Naraya Cooking Health Recipe

if you want this recipe to be 100% raw, don't worry about the terryaki tofu and potato, you can use your fave raw vegan cheese or nut pate if you want. also, use sprouts instead of rice. buuuuuuut... i suggest making the tofu and potato with rice. so worth it.

the black rice really raised the meal to another level of sophistication (and good health, of course). it's an intriguing sight and fun to cook because the water turns dark purple. spooky. you could instead use brown rice or quinoa or whatever whole grain you have.

as usual - try to get organic ingredients, and better yet, get the veggies from your garden!


terryaki tofu rolls with avocado, potato, cucumber & black rice: serves 3-4

1 package tofu
2 potatoes 
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons tamari
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons liquid smoke (i used mesquite)
1/2 cucumber
1 avocado
1 cup black rice recommended
nori sheets

cook the rice as directed. cut the tofu, potato, cucumber and avocado into long strips. sautee the tofu, potato and garlic in the tamari, liquid smoke and olive oil. spread the rice onto the nori sheets and lay down all the ingredients (including the tofu and stuff). roll in up and slice with a sharp knife into rolls. serve with tamari for dipping.

• 1 can cannellini beans (15oz), drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cauliflower
• 1 to 1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 3 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 1 large shallot or 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• himalayan sea salt & pepper to taste
• 1 or 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast, optional (I didn't use any)

additional veggies

• a few kale leaves
• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1 or 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes, to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• whole grain pasta, cooked
• adjust these measurements to suit your needs

• 6 cups water
• 1/4 cup organic miso, yellow or white
• 1/2 cup hemp hearts (or pine nuts)
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup or agave
• 1 tablespoon dulse flakes or crushed dried wakame, optional*
• himalayan salt & pepper to taste

Mushroom Mixture

Ingredients

• 1 can cannellini beans (15 oz), drained and rinsed
• 2 heaping tablespoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• juice of 1 or 2 lemons
• 1 clove garlic, minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, optional
• a couple twists of himalayan salt grinder
• a couple tablespoons of water as needed to thin

vary up your hummus with these optional add ins or toppers:

• dash of cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon or so of cumin and/or coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon or so dijon mustard
• herbs like chives or basil
• roasted garlic
• sun-dried tomatoes
• roasted bell pepper
• paprika, smoked or plain

Place ingredients in food processor, except water, and blend until desired consistency. Taste for flavor adding anything more to your liking...more garlic? more lemon? more tahini? more salt? blend again. Add water one tablespoon at a time to thin if needed (when using as a sandwich spread or binder I prefer a thinner hummus and will add a few extra tablespoons of water to thin it out nicely). Serve however you like it! It's great either at room temp or chilled. Makes 1 1/2 cups. Store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to a week or so.

you know how much i love cheesecake! i made another one yesterday. it's layers of lemon and lime with coconut. sounds pretty tasty, right? RIGHT.



check out this mix above; it's groovy, sexy and funkalicious. there's three of them and i recommend downloading them all. NOW, back to cheesecake. i really like the flavours of this one, fresh and light but just sweet and dense enough to let you savour it. unfortunately my camera is still missing so i couldn't take the best pictures. you will have to deal with it. bear with me, people.


let it sit in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours, or better still, overnight. it leaves it time to set properly and gain some extra flavour. it was way better today than last night when i gave it to my family for dessert. it was still darn good though. the stripe of green is a cute addition i think, but you don't have to add it if you just wanna eat the cake ASAP... i understand completely.

lemon, lime & coconut cheesecake: serves about 12

crust:
1 cup walnuts
1 cup almonds
1 heaping cup prunes or dates

lemon layer:
3 cups cashews
1 cup coconut milk
juice of 2 lemons
1 banana (optional)
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons coconut oi

lime layer:
1 avocado
juice of 2 limes
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/8 cup coconut milk (use as little as possible anyway)
1/4 cup coconut flakes 

for the crust, blend all the ingredients in your food processor until it starts clumping together and you can press it into shapes. press into the bottom of a springform pan lined with plastic wrap. put in fridge.

to make the lemon layer, blend all ingredients together in your blender until creamy smooth. YUM. pour half of it onto your crust - set aside the remaining half - put back in fridge. 

to make the lime layer, blend all ingredients until smooth in your food processor or blender. pour all of this onto the first layer on the crust, then pour on the remaining lemon layer from earlier. let it sit in the fridge for a few hours (overnight is better). i put coconut flakes on top of mine to add some texture. YEAH, BABY.

