Natural Living Cuisine

Cashew Coconut Pudding with Orange Segments

March 11th, 2008 | by Ingrid | Posted in Desserts

This recipe is inspired by and adapted from Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen, page 73

Today while thumbing through Ani Phyo’s wonderful contribution to the raw food world Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen, I found the perfect recipe [being that I had all the ingredients] called “Cashew Coconut Pudding”.

So here it is! The original recipe itself is great as a stand-alone pudding, however, I tweaked it a bit, adapting it with a citrus note and a splash of organic vanilla. Yum!

One thing, as always, leads to another, after making the pudding I thought a parfait would be an attractive way to present this pudding, alternating layers of this silky smooth pudding with fresh orange segments. Delicious!

PREP: 5 Minutes TOTAL: 5 Minutes

SERVES 4

I adapted this recipe adding organic, non-alcohol vanilla, and substituted fresh orange juice in place of water. I also used dried coconut and didn’t soak the cashews. You can play around with a few variables here. For example, had I had fresh coconut on hand I would have used fresh coconut milk or even coconut water in place of the water. For even more pronounced coconut flavor, you might try adding a small splash of coconut extract.

2 cups cashews
1 ½ cups fresh orange juice
½ cup shredded dried coconut or fresh coconut
¼ cup pitted dates
2 teaspoons organic vanilla

Blend the cashews and water until smooth. Add the dates and coconut. Blend until smooth.

Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. Will keep for three to four days in the fridge.

TOOLS: High-speed Blender

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Carob Pudding
How To Open A Coconut
Sesame Orange Dipping Sauce
Pomegranate Orange Drink
Beet Orange Soup

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Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

February 29th, 2008 | by Ingrid | Posted in Cookies, Desserts

I haven’t indulged in peanut butter cookies in a long while. The dehydrator has been humming with various cookie experiments and these peanut butter sandwich cookies are one of those experiments.

The cookies alone have a subtle peanut taste so to heighten the peanut flavor I added raw peanut butter between two cookies. Not only are these healthy good for you cookies, they are filling, so one goes a long way.

Making raw peanut butter is easy. Add a couple cups of raw peanuts to a food processor and process. It will break down the peanuts and within a couple minutes you’ll have fresh homemade peanut butter.

Raw peanuts are a very good source of monounsaturated fats, rich in oleic acid [the healthful fat found in olive oil], as well as a good source of antioxidants.

1 cup quinoa, sprouted
1 tbsp lecithin
½ tsp sea salt
2 cups raw peanuts
1/3 cup agave
2 tsp vanilla

In a food processor, process sprouted quinoa, salt and lecithin into a powder. If there is still moisture in the sprouted quinoa it will process into a dough-like mass. Place quinoa mixture into a bowl, set aside.

Using the same food processor, process peanuts into peanut butter. Add agave and vanilla and process to mix.

Add the quinoa mixture to the peanut butter mixture in the food processor; process until the mixture forms into a ball.

Freeze dough for an hour. Take a rolling pin and roll out dough and shape cookies into desired shapes. Dehydrate for 4-5 hours turn and continue dehydrating for 4-5 hours or until cookies reach the consistency you prefer.

NOTE:

At room temperature the dough is not easy to manage, it is sticky, sticking to your fingers. Freezing the dough at least an hour makes it more manageable. I tried using a wooden cutting board to help thing with the process. I flatten the dough onto a wooden cutting board then place it in the freezer.

After an hour, I placed the cutting board on the counter and working with a rolling pin flatten the dough to the thickness I wanted. I shaped the cookies using a cookie cutter, and used a spatula to remove each cookie from the wood board to place in the dehydrator.

This cutting board technique was useful and it was easy to roll the dough because the dough was already fairly flat. This may or may not work for you, it depends on how much space you have in your freeze to place a cutting board.

Makes [depending on size] 17 – 24 individual cookies or 8 - 10 sandwich cookies

If you liked this article, please share it on del.icio.us or on Digg. I’d appreciate it. :)

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Carrot Caraway Soup

February 26th, 2008 | by Ingrid | Posted in Soup Recipes

This is a re-post. The previous post was somehow corrupted making it necessary to delete the last post. I’ve also updated this site with a new look. How you enjoy this recipe and thank you for your patience.

This recipe was inspired by a 25-pound bag of carrots [don’t worry I only used 5 from the massive bunch], the still life of Fiji apples displayed on the dining table, a desire for soup, along with my heightened interest in caraway.

While grinding the caraway fruits in my mortar in pestle, its gorgeous aroma motivated my imagination and I whipped up a few recipes-by-theory and quickly wrote it on paper. I’ll give them a go and post each, if they are worthy.

When preparing this soup, I like to grate the carrot either using a food processor with the grater attachment or with a hand-held grater. Grating the carrots can be done in advance. Once the soup is made, I let it rest allowing the flavors to mingle and mellow.

Caraway’s flavor harmonizes nicely with sweet carrots and apples, you might also consider using fennel, anise, dill, cumin or combine equal amounts of these fruits to yield 1 tablespoon for a unique mix on taste. This soup can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

4-5 carrots [about 1 ½ pounds or 3 cups], peeled and shredded
2 apples [about 1 cup], peeled, cored and chopped
2 cups water
1 tablespoon caraway seeds, ground
2 tablesppons agave, optional

Place all ingredients into a high-speed blender and process until smooth.

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Caraway Seeds

February 19th, 2008 | by Ingrid | Posted in Nature's Foods

[Carum carvi]

What we refer as seeds is actually tiny striated beige to dark brown fruits of the caraway plant.

This fruit is tasty adding distinctive flavor to vegetables, such as cabbage [green and red], cauliflower, beets, turnips, and carrots. Pair caraway with apples or try it in soup, cake, and cookie recipes.

Buying the fruits whole and processing [bruising, grinding, crushing, etc.] as needed not only ensures keeping its potent flavor, but a long shelf life. When crushed its volatile oils [carvone and limonene] release a sweet pungent perfume. It is a pleasant aroma reminiscent of anise and dill and the flavor is just as delightful. Beside volatile oils, caraway contains carbohydrates and proteins.

If you are not fond of caraway’s taste a good substitute is dill seed in savory dishes or just omit from the recipe. Other options for those who appreciate the taste but caraway is not on hand are: angelica, dill and fennel or better yet ½ anise and ½ dill seeds.

TWO DRINKS FEATURING CARAWAY

I truly enjoy the flavor of caraway. How happy was I when I discovered I could drink it as tea. Recently I found I could also use it to flavor raw nut milks. Here are two drink recipes I hope you will try.

CARAWAY TEA

Steep 1-2 tablespoons of bruised/pressed fruits to 1 cup cold spring or filtered water for 6 hours. Strain and enjoy as is or sweeten your choice of sweetener.

CARAWAY ALMOND MILK

Place 1 cup soaked almonds or 2 heaping tablespoons raw almond butter, and 2 tablespoons crushed caraway fruits in a blender. If you’d like, add a tablespoon of sweetener such as agave or raw honey. Blend until smooth. Strain and enjoy.

LET’S NOT STOP AT THE FRUIT

Though the caraway plant is mostly grown for its fruits, the young leaves and the root are also edible. It is a biennial herb meaning it takes two seasons or second year to complete its growing cycle, to mature.

If you are growing caraway, you can harvest the delicate foliage to use as you would chervil or parsley.

The root can be harvested at the end of the second season after you harvest the fruits [better known as seeds] from the plant. Enjoy the root as you would carrots or parsnips.

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