Cashew Cream

I had some girlfriends over for lunch today (fish and chickpea burgers with tartar sauce...yum!), and one of them brought some gorgeous fruit for dessert. Better yet, she brought her Vitamix so that we could experiment making cashew cream to top the fruit with! This recipe is all over the internet in some form or another, but here it is again...cause it's sooo yummy! The recipe I used said that you could use a food processor to make this, just add 1/4 cup of water to start, then add the other 1/4 cup once stuff really gets good and moving. The Vitamix makes this a no-brainer. Just toss everything in and let'er rip.

Cashew Cream:

1 1/3 cups whole raw cashews; soaked then drained (preferably soaked overnight in the fridge covered with filtered water, but I had to speed things up by pouring boiling water over them and just leaving them on the counter from about 8am to 1pm)
1/2 cup water
2-3 Tbs agave nectar or 1-2 dates (our fruit was really sweet so I would add sweetener slowly next time...that said, it went over REALLY well with 3 TBS of agave ;-)
1/2 of a whole vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract
a squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Toss all the ingredients in a Vitamix or other high-powered blender and blend til nice and creamy. If making in a food processor, add 1/4 cup of water to start, then add 1/4 cup more after the ingredients have had a chance to come together, scraping down the sides frequently.

Should keep well covered in the fridge for several days.

Organization!

I finished this project over two weeks ago and it still makes me all wiggly every time I open a kitchen cupboard. Finally! All those wretched little bulk spice bags...gone! That and anything else I buy in bulk that's cupboard worthy (all those stinkin' bags full of different flours are still hiding shamefully at the back of our fridge). I spent 2+ days tossing old stuff, buying fresh stuff, procuring the necessary bottles and jars, filling said bottles and jars, and labeling. I tell you, all those little spice bottles are a sight to behold. The rest of our house may look like heck, but hey those cupboards are organized!

I didn't alphabetize the spices since there were over 50 of them...just tried to place them with spices they'd likely be used with, putting the ones I use often towards the front.
I can't tell you how nice it's been to be able to locate things quickly when cooking, rather than the usual shuffle through a pile of wee bags (most that would eventually develop small cuts and leak all over the place!). I love buying spices in the bulk section. You save a ton of money and don't end up with more than you can use before it expires.

The bottom shelf has always housed vinegars, some dry/wet condiments, hot sauces, etc., but no matter how often I put them in order, they'd squirrel their way out of that order all too quickly. Ok, lazy Susan? A concept it only took me a lifetime to wrap my brain around.

In another cupboard I've got all my baking requirements on the SAME shelf. What a concept! ;-)
Whole grains and legumes live above the baking shelf. Again, no more plastic bulk baggies piled one on top of the other.
On the top shelf lives cake decorating stuff and a few more lesser used items.
Cans live on the bottom shelf.

Lastly, we've got a long pantry with pull-out shelves by the fridge...All. Baggies. Gone!! :-)

I didn't write up this post to inspire you, nor did I compose it to gloat. I'm pretty sure I just wanted to be able to look at these cupboard innards even when I'm not in the kitchen opening a door. Ahhh...now I can see all my lovely organized goodies from anywhere in the house. Thank you ITouch! ;-)

Pepita Sauce

Admittedly, this lunch was a little weird. I neglected to take a picture of last night's dinner featuring yet another yummy Casa de Luz sauce, so you get to see it yummifying some, perhaps incongruous (tofu, steamed cauliflower, and spaghetti squash), stuff I ate for lunch. Casa's suggested use is on braised greens and any kind of grain too. Pepita Sauce is yet another good all round and easy to make condiment from Casa's repertoire.
One thing I'll mention is that after tasting the sauce, I knew I didn't want to add any salt to the veggies during cooking. Think of the sauce as your salt...you likely won't want any extra.

Pepita Sauce:
(Casa de Luz)

1 cup unroasted, unsalted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1 clove garlic

1 tsp. oregano (I used milder Greek oregano)

1 Tbs. flax oil (I used canola)

2 tsp. shoyu (I used reduced-sodium tamari...be careful this doesn't get too salty for you)

1 Tbs. ume vinegar

1 cup filtered water

Pan-roast pumkin sees in a stainless steel skillet, stirring constantly. Remove from heat when seeds are lightly browned, puffed, fragrant, and sound slightly hollow when stirred. Place roasted seeds and remaining ingredients in blender, mix well, and serve.