Ingredients

• 1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans) (15 oz)
• juice of 1/2 lemon + some zest if you like
• 3 or 4 tablespoons hummus or white bean hummus (vegan mayo is great too)
• 1/2 cup celery (about 2 small stalks, leaves ok too), chopped
• 1/2 cup red onion (about 1/2 small), chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• himalayan salt & cracked pepper to taste
• dash of cayenne, optional
• 6 slices whole grain, sprouted whole grain flourless or artisan bread, to serve
• leafy greens, to serve
• nori sheets, to serve (optional)

Other optional ingredients:

• crushed nori sheets or dulce
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds or hemp hearts for some omega 3 & 6

Drain and rinse beans, place in medium size bowl and roughly mash with back of a fork or potato masher until desired consistency, I like mine a little chunky. Add rest of ingredients and mix well adding any extra ingredients you like. Alternately, you could use a food processor starting with the beans, pulse a few times...add remaining ingredients pulsing again a few times until desired consistency. 

Serve chilled or at room temperature on bread of choice along with some leafy greens and the optional 1/4 sheet of nori. You can also serve on bibb or romaine lettuce like a wrap instead of using bread for a gluten free meal like shown below. Also, try serving this with sliced fresh scooping veggies like cucumber, red bell peppers, zucchini, etc.

Serves 3 generously. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in fridge for a week or so.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces firm or extra firm organic tofu, drained and pressed
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds...white, black or both
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon tamari, bragg's amino's or soy sauce
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa (I used tri-color)
• 1 1/2 cups veggie broth or water
• 1/4 teaspoon himalayan salt, or as needed
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup green onions, chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper or cayenne pepper

Place tofu on several layers of heavy-duty paper towels or dish cloth, let stand 20 minutes. Cut into 1/2-inch cubes.

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add tofu, seeds and dash of garlic powder, saute 3 minutes. Remove tofu from pan and set aside. At this point, I sprinkled some tamaari on top of my tofu for extra flavor.

In same pan, add quinoa and cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add broth and salt, bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat, uncover and let set 15 min to soak up the rest of the water. Fluff with fork, add tofu, onions, soy sauce and pepper. Serve.

I lightly steamed some broccoli to serve with mine. I topped with cayenne pepper because extra spice is nice. A little sriracha or red pepper flakes would also be great. You could easily saute an extra vegetable with the tofu too. Or add spinach, fresh basil leaves or anything else that sounds good or is on hand.

Planning ahead, if your gone for the day but want to make this at night. Drain tofu and let it set in the fridge between heavy duty paper towels or dish cloth, it will be ready when you get home so you can have a meal within 30 min or so.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 ears of corn, cut off the cob
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• handful mushrooms, sliced
• 3-4 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 can lite coconut milk (15 oz)
• 2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk
• 1 cup water
• juice of 1 lime
• himalayan salt & cracked pepper to taste
• large handful spinach (I used a spinach & arugula blend)

Heat oil in large pot over medium high heat and saute onions until translucent. Add garlic, corn, celery, bell pepper and mushrooms, cook a few minutes more. Add coconut milk, unsweetened non-dairy milk, water, curry powder, red pepper flakes, juice of lime, salt & pepper to taste and cook on medium heat for 10 min or until heated through. Add spinach and cook until softened to your liking. Test for flavors adding more spices if desired. Serve with lime wedges. You may even want to serve with some crispy bread to soak up the juices...

• 3 small potatoes, diced...either with or without the skin
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 small bell pepper, diced
• 1 small zucchini, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• handful grape tomatoes, quartered
• small handful parsley or cilantro, chopped
• shake of red pepper flakes, optional

Ingredients

• 2 medium eggplants, cleaned and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cups pasta sauce (I used an organic roasted bell pepper sauce)
• 1/2 cup olives (kalamata, green or greek)
• 2 tablespoon capers
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

In large skillet/saute pan heat olive oil over medium high heat, cook eggplant and onion until tender, about 8- 10 min. Add sauce, olives, capers, red pepper flakes, cover and simmer for 20 min. Serve with a light dusting of Almond Parmesan over pasta of choice (I used whole wheat) or with crusty bread.

Serves four.

uh... yeah. make these now.

i felt like creating something a wee bit fancy yesterday for my family and friends. we had a ripe avocado so i utilized it in the name of raw vegan splendor. turned out pretty decent, if i do say so myself (and i just did, so there). while you read the post, look at the pics and check out the recipe - i suggest you listen to THIS. i took lots of pictures for you today to feast your eyes on. FEAST:


i love having fresh mint from the garden for garnishes on desserts. to be honest, i'm not the biggest peppermint fanatic but i do adore the splash of colour. i am addicted to chocolate (that should be pretty apparent by now) but all the brown leaves something to be desired; purely for aesthetic reasons.

the bottom of these is a chocolate nut crust and it's topped with a chocolate pudding kinda deal. i made a quick chocolate sauce to decorate. i suggest letting them sit in a fridge for a few hours. i let them set overnight. i'm pretty sure if you do everything wrong in this recipe - it will still be delicious...