Miso Salad Dressing

Sooo I have been obsessed...obsessed... with this miso salad dressing over the past few weeks. Throwing it over top of anything you could imagine, I don't see myself getting sick of it anytime soon. It's easy to make, relatively lowfat, and bursting with flavour! Sadly, I can't take credit for the recipe, but I can definitely tell you the best ways to indulge in it!
In the first dish, I sauteed shitake mushrooms in Bragg's, then tossed them with kale, diced red onion, and bean sprouts. om nom nom :)

...then I roasted butternut squash cubes in Bragg's and Mexican chili powder, and tossed it all with raw zucchini pasta noodles! Soooo delish!

I've also done half-dishes, with both zucchini and kale bases, with whatever else happens to be in my fridge.

Get creative, foodies! Use your imagination ;)

peace, love, food <3
Char, xo

Cheesy Bean Dip

On Sunday, I was still feeling pretty down in the morning, so I went and picked up my brother for company. We hadn't really spent time alone together in awhile, and it was nice to see him :)

...He is a big, growing 15-year-old who loves food. So when he said he was hungry, I knew he'd enjoy some nachos.
This recipe is so ridiculously easy to make, and filled him right up. When he ran out of chips, he just ate the rest with a spoon :) Kinda wish I had had some guacamole or Tofutti's Sour Supreme, but he loved this as is. He said it reminded him of the nachos w/ refried beans we had in Cabo San Lucas! Awesome :D Even more awesome? He says he likes Daiya cheese more than dairy cheese ;)
We watched movies and cartoons, talked and laughed. I am so thankful for my brother, so thankful for my family, so thankul for my friends <3

From my happy home to yours :) <3

Ingredients:
1 can beans in tomato sauce
1/3 cup Daiya cheddar cheese
optional: couple dashes of Tabasco sauce!

Serve with any of the following: nachos, salsa, guacamole, and/or Sour Supreme

Directions:
1) In a small pot over medium heat, warm beans and Daiya cheese until cheese is melted. Add Tabasco if desired.
2) Serve warm with any and all desired optional sides!

peace, love, food <3
Char, xo

Creamy Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Nom nom nom! :D

This is a slightly modified Spinach & Artichoke Dip recipe I swiped from http://vegweb.com/ that is amazingly delicious! (FYI: awesome resource for vegan recipes!) I've made this once before a few years ago for a friend's birthday, and everyone loved it! I made it again to bring to work with me last week, and again it was a hit!

After baking it, we topped it with freshly diced avocado & tomatoes. mmmmmmmm <3

We had a big appy night for dinner! Spinach & Artichoke Dip w/ tortilla chips, baked sweet potato fries w/ ketchup, and a yummy salad with sundried tomato dressing drizzled on top :)

The mods I made? I used extra nutritional yeast instead of vegan parmesan, and I used Daiya cheddar cheese for topping...and then of course the avocado :) Results were perfect <3

peace, love, food :)
Char, xo

Herbed Cream Cheese, RAW

Mmmmm, yeah I did :)
I had some raw bagels that Lolo had given me when I visited her. They were from 'LIVE' raw restaurant, & they were begging for some cream cheese :D
I put on my creative pants & went to work. I figured a cheesy herbed cream cheese would be nummy: I figured right. Also, I added in celery to reduce the fat, while also cutting the need for added sodium. Ooooooo, look at me go ;) Fantastic on top of the bagels, it was even more awesome in a recipe that I'll share in another post!

