Purple yam soup with ginger and garlic, fresh dill, bean sprouts and walnuts

/0 Comments/in , , /by

The purple yam gives this very simple soup a vibrant dark purple colour; the walnuts and bean sprouts, a rich texture.

1T cooking oil
1/4t coarse sea salt
1T fresh garlic, minced
1t fresh ginger, minced
1/4 cup fresh dill fronds and 2T minced
2 cups purple yam, peeled and diced (1/2″)
4 cups vegetable stock
2T nutritional yeast, divided
1T tapioca flour dissolved in 2T cold water
1/2 cup mung bean sprouts
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

In a larger pan with a lid, bring the cooking oil to heat on medium high.
Add the sea salt, garlic, and 2T dill; saute for 2 minutes.
Add the yam and saute another 2 minutes.
Add the stock and deglaze the pan.
Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the yam is fork tender.
Remove from heat, add 1T nutritional yeast, and puree the soup.
Return the pan to a light simmer.
Add the tapioca solution slowly stirring continuously until it thickens.
Season to taste.
Ladle out the soup and garnish with bean sprouts, dill fronds, walnuts and nutritional yeast.

Single-serve salted peanut butter and bourbon pudding with bittersweet chocolate shell

/0 Comments/in , , /by

A rich, nuanced and hearty dessert that you get to set on fire.

Ingredients

1/2 water
1/4t coarse sea salt
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup unsweetened plant milk (I use soy)
1t apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup bourbon whiskey, divided
1/4 cup coconut sugar
2T unsalted, unsweetened peanut butter
1T tapioca flour dissolved with 2T water
20g bittersweet chocolate (1)
Sea salt to taste

Instructions

In a sauce pan with a lid, bring 1/2 cup water to a boil with 1/4t sea salt.
Add the oats, cover and simmer on low until most of the water has been absorbed (about 20 minutes).
Puree the cooked oats with 1/2 cup plant milk, peanut butter, and apple cider vinegar and set aside.

In a small sauce pan with a lid, bring 3T bourbon to a rolling boil and reduce to about 1T on medium.
Add the coconut sugar and reduce heat to low.
Swirl the sugar in the pan until it melts with the whiskey.
Add the remaining 1T bourbon and — very carefully — light the pan to burn off remaining alcohol.
Simmer on low heat for about 2 minutes to further caramelize the sugar.
Add the oat mixture to the pan and stir to combine.
Simmer on low for 5 minutes.
Slowly add the tapioca mixture to the pan and stir continuously until thickened.
Let stand 2 minutes to cool, and pour into a martini glass.
Sprinkle the top of the pudding with a pinch or two of coarse sea salt.
Shave the chocolate using a box grater, and sprinkle in a thin but continuous layer over the warm pudding.
Let stand to cool uncovered 15 minutes.
Cover with plastic wrap and let chill at least 2 hours to setup before serving.
Freeze for 10 minutes before serving for a crisper chocolate shell.

  1. I use a nice fairly traded bar with organic beans and organic sugar.

Artichoke and millet mousse with capers and lemon

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

A simple side dish that takes advantage of millet and artichoke chemistry to produce an airy, creamy texture. Pictured here with roasted tofu, sauteed kale and a light tomato sauce.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups water
1/4t coarse sea salt
1/2 cup millet
1 cup artichoke hearts
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
2T nutritional yeast
1T lemon juice
1T pickled capers
1t prepared brown mustard
1/2T fresh garlic, minced
2T olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

In a small sauce pan with a lid, bring the water and sea salt to a boil.
Add the millet, cover, reduce temperature to low and simmer for 25 minutes or until the water is fully absorbed.
Remove from heat, and let the millet fluff for 5 minutes.
With a food processor or immersion blender, puree the cooked millet with the remaining ingredients except the olive oil until smooth.
Slowly dribble the olive oil into the mix while continuing to blend to emulsify.
Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 10 minutes to cool and setup.
Season to taste and serve.

Peanut butter and chocolate millet mousse

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Millet provides a light, airy texture to this very simple, rich dessert, garnished here with a few blueberries.

Ingredients

1 cup water
1/2 cup millet
1 1/4 cups unsweetened soy milk
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup unsweetened, unsalted peanut butter
A pinch coarse sea salt (or to taste)

Directions

In a small sauce pan with a lid, bring the water to a boil.
Add the millet, cover, reduce to low and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the water is absorbed.
Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes to fluff.
Puree the cooked millet with 1/2 cup soy milk until smooth.
Add the remaining ingredients and puree until smooth.
Refrigerate cover for 2 – 4 hours to setup (the millet will continue to become lighter while it does).
Spoon out and serve.

Single-serve blueberry lime sorbet with walnut banana frozen dessert

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Icy, tart blueberries and lime combine with smooth and creamy frozen bananas for a quick, simple, but elegant dessert.

Ingredients

2T agave nectar, divided
1 1/4 cup heaping frozen blueberries
1T lime juice
1 cup bananas, peeled and frozen
1T chopped walnuts

Directions

For the blueberries, combine 1T agave nectar, lime juice and blueberries.
Puree until smooth.
Freeze for at least 30 minutes to setup.
For the bananas, combine 1/2T agave nectar, bananas and walnuts.
Puree until the bananas are smooth.
Add additional agave to taste depending on the ripeness of the bananas.
Add the blueberries to a cup.
Spoon the bananas over top.
Serve immediately.

