asian kale salad

I came up with this salad a few months ago when a craving struck for a raw kale salad. I love the crunch of this salad paired with the Asian inspired dressing.

Asain Kale Salad

For the dressing::

• 1 inch piece ginger
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons tamari
• 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons water

Combine all in a food processor until smooth. Set aside.

For the salad::

• 2 cups shredded green cabbage
• 2 cups shredded red cabbage
• 1 cup thinly sliced green bell pepper
• 2 cups chopped kale
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced yellow onion
• 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Combine everything, reserving one tablespoon of the sesame seeds, in a large bowl. Toss in dressing and set aside.

Right before serving, top with reserved sesame seeds and a few sprigs of cilantro.

Other optional toppings::

• Tamari roasted peanuts
• Cubed tofu

nic's birthday weekend

Similar to four years ago, for Nic's 24th birthday, I surprised him with a weekend in Chicago for his 28th birthday a few weekends ago.

Although things didn't go exactly as planned, it was a great weekend that is one that won't be forgotten any time soon.

We headed out late Friday night, stopped at New Pioneer Coop to pick up some dinner and snacks for the road. We pulled into Chicago late enough to pay for the $50 parking at the hotel and hit the sack.

Saturday morning we headed out to Michigan Ave to make a quick stop at the Apple store to get Nic a new phone (there was a problem with his iPhone and thankfully it was still under warranty so he was able to swap it out for a new one). I grabbed a shiny new case for my phone as I had broken it a few days prior.

We then walked a very chilly 1.5 miles to the Chicago French Market and had a sample of some amazing raw food from RAW. This stop inspired my new favorite dessert - ever.

 



When we visit Chicago, we walk everywhere. Literally.

But this weekend was absolutely chill-you-to-the-bone cold. So we flagged down a cab for a ride back to the hotel.

A 1.5 mile ride that was well worth the money.

Until we realized my iPhone had fallen out of my jacket pocket in the cab. Crap. We called it and spoke with the cab driver, who said he would drop it off at the hotel in a few minutes.

So while we waited for our car, we tracked my phone.

We continued to wait.

We continued to track.



More tracking. And more waiting.

There were multiple times we thought the phone was only a few minutes from being returned, but after an hour of waiting, we decided to move on to our next location.

We told that valet that a cab was going to be returning my phone, and hoped for the best.



We had some fun at the Science and Industry Museum.





And made sure to get our money's worth (parking and tickets were expensive!!).







After a few hours exploring the museum, we tracked the phone again. This time, instead of hopping around downtown, it looked like my phone was remaining stationary in one place on the north end of Chicago.

We decided to see how close we could get, hoping the cab driver was still in his cab accepting fares.

Although we didn't have a definite plan, we were hoping that we could catch him between fares and simply ask for the phone back.

Naive much?

Once we pulled into the neighborhood, I knew were weren't getting the phone back. We were able to track it to one house, wrote down the address and headed to the police station.

They suggested we send another message to the phone telling whomever had it to meet us at Dunkin Donuts and we would trade cash for the phone.

Message sent.

And we waited again.



And waited some more.



Not wanting to waste our entire weekend waiting, we headed to the Chicago Diner for dinner.


(source)

What a treat after a long, stressful day. The Chicago Diner exceeded expectations and even Nic, the non-vegan of the house, enjoyed dinner.

We headed back to the hotel to get ready for Nic's birthday present - a showing of Green Day's "American Idiot" at the Oriental Theater.





The show was great - amazing music and a great story.

Sunday morning we stopped for brunch at Karyn's on Green, ate some more amazing vegan food and enjoyed a few drinks before heading back to Iowa.



But not before stopping by our second police station for the weekend to fill out a stolen property report.



Surprisingly, we were contacted by a detective the next day who is following up on my stolen phone. Although I don't have high hopes that I will be getting it back, I am impressed at the work that is being done to locate it.

