Loquat Pie!

So we have this ginormous loquat tree in front of my house.  Loquat?  "What the fuck is that" you ask... Well... it's like an apricot but smaller and with a thicker skin and not as sweet.  Yeah, I know what you're thinking, "that sounds kinda nasty".  Well, really they are not that great on there own but if you cover them in sugar and wrap them in pastry dough, fucking excellent.  Which is why I made this beautiful pie:)

 This is not a beginner recipe like most of my recipes.  It took three effin hours to make bitches.  The shit took FOR-EV-ER.  Good thing I love everything about pie, I love the way it looks, the way it tastes, I love rolling out the dough and designing the crust and especially the way it smells in the oven, brings a smile to my face just thinking about it:)  Most of the time is spent pitting the loquats, those little bitches are a pain to pit but if you get in the zone it can be spiritual (yup, the "zone" is a spiritual place).  So if you have a ginormous loquat tree like me don't let those little bitches go to waste, make pie!

I know I keep saying I am going to blog more but I mean it this time.  My goal is to try to replace blogging with boys.  For those of you who haven't noticed I have a boy problem and it fucking sucks.  A beautiful girl can only take so many failed attempts before throwing her hands up and saying "Alrighty universe, I guess you get your way again!".  Yes, me and the universe talk and the universe is telling me to focus on myself, do what you love and love will find you.  And blogging my food is a joy I truly love:)  So lucky you, more delicious vegan recipes for free... and I will do my best slowing down and focusing on numero uno.  Thanks for listening and more importantly thanks for following my blog, it means a lot to me.

Here is the pie finally...

Loquat Pie Filling

6 cups of pitted loquats (I cut them in half them lightly squeeze out the pit)
1 cup of water
1 1/2 cups raw sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Place loquats and water in a medium saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes until fruit begins to soften.  Then add the rest of the ingredients, mix well and cook until sauce thickens.  While loquats are cooking begin making the crust.
Mix


The Crust

2 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup of vegan butter
1/3 cup of shortening
6-8 tablespoons of ice water

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  flour and salt in a bowl.  Then add the butter and shortening and cut into the flour with a pastry blender or fork until the mixture resembles small pea size pieces of flour and fat.  Add the water until the mixture comes together and knead a couple of times just to get everything to stick together.  Once it sticks together nicely, split it into two and roll them into two circles big enough for your pie pan.  I used a 10 inch pie crust.

2.  When crusts are done being rolled out place one in the bottom of the pie pan and cut the excess dough around the edges.  I use my kitchen sheers for this.  Then add the filling and cover with the top layer.  I made a lattice top and you can do that too if your fancy like me. Otherwise just top with the other crust, cut the extra around the edges and press the dough together.  Crimp the edges to your liking and place in the oven for 45-55 minutes until edges are golden brown.

Bonus Recipe!!!

Wondering what to do with that extra dough?  Make these tasty little appetizers...

Hot Dog Appetizer Thingies

Extra pie dough
veggie hot dog or sausage

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.  Roll dough out into a circle and cut it like a pizza to form pyramid like shapes. Roll the hot dogs up starting at the larger end of the pyramid up to the pointier end... if that makes sense.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.  Serve with mustard or whatever the fuck you want.  Enjoy!!!

Homemade Seitan Cheese Steak

Fucking yum.  This was my first try at making homemade seitan and it came out pretty damn good.  I might have left it in the oven for one too many minutes which made it a little extra chewy but otherwise the recipe was good.  I sauted the seitan with onions and bell pepper, slapped it in a bun and slatthered it in a nutritional yeast sauce. 

I am now officially on the hunt for the perfect seitan recipe so if anyone has one they use send it my way:) 

Note:  You don't have to be fancy pants like me and make homemade seitan you can just buy yours at your local grocery store. 

Vegan Cheese Steak

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced seitan
2 bell peppers thinly sliced (I used one green and one red)
1 onion sliced
1 recipe  nutritional cheese sauce or vegan cheese of your liking
4 french bread rolls
veganaise

1.  Heat oil on medium heat in a large pan.  Add bell pepper and onion and saute until they begin to soften.  Add the seitan and cook until heated through.

