Happy Friday!!! So glad the weekend has arrived, especially since it’s a relatively open one in terms of schoolwork. The gentle homework schedule won’t last, so I’m savoring it while I can.

A few months ago, I gave a glowing review to Lulu’s Raw Chocolate:

Today, I’m here to review Taza Chocolate, which comes to us from Somerville, MA. Many of you have already told me that you’re great Taza fans, which I love to hear, because I am, too! I first found Taza chocolate years ago (my friend Liz mentioned them to me), and it was love at first bite. Since then, the company has grown considerably, and I’ve also found out that one of the principle chocolate makers at the company and I have a good friend in common. It’s a small world.

Taza chocolate is stone ground in a traditional Mexican style (one of the founders of the companies first tasted stone ground chocolate in Oaxaca, and it inspired him start the company). This means it goes through a mill and stone refiner that look something like this:

The chocolate that results does not have the texture of conventional chocolate: instead, it has a granular mouthfeel. This sounds weird, I know, but it’s really delicious; if you’ve ever had a disk of Mexican drinking chocolate, it’s the same exact idea, except Taza chocolate isn’t as sugary-sweet. It strikes me as sweeter than regular dark chocolate, but it’s subtle nonetheless, and it features such cool flavors as salted almond, ginger, and salt & pepper.

When the folks at Taza sent me some samples to review, then, I was pretty excited!

I received three of the classic "disks,” (salt & pepper, vanilla, coffee, and pure), and a bar of the 87% dark. The disks were, as expected, totally divine; the salt and pepper was by far my favorite of the bunch, but the vanilla was second place. I had never tasted one of the bars before, and I’m very glad I did. A friend and reader, Elizabeth, recently mentioned that the texture of Taza is a little too “different” for her (or so I gathered); the bar itself, though certainly more grainy than regular chocolate, was far more reminiscent of a classic, good quality dark chocolate bar. If you’ve tried Taza chocolates and found them to be a bit foreign, I’d recommend the bar for sure!

Taza’s earth, animal, and human-friendly ethos includes commitment to recycling, direct trade, carbon neutral shipping, energy conservation at on site where the chocolate is produced, and cycle delivery to local shoppers in Massachusetts. I love it! And of course, the chocolate is 100% vegan, as well as gluten and soy free (or rather, every nutrition label I’ve seen has been gluten free and has not mentioned soy lecithin; if you have food allergies, do your homework before you take me at my word).

Best of all, Taza is proud of its unusual production, and has a totally transparent manufacturing process. Please check out their awesome factory tour, and note that you can enter the batch # for your chocolate to learn how it was produced.

Chocolate is one of my greatest pleasures as a foodie; I adore it, and I enjoy finding new raw and vegan brands. Taza has certainly tickled my tastebuds, but more than that, the company has always impressed me with their unusual production process, their fidelity to the brand’s original identity, and their consciousness of the people they trade with, and the planet they trade upon. If you’re a fellow chocolate lover like me, I really recommend giving these disks a shot. After an initial moment of surprise at the texture, you’ll be able to savor the subtle and distinctive flavor, and with any luck, you’ll be as infatuated as I am.

On that sweet note, happy early weekends to you all.

xo

Greetings from NYC! This is a bittersweet homecoming, as my grandmother’s funeral is today, but it’s also great to be home, and in the company of my family and friends. It has been a long, long six months since I first arrived in Washington, and I’m looking forward to a little reflective time over this break. I’m also looking forward to catching up on some sorely needed blog work: emails, comments, updates, guest posts, and so on. Finally, I’m looking forward to being upstate with Chloe on Wednesday and Thursday! I haven’t gotten up there in well over a year, and I’m long overdue.

So, while I attend to family duties today, I’m leaving you all with yet another edible gift idea: the first were my pumpkin and mocha chip macaroons. And now we have something a little more traditional: candied nuts. But this traditional recipe gets a spicy twist with some untraditional spices, and a touch of heat. Hence the sweet n’ spicy part!

I first made this recipe years ago, while I was still working at FSG. It quickly became my coworkers’ and friends’ favorite of my gifted treats, and I’ve been making it every single year since. I guarantee that you’ll have the same results with your loved ones, if you make this recipe. And the good news for all of my readers is that there’s no dehydrating required, so you won’t have to modify this recipe for your oven.

