Cafe Mocha Smoothie

Just imagine how could this could be with brewed chilled chocolate yerba mate tea instead of coffee!

2 Banana's
1/4 cup of brewed coffee (chilled if possible)
1/2 cup to 1 cup of ice
1/4 cup of Cocoa Powder
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

Blend and buzz...

Sesame Seaweed Noodles and Broccolini

This dish got oooh's and aaah's from all the staff members of the Contemporary Art Museum I work at.

Ingredients:
Seaweed Soaked (I used Wakame)
A bunch of Brocolini
1/2 Lemon with some garlic

Sauce:
3 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar or Rice Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Black Sesame Seeds
2 Garlic Cloves minced
1/2 inch of Ginger minced


Make this a day or 2 ahead of time because the veggies and 'weed need to soak and marinate. Soak the seaweed to rehydrate and soften. Marinate the brocolini in Lemon Juice/Garlic mixture. Soak and soften for 12 hours. Combine the drained 'weed and broccolini then toss with the sauce. Let marinate a few more hours to blend the flavors. Plate and eat. Be polite in between mouth fulls as you try to explain "what's in this great looking dish?"

Cinnamon Pear Banana Smoothie

This made my morning

1 frozen banana
half of a ripe pear
"Milk" to blend
A large pinch of cinnamon

Blend. Enjoy.

Sweethearts

I have a sweet tooth right now. I haven't been one for sweets growing up. Often I would get sick feeling from the sugar rush and wheat in candies or baked goods. But I've always had a thing for fats. Peanut butter in particular. Raw food desserts have unearthed my inner sweet tooth. Fat heavy and no refined sugars. The problem is I can keep eating raw food desserts without getting sick from the sugar. I've started to notice this is bad. Sorta, it's better for you than the original. Though with SAD desserts I've never had to deal with accidentally eating half a pie for dinner.

Chocolate Coconut Cookies

I don't measure these when I make it, I just use handfuls.

Ingredients:
2 rounded spoonfuls of Tahini *use another nut butter for other cookie flavors
A large handful of shredded coconut
2 spoonfuls of raw cocoa powder or carob
A handful of cocoa nibs

Mix until the texture of a no bake cookie. If needed add more shredded coconut or cocoa powder. Roll the mixture into balls. Flatten in your palms and press into more shredded coconut to coat the outside. Place the cookie disc's in the freezer for an hour or more. Then when harder store in the fridge. This normally makes about 4 cookies.

I'll let you know when I perfect my Nib Chip Cookies.....

Hyper Active Brownies

These brownies gave me the hugest rush of energy. I almost got light headed from how rich they are.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of coconut oil melted
1/4 cup of carob powder
1/2 cup of dried fruit
2 tablespoons of agave nectar
Two handfuls of goji berries
Two handfuls of cocoa nibs
1 1/2 cups of walnuts
A few spoonfuls of chocolate sauce to coat the top

Process the walnuts and coconut oil in a food processor until very finely ground and paste like. Add the carob powder, agave. and dried fruit. Process more till thick and fudgey. Hand mix in the goji berries and cocoa nibs. Press the brownies into a small container so that the brownies are about an inch high. Cover the tops of the brownies with a few spoonfuls of chocolate sauce and spread evenly on top to create a thin layer. This will give the brownies a traditional baked look and add extra chocolate. Refrigerate till the mixture sets. The consistency should be hard and crisp on the outside and soft and fudgey on the inside. This isn't a cake like brownie but more of a warm moist brownie. Cut into small brownie bites! These brownies are dense.

My friend wanted to add that these brownies made him extremely sexually aroused. A non-raw foodist and my best sympathetic skeptic. He was floored by the varied sensations he felt eating cocoa nibs for the first time!

Raw Chocolate Covered Strawberries

This recipe is for a coconut oil based chocolate sauce you can dip any fruit into that will harden to a chocolate shell. Use the leftover chocolate sauce to pour into ice cube molds and freeze to make chocolates. I use a heart shaped rubber ice cube mold that I can pop the candy right out. So cute, easy, and good for you!

I ate this for Breakfast today with strawberries and bananas....

