This soup is impossibly creamy and delicious! Another amazing recipe from Jenny Ross Raw Basics.
RAW VEGAN TOMATO BISQUE
2 Roma tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1 cup water
1 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp Italian herbs (I skipped this and added some fresh basil from our garden instead)
(NOTE: In addition to the above, I added 1 Tbsp cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil and a small handful of sundried tomatoes).
Blend all ingredients until well-combined. Garnish with fresh basil. Then enjoy!
I have tried a LOT of raw vegan ice creams in my day. And by tried, I mean both purchased and created from scratch. Until now, my standby recipes were found in the book Vice Cream, by Jeff Rogers–and I still think those are absolutely delicious. Regardless, I am now smitten with another…
Until last week, I had never before tried a raw ice cram that included pine nuts in the base, and I wasn’t expecting it to be anything special. I could not have been more wrong! This recipe from The Art of Raw Living Food, by Doreen Virtue and Jenny Ross is so creamy and decadent that it feels downright sinful to eat it!!! And the best part is, you don’t even need an ice cream maker–you just blend it and pop it into the freezer.
I made two versions–Vanilla Gelato and Chocolate Mint–both using the same base. Here is the recipe:
RAW VEGAN ICE CREAM BASE
4 cups pine nuts (no need to soak–yay!)
2 cups young Thai coconut water
2 cups young Thai coconut flesh
2 cups agave nectar
Blend all ingredients well in a high-speed blender until thick and creamy. Makes 4 cups.
VANILLA GELATO
I used half (2 cups) of the above ice cream base and blended in 1 1/2 Tbsp vanilla plus 1/2 tsp sea salt. It wound up tasting almost like a salted caramel–truly divine! This one was a tiny bit too sweet for me, so the next time I make it, I’ll probably use a bit less agave. But otherwise, it was sheer perfection on a spoon!
CHOCOLATE MINT
The recipe in the book called for raw cacao nibs, which I did not have, so I used raw cacao powder instead–creating a chocolatey base rather than a chocolate chip effect.
I used the other half (2 cups) of the raw ice cream base and blended in 1/2 cup raw cacao powder plus about 1/3 cup fresh mint leaves. The recipe called for more mint leaves (1/2 cup mint leaves for this quantity of ice cream base), but I found that 1/3 cup was minty enough for my liking. Also, the recipe called for 1 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil, but I forgot to add that, and mine turned out so wonderfully that I think I will deliberately omit it next time.
The recipe suggests freezing these for 3 hours before serving, and both variations were delicious after those first 3 hours. However, in my opinion, they were even better after sitting overnight in the freezer.
According to Alex, they were “restaurant quality” (he especially loved the freshness of the mint) and no-one would ever have any idea they were eating something raw. This was such an easy dessert to make, and the payoff was enormous. The hardest part was trying not to eat them all in one sitting! I will be making these sparingly in the future, for this very reason.
Note to self: What I want to try next is a chocolate cherry version, using this wonderful raw tart cherry powder I recently discovered at Whole Foods!
In February, we took my Aunt Julie, who was visiting from Rhode Island, to one of our all-time favorite restaurants–Cafe Gratitude. After a predictably delicious and life-affirming meal (if you’ve ever been to Cafe G, you’ll know what I mean by this), we decided to sample a few desserts. The “I Am Awakening” key lime pie was a unanimous favorite at our table–one of those desserts that is so good you are still talking about it weeks later. Which is why I knew I had to try and recreate it.
The bad news is, I stumbled onto the actual official recipe after I had already made a different version that I found online, so I haven’t been able to try it yet. The good news is, the other version tasted really wonderful, and my husband didn’t know the difference! So I will share them both (via the links above) and you can decide which one to try. Here’s the recipe for the one I made:
RAW VEGAN KEY LIME PIE
Crust Ingredients
1 1/4 cups pecans
1 1/4 cups macadamias or walnuts (I only had a cup of macadamias, so I substituted an extra 1/4 cup of pecans to make up the difference, totaling 1 1/2 cups pecans and 1 cup macadamias)
1/4 cup finely chopped dates
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp unrefined sea salt
Filling Ingredients
3/4 cup fresh lime juice (I forgot to count–but I remember that it took a LOT of limes to get this amount of juice–more than I had expected)
1 cup diced avocado (approx. 2 small or 1 large avocado)
1/2 cup agave nectar or maple syrup (I used agave nectar)
1/3 cup coconut milk (I blended some young coconut flesh with 1/3 cup of water to make my own coconut milk, and it was super yummy)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp unrefined sea salt
2 Tbsp lecithin
1/2 cup coconut butter
optional: 1/2 tsp “green” veggie/grass powder, for a greener color (I did NOT include this, out of fear that it would affect the taste and/or texture)
Instructions
For the crust, process the ingredients in a food processor with the “S” blade attachment, until small and crumbly (I used my Vitamix and got great results). Press into a greased (with coconut butter) 9-inch pie pan.
