Lemon Tart on an Almond Cookie Crust

by meaghan // April 22, 2007 // 1 Comment

This tart is made using amasake, which is sweet rice fermented into an extra sweet drink, is used in place of the sugar for the crust. This natural sweetness, combined with the apple juice in the filling, is all you need to satisfy your sweet tooth! The agar-agar is a sea vegetable that replaces traditional gelatin in the filling. Agar-agar is cooling and stimulates healthy digestion. The kuzu helps to tone the intestines and regulate body temperature. Not only is this healthier dessert delicious, it also serves to keep you cool and satisfied in the summer heat.

For the Crust:

1 cup organic spelt or whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp. non-aluminum baking powder
Pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup organic hi-oleic safflower oil
1/4 cup organic amasake
1/2 tsp. organic almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Sift together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until combined, forming a dough. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a tart pan.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

For the Filling:

2 cups organic apple juice
Pinch of sea salt
1 Tbsp. agar-agar flakes
1 Tbsp. organic kuzu, dissolved in 2 Tbsp. spring or filtered water
1/4 cup fresh organic lemon juice, or more to taste
1/2 tsp. fresh organic lemon zest
Fresh organic mint leaves for garnish
Fresh organic berries for garnish

Place the juice in a saucepan and add the salt. Sprinkle the agar-agar flakes on top and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.
Slowly bring to a boil, stirring frequently once warmed. Boil, stirring frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the agar-agar flakes have dissolved.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add the dissolved kuzu, stirring constantly to prevent lumping.
Raise the heat to medium and stir until thick and clear. Remove from the heat. Add the lemon juice and zest, stirring well. Let cool slightly, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Pour into the prepared crust. Refrigerate for about 1 hour to set.
Garnish with the mint leaves and the berries.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Live Cacao Tart

by meaghan // April 13, 2007 // 1 Comment

Cacao!

Yes, I have always suffered a severe addiction to chocolate. But when I get the chance to use raw cacao, I know my body is in for a bigger treat! Super high in antioxidants, magnesium, and PEA, Cacao is a natural high in all forms, especially when its the uncooked stuff!

This recipe is from the Raw Food, Real World Cookbook . I tend to really like the recipes from this book.

I did change a couple small things. I used Natures First Laws’ Raw Chocolate Powder instead of the cocoa powder. If you’ve never used this stuff before- you should. It tends to be a little less bitter than straight Cacao nibs, or powder. I use this to also make my almond nut milks, brownies, ice cream, etc. If I’m feeling lazy and need a chocolate fix fast, Ill cut into a young coconut, and mix in a spoonful with the yummy water inside. Simply decadent! Instead of making almond flour, I took my leftover nut pulp from my nut mylks, dehydrated it and voila! No waste! I also made a raspberry coulis to top, making this a super duper high in antioxidants dessert!

For the crust:

3/4 cup Raw chocolate powder
3/4 cup Almond pulp
1/2 cup Maple syrup granules
1/4 cup Coconut butter
pinch of celtic salt

***Mix all ingredients in a mixer with a paddle attachment. Or if you dont have a mixer, use a wooden spoon and a large bowl. Press the crust evenly in a 9-inch tart pan. Springform pans work best due to the removable bottoms! Allow to chill 1 hour.

For the filling:

2 1/4 cups Raw chocolate powder
2 1/4 cups maple syrup
1 cup coconut butter

***Blend all of the ingredients in a processor till smooth. Taste it here to make sure its not grainy, and to your liking. Pour into the chilled crust, and refrigerate for another 3 hours.

*** To make the raspberry coulis, I put some fresh raspberries and a tiny squirt of agave in the blender for just a quick second. Spoon over the top. Feed this to you loved one and I’m sure they’ll be at your feet begging for more!

Borscht Soup w/ Herbed Tofu Sour Cream

by meaghan // March 27, 2007 // No Comments

As we all know, Borscht comes to us from Russia and Poland. Beets are high in potassium, and those green leafy tops contain more iron than spinach itself. Beets are especially great in the summer! The acidity & sweetness of the OJ in this recipe helps to make this soup a tad sweet, and super creamy. As for the sour cream, the fresh herbs help to cut the bland taste of the tofu.