Although it sucks that I lost my phone, the real kick-to-the-pants, punch-to-the-face is that I had just purchased a new case for it less than an hour prior. And of course, I swapped out the case at the store, instead of waiting until we got back to the hotel to do so.

Here's hoping...right??

lemon raspberry cheesecake {nearly raw + nearly vegan}

Nic and I spent a bitterly cold weekend in Chicago that one weekend when the Midwest was experiencing bitterly cold weather.

It never fails, when we go to Chicago, it is cold.

Perhaps that is because we always go in February, but still. In a winter when we have been relishing the warmer temps, it had to be cold {and windy} when we made the trek to the windy city.

Despite the frigid temps (and a stolen iPhone) we had a great time paying far too much for parking and cabs, catching a Broadway show (American Idiot) at the Oriental Theater, visiting the Museum of Science and Industry and indulging in some fantastic vegan food.

Oh yeah - a weekend in Chicago to celebrate Nic's 28th birthday, and we ate vegan 100% of the time.

He was pleased.

Seriously.

Since weekend trips {and vacations, of course} are all about eating with just enough culture mixed in, you can bet that I spent most of our time looking up places to grab our next meal, or coffee + a snack. And our first destination on Saturday morning was the Chicago French Market where we made a b-line to RAW.

As we were browsing the selection of possible morning snacks, we were treated to a few samples. A raw brownie (good, but not earth shattering), a raw nacho cheese cracker (amazing!), and a small taste of the raw lemon square (to die for).

I asked the owner if she would share the recipe, which she didn't, but did give me a run down of what was in it - giving me a good road map on how to create this at home.

And that is where the inspiration for this dessert comes it. Nic and I left that morning, vowing to stop again on our way out of town to pick up a full sized version of the lemon square for the road. And although our plans changed just a bit (making a stop at a Chicago Police Department instead of the French Market on our way out of town) the taste of this dessert never left my mind.



Nearly Raw Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake
This seriously might be one of the best desserts I have ever made. I used to make cheesecakes for every single family function, and since becoming vegan, these have been {noticeably} absent, much to my family's displeasure. This dessert will fill that void and surpass all expectations. Some may not even realize they are eating a cheesecake sans the cheese. Lemony, tangy, and stunningly beautiful, this dessert is sure to please.


In the mix::

Crust  

• 1 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 10 dates
• 1/2 t vanilla
• pinch salt

Lemon Cheesecake Layer  

• 1 cup cashews (soaked 8 hour or overnight)
• zest of 1.5-2 lemons
• juice of 2 lemons (1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup coconut cream
• 1/4 cup honey (could use other liquid sweetener for a 100% vegan dessert)
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/4 t salt

Raspberry Topping* 

• 2 cups frozen raspberries
• 2 T honey
• 1-2 t cornstarch

To Prepare::

Crust

Place the nuts, dates, vanilla and salt in a food processor and pulse until a fine crumb forms and holds its shape when squeezed into a ball. Press into an 8" x 8" pan and place in the fridge.

Lemon Cheesecake Layer

Give the cashews a good rinse (after soaking) and place into a blender with lemon zest, juice, coconut cream (the cream that forms on top of a can of full-fat coconut milk when refrigerated), honey, vanilla and salt. Blend until smooth and creamy. Take some time at this step using a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender to make sure you end up with an ultra creamy consistency.

I used the zest of 1.5 lemons for my first trial, but would increase it the next time I make it. The zest is key!

Pour batter onto the chilled crust using a spatula to smooth it out. Cover with saran wrap and place in the freezer while you prepare the topping.

Raspberry Topping - Cooked Version

This is the method I used, but I will suggest a raw version below.

In a small saucepan, heat the raspberries and honey over medium heat. As they thaw and begin to break apart, add cornstarch and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Allow to cool in the fridge.

Raspberry Topping - Raw Version

This is the method I was hoping to use, but was out of chia seeds.