For the filling, blend all ingredients except lecithin and coconut butter in a food processor or blender, until smooth. Add lecithin and coconut butter, blending until well incorporated. Pour into prepared crust and freeze for 1 hour, or until firm. (Mine was firm enough to eat after a couple of hours, but even better after being in the freezer overnight).
Before freezing:
After freezing:
Over the weekend, Zander and I made Verde Tacos just like the ones you can buy at 118 Degrees (following the recipes in Jenny Ross’s cookbooks). The one thing we added which was not a part of her recipe is raw hemp seed cheese. I am sooooo excited about this new discovery, as it makes a delicious and nutritious addition to our “tacos”!
Last summer, I found a recipe for Cheezy Hemp Nacho Sauce on Kristen Suzanne’s blog. I made it exactly as she suggests, and it was delicious. Last weekend, I pulled it out again and wound up making a few modifications (based on what was in my pantry) to create a thicker, more substantial “cheese.” It was absolutely heavenly.
Below is the recipe with my modifications, and if you want to try Kristen’s original version, just click on the link above to her blog!
RAW HEMP SEED CHEESE
1/3 cup water [I added more water, probably double this amount, because I didn't have a red bell pepper]
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 red bell pepper, seeded, rough chopped (approximately 1 cup) [I didn't have a red bell pepper, so I omitted this ingredient and added more water plus a generous handful of sundried tomatoes instead--this gave the cheese a nice pinkish-orange color plus a wonderful, rich flavor]
1 cup hemp seeds
2 1/2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
1 tablespoon chili powder [I omitted this ingredient]
2 teaspoons tamari, wheat-free [I used Braggs liquid amino acids instead--same amount]
1/2 teaspoon Himalayan crystal salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper [I omitted this ingredient]
1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder [I omitted this ingredient]
Blend all of the ingredients in a blender until smooth and creamy. This can be stored in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Below are some photos showing how Zander and I assembled our Verde Tacos:
First, we spread a layer of Jenny Ross’s pumpkin seed cheese onto a Napa cabbage leaf.
Next, we added some chopped and de-stemmed kale.
After that, we added some shredded broccoli and carrots (organic and pre-shredded–from Trader Joe’s!).
Next, we added a few globs of the delicious hemp seed cheese.
And finally, we poured on a generous helping of Jenny Ross’s yummy tomatillo salsa (I reduced the amount of raw jalapeno in this to make it more palatable for Zander).
This is currently one of Zander’s favorite meals, and mine, too!!
I have enjoyed the 1-week raw detox program from 118 Degrees twice now (the second time was even better than the first), and I love everything on their menu–but I especially love their raw vegan “Lemon Pesto Pasta.”
I am currently participating in a guided 1-month cleanse at the Center for Living Peace, and I was lucky enough to learn from Chef Jenny Ross herself (!) how to create this masterpiece. It is practically all that I have eaten this week–it is seriously THAT good. You’ll notice that mine is not at all pretty–I have close to zero skills/technique in the kitchen–but it still tastes great, despite that.
Here is the recipe:
RAW VEGAN LEMON PESTO PASTA
Pesto Ingredients:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (cold-pressed, in a dark glass jar)
1/3 cup fresh basil
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup raw pistachios
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)
Instructions:
Combine the olive oil, basil, garlic, and sea salt in a food processor or blender, then toss in the pistachios.
Add the lemon juice at the end (just squeeze it over the top and stir it in).
The pesto will keep for up to 14 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I would recommend at a minimum doubling the above recipe, if not tripling or quadrupling it. Then you’re all set for quick easy meals–or for unexpected situations like when your husband uses half of your pesto for his pasta, because it tastes so yummy. 
Once you’ve made the pesto, all you have to do is spiralize or julienne some zucchini (1 zucchini makes about 2 cups of “noodles”) and whatever other veggies you want to include, then mix them all together with the pesto!
As you can see in my photo, I’ve been keeping mine pretty simple, with just some sun-dried tomatoes, portobello mushrooms, and hemp seeds tossed in–however, the general rule is that the more colors you include in your “pasta,” the better, from a nutritional perspective. Enjoy!
p.s. This recipe is 3-year-old-approved. It got a huge thumbs up from Zander. 