Ingredients:
1/4 Cup of Coconut Oil Melted to a liquid state
4 Tablespoons of Raw Cocoa Poweder or Cocoa nibbs grounded
2 Tablespoons Agave Nectar
*Double the recipe to accommodate the amount of fruit you would like to dip.

Fruit: Strawberries, Mangoes, Bananas, etc.
Also try nuts, top pies, dip nut butter cookies, raw ice cream, etc.

Chocolate Sauce
Melt the coconut oil by putting the jar in a bowl of warm/hot water. Set aside and let the coconut oil liquefy. You can prepare your fruit while the oil melts. In a cup combine all the ingredients and stir until mixed. The consistency should be of a rich melted chocolate sauce. When you dip your spoon in it should evenly coat the spoon and drip slowly, not runny. If runny add more cocoa powder.

Strawberry Dipping
Dip the strawberries in the cup with the melted chocolate. Coat evenly and place on a plate. When done put the strawberries in the fridge to help the chocolate firm up more. If the room is cold the sauce will start to harden in the cup. A trick is to place the cup in a shallow bowl of hot water to keep it melted.

*I put the chocolate covered sliced bananas in the freezer instead of the fridge because they remind me of little bits of banana Klondike bars. I guess I could get real creative sometime and mold Klondike bars from raw ice cream. Let me know if you try this first, I could use some tips.

Thank You Maggie

I would like to thank Maggie's Mercantile for adding raw foods options to her already awesome vegan deli. This might be one small step for Maggie's Mercantile but one HUGE step for Pittsburgh. All I ask Maggie's is that you price your Raw Cocoa, and get back to me.

Maggie's Mercantile 320 Atwood Street Pittsburgh, PA 15213-4026	Phone: (724) 593-5056

Lunch Post

Hello,
Long time no see. Everyday I hope to squeeze in a lunch post about what I am eating lately. I have some staples I have been falling back on. They are simple, quick, and good.

<3's
Pea


Pad Thai
There are many wonderful complex recipes for raw pad thai. This is not one of them, but it is fresh and tangy. This is my lunch today.

Ingredients:
Noodle Salad
1 bag Mung Bean Sprouts
1 Cucumber, peeled, juliened, or spiralized into noodles (stop when you hit the seeds)
1 Carrot peeled, juliened, or spiralized into noodles
1 Handful of Cilantro
1 Sprinkling of chopped Nuts
Cut all the veggies into noodle like shapes. Toss these ingredients in a bowl.

Sauce
2 Tablespoons of Tamarind Paste
2 Tablespoons of Nut Butter
1 Soaked date or spoonful of sweetner
1 inch piece of peeled ginger
1 garlic
1 Teaspoon of Bragg's
1/4 cup of water or lime juice
Put all these ingredients in to a blender and blend. Add more water slowly if needed to reach desired sauce consistency. I like mine thicker. Pour the sauce over the veggie noodles and mix.

Who would have thought

Too busy to post! I promised myself and you that this blog would never be personal, and it won't. So I will I spare and not share the details of my busy artist life. But lets just say as the art is booming the blog is not. So I apologize and will get my ass in gear to report my raw recipe adventures. Lately with my uber busy schedule I have not been eating much at home or totally raw therefore. What I have manged to do is impact one of my friends to try a Raw Diva Detox. There is one starting this Saturday, and although I wasn't planning on doing it she convinced me to do it with her! Just what I needed, a friends support to keep me grounded and raw. So keep blogging because I will keep you posted on the culinary delights of the the detox.

Sincerely,

Pea

Moroccan Apple Milk

1 tart apple
1 cup of Almond or dairy free milk of choice
3 ice cubes
1 t of liquid sweetener (honey, agave, maple syrup etc.)
A few leaves of mint (as garnish or blended)

Chop the apple into small easy to blend pieces. Add all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth, frothy, but not as thick as a smoothie consistency. Pour and serve.

Banana Cardamon Lassi

Cardamon is my favorite spice of this month. This recipe is adapted from the Lord Krishna's The Art of Vegetarian Indian Cuisine. This is not a book, it is a volume and a must for those who LOVE Indian food.




2 Frozen Bananas or unfrozen bananas with 3 or 4 ice cubes
1 cup of Almond Milk or dairy free milk of choice.
1/4 t of ground cardamon or the seeds from 2 green cardamon pods

Blend all the ingredients in a blender. Pour into a glass and sprinkle with a pinch of nutmeg (optional). Serves and enjoy.

