I’m so glad there’s so much enthusiasm over Lulu’s Chocolate! The deal is still up on Vegan Cuts, so do stop by and take advantage soon if you haven’t already.

Doesn’t the photo above just scream “autumn?” OK, well, to me it does. This may not be apple pie or pumpkin soup, but it sure does take advantage of some of the season’s best produce (fresh apples and purple cabbage), and it marries them with the bite of a little ginger. A quick, easy, and satisfying lunch roll!

This roll would work just as well with some collard leaves in place of the nori (nori is my latest obsession, but it’s not the only way to make this recipe work) or even some romaine leaves. It would taste great with a wide variety of nut pates or dips (I think my zesty orange cashew cheese would be great) and hummus (like my sweet potato hummus) would be a great substitute if you’re allergic to tree nuts or seeds, or if you want a lower fat/higher protein version.

The sunflower and ginger pate I use here is very simple. Feel free to embellish with spices, chopped vegetables, or even some dried fruit.

Super-Simple Gingery Sunflower Seed Pate (raw, vegan, gluten free)

Makes about 1 1/4 cups

1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked 2 hours or more
1 tsp ginger powder OR 2 tsp minced fresh ginger
2 tbsp Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (or nama shoyu or tamari)
Juice of half a lemon
2/3 cup water

Combine the first four ingredients in a food processor and combine well. Scrape the sides of the bowl, run the motor, and add the water until the pate reaches the consistency you like. Depending on how long you soaked the seeds, you may need less water or more than 2/3 cup.

For the rolls, you’ll want:

• 2 sheets nori
• 4 large romaine leaves
• 1/2 cup shredded purple cabbage
• 1 shredded carrot
• 1 small gala, Fuji, cameo, or other seasonal, organic apple!

Cut the vein out of the romaine leaves. Layer about 2-3 tbsp of the pate along the bottom third of the nori sheet. Place the romaine on top, and then pile it high with half of the veggies and apple. Roll the sheet up from the bottom, seal edges with water, and repeat with the other nori sheet.

And voila!

Check out all of that crisp, fresh, seasonal goodness. Oh, how I love apples!

Serving suggestions: I’d pair this with a big salad and about a half cup of lentils or beans. It would also work nicely with some steamed or raw broccoli and some of my cheesy sauce, or with a cup of autumnal soup (I’m really into my raw butternut squash and apple right now; I’m also a fan of my cauliflower and parsnip soup with cashew cream).

Note that when I give serving suggestions like the above, it’s to help you figure out what to do with raw meal components! Many new raw foodists don’t really know how to add bulk to some of their lighter culinary creations, or how to create a “full meal” from something like a collard wrap. That’s what I’m here for

Before I go, I want to draw special attention to a post that touched me yesterday. This year, fellow blogger Susan of The Great Balancing Act was diagnosed with
Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a cancer of the lympathic system that is treatable through chemotherapy. Susan is currently going through her rounds of chemo, and she is doing it with grace, humor, and wisdom. I couldn’t be more impressed with her attitude: having seen my own mother through chemo, and now that I watch dozens of children experience it daily as a pediatric hospital volunteer, I know well how much energy and courage it takes to remain positive throughout the process.

Susan’s blog, like many blogs, began as a weight loss/healthy living blog. Two days ago, she shared a few words on how illness, chemotherapy, and recovery have impacted her weight and her attitude toward her weight. I like to think that my blog is all about the intersections between health and body image, and for that reason, I encourage my readers to check the post out. It’s a wonderful reminder to all of us that we’re lucky to inhabit the bodies we like to fret over. As I move closer toward the dream of a career in health care, I’m ever more aware of how precious good health is. This makes me more committed to the lifestyle choices that matter to me, but it also makes me appreciate the sheer good fortune of having food to eat, and senses with which to savor it.

Thanks, Susan, for the perspective!

xo

In my last post, I showed you my delicious recipe for pretty in pink crackers: in translation, these are pink-hued crackers that I made with the remnants of some beet and vegetable juice.

I also mentioned that I’d had some extra pulp leftover after I made my crackers, and that I’d made another tasty meal with it.

Above you have raw nori rolls, stuffed with a nut pate that I made with my leftover pulp and tons of fresh veggies. They are plump, savory, and simple to make:

They’re also raw, vegan, and full of healthy fat, vitamins and minerals, and iodine rich nori. You can absolutely prepare these with shredded and processed beets and carrots, rather than juice pulp, but if you are using pulp, these get extra bonus points for being a wonderful way to use up the byproducts of your daily green juice.

People tend to get really freaked out about sushi-making, and there’s no need. Yes, making traditional sushi can be time consuming (I find that getting the rice to a perfect texture and adjusting its seasoning alone is a process) but raw nori rolls are really easy: you just pile some pate, hummus, or other filling onto the bottom 2/3 of a nori sheet, pile veggies into a line along the center of your filling, and then roll from the bottom edge up to the top. Seal with a touch of water. I always wait about 5-10 minutes before cutting my raw nori roll, as the nori becomes softer and a bit easier to handle. Once you slice your long roll into pieces, you have a restaurant worthy and beautiful treat to share with your friends:

I fill my nori rolls up with all sorts of things: parsnip and cauliflower “rice,” pate, hummus, dressing and veggies, and regular ‘ole brown rice, just to name a few. But I think I like the texture of a pate base the most: reminds me of my beloved nori rolls at Bonobos in NYC!

(photo courtesy of Sophia)

Any kind of nut pate will do, but I personally love a little ginger in my nori pates. I’m also a huge fan of my pumpkinseed pate for raw sushi!

To make today’s sushi rolls, you’ll need juice pulp, preferably with some beets and carrots, or you’ll want about a cup and a half of grated carrots and beets. The rest is a mix of almonds, dates, sea salt, lemon, and a hint of ginger: simple, clean, and impossibly tasty.

Raw Nori Rolls with Beet and Veggie Pate (raw, vegan, gluten and soy free)

Makes 4 sushi rolls

2/3 cup almonds
1/2 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
1 1/2 cups pulp from vegetable juice of choice that features beets and carrots OR a cup and a half of shredded carrots and beets
2 pitted dates
1/4 tsp ginger powder OR put ginger into your veggie juice, and the flavor will carry from the pulp
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup water

4 sheets nori
1 small bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1/2 small cucumber, sliced into thin strips
Salad greens

1) Place almonds in a food processor and grind with sea salt till a fine meal.