These flavorful crackers are absolutely delicious, and we will definitely be making them again!!
We didn’t have a goldfish-shaped cookie-cutter, so we made ours flower-shaped, but the outcome was just as yummy as if they had been true “goldfish” crackers. And now that I know how tasty they are, I’ll probably order a mini-goldfish cookie cutter for our next batch. Zander didn’t really care what shape the cookie cutter was–he just loved being able to use it and sneak little bites of dough in between.
I adapted this recipe ever-so-slightly from Chef Chloe’s wonderful blog. We used garlic powder instead of onion powder (simply because we didn’t have any onion powder), and we used Mama’s Almond Blend all-purpose gluten-free flour instead of regular flour. We also only baked them for 10 minutes, because our oven runs really hot. Other than that, Zander and I followed Chef Chloe’s recipe to a T.
Be sure to check out her blog, which shows the most adorable photographs of her tiny little goldfish crackers, complete with smiling faces!
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a food processor, combine flour, nutritional yeast, salt, onion powder, and turmeric. Process until combined. Add margarine, and pulse about 15 times until crumbly. Add water and process until mixture just comes together. [We did not use a food processor. We mixed first with a fork, to cut in the vegan margarine, and then with our clean hands.]
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough until it is 1/8-inch thick. It will be easier to roll if you work with half of the dough at a time. Using a goldfish cookie cutter, or other small cookie cutter, cut out the fish and line then on a baking sheet. If desired, carve a face, as pictured on Chef Chloe’s blog. She used the prong of a fork for the eyeball and a toothpick for the smile.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until golden and very lightly browned. Let cool and store at room temperature in a tightly sealed container or bag–if there are any left to store!
- whole wheat tortilla roll-ups with maple almond butter, bananas, and apples
- celery sticks
- fresh raspberries
- dehydrated okra
- mini-cookie bite
- popcorn with olive oil and sea salt
Zander wound up staying home sick today, so instead of eating this meal at school, we spread a blanket and had an indoor picnic lunch in our pajamas!
It’s been a long week at work and we’ve been eating too much take-out, so I was really happy to make something from scratch today. A quick survey of the kitchen revealed that we had potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, and green beans that needed to be eaten, so I decided to make veggie pot pies.
I started by making an Olive Oil Double Crust from Vegan Pie in the Sky, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. The authors write that “This has become our go-to crust. Olive oil produces a light, flaky crust with a surprisingly neutral taste. The secret is to place the olive oil in the freezer beforehand, so that it becomes partially solid. This helps the fat blend into the dough in little pockets, creating the flakiness you crave.” They couldn’t be more right about this being a “go-to crust.” It was flaky and delicious, and it was super quick and easy to make, with only 5 ingredients.
OLIVE OIL DOUBLE CRUST
*makes 1 (9-inch) top and bottom crust
Ingredients
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup olive oil, partially frozen
4 to 8 Tbsp ice water
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
Directions
Once the dough was prepared, I threw together the veggies as follows (all measurements are approximate, since I really just eyeballed this as I went along):
FILLING
Ingredients
2 medium-sized yukon gold potatoes, diced
2 handfuls of green beans, diced
2 small carrots, peeled and diced
6 button mushrooms, diced
2 Tbsp vegan margarine (I used Earth Balance)
1-2 cups vegetable broth (start with a cup and add more as needed)
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
3-4 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp tamari soy sauce
sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Directions
7. Next, use a large cookie cutter (or the mouth of a jar, or anything else circular you have on hand) to cut out the top and bottom crusts. (In the future, I think that I will use only a top crust to allow more room for filling). Then press the bottom crusts into four 6 oz. ramekins (lightly greased). (I bet you could use a muffin tin if you don’t have ramekins).
8. Spoon in the vegetable filling (use less than pictured below if you don’t want it to spill down the sides while it bakes).
9. Slice a few slits into the top crust to allow steam to escape and place it gently on top of the vegetables (no need to smash it down or try to seal it to the top of your ramekins).
10. Place ramekins on a cookie sheet (lined with parchment paper if you’re lazy, like me) and bake at 375 degrees F for about 20 minutes, until flaky and lightly browned on top.
Then dig in! But be sure to let them cool for a while before serving. They come out of the oven REALLY hot, and it took some time for ours to cool off enough to comfortably eat.
We’re having a friend over for dinner tonight, so I decided to get a head start and make dessert in the morning. We had two pounds of blueberries in the fridge just begging to be put to good use, and today seemed like a good day for blueberry hand pies!
