Since switching my diet so drastically I've learned a lot of new things and the power of raw never ceases to amaze me. The fact that nature can provide such terrific and extremely nutritious food bountiful enough to sustain our bodies is truly a magnificent gift from Mother Earth herself.
I'm no raw expert by any means, actually I'm quite the novice. What I do know is that by eating certain things raw it is really the best way to get all that you can from that certain food. I'm diving deeper into this raw concept and I can't wait to learn more about it.
I've come across the following recipe in my quest for raw vegan meals and snacks. What better way to start than with dessert?!?! I found this in the Vegetarian Times Everything Vegan Cookbook. I got a lot terrific recipes as well, including a cornbread recipe that I used to make my vegan jalapeño cornbread, sunset sweet potato drop biscuits and of course the cheesecake!
I made all of these dishes for Micah's graduation feast and they went over very well, so I'm posting all three! Enjoy my friends!!
Raw Cashew Cheesecake
2 cups unsalted macadamia nuts
1 1/2 cups unsalted raw cashews
1/2 cup pitted dates
1/4 cup dried coconut
6 tablespoons coconut oil, gently warmed(I put the oil in a glass bowl and set the bowl in another bowl full I hot water. Coconut oil melts at just 77 degrees.)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/2 vanilla bean
3 cups mixed berries(it's hard to find nice ripe berries in Ohio this time of year so I bought frozen organic berries and let them thaw in the fridge and then strained them very well.)
First you need to soak the nuts. Place the macadamia and cashews in separate bowls, and cover both with cold water. Soak for 4 hours, then rinse, drain, and set them aside.
Pulse the macadamia nuts and dates in the food processor until you have a sticky crumb-like texture. To test it I took a pinch and made it into a ball, if it sticks well then it's good to go. Sprinkle the coconut into the bottom of your pie pan and press the macadamia mixture onto coconut to make the crust. I tried using a spoon at first but quickly decided fingers are a much better tools for crust making, so make sure your little phalanges are clean at this step!
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| Pulse. |
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| Sprinkle the coconut. |
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| Use those little fingas baby:) |
Next place the cashews, coconut oil, lime juice, agave, and 6 tablespoons of water into food processor. Slice your vanilla bean down the middle and scrape the seeds into the processor, and purée until smooth. Pour your mixture into the crust.
Next wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze 1 to 2 hours until it is firm. You'll want to slice it frozen and transfer to a serving platter. Defrost it in the fridge for an hour or on the counter for 30 minutes. Top it with berries and enjoy!!!!!
Now for the biscuits. I forgot to take pictures of this process but I think you can manage without them for today.
Sunset Sweet Potato Drop Biscuits
1 cup mashed sweet potatoes(2 small baked sweet potatoes)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all purpose or whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet.
Combine the potatoes, oil, maple syrup, vinegar, and salt in a large bowl. Sift in dry ingredients.
Cut dry ingredients into sweet potato mixture with a fork until mixture comes together. Stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons of water, or as much as it takes to get the dough to hold together.
Drop golf ball-size rounds of dough onto the sheet. Bake 15-17 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned and firm to the touch.
This next recipe is a collaborative recipe, the original jalapeño cornbread recipe is from my mother-in-law. I wanted to make it for Micah's graduation celebration and I needed a new vegan cornbread recipe to make it happen. So i found the double corn bread recipe from the Vegetarian Times vegan book. Then I just altered Micah's moms recipe; using Boca meatless crumbles instead of ground beef, and vegan cheese. This is a spicy, delicious dish!!!
Vegan Jalapeño Double Cornbread
I doubled the recipe to make a large dish, small one sans jalapeños for Belly and an extra loaf of just the cornbread. I'll use the original 8 servings measurements for the cornbread recipe, and if you follow that just use a smaller pan and only one maybe one and a half bags of crumbles. Unless you really want more crumbles, then by all means use as many bags as you want.
Double Cornbread
1 cup unsweetened plain almond or soy milk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 cup cream corn
1/2 cup shredded vegan cheddar( I use about a whole cup of cheese, but reserving the other half for the Boca mixture. Daiya is my favorite brand!)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 green onions, finely chopped
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons of maple sugar or light brown sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Combine soymilk and vinegar. Let it stand for 5 minutes until it turns into a buttermilk like-consistency. Whisk in corn, cheddar, oil, and onions; set aside.
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| "Buttermilk" mixture |
Boca Jalapeno Mixture
Bag(s) of Boca Crumbles
Jalapenos- this is completely your discretion as to how much you want to add. Just roughly chop the peppers and mix in with the Boca Crumbles.
1/2 cup vegan cheddar
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8 inch baking dish with oil. Add your Boca Crumble/ Jalapeno mixture to the bottom of the pan, spread evenly. Sprinkle with your 1/2 cup of vegan cheddar.
Slip your pan into the oven and bake for about 35 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean! Then eat, eat, eat!!!
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| Yum! |
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