Curry Chickpea Salad

by Blyssfulhealth

-1 tablespoon coconut oil
-1 tablespoon curry powder
-1 medium onion, chopped
-1 bay leaf
-1 sprig thyme
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-chickpeas, fresh, soaked and boiled, or canned, drained and rinsed
-1 carrot, sliced or shredded
-¼-½ cup cabbage, shredded
-½ cup water
-½ cup coconut milk
-hot pepper, to taste
-Himalayan salt or sea salt, to taste

Heat coconut oil and add curry powder, onion, bay leaf, thyme and garlic. Add chickpeas, carrot, and cabbage and stir.

Add water and coconut milk. Increase heat to a slight boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add hot pepper and salt. If too thick, add water. If too runny, add mashed chick peas.

Basil Pesto

by Alex Jamieson of Delicious Vitality

-2 cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves
-1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
-1/4 cup pine nuts
-2 garlic cloves, peeled
-2 teaspoons blond or chickpea miso paste
-1/3 cup Red Star Nutritional Yeast Flakes

Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat until they just begin to turn brown and release their delicious scent.

Put all of the ingredients and in the food processor and process until creamy.

Serve on pasta or vegetables.

Note: Pesto freezes very well, so fill up an ice-cube tray with left-overs to use later this winter in pasta dishes or soups.

Photo credit: FotoosVanRobin

Strawberry Pistachio Bites

by Pure2Raw Twins

-1 1/2 cups coconut flakes
-1/2 cup pistachios (ground into flour)
-1/3 cup fresh strawberries, chopped
-3-4 medjool dates,lightly chopped (about 1/4 cup or so)
-3 tbsp coconut oil

Grind pistachios into flour by using food processor.

Next add in the dates and strawberries. Pulse till combined.

After the batter starts coming together add in coconut flakes and oil. And pulse a few times till just combined. Or hand stir this although you will need to either make date paste, or use a liquid sweetener.

Black Bean Brownies

by Meredith Terranova, RD

-15 ounces black beans, drained and rinsed
-2 bananas
-1/3 cup honey, maple syrup or molasses
-1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
-1 tablespoon cinnamon
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1/4 cup raw sugar (optional)
-1/4 cup instant oats (gluten free if preferred)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8- by 8-inch pan and set aside. Combine all ingredients, except oats, in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth, scrapping sides as needed. Stir in the oats. If too soft, add another 1/4 cup oats or flour.

Pour batter into the pan. Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before slicing.

Notes: Because there isn’t any flour these brownies come out pretty dense.
Rolled oats may be substituted for the instant oats. Put the rolled oats in the food processor.
Use optional sugar if your bananas are still green and not very ripe.

Cucumber-Mint Gazpacho

by Sarma Melngailis

-12 to 14 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped
-1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
-4 jalapeños, seeded and minced
-2 red bell peppers, cored and diced very small
-1 small handful mint leaves, cut into thin chiffonade (reserve a few leaves for garnish)
-Sea salt, to taste
-Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Place the cucumbers and lime juice in a food processor and process until no big pieces remain. (Alternately, add the freshly squeezed lime juice and about 2 cups of the cucumbers to a blender and blend together to liquefy the cucumber. Add the remaining cucumbers and pulse until no large pieces remain and you have a thick liquid.)

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and fold in the jalapeños, red peppers and mint. (To chiffonade the mint leaves: Lay the leaves one on top of the other, and roll tightly. Using a sharp knife, slice the roll very thinly, so you have thin strips of mint. Doing it this way helps keep the herbs from bruising under the pressure of the knife.)

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Keep the Cucumber-Mint Gazpacho chilled in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Divide among bowls and garnish with mint leaves.

Excerpted from “Living Raw Food,” by Sarma Melngailis. Harper Collins 2009