This is a super easy recipe I came up with last week. When Charlie tasted it, he said it tasted really "fresh" and also delicious.  

8 oz young coconut meat (freezer section of health food or asian stores)
1 cup cashews, soaked
1 1/2 cups water
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon chia seeds (if you're into them)
1 teaspoon probiotic powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Let culture in a non-metal bowl covered with a towel for 12-48 hours, until desired tang is reached. Taste every 4-12 hours during the culturing process.  I cultured mine for 24 hours. Serve with everything, but remember this is completely unsweetened - if you add sweetener (maple syrup, date paste, etc.) add it AFTER culturing. Sugar feeds the probiotics and if you add sweetener first, it might culture too quickly and leave you with something inedible.

I like to eat it with sweet fruit, cinnamon, raw, sprouted oats for a sweet breakfast or I mix with herbs and add to a mediterranean plate with falafel, tabbouleh, hummus and cucumbers.

Rawvioli is so good.  There are so many ways to do it, but the basic idea is to take a veggie that can be thinly sliced (zucchini, beet, turnip, jicama) and put a dollop of “cheese” inside, making a delicious little pocket.  Basic raw cheese recipes are usually a blend of creamy nuts (macadamia, cashew or pine) with sea salt, lemon juice and sometimes herbs, nutritional yeast or probiotics*.  Add a basic marinara and you have a creamy, delicious, meal, reminiscent of the old Italian classic.  But it is also very heavy and full of nuts.  If you want to cut the nut content, you have to replace it with something…  How about asparagus, spinach and fennel?

Ingredients:

2 medium-large zucchini, sliced into paper-thin rounds with a mandolin slicer

10-12 Asparagus, trimmed and chopped

1 c. fennel bulb, chopped

1 c. packed spinach

1 large clove garlic

1/2 c. hemp seeds

1/3 c. cashews

1/3 c. purified water

1/2 t. sea salt

Directions:

Blend the cashews, water and sea salt in a high speed blender.  Add the remaining ingredients and blend until almost smooth, leaving small chunks of asparagus and spinach.  (Alternatively, blend until completely smooth for a creamier texture.)

Place a small spoonful of the asparagus mixture on one zucchini round, then cover with another piece of zucchini.  You can stop here, but if you have access to a dehydrator, try dehydrating the little rawviolis for about four hours at 104 degrees.  This will give the zucchini more of a pasta-like texture and warm the rawviolis to a nice temperature for serving, without disturbing any nutrients or enzymes.

You can make a traditional marinara, but I wanted something different, so I made a rich miso- mushroom gravy to serve with these little treats:

Ingredients:

1 c. chopped cremini mushrooms (roughly 4 mushrooms)

1/2 avocado

1 T. chickpea miso (or substitute the miso you have/love, but start with 1/2 T as some miso is very strong)

1 T. wheat-free tamari 

1/8 c. purified water

3 T. chopped parsley

Directions:

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth.

To serve:  I like the idea of serving on a big white plate (as the canvas) with the gravy artfully drizzled onto the plate and the rawvioli place in over the gravy, then garnished with parsley, but you can do whatever you like.  ;)

*If you choose to add probiotics and let the cheese culture, the health benefits increase, as the “good bacteria” that is found in cultured foods is so good for the digestive and immune systems.  Just be aware that the culturing will continue until the cheese is gone!  Refrigerating will help to slow the process, but will not stop it completely.  More on cultured nut mylks, yogurts and cheeses later…

S-weet Potato Bread (Crackers)
S-pinach                                                                                                                                                                                                       A-vacado
M-ushrooms

It’s cold out, I want to keep it raw to keep me warm. This yummy sandwich is easy to make, and really filling.  I cooked the mushrooms with a little bit of onion, mostly because there are a lot of studies that show that the medicinal properties of mushrooms are enhanced when cooked, and onions give a delicious flavor.  They could also be marinated or marinated and dehydrated with the onions to keep it all raw.

Ingredients:
10 Shitake mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c. yellow onion, sliced
1 T. tamari
2 T. purified water
One avocado, ripe
1 1/2 t. fresh lemon juice
1/2 t. coriander
1/2 t. cumin
1/3 t. sea salt
cayenne pepper to taste
1/4 c. diced yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
1 c. spinach
1/4 c. chopped parsley (stems included)
sprouts for garnish (I used mung)
bread or sweet potato crostini

Sauté the mushrooms and sliced onions with the water and tamari over a medium-high heat until the mushrooms are soft and the onions are caramelized.  With a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic and diced onions, then add the rest of the ingredients except for the parsley, sprouts and spinach.  Crush and mix until it is a chunky spread.  Spread half of the avocado spread on one piece of sweet potato crostini, and the other half on another.  Layer the spinach, mushrooms and onions, and garnish with parsley and sprouts.  You can add a second piece of bread or eat it open-faced.  It’s kind of messy either way. 

Ingredients:

1/2 small papaya, julienned

4 c. fresh baby arugula

4 c. mixed baby greens

1-2 scallions, chopped

1 c. garlic-maple cashews (recipe below)

2 c. bean sprouts

4 plum tomatoes, julienned

2 cups fresh cilantro, chopped

½ c. basil leaves, julienned

Dressing:

1/2 avocado

3 T. fresh lime juice

1 T. maple syrup

1 T. purified water

Garlic-Maple Cashews:

1 c. raw cashews

1 T. maple syrup

1 T water

1 t. garlic powder

¼ t. sea salt

cayenne to taste

Thoroughly mix everything but the cashews in a bowl or blender and pour over cashews.  Stir cashews every few minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed. Spread over a teflex sheet and dehydrate until crunchy, about 6-8 hours.  (Or, if you don't care about keeping it raw, bake at 300 until crunchy.)

