PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM CASHEW CHEESE BURGERS

If you think these look good, they taste even better than they look. If you think they look weird, they still taste better than they look... (in this case, much better?) I ate them all by myself because I'm a wild, greedy animal like that. You should know this by now.

My mom bought portobello mushrooms and organic spinach from the farmers market on the weekend so I wanted to make a recipe with them for you guys. Eat local! Yeah, baby! I initially planned on making portobello "steaks" with spinach pesto and cashew cheese but wound up not making pesto (instead simply serving the mushrooms with crisp spinach leaves) and calling them burgers because I stacked 'em like sandwiches. What up, simplicity.

Maybe I make things up in my mind - well, I DEFINITELY make things up in my mind, but I mean in this particular instance - because I thought the cashew cheese tasted a little bit like mustard, which conveniently paired deliciously with the fresh tomatoes, herbs and marinated mushrooms. Serve these "burgers" with salad and a raw dessert (look no further than this blog, hint hint) and you will plausibly be able to convince your most critical skeptics that raw vegan grub is actually kick-ass. 'Cause it is.

The weekend was pretty crazy for me. Friday night I went to a classical music concert that my medieval European history professor told me about; it was performed in a church and was beautiful and moving. Then I headed to a club to see my friend's fashion show and dance like it was the end of the world (in a good way). I licked some celebrities and some people licked me; a great night. I went to sleep at 3 AM and got up at 7 AM - an ungodly hour for me, normally - to jump on my dads motorcycle with him and ride up to Lilooet and back! It took about 8 hours and we had gorgeous weather for most of it. The scenery was absolutely breath-taking, empowering and humbling all at once; the autumn mist and colours made it extra special. I love this province. We stopped in at an Oktoberfest my dad's friends were throwing in West Van just so he could say hi and steal some veggie burgers and strudel.

Got home that night at about 8 PM, had a quick shower, gulped down some raw hot chocolate and headed over to my romantic partner's house for a Halloween party with my friends. It was... eventful and entertaining. Slept for a few hours after FINALLY getting to sleep at like 5 AM, then went for ridiculously delicious Indian food. No seriously, it didn't even make SENSE how good that chana masala tasted. I also have a theory that food tastes better when someone else pays for it. Got home that evening and studied for my history mid term exam, which I wrote this morning.

That was my weekend.

Today, I enjoyed the majestic foggy weather up on campus then headed home to be crafty with beads AND creative with mushrooms. Made these. Photographed 'em. Here they are for you.

Much love. 

marinated portobello cashew cheese burgers with herbs & tomatoes

Marinated mushrooms:

4 portobello mushrooms

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon liquid aminos (or soy sauce) 

Cashew cheese:

1 3/4 cups cashews

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup nutritional yeast 

Juice from 1 lemon

2 peeled garlic cloves

2 tablespoons miso

Salt and herbes de provence, to taste 

Toppings:

Sliced tomatoes

Fresh chopped chives, spinach and parsley 

Anything else your heart desires 

To marinate the mushrooms: rub them down with the olive oil and liquid aminos then place in your dehydrator or oven at its lowest temperature for about 3 hours, or until they have softened and darkened and smell amazing. 

While they are marinating, make the cashew cheese: blend all the ingredients until smooth and thick. Taste and adjust accordingly. Scoop into a bowl lined with cheesecloth and let it sit somewhere for at least 2 hours (or, if you've got time, let it age for a few days).

When everything is ready, spread your cheese onto your mushrooms and layer with herbs and tomatoes. You can double-shroom it (that is now a term) if you want, and/or use fresh mushrooms instead of marinated. Note: you're gonna have lots of left over cashew cheese. Let it sit in a quiet spot overnight then put in the fridge and eat within a week.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO TART WITH ZUCCHINI HUMMUS

To quote my wise mother: "This one's a keeper." I concur. If you love hummus, tomatoes, and freshness; you're gonna freak out when you bite into this. If summer were a pizza,  it would taste like this tart. If you need to prove to anyone that raw vegan dinners can be delish, serve them this. If I continue with these "If" statements... where will we end up?

After making at least one dessert every day over the summer (not just because I am a glutton, but also because I was writing my raw dessert uncookbook), I am kind of going through withdrawal from the - albeit healthy - sweets. At the same time, I gotta keep making recipes for you guys! So I'm getting back to savoury-type dishes. This recipe was inspired by a tomato tart I saw on Sidesaddle Kitchen. And yes, by the way, Laura Miller IS the ultimate vegan babe / bad ass. I suggest you serve it with raw crackers or something else crunchy, to add another texture. It's also best after being refrigerated overnight; that extra time allows it to develop flavour and thicken up. 

