Mexican-Style Slaw and Other Raw Selections

Another long absence, but these things do happen. I have a new recipe to share in a few, but I want to start by showing a raw items I made during a food prep spree I went on last week.

First was a recipe straight off my friend Amber's website, Almost Vegan. I originally was going to make plain coconut butter from her book, but given the sheer number of strawberries this time of year, I instead opted for Strawberry Coconut Butter. I had been saving an empty coconut oil jar for just the occasion, but the pink stuff inside is all sweet, delicious spread that goes with damn near everything. Also in the photo to the left is my own Banana Carrot Bread.

Also from the mind of Amber (and from her fantastic raw cook book, Practically Raw, that came out earlier this year) are the Naked Kale Chips. I substituted coconut oil for the olive oil in the recipe, and also added a couple cloves of garlic. The result was a crispy treat that tastes great on its own or dipped in hummus. Amber has several hummus variations in her book, but I opted to make my own. Here is the massaged kale laid out on a dehydrator tray, ready to get to work:

And here is is all shiny and crisp, post dehydration:

A few select kale chips:

 I also dehydrated some zucchini into chips:

Now onto the recipe. We had tacos for dinner last week, and I wanted a light side dish that didn't involve heating up the stove, as the summer heat makes cooking a little less fun. I came up with this simple Mexican-style slaw using pre-packaged shredded broccoli. For even more Mexican flavor, use cilantro instead of the parsley (which I used to accommodate the aversion to cilantro the oldest spawn has). After dinner, we had about half the slaw leftover, so the next day I added a can of black beans (drained and rinsed) to make it a meal of it's own.

Mexican-Style Slaw

Ingredients:

1/4 small red onion, minced

2 green onions, minced

1 tbs spicy mustard

zest and juice from 1 lime

1/4 c olive oil

hot sauce, to taste

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

1/2 bag broccoli slaw (about 2 cups)

1/4 red bell pepper, diced

kernels from 1 ear of corn

1/4 c parsley, chopped

Directions:

Whisk together onions, mustard, lime juice and zest, oil, hot sauce, cumin, salt, and pepper.

Toss the dressing with the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate for at least half an hour before serving to allow the flavors to meld. 

To the right, you can see the slaw alongside our tacos of Morning Star Chick'n, homemade salsa, and avocado.

Below is the slaw with black beans added.

Vegan Carob Cupcakes with Icing

Imagine the birthday parties you've been to....or imagine the photos you've seen of your own first birthday. What image comes to mind most frequently? Chubby faces and hands smeared with chocolate, right? It's an important milestone is every baby's life, as well as every parent's.

Last night I had a first birthday to celebrate, but this baby is special. She can't have chocolate, because it's poisonous to her. Dairy is off the table because of lactose intolerance. While it would be easy to make a cake just for her, we wanted to celebrate this milestone with her....

Surprise! It's my puppy, Trillian's, first birthday!

This moist, fudge-y, melt-in-your-mouth cupcake uses carob powder to keep it as dog-friendly as you can get while maintaining high human satisfaction. Rice milk was substituted for milk, coconut oil for the necessary butter element. While eggs are on the safe list for puppies, I had a bag of Jonathon apples that I was desperate to use up, so I blended one up for some au naturel applesauce.

Put it all together, and what do you end up with? A tasty treat for canine and human alike. The dogs had cupcakes topped with just the icing. For the humans, I spooned a bit of strawberry-balsamic purée over the top and then added a dollop of icing. Trillian had a very happy birthday, indeed!

Carob Cupcakes

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unrefined cane sugar

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour

3 tablespoons

carob powder

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of sea salt

1/4 c applesauce

1/2 cup rice milk

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup hot water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line or grease 12 muffin tins and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, flours, carob, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a second bowl, whisk together applesauce, milk, oil, and vanilla.

Add applesauce mixture to the flour mixture and beat for 2 minutes. Whisk in the hot water. Pour batter evenly into the muffin tins, filling each about 3/4 of the way full.

Bake in the preheated over for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Serve warm or remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack. Enjoy as is or add toppings as desired.

Carob Icing

Ingredients:

1/4 c rice milk

1 tbs cashew butter

1 tsp coconut oil

1/4 c carob powder

1 tbs agave (adjust to taste)

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

In a small, heavy saucepan warm the milk, cashew butter, and oil over medium-low heat. Whisk frequently until the cashew butter is well-combined with the milk. Add the carob powder and the agave and continue stirring until all ingredients are incorporated, dark, and shiny. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Allow to cool, then use to top your favorite desserts. Makes about 3/4 cup of icing, which is perfect for one dozen cupcakes.

Strawberry Balsamic Purée

Ingredients:

8 medium-sized ripe strawberries

1 tsp balsamic vinegar (I used my chocolate-infused!)

2 tbs sugar

Directions:

Purée all ingredients in the blender. Serve over your favorite desserts. Makes 1 cup of purée.

Crêpes with Strawberries, Orange Syrup, and Whipped Cream

My youngest daughter adores pancakes, but I hate making them....for some reason, I can't seem to avoid burning at least half the pancakes. Better suited to my attention span are crêpes....with endless options for flavors and fillings, these pastries can be adapted for any palate.

