Mango and papaya have been on sale at a few local grocery stores lately. I thought this papaya was just ripened enough but it smelled like gasoline. Strangely enough, the next day, it tasted and smelled better. Does papaya improve a day after cutting? Anyone else experience this?
The mango disappeared the same night….er…hour it was cut up. 
A lower-fat version than the usual raw nut taco base, this has grated cauliflower with Bragg’s, coriander, and cumin, along with an appropriately-spiced mango and tomato salsa. Delicious!
Mixed greens with cilantro, kale, jicama, mango, carrots, corn, avocado, clover sprouts, a green pea-adzuki-lentil sprout blend, and a spicy Liquid Gold nutritional yeast dressing (with hemp).
Kale with avocado, bok choy, dulse, carrots, and a nutritional yeast dressing adapted from Becoming Vegan.
Dessert!
Nutritional Yeast Dressing
3 T. virgin coconut oil
3 T. flax oil
1 T. hempseed butter
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. lemon juice
1-2 T. balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. Bragg’s or nama shoyu
1/2 c. nutritional yeast
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. ground cumin
Raw Food, Real World (for wraps and coconut ice cream)
Thai vegetable wraps in collard leaves with bok choy (instead of savoy cabbage), almond-ginger dressing, mango, carrots, basil, cilantro, mint, and served with a tamarind dressing. I left out the bean sprouts. I loved the wraps; I kept going back to make more. I think I will use the leftovers as a salad, with the collards chopped, so it’s easier to transport tomorrow. Definitely recommend this recipe!
Coconut ice cream sweetened with agave nectar, also shown with raw chocolate ice cream with coconut water and meat, macadamia milk, and cacao powder. Served with mango, kiwi, and blueberries. The ice creams tasted good, but I realized tonight that if I want to make my own nut milks and ice creams with coconut meat, I should really get a better blender, such as a Vita-Mix. The texture isn’t smooth and pureed enough with my regular old cheapy blender! Especially to serve to other people.
The Raw 50 (for cheese & mango flan)
I know that raw collard leaves, to some, may not sound like their idea of food, and I’ll admit that I was skeptical myself, but I got some organic leaves, marinated them in salt and lemon juice, and made some accompaniments for wraps.
The cheese is excellent, with pine nuts, macadamias, nutritional yeast, extra-virgin olive oil, and garlic. I could eat it by the spoonful.
I love raw preparation of food, as it seems to inspire more creativity in me than cooked prep does. I wanted sun-dried tomato and basil balls, so I merely threw some sunflower seeds, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil in the processor, ground it up, decided I need more liquid, and added garlic, carrots, and raw tahini. What resulted was exactly what I wanted and paired perfectly with the cheese and collards.
The mango flan, however sweet and coconuty, did not turn out. You are supposed to chill it for 30 min. in the freezer and then release it from the container. This didn’t work, at least for me, but the flan tastes just as good using a spoon, and I got to use young coconut meat for the first time and drank the coconut water. I’m thinking that my skin loves coconut oils and anything coconut, really, so I’m embracing all things coconut right now and finding that I like fresh coconut flavor more than I realized, just not dried shreds.
The flan can be seen in the background here:
Sensational Stevia Desserts (nonvegetarian cookbook)
This is a great salad which is pretty easy to make, once you get the pureeing parts done! The main base is bananas, silken tofu, coconut extract, and stevia. To one part, I added strawberries and the other, raspberries (my variation). Also shown in the middle is a mango puree and fresh blueberries and strawberries. Yum!
The making of hempnut milk:
It looks like I’ll need to strain it a little bit to remove the froth, or maybe that disappears when it cools. Either way, thanks, Sue, for the maker! I am going to make tofu tomorrow.
Mango salad with spinach and romaine, tomatoes, cucumber, mushrooms, and teriyaki vegetarian chicken. This was terrific. I love the sweetness of the mangos and the chicken had a great marinade!
Seoul pancake with vegetables. I loved the texture and flavor of this appetizer, which I shared with Sue!
Tofu satay with a peanut sauce and vegetables. This was my least favorite item - I felt like the peanut dip or sauce could have had a stronger flavor, but it was definitely edible and enjoyable.
Collard roll. While a bit oily, this was the best item (for me), since I love greens and a sweet & sour sauce.
Thanks to Sue and Susan for showing me around and letting me sample their dishes! I also had a vegan heart attack and a drumstick from Foodswings, along with a delicious brownie. And, to start my day off in NYC, I had a homemade cupcake with ganache. 
Secrets From a Vegetarian Kitchen
This is quite a complex meal, but it really doesn’t take long to prepare! It has rice with umeboshi paste, topped with wilted garlic spinach, marinated tofu, and sugar- and mirin-glazed mango with sesame seeds. The meal is topped with chopped cilantro. It is SOOOO good!
I don’t know why wordpress is making it so you have to click on the picture to open it. Sorry about that.