Enjoy, Rawkstars ;)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup cashews, soaked
1/4 cup water
1/2 bunch chives
1/2 bunch oregano
3 tbs nutritional yeast
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup celery, chopped

Directions:
1) In a food processor, process cashews until finely chopped. Add in water, chives, oregano, nutritional yeast, & garlic. Continue to process until creamy.
2) Lastly, add in the celery. Process until well-combined & a smooth texture is created. 
3) Store in a jar in the fridge, until cooled. Serve on bagels, crackers, etc.

peace, love, food <3
Char, xo

Dilly Bean Dip

OHHH EMM GEEE!!!
Needing to use up the last lil bit of dill I had was half the inspiration for this recipe. Then, I had to think to myself, “What the hey do I have lying around that I can mix with it?” Answer? Beeeeeaaaaaannnnnssss!! I lovelovelove beans: they are one of the reasons I have not gone totally raw (grains are the other reason <3). Whether they are in wraps, burritos, mixed with rice, or just eaten straight from the can w/ a spoon, I can’t get enough of these fart makers. Yeah, I said it.
This is really garlicky, but if you want it less so…then do it :) I love garlic, & garlic loves me! This is really good spread in a wrap with veggies, used as a veggie or chip dip, served with salsa or guacamole...whatever you wanna do with it! Go crazy :)

From my kitchen to yours <3

Ingredients:
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 can mixed beans, 540ml, drained & rinsed
½ bunch dill
Sea salt, to taste

Directions:
1) Toss all ingredients in a food processor, & process until smooth.
2) Scoop dip into a bowl.
3) Serve with salsa, guacamole, & your favourite veggies for dipping!

Peace, love, food <3

Char, xo

Kreamy Dill Sauce

So sometimes, I eat something that I haven’t eaten in awhile, & then I crave it like mad until I eat so much of it that my liver hates me. In this case it was dill.
Since having that 'surprise' of dill in our rawzagna, I had been craving it baaaaaad, & I needed it to happen with my tastebuds again soon! & so, I created this :)
This sauce is kreamy, delicious, & has a perfect bite to it. I tossed it in zucchini & carrot ‘pasta’ (made using my spiralizer) with mushrooms, & at another dinner added in salsa, frozen corn & peas. You could also put it in a wrap, spread it on a veggie burger…use your imagination! Get creative ;) There's no end to what you can do with this recipe.

From my kitchen, to yours <3

Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup zucchini, chopped
1/2 an avocado, pitted
1-2 tbs dijon mustard (depending on how much 'bite' you want)
2 stalks fresh dill
sea salt, to taste

Directions:
1) Combine all ingredients except sea salt in a food processor. Process until kreamy.
2) Season with sea salt, to taste.
3) Use in your favourite dish :)

Peace, Love, Food

Char, xo

Let's Salsa! Get Your Spicy On ;)

Look how beeaauuutiful!! :) I'm in love with colourful food. The longer you let this salsa marinate, the better it will taste. It gives the flavours time to bind with each other, & makes it all the more delicious :) I made this before going to bed, & left it in the fridge for 15 hours before sampling. (Try going to sleep with garlic fingers. Pretty damn near impossible.) My whole fridge smells like garlic now! :) Ahhhhhhh, such a beautiful smell!
Anyhoo, I tried this both with my celery sticks, as well as raw crackers. Both ways were soooooo yummy, but I try to stick more with veggies when I can.
I normally hate cilantro, but I'm finding that when I put it in something (or someone else who knows how to prepare food properly does it), that I'm actually starting to like it. So, it's in a very small amount in this salsa. If you love cilantro, go ahead & add more. If you're like me, be delicate with it ;) Oh, & of course I added the jalapeno for spiciness...I think next time I'll use the whole jalapeno instead of just half. I loooooove spicy!!

From my spicy kitchen to yours <3

Ingredients:
9 tomatoes, diced
1 large yellow pepper, diced
1 large orange pepper, diced
1/2 white onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced
3-4 tbs fresh cilantro, chopped
sea salt, to taste

Directions:
1) In a large bowl, stir all ingredients together until mixed well.
2) Let flavours marinate together overnight in fridge.
3) Serve with celery sticks, raw crackers, and/or guacamole.
4) Om nom nom

Char xo

Veggie Cheeze & Crackers!!