Sweet N’ Spicy Candied Nuts (vegan, gluten free, soy free)

Makes about 4 cups worth

2 cups pecans
1 cup walnuts
1 cup cashews
1/3 cup coconut oil 
1 tbsp tamari 
1/2 cup cane sugar
1 tbsp cumin 
2 tsp cinnamon 
1/4 – 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1) Turn all nuts into a big mixing bowl.

2) Whisk together the coconut oil and tamari. Pour over nuts and toss with hands to mix thoroughly.

3) Add sugar, cumin, cinnamon and cayenne to the nuts. Toss well to combine thoroughly. Add more sugar if you have a sweet(er) tooth! And if you need a little more moisture, add a tbsp of maple syrup or agave.

4) Bake at 250 degrees for about 30 minutes, until nuts are nicely toasted and glazed. Check on them often to make sure they’re not burning. At the 30 minute mark, reduce oven to 200 degrees and cook for another 15 minutes.

5) Remove from oven and break nuts apart gently with a spoon or tongs. Allow to cool completely before serving!!

This isn’t a super-healthy recipe by any means, but it is a perfect recipe for a holiday treat—one you give yourself, or one you give to others. And you can’t beat the buttery tasting, spicy sweet glaze:

This is one you’ll want to bookmark!

Hope I’m managing to give you all inspiration for some economical and tasty holiday gifts. Usually, I do a big holiday gift guide with vegan appliances, culinary specialties, and apparel. This year, as a student on a budget that truly only allows for edible giving, I thought I’d stay true to my own constraints and show you exactly what I plan to give to the people I love. I always say that food is the best kind of gift—nourishment for body and soul—and I hope you all agree

xo

I have a treat for you.

A few months ago, at Vida Vegan Con in Portland, I had the pleasure of sitting across a dinner table from Allison Rivers Samson (here she is with the lovely Jasmin).

Allison is vivacious, charming, and kind, and when I heard about her successful business—the renowned vegan bakery, Allison’s Gourmet—I was deeply impressed. I’d known Allison from her “Veganize It!” column in VegNews, but had no idea she was also the reigning maven of vegan desserts and confections (as Rory Freedman has called her).

Allison has been a vegan for 15 years. Her passion for animals, the environment, and health is obvious: nearly any photo you’ll find of her online will also include an animal friend:

After receiving chef’s training at the School of Natural Cookery in Boulder, Allison resolved to show the world that vegan baking is innovative, exciting, and delicious. Without eggs, dairy, milk, or the use and abuse of animals. She opened AllisonsCookies.com, which quickly expanded into a full blown bakery—Allison’s Gourmet. Today, the bakery sells brownies, caramels, toffee, and more. All with organic ingredients, and without the use of excessively processed foods. Allison’s cookies and brownies aren’t “pretty good, considering that they’re vegan.” They’re excellent, period, and can hold their own next to any dessert you’ve tried.

I should know. Every year, my friends at VegNews send their columnists a box from Allison as a holiday gift. I always look forward, and so it was with great delight that I came home to this package last week:

In it were packaged the most grown-up brownies I’ve ever had: dark chocolate and orange brownies. They are fragrant, elegant, and complex. And they’re stuffed with dark chocolate chips. Who could resist?

Do you guys remember my post on what it means to be an activist? I mentioned there that I think one of the more powerful forms of activism is culinary activism. This means helping people to find veganism through its rich and wonderful cuisine. As my friend Lisa pointed out when I wrote that post, people really mean it when they say “I could never live without cheese.” Our attachment to food is a deep and important part of our biology and culture, as is the pleasure we take in eating. The fear of having to “do without” favorite foods—from cookies to cakes to croissants—is natural, and it is a huge deterrent to people who haven’t been shown that vegan food is delicious in its own right, and demands little real sacrifice.

Allison does her part as an activist every single day, by showing consumers that it is possible both to stand up for animals and to eat a plentiful and pleasurable diet. Vegan chefs, bakers, and restaurant owners are big heroes of mine, because they show the world that veganism is not only ethically fulfilling, but sensually fulfilling, too.

You can be a culinary activist, too. This holiday season, give a loved one who is skeptical of your lifestyle choices—or anyone with a true love of food—some cookies, brownies, or confections from Allison’s gourmet. Show him or her that veganism is not a sacrifice of pleasure or taste. Share the beauty of vegan dining with people who wouldn’t otherwise get to experience it. Be an ambassador for plant-based cuisine.

