Showing posts with label cashews. Show all posts

Raw Pear Salad with Raw Feta Cheese

This was one of the first all raw recipes I tried and it really motivated me to keep going. It's got that salty sweet tangy twist to it which I love. I love a good tang! It's way quick to throw together if you have the cheese already made and is a great salad to take to parties.

Raw Vegan Feta Cheese


cashews
water
salt
lemon juice

Blend all ingredients together in a blender till creamy, adding just enough water to blend. Place everything in a cheese cloth or milk bag and then in a strainer with a bowl under and let sit in the fridge over night. The next day the mixture should be firm and able to hold a shape. Form into a ball and in a container let it sit another day or till it has a bit of a tang to it. This makes a great cheese ball to eat with crackers at a party, Just roll in herbs to cover and it looks beautiful!

Pear Salad


easy cashew cheese
Olive oil
Brussels sprouts

pear
salt
pepper

slice Brussels spouts really thin. Cube pear and mix with the Brussels sprouts. Sprinkle with olive oil and crumble the cashew cheese and extra cashews. Mix well and serve cold. As you can see in the picture. People just can't wait to eat this salad!
brussel sprouts cashews lemon juice
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Raw Vegan Kefir

Many of you have read of my great Kefir adventures. When it comes to fermenting and keeping things alive, well, lets just say that it's not my forte. My dad once gave me a plant that he said could not be killed...do I really need to go on?Matthew and I tried starting a urban garden on our back patio. It lasted 1 week. I once read on pintrest that you can keep green onions and celery growing indefinitely and continuously harvest from them. I followed the directions precisely and all I had was a pot of Stinky molding sludge. I mourn not inheriting my fathers green thumb. I once mailed him a weed from texas that I had let sit on my counter for a week in a zip lock bag. I thought for sure it was dead when I sent it but when I came to visit he had pots and pots of this beautiful purple vine. He can grown anything...and from experience...I can just about kill anything.
That said, that is why I LOVE this recipe. It's raw, it's vegan, and I havent' killed a batch yet. This is so easy! 3 ingredients and you're done. And Kefir is supper healthy for you. Its said to have come from " the shepherds of the Caucasus mountains and was a gift from Mohammad." It's really that good! Matthew lived in Sweden and got hooked. He often would reminisce about his lovely Kefir in a pathetic longing voice and now he enjoys it once again. I hope you do too.



 

Raw Vegan Kefir

1 c cashews
1 c water
1/4 c synergy drink (you can get this at any health food store - or you can use any brand of Kumbacha you like)

Blend the water and cashew in a blender till creamy. Once smooth add the Kumbacha and blend again. Place in a glass bottle and let sit in the fridge at least over night but more like 2 days. It should have a slight tang to it. Pour over cereal or fruit. Yum!
cashews kumbacha non dairy Kefir
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Day 93: Vegan - aise

While I don't recommend this recipe as a meal unto itself, I do find it helpful in making a lot of meals! I LOVE veganaise but dang its expensive! This whips up in a jiffy and is much more affordable. It also makes a great salad dressing.




Vegan-aise

½ cup of rice milk, plain and preferably unsweetened
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of canola oil
2 tb of apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of agave
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
zest from 1/8 of an organic lemon
1 teaspoon of mustard
1/2 c cashews



Blend everything in the food processor but the oil. Gradually add the oil at a slow trickle while blending. Once all the oil is incorporated blend for a few more minutes till it starts to thicken a bit then pour into a container ( I use a squeezable ketchup container) and put in the fridge. Let sit over night and it will thicken. I find I can only make one batch at a time or it doesn't thicken properly. Have fun with this! Try add ins such as herbs or seasoning salt.
agave canola oil cashews
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Special: Vegan Feta Cheese

Matthew and I have this sandwich that we really love. It's a sweet, salty tangy refreshing sandwich that unfortunately calls for feta cheese. We loved feta because it was great on so many things. So here is the end to our feta-less life woes. Some of you may recognize this recipe from my vegan cheese post. It's pretty much the same just with a little twist to make it feta-ee.