2.  While the seitan mix is cooking prepare cheese sauce.

3.  Once the seitan and cheese sauce is done assemble sandwiches.  Spread a thin layer of veganaise on roll top with a healthy amount of seitan, top with cheese sauce and ase easy as that your in vegan heaven:)

Simple Quinou Spaghetti

Another meal low in nutritional density to sooth my slowly subsiding hang over.  I ate WAY too much of it and am totally stuffed!  Spaghetti is like the king of comfort food, it's full of carbs, rich sauce and in my version tons of processed soy meat.  I don't even know what kind of soy meat I used because my dad gave it to me to try from Costco, yes, Costco has some kind of mystery soy meat (yeah for Costco!).  It was ok, but I have had better, I like Gimme Lean soy meat personally.  This is a real easy classic recipe for spaghetti and besides the quinou pasta its nothing fancy.  I personally despise  bottled pasta sauce and highly recommend you try making your own, it is super easy and once you get the hang of it you can pretty much do anything to it.  You can start off with my simple version below and then go from there, you can add bell pepper, mushrooms, basil... whatever you like.  Give it a go...

Simple Spaghetti

2 cans of canned spaghetti sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion chopped
6 cloves of minced garlic
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 package soy "meat"
1 package of quinou pasta
salt and pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta, salt liberally.

2.  Heat large saucepan on medium heat and add olive oil.  Once pan is hot add onions and saute for 4-5 minutes until slightly trancluscent and add the garlic.  Cook garlic until just fragrant and add the soy "meat" to the onion mixture as per directions on package.  Once "meat" is cooked add the tomato sauce and Italian seasoning, turn to low, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes.  While sauce is simmering add pasta to the pot of boiling water and cook per directions on package. 

3.  When pasta is done add the sauce to the pasta and top with a little parma or nutritional yeast if you like and your goo to go.

Blueberry Banana Pancakes!

Fried cake for breakfast!  Yes!  Tasty with no nutritional content is exactly what I need this morning.  Of course I added some fruit so I could lie to myself about how healthy my breakfast was today.  Pancakes are the perfect cure for overdosing on Bud Light.  I adapted this recipe from a super easy recipe on vegweb called the Best Tasting Pancakes Ever! Vegan or Otherwise...  And I will attest to that... maybe besides McDonalds... sorry but I gots to keep it real.  I don't know how the fuck Micky D's does it but from what I remember those delicate little puppies are scrumptious.  Anyways the recipe is bomb and with my adaptations a little healthier and maybe even a little more delish.

Disclaimer:  I do not endorse the consumption of any food prepared at a fast food restaurant... especially McDonalds!

Blueberry Banana Pancakes

1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup applesauce or other egg replacement
1 cup almond milk or other milk replacement
2 tablespoons coconut oil or oil of your preference
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons turbinado sugar or sweetener of your preference
blueberry
sliced banana

1.  Mix the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients separately.

2.  Begin heating pan on medium heat.  While pan is heating add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix.  If too thick add milk alternative.

3.  Grease pan with oil of your liking and drop about 1/4 cup of batter on the heated pan.  Cook until it begins to bubble on the top and add the blueberry and banana to the uncooked side of the pancake and let cook for another minute or two until the fruit is set a little ande quickly and carefully flip.  If you have not made pancakes this way before it may take some practice but even if they don't flip perfectly they will still taste good.  Cook pancake until golden brown on each side and repeat until all batter is used.

Finish with toppings of your liking and dig in.  This recipe makes about 5-6 4 inch pancakes.

ENJOY!!

The Bomb Diggity Raw Chocolate Shake

This shit is no joke.  If you have a sweet tooth like this beezie than this little doozy is for you.  It is the perfect drink to put two striped bendy straws in and share with a loved one:)  Ooohhh just the thought of it gives me warm fuzzies inside.

The Bomb Diggity Raw Chocolate Shake

2 peeled frozen bananas
3-4 dates depending on how sweet you like things
1 tablespoon raw chocolate powder
water

1.  Put all the ingredients in a blender and add water until the shake reaches a desired consistency.  Let blend for a minute so the dates get mixed in real good.  Then pour into your favorite glass, pop in your bendy straw and there you have it, heaven on earth.

Raw Taco Salad

So I came home from yoga with my BF ravenous and in full bitch mode (sorry Lover).  It was the end of day 3 on my cleanse and I was effin starved to put it lightly.  I had planned on making raw tacos but threw everything into a salad so I could stuff my face faster.  My Lover had actually made real tacos for himself and it was painful to even walk past the pan of crusty cold refried black beans.  My love for beans is one of the few qualities that links me to my Mexican heritage.  Supposedly according to my Daddy (yeah I am almost thirty and I still call him Daddy, so what!) he grew up on bean sandwiches which consisted of pinto beans and mayonnaise on white bread.  Maybe it is the Mexican in me but that shit sounds delicious, maybe I will veganize it and post the recipe on my blog after this stupid awesome cleanse is over.