2) Add pulp, dates, ginger (if adding) sesame oil, and lemon juice to processor. Pulse just to combine. Then, turn the motor on and, with motor running, add water in a thin stream, stopping occasionally to scrape sides of bowl. Continue adding water till the pate is a consistency you like. If you use shredded veggies, you’ll probably need less water.

3) Place a sheet of nori on your cutting board in a horizontal direction. Cover the bottom 2/3 of the sheet with about 1/4 cup pate. Fill the center of the spread with a long strip of veggies. Roll upwards from the bottom of the sheet (the edge that has filling on it) upward, and seal the end with a bit of water.

4) Repeat, using the remaining sheets. Cut all rolls into even pieces, and serve.

Traditional sushis these are not, but they’re no less tasty for it. Serve with a big salad, topped with some lentils or beans and a great dressing, and you’ll have a perfect, high-raw meal on your hands!

Before I sign off, I wanted to congratulate my friend Chad Harbach on the publication of his new novel, The Art of Fielding. I’ve known Chad for years now—we spent our first publishing drink discussing Moby Dick, which is how I knew we’d be friends—and can tell you that he’s as brilliant as he is unassuming and kind. He’s editing and writing for N+1 for years now, and it makes me really happy to see his name on a book spine, too. For all of you who ask me frequently for book recommendations, this is my fiction pick of the fall.

Chad, congrats—I wish I were in NYC to toast you. But I know that the whole publishing world is doing it in my stead.

xo

I admit it: I’m a copycat.

Why? Because nearly everything in this post was inspired by the magnificent food at Bonobos—a restaurant I recently visited with Ms. Bitt.

And where I was also lucky enough to lunch with the lovely Sophia. She was pretty impressed with my enthusiasm for their soup:

I could pretty much take up residence at Bonobos, and feast on coconut chai and avocado soup and nori rolls forever. Since that wouldn’t be the most practical use of my time, I try to imitate their dishes as often as I can instead. On Thursday, when Bitt and I were picking out our dinner selections, I noticed that Bonobos has a poppy seed pate. This got the wheels turning: I’ve never included poppy seeds in pate, but I do think they’re pretty cute. And believe it or not, poppy seeds are a very good source of Omega-3 fatty acids. While we all tend to get relatively generous amounts of Omega-6 fatty acids, we tend to skimp on Omega-3s, so it’s a good idea to balance the ratio out whenever we find a convenient food source.

This is my own version of a poppy pate. I didn’t use poppy seeds as the base; I used pumpkin seeds, and added poppy seeds in at the end. (In future test runs, I may try soaking and using poppy seeds exclusively—has anyone else tried this?) It worked very nicely, and I loved the slight crunch and texture that the poppy seeds added to the dish!

Pumpkin Seed and Poppy Pate (Raw, vegan, gluten free)

Yields 1 1/4 cups

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, soaked 1 hour or more
1 small clove garlic, chopped
2-3 pitted dates
1-2 tbsp lemon juice (adjust to taste)
1 tbsp nama shoyu or tamari
Water
3 tbsp poppy seeds

1) Combine the first six ingredients in a food processor and process till smooth. If you haven’t soaked the seeds for long, you’ll want to add water in a thin stream to make the mixture blend and become smooth. If you soaked them for a while, you may not need much water.

2) When the mixture is smooth, transfer to a container and stir in poppy seeds. The texture should be thick:

And the taste ought to be heavenly!

In another act of Bonobos imitation, I served my new pate stuffed into a nori wrap. My rolls were not as pretty as Bonobos were, but, well, I’m getting there. Bonobos version:

And my version:

Not too terrible for a relative nori novice.

This pate is simple, versatile, and delicious. I hope you try it soon!

And of course, I can’t sign off for the night without thanking you all for your wonderful, welcoming, and honest response to the green recovery series and Freya’s words. I was really touched by all of the feedback, and I’m so glad that the reader demand is as robust as I expected it to be. All systems go! To answer two practical questions:

1) Can non-bloggers contribute?

Yes! Please! This series will wither and die if I don’t make it open to everyone. I don’t care if you write a blog or not; as long as you can write thoughtfully and be mindful of all CR readers (that is, as long as you can be careful to frame your story with respect for others who have or have recovered from EDs), I welcome you.

2) Will all series be guest posts?

Nope. I’ll be writing topical posts sometimes, too.

3) If veganism actually didn’t work for me—if it reinforced my need for control—can I write about that?

Absolutely. As I said, my goal is to make this series an honest and open discussion—not a sales pitch for the vegan diet. I see all of the reasons why veganism can in fact reinforce the patterns of disordered eating, and I want us to talk about that without fear.

Speaking of that last point, I also really appreciate the thoughtful criticism that I received about the premise of these guest posts—privately and in the comments (I’m thinking about Lauren’s comments in particular, which were awesome and insightful). I agree that it’s important to remember that for those who are still in the most intense, or clinical, phase of a disorder, veganism may *not* be a healthy option at all. Experience has shown me that it *may* be suitable for those who are in the period that comes after the formal part of recovery, when the individual is struggling to define a new and healthy relationship with food. When an active ED sufferer emails me to ask if he or she should go vegan, I always say that the formal part of recovery should come first, under the guidance of RDs and MDs and family, and that veganism can come later. That feels tough, because I do actually think some people who have active EDs could benefit from a plant based approach. But it’s the wisest answer.

It’s also true that veganism can prompt an obsession with control or restriction, even in the post-recovered. I see this tension, naturally, and want to avoid triggering people who are prone to such impulses. This is a big tension for me as a food/health blogger, and it’s not limited to this discussion: how can I talk about something that I think needs talking about without triggering readers who are vulnerable?  It’s a dilemma, but I don’t know that shutting down conversation to protect readers is the right move. Instead, I think careful language and considered approaches are the best we can do. The fact of the matter is that vegan diets do seem to enrich the lives of many people with ED histories. As long as we take care with our language, isn’t this something worth discussing?

Finally, the point was raised that, because veganism places tremendous importance on our food choices—even asks that we shape an identity around them—it’s not suitable for post-ED women and men, who are prone to allowing food to loom too large in their sense of self-worth. I think this is a good point, but I’d counter that, for many people who have struggled with food, it’s not possible or even valuable to deemphasize the importance of food altogether. Instead, it can be helpful to transform and redefine what will always be a naturally emotional relationship with food. There is a school of thought that would say that attaching any sense of identity to an eating style is by definition incompatible with recovery. My point here is that I don’t agree. I think that veganism offers a way of thinking about food that, while all encompassing, is nevertheless not necessarily a barrier to full recovery for every man or woman. In some cases, it may be a door.