You can find the recipe for this scrumptious baby over at one of my fave healthy food blogs, Ascension Kitchen, where I did it as a guest post for the always-gorgeous Lauren. But first... scroll through all the food porn photography. Wink. 

salad, salad, salad: the main meal

Like the title says, salad should be the main meal on the dinner table! It is so important to get tons of greens in your diet, as well as veggies. Both are super low calorie, high fiber and packed with the best quality nutrition on the planet. What more do you need? Well... okay, you need raw brownies too. Note: If you don't like tofu plain and raw, then go ahead and marinate, bake, or prepare it however you like.

Mega dinner salad: serves one to four people

Dressing:
1 tablespoon each of mustard, tahini, miso, raisins
3 tablespoon sun dried tomatoes Water, as needed

Salad:
3 heads of lettuce, washed and ripped into pieces
1/4 cup baby tomatoes, halved
5 olives, halved
1/4 package of tofu, cubed
3 mushrooms, sliced and marinated in tamari
1/2 avocado, chopped

Blend all the ingredients for the dressing until smooth, using as much water as needed. Toss the lettuce with dressing until evenly coated then top with the rest of the salad ingredients. Enjoy!

raw lasagna with cashew cheese and broccoli sun-dried tomato pesto

I know, FINALLY something that isn't a dessert. Sorry I have a major sweet tooth, okay. Believe it or not, I do eat things other than raw cake and chocolate in the daytime. Usually I keep it simple with fruit, juice, smoothies, salads and sometimes zuke pasta but I also like to get fancy sometimes. I've been wanting to make raw lasagna for you and tonight I did! It was a very quick, spontaneous, improvised recipe that ended up (thank goodness) being quite tasty. 

I made a simple cashew cheese with garlic, rosemary and lemon and then a "pesto" (I don't know what else to call it that sounds nice) of sun-dried tomatoes and broccoli. Like I said, I improvised. Mostly because I am running out of fresh produce and really must go shopping. It is a scary feeling, being myself, when you know you are running out of bananas. 

I don't like doing the same thing over and over again so after making one serving of lasagna, I made rolls with the rest of the zucchini strips and fillings. Mmm... spirals of raw whole food goodness in each bite. I wanna get back to the kitchen now so I can A) clean up the mess I made, but more importantly, B) to eat the rest of these!

lasagna with cashew cheese and broccoli sun-dried tomato pesto: serves 3-4

Lasagna noodles:
1 zucchini

Cashew cheese:
2/3 cup cashews
2 peeled garlic cloves
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1-2 teaspoons dried rosemary
2-3 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional) 
Salt and pepper, to taste
Water, as needed

Sun-dried tomato and broccoli pesto: (or use the pesto recipe here)
1/2 head of broccoli
2 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes 
1 tablespoon olive oil (only if your sun-dried tomatoes aren't already stored in oil)
Salt, pepper and dried herbs, to taste
Water, as needed 

Other layerings:
Mushrooms
Tomatoes
Basil leaves
Sprouts

To make the noodles: slice the zucchini on a mandolin. Or very thinly with a sharp knife. Set aside. 
To make the cheese: blend all ingredients in your food processor or blender until smooth and thick, adding as little water as possible. Set aside. 
To make the pesto: blend all ingredients in your food processor or blender until smooth and thick, adding as little water as possible.
Assembly: layer the noodles with the pesto, cheese and whatever you else you like, alternating as you go. If you want, make roll ups too! Enjoy. 

baked yam & tofu with purple rice, kale pesto & sprouts

This recipe is super simple and super delicious! This a prime example of how to eat a whole foods, plant based diet with an emphasis on raw food. After working out, I enjoyed my regular green smoothie. An hour or so after that I was needing something heavier, with a fair amount of protein to rebuild my muscles. The perfect meal for this is some thing that has a vegetable, a grain, and a protein - top it all off with something green and your body will be praising you! 

baked yam & tofu with purple rice, kale pesto & sprouts: serves two

Kale pesto:
5 cups kale
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon walnut oil 
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Salt, to taste
Water, as needed

The other stuff:
1 yam, peeled
1 package of tofu
1 1/2 cups cooked purple rice
Handful sprouts 

To make the yam and tofu: cut them into bite size chunks and toss in a tiny bit of olive oil, tamari, maple syrup, liquid smoke, and salt and pepper. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes or until the yam is soft. 