Anyways, the taco salad came out bomb and it took like 5 minutes to put together with my snazzy new food processor that my Lover Santa bought for me.  Quick story about how much of a brat I can be, so I decided to boycott Christmas shopping this year and told my family and friends not to buy me anything in support of my boycott which was all fine and dandy until Christmas eve hits and the realization sets in that there are no presents under my $2 paper Christmas tree I got at Goodwill and I started to cry.  Yes, I cried about it to my oh so patient and supportive Lover and he promised that "Santa" was coming late this year and assured me that I was a good girl and deserved all the useless crap in the world.  And this is how my bratty ass got my awesome new Cuisinart food processor (you can't see me but I am dancing like a 5 year old in celebration of my new toy).  OK, here is the taco salad recipe finally...

Raw Taco Salad

Taco "Meat"
2 tomatoes cut into quarters
1/2 package of taco seasoning (I used trader joes)
1 1/2 cups raw almonds
1-2 zucchinis cut into quarters (added the zucchini to boost the vegetable content but they are not needed)
1 cup mushrooms

Salad:
mixed greens
salsa fresca
tomato
onion
cilantro
avocado
olives (yeah I know there not raw but my Lover opened a can for his tacos and I could not resist)
whatever else your heart desires... maybe some shredded carrots, beets, kale, guacamole, pepitos, raw corn, cashew cheese ....

1.  To make the taco "meat" mix tomatoes and taco seasoning in a food processor until a sauce is formed.  Then add almonds to sauce and blend until a ground beef consistency is formed (I know totally gross but I don't know how else to explain it).  Add in the zucchini if using and mushrooms and blend until desired consistency.

2.  To plate add a couple of handfuls of lettuce to a plate or large bowl and top with salad toppings and taco "meat".

Note:  You can easily make raw tacos out of the this recipe by wrapping the taco "meat" with lettuce or other greens and adding the traditional taco accompaniments.

And for dessert I had chocolate dipped bananas which as you can see from my picture needs work but it still tasted delish. I will get back to you guys with recipe once it is perfected.

Raw Teriyaki Cashew Stir-Fry

It is the first day of my raw food cleanse and so far so good but not drinking on New Years... now that effing sucked.  You can hear more about it in my video blog that will be posted this evening. Started the day with a banana with almond butter, then had a basket of strawberries as a snack and then for lunch  I made the delightful stir-fry pictured above.  This is a top of the line raw recipe that anyone can appreciate.  It is super easy and I am considering never cooking my stir-fry's again... but I will not be giving up my brown rice!  You can use whatever vegetables you like for this recipe but I highly recommend using a lot of mushrooms, they really soak of the sauce and add a nice meaty texture.

I am on the hunt for some good raw food recipes so if you have any please share:)

Raw Teriyaki Cashew Stir-Fry

Teriyaki Sauce:
3 tablespoons nama shoyu ( I used Braggs)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 clove garlic
1 inch of ginger peeled
2-3 dates depending on how sweet you like your sauce
1/4 cup water

Stir-Fry
1 1/2 sliced mushrooms
1 cup bell pepper cut into thin 1 inch pieces (I used red and orange but any color will work)
2 cups of chopped bok choy
2 cups of broccoli cut into 1 inch pieces
3/4 carrots sliced thinly
3/4 cups raw cashews
other veggie possibilities: asparagus, snow peas, green onion, onion, zuchinni, cabbage or whatever you want....

1.  To make sauce add all ingredients into a blender and blend until a creamy sauce is formed.

2.  Place all chopped vegetables in a bowl and top with the teriyaki sauce and let marinade at room temperature for at least 1/2 hour and it is ready to eat.  The longer the sauce sits with the vegetables the better it will taste, I would recommend letting it marinate for 2-3 hours at room temperature to really let the vegetables soak up the flavor.

Raw Carrot Cupcakes with Cashew Cream Frosting

In spite of the normal disgraceful holiday binging I have been participating in I am still trying to gear up for my New Years raw food cleanse and juice fast which is why I came up with these delicious little suckers.  They are hella easy to make and hella easy to eat like ten of them so watch out.  I am slowly becoming obsessed with raw desserts which is awesome because they are healthy and uber easy, the only thing that sucks is I have like the tiniest food processor (if you gots a food processor laying around collecting dust holla).  Keep yourself posted because I will be pouring my heart out to the world throughout my cleanse and the remainder of my weight loss journey via vlog which should be interesting.