But the main point here is that we can use these posts to talk about all of this stuff! From what I gather, there are very few safe spaces in which the many vegans who have ED histories can share their stories and inner thoughts without feeling judged by the fellow recovered, and I don’t think that’s right. I simply want to create a responsible forum in which we can discuss the relationship between plant-based diets and EDs—both the pros and the cons. And perhaps those of us who are recovered—vegan and non–can learn a lot about each other.

On that note, some quality time with my Mom and a long night of work awaits. G’nite, everyone!

xo

In her comment on my last post, which was a kale and white bean salad with Caesar dressing, Averie said, “I also love that you posted raw, green, vegan food…at a time when everyone is posting chocolate cookies and decadent baked goods.” This comment made me smile with pride: ‘tis the season of bon bons and raw truffles and cookies, I know, and there’s nothing wrong with those (in fact, I have a vegan molasses ginger cookie recipe coming your way soon). But no matter what season it is, I tend to make and enjoy the same foods I always do: foods that are wholesome, healthy, semi-raw, and abundantly green.

In keeping with that idea—the notion of staying true to one’s culinary roots, no matter what seasonal crazes pass us by—I thought I’d share a few quintessential eats from the last few days. You guys are always asking me to show you more of my daily meals in addition to special recipes, so consider this post a glimpse into everyday life in my kitchen and at my desk.

First up is a chocolate raspberry smoothie from the other morning. It’s a bit cold for smoothies, yes, but as I’ve said may times before, I’m not really a “seasonal” eater—I like plenty of cold foods in winter, and warm foods in summer. This was a perfect breakfast: decadent and delicious, but totally healthy. It’s rich in antioxidants from the raspberries, potassium from the banana, and calcium from the carob. (You could absolutely use cocoa powder, if you prefer, or cacao nibs, and then you’d increase the antioxidant count.) Finally, it has coconut butter, which is not only unspeakably delicious, but also rich in lauric acid, which aids in muscle repair.

Chocolate Raspberry Smoothie (serves 1)

1 tbsp carob
1 frozen banana
1 cup frozen or regular raspberries
1 cup almond milk
1 tbsp coconut butter

Blend all ingredients in a blender till smooth and even. Enjoy!

Most people like to make mulled cider or eggnog as they decorate their Christmas trees. Me? I like to make vegetable juice. Or vegetable and fruit juice, to be precise. This year, as I played carols and decorated my little tree, I also sipped on some of this delicious carrot, pineapple, pear, and celery concoction, fresh from my Breville juicer. It wasn’t mulled cider, but it was intensely warming from the addition of ginger. And totally delicious.

Warming Carrot Pineapple Cocktail (serves 1, generously)

1/2 small pineapple, cored and skinned and cut into strips that will fit through the mouth of your juicer
5 carrots
1 pear
4 large stalks celery
3/4 inch knob ginger

Juice all ingredients, and enjoy!

Finally, I wanted to show you my most recent nut pate. This is a lot like the broccoli tahini pate I love to make from The Raw Food Revolution, but simpler, and without the tahini (I love tahini in any and everything, but I was out of it last weekend). Instead, I used macadamias. These nuts are colossally expensive, if very tasty, so feel free to replace them with cashews or walnuts if you like! No matter what nut you use, this is an exceptionally nutrient rich pate: full of protein from the nuts, broccoli, and nutritional yeast (“nooch”), as well as Vitamins A, K, and C from the broccoli.

Broccoli Macadamia Pate (yields about 1 1/3 cups)

1 cup macadamia nuts
2-3 cups chopped broccoli
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup nooch
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1) Put macadamia nuts in the bowl of your food processor, and process into a fine meal.

2) Next, add the broccoli, salt, nooch, and lemon, and begin processing. As you let the motor run, add about 1/4 cup water in a thin stream through the mouth of the processor. Do this slowly! You don’t want a soggy pate, so only add as much water as you need to get a smooth, but thick texture.

3) Serve with salad, on crackers, in a sandwich, or however you like!

I chose to wrap mine in lacinato kale leaves, making broccoli macadamia roll ups. I served them with some salad and leftover Caesar dressing. It made for a perfect desk lunch:

This week will mark the start of my edible gift giving: candied nuts, cookies, quick breads, and the ultimate gift: veganizing one of my mom’s all time favorite omnivore meals for Christmas eve dinner (stay tuned). For now, though, I love to celebrate the holidays with my own favorite sorts of meals: fresh, crunchy, nutritious, and creative. After all, the holidays are (at least for me) all about giving thanks for the things we love most.

What meals and foods have you been enjoying this December? What does “holiday food” mean to you?

xo

I was thinking about ways to begin this post, and the expression “it’s just one of those days” sprung to mind. It’s Monday, and in spite of what was a rather quiet weekend for me, I feel tired. I’m sure that living in a sauna (and by that I mean New York City in mid-July) isn’t helping. I’m over spending my Sundays as a refugee at Barnes & Noble to avoid running up my ConEd bill as I work, but I know the heat’s not likely to break for another two months. I missed seeing my friends early this summer, yet now that my schedule is (finally) easing up, I feel harried trying to make time for everything I couldn’t do in June. (If there is anything sillier or more self-indulgent than being stressed over making time for summer activities with good friends, please let me know.) On top of these things, today wasn’t my most delightful day at the office.

In the midst of my self-pity, fortunately, I read Sophia’s latest post. It too began with irritation, but it ended with the conclusion that her problems are, in the grand scheme of things, easily surpassed, along with a remembrance of her blessings. I’d do well to remember the same. A funk is no fun, but it’s only a funk. And in my experience, there are numerous things we can do to slip out of our funks, just as easily as we slipped in. For me, those things will include, but not be limited to:

1) Finishing the latest Tana French novel. I don’t get to read for pleasure often. When I do, I seek out either the heavily cerebral, or the intensely entertaining. Tana French’s novels qualify more as the latter, but she’s no slouch; the writing is tight and brilliantly plotted, and it’s a joy to read.
2) Cooking the yellow beets I found at the farmer’s market yesterday when I get home. I love yellow beets! Good taste, without scarlet colored palms.
3) Thanking my lucky starts for my air conditioning. My ConEd bill might be high, but my apartment is cool.
4) Reminding myself that having friends to see and things to do is what makes my life so blessed. I may fantasize about escaping to a log cabin in Maine when the weather gets like this, but I’d be very lonely. And I’d miss Lincoln Center a lot.
5) Planning my Labor Day trip to San Francisco! Hooray for Chloe, who slyly persuaded me to meet her and her husband there! (OK, she wasn’t very sly. She didn’t have to be. She basically told me she was going, and I caved.)

