I know, I know! Many of you will probably be horrified by the whiteness of this bread, or as my friend Sarah would say, the bread of no virtues. I beg to differ, this bread saved me, in the form of dry toast after a particularly nasty bout of peanut butter salmonella poisoning over the weekend. There are times when too much fiber from whole grains IS NOT a good thing. Plus this one beats the pants off store bought white bread with all it’s additives and preservatives, yet it’s every bit as soft, squishy and comforting.

Country White Bread

• 3 C. Organic Unbleached White Flour
• 1 C. warm water
• 2 1/4 t. active dry yeast (or 1 packet)
• 2 T. agave or pure maple syrup
• 2 T. unrefined coconut oil or vegan butter
• 1 1/2 t. sea salt

Method: In a bread maker or other kneading apparatus (possibly your hands) knead all of the above ingredients for 10 minutes. If dough seems too dry during the kneading process, add water a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency. Cover and Let rise for 45-60 minutes, until doubled. Punch dough down, press dough into oiled loaf pan, cover and let rise for another 30-45 minutes, until doubled in size again. Preheat your oven to 350°. Quickly make a slash down the top of the loaf with a sharp knife. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden. Let cool on a cooling rack for a bit before serving.

Blogger Apology: I’ve got over 150 posts in my feedly to catch up on, I’ll get there, I’m not ignoring you, I just haven’t been able to look at photos of food in my current state, no matter how beautiful they are. Sorry! xx

So, Dianne Wenz, from Vegan Heritage Press (aka Veggie Girl and fellow Vegan Temptivist) emailed me and asked me if I’d review Robin Robertson’s Nut Butter Universe. Of course I said YES! I mean, every single recipe in this book features nuts, seeds, or nut butters (or all 3). Robin gives simple instructions on how to make your own nut and seed butters at home. No more paying $10 a jar for Tahini! Plus, I was super excited after seeing Kristy’s review and the Fantasy Brownies (woah…) Basically, I all ready knew this cookbook would be right up my alley.

I’ve tested more than 10 recipes out of the book and each one turned out every bit as delicious as the last. This is definitely MY KIND of cookbook!

Here’s several of the things I made out of Nut Butter Universe:

pg. 90, one of the top vegan burgers I’ve ever tried, though I may use a flax egg to get it to bind better next round (and there will be a next round).

pg. 132 OMGosh, this fudge literally comes together in minutes and is ridiculously delicious.

pg. 133, yup, something for your LUCKY four legged friend too, my friendly tester definitely approved!

Page 32, Photo used with permission, courtesy of Vegan Heritage Press. I made these tasty bad boys, but my family gobbled them up before I could get a photo shoot, they were that good! Thank goodness Vegan Heritage Press had my back on this one and had a photo for me to share with you.

pg. 52, I have a feeling this will be our “go-to” grilling recipe this summer. SO in love with the Almond Romesco Sauce.

…A closer look

This is honestly the most realistic vegan cheesecake that I’ve ever eaten.  Look at the cheesecake in relation to the size of the fork in front of it! I quartered the recipe and made it baby sized for portion control (4 inch springform!)

Topped with raspberry sauce for color contrast.

I’ve also made (but not photographed) the following:

Orange Decadence Chocolate-Almond Truffles pg. 126 (like a Christmas Present melting in your mouth). Cold Noodle Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce pg, 42, I’ve made a lot of Peanut Noodle salads, but this one had the perfect balance of flavors and textures. I used rice noodles and made it gluten-free, most if not all recipes in the book can be made gluten-free! Peanut Butter Cups pg. 127 Even better than the real thing…and last but not least, the Crunchy Coleslaw with Creamy Cashew Dressing pg. 46. Yes, it’s simple and amazing.