And if you’d rather enjoy one of Allison’s creations yourself, you can do that, too. Just promise you’ll share.

Allison is offering one lucky Choosing Raw reader a $20 gift certificate to her online bakery. The winner of this giveaway will be announced on Friday, December 16th, which means that you will have time to place an order for holiday delivery (suggested deadline is Monday or Tuesday of next week). You can choose any selection of goodies you’d like. And you can enjoy them with the peace of mind that they were made without cruelty to animals.

To enter the giveaway, you can do any one of the six things below. Each counts as a separate entry, so please comment for each thing you do! You can enter in as many or as few ways you’d like.

1. Browse the Allison’s Gourmet website and tell me what you want to order most.
2. Tweet about this giveaway with a link (for example, enjoy some of @allisonsgourmet premium vegan treats with this giveaway from @choosingraw ! http://bit.ly/st6Ob9 )
3. Like Allison’s Gourmet on Facebook.
4. Follow Allison’s Gourmet on Twitter.
5. Mention this giveaway in a blog post.
6. Follow Choosing Raw on Twitter.

I’ll announce a winner this Friday. US residents only, por favor. Ready, set, go!

(And please, wish me luck on my Orgo final tomorrow. I’m gonna need it.)

xo

If this post doesn’t make you guys smile, I don’t know what will. Those right there are by far the daintiest, pretties, and tastiest raw treats I have ever made. And the beauty of it all is that they weren’t even hard.

It all started on Friday, when I had dinner with Valerie at LPQ. It is by now a tradition that, every time I see Valerie, she brings me a bag of her extra frozen juice pulp, because she knows that I’ll put it to good use in crackers, breads, and wraps. This time, she outdid herself:

I was actually hard to carry that home.

One of the perks of this particular bag was that Valerie had separated all of the carrot pulp away from the other pulp. This means that I’ve got quite some weeks of carrot bread, carrot cake, and other carrot creations to look forward to. I decided to begin with carrot cake, but not just any old kind: all raw, all vegan carrot cake. And to make it more fun, I decided to turn it into cupcakes (cupcakes that you all will be able to make, too, because you can substitute grated carrot for pulp!).

And since Christy had asked me, on Friday, if I knew of a good vegan cream cheese frosting that was Tofutti free, I decided to share the recipe for my favorite version.

Also as easy as…well, a lot easier than pie.

Raw, Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting (raw, vegan, gluten and soy free)

Serves 6

1 cup walnuts (not soaked)
1 cup dates
2 cups carrot pulp OR grated raw carrots. If you use grated carrots, use cheesecloth or paper towels to squeeze the carrot and remove as much excess moisture as possible (same deal if you have “wet” pulp)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
Dash nutmeg
1/8 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup raisins

Raw, Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting (makes over 1 cup)

1 cup cashews, soaked 1+ hours
6 pitted dates, also soaked 1+ hours (you can soak them together!)
Dash sea salt
1 tsp lemon juice
Water

Few drops stevia (optional, but useful if the 6 dates aren’t quite sweet enough for you)

1) Process the dates and walnuts in a food processor fitted with the S blade till they resemble a Larabar mix.

2) Add carrot pulp or grated carrots and spices. Process till the mix has taken the form of a smooth “dough.”

3) Add raisins and pulse to combine.

4) For the frosting: rinse cashews and dates of their soak water, and place in a food processor with salt and lemon. Process until the mixture is pasty and well combined. Add just enough water as the motor is running to get the frosting consistency you want.

5) Push the carrot cake dough into six muffin tins or ramekins and refrigerate for about an hour. Remove from the fridge, and get frosting!

6) Serve, snack, and savor.

The taste of these cupcakes is disturbingly close to the “real” thing! And, given this humble and simple list of wholesome ingredients, you might even say that this dessert is realer than the real thing.

I hope you can see all of the natural texture! I love how the raisins add some variety, along with the walnuts.

Next time you need a lift—and from your responses to Saturday’s post, it sounds as though a bunch of you could use some end-of-year levity—I suggest you get grating or juicing. You won’t be sorry.

Till tmw,

xo

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…sour cream and cherry muffins!

