Hummus

Here is a version of hummus I like although I often make it with zuchini instead of a nut base because I get sick of nuts and I never get sick of veges.

Recipe:

3/4 cup macadamia nuts

4 Tablespoons lemon juice

4 Tablespoons tahini

1tsp cumin

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp salt

water to mix

Blend all ingredients  until smooth. Taste and season.

If you thin it down it makes a great dressing for coleslaw or my personal favorite a salad of mixed sprouts- heavy on the mung bean sprouts.

Ice cream

Ice Cream

2c cashews
1/2c coconut butter
1/4c agave nectar
1 vanilla pod, scrape out the seeds and discard the pod
1c almond milk
1t lemon juice

Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth.

Pour mixture into your ice cream maker and churn. Set in the freezer if necessary.

Before you serve you might want to mix through some berries or chocolate or set in moulds and cover in crushed berry sauce.

Quick Corn Salad

Here is a quick corn salad that is perfect to take on a picnic and children are enchanted by it’s fresh colours so it makes a wonderfully healthy kids snack or compliment to any meal.

You could always use it as a filling in a lettuce wrap for an nutritious lunch or as the veges in the kid’s sandwiches.

Recipe:

Fresh corn relish

Fresh corn is cunchy and sweet in season and often I bring some back from the farmers market to make relish and salads.

Always buy it still in its natural wrapper rather than that horrible dried out stuff the supermarket has cut up for your ‘convenience’ and plastic wrapped without regard for the moisure and nutrients being lost.

Recipe:
4 large ears or fresh corn

4 spring onions chopped

1 small clove garlic minced

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon macrobiotic  salt

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Method:

Holding each ear of corn upright on a tray or cutting board slice off the kernals from top to bottom then transfer to a large bowl. Add remaining relish ingredients. Toss to combine. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Serve with crackers and nut cheese

Raw Mango Relish

There is something so inviting about the perfume of ripe mango, it is heady and delightful.  Mixed with fresh mint it is a fragrance you wont be able to resist. Balance the flavors with chili, agave and salt and you have a relish you can put on anything.

Recipe:

Raw mangoes diced finely
About a  handful of fresh mint leaves, chopped finely.
Some Red chilli powder/paprika to taste
Agave or honey
Salt

Mix in a bowl and add the spices tasting as you go, adjusting for your prference.

Allow the flavors to develop for half an hourish, inhale the divine aromas and serve with everything.

Indian style Raw onion relish

I was looking for some condiments and side dishes for the raw cashew curry and realised loads of Indian food is raw any way so posted this for your dining pleasure.  It couldnt be more simple and rest assured the rinsing of the onion takes away it harsh qualities and leaves it quite pungent and sweet. The optional ingredients make an altogether sexier version of this already lovely dish.

recipe:

3 medium-sized onions, preferably red

1 green chili, seeded and sliced

Juice of 1 lemon,or lime or 2 teaspoons cider vinegar

1/2 tsp agave

macrobiotic  salt to taste

Optional:

2 to 3 tablespoons shelled unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons finely chopped cilantro leaves

Method:

Peel the onions and cut them in thin slices You can use a spiraliser to get super thin threads. Separate  and wash onion in several changes of cold water, giving them a gentle squeeze.  Be careful not to squeeze the shreds too hard, or you may crush them. Put them in a bowl, add chili, and sprinkle them with lemon juice or vinegar, and salt and other optional ingredients, toss. You may serve immediately or let the flavours develop for an hour or so.

coconut and cashew curry

I had a craving for spicy Indian food the other night so I concocted this raw recipe based on what we would usually cook. You are warned it sits for 12 to 24 hours but that makes it the perfect meal to prepare ahead of time for friends.

I had some soaked cashews in the fridge so that became the star of this recipe along with the coconut cream sauce.

Recipe:

Curry spices- I use mustard seeds, fennel, fenugreek, cumin seeds, turmeric, chili, ginger and garlic.

2 cups soaked cashews

400ml of coconut cream

1/2 bunch finely chopped coriander

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp agave

4 finely diced tomatoes

1 dessert sp dried onion

juice of 1 lime

Method:

mash up the spices, garlic and ginger etc in a mortar and pestle

put in a bowl and mix all the other ingredients in…adjust the amount of chili to suit your tastes.

Leave to marinate for 12-24 hours

serve on finely chopped cauliflower “rice” for a totally raw meal or on cooked red rice for a healthy vegan meal.

This was pretty yummy and enjoyed both as a completely raw meal and on rice.

mint raita

I made a basic mint raita to go with my cashew curry. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out but it had all the right textures and flavours and was marvelous. It is just the thing to cool the spicy curry down or to dip vegetable sticks into.

Recipe:

1/2 cup cashew nuts soaked
1 cup diced cucumber
2 tsp  agave nectar
1 Tblsp lime juice
1/2 tsp macrobiotic salt
a hand full of chopped mint
1/2 clove garlic
1/2 tsp ground cumin

Blend the cashews, agave, lime, salt, garlic and cumin in a blender.

Mix in by hand the mint and cucumber and leave in the fridge to let the flavours mingle.

you can add a little pinch of cayenne to spice it up, I did.