These are all very good things. In fact, just thinking about them has made the funk lift a bit. A few hours from now, I expect it to be long gone.

Something else than makes me feel less funky? Coming up with tasty raw vegan renditions of popular non-vegan dishes. For example, tuna salad.

I cannot believe it’s taken me so long to share a tuna salad recipe with you! What’s wrong with me? It’s a perenially popular dish, and one that clients of mine frequently beg me to recreate. I’m not the first raw foods lover to come up with a replica–there are tons of them out there, and they all resemble each other–but I do think I’ve perfected my home version, which is made with sunflower seeds. It’s tasty, tart, and reminiscent of the original, but not fishy enough to send my fellow vegans away in a fit of squeamishness. It’s great for lunching or snacking, and like all nut pates, it goes nicely in collard wraps as well as salads. Enjoy!

Raw, Vegan Tuna Salad (serves 4-6)

1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked at least 2 hours)
2 pickles, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1 tbsp pickle juice
1 tbsp lemon juice
7 g dulse, shredded (or 2 tsps dulse flakes/granules)
1 tsp mellow white miso

Place sunflower seeds in a food processor fitted with the S blade and pulse till they’re well combined but not totally smooth. Add remaining ingredients and pulse again, till everything is broken down and uniform. Serve!

I like to eat my mock tuna salad in collard or romaine wraps, but I especially enjoy it as a dip:

It’s also lovely served up next to a salad. Note that the carrots are optional: in this photo I’d made the dish without them because I didn’t have any on hand, and it was still divine:

This is a perfect treat for non-vegan friends who are joining you for lunch. It recalls a known dish, but it also shows what a little vegan creativity can do! For the many of you who I know will ask, it should keep for about 2-3 days. But I recommend using your kitchen intuition about it.

Before I go, I was also recently asked to review my new salad spinner, the Zyliss Easy Spin. My verdict? It’s OK. I think my old spinner, which had a knob you pressed up and down on, rather than a cord you pulled, was actually much more powerful. But this was cheap(er than others), and it’s getting the job done:

As long as my kale is dry, I’m pleased.

Thanks for bearing with my slightly cranky monologue,. Your turn to vent: how did your Mondays go, and what little things tend to snap you out of a funk quickly?

xo

Happy Easter!

I can’t believe it’s Sunday already; this weekend has flown by. The good news is that it’s been full of nice activities, including, but not limited to:

• A visit from my bestie, who’s in the midst of planning her June wedding (!!)
• Catching up on the approximately 19379347 submissions I’ve got to read for work
• A bloggie meet up on Friday
• Church this morning, and Easter festivities with said bestie this afternoon (if gossiping and movie watching count as Easter festivity — does it?)
• A tiny bit of cooking this afternoon

Good times! Let’s rewind to Friday, when I got to hang out with a blogger you all know and love: Ms. Kath. Kath and I have been friends for some time; her no-BS, supportive-yet-tough-love emails helped me get through quitting nearly two (!!!) years ago, and we’ve since hung out in New Orleans, at the Healthy Living Summit, and in NYC. Kath was in town this weekend spontaneously to work with some of the folks at Open Sky. Little did she know that Open Sky happens to be one floor above me in my office building! What an unbelievably small world! It was fun having a visiting friend so close all day; we felt like de facto coworkers.

And lucky me, Kath brought me a mid-afternoon snack on Friday, just as my stomach was rumbling for a little something: Great Harvest bread and Naturally Nutty Cinnamon Vanilla Sunbutter.

Um, holy yum! This was scrumptious! The bread was soft and hearty without feeling stiff or heavy. I loved the little pumpkin seeds atop it. And as for the Sunbutter, well, it was love at first bite. I love anything with cinnamon OR vanilla, and I love the combo even more. Two thumbs waaaay up!

Later that evening, Kath and I took a little walk through the Flatiron district (thanks to Kath for being our photojournalist for the evening — mama has mad camera skills!):

And then grabbed dinner at one of my absolute fave NYC spots: Angelica Kitchen.

Alas, there was a bit of a wait. Knowing that Angelica is BYOB, though, we thought it would be fun to hop over to nearby Liquiteria for some juice with which to make mocktails.

We settled on Liquiteria’s famous grasshopper, a pineapple, mint, wheatgrass concoction that’s always a winner:

Me with the booty:

We picked up some fizz, and returned to Angelica to claim a table. We were ravenous!

To say I worship at the Angelica altar is really no exaggeration. With its emphasis on wholesome, organic cuisine, it’s cozy setting, it’s friendly wait staff, it’s extensive menu (which features raw AND cooked options — just the way I like it!), not to mention it’s famous vegan cornbread, Angelica is high on my list of favorite NYC dining spots — even, dare I say it, a contender for #1 ranking! My fave dishes include the thai me up (a raw carrot and daikon dish), the curried cashew spread, the roast vegetable salad, the hearty combo bowls (wherein you can pair a grain, veggies, sea veggies, and beans in any combination you like), and the pantry plates (wherein you can likewise pair up cold appetizers, spreads, and salads). Angelica’s millet, cooked in carrot juice, is notoriously incredible, so I usually opt for a combo bowl with millet as the base. In celebration of spring weather, though, I was more in the mood for a cool plate of raw and cooked foods.

Before I get to the chow, though, let me show you our mocktails! One part grasshopper, one part fizz, these were stellar:

Can you tell I’m a happy camper?

Kath and I began with Angelica’s signature walnut and lentil pate, served with veggies:

…which was sweet, tangy, and salty (in a good way) all at once.

I then moved onto a pantry plate with hummus, simple salad, roast caulifower, and baked tempeh. I don’t tend to eat tempeh too often, but it is my favorite soy dish, and I love the way Angelica prepares it, with a simple marinade. The goods:

Yum!

Later that evening, Kath and I met up with Maggie, Shane, and my homie, Mel, for cocktails and mineral water at Flatiron Lounge. And as we split a cab uptown, I introduced Kath to the incomparable joys of Bonobos coconut chai. She swooned, I swooned. The end.