Specifically, vegan sour cream muffins with dried cherries and an oatmeal crumble topping. Not a bad way to celebrate the end of a long week, nor to welcome the Christmas season officially. These muffins are delicious, and easy, but they’re also a wonderful idea for edible giving and festive brunch entertaining. Best of all, they’re 100% vegan, and they’re full of healthy little twists on traditional muffin recipes, starting here:

My favorite new flour: organic sprouted spelt flour from Shiloh Farms. I have no idea what the claim “digests as a vegetable” is supposed to mean, but regardless, I love this flour, which I found recently on sale at the Georgetown Dean & Deluca (to find anything on sale at the Dean & Deluca is fairly miraculous, let alone specialty flour). Spelt flour is a great alternative to whole wheat pastry flour (my norm): I particularly like the taste and texture of this flour, which is wholesome but delicate. It’s fabulous for healthy baking, and no one will guess that it’s whole grain unless you tell them.

This recipe, of course, must also feature a vegan spin on sour cream. I used my tofu sour cream, which is as simple as can be:

Tofu Sour Cream (vegan, gluten free)

Makes about 1 3/4 cup

12 oz silken, organic, non-GMO tofu
Juice of 1 large lemon
1/4 tsp salt

Blend all ingredients together in a food processor or blender till absolutely smooth and creamy. This should taste tangy and a little salty. Thin with water if yours is on the thick side (which happens to be how I like it!)

The muffins themselves use this wonderful sour cream substitute—which is also good on tacos, potatoes, and anything you’d normally garnish with sour cream—to create a moist texture the slightest hint of sour-sweet taste. You’ll be amazed at how rich these muffins taste, in spite of the fact that the whole recipe calls for only 1/4 cup oil (and that could be reduced by 2 tbsp if you’re on a lower-fat diet). No matter what, it’s the dried cherries, with their bold and tangy sweetness, that will make this recipe sing!

Vegan Sour Cream and Cherry Muffins

Makes 8 large or 10 smaller muffins

2 cups spelt flour (or flour of choice — white, whole wheat, and GF mixes are all fine)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp flax meal
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup vegan sour cream (recipe above)
1/4 cup coconut oil (or canola oil, or safflower oil)
1/4 cup almond, rice, or soy milk
3/4 cup agave syrup or maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 scant cup dried cherries

For the crumble topping:

2 tbsp earth balance OR solid coconut oil (kept cold)
1/4 cup cane sugar or demerara sugar
2 tbsp spelt flour (or flour of choice)
1/3 cup rolled oats

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

2) Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, flax, and cinnamon in a large bowl.

3) In a mixing bowl, combine the sour cream, oil, milk, agave, and vanilla.

4) Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Add the dried cherries, and mix to incorporate them.

5) Pour batter into 8-10 muffin tins (I like my muffins on the bigger side, so I would make 8).

6) To make the crumble topping, simply process the earth balance (or oil), sugar, flour and oats in a food processor till they’re crumbly. Sprinkle on top of muffins, and bake them for about 18 minutes, or until they’re golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Watch them carefully, as cooking time will depend entirely on how “hot” your oven runs.

7) Serve for breakfast, and smile.

These muffins are so, so moist and delicious! I love how the cherries add tartness while also adding sweetness. Much more interesting a flavor than dried cranberries, if you ask me.

I believe that’s what real bakers call an excellent “crumb.”

I can’t recommend these enough as a holiday treat—or a treat for any time of the year! Whether for a sweeter breakfast or as a mild dessert, these muffins are a joy.

Does any holiday cooking lie ahead for you this weekend? I’d love to hear about it. In the meantime, happy Friday.

xo

Oh yes I did.

Remember how I ate at Elizabeth’s Gone Raw a few weeks ago, and I loved it? One of the many highlights of that meal was the raw, vegan pumpkin pie. After close examination of the ingredients, I realized that the pumpkin pie actually didn’t have any pumpkin in it, which explains why it was so amazingly good: raw pumpkin, in my experience, is just too starchy and slimy to ever be very good.

It seemed that the color and taste of the raw pumpkin pie was mainly derived from the spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, and so on. I was so impressed that I vowed that night to figure out a way to make my own all raw, all vegan pumpkin-less pumpkin pie. And since I have now developed a love affair with Irish moss, I knew that it would be one of my featured ingredients (don’t worry, folks: I list Irish moss alternatives for you at the end of this post).