Raw Carrot Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups carrots finely shredded
2 cups raw walnuts
3/4 cups raisins (I used golden)
1/2 cup raw shredded coconut
1/4 cup agave
1 tablespoon melted coconut oil (coconut oil can be melted by putting the jar in a bowl of hot water)
1/2 teaspoon salt

1.  Blend walnuts in the food processor until a powder consistency forms then add raisins, coconut and salt and to food processor and mix until the raisins are blended in smoothly with all other ingredients.  Place the walnut mixture into a bowl and add carrots and agave and mix with your hands.  The cake can be formed into pretty much any shape.  I used an espresso cup lined with saran wrap to make mini-cupcake looking things.  Top with Cashew Cream Frosting...


Cashew Cream Frosting

1 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup agave
water
pinch of salt

1.  Place the cashews agave and salt in a blender and add water just until the cashews are covered and blend.  If mixture is too thick add water 1 tablespoon at a time until it easily blends.  Add to dessert of your choice.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili with Jalapeno Cornbread

I grew up on Denison's Chili Beans in a flour tortilla with cottage cheese... yup yup and I loved every last bit of it.  Cottage cheese?! you ask, well yes but I can't explain why and I will to this day defend it as nastolgic delicious food that I will never eat again along with fried bologna sandwiches.  We all know that canned chili just does not stand up to the real thing, even if it is covered in cottage cheese.

I am always trying to think of ways to add extra nutrients and whole foods to my recipes so I decided to add sweet potatoes and zuchinni to this version of chili.  I was a little nervous about the sweet potatoes but I really enjoyed the sweetness they added, my lover was not a fan but what does he know about food he is one of those freaks that just forgets to eat... who the fuck does that!?  For the cornbread I used a packaged mix and instead of the honey I used agave and instead of the eggs I used flaxseed (1 tablespoon of flax meal with 3 tablespoons of water heated until an eggy consistency forms).  For jalapeno cornbread just add a couple of chopped jalapenos to the the batter and leave in some of the seeds if you like it on the spicier side.  I liked the jalapenos but I have found better more vegan friendly recipes for cornbread on vegweb.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili


1 tablespoon oil

1 large onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
2 jalapenos chopped
2 zuchini's chopped
1 Giant sweet potatoe or 2 regular sized sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 inch peices
1 12 oz can of chopped tomatoes
2 12 oz can of black beans (I only had one can of black so I had to use a second can of pinto)
1 teaspoon chili powder or more if you like it spicy
3 teaspoons cumin
salt and pepper to taste
optional toppings: avocado, green onions, cilantro, cashew cheese, vegan cheese, tortilla chips

1.  Heat oil on medium in a large pot and add onion and bell pepper, cook 3-5 minutes until tender.  Then add the garlic and jalapenos and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes until the garlic becomes very fragrant.  Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil then lower to a simmer. Cook for  45 minutes to 2 hours, the longer you simmer the better it will taste.  Salt and pepper to taste and add any toppings of your choice and it's ready to go.  If it seems too dry just add a little water or vegetable stock.

Mine is topped with avocado, cilantro and leftover cashew cheese from my eggplant parmesan as you can see...

And once you are finished consuming this delicious recipe you can sing "Beans Beans the magical fruit the more you eat the more you... " Yes I just went there, I just can't help it. I will never grow out of my obsession with fart and poop jokes, just typing the word poop makes me smile:) Happy eating!

Cookie Party!

So EVERY single year my sister and I get together and invite friends over for cookie decorating and it is a blast.  I will leave the recipe I used for the cut-out sugar cookies at the bottom, it worked well but I think I will still be on the hunt for a recipe that has a little more of that flakey vegan buttery goodness.  Though there were some RIDICULOUSLY AMAZING cookies the winner of this years most awesome cookie goes to my favorite sister in the world, check it out!

MEATWAD!  I know this is a vegan blog but Meatwad is fricken hilarious and it is cookie art at it's best, good job sis!  Here are some more pics of our fun day:

A group shot of Wendy's back, Laura, my big sis and my lover, yeah he's sexy and he's vegan and he decorates cookies and he's mine bitches!  Anyways, enough of me being a psycho jealous gf and back to the cookies. As you can see in this pic my sister has the most redick collection of cookie sprinkles known to man and as you can see in the next picture she also has a great cookie cutter collection.