I have never, ever made crackers before, so this was pretty fun :) A friend of mine found some recipes for crackers & feta cheeze, but they were both baked. I wanted it raw! ;)
She sent me the links, & I used the basic ideas for these crackers & this feta & pate combined, & just made them into my own raw version. I honestly started out making the feta (but with sunflower seeds instead of almonds), & then remembered all of the veggies in my fridge screaming to be consumed. "Okay, okay, I heard you!" So then I used some basic ideas from the veggie pate.
Sooo yeah. I'm sure you're getting a pretty clear idea by now of how my mind works when I'm creating recipes. I start with an idea, & it evolves as I go along. By the way: I like garlic. A lot. If you don't love it, I recommend cutting down the amount I use in any recipe.
These crackers & veggie cheeze dip are sooooooooo yummy!! And wow, the smell in my kitchen as they dehydrated :) *siiiiiiiighhh* I can't remember the last time I ate crackers before today, but I'm definitely enjoying these!

From my kitchen, to yours <3

Cracker Ingredients:
3/4 cup walnuts
1 tsp sea salt
4 cloves garlic
2 tbs fresh basil
2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup flaxmeal
2 roma tomatoes
2 tbs coconut oil

Cracker Directions:
1) Process walnuts, sea salt, & garlic together. Add basil, oregano, & flaxmeal. Continue to process.
2) Lastly, add tomatoes & coconut oil, & process until smooth.
3) Spread batter evenly onto dehydrator tray. Dehydrate crackers at 104 degrees for 12 hours, or until crisp. You may need to turn some of them over & let them dehydrate for another hour.

Veggie Cheeze Dip Ingredients:
1 cup sunflower seeds
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp sea salt
2 tbs fresh basil
2 tsp dried oregano
1 zuchinni
1 cup celery
1 large orange pepper
1/2 large red pepper
3 tbs olive oil
juice from 1 lemon (about 2tbs)
2 tbs Bragg's liquid aminos
1 tbs almond butter

Veggie Cheeze Dip Directions:
1) Process sunflower seeds, sea salt, & garlic; add basil & oregano & continue to process.
2) Slowly add in the zuchinni, celery, & peppers; continue to process.
3) Add olive oil, lemon juice, & bragg's to your food processor; continue to process.
4) Lastly, add the almond butter, & process until smooth.
5) Serve immediately w/ crackers or veggies, or store in the fridge for later.

Btw, you see the green bulbous part next to my finger in the red pepper? EAT IT!! It is seriously the best part of the pepper. Pwease do not composte deliciousness :)

Happy munching :)

Char xo

RAWSOME PEANUT SAUUUCE!!

omgomgomg, waaaaaay stoked about this!! It is so so so soooooooo yummayy!! It tasted exactly like the last peanut sauce I made, except that, um, there were no peanuts, & it's raw :) So awesome.
You can serve this with whatever you like; I meant for my carrot/celery concoction to look more like a slaw than mush, but it still tasted amazing. The addition of garlic & ginger in the veggies was def important (or put it in your grains, whatevs).
I seriously could not wait to post this, and I cannot wait for you to try it! Please let me know what you think, and/or post any modifications & recommendations. It is sooooo easy to make this; take a few simple ingredients, & a few simple seconds :)
I was starting to get moody & b*tchy on my cleanse, and I'm just barely halfway through. Then I realized; I'm just BORED! I was eating the same damn thing every damn day, and my body had had it. No wonder I was fighting cravings! I feel much, much better after having this, as well as some Char Stars, & some raw oatmeal raisin cookies. I may have indulged more than I should have at once, but rather than feeling sick after, I felt better. I had focussed so much on veggies that I had forgotten how much I needed "heavier" & filling foods. (Also, my metabolism is up so high it's kinda scaring me, haha, so I've been eating waaaaay more than normal.) Veggies & fruits are important, but so are fats ;)

**Also discovered the next day that by adding a teeny bit of water, a delicious salad dressing is born!! Yum, yum, yummy!!
From my kitchen, to yours <3

Ingredients:

Sauce:
1/4 cup almond butter
1/4 cup Bragg's liquid soy seasoning
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp ginger (powder or grated fresh)

Veggies:
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large carrots
3 stalks celery
2 tbs white onion
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ginger