Sauerkraut, sesame white sauce

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Ready in seconds and highly flavourful, this mostly raw sauce provides a nice alternative to more involved stove-top sauces. Pictured here with a rice paper burrito, baby spinach and tomatoes.

Ingredients

2T unpasteurized sauerkraut
1T of the sauerkraut’s pickling vinegar
2-3T nutritional yeast
2T sesame seed butter pureed
Coarse sea salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

Puree all the ingredients, season to taste and serve.
Start with 2T nutritional yeast but add more to your taste.
Use cashew butter and reduce the vinegar for something a little milder.
Add garlic or 1/2t white miso for even more flavor.

Smoky, spicy tomato sauce with smoked paprika and red Thai chili

/0 Comments/in , , /by

A simple red sauce for those times when you want to add some bright colour and strong flavour to the plate without making it too heavy. Pictured here with seitan, stir fried spinach and mashed purple yam.

Ingredients

1T cooking oil
1/4t coarse sea salt
1t smoked paprika
1/2t red Thai chili paste (or to taste)
1 cup passata (or tomato puree)
1/2t coconut sugar
1t tapioca flour dissolved in 1T cold water
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

In a frying pan, bring the oil and coarse sea salt to heat on medium high.
Add the chili and the paprika and fry for 2 minutes.
Add the passata and coconut sugar.
Bring the sauce to a simmer, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 5-7 minutes until reduced by about half.
Add the tapioca mixture slowly, stirring continuously until thickened.
Remove from heat, season to taste and serve.

Blueberry sorbet with salted vanilla walnut fudge sauce

/0 Comments/in , , /by

A rich dessert built on contrasts in colour, flavour and texture. If you replace the blueberries with raspberries or strawberries, just adjust the amount of agave to suit.

Ingredients

For the sorbet
2 cups frozen blueberries
2T agave nectar (or to taste)
1T lemon juice

For the walnuts
1/4 cup walnut pieces
1/4t vanilla extract
1/2T lemon juice
1T agave nectar (or to taste)
1T cold water
1T warm water
A pinch of coarse sea salt (or to taste)

Directions

Puree the sorbet ingredients and return to the freezer.
Puree the walnuts, vanilla, lemon juice and cold water
until smooth.
Add the warm water and puree.
Add the sea salt and stir to combine.
Season to taste.
Spoon out the sorbet and the top with the walnut sauce as desired.

Flourless chocolate cake brownie with blueberry, almond frozen dessert

/0 Comments/in , , /by
If you’ve had Ethiopian injera, chances are good you’ve had teff in its flour form. Full of flavor and nutrition, the consistency of whole grain teff is very much like polenta. Along with the flax in this recipe, it takes on a lovely cake brownie texture that provides a rich mouth feel. Topped here with a blueberry and almond sorbet, and garnished with smokey, toasted slivered almonds.

Ingredients

For the brownie
1/2 cup teff
2 cups water
1/4t coarse sea salt
1/3 cup cocoa
1/3 cup agave nectar
1T milled flax seed
Sea salt to taste

For the blueberries
2 cup blueberries
2T slivered almonds
1T lemon juice
2T agave nectar
1T milled flax seed

Directions

Make the brownie, then the blueberries.
Add the teff to a small sauce pan with a lid and toast for 2 minutes on medium heat.
Add the water, bring to a light boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until most of the water has been asorbed and the teff is pulling away from the sides.
Add the cocoa and agave.
Stirring frequently, cooking another 3 minutes uncovered on low.
Remove from heat and add the flax seed.
Stir to combine. You should have something similar in consistency to brownie batter.
Pour the batter into a 3″x9″ baking dish.
Let stand to cool uncovered for 15 minutes.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill for another 15 minutes in the refrigerator to setup.
Puree all of the blueberry ingredients except the flax seed.
Add the flax seed, stir to combine and return to the freezer for 15 minutes to setup.
Remove the brownie from the fridge, carefully turn out and cut in half width-wise.
Spoon out the blueberries over the top.

 

 

Miso soup with lentils and tofu garnished with slivered almonds and scallions

/0 Comments/in , , /by

A simple, warm and nourishing soup with a little extra spice good for the cold of winter or the heat of summer.

Ingredients

4 cups water, divided
1/2 cup dry French lentils
1 sprig kombu (about 1″)
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2t coarse sea salt
200g tofu, cubed (1/2″)
1T fresh garlic, minced
4 scallions, minced (4″ green reserved for garnish)
1T tamari
1/2t toasted sesame oil
2T white miso
Sea salt to taste
2T slivered almonds
2T nutritional yeast
Black, white or cayenne pepper, red Thai chili paste, or similar to taste

Instructions

In a large sauce pan with a lid, bring 2 cups water to a boil.
Add the lentils and kombu, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
Drain and rinse the lentils and kombu.
Bring the remaining 2 cups water and the stock to a boil.
Return the lentils and kombu to the pan.
Add the sea salt, tofu, garlic, scallions, tamari and sesame oil.
Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer another 15 minutes or until the lentils are soft.
Remove from heat, add the white miso and nutritional yeast.
Stir until the miso is dissolved, and let stand 5 minutes to cool.
Season with salt to taste.
Ladle out the soup and garnish with 1T almonds, scallion greens sliced on a 45 degree angle and the nutritional yeast.
Spice the soup up with black, white or cayenne pepper, Thai chili, or similar.