Here are a couple of close ups so you can better see the awesomness:

Here is Laura's plate of cookies which this picture totally does not do justice to but you can see this beezie has gots skills...

And watch out for Kenny's sequin shirt and glitter pants wearin lover boy of a gingerbread man

I made vegan cut-out cookies and vegan icing for me but other people that came over brought non-vegan cookies and a few non-vegan decorations.  Here are the recipes I used for the cookies and icing:

Vegan Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

• cups flour , sifted (VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU SIFT)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 dash cinnamon
• candy sprinkles , to decorate
• sugar , to decorate
• icing , to decorate

Directions:

1. 1
   In a medium sized bowl mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon set aside.
2. 2
   In another bowl, mix together wet ingredients.
3. 3
   Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
4. 4
   Start preheating oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
5. 5
   Roll dough out and cut out shapes with cookie cutters.
6. 6
   Bake in oven on a lightly oiled cookie sheet for about 10-12 minutes.

Recipe courtesy of: http://www.food.com/recipe/vegan-cut-out-sugar-cookies-272260#ixzz1h3fEMgpY


Simple Cookie Decorating Icing


1 cups powdered sugar for every color of icing you would like
milk alternative
food coloring


1. Place powder sugar in small bowl or cup and add milk alternative one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency.  If it is too thick add more "milk" and if it is too watery add more powder sugar.  Then add food coloring of your choice to sugar and mix and you are ready to go.  


Note:  This shit is not as easy as it looks, like I said we have been doing this EVERY year since as far back as I can remember so were pretty much professionals.  When you venture off into cookie decorating heaven just remember to relax and think outside of the cookie cutter and you will be fine.  

I Won a Vegan Giveaway! Whoopee!

Just got an email confirmation that I won a Vegansauraus giveaway from Alison's Gourmet!  And this is how happy I am...

The contest went like this, just dream up a confection you have been dying to sink your teeth in and the best idea wins... and I won!  Hiphiphooray!  My idea was a giant homemade marshmallow dipped in caramel then in chocolate and rolled in almonds and coconut.  You can check it out here: http://vegansaurus.com/post/13980504857#disqus_thread. I better get on my extravagant winnings of a $20 gift card pronto so I can stuff my face with junk food before January 1st which is my official start date for giving up sugar :(  Sad I know, but I will NOT be giving up desserts there are plenty of things you can do with dates and stevia.

Keep yourself posted for some cookie party fun and vegan sweet potato and black bean chili with jalapeno cornbread!!!

Eggplant Parm with Cashew Cheese over Pesto Spaghetti Squash

I know what you are thinking, where the eff did this crispy picture come from?!  Well, I gots myself a real camera, no more crappy crackberry pics for me! :)  This is a true Vegan Beezie original I came up with today.  It is a mix between a couple of dishes I have whipped up in the past.  The idea for this dish came to me as I was riding home from the YMCA with a backpack full of donated food I stole (with permission) which included basil, slider buns, and pizza dough (slider and pizza recipes soon to come).  I decided to make a dish out of the basil since the other two items freeze well and since I'm trying to kick-up my whole foods intake this recipe seemed like a good way to do it.  It seems like a lot of work if your a lazy ass like me but if your funemployed like me you can still be a lazy ass and make awesome dishes like this.  All joking aside this recipe is totally awesome and I totally suggest you give it a try.  I will leave some possible shortcuts at the end for those of you with lives.

The Squash

1 large spaghetti squash split in half and innards removed
olive oil
salt

1.  Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.  Rub olive oil on the cut side of the squash and sprinkle with a generous amount of salt.  Place squash on a baking sheet cut side down and bake for 30-40 minutes until you can easily stick a fork in it.

2.  Once squash is complete scrape the "meat" out with a fork as to create a spaghetti pasta like consistency. See picture below...

While the squash is baking you can prepare the rest of the recipe...

Eggplant Parm

1 large eggplant sliced into 1/4 inch circles
salt
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasonings

salt and pepper
olive oil

1.  Begin by covering the eggplant with a generous amount of salt and let stand for 30 minutes for the water to begin to be pulled from the eggplant.  This is a very important step when making any kind of eggplant.  If your eggplant usually sucks it is probably because you are skipping this step, don't skip it!!! (while eggplant is standing make your cashew cheese and pesto)

2.  Once 30 minutes is up thoroughly rinse salt from the eggplant and prepare yourself for some serious assembly line dipping.  Place soy milk, flour and bread crumbs in shallow bowls or plates or anything that you can easily dip the eggplant into to.  Mix the garlic powder, Italian seasonings, salt and pepper into the bread crumbs and your ready to begin dipping.  First dip eggplant into the flour till it is evenly coated, then the soy milk, then the bread crumb mixture.