Fast forward two days later, and I was still dreaming of Angelica’s wonderful cuisine–especially that walnut and lentil pate. Now, I’ve flipped through the Angelica cookbook before, and noticed that the pate is all cooked: the lentils are cooked, and the walnuts roasted. I’m cool with that, but I did think it would be fun to raw-ify the recipe a bit, using raw walnuts instead of roasted ones (added health benefit: roasting nuts can bring out rancidity, so while it’s 100% cool to enjoy them this way once in a while, you may want to opt to eat them raw when you can).

I also happen to know that the original pate calls for quite a bit of sauteed onion and garlic. Kudos to Angelica; neither Kath nor I were offended by the taste, and neither of us are garlic fans — let alone onion fans!! To bring that bit of onion to my own version, I simply used a touch of onion powder; keep in mind that you certainly could add some fresh onion to it if you like.

Could you make this all raw by using sprouted lentils? You sure could. I have a serious problem with sprouted legumes–the starchy, hard texture just kills me–but for those of you who dig them, go for it.

Here’s the recipe:

Gena’s Walnut and Lentil Pate (yields 1 3/4 cups)

1 cup raw walnuts
1 1/2 cups cooked lentils
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp tamari or nama shoyu
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp tarragon, dried
1 tsp thyme, dried
1 tsp parsley, dried
1/4-1/2 tsp onion powder (or a bit of fresh onion, chopped, if you like)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Place walnuts in a food processor and process till they’re ground finely. Add all remaining ingredients except for oil and process till smooth. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times, and you may also need to add a little water to thin it. After the mix is well combined, add the olive oil in a thin stream with the motor running, reserving just a drizzle to top the spread with.

Serve this with crudites, pita chips, or in raw collard wraps for a healthy and exceptionally protein-packed treat!

My version:

Angelica’s version:

So I didn’t have a fancy tofu dill sauce to top it with, and it’s not quite as pretty, but I think it turned out alright. And it sure tasted delicious!

A few of you have asked me lately if I always note when a dish is miscombined. I don’t — I think the effect of that is to lessen a good meal, and you all know by now that I think combining should be a selective process — but I will start tagging well combined dishes. This pate isn’t well combined by more complex standards, but from a simplified standpoint, it’s fine: beans are part protein, and nuts are also proteins.

This is by far one of my favorite dips so far, and I hope you all get a chance to enjoy it soon. I love using restaurant food for kitchen inspiration, and when the restaurant in question specializes, as Angelica does, in precisely the kind of food I love to make, inspiration comes easily.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, and will be back soon.

xo

Hey all!

Glad that you liked my curry dish as much as I did. I got a particularly thought-provoking reader question last night, which I wanted to share with you all:

Hi Gena,

I just recently found your blog, but I’ve really been enjoying looking through your recipes and tips. I made your green juice this weekend and it was great!

I had a quick question though–as someone who’s experimenting with the idea of going vegan (going raw sounds too extreme for me right now–baby steps), I’m interested in the possible health benefits. I know that many people mention that going vegan helps with their energy, digestion, even more specific things like bags under their eyes, but do those benefits usually only happen when the person has a unique allergy to milk, dairy products in general, or meat?

I’m not sure if I’m posing this question very clearly, but basically I’m wondering if being a highly raw vegan helps you be healthier because you have specific intolerances/allergies to specific foods, or if you believe that all people have these intolerances, and we just may not realize them until we start eating better and see the benefits.

Thanks so much for your time! I appreciate it.

This is a terrific question! If I understand it correctly, what you’re asking is this: we all hear about the benefits of a vegan diet. But how mandatory is veganism to experiencing good health? In other words, even if we know that being vegan might make us feel wonderful, is it possible to feel wonderful without veganism?

My answer? Yes, it is. It is possible to eat well and feel great without adopting a vegan lifestyle–though I also believe that veganism can help you to take basic well being even further. Let me ‘splain:

There are various levels of feeling good, right? With few exceptions, people who eat nothing but processed foods that are heavy in meat and dairy, who do drugs, who never sleep and never exercise, who drink to excess, and who have no emotional stability in their lives are going to feel pretty terrible. Sure, we all hear about Grandpa so-and-so, who ate bacon and smoked Benson and Hedges and drank vats of bourbon and lived to be one hundred. But guess what? Grandpa Jim Beam is the exception, not the rule: for the most part, people who live hard live shorter lives, and experience impaired health while they do.

Each time you improve upon one of the habits listed above — from lack of exercise to smoking to processed food — you’ll see your health improve exponentially. We know this. So the question becomes, where do we stop? How far do we have to take clean habits in order to feel “our best”?

It’s tough to say. “Our best”  is subjectively defined. What’s my definition? A life that’s nourishing and fun, yet healthy and conscious; a life without the constant presence of fatigue and chronic health complaints; a life that’s active and eco-friendly: that’s where I’d begin. So in my world, answering the question of “what will make me feel my best?” means figuring out how a person can meet those criteria.

It’s my belief that eating a diet that’s close to nature — i.e., comprised of foods that haven’t been altered and manipulated beyond recognition — is the first step towards optimal well being. I also think that we need to be mindful of eating a combination of raw and cooked foods. Most people ignore raw foods in their diet, and eat far less than they should. So we should all be mindful of upping our consumption. Finally, I believe that minimizing the use of animal products will help all people to feel their best. This doesn’t have to mean elimination: some people can eat grass fed, organic meat on occasion, while others may choose to eat dairy and eggs on occasion and still feel well. I encourage anyone who’s eating animal products to seek out the ones that have been as humanely produced as possible. Do I feel that animal products contribute to my feeling my best? No, and of course there are ethical dimensions of my lifestyle that are unrelated to health per se. But I understand that, for those who don’t feel compelled toward veganism, a middle ground exists where animal products (consumed in small amounts and with discernment) can co-exist with good health.

So the short answer to your question, is this: no, going 100% vegan is not the only way to feel your very best. It’s one really, really great way. Eating a clean, whole foods diet with some raw foods is the essential goal.

That said, it’s important for me to say this: most people, even those who are healthy, could probably feel a whole lot better than they do. Before I eliminated dairy from my diet, for example, I had accepted chronic IBS and seasonal allergies as a “norm.” Didn’t most people I know get upset stomachs frequently, and don’t most people have allergies every spring? Before I went vegan, I accepted that fatigue every morning was the way of the world. Isn’t everyone sleepy till coffee time? I assumed that it was normal to feel sluggish in the late afternoon, to have morning breath, and to break out now and then.

