National Cheesecake Day!

In honor of National Cheesecake day I have made a delish Vegan Cheesecake. As always I have put my own spin on a classic. I used Tofutti bran "Cream Cheese" I love it, I think in a blind taste test you really could not tell the difference. I am excited at how good it turned out! I brought it to my friends 40h birthday bash and it was a hit, I will make it again very soon. I only regret that I did not take a picture of it before it got cut and every last piece gone :) It is a good feeling when you bring something to a party and people like it!

let me know what you think, what is your favorite cheesecake recipe? I am up for the challenge, send me your favorite Cheesecake recipe and I will veganize it! Lets see what you come up with :)

Graham Cracker Crust

I used the Cat cookies from Trader Joe's (half of the tub)

1/2 cup of Earth Balance vegan butter (this is the very best)

heat the oven to 350

Melt the butter then put the cat cookies in the food processor and pulse and stream the butter in.

its done when it has a wet sand like consistency.

press the cookie mixture into a spring form pan, build up the sides a little bit more with your fingers.

bake for 8 minutes, take it out and make the filling.

(don't be surprised at how good the cat cookies are, I had them with some coffee)

Tofutti Cheesecake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Blend together:

3 tubs of Tofutti plain cream cheese (room temp)

1 cup of sugar (I used raw, use whatever you have)

1/4 cup of lemon juice

2 tsp of vanilla

1/4 whole wheat flour (this will give it a really nice nuttiness)

reserve the flour, Mix everything  else until creamy.

Fold in the whole wheat flour

Pour into  graham cracker crust  into the spring form pan.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until just brown.

Now here's the hard part: you have refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 8 hours.

Top with fruit or eat plain.

Sorry no photos but trust me it was really good, even my non vegan friends went back for a second piece :)

Stuffed Squash Blossoms

A nice trip to the Scottsdale Farmers Market (located on Shea & 93rd st) I found some beautiful Squash Blossoms. I have never cooked with them before but I have always seen how nice they looked on a plate. So I had made a batch of cashew cheeze so I figured I would fill the blossoms with the cashew cheeze. This was a little complicated because I have a fairly minimalist kitchen so I was without a pastry bag to pipe in the filling. Using my creative skills from my Mother I just used a plastic ziploc bag and cut a hole in the corner creating a make shift pastry bag. This recipe was a lot of fun and I served it with a very simple and light pasta dish. I will post both recipes below.

I learned that the farmers market is such a great place to find fruits and veg that you may never see in your local chain stores. Find your local farmers market and try some new foods, most of the time the farmers will have great suggestions on how to best prepare their foods. It is also a really great way to support you local farmers that are not polluting your food with chemicals and who knows what else. (oops I started to step up onto my soap box)

Do you have a farmers market that you love? Where is it? Why to you like it?

Crispy Stuffed Squash Blossoms

Ingredients

Squash Blossoms

Egg re-placer (water to activate)

Cashew Cheeze (recipe below)

Panko Bread Crumbs

S & P to taste

Oil to fry in (I like grapeseed oil)

Directions

First wash the squash blossoms and let them dry

Then begin to fill the blossoms with the cashew cheeze, do not over fill them. pipe in a thin line of cheeze

Next get 2 plates, one for the egg re-placer and one for the panko. season the panko with S & P

Next roll the stuffed blossoms in the egg replace then into the panko, then repeat one more time. you may need to press the panko onto the blossom a little.

Now heat the oil in a frying pan at about medium high heat, toss in a panko crumb to test the oil if it sizzles its ready to fry.

Fry them up till they are golden brown (this picture is funny) :)

Then drain them on to a paper bag with a cookie sheet underneath it (this is a great way to use all the paper bags you may have lying around)

That's it! now let them cool a little and enjoy! they have a really nice crispy outside and a nice savory, creamy inside. Give these a try they are a nice treat from your farmers market!

This is not the best picture but you get the idea. I hope this inspires you to try something new! See below for the pasta recipe and the cashew cheeze.

Cashew Cheeze

1 cup raw unsalted cashews

2 cups fresh water

1 clove garlic

S&P to taste

soak the cashews for at least 2 hours in the fresh water

drain the cashews, save the liquid

put the cashews into the food processor with the garlic and S&P.

let the processor fun and stream in the water until you get a hummus like consistency

refrigerate and then serve

****great on crackers, or thin it with some more water or veggie stock and turn it into a creamy pasta sauce with out the guilt!

