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. 

you wanna some raw lasagna?

Oh boy. Someone call the po po because we've got a CRIMINAL UP IN HERE! This recipe is under arrest for being too damn delicious and causing excess drooling. However, that should not stop you from making and devouring it. Think about this way: the jail... is in your mouth. Eeeeh? Get it? Wink wink, nudge nudge.

The version I made - and the one you see photographed in bad lighting because it was night time - wasn't 100% raw since I used hummus (which has cooked chickpeas), but in the recipe below I give you a raw hummus option instead. If you don't care about using normal hummus - go ahead. I ate this whole thing by myself so be sure to warn others that you won't be sharing, and that they should make their own.

raw lasagna with cilantro pesto, sun-dried tomatoes and marinated veggies: serves 1 or 2 (probably just you) 

Marinated veggies: 

1 tomato

1 cup mushrooms 

Any other veggies you like

1 tablespoon tamari 

1 teaspoon walnut oil (optional) 

Cilantro-walnut pesto:

2 cups fresh cilantro 

1/4 cup walnuts

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

Juice from 1 lemon

1 peeled garlic clove

Salt, to taste

Water, as needed

Sun-dried tomato spread:

1/2 cup sprouted chickpeas (or cooked, if you like) 

1 tablespoon tahini 

Juice from 1 lemon 

1 peeled garlic clove

1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes

Salt, to taste

Water, as needed 

Lasagna noodles:

1 zucchini

Other toppings: 

Handful of olives

1/4 cup chives

Other stuff you like

To prepare the veggies: slice the the mushrooms and tomato and put in a bowl. Throw the tamari (and oil, if using) on them and mix in with your hands until evenly covered. Put in the dehydrator or oven - at it's lowest temperature - to marinate while you make the other stuff. 

To make the pesto: pulse all the ingredients in your food processor until it becomes a pesto-like consistency, adding water or other liquid as needed. Put in a bowl and set aside.

To make the tomato spread: blend all the ingredients in your food processor until it's pretty smooth and the tomatoes are in small pieces and have started turning the mixture reddish, adding water or other liquid as needed. 

To make the noodles: slice the zucchini on a mandolin into thin pieces. 

Assembly: lay two noodles beside each other, slightly overlapping and layer with all the good stuff you just made. Top it off with olives and chives and you are ready to "arrest" this mofo. 

holy garlic

we bought garlic from the farmer's market on saturday... it is so intense. like, the most potent garlic on the planet. i naively used an entire clove in the dressing of my salad, i have now killed all my taste buds. learn from my mistake - be cautious with your organic garlic. start with half a clove if you've got strong stuff.

besides the garlic insanity, this salad was friggin delish. i had a great workout up at my campus gym and all i wanted to eat afterward was a big salad from my garden. i added some chickpeas for extra protein. hemp seeds would also be a nice addition. we had grilled zucchini from last night and well... that's never a bad thing to throw in. enjoy! i sat in the sun and fought with wasps to eat this.

walnut garlic salad: serves one

dressing:

1 tablespoon mustard

1 tablespoon tamari

3 tablespoons almond milk (or water)

1/2 garlic clove

1 tablespoon miso 

1 tabelspoon honey/maple syrup (or 2 dates)

1 tablespoon hummus (optional... but yum)

salad:

2-3 grilled zucchini slices

1/2 cup chickpeas

4-5 cups kale and/or rainbow chard

2 figs

3 olives

make the dressing by blending all ingredients until smooth. hopefully you like it, it might be a little thick so feel free to add more liquid. chop up the salad topping and tear up the leaves into bite-size pieces. pour on the dressing and mix into the greens, then add your toppings. yummers.

Creamy Hummus!

Photo credit: domesticdharma.blogspot.com

Recipe from Vive le Vegan! wheat-free, gluten-free, soy-free, & oil-free option

Never buy hummus again!  Family and friends say this delicate hummus is the best they’ve ever had. It’s creamy with a good amount of lemon and just a hint of garlic.  And kids love this hummus!  Because it is mild, rather than heavy with garlic (and none of that stingy citric acid taste of store-bought varieties).

2 cups cooked chickpeas (rinse and drain if using canned)
3 1/2 - 5 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (adjust to taste, see directions)
2- 2 1/2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (optional, can omit and add water as needed for oil-free version)
1 small or medium clove garlic, sliced (use small or none for little kiddos)
1⁄2 tsp toasted sesame oil (omit for oil-free version - but it adds a beautiful flavor note)
1⁄2 tsp sea salt
1⁄4 cup water (or less/more as desired for desired consistency)
freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a blender or a food processor, combine all the ingredients (starting with 3 1/2 tbsp lemon juice) and purée until smooth, adding just a little water at first, then more if desired to thin it. Scrape down the sides of the bowl several times throughout and purée again until very smooth. Season to taste with additional salt, pepper, and/or lemon juice. If not using right away, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate.

Note:
1) If making for a family, go ahead and double (or triple!) your batch.  I do it all the time.  Store extras in airtight containers in the fridge and freezer.  Hummus thaws beautifully!