I have to say, this came out much better than I expected. In place of pumpkin, I took a tip from Matthew Kenney and used some carrot juice. I also used cashews, nut milk, spices, and, of course, the moss as a thickener. What resulted was a decadent and authentic spin on one of the most traditional Thanksgiving desserts. Minus the eggs, white sugar, white flour, milk, and butter.

And minus the pumpkin, too. Oddly.

Raw, Vegan Pumpkin Pie (raw, vegan, gluten and soy free)

Serves about 10-12

For the crust:

1 cup cashews
1 heaping cup dates

For the filling:

3/4 cup carrot juice
1 cup Irish moss gel (see my tutorial on making Irish moss gel here)
1 cup cashews
1/4 cup nut or seed milk (substitute soy or rice if you like)
8 pitted dates
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Dash cloves
Stevia to taste

1) Place cashews and dates in a food processor and process till they’re all broken down and uniformly mixed (as if you were making a homemade Larabar). Press into a pie pan to make crust. Set aside.

2) Combine all fillint ingredients in a Vitamix or other high speed blender and blend till the mix is very, very smooth.

3) Pour filling into crust. Place in freezer for about 2-3 hours. Transfer to fridge and serve at any time. Marvel at deliciousness.

This pie is sweet, light, and in spite of being quite rich, it’s also full of some good stuff, like beta-carotene, healthy fats, and beneficial compounds from the spice. Even if none of that were true, I would suggest you eat this immediately.

A few important recipe notes:

1. Freezer time is essential to help this set. And after it does, and you’re ready to take it out, you’ll still want to keep it in the fridge. Raw pie filling gets softer than the baked stuff, so be sure to keep this nice and cold.
2. 8 dates offer quite some sweetness, but you may want to add a little more. As per my instructions above, go ahead and use Stevia. If you don’t have any, agave, maple syrup, or more dates are fine.
3. The moment you’ve all been waiting for: How can you substitute the Irish moss in this recipe if you don’t have access to any? Well, I’m not 100% sure—I did write the recipe to use the moss, so I haven’t modified it extensively yet—but I do have some suggestions. They are:

• Omit the moss and try increasing the cashews to 1 1/2 cups, and keeping the rest the same
• Omit the moss and substitute 2 tbsp soy or sunflower lecithin (or more—you’ll have to experiment and tell me what works, but usually this stuff is powerful)
• Omit the moss and add about 1/2 – 1 tsp xantham gum (again, increasing the quantity as needed)

There are surely more ways to go about doing this, but that’s what I’ve got for now. As always, use your kitchen intuition to see what works!

So: my exam is over. I do not want to talk about it, but it wasn’t any worse than the other exams have been. And the great news is that, starting tomorrow at 2 pm, when I leave the hospital, I am on Thanksgiving break. I’ll be spending Weds+Thurs in D.C., eating with my family and playing full-time kitchenista for once! And on Friday morning, I head home to NYC, from whence I will blog with jubilation.

And, remember how I said I didn’t have time for a full T-Giving complilation this year? I still don’t, but on each day from now to Thursday, I’ll be sharing a few seasonal and appropriate recipes to savor. Check out:

My savory polenta stacks with beans and greens:

Roasted Barley, Corn, and Radicchio Salad with Balsamic Reduction:

Raw Butternut Squash and Apple Soup:

Vegan Shepherd’s Pie:

OK, time to sleep off the exam stupor. Gnite all!

xo

I’m such a tease. First I allude to a Halloween-themed sweet treat, then I deliver it not only a day later than promised, but also two days after Halloween itself. I’m sorry to make you wait, folks, but hopefully the pleasures of this recipe—a mouthwatering chocolate and pumpkin parfait–will make it all worth it.

This has been a season of pumpkin pudding: a few weeks ago, I shared two recipes, one using silken tofu, and the other using cashews. Only a few days later, I shared a recipe for pumpkin cream sauce that doubles as a pudding, and contains neither tree nuts nor soy, and is thus very appropriate for my allergy-conscious readers. All of these have been big hits!

This week, I decided to challenge myself one step further, and create a pumpkin pudding that was allergy-friendly, not excessively high in fat, and impossibly rich and creamy. And I wanted to do it all without xanthan gum, which is a fantastic shortcut ingredient if you’re making a pudding in a pinch, but which can cause some minor stomach upset, especially if it’s eaten too often.