3.  Once eggplant is covered in the bread crumbs place on a baking sheet that has a generous layer of olive oil and repeat the dipping until all eggplant has been covered.  Once the spaghetti squash is done bring the oven up to 425 degrees and throw the eggplant in for about 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides.

Pesto

2 cups loosely packed basil
1/2 cup of walnut halves
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

1.  Place all ingredients in your blender or food processor and blend until a nice sauce forms.

Cashew Cheese

1 cup raw cashews
3/4 cup water
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until a smooth cream is formed.  I put my finished cashew cheese in a cleaned out agave container for easy presentation and storage.  See picture below.

Finishing off the dish

Mix the pesto in with the spaghetti squash, you can add some veggies to the spaghetti squash at this time if you wish, I added tomato and spinach to mine but you can add anything or nothing.  Other ideas for veggies that would work are mushrooms, bell pepper, onion or asparagus (cooked or raw).  Place a big plop of the pesto squash on a plate, lean 3-4 eggplant slices on the squash and finish with cashew cheese.

Some possible shortcuts you could do would be to use store bought vegan pesto instead of homemade or vegan cheese that you melt onto the eggplant instead of cashew cheese.

Note: All recipes in this post are very versatile and can easily be adapted to other recipes.  I put the cashew cheese on like everything these days, pizza, tacos, pasta, crackers... the possibilities are endless. Obviously the pesto can go on a ton of things, the spaghetti squash can be used in place of pasta in any dish and the eggplant can go on sandwiches, pizza or anything you can think of.  Be creative and have fun!!!!
<3

Raw Fudge Brownie Treats

Ever since Thanksgiving I have been on a serious sugar binge which is just so eww, so instead of making a banana cream pie (sounds so effin good right now) for my neighborhood holiday potluck I decided to try this schnazzy recipe I came up with.  And oh my,  these healthy little balls of deliciousness are just heavenly.  They taste a little healthy but really pack in a good rich chocolatey punch.  Just an FYI, I will probably be doing more raw food recipes for the next couple weeks to gear up for my raw food/juice fast cleanse I am planning for the beginning of January.  Don't worry though, I am totally not one of those raw foodie freaks who claim that they love the taste of raw kale (eww and double eww!).

Anyways... this recipe is super duper easy and only takes about 10 minutes from start to finish if you skip shaping them into cute little donut hole looking things which I only did for potluck convenience.  These are perfect little treats for those with a sweet tooth who are trying to keep it healthy, so give them a whirl and let me know what you think.

2 cups raw walnuts
12 dates pitted
1/2 cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
shredded coconut (optional)

1.  Place walnuts in a food processor until a smooth powder forms then add the rest of the ingredients and blend until well mixed.  Press walnut mixture into a small greased pan, 8x8 would probably work or form into donut holes and viola, raw fudge brownie treats.  Store in refrigerator until ready to eat.

Note: You can probably shape these puppies into just about anything, next time I think I will steal one of my sisters mini-cupcake pans (that bitch has like five of them anyways, like who needs that many mini cupcake pans?!), press the walnut mixture into mini-cupcakes and make a frosting out of avocado, cocoa powder and agave to top them off with.

Pumpkin Waffles

Woke up effin starving and knew my boring smoothie was not going to cut it today so I hopped online and found a recipe for pumpkin waffles from my favorite vegan author Isa Chandra Moskowitz.  I made a couple of minor substitutions, first I used raw sugar instead of brown sugar, two teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice instead of all the other spices and instead of yogurt I added a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.  They came out good, a tiny bit dense for me but a for sure keeper.  I topped them with some sliced apples, a big blop of earth balance and some maple syrup and yummo.  Note: this recipe makes HELLA waffles which is awesome because you can just throw them in the freezer and pop them in the toaster anytime you are fiending for waffly deliciousness.

2 1/2 cups all purp flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 Tablespoons soy yogurt
2 cups soymilk
15 oz pureed pumpkin, fresh or canned
1/3 cup oil
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions
Sift together dry ingredients. In a seperate bowl, vigorously wisk together wet ingredients until well emulsified. Pour wet into dry and combine. Prepare waffles according to manufacturers instructions. I use a normal 4 waffle iron, but I’ve made belgian ones, too.

Recipe obtained from the Post Punk Kitchen.