Quinoa:
1 cup sprouted quinoa
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp sea salt
Directions:
1) Combine all sauce ingredients in Magic Bullet or small blender. Puree until smooth; set aside.
2) Chop all veggie mixture ingredients in food processor; set aside.
3) Mix sprouted quinoa with garlic, ginger, & sea salt.
4) Divide the quinoa in half, & spread on two plates. Top with half the veggie mixture, & half the peanut sauce.
4) Enjoy :)

Char xo

Cashew Cheese Sauce w/ Broccoli

mmmmmmmmmm, yummay! This was the result of my "oh crap, I need to use up my lemon, broccoli, & soaked cashews!" moment. I tossed a few things into my food processor, and success! Another yummy raw cheese sauce! (And I like this one better. Left in the fridge overnight, it starts to resemble cream cheese! mmmmmm!!!)
This is a perfect example of the beauty of raw foods; there are a few staples you should always have on hand (nuts, seeds, lemons, dates, spices), and you can pretty much making anything you want! I want cheese sauce? I don't have to run to the store for soy milk, soy cheese, soy butter. I don't have to cook it. I throw 4 or 5 ingredients in a processor and my meal is ready. And this is definitely way better for my body, my digestive system, my taste buds, and the planet. It's like win-win-win-win! Love it.
The Bragg's aminos called for in the recipe adds an extra bit of "awesome" to this yummy sauce. Serve it on broccoli, asparagus, greens, etc.

Ingredients:
1 cup cashews, soaked
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp Original Herbamare
2 tbs Bragg's Liquid Aminos
3 tbs nutritional yeast
2-3 tbs water, or as needed

Directions:
1) Process cashews, garlic, and herbamare until cashews are finely ground.
2) Add remaining ingredients and continue to process.
3) Serve with whatever your heart desires <3

***IMPORTANT NOTE***I am leaving for Mexico in the morning, and won't be back until the 28th. I won't have internet access, so there will be no more posts until then. BUT I have one ready for when I get home (titled 'Coconut Softies,' lovelovelove!!), and I have yet another recipe idea up my sleeve ;) See you guys in 9 days!! :D I promise to post photos of all the yummy nummy foods I discover while I'm there. Love you, Canada!

xoxo,
Char

PEANUT SAAAUUUCE :)

While this is definitely not raw, it is yummay!! I made it a few months ago, while doing respite care. The girls I work with had a Rebar cookbook, so we used a recipe from it as a guideline.
Rebar is a restaurant in Victoria, BC that is apparently incredible. I'm dying to try it. They also sell bars in health food stores as well as major grocery chains. The bars are supposed to be really yummy, too, but I also have yet to try them.
We all loved this peanut sauce, though :) You could pretty much eat it with a spoon, but it compliments stirfried veggies & rice nicely. I'm definitely going to try to find a way to create a raw version... :D I know it'll be easy enough.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs minced ginger
2 tbs agave nectar
1 tbs sesame oil
1 tbs sambal oelek
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbs rice wine vinegar

Directions:
1) Mix together all ingredients in a sauce pan and warm over medium heat. Serve with rice, noodles, veggies, etc.

The update on my food processor: I'm going to try taking it back to Costco and see if they'll do an exchange for me. ("PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE!!") Since the tragic demise of my kitchen friend, I've been eating salad, fruit, & larabars like no other. I want my toy back :'(

Much love <3
Char

Raw Nutella!! :)

Soooooo, remember that chocolate monster I was telling you about? Yeah, she was screaming loud & clear again. So I had to feed her.
I was given this recipe by my awesome friend (and fellow raw foodie) Katie Harris. It is amazing!! When she originally gave me the recipe, she told me it didn't taste completely like nutella, but that it was still delicious. Looking at the ingredients and remembering that nutella is made with skim milk, I made a couple tweaks to the recipe. First, I added more vanilla extract. Next, I used my raw vanilla almond mylk instead of water. It now tastes exactly like nutella :) I was eating it by the spoonful before the willpower superhero inside of me told me to step back and jar it. I like all of my nut butters mashed into banana (and Katie said this is also her favourite way to eat nutella). Believe me, after I took the picture and before I ate it, it definitely didn't look that pretty. I destroyed it with my spoon before digging into it. My brother couldn't stop talking about it after I gave him a spoonful. He is a big fan of nutella.