My solution? This stuff.

That, my friends, is Irish moss. It is an algae, and it has superpowers as a thickening agent in all kinds of recipes. I have avoided Irish moss in the over four years I’ve been eating raw, for good reason: it demands a great deal of washing and soaking, it has an unpleasant, fishy odor (OK, we’ll call it an oceanic odor) and it is very, very sandy (you can even see little grains of sand on my hand in that photo).

In spite of my fears, I’ve also always been curious about the stuff, which I know is very popular among raw dessert aficionados. I often find myself trying to thicken raw smoothies and puddings without excessive use of either nuts, which can be overly heavy in some recipes, or soy lecithin and xanthan gum, both of which are a little too artificial for my liking. It’s not easy. Irish moss is a powerful thickener, but it’s also allergen-free, fat free, and, if you handle it properly, essentially tasteless. For that reason, it’s a pretty brilliant ingredient, and now that I’ve gotten over my initial squeamishness, I suspect I’ll be using it often.

I credit my friend Ela with encouraging me to give Irish moss a chance: when I originally posted my pumpkin pudding recipes, she reminded me that Irish moss would work well in either. I took her advice, along with some of her instructions for using the stuff. The best way to approach Irish moss, I think, is to create a “gel” with it, and store the gel in the fridge. It will keep for a week, and you can use it to thicken recipes as you please. This all sounds like a lot of effort, but I can assure you that it was very little hassle for me. Here’s the method I used to make it happen.

Basic Instructions for Using Irish Moss

1. Remove approximately 1 cup (or about 2 oz) of Irish moss from packaging. Rinse and wash in cold water thoroughly: Ela recommends soaking and washing it at least four times. I probably soaked and washed it two times, but I did take meticulous care to get every bit of sand off of it.
2. Place Irish moss in fresh, cold water, and soak overnight (you can do this in your fridge).
3. In the morning, rinse the Irish Moss and place it in your Vitamix or blender with 1 cup fresh water. Blend well. At first, the moss will seem to simply get broken up in the water, but as you continue blending, it will start to gelatinize in the water and become thick. It’ll even be hard to blend, but you can use your plunger attachment to help you. Once you have a thick, uniform “gel,” stop and place the gel into an airtight container. It will keep for a week in the fridge, or you can use it right away.

As you can see, it will help you to create the thickest and most delicious of puddings, all without the use of artificial thickeners or excessive amounts of nuts:

So. Let’s get to that delicious recipe.

Pumpkin Pudding and Chocolate Mousse Parfait (high raw, vegan, gluten and soy free)

Serves 3-4

For the pumpkin pudding:

2 cups (or 1 can) pumpkin purree
1/2 cup Irish moss gel
2 tbsp mesquite powder (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp powdered ginger (or a very small piece of fresh ginger)
2 tbsp almond or cashew butter
6 dates, pitted
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup nut milk of choice

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender till very smooth. Chill until ready to serve. If the pudding becomes overly thick after you chill it, you can always re-blend it with some additional nut milk,

For the chocolate mousse:

1 recipe of my classic or Mexican chocomole

To assemble parfait:

Layer all ingredients together in small, glass cups. Sprinkle with cacao nibs, and enjoy!!

As you can see, all of the layers of this parfait are silky smooth and delicious:

And the taste? Well, it’s chocolate and pumpkin. Layered. Do I need to say more?

It’s worth noting that one of my Irish moss mentors is the lovely Heathy Pace, who has some parfait ideas of her own!

My experiment with Irish moss was like so many of my hesitant experiments with raw ingredients. I was squeamish and intimidated, but realized quickly how intuitive and easy the process was. This was true of my early experiments with soaking and dehydrating buckwheat, sprouting quinoa, making green smoothies, and all sorts of other culinary forays that were new to me. Raw foodism is very good at intimidation, but don’t let it be: many of the ingredients that seem foreign and strange to us are really quite accessible. And if you consider for a moment many of the artificial fillers and stabilizers we’ve grown accustomed to—chemical additives, gums, and so on—you may find yourself wondering how you were ever scared of a little algae.

Happy pudding-making!

xo

Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway for a free copy of The 30 Day Vegan Challenge! If this is your first time tuning in this weekend, check out Friday’s post for a recap of my latest giveaway. You won’t want to miss this one!