Simple Light Pasta

1 package whole wheat pasta (any type you like)

5 cloves of garlic chopped (very small)

1/2 cup or more of really good EVOO - plus a splash for when you cook the garlic

1 bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped up

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flake (optional if you like the heat, and you know I do)

S & P to taste

Cook up the pasta according to the directions

In a small satay pan cook the garlic and crushed red pepper with a splash of EVOO

once the garlic is soft and toasty (not burned, be careful)

toss the pasta with the garlic and red pepper, add the EVOO and parsley

toss to combine everything then season with S&P

its really that easy! simple and delish

Sunny Dill Cheeze and School

I am so excited to start school on Monday, oh wow that tomorrow morning! I am embarking on a journey to become a Holistic Wellness Counselor, I am attending school through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. I am looking forward to learning and absorbing everything so that I can help others in there journey.
     One of the things I have always had an interest in is Raw eating, I have taken some classes and met some very brilliant people that are experts on Raw food. So in my own personal voyage to learn more about "cooking" Raw I am starting small with dips like this Cheeze spread. I am a really big fan of cashew cheeze (I make it often) so I was excited you use that same method with a summertime staple, Sunflower seeds! This version can be morphed to any ingredients you have on hand, you could change out the seeds for any other seeds or nuts. also you can change out the dill for what ever fresh herb you have, I love Thyme and Basil as well.

                                          I served it here as a spread on crackers with cucumber
Ingredients:

1 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds
2 cups water
1 lemon juiced
1 table spoon fresh chopped dill
S&P to taste

First soak the sunflower seeds in the water for at least one hour.  After the seeds have soaked strain them and save the soaking water. Put the seeds in your food processor, add the juice of one lemon and let her rip, slowly stream in the soaking liquid until you get a smooth consistency (think natural peanut butter) then add your dill and S&P and pulse the food processor until it gets combined. Place the mixture in a glass jar and store in the fridge. I like to let it chill for about 30 min then place it on your favorite cracker or on a cucumber slab! There are some really wonderful Raw crackers at your local Whole Foods, in fact did you know they have a Raw food section? Next time you are doing some shopping check it out! Or as always check your local farmers market for a Raw vendor and make them your new BFF.
How about you? Have you had any experience with Raw eating? Want to learn more? Look around for a free class in your area, they are not as hard to find as you may think!

Bruschetta and Summer

Sometime is in full swing here is Phoenix, it is so hot and my desire to turn on the oven is not happening. I want to focus this summer on using more raw and fresh ingredients. It feels like the body's natural desire is to have cooler foods in the summer, less effort to process and eating raw is a super nutritious way of eating. I am not saying this is a raw dish but there will be some raw food to come on my blog. For now I am just so excited about this Bruschetta, I love bread!!!  I will find any excuse to buy a beautiful fresh loaf of crusty goodness. The other day at the store I got some really great looking cherry tomato's, I thought that the little bites of bright freshness would be perfect for this dish. Yes this is a quite simple dish but I am struck with the punch of flavor and the simplicity of fresh ingredients, I made this a meal with a glass of wine. This is a great dish to make ahead and take to party's, picnics or just to have on hand for a few days to snack on (if it lasts that long)

Bruschetta
2 cups chopped fresh Tomato's (i used cherry's for this one but use any great looking cherry at your market)
2 large cloves of fresh garlic chopped
15 fresh basil leaves chopped
1/2 cup to 1/3 cup really good olive oil
1 table spoon of Balsamic Vinegar
S&P to taste (as always I go heavy on the pepper)

I may have gone heavy on the garlic but you can back off if you don't want garlic breath.

That's it, toss it all in a bowl and mix, I like to let it sit in the fridge for 30 min or so to let all the flavors mix and get friendly. Then as far the bread goes, you are only limited by your imagination. If you dig the crusty baguette go for it. For my gluten free friends this is a great opportunity to try some of the really great gluten free crackers, I have had some great ones. You could even slice cucumbers just like a loaf of bread and use that. Whatever makes you happy! I recommend you serve this with a nice glass of wine and just enjoy the freshness of summer!