It didn’t have to me my norm. Becoming vegan–even transitioning toward being vegan–made all of the conditions above disappear. Poof. Sure, I did lots of other great things to facilitate this process aside from veganism. I quit smoking, for example, and reduced my consumption of packaged food, so it wasn’t purely veganism that made the difference. But I do know that it made a huge difference, and not because I had any food allergies or intolerances. And it reminded me that we’re all socially conditioned to accept a lot of conditions–fatigue, acne, insomnia, allergies–as part of normative human experience, when in fact they’re not. There are some people who will be predisposed to allergies or acne no matter what, and it isn’t their fault: some conditions are inherited. But many of us–I’d say most of us–could avoid at least a few of these conditions simply by making better food choices.

So if you’re not sure of “how far” to go, I’d say this: begin with a few upgrades, and see how you feel. You may feel 100%, and decide that you’ve found a place that you’re comfortable with. You may also suspect that you can feel even better, in which case I’d challenge you to continue exploring what does and doesn’t affect your health.

On the flip side, it’s important not to imagine yourself as constantly ascending a ladder toward dietary “perfection” or “cleanliness.” Understand that there’s a point at which you can still have some freedom and inclusion, and yet feel great. Me? I drink coffee more than I’d like to admit,  don’t consciously avoid gluten, eat tempeh and edamame on occasion, and vary my consumption of raw foods. There are some who would remind me that, if I were to never touch coffee, and eat 95-100% raw all the time, and eliminate all common vegan allergens (gluten, wheat, soy, nightshades, corn), I’d achieve even more optimal health. OK, this might be true (though I’m fairly certain I don’t suffer from any allergies). But I feel really, really, really wonderful living as I do, and it’s also the way of living that allows me the kind of social and gastronomic freedoms I want.

In the end, finding “optimal health” means finding a place wherein you don’t willfully choose to ignore symptoms of ill health (like constant fatigue or headaches or insomnia), but you also realize that we don’t have to be Jesus in order to feel healthy. It’s tough to negotiate this middle ground, sure, but I believe it’s possible. And each of us knows what our own middle ground is. I wish you so much luck in finding yours!

In other news, I owe you a recipe! A few weeks ago, in sharing my work lunches, I mentioned a yummy pumpkin seed pate I’d made. Here, at long last, is the recipe.

Coconut-Pumpkin Pate (makes about 1 1/2 – 2 cups)

1 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds, soaked
3 tbsp water
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
Dash pepper
1 large stalk celery, grated
1 large carrot, grated

Blend all ingredients but the veggies in a food processor till quite smooth. Add the celery and carrot, and pulse till the mixture is broken down and well incorporated. Scoop into romaine leaves, serve on salad, use as a dip, and enjoy!

Because of the coconut oil, this pate will get pretty hard in the fridge. Just defrost it for a few before you eat it.

This is definitely one of my favorite new pates. Let me know if you guys try and like it!

On that note, back to work. Happy Tuesday.

xo

Hey all!

Terrific responses to my post on labels. I’m glad we were able to discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I’m here to share a quick, tasty recipe that I whipped up over the weekend. It was inspired by a Nomi Shannon recipe. For those of you who don’t know her work, Nomi Shannon is a raw foods chef, cookbook writer, and educator (she was the winner of last year’s Best of Raw winner in the vegan educator category). Her recipes are simple, clean, easy, and healthy, and they can be found in her excellent cookbook, The Raw Gourmet.

This is a new addition to my cookbook collection, and I couldn’t be enjoying it more! Ms. Shannon, like me, creates recipes don’t require a great deal of planning, soaking, sprouting, or dehydrating. She emphasizes eating a majority of vegetable foods (rather than nuts or desserts), and she creates the tastiest of meals with super-simple flavors and ingredients. I’ve already made such winners as Cabbage Roll-Ups, Tip Top Turnip Salad, Orange Tahini Dressing, Indonesian Yum-Yum Dressing, and Spinach Mousse. This weekend, I decided to put my own spin of her Vegetable Pate (Garden Pate, in my own language). Describing this pate, Shannon says, “Pates are often comprised of a high percentage of nuts. They can be difficult to digest and high in fat, so many people avoid them. This savory and attractive pate contains only one cup of sunflower seeds. It’s density comes from ground flax seeds and dehydrated vegetables which absorb moisture and add flavor.”

Amen! Many nut pate recipes are excessively heavy or dense, and while there is a time and a place for rich food, it’s always nice to have some alternatives. Shannon’s recipe calls for olives and an entire head of cauliflower, neither of which I had on hand. I also chose to omit the scallions and onion (of course!), and to use slightly less vegetable add-ins than the original recipe called for, but I added a cup of green juice pulp (kale, cucumber, celery). My ultimate creation, then, was fairly different from Shannon’s own, but it preserved her original idea and flavorings. Here’s the simple and tasty recipe:

Garden Pate (yields 2 cups, at least)

1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked at least 2 hrs and drained
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
2-3 tbsp Bragg’s liquid aminos
1 1/2 tbsp flax oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 cup vegetable juice pulp
1 small red pepper, cut into small cubes and dehydrated for 2-3 hrs (raw is fine, too)
1/2 zucchini, shredded and dehydrated for 2-3 hrs (raw is fine, too)
1 carrot, shredded and dehydrated for 2-3 hrs (raw is fine, too)
4 tbsp chopped parsley

Blend the sunflower seeds, flax, Bragg’s, flax oil, cumin, curry, and coriander in your food processor, adding watter in a drizzle until the mixture is completely smooth and creamy.

Add the vegetables, parsley, and pulp and give it all a few good pulpses, till the veggies are incorporated but not blended. Stop, transfer the mix to a bowl, and then mix in the parsley with your hands.

The result? Fresh, tasty, herb-y goodness:

This makes a terrific salad topper, wrap-stuffer, or, as pictured here, dip for crudites.

Hope you all give this one a try, and check out more of Nomi Shannon’s work (there are some free recipes up on her website!).

In the meantime, don’t forget that the free teleclass for those who are still considering joining the Choosing Raw + Spark! Wellness January 2010 Cleanse is tomorrow night at 8 p.m. EST! Whether you’ve already signed up and have questions about the cleanse, or you’re considering signing up but want to clear up some questions first, please join us!

To call in, dial +1 (712) 432-0111. When prompted, enter your “Participant Access Code” 403732, followed by the # key. And you’re in. I look forward to hearing from you all!

xo

Ho ho happy Raw Wednesday!