Lemon Cashew Nectar Bars

Huzzah! Third try was the charm! Yes, this is my third attempt in just about as many years to try replicating Cliff's Lemon Cashew Nectar Bars. I'd had great luck in making a nice version of the Cocoa Nectar Bars, but my other favorite was a sticky mess. The stumbling block in attempts one and two? The lack of a good lemon concentrate. I tried lemon juice, lemon zest, lemon oil...all no-go's. Enter True Lemon. A crystallized lemon product for mixing into water or whatever else you've a mind to mix it into (I tossed some onto peaches I'd cut up to go into bran muffins the other day). My mom brought me 3 little envelopes to try...she's the one that finally came up with this solution. Today was the day to try again.
I bought myself some beauteous medjool dates from Costco, some raw cashews and some goji berries from the bulk section of the grocery store, all that remained was the True Lemon and a touch of vanilla. After processing, the resulting mix was very sticky and I ended up having to cheat a bit by putting some cornstarch on both the rolling mat and my hands. Otherwise this whole experiment would have gone nowhere. Again. I'm guessing that you could use arrowroot if you've got a problem with cornstarch. You'll likely have to use something, or the mass will be impossible to roll and shape.
I'm open to any alternative de-stickifying suggestions if anyone out there has any :-)

Lemon Cashew Nectar Bars:
(Inspired by Cliff Nectar Bar ingredient label)

1 cup pitted medjool dates
a generous 1/3 cup raw unsalted cashews
~2 Tbs goji berries
3 envelopes True Lemon
~1/2 tsp vanilla extract
cornstarch as needed


Put about 1/2 of the cashews into a food processor and chop finely, but not to the point that they get oily. Remove and set aside on a sheet of wax paper.
Chop the remaining cashews by hand for more texture, and place with others on wax paper.
Chop goji berries roughly (in half), add to the nuts.
Place pitted dates into food processor and chop. This will end up a gooey mess, just do the best you can.
Spread date goo on top of your bed of nuts and gojis. If you sprinkle some on top, of the dates along with having some on the bottom of the mass it's less likely to stick right away.
Sprinkle True Lemon and vanilla over the top and start to incorporate all as best you can.
This is where the cornstarch came in really handy. I sparingly put some on my hands and some on the wax paper and rolled the date mass into a log that was about 3/4" thick. Cut that piece into 6 lengths. Flatten each piece into a bar, then wrap individually in clean pieces of wax paper for storing. I put them in a ziplock container to store for the Monster's lunches/snacks.

Almond and Sweet Potato Sauce

A Casa de Luz sauce strikes again. With goodness that is!! Man, those people know how to make simple food taste awesome. I halved the recipe and used only one sweet potato, but instead of using 1/2 cup of almond butter, I used just over 1/4 cup and found it to be plenty.
The sweet potato I used, must have been particularly sweet. The Monster tasted the sauce and thought I'd slipped in some dulce de leche! A friend just gave us a tub of the stuff and honestly that probably wouldn't be beneath me by any means. You can adjust the sweetness by adding more lime juice, etc. if you want. One of these days I'm going to have to buy Casa's durn cookbook instead of trolling the internet for their recipes. :-)

Almond and Sweet Potato Sauce:
(Casa de Luz)

2 medium sweet potatoes (about 3 cups)
1 cup unsalted roasted almond butter (used less...just over 1/4 cup for half of the recipe)

2 tsp. shoyu or tamari

2 Tbs. lime juice

Pinch of sea salt

Filtered water as needed

Update:
When we ate the rest of the sauce the next night I added a touch of rice wine vinegar, a bit of sambal oelek (chili sauce), and some more lime juice. YUM.

