Naraya Cooking Health Recipe

Anyway, what I am saying is that this is a great treat to make for people you want to convince veganism is an awesome lifestyle and diet choice. They are straight up chocolate and caramel filled goodness that any mouth can appreciate. If you don't like chocolate, caramel or coconut... I'm worried about you. Seriously.

Now I have been saying "chocolate", but I've been lying. I do that. I actually used carob in this recipe because (a) I ran out of cacao but also (b) because I LOVE carob and felt it should get some recognition. Sometimes I prefer carob to chocolate, to be honest. It is a little sweeter and has a unique deliciousness all to it's own. I think it tastes fruitier.

carob caramel tarts with coconut: makes about 7

Caramel layer:

Carob layer:

To make the crust: pulse the nuts into crumbs in your food processor. Add the dates and process until it can stick together. Press into the bottom of lined tart or cupcake tins and set aside. 

To make the caramel: blend all in the ingredients together in your food processor or blender until smooth, adding as little water as possible. Spread into the bottom half of each tart crust and put in the fridge. 

To make the carob part: blend all in the ingredients together in your food processor or blender until smooth, adding as little water as possible. Spread on top of the caramel layer of each tart crust and put in the fridge until they have set, about 30-60 minutes. Take out of the molds, top with coconut flakes and enjoy!

Today I have this most delicious and slightly addicting dressing-dip to share with you. I used this dressing in a recent post with steamed broccoli, Broccoli + Tahini Miso Dressing, and have been loving it ever since. It pairs great as a dip for sliced raw veggies too, or use it as a dressing in a slaw salad or any of your usual leafy lettuce salads. You could also use it as a spread for sandwiches. It's a nice mix up from the Simple White Bean Hummus and Favorite Hummus that I usually make. All in all, this is a great versatile dressing for use with raw, steamed or roasted vegetables. Make this thick or thin to suit your needs.

Tahini, which is made of sesame seeds, is a great source of calcium...1/4 cup contains 351 mg of calcium, slightly more than 1 cup of milk provides. It also contains vital nutrients like copper, manganese, zinc, iron, phosphorus, vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin E, protein and fiber.

Miso is also a beneficial addition to this dressing. Its health benefits include being a complete protein containing all essential amino acids. It's a quality source of the essential vitamin B-12. Miso stimulates the secretion of digestive fluids in the stomach and restores beneficial probiotics to the intestines. And it is high in antioxidants to fight free radicals while also strengthening the immune system.

This dressing-dip is another way to get these beneficial ingredients into your meal rotation.

maca filling:

To make the chocolate: blend all ingredients until smooth. Coat chocolate molds with 3/4 of the mixture and put in the fridge or freezer until hardened, setting the extra chocolate aside. 

To make the maca filling: blend all ingredients until smooth, then press into the hardened chocolate molds and spread the remaining chocolate evenly on top of each mold. Set in the fridge or freezer overnight, then take out of the molds and enjoy! 

• kiwi
• strawberries
• blueberries
• mango
• cashew sweet cream

• 1 cup almonds or walnuts, or combo (I used almonds)
• 5 medjool dates
• dash or two of cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons water, divided

Make your cashew sweet cream and keep in the fridge for at least three hours. This can also be made a day or two ahead.

Make your crust by combining all the ingredients, except water, into a food processor/blender and blend until combined and somewhat chunky. Add one tablespoon of water, process until dough forms. Add the extra tablespoon of water if needed. I used it but you may find in your climate or altitude that you may not need it. We don't want the dough too wet, just enough so that it combines nicely. Cover and place in refrigerator for 20 min to stiffen a bit.

While dough is setting, prepare your fruits and set aside.

Using molds of choice, line each with a piece of saran wrap like the picture shown above. Fill each pan with a layer of dough, about 1/4 inch thick, by pressing firmly yet gently into place. Fill each tartlet with cashew sweet cream, almost to the rim, and level out, top with fruit. To remove tart from mold, gently lift the edges of saran wrap, place on flat surface and using a spatula carefully wedge under the tart and move to desired flat surface. You can prepare these a couple hours ahead, cover with saran wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to eat. Makes 2 three inch fruit tarts using the mini cake molds. Each fruit tart is about 2 serving.

Notes: If using classic tartlet mold, the cashew sweet cream will fill all six and the crust will cover three. If using mini cake pans like I did, the cream will fill three and the crust will cover two.

Cashews are such an incredible and versatile ingredient in the vegan & raw vegan kitchen. They can be made into cheeses, sour creams, dressings, sauces and raw cookies to name a few. Here is a simple and delightful sweet cream version. This sweet cream can be used in many ways. With varying the amount of water, this can be a thick cream or a drizzle style cream. Using a thicker cream you can use as a dip for fruits or as a center in a raw fruit tart. You can also use it to top on pies as a cool whip replacement, or as a frosting for cakes and cupcakes. Add to the center of crepes along with some fruit. It can be slathered on top of pancakes, waffles, banana bread or cinnamon swirl bread. You can even add in a little cinnamon, vanilla bean seeds or other favorite dessert spices. The uses and flavor combinations are only as limited as our imagination and taste buds. With this one recipe you can create many wonderful creations. This is raw, minimal ingredients, gluten free, dairy free and so very delicious!

Tahini-Miso Dressing

Enjoy!