As promised, I’m back with my holiday recipe roundup. Christmas, in case you hadn’t noticed, is this vegan’s favorite holiday, and I’m so excited to share my first batch of Choosing Raw Christmas recipes. Most of these are shiny and new; one of them (the soup) you’ll recognize from another holiday celebration last year.

The theme of this menu is, I’m ashamed to say, red and green. I know, I know, it’s a litte kitschy, but come on: ’tis the season. The other theme is the savory/sweet combo: beets and dried fruits provide touches of sweetness, while tangy marinades and winter spices give the meal a savory feel. Much like my Thanksgiving menu, this Christmas dinner is accessible: it features familiar flavor pairings, comfortable textures, and dishes that mimic cooked traditional favorites (cheese and crackers; borscht; and even meatloaf!). We begin with the tasty cheese and crackers I shared yesterday, move into a surprisingly and sweet borscht, clean the palate with a simple marinated beet carpaccio, and the meal culminates in a raw nutloaf to swoon for. And just because I love you guys, I didn’t forget dessert this time: I concocted a very special raw pudding (not figgy, but chocolate) that’s a new favorite in my home!

With that, I present the Choosing Raw 2009 Christmas dinner:

Starter

Cashew cheese with meyer lemon and dried cherries
Maple Cinnamon Flax crackers

Soup

Raw Borscht

Appetizer

Marinated beet carpaccio with wilted beet greens

Main course

Raw nutloaf with kale salad

Dessert

Chocolate (peppermint) chia pudding

Sound yummy? It is!

Here’s how it all comes together:

We begin with yesterday’s cashew cheese and maple cinnamon flax crackers: allow your guests to munch on these and discover the joys of dairy free, cruelty free, non-stinky cheese!

Next, serve the delicious raw borscht. This is a recipe I shared with you last Easter, but it’s worth repeating. The soup is very sweet, but its sweetness is cut by the addition of apple cider vinegar, the creaminess of avocado, and the citrusy hint of dill.

Raw Borscht (serves 4)

Ingredients:

2 cups beet juice
2 cups carrot juice
1 cup orange juice
¼ tsp salt
2 tsp apple cider vinegar (more to taste)
A sprinkle of pepper
2 small beets, chopped (or a large one)
1 small avocado

1 grated small carrot
1/2 grated small beet
1/2 chopped avocado
Sprigs of dill

Directions:

Blend all of the ingredients together in a Vitamix or powerful blender, stopping to adjust saltiness and sweetness. Pour into four bowls and garnish with the chopped vegetables. (I always find that the addition of chopped veggies can make or break raw soups, which are typically smooth and in need of some texture.)

Next, the brilliant red beets get another treatment in a simple carpaccio and wilted greens salad. This recipe is as simple as can be: simply wash, spin, and marinate the beet greens in a basic red wine vinaigrette, and serve them with finely sliced beets. Period. You could certainly jazz it up: marinate the beets themselves in a more basic marinade than the one I provide, or top them with a creamy dressing (I think my avocado-cumin dressing would be great here). But they really need little attention, and the greens, though simple, are tasty enough to stand on their own, too!

Beet Carpaccio with Wilted Beet Green Salad (serves 2-4)

Ingredients:

1 large beet
1 large bunch beet greens

1/4 cup water
2 tbsps apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp agave nectar
1/2 tsp sea salt

2 tbsps olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp agave nectar
1/4 tsp sea salt
Sprinkle pepper

Procedure:

Cut the large beet in half. At the thick end, begin slicing the beet very thinly — about 1/16 inch, if it’s possible. When you have about twenty-five slices, place them in an airtight container with the water, ACV, salt and agave mixture. Let them marinate overnight.

Wash, spin, and chop the greens into salad-size pieces. Mix the vinaigrette ingredients together, and then pour them over the greens. Massage the greens well with your hand, move to an airtight container, and store in your fridge for eight hours or overnight.

When you’re ready to serve, simply dry off the beet slices and arrange in circles on a round plate. In the very center, place your wilted beet greens.

You could certainly add to the wilted greens: carrots, tomatoes, and parsley would all work beautifully! So would raw fennel. But I like this one plain and simple.

After your salad course, move on to the star of the meal: nutloaf.

Oh yes she did! I gave quintessential comfort food a raw makeover. This recipe is a little more time intensive than mine usually are, and it requires oven or dehydrator love, but the result is pretty spectacular. It’s a warm, savory, and filling nutloaf that recalls your mom’s home cooked version, but without the cholesterol, the dense and slow digesting animal protein, and, of course, the ethical question marks! The loaf is dense, so a modest portion will sate your holiday appetite nicely. It’s also rich in protein and essential fatty acids, and it’s delicious. Healthy and tasty? What more could you ask at a holiday meal?

Gena’s Raw Nutloaf

Ingredients:

2 cups portabello or baby bella mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 tbsp bragg’s liquid aminos
2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup almonds
1 cup walnuts
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried sage
Dash onion powder

2 dates
1/2 red bell pepper
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp Bragg’s Liquid Aminos

2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Procedure:

Place the mushrooms in the Bragg’s and olive oil and store in an airtight container overnight.

Grind the nuts, salt, thyme, sage, and onion powder in a food processor till very processed: it should be starting to look like a coarse nut butter. Add the pepper, lemon, dates, and Bragg’s. Process again till the mixture is even. Set aside in a mixing bowl.

Remove the mushrooms from the marinade, reserving a few tablespoons of it. Put the mushrooms, celery, and mushrooms in the food processor (no need to wash after you remove the nuts!), and process till the mixture is finely chopped.

Add the mushroom/celery/tomato mixture to the nut mixture, throw in the parsley, and knead well with your hands, just as you would mix regular meatloaf!

When it’s all well mixed, place into a small loaf pan (I used one that was about 5-3/4″ x 3″ x 2-1/8″). Place in a dehydrator at 115 degrees for eight hours (you can also place in an oven at 150 with the door slightly ajar).

When the loaf is done, slice into twelve slices. Serve with a large kale salad (like the one I featured in this post), and marvel at raw comfort food!

And finally, dessert. I promised I wouldn’t leave it out, guys!

This recipe is an ode to my girl HEAB, who loves chia seeds! Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding: it’s easy, tasty, and — especially if you make the peppermint version — holiday friendly!