Last week, we celebrated the advent of autumn with two delectable butternut squash recipes: my gingery pink rice with roasted squash, peas, and onions:

And my zucchini pasta with roasted butternut squash and creamy garlic sauce—which many of you already went out, made, and loved!

Today, the celebration of winter squash continues with two recipes for pumpkin pie filling.

Pumpkin pie filling is like a muffin top: obviously, it’s the best part. Graham cracker crusts are all well and good, but I absolutely do not care about them in the presence of thick, creamy pumpkin pie filling. On my first vegan Thanksgiving, I ditched the pie and made simple pumpkin pie puddings in ramekins. Uncharacteristically, I lost the (delicious) recipe. Thankfully, I have two new ones to share with you today, and each with strengths and weaknesses.

Fresh pumpkin will be amazing in both of these recipes. That said, the canned stuff is just fine. Buy organic if you can.

High Raw Vegan Pumpkin Pie Pudding (vegan, semi raw, gluten and soy free)

Serves 4

1/2 cup cashews
6 soaked and pitted dates
2 cups pumpkin puree
1/4 cup almond milk
1 tsp cinnamon

1) Grind the cashews in a food processors fitted with the S blade till powdery.

2) Add dates, pumpkin, almond milk and cinnamon to the processor and process, stopping often to scrape the bowl, till creamy and smooth.

3) Serve.

Silky Sweet Pumpkin Pie Pudding (vegan, gluten free)

Serves 4-6

2 cups pumpkin purée
1 small package silken extra firm tofu
2 tsps cinnamon
1/4 cup agave or maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla

1) Place all ingredients in a food processor or high speed blender. Blend till silky smooth. Serve, garnished with a cinnamon sprinkle.

You can substitute pumpkin pie spice for cinnamon in either or both of these – it’ll be fantastic!

Not sure which version to make first? Let’s do a little side by side comparison:

High-Raw Version:

The pros: free of gluten and soy, no processed ingredients

The cons: higher fat content

Silky Smooth Version:

The pros: Low in fat and calories, free of tree nuts, familiar texture, not overly filling, very creamy!

The cons: Contains soy, which some people are allergic or sensitive to, in a mildly processed form. Not quite as filling as the cashew base!

As usual in these comparisons, the raw version wins points for integrity, but isn’t necessarily suitable for a low fat diet. Figure out which option is best for your body:

And if you can’t, I’m sorry to have to tell you that you’ll simply have to make both of these puddings twice. Soon.

I think you’ll survive.

xo

Nice responses to my eggplant bacon! Glad it’s a hit, and hope you all start sneaking it into your vegan BLT’s soon.

Last week, I made my chocomole for the first time in a long time, mostly because M had never tasted it before. At some point between food processor and fridge, as I was licking the spoon and cleaning the spatula, I wondered, “why don’t I make this every week? Every day? Every hour?”

Chocomole is one of the first dessert recipes I posted here on CR. If you’re new to the blog and have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m talking about a raw chocolate pudding that uses avocado—yes, avocado—as the base. I know it sounds weird, but trust me when I tell you that, once you taste chocomole, you’ll never look at pudding the same way again, or stop coveting the richness of this particularly decadent version.

I think that certain recipes are so flawless that we shouldn’t even attempt to improve them. I have no intention of messing around with banana soft serve, with my outstanding miso sesame dressing, with my zucchini marinara, or with my zesty orange cashew cheese. These recipes are great precisely because I can keep making them almost by heart, and I know that they’ll always be as good as they were the first time. No upgrades needed.

I was fairly certain that chocomole was in that category of recipes until last week, when it occurred to me that it might be fun to put the “mole” in my mole. With mesquite from my friends at Navitas Naturals on hand, as well as some yacon syrup, chili powder, and cinnamon, I decided to spice up my usual formula for chocomole, and see how I liked it.

As it turned out, I liked it a lot.

Mexican Chocomole (Raw Chocolate, Avocado, and Cinnamon Pudding)

(Raw, vegan, gluten and soy free)

Serves 2-4

1 large avocado
4 pitted dates
2 tbsp yacon syrup
2 tbsp almond butter
2 tbsp mesquite
1/4 cup cocoa or cacao powder
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsps cinnamon
1/4 cup almond milk or water, and more reserved in case

1) Place all ingredients in your food processor and pulse to combine.

