yam noodles with sweet sauce, marinated mushrooms & sesame seeds

This was a quick dinner I just whipped up after a (strangely) long day. The recipe needs no pre-planning because I didn't even know I was going to make it until I stepped into the kitchen and noticed we had yams. I was going to make a salad but then I'm like... "Hey, yams, you be lookin' pretty fine today. Imma spirooli you up and cover you in sweet miso sauce then put you in my mouth. Whaddya think?"

And so, my dinner was born. 

My favourite type of plant to turn into noodles is (probably expected, sorry) - zucchini. It is PERFECT for pasta. It has the right texture, taste and appearance to fool all your complex-carb-inclined friends. Having said that, I still love turning yams, bell peppers, carrots and other willing veggies into spiralized goodness. It's just so fun and you can be uber creative. 

yam noodles with sweet sauce, marinated mushrooms & sesame seeds: serves one

marinated mushrooms:

4 mushrooms

1 teaspoons sesame oil (optional but recommended) 

1 teaspoon tamari

sweet miso sauce:

2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon agave/maple syrup/raw honey

1 tablespoon miso

1 tablespoons hummus (not raw, too bad)

1 peeled garlic clove

2 tablespoons mustard

3-5 tablespoons water, as needed

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Yam noodles:

1 peeled yam

To make the mushrooms: slice them really thin then rub in the oil and tamari. Put them in a warm spot (I put them in my oven at its lowest temperature) and forget about them for a minute. 

To make the sauce: blend all ingredients except sesame seeds together until smooth. Add whatever else you want. Then toss in the sesame seeds by hand. Set aside.

To make the noodles: put the yam through your spiral slicer (spirooli) or slice on a mandolin  Then cover them with the sauce and them get to know each other for a few minutes. The noodles will soften and pick up more flavour. Now remember your marinating fungi friends being warmed somewhere? Add those on top, and sprinkle on some more sesame seeds and raisins. Yum. Yams, man. 

raw blueberry tarts

the crust of these tastes like raisin butter tarts. holy moly. yet another dangerously delicious recipe...

these were originally going to be one giant raw blueberry pie, complete with a lattice top crust.

why pie? well, first of all - why not. but also because i just got home from an 8-day motorcycle trip with my dad across the cascade mountain range through canada and northern america. along the way i was able to get vegan food everywhere and it was all delicious; but sadly i could never get a slice of homemade, local, fresh, wild berry pie at any of the adorable diners we stopped at! apparently they like butter in small towns.

so i decided to make a raw blueberry as soon as i got home. we have tons of amazing blueberry bushes in our front yard and they make up a large chunk of my diet in the summer. mmm...

i'll be posting about my motorcycle adventure tomorrow, in case you're interested. in the meantime, make these tarts (or make it into one big pie) and enjoy summer before it winds down! i'll also be posting a recipe for a KILLER KALE SALAD. i had it for lunch. man, was it good. 

for one lovely afternoon: i suggest doing some yoga or meditation with this music, creating a kale salad with garden veggies, and finally making these tarts. following that, maybe have a glass of wine with your loved one and watching a movie? whatever floats your boat. it's your day.

mini blueberry tarts: makes about 5

crust:

1 cup walnuts

1 cup cashews

1/2 cup dates

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 teaspoon himalayan salt

filling:

4 cups organic blueberries

4 tablespoons agave/maple syrup

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon 

for the crust, process the nuts into a rough flour in your food processor, it might get kind of like a really thick nut butter (mine did). then add the dates, raisins and salt. process until it all sticks together. i couldn't stop EATING THIS. quickly press the crust into lined cupcake tins before you devour it all. put in the fridge.

to make the filling, mix the sweetener and cinnamon gently into the blueberries. you could add some vanilla and salt here if you want. then fill the tarts with the blueberries and voila! 

health is simple, health is delicious, health is beautiful!

yam noodles with miso sauce

holy yams! you might be skeptical about using raw sweet potatoes (yams) for food, but as soon as you try this, all your doubts will be vaporized. it's so satisfying. i don't know WHY you'd want or need white pasta with meatballs when you can eat THIS living, raw, cruelty-free meal. i took lots of photos, i hope you don't mind. 

nah... you don't.

hopefully you have a spiral slicer, but if not - a mandoline will do. and if you're REALLY ambitious, you could try to make the noodles manually. good luck.

i've been wanting to make these noodles with some kind of sauce and veggies for awhile, and the plan for this sweet potato (organic!) was to make this recipe then give it to a curious friend who had wondered whether you could raw potatoes. but um... i'm greedy. i ate it all at my house. don't judge me. i promise i will make this again and actually share it. it will be difficult, but i can do it.