Allow raspberries to thaw in a bowl. Stir in honey and break the raspberries apart with a fork. Stir in two tablespoons of chia seeds and set aside, allowing to gel for at least 15 minutes. Although I haven't tried this variation yet, I am confident it will work. You could also use ground chia seeds.

When the lemon cheesecake layer is firm, carefully spread the raspberries on top. Cover and allow to chill in freezer (for a firmer cheesecake) or fridge (for an ultra creamy cheesecake).

We brought this to a dinner party on Friday night and got rave reviews. It hadn't been in the freezer for too long before we had to leave, so the consistency of the lemon layer was very creamy.

We brought the left overs to a dinner party on Sunday night and got rave reviews. It had been in the freezer since Friday, and even after letting it set on the counter while we ate dinner, it was still a bit frozen when we dug our forks in. Still amazing, but the creamier it is when you serve it, the better.

Our friend, who loves cheesecake, admitted that if I hadn't told her it was made from cashews, she would not have even asked. She said this as she was sharing the last creamy square with her two year old son. I asked why she was wasting it on him and not sharing with me. I was only kidding, sort of. Instead I reached for the pan and picked at the leftover crumbs. You simply cannot waste such a good thing.



Make this dessert and fool all of the cheesecake lovers in your life.

Make this dessert and hide it in the back of your freezer, pulling a piece out to indulge in when no one else is around.

Delicious Variation - make a cheesecake parfait. Grab a pretty glass and layer with the a sprinkle of the nutty crust, lemon cheesecake filling and raspberry topping, repeating until the glass is full.

frozen chocolate mousse

We were invited over to our friends house for a BBQ on Friday night. We were told to bring something to grill and a dish to share. I scoured to "Food to Eat" board on Pinterest and this raw brownie recipe jumped out at me as something easy and quick to prepare.

Unfortunately due to a few liberties I took with the recipe, the dish was not ready by the time we were to head over for the BBQ.

What a blessing in disguise! While I am sure my friends would have loved this dish (no matter how much they would have mocked me for making another dessert from dates + nuts), I absolutely love the dish and am happy to keep it all to myself. I guess I have shared a few bites with Nic...

Frozen Chocolate Mousse with a Raw Brownie Crust
Whipping the frozen bananas in the food processor creates a delicately light "mousse" that is best served right out of the freezer. While this dish is good enough to serve to your friends, take a cue from me and hide it in the deepest corner of your freezer and save it all for yourself!



In the mix::
For the raw brownie base - 

• 1 cup pitted dates
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1/2 t vanilla
• pinch salt

For the chocolate mousse - 

• 2 chopped bananas, frozen
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup cocoa powder (to taste)
• 4 T cashew/peanut butter (or other nut butter)
• 4 T honey (use maple syrup for a vegan dish)
• 1/2 t vanilla
• pinch salt

To prepare the brownie base::
In a food processor, add all brownie ingredients and process until finely chopped and will hold together when you form a small bit of the dough into a ball. Press firmly into an 8" x 8" pan. Set aside.

To prepare the chocolate mousse::
In a food processor (it is not necessary to clean the bowl, just make sure all big crumbs have been scrapped out), add the frozen bananas and process until smooth and creamy. Add cocoa powder, cashew-peanut butter, honey, vanilla and salt. Process until mixed. Spread mousse onto brownie crust, cover and place in freezer until firm.



These are best serve right from the freezer - the mousse will be firm but not frozen. Delicious topped with a strawberry!



The raw brownie crust was a great base for the mousse. Chocolaty with just a hint of saltiness and chew.  As I type this I am already thinking of the next version of this dish - raw chocolate chip cookie dough with frozen peanut butter mousse - heck yes.

Who am I kidding, if you let these sit at room temperature for just a few minutes, the frozen mousse turns into a chocolate pudding and is equally delicious!



Having a Labor Day BBQ? You could be nice and make a pan of these to share with your friends. I know I will.