high speed blender on soup cycle to make hot

Stuffed Poblano with Sweet Potato

Again the Farmers' Market had poblano peppers as well as sweet potatoes. Here is our recipe for tonight. For my husband we added roasted chicken diced.

Ingredients:

• 4 to 6 large Poblano peppers 
• 1½  cups black beans cooked, or 1 can, drained
• 3 medium sweet potatoes, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 2 cups kale or spinach
• 1-2  teaspoons sea salt
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1½ teaspoon chili powder
• 1½ teaspoon ground corriander
• Salsa of your choice
• Cheddar Cheese (we used Daiya)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Add the sweet potatoes, onion, spinach, and spices to a pan. Sauté for 15 minutes until the vegetables have softened slightly.
3. Cut a slit lengthwise on the top of each pepper. Gently scrape out the seeds from the inside the peppers and discard.
4. Stuff each pepper generously with the mixture being careful not to tear the pepper.
5. Spoon ¼ cup salsa over each pepper. Pour the remaining salsa into the bottom of a large baking dish and arrange the peppers in the dish. Top with cheese
6. Bake, covered, for 15 minutes, then uncovered for 15 minutes until the peppers are soft and the sauce is hot.