basil + peanut butter cookies with coconut + chili ice cream

This recipe and post is a big thanks to you. Thanks for what? Voting me FIRST PLACE in The Vegan Woman's 2013 Vegan Food Blog Guide. I had no idea I was even a contender so I was absolutely shocked, honoured and flattered when I saw my placement. I love you all so much, not only for supporting me, encouraging me, and constantly sending me your love from around the globe - but also because you are such beautiful, caring, positive people. You make the world a better place, and I am forever grateful to share this green planet with you.

The reason I continue creating, photographing and sharing the recipes I do, is because you are here to see them! You are my inspiration and every day I work hard to think of recipes that will help make you happier, and make your lives a bit sweeter (literally and naturally). I cannot believe I am where I am today - being acknowledged as the #1 vegan food blog of 2013, having emails and and wonderful comments flooding my inbox, blog and Facebook page daily, and seriously thinking of making this my professional job - but I am so thankful I am. Without you, I wouldn't be here. So thank you... thank you.

I give all my love to you.

Now that the mushy love stuff is over (boo), I will give you the food porn (yay)! I was actually inspired by photos and flavours in this recipe from Desserts for Breakfast (notice the gorgeous photography all over the website) but I didn't have any fresh rosemary. I did, however, have fresh Thai basil! So I thought "Hey, basil and peanut butter would taste great together, right?" Yes. Then my mom gave me the idea to make the whole thing Thai-themed by adding chili to the coconut ice cream. HECK YA. Now we're cooking (or rather, un-cooking).

I know the flavours are little funky slash exotic but TRUST ME - the result is amazeballs. The ice cream is made from coconut milk (not technically raw) and raw cane sugar, but if you want to use banana ice cream or my other raw ice cream recipe - go right ahead. Just make sure to add some chili powder! In the cookies, the peanut butter flavour comes through right away and then you are hit with the flavour of basil - it works.

It works deliciously.

basil peanut butter cookies with coconut chili ice cream: serves five lucky people

Cookies:
3/4 cup buckwheat groats (or oats)
1 cup dates
1 cup fresh basil leaves
4 tablespoons peanut butter (or your preferred nut butter)

Ice cream:
1 can full fat organic coconut milk
1/4 cup raw cane sugar (or your preferred sweetener) 
1-2 teaspoons chili powder, to taste!

To make the cookies: pulse the buckwheat groats in your food processor until they become a rough flour. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until you can press the mixture in your hand and it sticks together. Press into 10 cookies and dehydrate for a few hours if desired. Or put them in the fridge.

To make the ice cream: blend all ingredients until smooth. It will taste SO GOOD. If you have an ice cream maker, use it. If not, Put the ice cream mixture in a container and put it in the freezer, stirring it every 30 minutes until it's all solid.

Assembly: you know what to do. Cookie. Ice cream scoop. Cookie. Bite. Smile.

raw pad thai - oh yes

*Strictly speaking, the sauce isn't totally raw. But c'mon. What're ya gonna do. If you really want a 100% raw sauce, make a blend of tahini (or other nut butter), chili, tamari, garlic and ginger.

The pasta of course, is just zucchini, sliced on le mandoline. Good news! Soon I will be purchasing one of these puppies from Organic Lives. Yippie! However, if you can only afford a mandoline - no worries! As you can see, they work just as well.

The sauce is a lot like authentic Pad Thai sauce, just healthier and vegan. I had my mom to guide me; she and my dad lived in Thailand for years before they had kids. That's probably a reason I love Thai food so much. It may be my favourite kind of cuisine.

Real Pad Thai is made with rice noodles, a tamarind-, chili- and fish sauce-based sauce, and topped with cilantro, chili paste, peanuts, bean sprouts and perhaps other veggies. Not a lot of meat in Thai food.

That's why they live so long =)

(Plus the daily manual labour, low calorie intake and unprocessed diet of local plants. They have no choice! The healthiest people in developing countries tend to be the middle class and lower-middle class; they can't afford meat, or the ability to sit around all day like us. 

It makes sense. For our ancestors (and still in most developing nations), calories were/are scarce so the fittest got the most. We simply apply that to modern day - the wealthiest get the fanciest (most calorie-dense) food. The only difference now is, in developed countries, calories are the OPPOSITE of scarce. They're in excess. Yet we still hold the ideal that more calories are better. Unfortunately, our brains agree, since they haven't had time to adapt to environmental changes.

Isn't it funny? Once you are rich (i.e. developed regions), you can afford unhealthy processed, animal-based foods, and you can afford to be lazy. Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, celiac disease and even diabetes are seen virtually only in Western society. They are diseases of the wealthy. For more info on all this - read The China Study.

