Roasted Sweet Potato, Rosemary & Orange

Published on: · 1 Comment
Roasted Sweet Potato with Rosemary & Orange

Roasting sweet potatoes really brings out their natural sweetness and almost caramelizes them and the addition of orange juice, mandarin slices and fresh rosemary works with the flavor of the sweet potatoes to create a subtle but very tasty dish. It’s great served warm or cold the next day. It’s really filling too, I’ll often have just this and a big salad. In New Zealand, sweet potatoes are commonly called kumara, and they were brought here by the first settlers, the Maori for whom they were an important staple crop. They come in a variety of different colors, which all have slightly different flavors, but any kind can be used for this recipe. Read more »

Basil Cashew Pesto

Published on: · 2 Comments
Basil Cashew Pesto

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to find fresh basil at a local gardeners market for a great price. I bought lots so that I could make basil pesto, for the first time ever. It was so easy and it turned out pretty well. Fresh herbs are always magical to work with, but here’s what’s special about basil. A study done in Russia a few decades ago showed that basil alleviates depression. They put a basil plant on the nightstand of people who had been diagnosed with depression and that was enough to alleviate it. I remember reading about that as a teenager. I think it was my first exposure to the concept of aromatherapy. Since then I can’t smell fresh basil without being reminded of that study, and noticing how happy I feel. Making your own basil pesto has the double advantage of that beautiful ‘happy’ aroma and lots of tasty, creamy basil pesto as a result. Read more »

Rosemary, Garlic and Walnut Kefir Cheese

Published on: · 2 Comments
Rosemary, garlic, walnut kefir cheese on a flax cracker

This is a beautiful, tangy, silky-soft cheese perfect for spreads and dips. With just a few simple ingredients, it’s very quick to make up if you have already strained the kefir through cheesecloth to make the cheese. Since it’s made from milk kefir, it has all the healthy probiotic benefits of kefir, but the cream cheese-like consistency makes it so much more versatile. It would be a great dish to bring to potlucks and picnics. It’s a delicious and refreshing addition to sandwiches, on crackers or as a dip for vegetable sticks. Read more »

Red Cabbage Braised with Olive Oil and Garlic

Published on: · 2 Comments
Red Cabbage Braised with Olive Oil

Red cabbage is a superfood, and this has to be one of the simplest, yet tastiest ways to eat lots of it. I love cabbage, maybe it’s the Irish in me, but I can make a meal of this. Properly cooked cabbage has a slightly sweet taste which is complemented by the garlic. If you don’t like cabbage, you’ve probably never had it cooked properly. I’ve met many a person who thought they didn’t like cabbage until they tried one of my cabbage dishes. They’ve always asked for more. So if you imagine over-cooked, mushy cabbage with rotten-egg smell permeating the house give this recipe a try and see if cabbage doesn’t become one of your favorite vegetables too. Cabbage contains phytochemicals called indoles which are thought to be responsible for reducing the risk of cancer. It’s also high in fiber, and contains a good amount of vitamins C, K, beta-carotene and the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin which promote good [...] Read more »

Marinated Portobello Mushrooms

Published on: · 10 Comments
Raw Diet Recipes: Marinated Portobello Mushrooms

If you love sauteed mushrooms but hate the taste of them raw, and are trying to eat a raw vegan diet, then this recipe is for you. Using a dehydrator, olive oil and spices, you'll be amazed at how you can totally transform the taste of raw mushrooms to so closely resemble sauteed mushrooms.

Keep the temperature setting of your dehydrator at 115 degrees F or below, and you won't destroy any of the important enzymes in raw food, but the warmth is enough to change the texture and taste of the food, similar to cooking at higher temperatures. In the case of mushrooms, these are every bit as delicious as sauteed mushrooms. Read more »

Sunflower Walnut Pate – TuNo

Published on: · 4 Comments
Sunflower Walnut Pate on flax crackers with sprouts and arugula

I love this pate, it's so tasty, nutritious and versatile. It can be used in sandwiches and wraps, as a spread or dip or simply drop a scoop on top of a green salad. It's also called TuNo because it tastes and looks very similar to tuna salad, but it's vegan, in fact it's a super-healthy raw vegan dish. Now if you're one of those vegetarians or vegans who hates the taste and smell of tuna, you'll still love this no fishy taste or smell. I suspect what most people really love about tuna salad is more to do with the added ingredients than with the tuna itself. But the tuna provides a vehicle and texture that holds it all together and gives you that high-protein full feeling. Well, the walnuts and sunflower seeds do the same in this case, and the taste really comes from the spices and other added ingredients.

Great dish to serve to your non-vegan friends - see how many of them can guess that it's not actually tuna. Read more »