Now, for that Cheesecake recipe you’ve been waiting for…

Summer Berry Cheesecake

This light and luscious cheesecake features your favorite berries of summer. The creamy goodness comes from cashews blended into a rich butter and combined with vegan cream cheese. Be sure your berries are well-drained and blotted dry to remove any liquid.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup almonds, soaked overnight, then drained and blotted dry
• 3/4 cup soft pitted dates
• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight, then drained and blotted dry
• 1/2 cup natural sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2  (8-ounce) containers vegan 
cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or thawed frozen 
strawberries, blackberries, or raspberries, well drained and blotted dry
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• Fresh berries and mint leaves, for garnish

Preparation: 

• Grease an 8-inch springform pan and set aside. In a food processor, combine the drained soaked almonds and the dates and process until finely ground. Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

1. In a food processor or high-speed blender, combine the soaked and drained cashews, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla, and process to a paste. Add the cream cheese, berries, and cornstarch, and blend until smooth and very creamy.
2. Pour the filling into the prepared crust and bake for 45 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside for another 10 minutes.
3. Remove the cake from the oven and cool at room temperature, then refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. Carefully remove the sides of the springform pan before slicing. (You may need to run a knife around the edge of the cake to separate it from the pan.) Serve garnished with fresh berries and mint. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers.

From Nut Butter Universe by Robin Robertson. ©2013 Robin Robertson. Used by permission from Vegan Heritage Press.

For a chance to win a copy of this amazing cookbook from Vegan Heritage Press, Click on the link below to enter the Giveaway! This contest is open to entrants in the USA only. You must also follow this blog by email or RSS feed to qualify. You have until Friday the 24th of May to enter!  I will notify the winner by email on Monday the 27th. GO!

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Yeah, I invented a new vegan bacon, especially for the Virtual Vegan Potluck 3.0. It might just be the meatiest and most versatile vegan bacon yet… You’re welcome.

Since I can’t just serve you bacon, (I mean, I could, but this is supposed to be the appetizer course). I’m sharing my take on some special bite sized BLT’s. For size reference, the plate I’m using in these photos only has a 3 inch diameter.

To assemble these little cuties, you’ll need the following: Mini Caraway, Onion and Rye Pretzel Rolls (recipe follows), Kimchi, store bought or homemade, Peppered Maple Jackfruit Bacon (recipe follows), sliced tiny grape and or sun sugar tomatoes, and Vegan Wasabi Ranch Dressing (1/4 c. vegan ranch dressing + 1 t. wasabi paste, stirred til combined)

Peppered Maple Jackfruit Bacon

• 1 can young green jackfruit in brine (unsweetened) I bought mine from a local Asian Market
• 1-2 T. liquid smoke (mine is concentrated, so I only used 1 T.)
• 1 T. Bragg’s liquid aminos or coconut aminos for those with soy allergies
• 1 T. extra virgin olive oil or melted unrefined coconut oil
• 2 T. pure maple syrup
• 1 t. – 1 T. ground black pepper (depending on how peppery you want your bacon)
• 1 t. balsamic vinegar
• 1 t. unsulphered molasses
• 1/2 t. sea salt (optional)

Method: Rinse and drain the jackfruit. Press lightly onto clean kitchen towels to drain any excess moisture. Slice jackfruit into very thin strips with a filet knife, it’s okay if some of it shreds. Jackfruit is kinda shreddy like that. Press sliced jackfruit on the clean kitchen towels again to remove additional moisture. Place jackfruit slices in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together all the other ingredients to form the marinade. Pour marinade over the sliced jackfruit and gently toss to coat with your hands. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the jackfruit absorb the flavors. Preheat your oven to 425°. Lightly oil a large rimmed baking sheet and arrange the jackfruit slices on it so they don’t overlap. Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring a time or two and watching to make sure the jackfruit bacon doesn’t burn and that it gets nice and crispy (a fine line). Remove from oven and spread onto paper towels and let cool a bit before use.