I'd rather use our fortune and wealth to my body's advantage. We now have an unprecedented opportunity to be the HEALTHIEST generation of all time. We have every nutritionally excellent food (i.e. raw plants and super foods) at our finger tips, and at very affordable prices. 

I love grocery shopping.  I go to the produce section and pick out my greens and fruit. Kale? A couple dollars a bunch; even cheaper for spinach and lettuce. Fruit? Depending on what it is, about a few dollars a pound. Vegetables? Even cheaper. 

The cheapest foods in the market are the ones that will give you a long, healthy life. 

Then you go past the meat and dairy section, and packaged food; they are all substantially more expensive. Why do we pay MORE for foods that will plague us with pain, discomfort, disease and eventually premature death?

The answer is complicated and simple at the same time. Basically: politics and tradition. I suggest you research this for yourself. It's fascinating, albeit mind-boggling.

My point in all this writing is this - we have been given the special chance to be the healthiest we can possibly be - for cheap. Being healthy costs far less than being sick, and it's way yummier. 

So let's eat to long life, not early death.

Let's eat RAW PAD THAI! (and Dilly Bars for dessert, anyone?) Nom. 

Radical Raw Pad Thai: serves 2, more or less

Sauce: 

1 Tb tamarind paste

1 Tb chopped ginger

1-2 cloves chopped garlic

1-2 Tb agave (or 1-2 dates)

6 Tb tamari

2 Tb chili sauce

3 Tb tomato puree

1 t chili flakes

Juice of 1 lime

1/2 t coriander

1/2 t paprika

Pinch of cayenne and chili, if you want it hotter =) 

Raw oil, if desired

Water, as needed 

Pasta:

1 large zucchini 

Garnish:

Cilantro

Raw jungle peanuts!

Bean sprouts

Hot sauce

Scallions

Marinated mushrooms and broccoli (put some tamari on and warm for an hour in the dehydrator) 

To makes the sauce, put all ingredients in blender and add enough water to just cover them. Blend until smooth, see if you want more heat, or anything else.

To make the pasta, slice the zuc on a mandoline or spiral slicer. Add enough sauce to evenly coat the noodles. Garnish. Eat! The heat of the chili makes this dish perfectly warming on its own - no heating necessary.

In other news: while I enjoyed my Pad Thai, the fam had a sandwich night. We used the best bread in the world, baked yesterday with love at The Common Loaf Bakery in Tofino. My mom also baked some eggplant (which I could not resist, and added to my pasta), tofu, and laid out a bunch of different toppings.

You know it was a successful dinner when my little brother, Daniel, was fighting for the last tomato, sprouts and lettuce!

Sweet Potato Lentil Chili

Recipe from ed&bv. Wheat-free, gluten-free, soy-free, & oil-free option

Red lentils work nicely to thicken this chili, while the sweet potato gives a mellow, smooth contrast to the spices.  Serve with a big dollop of Guacamole con Alga Marina (p.61) and tortilla chips or artisan breads for dipping.

splash of water (for oil-free version) or 1 tbsp (15 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
1 3/4 cups (425 mL) onions, diced
1 cup (250 mL) celery, diced
2 - 2 1/2 cups (500 to 625 mL) orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1 in (2.5 cm) cubes
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp (5 mL) sea salt
Ground black pepper to taste
2 tsp (10 mL) chili powder
1 tsp (5 mL) paprika
1/2 tsp (2 mL) freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp (2 mL) cumin
1/4 tsp (1 mL) cinnamon
1/2 tsp (2 mL) crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
1 1/4 cups (310 mL) dry red lentils
2 1/2 cups (625 mL) water
1 - 28 oz (796 mL) can crushed tomatoes
1 - 14 oz (398 mL) can black or kidney beans, rinsed
1 bay leaf
3 Tbsp (45 mL) freshly squeezed lime juice
Lime wedges (for serving)

In large pot on medium heat, add oil, onions, celery, sweet potatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, and spices, and stir through. Cover and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally; reduce heat if onions are sticking to bottom of pot. Rinse lentils. Add to pot with water, tomatoes, beans, and bay leaf, and stir to combine. Increase heat to bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes or until sweet potatoes are softened, stirring occasionally. Stir in lime juice and serve portions with lime wedges.
Serves 6.

Cooking Note:  If you only have whole or diced tomatoes, use a hand blender to 'crush' them:  first pour off some liquid from can into pot, then use a hand blender to puree tomatoes directly in the can.