We begin with chocolate macadamia milk:

Chocolate Macadamia Nut Milk (yields 2-4 cups, depending on whether or not you strain it)

Ingredients:

1 cup macadamia nuts
3 cups water
1/2 cup pitted dates, packed
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp high quality dark cocoa powder or cacao nibs
Stevia for added sweetness (use your taste buds to judge; I added almost a pack)
Dash salt

Procedure:

Blend all ingredients in a VitaMix for a few minutes, till very smooth. You CAN strain through a nutmilk bag, but you definitely don’t have to. If you do strain it, you’ll get about two cups liquid; if you don’t, you’ll have about double. Not straining will yield a richer pudding.

To make the pudding, simply add 6 tbsp chia seeds to two cups of the nut milk. Stir. Come back in five minutes, and stir again. Repeat this until the chia seeds have absorbed the liquid, and the pudding has a thick and creamy texture (if it’s runny at all, just add another tablespoon or two of chia seeds).

To make this a peppermint chocolate pudding (and on the holidays, why wouldn’t we), just add 1/4 tsp peppermint extract to the whole mix (more if you want a mintier flavor; I took it easy with the mint).

The result?

This yumminess:

And that, my good friends, is my first Choosing Raw Christmas. Will I be eating this meal, you ask? Dubious: I have a feeling that my Mom, for whom I’ll be cooking on Christmas Eve, is hankering for my Thanksgiving menu (or at least, for the butternut soup and root veggie mash — she can’t quite get down with nutloaf, not yet). But I’ve got nutloaf in the fridge, the sliced beets will go to use in my beet ravioli with root veggie filling, and the borscht is mine for the making soon enough!

And, oh yeah: the pudding? Gone baby, gone.

I hope you all get to try some of these dishes for Christmas — or anytime this winter!

Looking for other raw Christmas options?

The aforementioned butternut squash and apple soup or root veggie ravioli would be great. So would Kristen’s AMAZING harvest soup, my raw alfredo, or my recent carrot falafel. I also love the idea of my cream of cauliflower soup served alongside a big kale salad and some roasted root veggies. Yum.

On that note, enough Christmas. Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves: today, it’s Raw Wednesday. What are you all up to in the kitchen?

xo

This is my little tribute to sunflower seeds.

You guys know I love cashews. And why wouldn’t I? They’re the most versatile nut: so mild and creamy that they can be used as a base for nearly any dessert, pate, or sauce. They’re the reason why I love my raw alfredo, and they’re the secret ingredient in my raw whipped cream.

Even so, I’ve gotten some feedback from you guys saying that you find nuts a little heavy, especially in the summertime. I love nuts, and consider them a very important source of fat and protein in the raw diet, but I understand this concern: too many nuts can sit like like a brick in one’s belly. And when it’s 95 degrees outside and as humid as a steam room (as the fair isle of Manhattan is right now), this is no fun.

Here’s the good news. Most people find that seeds–including sunflower, pumpkin, and sesame seeds–are a little bit easier to digest than tree nuts. And yet they boast some of the same wonderful health properties: healthy fats and oils, antioxidants, and (depending on the seed in question) magnesium, selenium, and calcium. Best of all, they’re versatile and easy to transport: you can carry them around in a baggie to throw on salads at lunch, to a restaurant if you want to liven up a veggie plate (sesame seeds on sauteed or steamed veggies is a favorite of mine) or simply to snack on.

Or, if you’re in the mood for something lunch or dinner worthy, you can try a seed pate.

A few nights ago, in the midst of trying to cool down my-apartment-the-sauna, I found myself craving a nut pate. But I wanted one that would be a bit lighter than my old stand ins (pizza cheeze and walnut pate). Fortunately, I had sunflower seeds on hand. I knew they’d make for a light, quick digesting pate, and they (unlike almonds or walnuts) can be soaked quickly.

I’m often asked about precise soaking times for nuts. (If you rawcurious readers are asking why, it’s because soaking nuts before you eat them renders them more digestible, not to mention more tender for blending.) The truth is that I’m not particularly diligent about my soaking times. I rarely go through the trouble of germinating or sprouting nuts before I eat them–I just soak them until they’re tender enough to use. I will say, though, that if you’re going to use almonds in a pate or sauce, they’ll benefit from being soaked eight hours or overnight. Cashews are soft enough to only demand a few hours. And in my experience, while it’s ideal to soak sunflower or pumpkin seeds five hours or more, they’ll be totally fine after an hour or two.

On the night in question, I happened to have an hour of free time (imagine that!). So as I soaked a cup of sunflower seeds, I came up with the following recipe: a light, lemony pate that’s perfect for summer months.

Sunflower Seed and Carrot Pate

Ingredients:

1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked 1 hour or more
1 tsp nama shoyu
1 tsp salt
1-2 tbsps lemon juice
2 dates
1/3 cup water
1/2 carrot, grated
Several sprigs of dill

Procedure:

Blend the first five ingredients in a food processor until it begins to form a paste. Drizzle in the water until it reaches a consistency you like. It should resemble a hummus or any other spread. Next, throw in the carrot and dill, and pulse the mixture until everything is well incorporated. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

I’ve blogged before about the variety of uses for nut pates. Like hummus or cream cheese or guac, they’re perfect for stuffing into wraps or sandwiches, for using as a dip, for layering between stacks of veggies (like a Napoleon) or for simply plopping onto salads. Tonight, I made a feeble attempt at culinary creativity with the green pepper I had on hand. I cut it into slices, filled each with about 1-2 tbsps of the pate, and sprinkled it with some zucchini and carrot. Like nachos. Kind of.

OK. Not so much like nachos. But I get points for trying, right?

I served this alongside one of my typical giant salads: a kale/lettuce, carrot, tomato, zucchini, and pepper mix.

It was a perfect summer dinner: light and refreshing, yet not without substance.

And just in case you’re wondering? Sunflower seeds happen to be an incredible source of Vitamin E (the most important fat-soluble antioxidant), thiamin (or Vitamin B1, which is important for the nervous system and carbohydrate metabolism), and phytosterols (which help to lower bad cholesterol). Not so bad for a little seed.

I hope you’ll all try this–or another pate–soon!

And if you need inspiration, I direct you all to my new and refurbished recipe page! I’ve gone too many weeks (OK, months) without updating it, for which I apologize! Now, you should all be able to search for recipes (cause I updated my tags, too–thanks Mel) and to explore the recipe page for ideas.

And next to it, you’ll notice a new “kitchen tools” page. Please, please check it out! Questions about the appliances I use at home and requests for recommendations are among the most prevalent sorts of emails I receive. I hope this is a useful resource.

OK kids, I’m out. Have a wonderful night!

xo