2) Run motor and add liquid, keeping in mind that you might need more to get the pudding right. Stop, scrape the sides of the bowl, and turn on the motor again, adding more liquid if you need to. In the end, you want a whipped pudding texture.

Like so:

I challenge you to eat a single portion of this stuff. If you’re a student working from home, and fighting off the jitters about Monday’s orgo exam, I challenge you to eat less than all of the portions.

Kidding. Kind of.

A few nota bene’s about this recipe:

First, the almond butter is not necessary, and if you’re on a lower fat diet, you can certainly omit. But I find that it adds a nice balance and mouthfeel to the pudding, so definitely consider it.

Second, you can absolutely omit the yacon and use dates alone, or a dates and stevia combo. I love the flavor of yacon syrup, but it’s pricey, and the recipe will be great without. The mesquite is optional as well, but once again, it really does good things for the flavor.

Third, this could keep for about 2-3 days in the fridge. But it won’t. Trust me.

I love revisiting old classics and discovering their tastes, textures, and delights anew. I’m going to bed tonight on a chocomole high.

Till tomorrow!

xo

It’s Friday!

In spite of a exam looming on Tuesday, I’m delighted to be facing a weekend. Happy, too, that you all enjoyed the raw nori rolls yesterday—do not fear sushi making, folks! It’s so fun and such an easy way to turn an everyday meal into something beautiful and elegant

It’s September, which means that autumn, my favorite time of year, has officially begun. Today is the first cool and crisp day we’ve had here in the swamps in a long, long time, and I’m excited for all the little details of the coming season: apples, nubby sweaters, boots, scarves, hot cocoa, and, most importantly, the best farmers’ markets of the whole year. Sure, I like a July farmer’s market, with its abundance of berries and heirloom tomatoes, but I think that September is really the best time of year to soak up local produce. You have all of the marvelous bounty of fall rolling in—broccoli, autumn squashes, green beans, kale—and you’ve still got fresh corn, tomatoes by the bushel, and even some late summer peaches. What more could any of us ask for?

Last week, a bunch of plums appeared in M’s produce box. Plums embody the summer/fall transition nicely, since their season spans May-October (depending on where you live, of course). I was glad to have them, but aside from my vegan sugar plum muffins, I really couldn’t think of what to do with them. Then it occurred to me that, as we kiss summer goodbye, we’re also bidding au revoir to the season of chilled soups. I decided to make a dessert soup for a change, featuring these beautiful scarlet fruits. The result—a really simple plum purée, spiced with cinnamon and topped off with cashew cream—was a delicious sweet treat.

Chilled Plum Soup With Cashew Cream (vegan, gluten free and soy free)

Serves 4

5-6 plums, pitted and quartered
1/4 cup dermarara sugar (agave would be alright, too)
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp orange juice (optional)
1 tbsp orange zest or 1 tsp lemon zest (optional)
2 tsps cinnamon
1 tbsp arrowroot or tapioca starch

For the cashew cream:

1 cup cashews, soaked for a few hours
1 1/4 cup water
2 tbsp agave
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

1) To make the cashew cream, put the soaked cashews in your Vita-Mix or food processor along with the agave, vanilla, and water. Blend until mixture is very creamy.

2) Place plums, sugar, water, OJ, zest, and cinnamon in a medium pot and bring to a boil. When it boils, reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

3) Add arrowroot or cornstarch and raise heat slightly. Whisk as you cook for another 5-10 minutes, until soup has thickened a bit and is bubbling.

4) Transfer soup to a blender and blend till very smooth. (Careful! Hot liquid will expand and spatter if you don’t keep your blender lid on very tightly!). Let cool to room temperature, then transfer to fridge and cool completely.

5) To serve, ladle into bowls and top with a swirl of cashew cream. Enjoy either as a sweet accompaniment to lunch, or as a dessert!

Just look at that spectacular hue:

This is the perfect celebration for the end of summer, or a light, bright way to end a richer autumnal meal.

Obvious question: why not raw? Honestly, because I tried making it raw, and didn’t love it; here, simmering the plums really brings out a deeper sweetness and a better texture. But if one of you manages to perfect this soup in the raw, come back and tell us about it!

Looking for other things to do with plums? Give my sugar plum muffins a try!

Have a stellar Friday night, everyone. See you this weekend!

xo