Mini Caraway, Onion and Rye Pretzel Rolls

• 1 1/2 C. unbleached organic all-purpose flour
• 1/2 C. dark rye flour
• 1/2 t. sea salt
• 1/2 C. warm water
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 1/2 t. active dry yeast
• 1 T. caraway seeds
• 1 T. cocoa powder
• 1 T. vital wheat gluten
• 1 T. unsulphered molasses
• 1 T. dried chopped onion or 1 t. onion powder
• caraway seeds, sesame seeds and flaked sea salt for sprinkling on the rolls

Method: in a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (including yeast). Add the wet ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon til combined. If mixture seems to dry, add warm water, a tablespoon at a time. knead dough for 10 minutes. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and Let rise for 30 minutes or until doubled. Punch dough down, divide into 32 mini pretzel roll bites or 16 slider sized rolls. Lightly press each piece of dough down with your fingertips. Arrange rolls on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or a silpat (otherwise they’ll stick like crazy). Cover and let rise for 20-30 minutes until doubled in size. In the meantime, bring to a boil: 2 quarts (8 cups) water with 1 T. kosher salt and 4 T. baking soda.  When the water comes to a rolling boil, Poach 4 rolls at a time, if doing bite sized, poach for 20-30 seconds, for slider sized 30-40 seconds, turning over halfway through poaching time. See photos of this method here. Remove rolls with a slotted spoon. Slash each roll a couple of times across the top with a sharp knife. Quickly sprinkle with caraway seeds, sesame seeds and flaked sea salt. Repeat until all buns are poached. Let rest while oven preheats to 400 degrees. Bake for 10-15 minutes for bite sized or 15-20 minutes for slider rolls. Please use parchment paper or a silpat to bake on, otherwise you will need a chisel and a hammer and quite possibly ruin your favorite baking sheet.

To start at the beginning of the potluck, click here:

If you run into any broken links along the way, (some bloggers show up a little late to the party) here’s a list of the bloggers in the potluck to help you get back on track. Pretty cool to see over 169 bloggers from all around the world flaunting their vegan awesome! Use the buttons below to Go Back to visit the lovely Bex (Sparkles) at Vegan Sparkles in Australia. Go Forward to see what The Singing Vegan brought to the party.

http://vedgedout.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/vegan-blt-sliders.png?w=500&h=500

For some reason, pancakes were one of the harder recipes for me to properly veganize. I ate a lot of (tasty) dense pancakes in the beginning. It’s easy enough to replace eggs with a flax egg, but the pancakes weren’t fluffy and didn’t have enough rise that real eggs give. The solution? More baking powder. Don’t worry, I promise it’s not overpowering in the recipe. It just gives you the fluffiest, dreamiest pancakes… ever!

Fluffiest Maple Buttermilk Pancakes

• 1 1/2 C. organic unbleached all purpose flour (for gluten free pancakes, subsitute all the flour in this recipe (2 1/4 C. total) with Cara’s all purpose GF mix + 1/2 t. xanthan gum)
• 3/4 C. whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 T. aluminum free baking powder
• 1/4 C. pure maple syrup
• 2 T. vegan butter, melted
• 1/2 t. sea salt
• 2 1/4 C. unsweetened soy milk
• 1 T. apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 T. ground golden flax seed
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Method: In a small bowl, combine soy milk, apple cider vinegar and vanilla (vegan buttermilk), let sit and curdle while you put the other ingredients together. Melt the vegan butter and combine it with the pure maple syrup, set aside (mmm, maple butter). In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, sea salt and ground golden flax seed. Now add all the liquid ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon til just combined. This batter needs to rest for about 10 minutes so that it will begin to rise for fluffiness, so while you’re waiting, start preheating your pancake skillet, I use a large griddle so I can cook more pancakes at once. Lightly oil the skillet/griddle and measure out pancake batter with a 1/3 cup measure. Cook pancakes for about 4 minutes on each side. Serve with vegan butter and pure maple syrup if desired.

Oh and today is the last day to enter the Virtual Vegan Potluck, if you haven’t entered all ready, get in there!

maybe next year we should do a breakfast potluck?