Vegan Feta Cheese

1/4 c garbanzo beans
1/4 c cooked rice
1/4 c cashews
1/4 c oats
1 c water
1 tb red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1 clove garlic

You know the drill. Throw it all in the food processor till smooth then heat on the stove till creamy. Now, Pour the cheese into a loaf pan that is lined with plastic wrap. completely cover and place in the freezer over night. Then pull out of the freezer and let thaw in the fridge. The cheese should crumble or cube very nicely now and can be used as feta cheese.
basil brown rice cashews
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Special: Vegan Soy Free Cheese Updated

Alright carnivore, stop right there - move along - there is nothing to see here. Just go back to your happy little life with your cheese and your sour cream and pretend that everything is okay...keep moving. This post is for vegans ONLY! Ya, it's a private club. Now beat it.

If you're vegan you understand. Vegan cheese is an "acquired" taste. If you're not committed, don't even try. I've heard that there are some great new vegan cheeses that have come on the market back in the states but being out here in never never land with the lost boys I haven't had the pleasure of experimenting for myself. As for now, I am stuck with what the local corner market can supply; but, after much research I've developed something that seems to work. In my research I have come across two types of cheese -
1. tofu/soy
2. non tofu/soy (usually made with nutritional yeast and cornstarch)
I try to avoid soy whenever possible.....hormonal reasons, don't ask........I said don't ask alright? sheesh....Anyway, since soy is not an option we had to try something else.

Well, I tried the cornstarch variety and while it tasted ok my brain couldn't quite swallow it. So, mine is more of a rice cheese.

Now, this is not my first attempt at cheese making. When Matthew and I were first married we were gifted some Kefir grains. We Loved Kefir....that is until I neglected the poor dears and we got a sour batch. Well, not wanting it to go to waste, I came up with the brilliant idea of making cheese out of it. I researched it online and found I was well on my way to a perfectly delight cheesy substance. I watched it like a hawk for days, if only I had given it this kind of attention when the grains were still good. Finally, I summoned Matthew into the kitchen to try my first of what I hoped to be many batches of Kefir cheese. I sliced off a delicate morsel of a ball that was the consistency of soft cream cheese. We both took a bite and realized.....I had made alcoholic cheese. It fizzled like rootbeer and smelled like a drunk on new years eve. Okay, so not my best.

So Kefir didn't work, that's alright. I then got into sprouting and heard that you could make cheese out of rejuvilac left over from soaking wheat. Now what could go wrong with wheat? It's not alive...so to speak, no way to kill it. This one was sure to work. After several days of anticipation I called Matthew into the kitchen again to taste my new cheese. I guess the memory of the last experience was still a little too fresh in his mind, or maybe it was the mold that was growing on the outside of the cheese; whatever, it was, I was able to convince him that mold was part of the cheese making process....like blue cheese, this was just a sign of my success. Unfortunately, he wouldn't agree to be the guinea pig this time so we agreed to try it together. We then concluded that no, this was not the right kind of mold.

As I'm re-reading this I realize this is not the best intro to get you to try my vegan cheese but look at it this way, with all this experience behind me I now know what NOT to do. That's got to count for something. So, try it if you dare. I tried it on the vegan pizza for an upcoming post and it is heavenly! So, if nothing else, try it on the pizza.


Vegan Cheese
1/4 c cashews
2 potatoes
4-5 carrots
1 onion
1-2 c celery
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C nurtitional yeast
1 c water


In a pressure cooker cook potatoes, carrots, celery, water, and onion  for 10 minutes. When finished add all the ingredients to a blender to make it creamy. Use while its hot. You can also use it cold as a cheese spread.

Add ins: for nacho cheese add bottled salsa and a hit of Tabasco
or, add broccoli and vegetable stock and serve over potatoes
brown rice cashews cheese sauce
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