Wash sweet potatoes and cut into 2" chunks. Place in a heavy pan with 3/4 cup of water. Bring to a simmer, add pinch of sea salt, and cover (I roasted the sweet potato wrapped in foil at 400 for about an hour, then peeled once cool).
Let potatoes simmer over low heat until tender. Remove from heat, reserve any leftover cooking water, and allow to cool, Leftover baked sweet potatoes may be used instead.
Place cooled sweet potatoes, almond butter, shoyu/tamari, and lime juice in a blender with some of the water and puree until smooth. Add a more water until you achieve a consistency you're pleased with. Serve over greens or grains. I served it with lemon and herb baked tofu over quinoa and braised kale.

Casa de Luz' Sun Cheese

Or would that be Sun Cheeze? Not cheese by any stretch of the imagination, just a really awesome topping for veggies (especially greens), grains, enchiladas, pasta...etc. Easy to make and easier to eat! A great healthful condiment to have stashed in your fridge.
I fell in love with this stuff long ago at Casa de Luz' Sunday brunch (CdL serves wonderful macrobiotic meals here in Austin), and had never thought of searching for the recipe til yesterday. Sure enough there it was, right there in the innertubes.

Sun Cheese:
(Casa de Luz Community Cookbook)

1 1/4 cup hulled organic sunflower seeds, soaked 4-6 hours or overnight
1 clove garlic
2 Tbs umeboshi vinegar (Central Market has this if you're in Austin)
2 Tbs lemon juice
1+ cup filtered water

Place seeds in bowl and cover with water to soak. Allow seeds to soak 4-6 hours or overnight (I just soaked for about 6 hrs.)

Rub seeds between hands to loosen skins. Skins will float to the top of the soaking water (so they said!). Pour out skins and soaking water. Rinse seeds, cover with water and repeat the process until most of the skins have been removed and poured out. The more skins you remove, the whiter the sauce will be.

Place seeds in a blender with garlic, lemon juice and umeboshi vinegar and add 1 cup of water.
Blend until desired consistency. I just let mixture blend until it was as smooth as I could get it.
For a thinner consistency, add up to 1/2 cup more water.
I just used the 1 cup for a thicker sauce, figuring I'd be using it for different things and could always add more water later.

Place sauce in a bowl and refrigerate. I like to think it got better in the fridge...after the flavors had a chance to marry.

Baked sweet potato, our homemade raw sauerkraut, quinoa, steamed kale topped with Sun Cheese

Vegan Thai Coconut Pineapple Banana Muffins

Hey, I finally made the Thai Coconut Pineapple Banana Bread healthier! I actually used my vegan nanner bread recipe, but added in all the goodies from the Thai style recipe. Very nice!
Will be even "nicer" next time when I follow the recipe below, but also add in chunks of Lindt's coconut white chocolate bar. That addition totally negates the recipe's veganess, btw. ;-)
I don't have a picture of these, because they went right into the freezer...lest I gobble them all up at once!

Vegan Thai Coconut Pineapple Banana Muffins:
(Makes 10 regular size muffins)

3 ripe bananas
3 Tbs extra-virgin coconut oil, melted (can use canola if you want, but I liked the extra coconuttiness, plus e.v. coconut oil is supposed to be really good fer ya)
1/2 cup agave nectar
~1/4+ cup unsweetened dried coconut
1 Tbs lime juice
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2+ cups whole grain spelt flour (I added a bit more to the recipe after seeing it was a bit wet)
2 Tbs coconut cream powder (Central Market in Austin has this in Asian section)
3 Tbp mild curry powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 cup chopped pineapple, fresh, or canned in juice
~1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
turbinado sugar to sprinkle on tops for sweet-crispitty-crunchy-goodness!

Heat oven to 350.
Oil muffin tin.
In a bowl, mash bananas then add melted extra-virgin coconut oil, agave, dried coconut, lime juice and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, sift together spelt flour, coconut cream powder, mild curry powder, baking soda, and salt.
Blend the wet and dry mixtures, then fold in pineapple and nuts.
Pour into oiled muffin, sprinkle with turbinado sugar and bake for about 23-28 minutes, or until tops just spring back upon applying gentle pressure and a toothpick comes out cleanly.
Remove from oven and let cool in tin for about 5 minutes, then remove from tin to cool on a rack.