blueberry tarts for two

Guess who's back! Me. I am basically done all the dirty work for the book ("WOW EMILY YOU ARE SO AMAZING HOW DID YOU CREATE AND PHOTOGRAPH ALMOST 100 RECIPES IN JUST 3 MONTHS!?") Okay I am kidding but in all seriousness I am not ashamed to say that I am proud of myself. This summer has been crazy; mind and body completely devoted to thinking of, creating, photographing and typing up raw vegan dessert recipes. Oh, and always cleaning my messes up. Every. Day. 

Well now I am rambling. Point of this all is: with the hard work for my book (out March 2014) outta the way, I now am free to go back to focusing on my one true love. That'd be you. I miss you! I miss giving you recipes and hearing your feed back! So here is a recipe; and I demand feed back. 

These tarts are super simple to make (what else is new...) and equally delicious (I am officially a broken record). Most of my recipes leave you with several servings and that's all fine and dandy but what if you just want enough for two people? Or, one hungry person? Then you use this recipe. Whip these tarts up in a few minutes and surprise your friend or lover when they walk in the door, fort entrance, or whatever opening you have in your habitat.

Oh, I have more space to write than I thought I did. Okay. What shall I talk about? I got it. Berries and the Divine. In this recipe I used blueberries straight from our front yard, where they bloom in abundance for 3 glorious months each summer. These months give my life meaning: I live for these berries. Anyways, I have had many an epiphany whilst picking blueberries; my mind wanders to a peaceful, still place where the world is simple and I am but a humble human foraging for food. It's cathartic, to be perfectly honest. A few weeks ago while I was snacking on berries from the bushes, I realized that this was the original day job! Our ancestors spent their entire days - when they weren't running from giant cats or pro-creating - simply finding fruits and other edibles, picking them, and later eating them.

This gave me such a sense of oneness within and of the world. Truly, we have hardly changed a bit since our early days of hunting and gathering. What has changed is our surroundings, but that is virtually all. I enjoy participating in this majestic and intrinsically-connected universe and it's very much a reassuring feeling knowing that I am the same as those who came before me, and those who are yet to come. We are all the same. In our DNA, in our desires, in our perceived duties, there's hardly a difference among us when you get right down to our foundations. I am the blueberry and the blueberry is I.

Enough with the hippie talk, though. I know you just want dessert.

blueberry tarts for two:

crust:

1/2 cup almonds

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 tablespoon maple syrup 

filling:

1 cup blueberries

2 tablespoons coconut powder (dried coconut process into powder) 

To make the crust: process the almonds into powder in a food processor. Add the the coconut oil and maple syrup and process until it all sticks together in a ball. Press into two single-serving lined tart tins. Put in the fridge for 30-60 minutes or until solid. Fill with blueberries and sprinkle with coconut powder. 

berry ice cream cake with chocolate eggs, pistachios and cinnamon

Here is my Easter gift to you! I actually had no idea what I was going to make until I began getting out ingredients yesterday morning and even as I was making it, I still didn't have a clear idea what it was going to end up being. But look how it turned out! It's just a sign of how easy raw food recipes are. Yeah, man. Yeah. 

I'll give it to ya straight: this recipe is an ice cream cake made of bananas and cashews with different layers of strawberry and blueberry. On top is a nest of cinnamon sticks surrounding coconut cream eggs. The "eggs" are simply dates filled with coconut oil, covered in raw chocolate. I also sprinkled on some chopped pistachios for colour and edged the cake with more cinnamon sticks. 

I admit - I have been making mostly banana ice cream cakes lately, but I just can't stop. They are so easy and you can do almost anything you want with them, as you can see in my last few recipes. Anyways, Easter colours are usually light shades of pink, green, blue and yellow and so I think I got most of those covered with this recipe. Not the yellow but hey, I can't do everything. Wait a sec - does sunshine count?

Before I made this cake, I was really wanting to make SOMETHING with some kind of raw vegan creme egg because they are such a popular Easter dessert component. But I was at a blank for ideas. Then it hit me when I took out my dates as I was making the ice cream part - I could make eggs from dates! So I filled them with coconut oil, covered them in raw chocolate and sprinkled on some chia, hemp and black sesame seeds. They turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself. *Proud face*

berry ice cream cake with chocolate eggs, pistachios and cinnamon: 

Vanilla ice cream cake layer:

1 banana

2/3 cup cashews

1/3 cup dates

1 tablespoon liquid coconut oil

1/3 cup water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Strawberry layer: 