To make the pesto: pulse all in the ingredients in your food processor until it becomes pesto. SO GOOD. Serve with the yam, tofu, rice and sprouts - enjoy!

zuke pasta with tahini sauce & other goodness

I used basically the same recipe for the sauce that I made for my raw sushi recipe. It is so TASTY. This creamy, filling meal will leave you satisfied and full of energy. I could eat like 3 bowls of this - oh and guess what, I can! Ah, life is good. Enjoy!

zucchini pasta with tahini sauce, olives, cilantro & avocado: serves one or two

Pasta:
2 zucchinis
1/2 avocado
handful of olives
1 tablespoon hemp seeds
1/2 cup cilantro
1/4 cup sprouts

Tahini sauce:
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon miso
2 tablespoons peeled ginger root
1 tablespoon tamari
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1/8 cup water (more or less)

To make the sauce: blend all ingredients until smooth and creamy, adding liquid as needed. Set aside.

To make the pasta: slice your zukes on a spiral slicer or mandolin. Put in a bowl and pour your sauce on, rubbing it in with your hands or two spoons, until every noodle is covered. Cut up your avocado and throw it on along with the other toppings. Let it all sit for a minute to marinate then dig in!

pasta with creamy cheeze sauce

my inspiration for this was raw mac n cheese. i guess the macaroni noodle part is hard to do with zucchini BUT this was super nom-alicious (yes, i just invented that word) nonetheless. plus the sauce was killaah.

yet again i feel i must apologize for these less-than-stellar photos. i'm really starting to miss my stolen camera. *a tear falls* anyhoo, let's focus on the positives... oh, that's everything! but more specifically, this recipe. i don't think i'll ever get over how delicious and easy raw pasta is. it's gotta be one of my fave raw food dishes (besides a giant plate of fruit). it is SO satisfying, filling and fun to make. i've ranted about it before.

the cheeziness in this sauce comes from the nutritional yeast, which isn't technically raw; i'm okay with eating though. if you're not - just add more garlic and other flavours you like. it'll still be rawkin.

zucchini pasta with creamy cheeze sauce: serves 3

pasta:
6 small zucchinis
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, cut into strips

sauce:
3 garlic cloves
1/3 cup nut milk (may need more or less)
3 dates
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
handful fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons miso
handful of walnuts
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional)
2 tablespoons musatrd (optional)
fave spices & salt & pepper

to make the pasta: slice all the zukes on your mandoline or spiral slicer. set in big bowl. to make the sauce: blend all the ingredients until smooth. see if you like it and if not, adjust accordingly. you want it to be pretty thick because it thins out once you add it to the noodles. mix it in with the noodles and tomatoes and let them sit for 10 minutes or so. the flavour and texture will improve. then...

you know what to do. 

OH, AND: check this chick out. dayam. 

terryaki tofu roll with avocado, potato, cucumber & black rice

holy moly WOAH. make these! everybody (friends and mom) was really impressed with the combination of flavours and textures. i'm making this recipe again ASAP for my boyfriend. who can refuse cruelty-free sushi!? it's just that much better than raw-decomposing-fish sushi. better for you, the planet, and our fellow earthly creatures. YEAH!

 

if you want this recipe to be 100% raw, don't worry about the terryaki tofu and potato, you can use your fave raw vegan cheese or nut pate if you want. also, use sprouts instead of rice. buuuuuuut... i suggest making the tofu and potato with rice. so worth it.

the black rice really raised the meal to another level of sophistication (and good health, of course). it's an intriguing sight and fun to cook because the water turns dark purple. spooky. you could instead use brown rice or quinoa or whatever whole grain you have.

as usual - try to get organic ingredients, and better yet, get the veggies from your garden!

 

terryaki tofu rolls with avocado, potato, cucumber & black rice: serves 3-4

1 package tofu
2 potatoes 
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons tamari
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons liquid smoke (i used mesquite)
1/2 cucumber
1 avocado
1 cup black rice recommended
nori sheets

cook the rice as directed. cut the tofu, potato, cucumber and avocado into long strips. sautee the tofu, potato and garlic in the tamari, liquid smoke and olive oil. spread the rice onto the nori sheets and lay down all the ingredients (including the tofu and stuff). roll in up and slice with a sharp knife into rolls. serve with tamari for dipping.