Though I always soak my nuts before using them in any recipe, it's highly recommended to do that for this one. It will make for a creamier consistency. Enjoy :)

Ingredients:
2 cups hazelnuts, soaked
2 tbs coconut oil
1/2 cup raw vanilla almond mylk
1 tbs vanilla extract
2 tbs agave nectar
1/2 cup cacao powder
pinch sea salt

Directions:
1) For a chunkier consistency, throw all ingredients into food processor and let 'em work together. For a smoother consistency, process the hazelnuts until fine first, and slowly add remaining ingredients.
2) Devour with sliced bananas or grab a spoon.

"Grilled" Asparagus with Cheezy Sauce (Raw)

OH. EM. EFF. GEE. This seriously has a bite to it, like sharp cheddar. So deliciously fantastic in every way <3 I took the idea from Ani Phyo's uncook book, but changed the cheezy sauce to make it mine. You must try it this way!!
While nutritional yeast is not a raw product, it is a great source of vitamin B12 (an essential nutrient for vegans), and it lends a yummy, cheesy flavour. This is why I used it in the recipe.
Mustard powder helps lend something to the cheesy flavour, also. (You could also use ordinary mustard, if you don't need it to be totally raw).
I put 4 cloves of garlic in this. If you truly love garlic like I do, follow my lead. If not, use only 2. Your call. Four of us tried this. Two thought it had too much garlic, and the other two (including myself) thought it was perfect.
You don't have to dehydrate the asparagus. It just gives it that "grilled" texture.
After I was done chomping the asparagus, I put my leftover cheezy sauce on top of mixed greens with some Bragg's liquid soy seasoning. MMMMMMMMMMMM!!! I can't even describe the mouth-gasms I had today. So delicious, so versatile. Try it, try it!!

Ingredients:
1 bunch asparagus, chopped
1 tbs olive oil
sea salt, to taste

Sauce:
2-4 cloves garlic
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup sunflower seeds
2 tbs lemon juice, from about one lemon
2 tbs nutritional yeast
1-2 tsps mustard powder
1/4 cup water

Directions:
1) To soften asparagus, dehydrate at 104 degrees for 30mins to an hour. This is optional.
2) Toss asparagus in olive oil and sea salt. Set aside.
3) For the sauce, process garlic and sea salt in a food processor. Add sunflower seeds and continue to process.
4) Add lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and mustard powder. Process, gradually adding water.
5) Arrange asparagus on a plate, and pour sauce on top. Ta-da!! Wasn't that easy? :)

Raw Veggie Pasta Sauce

Isn't it beeeaauutiful?? :) Oh my gosh, I could just eat the picture! So simple, so few ingredients, but it tasted tangy, light, and clean! I love that beautiful taste of freshness. I bought too many peppers again, and I'm really trying to break away from my constant habit of making stuffed peppers to use them up, haha. Until now, I'd never thought to make them into a sauce. Yep, this sauce is made almost entirely of peppers. You can use any colour that tickles your fancy; I used orange & yellow. Hence, the pretty colour atop my zuchinni "pasta noodles." To add more protein to it, you can either process almonds (with maybe a bit of water, salt, and minced garlic), and put the crumbles on top, OR you can crumble up a raw sun burger patty. I chose the latter. I had a couple sun burgers left, and didn't want to eat them all the same way. I'm finding how quickly I get bored when I eat the same things everyday. I used to do that a lot, but not so much anymore.

This is a picture of my pasta with the sun burger crumbles. Yumyumyummy :) It was completely filling, satisfying, and delicious in every possible way. You can slice the zuchinni "pasta" by using a potato peeler, or use one of your fancy-schmancy kitchen gadgets if you have one.
Meals like this are also perfect for celiacs, or for people who have a hard time digesting gluten (ie. me). Even though this is very filling, it's very gently on your tummy :) I hope you love it.