1 banana

2/3 cup cashews

1/3 cup dates

1 tablespoon liquid coconut oil

1/3 cup water

1/4 strawberries

Blueberry layer:

1 banana

2/3 cup cashews

1/3 cup dates

1 tablespoon liquid coconut oil

1/3 cup water

1/4 blueberries 

Chocolate cream eggs:

3 dates

1 teaspoon coconut oil (optional) 

Raw chocolate, in liquid form 

Garnishes:

Cinnamon sticks

1/4 cup chopped pistachios 

To make the ice cream cake layers: blend the ingredients from each list separately and until smooth, adding as little water as possible. Then spread each layer into a spring form on top of one another, gently stirring together some parts of the layers with a spoon. This will give it a swirl effect. Put in the freezer for a few hours until it's set. 

To make the "eggs": take the pits out of the dates carefully, not pulling them apart completely. Fill each one with a tiny bit of coconut oil, if using, then cover in liquid chocolate and put in the fridge or freezer until hardened. 

Assembly: take the cake out of the spring form pan. Place a few tiny cinnamon stick in circle like a nest, and put the chocolate eggs in the middle. Sprinkle the chopped pistachios around the egg nest and line the sides of the cake with cinnamon sticks. Enjoy! Store in the freezer if you don't eat it all right away. 

vanilla blueberry tart

Holy walnuts, this is delicious. The filling is basically just an awesome blueberry-banana smoothie and the crust is walnuts and dates. You're gonna love my nuts (or be disturbed by my grotesque and obscure sense of humour). In any case, you actually will love this recipe, which includes nuts. Owned by me. Making them my nuts. So you will love my nuts. HAH.

Try to get organic blueberries, since you just need frozen ones it'll be easier to find them. If you'd like to use less nuts in this recipe then sub in another banana instead of a cup of cashews in the filling. The cashews do make it creamier though, so it just depends on what you like.

My food processor broke down when I was trying to make the crust so we ended up returning it and buying a new one - but not before I finished this recipe. I cut up the dates and nuts for the crust BY HAND. So it looks a bit rustic. It made me appreciate my food processor a tad more intensely. 

What is your favourite kind of music? I like all kinds but the ones that usually gets me in the best mood are 90's R&B and hip hop songs... I know. They all just have such positive messages and are fun to listen and dance to. The 90's were the sexiest and most original time for hip hop. I MEAN LOOK AT THIS. 

vanilla blueberry tart: makes one large tart and a few smaller ones

Crust:

1 1/2 cups walnuts

1 1/2 cups dates

Blueberry filling:

1 cup cashews

1 cup dates
1 tablespoon melted coconut oil (optional) 

2 cups frozen, organic blueberries

1 banana

seeds from 1/2 vanilla pod (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

Cashew Cream:

1/4 cup cashews

1/4 cup agave syrup

seeds from 1/2 vanilla pod

water, if needed

To make the crust: pulse nuts in your food processor until crumb-sized. Add the dates and pulse until it all sticks together. Press into the bottom of a tart shell or spring form pan.

To make the filling: blend all ingredients until smooth, adding as little as possible to keep it creamy. It should taste RIDONKULOUS. Pour onto your crust and let it set in the freezer overnight. (I lined my tart tin with whole blueberries then poured my filling around them so it looked cool when I removed the tin.) 

To make the cashew cream: blend all ingredients until smooth, adding as much or as little as you need. Slice and serve with fresh blueberries.

orange & blueberry cheesecake

this is delectable! i am so proud of myself because i haven't used chocolate in a recipe for a few times now. this is all fruit, all the time. the colour of chocolate desserts gets boring after a while because it's always brown... ya know? this cake has a vibrant array of colours that are naturally pleasing to your pretty little eyes.

as winter continues to draw nearer, i do the same with my warm clothing and scarves (draw them nearer, that is). the cold weather creates a crisp and refreshing environment that always reminds me to be grateful for what i have been given by the wonderful and mystical forces of our universe. fate is seemingly random, yet also seems absolutely premeditated at times, and i cannot help wondering if our destiny is real or imagined. was i always meant to end up here in this moment; feeling as i do and being what i am?

these are questions that are unanswerable and often this is a cause for frustration, but usually simple awe and appreciation for the mysteries of our reality suffice. returning to my main point: the starkness of winter allows me to contemplate deeper these thoughts and i find myself indebted to my loved ones, my environment, the trees and my own spirit for providing me with such a wonderful life! it's a wonderful life. 