I filled these with fresh strawberries (yes, again with the strawberries!). They are topped with a simple syrup made from orange juice, freshly whipped cream, and more strawberries. This recipe makes nine crêpes, but can easily be doubled/tripled/etc. to fit your needs.

Crêpes (sweet variety)

Ingredients:

1 large egg

6 tbs milk

2 tbs orange juice

2 tbs water

1/2 c flour

1 tbs sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tbs butter, melted

non-stick cooking spray

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients except cooking spray until very well combined (alternatively, you can use a blender for this step!). Refridgerate batter at least 1 hour, and up to 24 hours.

Heat a small non-stick pan over medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Pour 3 tbs of batter into the center of the pan and tilt pan to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds, flip, and cook for an additional 10 seconds. Remove crêpe and place on a flat surface to cool. Repeat until all batter is gone, placing in a single layer to cool (do not stack until after they have cooled!). Fill with ingredients of choice. Makes about 9 crêpes.

I used about a cup of sliced strawberries for the filling of 8 crêpes (the ninth crêpe jumped to its death as I attempted to remove it from the pan).

Orange Syrup

Ingredients:

1/3 c orange juice

1/2 c sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp cardamom

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in small sauce pan over med-low heat. Bring to simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened (about 15 min). Drizzle over crêpes, ice cream, pound cake, or fresh fruit. Makes about 1/3 c of syrup.

Fresh Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

1/2 c heavy cream

2 tbs sugar

Directions:

Beat ingredients together until desired consistency. Makes about 1/2 c whipped cream.

Balsamic Strawberry Cookies for the Dark Side

Oh, how I love strawberry season. Here's my next installment of Cookies for the Dark Side. The strawberries are marinated in balsamic vinegar and sugar to bring out the flavor. I used my chocolate-infused balsamic vinegar. The cocoa powder adds a little extra to the flavor. The chocolate is not strong in these at all; it's an extra depth of flavor that you don't taste until the end. If you aren't a fan of the cocoa bean, you can easily leave it out. The overall effect is that of a refined strawberry shortcake that you can eat with your hands.

Balsamic Strawberry Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c strawberries, diced

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp cocoa

1/2 c + 2 tbs white sugar

2 c unbleached flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c butter, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a small bowl, combine strawberries, vinegar, cocoa, and 2 tbs of the sugar; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Cream together remaining 1/2 c of sugar and the butter; add vanilla. Cut the flour mixture into the butter mixture until combined; the dough will resemble coarse crumbs. Stir in the cream until dough starts to come together. Fold in the strawberry mixture, until just barely combined.

Drop dough by spoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheets, about 2" apart.

Bake in preheated oven 15-18 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and transfer cookies with a spatula to a wire rack, and let cool. Makes about 30 cookies.

Strawberry Strudel Muffins

Strawberry season is here! Somehow I can't seem to resist buying the four pound flat of berries. Then again, when it's $2.50 for one pound and $4.00 for four....well, it just seems silly not to go all out.

Inevitably, I'm forced to come up with creative ways to use the berries. As awesome as they are as-is, it can get a bit boring. I'll make real strawberry milk, salads, and ice cream topping....but trust me, it can be hard to make a dent!

So, I present here Strawberry Strudel Muffins. Not too sweet, heavy on the berry goodness. The kiddos have approved these for breakfast as well as snacking.

Strawberry Strudel Muffins

Ingredients:

2 1/3 c flour

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c sugar

1/4 c butter, softened

1 egg

1 c milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 c fresh strawberries, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Add egg; stir in milk and vanilla until well-combined. Add the flour micture to the wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in strawberries. Grease a 12 muffin pan and divide batter evenly amoung the cups.

Strudel Ingredients:

1/4 cup sugar

1/8 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom

1/8 cup butter

Strudel Directions:

In a small bowl, mix together sugar, flour, cinnamon, and cardamom. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over muffins.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 12 muffins.

Spinach and Strawberry Salad with Chocolate Balsamic Dressing

This is another creation inspired by my trip to the farmers market. There is a local shop--The Tasteful Olive--that sells infused olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and even better is they offer free samples of every single item they stock. I absolutely fell in love with the chocolate infused balsamic vinegar. Needless to say, my first thought was of strawberries. Coupled with the brand new spinach I had just purchased from a local farmer, this salad was born.

I am particularly proud of this combination. The dressing is tangy with just a touch of sweet, and the chocolate flavor rests beautifully in the background of the palate. Extra acidity and sweetness come from the strawberries, and the contrast of the creamy goat cheese and crunchy walnuts makes this salad feel more like a dessert than rabbit food.

If you can't (or simply don't want to) find chocolate balsamic vinegar, you can approximate the flavor by combining 1 1/2 tbs of balsamic vinegar with 1/2 tbs dark chocolate liquor. It'll be a little sweeter, so I recommend using half the agave or honey.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Ingredients:

2 tbs chocolate infused balsamic vinegar

3 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp agave nectar or 2 tsp honey

1/8 tsp salt

4 c spinach

1 c strawberries, sliced

1/4 c goat cheese

1/4 c walnuts, coarsely chopped

fresh cracked pepper

Directions:

Whisk together vinegar, oil, nectar, and salt in a small bowl until well-combined. Set aside.

Combine spinach, strawberries, cheese, and walnuts in a salad bowl. Just before serving, toss with dressing and fresh cracked pepper. Serves 4.