All photos in this post courtesy of Chelle McCall

Menu for the Show

For all the recipes for the show, please click here

Salads:

• Curried Brown Rice Salad with celery, cranberries, green onion and cashews
• Ultimate French Green Lentil Salad with radishes, red onion and capers

I’m letting the cat out of the bag, I love Doterra Essential Oils. I use them for healing, around the house for cleaning and disinfecting and for aromatherapy. I’ve used a lot of different brands of essential oils and I think the quality that Doterra offers is unparalleled. Beware of store brand essential oils, as they’re often labeled “for aromatherapy use only“. It makes sense to me that since I’m eating a very natural diet, I should be using natural products in my home and on my body as much as possible. Don’t know where to begin? Here’s a list of 101 uses for the oils in this kit.

VaPOOrize, my cleaning solution made with Doterra Lemon Essential Oil

Click on the link below to enter the Giveaway! This contest is open to entrants WORLDWIDE. You must also follow this blog by email or RSS feed to qualify. You have until Monday the 6th of May to enter!  I will notify the winner by email on Wednesday the 8th. GO!

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Contest ended! Thanks for all who entered!

I’m on my last day of my juice feast. I’m amazed at how light I feel and how much mental clarity I have. I really thought it would be so much harder than it was, I think adding the cashew horchata each day saved my vegan bacon.

Savory Spicy 8 Juice, and the Ultra Green Juice with Carrots added in

This Savory Spicy 8 Juice is definitely a metabolism booster with the heat from the jalapeno, It’s also a nice change refreshing change from the green juices for variety in your juice feast. It’s loaded with beta-carotene, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron. The recipe below made about 46 oz. of juice.

Savory Spicy 8 Juice

• 6 carrots
• 5 tomatoes
• 6 stalks of celery
• 1-2 parsnips
• 1 lemon, peeled
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 jalapeno (use half or omit for a less spicy juice)
• few sprigs of parsley
• additional options: a clove of garlic, a big fat handful of greens, 1/2 of a beet

Juice on!

I’ll be taking a blog break for a bit as I’m doing prep and catering for my brother’s Art Show this weekend, I’m sorry for being behind on comments and visiting your blogs! I’ll catch up with you next week! xx- Somer

I’m nearing the end of my high-raw month and I thought I’d go out with a bang and indulge in a juice feast.  I have to say this is much easier than any juice “fast” I’ve ever done, probably because I’m more prepared this round and my diet this last month has been especially clean. There are lots of reasons people choose to do a juice feast, including weight loss, cancer or other serious health issues. Sometimes some people simply do the juice feast because they want a reset. I know there’s a lot of debate about smoothies vs. juicing vs. neither, but I’ve found both green smoothies and juicing both have their place in my lifestyle.

Daily Line Up: Cashew Horchata, Ultra Green Juice and Carrot-Apple-Celery Juice

Here’s some things I’ve gleaned from reading about and then doing juice feasts over the years:

1- I’m more likely to stay on track if I get my juice supply ready for the day first thing in the morning. I have a masticating juicer instead of a centrifugal juicer, so my juice stays fresh longer and has more nutrients, so even though it’s best (in any case) to drink juice fresh right when you press it, there are ways you can minimize nutrient loss: (2&3 below). I use as much organic produce as possible when juicing so I don’t overload on pesticide residue.

2- Store your freshly pressed juice in lidded glass jars (think MASON), filled as closely to the top as possible to prevent oxidation.

3- Add lemons or limes to your juice to help preserve them and keep them fresher longer. Sometimes I leave the peel on, sometimes I don’t.

My 15 year old Champion Juicer, still running like a brand new machine.

4- Drink as much juice as you’d like, I’ve found a schedule works for me, I typically consume 5-6 juices (16-18 oz each) a day and consume them 2 hours apart (9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, 7pm) so I don’t get overly hungry or have energy loss. I strain my juices through a wire mesh strainer, but that’s personal preference.