 yam noodles with miso mustard sauce, avocado, cucumber & raisins: serves 1-2

noodles:
1 yam (sweet potato)

sauce:
1 tablespoon miso
1 tablespoon mustard
1 tablespoon agave
1 date
vegan milk/water, as needed (about 1/6 cup)
3 chopped garlic cloves

to make the noodles - slice the yam on a spiral slicer or mandoline. mix with a bit of tamari in large bowl and set aside.
to make the sauce - blend all ingredients together. if it's too thick, add more vegan milk/water. if it's too thin, add more miso, dates or mustard. pour the desired amount of sauce onto the noodles and mix in. you don't need that much.
i added chopped avocado, cucumber, beets from our garden, raisins, and parma... of course. i bet this with sesame or pumpkin seeds would be great too.

chocolate raisin oat cookies

yum. that's what these babies are.

i will admit right off the bat - i didn't make the chocolate chips myself today so they aren't 100% raw in the photos. but as long as you make your own raw chocolate chips (or buy some), you're golden!

i was asked to give a raw cookie recipe so here it is. these are mostly oats with a bit of coconut, almonds and agave (i didn't have any dates!) i recommend using dates if you have them, they're a whole food whereas agave is more processed... still far better than white sugar though ;)

personally, i find these more satisfying than baked cookies. they taste just as good, and the bonus is that they're good for you. nothing to feel guilty about here! i bet these would be good if you dehydrated them for a couple hours, they'd get like baked cookies on the outside. for me though - they were great as is.

i made quite a few so i'll be giving them away to friends and what not. it would've been nice to go downtown and give them to the homeless. last time i was downtown i was bringing some raw brownies to a friend's house and didn't think to share them with the people who needed them more than my or my friends until after i was coming home... dang. next time!

hopefully you're not homeless and so can enjoy them in the comfort of your dwelling today.

chocolate raisin oat cookies: makes at least 2 trays

2 cups oats

1/2 cup coconut chunks

1/2 cup almonds

1/4 cup hemp seeds

3 figs

1/3-1/2 cup agave/maple syrup/honey (or 3/4 cup dates)

2 tb melted coconut oil

1 t vanilla

1/2 t cinnamon

1/4 t salt

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup raisins

in your food processor, pulse oats, almonds and coconut chunks until they're like a rough flour. add all the other ingredients and blend until it comes together. add raisins and chocolate and mix in by hand. then form them into balls and flatten. dehydrate if you desire. hurraw!

triple cinnamon rolls

these are a baked food worth eating. 

my friend amanda was at my house the other day and suggested we bake something. we decided on cinnamon rolls. i put cinnamon in every layer - the dough, filling and icing - and they turned out divine. literally, these guys are holy saints. angels sing when you eat them.

i love tons of stuff in everything (really trying to work on appreciating simple recipes... failing) so i put walnuts and raisins in the filling. the dough is totally whole grain and the icing has coconut yogurt and ginger in it!

they don't need too long to bake, and the dough is gonna be a little tough to roll out just because of the whole wheat flour. but be patient and you will be rewarded! cinnamon rolls bring back all kinds of memories for me - special birthday breakfasts, christmas morning after opening presents, holidays, etc. so with all the delicious flavour and texture comes nostalgia. it makes for an amazing experience.

having said that - i've eaten way more cooked food than normal this weekend (it was all totally worth it though) and now my system is in a mess. back to raw! =)

okay... maybe after one more cinnamon roll....

triple cinnamon rolls: makes 14 or so
(adapted from smitten kitchen)

Dough:
1 cup coconut milk
3 tablespoons earth balance
3 1/2 cups whole grain flour
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 tb flax seed mixed with 2 tb water (egg!)
2 tb yeast
1 teaspoon salt
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Filling:
3/4 cup raw sugar
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup raisins
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup melted earth balance

Glaze:
2 ounces coconut yogurt, at room temperature
1/4 raw sugar
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tb cinnamon
1/2 t ginger power
1/4 cup honey/maple syrup/agave syrup 
1/4 cashew butter

For dough: Combine coconut milk and earth balance and melt together. Pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, "egg", yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add additional 2 1/2 cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. (You may also use a KitchenAid’s dough hook for this process.) Form into ball.
Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

For filling: mix dry ingredients together, set aside.
Press down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15×11-inch rectangle. Spread melted earth balance over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle dry mixture evenly over earth balance. Starting at the longer side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, slice with floss into into equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).
Divide rolls between baking dishes lined with paper, arranging cut side up. Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 45 minutes or so. Don’t skimp on the double-rising time!
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and flip onto rack. Cool 10 minutes.

For glaze: blend all ingredients until smooth, it should be a little more liquid than desired because the coconut oil will harden up again in a few moments. yumm!!!