we are all such spiritual beings; inherently, essentially, fundamentally and naturally so. we are all-one, connected by the life of the cosmos and the energy of the world. isn't it wonderful we have evolved to this finite point - where loving one another and doing good is beneficial for every one; where watching a sunset is still one of the most gratifying experiences one may have; where we want to teach the best for our children and make a better world for tomorrow?

this season surround yourself with positive energy, creatures of the earth whom you love (and who love you), and many plants. find enlightenment in the small and beautiful moments, and finally peace in knowing you are a finite participant in this infinite galaxy. i see the light in you.

now onto raw vegan cheesecake. 

orange & blueberry cheesecake: makes one cake

crust:
2 cups raw nuts
1 cup dates or raisins
pinch of salt 

orange cheesecake:
3 cups cashews
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup agave/maple syrup
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
juice of one lemon
zest of all the oranges you juiced
pinch of salt

blueberry layer:
2 cups organic blueberries (i used frozen)
1/4 cup of the orange cheesecake mixture

to make the crust: process the nuts and dates/raisins in your food processor until the nuts have become crumbs and the mixture sticks together when you press it. press into the bottom of a springform pan and put in the fridge. 

to make the orange cheesecake: blend all ingredients (except orange zest) in your high speed blender until very smooth, then add in the orange zest with a spoon. reserve 1/4 cup of this mixture for the blueberry topping - pour the rest onto your crust and put in the freezer. 

to make the blueberry layer: blend the blueberries and the 1/4 cup of cheesecake mixture in your food processor or blender until creamy but still with small pieces of blueberry for texture. spread this over your cheesecake and keep in the freezer or fridge overnight. if you can wait a day - this is best after 2 days (and not frozen, of course) enjoy with sliced oranges and blueberries!

blueberry hemp smoothie

i love my blue blue blueberries. 

ours have, of course, stopped growing for the winter season and i've already eaten all the extra ones we froze. but yesterday my mom bought a giant bag of frozen organic blueberries! organic is always better (i don't want my food having nasty chemicals on it that the military originally used to kill their opponents in the first world war... no way) but for berries, spinach and apples - organic is EXTRA SUPER awesome because otherwise they are some of the most contaminated foods. check it out here, homies. 

and hey, lucky me - i've also got organic spinach. be jealous. so i threw all these magical ingredients together in my vita-mix blender and out came a delicious dark purple concoction that i will call a blueberry hemp smoothie from this day forward. it makes the spinach seem like a secret... shhh.

blueberry hemp smoothie with secret sneaky spinach: serves one

1 banana

1 cup frozen blueberries

2 tablespoons raw hemp seeds

1-2 cups water/vegan milk

2-3 cups organic spinach

1/8 teaspoon stevia (or a few dates)

blend. sip. smile.

blueberry hemp smoothie

yum! here's another smoothie recipe for you, my peeps. this one is sneaky, it's not green but it has kale in it. the colour of the blueberries hides it. oooh, deceptive (yes i DO personify my smoothies). you can personify THIS:

while you're enjoying the unprecedented 90's smoothness of that little diddy ("i like the way you work it, no diggity...") you should also enjoy the raw deliciousness of this smoothie. it's got extra protein from hemp so it's excellent for right after a work out; which was my situation. you like P90X? i do. das my jam.

anyways - smoothie recipe.

blueberry hemp smoothie: serves one

1 cup frozen blueberries
2 dates
1-2 tablespoons raw hemp seeds
1 cup kale
1 banana
1-2 cups water/nut milk, or as needed
stevia, if desired

blend all of it up in your high speed blender. add enough water/nut milk to make it all smooth; but not too much because then it will taste watery (as one might guess.) drink!

okay, oh kale

i love smoothies. i love kale. from that you can deduce: i love kale IN smoothies. or maybe not, because i also love garlic and ice cream... hm.

ANYHOO - we are running dangerously low on fruits and vegetables (meaning we have like seven apples) in my house this morning so instead of using a banana i used dates, and instead of fresh kale, i used frozen. it's still from our garden though! it was especially think and cold because everything i put was frozen: blueberries, strawberries and kale. i added ice cold almond milk and it was like a berry milkshake!

not exactly what is going to warm me up on a chilly vancouver morning but i just don't care - it's too freaking yummy to worry about regulating my body temperature. i made extra, so it will be a snack later too...

nevermind. i just drank it. 

berry kale smoothie: makes 5 cups

1 cup kale
1 cup frozen blueberries
3/4 cup frozen strawberries
2 cups almond milk
2 large dates

blend it all up. chug. 
actually don't chug it, you will get a brain freeze.