Mix the baby greens, arugula and dressing, making the base for the salad. Arrange the rest of the ingredients over the greens and enjoy.

Perfect as an accompaniment to almost any dessert, or delicious all by itself.  

Ingredients:
27 ounces coconut mylk
2 Tablespoons cinnamon
2 Tablespoons vanilla extract (the alcohol helps with the texture)
1/3 cup coconut sugar or dates

Directions:
Blend in a blender until smooth, then follow the directions on your ice cream maker to make into a frosty delight!  

These came out of a very cold and long winter in Manhattan, when I was longing for sunshine and warmth.  They are delicious and filling and really satisfying in any season.

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato, outer skin peeled and discarded; the cleaned potato is then made into narrow-to-wide strips with the vegetable peeler.  Should make about 3 cups

1 1/2 c. sweet onion, julienned then halved

1 1/2 c. English/Garden Peas

2 c. chopped spinach

2 t. fresh thyme

1 t. ground coriander

1/4 c. purified water (instead of oil)

1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

1 t. sea salt

rice paper summer roll wrappers

1. In a medium sauté pan, sweat the onions with a little bit of water.

2. After a few minutes, add the sweet potato and some more water and cover to keep the moisture in, stirring occasionally as the sweet potatoes steam.

3. After a few more minutes, the sweet potatoes should be close to done, add the peas, spinach, thyme and coriander with the rest of the water and continue to cook until the spinach is soft and the sweet potatoes are fully cooked or al dente (I like them a little al dente, personally).

4. Remove the mixture from the heat; add the cilantro and sea salt, mix well.

5. Prepare the rice wrappers by soaking them in warm water until soft.

6. Place a wrapper on a plate, scoop a few generous spoonfuls of the sweet potato mixture into the center, and fold up like a burrito

If I could find fresh cranberries year-round, I would make this all the time!

Ingredients:
7.5 ounces organic cranberries
2 cups chopped oranges, clementines or tangerines 
8 large pitted dates
2 teaspoons chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:
Process the citrus in a blender until it is liquified.  Add the dates, chia and cinnamon and blend until the whole mixture is smooth.  Transfer everything to a food processor and add the cranberries.  Pulse until the cranberries are processed to your desired consistency - whatever you like, a little chunky or super smooth.  Refrigerate for 2-24 hours to allow the flavors to come together.  

Okay, I don’t celebrate Christmas, so I don’t usually name things after Christmas carols.  But this salad just screams Christmas, with the vibrant reds and greens… why fight it?  It’s also really easy and delicious!  This could also be called “Let’s Not Get Fat for the Holidays Salad,” as it is so low in fat and sugar and so high in fiber and so nutrient-dense, but that seems rather long.

Ingredients:

3 medium beets, peeled and shredded

2 apples (I used one gala and one honeycrisp), shredded

1 ½ ruby red grapefruits, segmented (all skins removed)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 t marjoram

1 t thyme

1 t cumin

1 large bunch curly kale, chopped

½ avocado, diced

¾ t. sea salt

Massage the kale with the avocado and sea salt until the kale is softened and coated in smooth avocado.

Combine the kale with the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Don’t worry about keeping the grapefruit segments intact; they will break up.

If you are trying to gain weight or want this as a whole, filling meal, add the other half (diced) of the avocado for some extra fat and reaminess.

Serves: 6

Delicious, fast and refreshing accompaniment to any main course. 

2 English cucumbers, thin sliced

1 c. parsley, minced

2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped

¼ medium sweet onion, diced

4 T fresh lemon juice

1 T dried dill

2 t coriander powder

2 t garlic powder

1 t sea salt

½ c. pumpkin seeds, soaked

Massage the cucumbers with the sea salt and lemon juice until they are soft.

Add the remaining ingredients, mix well, and set aside for 20 minutes

Drain the excess liquid from the mixture and combine in a blender with the pumpkin seeds. Blend until smooth. Just before serving, mix the pumpkin seed dressing into the salad.

Serves 6 (as a side dish)

Ingredients:

1 c. dried organic garbanzo beans, soaked for 24 hours, sprouted for 24 hours

2 pounds brown rice pasta (macaroni)

2 cups purified water

3 cups purified water

2 cups Daiya cheese, cheddar

2 cups nutritional yeast

1/2 c. gluten-free bread crumbs

1/2 cup tamari

1/4 cup coconut oil*

3 cloves garlic, chopped

9 drops stevia

1 Tablespoon turmeric powder

1/2-1 teaspoon of chipotle or cayenne powder (optional)

1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seed

Instructions:

Simmer the chickpeas until they are soft.  This should take about an hour.

Drain and rinse the soft chickpeas and transfer into a high speed blender or food processor with all the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the macaroni, bread crumbs and Daiya cheese.  Blend/mix well until you have a smooth, rich sauce.

Cook the pasta according to box instructions.  Be sure not to overcook!

In a casserole dish, combine the cooked pasta, 1 cup of Daiya cheese and the sauce, mixing well.

Top with the other cup of Daiya cheese and the breadcrumbs.

Broil for 20 – 30 minutes or until the cheese is melty and the breadcrumbs are toasty and crunchy.

*The oil can be omitted, but I include it because turmeric is so good for us, but only if it has been emulsified in oil first so we can get all it’s awesome goodness.