Ingredients:
1 medium zuchinni, sliced into long, spaghetti-like strands
1 small orange pepper
1 small yellow pepper
1/4 avocado
1 tbs lemon juice (from half a lemon)
sea salt to taste

Directions:
1) Arrange "pasta" on a plate and set aside.
2) In a food processor, process all remaining ingredients until smooth.
3) Pour sauce on top of pasta. Top with crumbles of your choice, if you like.

MY Guacamole ;)

I loooove guacamole! Avocados are one of the earth's most delicious gifts. (Did you know that in Mexico it's called the poor man's butter?) I had some of the "not so pretty" parts of broccoli and celery just chillin' (literally) in the fridge and wanted to use them in a mix. I'm bored of the stuffed pepper idea (and believe me, I have too many peppers again!), so I decided to toss one of my very ripe avocados in there. Suddenly I was like, "heeeey...this is guacamole!" But you might also know by now, too, that I like colour in my dishes. They always need to be pretty. I feel so much more proud when they are as appealing to the eye as they are to the taste buds. So I threw in some carrots to make a mix of orange and green :) Served with one bell pepper and one stalk of celery (both chopped) for dipping, this was a super healthy, yummy meal that took seconds to create!

Ingredients:
1 avocado, pitted
1 large carrot
3/4 cup broccoli
1/4 cup celery
2 tbs onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1tbs lemon juice (from half a lemon)
1 tsp sea salt

Directions:
1) Chop 'em all in your food processor. Serve with veggies for dipping.

Mushroom Gravy!! (raw)

Good gravy, was this ever yummy!! To be honest, the recipe wasn't mine at all, but I wanted to try a raw gravy, and wasn't really sure how to make one. I used Ani Phyo's mushroom gravy recipe. At first when I saw the apple cider vinegar as an ingredient, I started thinking "ummmmm, what?" but I promise, it's really good :) All the ingredients work beautifully together, and it has a nice "clean" taste to it (I love how clean raw food tastes in general).
While Ani's gravy recipe is recommended to go on polenta and mushroom ragout, I didn't have all those ingredients. I did, however, have broccoli :) Gorgeous little calcium trees. The idea, though, of pouring gravy on top of cold broccoli wasn't super appealing, and I wanted to keep the dish totally raw; so I used my dehydrator. Not to dry out the broccoli, just to "warm" it. One hour in the dehydrator at 104 degrees is perfect :) Happy chowing!

Ingredients:
1/3 cup olive oil
3/4 cup mushrooms, chopped (I used portabella)
1/3 cup water
1 1/2tsp apple cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions:
1) Blend all ingredients. Pour on top of whatever you think needs gravy! ;)

Cashew-Broccoli Hummus, Raw

OHHHHHHH BABY!! This is a yummy nummy, super duper hummus that tastes waaaaay better than any hummus I've ever bought (and I love my hummus!). You probably know by now that my recipes tend to be a result of what I have on hand, and what needs to be used up. Well, I had some soaked cashews in the fridge for a few days, and I've got a LOT of broccoli (I dearly love those little green trees <3). My original plan was to make a cashew hummus, and dip the broccoli in it. Because I didn't have a recipe, this all kinda happened on a whim. I'd accidentally made my hummus too watery, and needed to make it thicker. Sooooo, in came some broccoli to save the day! Now it's a perfect carrot dip! (Though I may dip with broccoli, too. Just because I can.) It takes seconds to make, seconds to clean up, and is delish! You must try!

