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.

raw nori wraps with red cabbage, cucumber, carrots, zucchini & spicy dipping sauce

Oh I love mah LIFE. These are super delicious and super nutritious. Bam bam! Jam-packed with raw veggies and wrapped in seaweed, they deliver one heck of a meal that is sure to impress your taste buds and perhaps dinner guests? You could actually eat this recipe all by yourself because it's so low in calories (naturally) but I dare you to try... I couldn't even do it and I can eat a LOT.

I forgot to add avocado (doh!) but the recipe was wonderful even without my creamy green friend. Having said that, if you've got an avocado handy, use it. I ran out of nori sheets so I used rice paper to wrap some as well. Rice paper is so fun and easy to use, and it lets you get a sneak peek of what's inside your roll! Colours abound in the plant kingdom. 

I was pretty busy in the kitchen today - I made four recipes (this one for you, and three for my cookbook) so I am looking forward to a relaxing evening hanging out with an old friend... and maybe watching Tarzan or Aladdin. Shh... Disney movies are great okay (you cannot argue). Actually, last night I watched Atlantis with my girl friend and it was awesome. Sure, there are plot holes - but what is a plot hole when you get to relive your childhood in technicolour with an original soundtrack!?

Right. Back to food... make these.

raw nori wraps with red cabbage, cucumber, carrots, zucchini & spicy dipping sauce 

Wraps:
1/2 head red cabbage
1 carrot
1 small zucchini
1/2 cucumber
2 kale leaves 
1 avocado
3-4 nori sheets and/or rice paper sheets

Sauce: 
1 tablespoon tahini
Chili powder, to taste
1 tablespoon miso
2 dates
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 small garlic clove
Water, as needed to make it creamy and smooth

Make the sauce by blending all the ingredients together until smooth. Now make your wraps: shred the veggies thinly on a mandolin, but chop the cucumber by hand. Tear up the kale leaves and slice the avocado. Lay your desired fillings on one side of your nori sheet, and on the opposite side spread a little sauce to seal together the ends when you roll it up. Roll everything up tight and set aside. If you're using rice paper, dip the paper in hot water until it's pliable, then place everything you want in the middle. Wrap up like a burrito. Dip your wraps in your sauce and get this party started.

raw yam burgers & daikon fries with ketchup

Oh MAN, these are yummy. Fun and easy to make - what else is new? - and equally fun and easy to eat. They do get a tad messy but I trust you can handle this. It's family pizza and movie night at the von Euw household but this week I'm skipping the pizza and snarfing down one of these babies. (I don't literally mean an infant - I don't eat kids.) 

All that's in these burgers and fries is a whack load of vegetables and spices. Goes like this: throw stuff in the food processor, rub things with your hands, toss something in the dehydrator and you'll get a gourmet raw food meal in no time! (Okay, I may have simplified that process a little.) But seriously - it's pretty much that easy. Look at the colours of this food.

It's alive. I'm alive. Let's boogy. 

I didn't actually mean to get daikon for the fries - I was looking for jicama but the grocery store didn't carry it so I went with what there was. The fries turned out great, nonetheless! They have a fresh crunch and are superb with the ketchup. I should say this though - if you are new to raw food and the flavours that go with it - you may want to use jicama for the fries. The burgers are bursting with flavour and when you pile them up with fixing's and lettuce - there ain't no better option for dinner. 

yam burgers & daikon fries with ketchup: serves 5 or so

Burgers:
1 yam 
2/3 cup green onions (or onion)
1 red bell pepper
4 dates
5 tablespoons ground flax seeds
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
4 large mushrooms
4 garlic cloves 
Salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, basil, turmeric, paprika (to taste)

Fries:
1 jicama root or daikon radish (the size depends on how many you're feeding)
1 teaspoon veg oil (optional but recommended)
Salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, basil, turmeric, paprika (to taste)

Ketchup:
1-2 tomatoes
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
Salt (to taste)
3 dates
Water or lemon juice (as needed)

To make the burgers: prep the veggies as needed and cut them into chunks. Then pulse all the ingredients in your food processor until everything becomes a thick, wet-ish mixture, but don't pulse too long. You want pieces of the food still visible and you don't want it to be too wet. Adjust according to taste. Then form into patties and dehydrate for 3-4 hours, or use your oven at it's lowest temperature. You could eat them right away if you like, but they won't hold their shape too well. 

To make the fries: peel the daikon and slice into fries. Rub in the oil and spices. Dehydrate for 3 hours or in your oven at it's lowest temperature, (or you could eat them right away if you like).

To make the ketchup: blend all ingredients in your food processor or blender until smooth, adding liquid as needed. Adjust according to taste. Serve the burgers, fries and ketchup with lettuce, tomatoes, marinated mushrooms, onions, sprouts, avocado, and anything else you like. Enjoy!

RAW PASTA

I love noodles. 

 -

So it makes perfect sense that among desserts, raw pasta is one of my favourite meals. I prefer it made with zucchini, although bell peppers, yams, carrots and other veggies work well too. I also love it with a creamy sauce and a bit of spice.

It's so satisfying, nutrient-dense, low-calorie and RAW, in every sense of the word. 

I don't really use recipes when preparing raw food (as you probably know by now) so for the following recipes, feel ABSOLUTELY FREE to play them with them as you like. There's endless possibilities for sauce ideas - just like for smoothies and salads. The combinations are infinite.

For the pasta: use any wide, fairly long vegetable - zucchini is the perfect example - and slice it on your spiral slicer or mandoline, into noodles. Set aside. Now for the sauce =)

Avocado Hemp Sauce: 

1/2 avocado
1 clove garlic
3 Tb tamari
Water or non-dairy milk, as needed
Salt & pepper, add other spices if you wish
2 Tb hemp seeds

Blend all ingredients except hemp seeds until smooth. See if you like the taste and consistency. Stir in hemp seeds and pour over noodles. Let them sit for a few minutes, then enjoy! I like to add hot sauce and raw marinated veggies.

Garlic Miso Sauce:

2-3 Tb miso
1 clove garlic
2 Tb tamari
1-2 Tb rice vinegar
1-2 Tb almond butter
2 Tb black sesame seeds
Water as needed

Blend all ingredients except sesame seeds until smooth. See if you like the taste and consistency. Stir in sesame seeds and pour over noodles. Let sit for a few minutes then eat it up! This recipe is good with broccoli. 

Spicy Asian-y Sauce: 

1 Tb mustard

1 Tb miso

1 Tb nut butter

2 Tb nutritional yeast

Salt & Pepper 

A few drops of hot sauce

1/8 t cayenne/chili powder

I also add hemp seeds and other spices if I want

Blend all the ingredients until smooth, adding water as need to make it creamy. This time, I added black sesame seeds at the end to add some contrast. Do whatever floats your boat!

Here's some more pictures that have recipes linked to them. Noodles 4 EVER!