Vegan Borscht

4 cups filtered water
4 cups beets, peeled & diced
1 big tomato
2 carrots, peeled & diced
1 med red pepper, seeded & diced
1 bay leaf
1 big red onion, diced
4 green onions, or scallions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1/3 cup fresh squeezed OJ (save some zest for garnish!)
Sea salt & pepper to taste

*In large pot, combine water, beets, tomato, carrots, and bell pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to boil, and allow to simmer for 30 min.

Meanwhile, Heat 1 Tab. of olive oil in saute pan over medium heat. Add in onion, scallions, and garlic. Saute till onions are translucent. Gently stir in parsley once heat is turned off.

Remove bay leaf from broth mixture. Then combine sauteed vegetables with broth mixture. If using a food processor, you may need to puree in batches, but if you have a small hand held blender, use it! I haven’t tried to puree this in my blender, but if you’ve got a vitamix, it should work!

After you’ve pureed the mixture, stir in the OJ, sea salt, and pepper.

For the Tofu Sour Cream:

2 tea. agar-agar powder
4 Tab. fresh lime juice
2 Tab. fresh lemon juice
16 oz. tofu, firm
1/2 cup cold pressed olive oil
2 Tab. of each: chives, cilantro, basil
2 tea. sea salt
1/2 tea. garlic, minced
1/2 tea. blk. pepper

***In a small stainless steel bowl, dissolve agar in fresh lemon & lime juice. Blanch tofu for 5 minutes, drain and cool for 20 minutes. Blend all ingredients and till smooth. If mixture is still warm, transfer to bowl and let sit in refrigerator till chilled. Dollop Sour cream to top the Borscht, along with some orange zest and minced chives.

Short weekend in San Fran.

by meaghan // February 26, 2007 // No Comments

Happy Birthday Andreas!!!!

My purpose for this visit was the B-Day weekend of one of my favorite people in the world. Andreas! However, I arrived and he was sick… The kind of sick where you cant leave your bed, and feel bad for having one of your friends fly up from San Diego. But, what is my favorite thing to do in SF, aside from visit friends???

EAT of course!!!!

I only got to enjoy fresh doses of Airborne, lots of H20, and two meals with dear Andreas. First quick stop was to get Pizza from this village coffee/cafe place in Mission. Roasted yams, portobellos, and baked tofu, over a yummy sage sauce.

We ventured down again to mission for breakfast the next day. I believe the Spanish breakfast spot was called Sunshine Cafe. Here I ate a simple and yummy rice, beans, homemade vegan chorizo, and tortilla breakfast, accompanied by a spinach sambusa of some sorts. Truthfully, I forgot what it was called (This is where Andreas sends me an email correcting me of my incorrect food lingo!) But it was delicious served with a spicy homemade hot sauce! And the homemade chorizo was of the best I’ve ever had!
Next on to:

Another friend of mine (who I’d like to say I helped convert to veg-head some what!) Has the pleasure of living 2 blocks from Herbivore. For dinner I had the Lentil Loaf, my friend had the lemon caper penne pasta. Both were delicious! Unfortunately, we got our German Chocolate Cake to go, a result of being to over stuffed. My sneaky friend managed to let me forget about it, until I was gone from the city. I only heard it was delicious:)

Next Breakfast:

If you work in the restaurant Industry, as I, many of us loathe brunch. Early hours, hungry, hung-over people to feed, social gatherings you wish you could attend. But boy do we enjoy going out to eat brunch! Breakfast can always start my day out right.
I was first to arrive and eat brunch at the classic vegan restaurant, Herbivore yet again. Here, my favorite, of anywhere, is the Blueberry Cornbread. Thick, soft in the middle, crisp crust, topped with melted earth balance. I had to literally push it aside before I got full, and forget about the rest of my meal! Sad to say I wasn’t to impressed with the tofu scramble. Potatoes=yum, along with the HUGE tempeh breakfast burrito that my friend filled up on.

We were quite tired, wishing they had a liquor license to serve us organic mimosa’s! Maybe next time! Here’s a funny early morning pic, desperately waiting for coffee.

He loves his album Leaf track Jacket!