5- I include a nut milk in the above total, I’ve found it really takes the edge off and makes doing a juice feast just that much more doable, obviously nut milk isn’t juice, but it works well in conjunction with this type of reset for me. I usually drink the nut milk in the evening, when I’m craving things the most.

6- Stick with as many veggies as you can, too many fruits while juicing isn’t as beneficial and can mess with your body’s alkalinity.

Little hands love to get involved

7- Make sure to have as much purified water and unsweetened herbal tea as much as you like throughout the day.

8- Get plenty of rest during your reset, you might find you need a bit more sleep than you normally get.

9- You can do a 1 day, 3 day or 7 day reset. If you have a lot of weight to lose, you can go as long as you need. Joe Cross from Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead proved more than 60 days of juicing didn’t harm him in the least, in fact it put his autoimmune disease into remission and helped him lose all the excess weight he was carrying.

10- It’s okay if you fall off the juice wagon, you can always climb back on til you reach your desired goal. Also, if for any reason you start to feel ill (more than just mild cleanse associated headaches), stop the juice fast so you don’t make yourself sick.

Lots of veggies, minimal fruit

Now lets get to the juice. This juice recipe I’m sharing with you today is courtesy of my brother Curtis, he’s an Ultra Runner and has taught me more than a thing or two about nutrition.

Ultra Green Juice

• 4 C. spinach (I used a whole head of kale in the photographed batch, beware, it was powerful! I’ve been doing a mix of half kale, half spinach since)
• 2 cucumbers
• 1 head celery
• fist sized piece of broccoli
• 1 bunch parsley
• 3 apples
• 1 lime (peeled)
• 1/2 lemon (peeled)
• chunk of fresh ginger

Curtis said he got about 50 oz out of his juice, I got closer to 60 oz, but this could have been because of a difference in produce sizing. I’ve been using this juice as the base for my juice feast, I like it even more with a bunch of carrots thrown in, and it turns the juice an awesome army green. I typically do this juice plus a carrot, apple and celery juice or a more savory juice (coming Wednesday) plus the nut milk to round out my day.

Want more juicy goodness? Check out Shira’s Fennel Apple Juice with Greens and Fresh Lemon  and Cadry’s Afternoon Pick Me Up Juice. Loads more Juice recipes can be found here.

This recipe was shared at Raw Foods Thursdays & Healthy Vegan Fridays

What are your favorite juice recipes? I’d love to try them!

I’m in the middle of a lovely juice feast to end my high raw month (I’ll be sharing some juicing recipes with you next week). Sometimes when you’re doing a juice feast (ok, so it’s really a fast, I’m just trying to make it sound easier) you can  have a bit of tiredness or an afternoon slump. Some of the lovely online juice cleanses include a nut milk to give you a boost and round out your day. Since I’m making everything myself at home, I thought I’d do the same. Yesterday I had the most amazing cashew milk for my afternoon snack, then halfway through drinking it, I thought it could use a bit of cinnamon. Yup, that’s how the 4 ingredient lite raw cashew horchata was born. Who needs rice and sugar?

Raw Vegan Lite Cashew Horchata

• 2 T. Raw Cashew Pieces (or use whole cashews, roughly chopped)
• 2-4 Dates, snipped into bits (depending on your sweet-o-meter, I used 2)
• 2 C. water
• 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
• optional add in’s: tiny pinch of salt, drop of therapeutic grade cinnamon essential oil (for more intense cinnamon flavor), teaspoon of vanilla. I made mine without but think those would be tasty.

Method: Blend all ingredients til completely smooth and creamy. If you don’t have a power blender soak your cashews and dates in the 2 cups water in a pint mason jar for 2-4 hours before blending. No need to drain and rinse, just pour the contents of the jar into the blender, add the cinnamon and you’re good to go.

 I first had Horchata while vacationing in Mexico, it’s at Mexican restaurants all over the place, but very few restaurants serve vegan horchata. Now you can make your own in minutes, without ever boiling a pot of rice!

This recipe was shared at Raw Foods Thursdays