blueberry oatmeal smoothie

1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup almond milk (or other milk)
1/2 cup berries (frozen are ok; i used a combination of blackberries and blueberries)
1 small banana, broken into 3 or 4 pieces
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
handful of fresh strawberries
honey, to taste (~ 1T) (optional)

soak oats in milk when you get up.

make smoothie 15 mins later.

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adapted from here

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i didn’t have oats (whoops, forgot about my oatmeal-peanut-butter-chocolate-chip cookie baking spree a few weeks ago) so i used a little oat flour. i added the strawberries to the original recipe, and it is totally awesome. a perfect breakfast for a spring morning!

vegan paleo raw-ish chocolate tart

filling

2 avocados, room temperature
½ cup cocoa powder
¾ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla
pinch of sea salt
2 tablespoons coconut oil, room temperature

crust

4 cups pecans
½ cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¾ cup maple syrup

Place the ingredients for chocolate filling in a food processor fitted with chopping blade and process until smooth. Scrape the filling into a bowl and set it aside.
Fit the bowl and blade back onto the food processor (no need to clean the bowl in between). Place all ingredients for tart crust except maple syrup into food processor. Process until fine textured with small bits of pecans. Measure out a ¼ cup of the crumbs and sprinkle them across the bottom of the tart pan. Add the maple syrup to the remaining crumbs and process 1-2 minutes until the tart crust becomes as thick as cookie dough. Pat crust into tart pan. Spread the chocolate filling over the crust, cover and refrigerate overnight.

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from gi365

simple light dressing for roasted vegetables

roast

leeks
carrots
potatoes
sweet potatoes
beets
onions
anything else in the world

in this dressing:

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½ lemon, zested and juiced
1 tsp mustard (not yellow hot dog mustard!)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

a few pepper corns, roughly crushed
salt to taste

1 tbsp honey (optional)
herbs, like rosemary or tarragon, whatever you like (optional)

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these ingredients together also makes a perfect salad dressing, with a few splashes of homemade fruit vinegar or whatever vinegar is your favorite.

i’d also bet it makes a great chicken marinade.

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adapted from this

almost raw vegan double chocolate brownie milkshake

this is what i now plan to do with my weekend.

first mix up some double chocolate brownie bites:

1/2 cup cashews, walnuts, or blend
fistful of walnuts
12 Medjool dates (1 cup packed & pitted)
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
1/4 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
a few pinches of chocolate chips (opt.)
a few pinches of shredded coconut or coconut flour (opt.)

1. In a food processor, add the nuts (not the fistful of walnuts) and process until a fine crumb. Don’t over-process.

2. Add in dates and process until chunky. Add in the rest of the ingredients (except walnuts) and process until a dough forms. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Pulse in walnuts so they remain chunky. Add a bit more liquid sweetener if dough is too dry.

3. Form into balls and store in fridge or freezer.

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then, throw some frozen bananas (or ice cream, or both) into the food processor with a scoop of peanut butter, a little bit of cocoa powder, and process until creamy.

throw in your brownie bites from above, and you’ve got a milkshake.

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adapted from oh she glows

ginger orange broccoli quinoa salad

1 and 1/2 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth (or water)
1 cup of uncooked quinoa
2 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger (divided)
1 teaspoon of freshly grated orange peel
juice of one small orange
1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon of canola oil
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 tablespoon of honey or agave
pinch of salt
1 cup of trimmed sugar snap peas, halved
2 cups of broccoli slaw (shredded broccoli florets and stems, red cabbage and carrots)
1 red pepper, cut into thin strips
1 yellow pepper, cut into thin strips
3 tablespoons of fresh cilantro or parsley
2 tablespoons of thinly sliced scallions
1 cup of dry roasted peanuts (or raw)
1 tablespoon of black or white sesame seeds

1. Place the vegetable stock, 1 tablespoon of grated ginger, grated orange rind, orange juice and quinoa in a medium sauce pot. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Cook the quinoa for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, mix the rice wine vinegar, other tablespoon of grated ginger, canola oil, sesame oil, honey and salt in a small glass jar or container. Shake to combine.

3. After the quinoa has cooked for 10 minutes, turn off the heat. Toss in the sugar snap peas, broccoli slaw and red pepper. Return lid to pot and allow the veggies to steam with the quinoa for 5 minutes. Remove lid and allow mixture to cool to room temperature.

4. Toss the quinoa mixture with the salad dressing. Add in the dry roasted peanuts. Garnish the salad with fresh cilantro (or parsley), scallions and sesame seeds.

Serve at room temperature.

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from the fig tree

cold ginger-melon soup

puree 2 cantaloupes or muskmelons

stir in
a cup of fresh orange juice
a quarter-cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

add a tablespoon of ginger juice or puree
(you can squeeze minced ginger in a cheesecloth to juice it with your hands)

refrigerate for two hours.

garnish with kiwis, strawberries, or fresh mint.

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from the joy of cooking

fruit and nut bars

2 c. raw whole almonds
1/2 c. coarsely chopped dark chocolate (or chocolate chips)*
3 c. whole, pitted dates
1 c. dried, unsweetened cherries
2 T. almond butter (or any “nut” butter you prefer), divided

Place the almonds in your food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the chocolate and pulse again until finely chopped. Pour mixture into a large bowl; set aside.

Place half of the fruit in the food processor and process until a paste forms and clumps together. Add 1 T. of the nut butter and 1/2 of the almond/chocolate mixture; process until evenly combined. Scrape into the prepared pan.

Repeat with the remaining fruit, nut butter and almond/chocolate mixture. Scrape into the prepared pan.

With slightly wet hands, press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan. Use something flat and heavy to press down firmly on the mixture until it is smooth (I used a small cutting board). Chill two hours. Cut. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

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adapted by donuts dresses and dirt from foodie with family

raw tomato sauce

1 very large red or yellow bell pepper, deseeded
¾ cup cherry or roma tomatoes
¼ cup sundried tomatoes
1 Tablespoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt
a sprig of fresh oregano
a few sprigs of fresh basil
2 dates or honey to taste

blend

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adapted from here

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EDIT:

today’s fantastic herbed tomato-”cream” raw pasta sauce:

a fistful of sundried tomatoes, soaked for four or six hours
a fistful of cashews, soaked for four or six hours
a huge pinch of fresh oregano
a fistful of fresh basil
a few cloves of garlic
a few turnip greens
a fistful of other assorted fresh herbs
three big locally grown heirloom tomatoes
two locally grown red peppers
a squeeze of lime juice
two pinches of salt
a dash of oil (olive, nut oils, whatever)

chimichurri

The Best Chimichurri
adapted by csagourmet from Michael Chiarello

1 bunch fresh flat leaf parsley (twist off and discard the tougher stems at the bottom)
1 handful fresh cilantro (not tougher stems at the bottom)
2 Tbsp. fresh oregano (measured as full leaves, not chopped)
2 medium-large cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 c. red wine vinegar (get good stuff, there’s no cooking here)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
3/4 c. extra virgin olive oil (again, get the good stuff)

Put all ingredients except olive oil in a food processor. Purée. Slowly stream in olive oil with the food processor running.

morrocan tangerine and olive salad

4 large tangerines
1/2 cup halved pitted Kalamata olives or other brine-cured black olives

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 head of butter lettuce, torn into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

whisk the stuff in chunk one, pour it over the stuff in chunk two, and pour that over the stuff in chunk three

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found