Jicama Fries

It seems that a lot of raw food cookbooks all have their own version of this fast comfort food like dish. This is my version. The sesame oil is what makes it nutty and reminiscent of Fried Fries. (Pic coming soon!)




Tools: Knife or Mandoline or French Fry cutting tool
Serves: 4

1 Jicama
1 Tablespoon of Sesame Oil
1/4-1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
Sprinkle of Paprika (optional)

Cut Jicama into French Fry Like sticks. Coat with sesame oil and toss with salt. Sprinkle with paprika serve and enjoy!

Pizza Topping Salad

I've always hated American Italian food. Never fresh, always over cooked, and pasta pasta pasta. But the fresh ingredients associated with Italian food is an endless source of yummy inspiration for raw cuisine.

Think of an ultimate supreme pizza and use what you have on hand
My favorite combination is:

Topping Ingredients:
Sun dried Tomatoes
Olives
Artichoke Hearts
Green Peppers
Onion
Cherry Tomatoes

Greens:
Spinach Leaves

Dressing:
Pesto and Garlic Lemon Vinaigrette
1 Tablespoon Pesto
1 Lemon
1 Garlic Clove

Chop, dice, toss, as you wish all these ingredients together to make a salad. For the dressing mix together 1 tablespoon of pesto (A pesto recipe is posted in June for the Zucchini Pasta and Pesto) add 1 clove of minced garlic and the juice of 1 lemon. Pour on salad and enjoy. This is better than pizza..yum.

Ginger Fruit Salsa

You can use any fruit or a combo of fruits in this spicy yet refreshing salsa. Try peaches, plums, pears, mangoes, papaya, pineapple, and much more.

Serves: A lot

2 diced pieces of fruit (use more is fruit are small)
2 diced and de-seeded Large Tomatoes
2 diced spicy hot peppers
1/2 diced green pepper
1 diced scallion
1 tablespoon of minced ginger
1 tablespoon of liquid sweetner (agave or maple syrup)
1 lime juiced
1/8th teaspoon of salt
A handful of minced cilantro

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and toss. Allow the salsa to sit for and hour or more so the flavors and spices can blend together.

Raw Rolls

Chilled Tom Kha Soup

Serving Size: Serves Two

I made this dish because the constant aroma coming from the quality Thai resturant across the block from me produces crazy cravings for Thai. Pittsburghers this recipe is for Thai Cuisine.



2 Cups of Coconut Milk
1 Cup of Water
1 Cup of Mung Bean Sprouts
2 Julienne Carrots
1/2 Juliene Red Pepper or Green
1 or 2 Diced Scallions
1 Tablespoon of red curry paste or equal parts garlic/ginger/lemongrass/hot pepper
1 Tablespoon of Lemon Juice
A Handful of Basil leaves

Mix Lemon Juice, curry spice combination, Water, and Coconut Milk. Add the cut vegetables, Mung Bean Sprouts, and Basil Leaves. Allow soup to chill for 15-30 minutes. If coconut milk thickens beyond desired consistancy while chilling, slowly stir in a bit more water to thin.

Vegan Mango Lassi

Tools: Blender
Serving Size: 1 person

1 Mango
1 Cup of Almond Milk
1 Tablespoon of Lemon Juice
1 Banana
a pinch of Cinnamon or Cardamon or 1 teaspoon of rosewater

Blend all ingredients.

Zenith Green Bean Salad

My boyfriend and I eat this as a meal instead of a side or picnic salad

Serving Size : 2 or 4 people

1 pound of Green beans washed and cut
1/4 cup sesame oil
2 Tablespoons of Tamari or Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1/4 Teaspoon of Chili Flakes
1 Teaspoon of Liquid Sweetner (agave, maple syrup, etc.)
1 Teaspoon of Sesame Seeds


Essentially you are making a sesame soy vinegrette and tossing the washed and cut green beans in it. Let this mixture sit and marinate for a few hours in the fridge the extra time it takes to sit is worth it. When I am too hungry to wait I have been know to eat it right away, still yummy.

Ethiopian Lentil Salad