Ginger Turmeric Shake

Inspired by Detoxinista's Chocolate Cherry Shake (http://detoxinista.com/2013/04/cherry-chocolate-shake-vegan/) and a recipe for a turmeric tea (cannot find the link to the news story of my local Whole Foods Market).
1 very ripe banana (more brown than yellow), peeled and frozen
1/2 ripe avocado
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Dash of cayenne (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
1/2 to 1 cup of water, depending on how thin you want your shake

Blend everything until smooth.
*It has been suggested that to black pepper assists in reaping the health benefits of turmeric.

Vegan, Sugar Free Persimmon Chocolate Cupcake

I have been experimenting with a black bean brownie/cookie recipe when I stumbled upon another brownie recipe using sweet potatoes instead of black beans. I had a basketful of persimmons (a family friend has a tree and is ecstatic to unload their harvest on us-- lucky me!), so attempted to replace the baked sweet potato with a somewhat firm persimmon. It didn't come out like I wanted so I opted for an all overly ripe persimmon recipe which makes this chocolate cake recipe very dense. 

Makes 2 cupcakes

• 1.5 cups very ripe persimmon flesh (I used Fuyu but I'm sure Hachiya would work as well)
• 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon each: ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, powdered ginger
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds

1. Melt chocolate in a pot with the persimmon pulp, mashing as you go to achieve a smooth consistency. If you want a very smooth texture, blitzi with an immersion blender/food processor.
2. After chocolate has melted, remove from heat and stir in cocoa powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Add chia seeds, stir, and let sit for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 F.
3. After 15 minutes, pour the mixture into two ramekins or custard cups. Bake in pre-heated oven until set-- about 45 minutes. Let cool and store in the refrigerator. I actually liked this after a day's rest in the refrigerator. It was more pudding like straight out of the oven.

 

 

Sugar free apricot rosemary sorbet with tahini

Adapted from David Lebowitz's Apricot Sorbet from The Perfect Scoop.
Apricot, rosemary, and tahini combination inspired by spabettie's apricot, rosemary, tahini, bites [http://spabettie.com/2011/10/12/rosemary-apricot-tahini-bites/]

1 lb of fresh apricots, pitted and halved
1 cup of dried apricots, preferably without sulphur dioxide or sweeteners added
1 cup of water
1-2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, depending on taste
2-3 tablespoons of tahini, depending on taste

Put fresh apricots, dried apricots, water, and sprigs of rosemary into a pot.  Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Mash occasionally to break up the apricots.  When the mixture has thickened and the water has evaporated, remove from heat. Remove rosemary sprigs.  Puree in a food processor or blender until smooth.  Freeze in a ice cream maker or bowl.  If you like ribbons of tahini, drizzle tahini over the unfrozen sorbet, folding the sorbet over the drizzle. Otherwise, drizzle tahini over scooped sorbet.

Spicy Fusion Burritos

1 head of cauliflower, chopped into bite size pieces
2-3 Tablespoons Harissa (or chopped kimchee)
1 cup of cooked beans (pinto, black, kidney, etc.)
1 avocado, diced
1/2 lime, juice of
4 sheets of nori (for sushi rolls)

1. Roast cauliflower in 350 degree oven until tender and nicely browned, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from oven and let cool enough to handle.
2. Chop cauliflower to tiny, rice-sized pieces.  Place in a bowl and add harissa or kimchee. Mix thoroughly.
3. Mash avocado with lime juice roughly in a separate bowl.  Add seasonings if desired-- cayenne pepper, cilantro, pepper, salt/soy sauce.
4. Spoon cauliflower mixture onto the center of a sheet of nori.  Top with cooked beans. Top with avocado mixture.
5. Wrap like a burrito.  Repeat with three remaining nori sheets.
Note: This is endlessly adaptable. The cooked beans can be flavoured (rajmah masala, sofrito black beans) or refried/mashed. Sriracha instead of kimchee/harissa.

Potato with Greens and Avocado

1/2 sweet potato or 1 small red potato or 1 small Yukon Gold potato
1 bunch of kale or collards, cut into ribbons
1/4 avocado, diced
1/4 onion, thinly sliced
1 carrot, cut into matchstick strips
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 Tablespoons of soy sauce (to taste)
Freshly ground black pepper
Minced ginger (optional)
Diced jalapenos (optional)

1. Cut potato into cubes.  Place in a pot and add enough water to cover by two inches.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Once the pot has boiled for about 1 minute, reduce heat and gently simmer until potato is fork tender-- about 10-15 minutes.  Drain and let the potato cool in a bowl.
2. Place onions in a dutch oven or large sauce pan with a few tablespoons of water.  Heat over medium high heat, stirring frequently until the onions are tender, about 5 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium.
3. Add garlic, ginger (if using) and minced jalapenos (if using) with another tablespoon of water.  Sautee until fragrant.
4. Add carrot and greens along with 1/4 cup of water. Sautee until the greens have wilted to desired liking.
5. Remove from heat. Add soy sauce and black pepper to taste.  Stir to incorporate the flavours.
6. Dump the greens mixture into the bowl with the potato.  Add the diced avocado. Roughly mash the mixture all together, mixing and stirring to incorporate all the ingredients.  Add more soy sauce and black pepper if needed.
7. Optional: Add 1/4 cup of cooked beans at the end to make a more substantial meal.

Kiwi Strawberry Sorbet

Serves 1
1 kiwi
2-3 strawberries
1 Tablespoon of age balsamic vinegar
Freshly coarsely ground black pepper

Cut up kiwi and strawberries and freeze.
Process frozen kiwi and strawberries in a food processor until smooth. 
Scoop out into a bowl or cup. Drizzle balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with pepper.

Depending on the tartness and sweetness of your fruit, you may want to add more sweetener. I find the aged balsamic vinegar to make the dessert sweet enough.

Harissa Tapenade

Adapted from various harissa recipes
4 ounces of dried chiles, seeded (can leave some seeds if you like more heat) and stemmed
4 Tablespoons cumin seeds
5 Tablespoons coriander seeds
5 cloves of garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
1 15 ounce can of olives (I used green olives.  I'm not sure how this would taste with black olives), drained

If you're concerned about sodium,  soak olives in water overnight and drain.  Pit olives if they are not already pitted.

Place the dried chiles in a bowl and pour enough boiling water over them to completely submerge them. Allow the chiles to soften (about 20 minutes). Drain, reserving some of the liquid.

Toast the cumin and coriander seeds on a dry pan over medium low heat until fragrant. Grind using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.

Place drained/pitted the olives, drained chiles, garlic, and ground spices into a food processor.  Process to desired consistency.  Add the reserved liquid if you desire a thinner consistency.

This is a general template for harissa.  Other harissa recipes call for roasted bell peppers, mint, onions, and other spices (like caraway seeds).  As part of my restrictive diet poker, I eliminated the olive oil and added salt by replacing it with whole olives.    While olives are soaked in brine, I attempted to mitigate the sodium level by soaking them in water before hand.