With Zander’s help, I used a slightly adapted (based on what we had in the pantry) recipe for Blueberry Ginger Hand Pies with Lemon Glaze from Vegan Pie in the Sky, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero. Here’s how we made them:
BLUEBERRY HAND PIES
*makes about 8 pies (ours made 10)
INGREDIENTS:
FILLING
(*we doubled this recipe and then cooked the extra berry mixture on the stove–with a handful of frozen strawberries and pomegranate kernels tossed in–to make a sauce, instead of the lemon glaze)
1 pound blueberries, fresh or frozen (we used fresh blueberries)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon tapioca powder (we didn’t have any tapioca powder, so we doubled up on cornstarch)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (we didn’t have any lemons, so we used juice from a glass bottle)
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger (we didn’t have any ginger, so we omitted this ingredient)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
PUFFY PIE DOUGH
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup cold nonhydrogenated margarine (we used Earth Balance buttery sticks)
1/2 cup cold plain soy yogurt (we used vanilla coconut milk yogurt)
1/4 cup cold unsweetened nondairy milk (we used soy milk)
INSTRUCTIONS:
First make the PUFFY PIE DOUGH by combining flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Add margarine in tablespoon-sized pieces and cut into the flour mixture with either a pastry knife or your fingers. Add half the yogurt and mix, then add the remaining half. The dough should be clumpy. Add milk and knead with the heels of your hands until a stiff dough forms. (I had to add more flour in order to achieve a stiff dough). Divide the dough into two ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for 30-45 minutes in the fridge.
Next combine all of the filling ingredients in a bowl. No need to cook them in advance.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line two large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
After it has chilled, roll half of the dough on a lightly floured surface into a roughly 14 x 7- inch rectangle. Trim the edges with a knife so that they’re even. Slice the rectangle in half to form two squares. Slice the squares in half so that you have four smaller rectangles.
Scoop a scant 1/4 cupful of filling onto each pastry rectangle.
Fold the pastry in half, quickly running your finger along the edges to press them closed. Now press a fork into the pastry edges to create a pretty crimped pattern and to seal them well. If a little juice drips out, that’s okay.
Transfer the hand pie to a baking sheet and continue with the others. When all four pies are formed, continue making pies with the other log of dough and place those on a separate baking sheet. Create three slits in each hand pie to let steam escape.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes on two separate racks, switching the pans between racks halfway through baking so that they bake evenly. (Keep an eye on these–my pies were completely done after about 25 minutes). The pies are ready when the edges are lightly browned and the filling is bubbly. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Then remove pies from the trays and let cool completely.
Once your pies have cooled, it’s time for a toddler taste test, to make sure they’re good enough to serve to a guest after dinner. First, put one of the pies onto a plate.
Then add a tiny scoop of vanilla soy ice cream.
Finally, top with a generous spoonful of warm berry sauce.
Based on Zander’s response, I’m pretty sure these will be a nice way to end tonight’s meal.
Zander’s school is having a Valentine’s Day party tomorrow, and I signed up to bring the (vegan) turkey sandwiches, which are pictured at the bottom. But no party is complete without a (healthy) dessert, so I decided to also make some little chocolate puddings for Zander and his friends. This one has only four ingredients and takes mere minutes to whip up in the kitchen, but you’d never know it by the way it tastes!
CHOCOLATE AVOCADO PUDDING
Ingredients:
(1) 3 ripe organic avocados
(2) about 1/4 cup of raw organic cacao powder (Adjust to taste–I would use at least twice this much cacao powder if I were making the pudding for adults, and I might also add some vanilla extract and/or a pinch of sea salt–but for toddlers, this amount of cacao powder was just right.)
(3) about 1/3 cup raw organic agave nectar
(4) about 1 cup of vegan milk (Start with 1/2 cup and add more, bit by bit, until you’ve achieved the desired consistency. If you want to keep this recipe entirely raw, use raw almond milk. Otherwise, use any type of vegan milk you like–coconut milk, soymilk, rice milk, etc. I used vanilla soymilk, because I was too tired to make my own batch of raw almond milk after work tonight.)
Instructions:
Blend all of the above in a Vitamix or other high-powered blender until it is so smooth, creamy, and decadent that no-one would ever guess in a million years that it is actually good for you or made from something that is green.
Play with the amounts and add more cacao powder, agave nectar, and/or vegan milk as needed, until you have the perfect blend to suit your family’s taste buds.
Chill the pudding in the fridge–if you can stop yourself from eating it straight from the blender. It’s really nice served on its own or with fresh raspberries (or other berries) on top.
Kim McCoy