Thursday, May 28, 2020

Raw Vegan Almond Cheese






Ingredients:

1 cup of water-soaked, skinned raw almonds
2 handful of soaked cashews
½ cup of organic virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of coconut oil
1 lemon
½ teaspoon of salt
¼ cup of water


Preparation

Add all ingredients into a high-power blender and blend until it is creamy.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Chai Pecan Pie


Chai Pecan Pie
This recipe is from Rev. Chef Beth Love, the Founder of Eat for the Earth




Yield: 1 nine-inch pie


Ingredients:

  • 1½ cups pecans, soaked overnight and drained, divided
  • ¾ cups almonds, soaked overnight and drained
  • 1½ teaspoons chia seeds, ground
  • small pinch of salt
  • 1½ cups strong herbal chai, divided (see recipe below)
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon agar flakes
  • ¾ cup dates, pits and stems removed, coarsely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon alcohol-free vanilla
  • juice of 1 lemon, about 2–3 tablespoons
Directions:
  • Pick out ¾ cup of nicely formed half pecans for the top of the pie and set these aside.
  • Make the crust:
    • Process chia seeds in a seed grinder.
    • Mix ground chia seeds with 1 tablespoon water.
    • Process soaked almond and pecans (non-reserved) and a small pinch of salt in a food processor using pulse mode. The mixture should resemble crumbs, not nut butter.
    • Add soaked chia and process a little more until the mixture comes away from the sides of the food processor and begins forming a dough-like mass.
    • Taste and adjust salt if necessary.
    • Dump the mixture into a 9” pie plate and use your hands to distribute it fairly evenly across the pie plate with a slight build-up near the edges. Press mixture into the pan, ensuring the bottom and sides are evenly covered. Crimp the top edge of the crust.
    • Place reserved pecan halves on a dehydrator tray and place in dehydrator at 115ºF.
    • Place crust in the dehydrator as well.
    • Dehydrate nuts until crispy, about 8–10 hours.
    • Dehydrate crust until it is fairly firm and cuttable, about 8–14 hours. The longer time will make a crispier crust.
  • When the crust is finished, make the filling:
    • In a small saucepan, soak agar in 1¼ cups cold chai for 5-10 minutes.
    • Combine dates, lemon juice, remaining ¼ cup of chai, and vanilla in a food processor.
    • Process until smooth.
    • Turn on the burner under your agar/water mixture. Cover the pot to help it come to a boil more quickly and to reduce evaporation loss. Keep an eye on it to avoid boiling over. When the mixture comes to a boil, turn it down and keep it simmering, covered, for 5 minutes.
    • When the agar mixture has simmered for 5 minutes, remove it from the heat and take off the lid so it can begin to cool down.
    • While the agar mixture cools, arrange your reserved dehydrated nuts on a plate that is similarly sized to the inside of your pie crust.
    • Once the agar mixture is lukewarm, add to date mixture and process until well combined. Pour into crust and transfer your pecan design to the top.
    • Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or preferably overnight.

Notes:

  •  Soaking the nuts and dehydrating makes a crust that contrasts nicely with the sweet filling, but you can make it another way if you don’t have a dehydrator. If you are not using a dehydrator, follow these instructions:
    • Substitute raw nuts for the soaked nuts.
    • Add 2–4 pitted dates to the mixture when processing crust to help hold it together.
    • You can substitute store-bought herbal chai for the homemade.

Herbal Chai
Ingredients:

  • ½ tablespoon dried ginger
  • ½ teaspoon dried orange peel
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon whole cardamom pods
  • ½ tablespoon allspice seeds
  • ½ teaspoon cloves
  • a quarter of a nutmeg, chopped in several pieces
  • 1 teaspoon roasted chicory root granules
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon chips
Directions:
  • Place 2 quarts of water in a pot.
  • Measure and add cinnamon chips, roasted chicory, ginger, and orange peel to water in a pot.
  • Measure and combine black pepper, cardamom, allspice, and cloves in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Coarsely crush, then add to the pot.
  • Chop a quarter of nutmeg into several pieces and add to the pot.
  • Bring to a boil and then keep it at a strong simmer or low boil for 2–4 hours.
  • Strain spices.
  • Remove what you need for the pie, and set it aside to cool.
  • Use the rest to drink, with natural sweetener and plant-based milk if you like.