Ingredients:
1 cup + 2tbs cashews, soaked
juice from 1/2 lemon (1tbs)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup water
1 cup broccoli, chopped
2tbs onion, chopped
1 tsp sea salt, or to taste

Directions:
1) Throw it all in a food processor for about 30 seconds. Enjoy spread on a sandwich, or dip with your favourite veggies :)

Creamy Lemon Dilly Dressing

I am sooooooo excited about how versatile this dressing is!! It is creamy, rich, full-flavoured, and it works in pretty much ANYTHING! I used it first on my salad, then drizzled on some stuffed peppers, and finally as the dressing for potato salad. It's pretty similar to a creamy ranch dressing, in taste, texture and smell. I didn't mean for it to turn out that way, so that's kinda cool. As a seasoning, I used another Victorian Epicure spice (Lemon Dill flavour), but if you don't have that, you could probably sub in about 3 teaspoons of dried dill, and a tablespoon of lemon juice (juice from half a lemon). Victorian Epicure is made from a blend of dried seasonings, herbs, veggies, and spices. If you
haven't tried them yet, do so. I promise you'll fall in love (if you're as passionate a foodie as I am).
 
In case you're curious about the stuffed pepper, I just tossed a stalk of brocolli, one carrot, 2 cloves of garlic and some sea salt in my food processor. What I couldn't fit into my peppers, I put on top of my brother's salad for him, and he loved it. For the potato salad, I used 2 russet potatoes, diced, boiled them in hot water until tender, and then let them cool in the fridge. Tossed 'em together with a chopped carrot, a stalk of celery also chopped, 2 tablespoons of chopped white onions, and 2 tablespoons of the lemon dilly dressing! Served over a bed of baby greens, it was a yummy, filling lunch.
 
Ingredients:
1/2 cup macadamia butter
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
4 tsps Victorian Epicure, lemon dill
2 tsps agave nectar
sea salt & black pepper to taste
 
Directions:
1) Blend all ingredients together, and enjoy :)

Chocolate-Drizzled Grapefruit

I would like to first warn those who became frustrated easily, and have a sensitivity to low blood sugar (ie. ME or anyone else in my family). Especially if it's your first time cutting a grapefruit, PLEASE don't do it when you're hungry! When I'm hungry, I have a pretty short temper. Sorry, it's true. Thank GOD that I wasn't hungry when I was actually preparing the grapefruit. That being said, this was a pretty yummy treat. After cutting the grapefruit into eighths using a large knife, I used a small knife to get the peel and the white skin off. It's not really that much of a pain in the butt, as long as you are prepared and know that it takes longer to cut than, say, an apple.
Anyhoo, the chocolate drizzle is very bitter, but it is offset by the sweetness of the grapefruit. If you prefer a sweeter chocolate, feel free to add agave nectar to taste (probably 1-2 tsp would be plenty). You may also serve this with any fruit; I just happened to be given 3 grapefruits, and I gotta make use of 'em :) This would also be tasty to coat the slices of fruit entirely in the chocolate. Totally up to you!

Ingredients:
1 grapefruit, cut into 1/8ths, peel removed
2 1/2 tbs liquid coconut oil
2 1/2 tbs cacao powder (cocoa powder is fine if that's all you have)
agave nectar, to taste (optional)

Directions:
1) If you need to liquidate the oil, you can do so on the lowest setting on your stove, removing as soon as the liquid forms in order to avoid heating (if you want to keep it raw). You may also place your container of coconut oil in a bowl of warm water, and scrape the liquid that forms at the top. 2) Wisk coconut oil, cacao powder, and if using, agave nectar.
3) Drizzle chocolate over grapefruit, and serve immediately.

Kreamy Curry Dressing

I have a salad everyday, with lunch, dinner, or whatever. I love salad. But I have gotten waaaay too comfy with the oil & balsamic vinegar combo. The avocado-orange dressing was a nice change, but I don't always have avocados lying around (they take forever to ripen, and spoil too quickly after). Anyhoo, the other day, I ate my salad again, with the oil & vinegar again, and pretty much decided in that moment that balsamic vinegar is gross. Not forever gross, just I'm-totally-sick-of-it-gross. Sooooo this gave me incentive to try Ani Phyo's curry dressing. I take absoultely no credit for this recipe, but you have to try it if you're a fan of curry! It's really, really good with mushrooms in the salad, too :) mmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Ingredients:
1 apple, diced
1 clove garlic
1 tbs grated ginger
1 tbs curry powder
juice of 1 lemon (2tbs)
1 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions:
1) Blend it, pour it, taste it, love it :)