Raw Lemon Frosted Carrot Cakes

Although these cakes are good to eat just as they are, they can also be dehydrated. So before you frost them, placing the cakes in the dehydrator will result in a drier texture.

I like to use Meyer lemons for their sweeter taste without the mouth-puckering sour tartness associated with lemons.

The produce manager at the Independent Grocer store in Abbotsford brought in Meyer lemons for me.

Raw Carrot Cakes     Yield:  1-1/2 dozen
1-1/2 cups carrot Pulp, from juiced carrots              2 tsp Meyer lemon zest
1/2 cup almond pulp or almonds, ground                  1 tsp agave
1/3 cup coconut Flour                                              1/2 tsp cinnamon + 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped                                        1-2 pinches vanilla powder
1/3 cup raisins, chopped     

• Use the pulp leftover from making Almond milk, or grind almonds into a meal 
• Coconut flour is shredded coconut that is ground in blender
• By hand, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl
• Shape cakes using a 1-1/2 or 2” spring-loaded ice cream scoop, pressing mixture firmly into the scoop
• When you turn them out onto a tray – they will have a rounded top and flat bottom
• Set in the fridge until ready to frost – or at this point they can be dehydrated a few hours

Lemon Frosting
1/4 cup cashews                                                     2-1/2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup Meyer lemon juice                                      1 Tbsp agave   

• Place coconut oil in a jar with lid and sit the jar in a bowl of warm water to melt
• When oil is melted, blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth
• Spoon the frosting over the top of each cake
• Place in the fridge until ready to eat - cakes will last a week covered in the fridge

Raw Persimmon Pudding Green Smoothie

If you have never made a Green Smoothie before, here is your opportunity! Just start out with a few glasses each day and build up to drinking a blender full.

Dark leafy greens contain an abundance of the essential minerals, vitamins, and amino acids needed for optimum health. And the easiest way to include nutrient dense greens into our daily diet is by drinking a blender full of GREEN SMOOTHIE every day!

So what have I discovered through drinking Green Smoothies? Abundant health, increased energy, regulated weight, reduced cravings, and better digestion are just a few of the benefits!

For this recipe, any blender will do, but for the tougher, fibrous greens like kale you will find a more powerful blender gives creamier results. My blender is a Vitamix which can handle just about anything.

Raw Persimmons Pudding GS
Add ingredients to the blender in the following order:
2 cups purified water
3 cups spinach, tightly packed
1 one inch thick slice of fresh pineapple
2 persimmons, chopped
1 banana, sliced

• Place water in bottom of blender
• Add spinach (make sure measuring cup has been tightly packed)
• Slice off an inch from the top and bottom of the pineapple and throw away. Remove outside skin from pineapple with a knife, and cut a one inch thick slice. Cut this pineapple slice into cubes including the core, and add to the blender.
• Insert a small knife into the top of each persimmon around the green stem. Cut a circle about 1/2" deep to remove and throw away the stem. Chop the remaining persimmons into cubes, and add to blender.
• Remove the peel from a banana, slice, and add to blender
• Blend all together until thick, smooth, and creamy
• For a pudding - put into small bowls and serve with a spoon!
• For a drink - add an extra 1/2 to 1 cup of water, thinning to your desired consistency, blend again and serve in glasses!

Raw Persimmon Pudding

Persimmon Pudding

Since persimmons are in the grocery stores right now, I decided to repost this recipe from this blog's archives.

You can make a fast, easy, and deliciously thick green smoothie pudding - OR - you can leave out the celery to make a quick fruity pudding!

Raw Persimmon Pudding
Makes 3-4 servings

1 persimmon

1 banana
4 very large strawberries (I used frozen)

2-3 stalks wild celery, with leaves

(I used regular celery, but I love using wild celery which is more nutritious and tastier)

• Remove and discard the top and seed from persimmon
• Blend together persimmon and banana in a blender
• Add strawberries to blender (If using a Vitamix you may want to use the tamber)
• Omitting water thickens a green smoothie into a pudding
• When fruit is mixed thoroughly, add celery, one stalk at a time, blending untill smooth
• Pour into dessert dishes - Fast, Easy and Delish!

