Raw 'Cheese'cake!!

Today I made another recipe from the new cookbook I picked up (Ripe From Around Here by jae steele). It is an amazing raw 'cheese'cake!

Here is the recipe for Raw 'Cheese'cake (see picture to left):

Crust: 1 cup raw walnuts, 1 cup raw almonds, 1/4 tsp sea salt, 1/4 cup (packed) pitted and chopped dates (I used medjool dates which are very yummy)

Place nuts and sea salt in blender or food processor and blend until crumb like. Add dates and blend until mixture is fairly smooth and will hold together when pinched. Place mixture into a lightly canola oiled 7 X 11 pan and press until flat.

Middle layer: 2 cups raw cashews, soaked for 4 hours +, 1/4 cup unrefined liquid sweetener (agave syrup/brown rice syrup/pure maple syrup - I used brown rice syrup), 2 tbsp water, 2 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 cup coconut oil/canola oil (I used canola oil)

Drain and rinse cashews, place in blender or food processor and blend into small pieces. Add liquid sweetener, water, lemon juice, and vanilla extract and blend until smooth. Scrape down mixture from sides of blender/food processor, add oil and blend until smooth. Pour over crust, distribute evenly, and place in freezer for 30 minutes to allow mixture to firm up.

Top layer: 2 cups raspberries (I used a mixture of both raspberries and blueberries), 2 - 3 tbsp unrefined liquid sweetener (agave syrup/brown rice syrup/pure maple syrup - I used brown rice syrup)

Place both ingredients in blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Pour on top of middle layer and allow to chill in fridge for at least 4 hours.

Even though it took the cake awhile to set, the recipe was quick and easy to make. This made a very light and delicious 'cheese'cake!

Crafty Pasta Dinner

After 2 months of no exciting recipes to post, tonight I had Crafty Pasta Dinner and wanted to share the recipe! To start the meal, I had my first harvest of fresh zesty mesclun mix greens from my garden (see top picture to the left of the greens in the garden and then the picture below it of the greens in the salad bowl)! They were delicious and it is such a treat to be able to eat food that has just been picked fresh from the garden!

Here is the recipe for the Crafty Pasta Dinner (see the bottom two pictures to the left):

Pasta: For the pasta, I used tinkyada organic brown rice elbows. The pasta cooked up very nicely in 15 minutes in a large pasta pot of boiling water. Once the pasta was finished, it was set aside until the stir fry and sauce were finished.

Stir fry: 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 medium onion, chopped, 3 garlic cloves, minced, 1/2 leek, chopped, 2 cups mushrooms, chopped (I used shitake and crimini mushrooms), 2 cups zucchini, chopped, 2 cups carrots, chopped, 2 tsp dried oregano, 1 tbsp wheat free tamari, 2 cups purple kale, finely chopped, 2 cups cooked chickpeas

Place olive oil in pan over low heat and add onion, garlic, and leek and saute for 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and saute for 3 minutes. Add zucchini, carrots, oregano and tamari and saute for 3 minutes. Add purple kale and saute for 1 minute. Stir in chickpeas, remove from heat and set aside.

Sauce: For the sauce, I used a recipe from a new cookbook I recently picked up called Ripe From Around Here by jae steele - it is a great cookbook with lots of very helpful suggestions on working towards eating more locally grown foods. The recipe is called Cheesy Sauce.

3/4 cup red lentils, 1 1/2 cup water, 1 medium garlic clove, minced, 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder, 1/4 tsp dried thyme (I used rosemary instead), 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/2 cup unsweetened non dairy milk (I used rice milk), 1/2 cup nutritional yeast, 1/4 cup tahini, 2 tbsp olive oil

Combine red lentils and water in pot and bring to a boil (skim off any excess white foam). Reduce to slightly lower heat, add garlic, mustard powder, thyme (rosemary), and sea salt. Simmer for 20 minutes and remove from heat. Place lentil mixture into food processor/blender and add non dairy milk, nutritional yeast, tahini and olive oil and blend until smooth.

Preheat oven to 35o degrees. Once the pasta, stir fry, and sauce are finished being prepared, lightly canola oil two casserole dishes and add pasta, stir fry, and sauce. Mix all ingredients together, cover casserole dishes, and place in oven for 20 minutes.

Once the meal was dished up, it was seasoned with sea salt and flax oil. This dish was a yummy and fun meal!