Raw Date Nut Torte

This recipe comes courtesy of Alissa Cohen. It is fast and easy to put together and tastes divine! Only made 1/2 of the recipe, just to get a better picture for you!

Raw Date Nut Torte

Date Nut Torte

Base of Torte
2 cups raisins
2 cups walnuts

• In a food processor, combine raisins and walnuts and blend until well blended and moist
• This will take a few minutes and you may see it forming a ball
• Make sure the raisins come out looking like a fudgey mixture and are not still grainy
• Remove from food processor and mould onto a plate in a round circle about 1-1/2" thick  

Frosting
1 cup dates, pitted and soaked
1/2 lemon, juiced 

• In a food processor, combine dates and lemon juice until smooth and creamy
• Spread the frosting on top of the torte
• If you want a firmer texture that will be easier to slice, refrigerate the torte for a few hours

Creativity in Action

How many times have you started making something only to find it is not to your liking - then what do you do? Well this just happened to me! Life presents these moments that you can either take as a defeat, or grasp as an opportunity to create something new - the choice is always yours!  

Today I wanted to make some new little dessert balls, but they tasted similar to all the other dessert balls out there. So at this point I could throw out this failed attempt or have some fun and let my imagination run free. Opting for fun seemed like the thing to do, so to what was already in the food processor I began adding ingredients, varying the texture, and taste testing until I came up with this new surprise - that by the way is nut-free. Since I wasn't sure how long the batter would take to dehydrate, I decided to use this lovely little heart mould and split the batter into two portions.

 

What could have been a 2-layer heart-shaped cake OR a carob zucchini loaf turned out to be a 2-layer Carob Zucchini Cake with a Strawberry Cream filling and Carob frosting (either way I would have been happy)!

Raw Mixed Noodle Teriyaki

This simple light sauce, which also makes a great dressing or dip for veggies, was inspired by Ani Phyo. 

I like playing around with traditional Asian recipes - and this is the result!

My way is to combine noodles of different colours and textures with a sweet Teriyaki sauce and serve alongside Garlicky Green Beans (see post April 24, 2011) and diced juicy canteloupe for a complete meal! 

Raw Mixed Noodle Teriyaki  Serves 4

Sauce
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp raw Tahini (or 1 Tbsp Almond butter)
2 Tbsp gluten-free Tamari
3 Tbsp agave
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp minced garlic

Noodles
1 cup finely shredded Red Cabbage
3 cups of noodles (use any combination of root veggies like zucchini, carrots, daikon, etc)

• Whisk together the sauce ingredients in a bowl (or mix the sauce in a blender)
• If you want a thicker sauce, simply increase the tahini (or Almond butter) 
• Shred cabbage and put in the bowl containing the sauce
• Make noodles with a Spirooli, Spiralizer, or veggie peeler
• Add noodles to the bowl with the cabbage and sauce
• Mix all together until thoroughly coated
• For added nutrition, sprinkle some sesame seeds or sprouted lentils over top
• Noodles and sauce mixture will keep 1-2 days in the fridge

Raw Kabocha Squash Coconut Soup

My desire to make a new soup, sent me searching through the contents of my fridge in hopes of discovering a new way to reuse leftovers.

Happily, what I discovered were two foods just waiting to be put to the test...coconut milk and Kabocha squash. 

The result was this simple silky puree, that is a high source of antioxidants, Vitamins A, C, and fibre.

Raw Kabocha Squash Coconut Soup    
Yield:  2 cups

2 cups Kabocha squash, peeled and seeded
1 sweet apple, cored
1 cup coconut milk
1 Tbsp organic raw agave, or date paste
1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp Madras Curry
1/4 tsp Cayenne
1/4 cup water (optional)

• (You can use Organic coconut milk from a can, or make your own milk by blending the water and meat from 1 young Thai coconut in your blender)
• Cut the Kabocha squash in half lengthwise, removing seeds and fibrous material from the cavity
• Remove the outer rind from the squash with a vegetable peeler or large knife
• Cut the squash into small pieces and place in a high-speed blender
• Add the cored and chopped apple to the blender with the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth (adding optional water if the soup is too thick)
• Garnish soup with grated squash, fresh sprouts, raw pumpkin seeds, or sprinkle of cayenne