April 11, 2010

serves 2 ~ $1.45 per serving

1/4 cup walnuts ($.50)

1/2 cup raisins ($.50)

6 dates, soaked ($1.20)

1/4 cup pecans ($.70)

pinch salt

Maybe this is taking the idea of breakfast pie too far. But, nah, not really. It’s still just nuts and fruits, which seems to be a good way to start the day. 

In a food processor with an “S” blade, process the walnuts and raisins until they are crumbly and stick together. Press into a small tart plate (the one I used is 5 inches diameter) and chill. Then in the food processor again, puree the dates with a tiny bit of the soak water until they form a gooey paste. Spread into the crust and top with pecans.

The amounts can be easily increased to make a larger pie for a more conventional dessert.

 

 

 Lunch

Serves 2 ~ $.84 per serving

2 cups peas ($.75)

1 avocado ($.88)

1 1/2 cups water

1 small onion ($.05)

salt and pepper

We’re planting peas here and already I’m looking forward to the harvest. I’ve gotten a bit ahead of myself though, and so used frozen peas for this. They’re likely not raw, as most commercial produce (except for berries and some fruit) is blanched before freezing. It still made a delicious soup and would be even better with fresh peas, although they may be more expensive than what I paid for frozen.

Set aside a half cup of the peas. In a blender, puree the rest of the peas and the avocado with enough water to blend and give the desired consistency. It takes a few minutes of blending to get this really smooth in a conventional blender. Salt and pepper to taste.

Pour in bowls and top with the reserved peas and minced onion.

 

 

 Dinner

serves 4 ~ $2.05 per serving

1 head cauliflower, chopped ($1.29)

1 yam , chopped ($.50)

1 zucchini, chopped ($.80)

1/4 cup walnuts ($.50)

1/4 cup raisins ($.50)

2 dates ($.40)

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1 cup green peas ($.38)

juice of 1 lemon

4 tablespoons oil

2 tablespoon curry powder ($.50)

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon salt

1 medium onion, finely minced ($.05)

2 jalapeno, finely minced ($.10)

1 mango ($1.49)

3 tablespoons agave($.30)

This recipe has a few more ingredients that I usually use, but it’s still quite easy to put together. It’s also not going to taste exactly like a real fried samosa, but it’s still spicy and yummy.

In a food processor with an “S” blade, process the cauliflower, yam, zucchini, walnuts, raisins, dates, and garlic until pureed. This is a lot and I processed this in a few batches. Mix together with the rest of the samosa ingredients.

Form into cone shapes or triangular patties and dehydrate for several hours, until the outside is a bit crispy but the inside is still soft. To make the mango sauce, simply puree a peeled and chopped mango with the agave and about a 1/2 cup water until smooth. Serve the samosas with a generous dollop of mango sauce.

 

 

 

 Dessert

Chocolate Ice Cream

serves 6 ~ $.65

2 ripe avocados ($1.49)

8 ripe bananas ($1.20)

4 tablespoons cacao powder ($.80)

4 tablespoons agave ($.40)

1/4 teaspoon salt

I’ve been trying to get a raw vegan ice cream that’s creamy, but will freeze well. The banana ice creams are awesome when first made, but become solid blocks of ice when frozen. I was looking for the creaminess and scoop-ability of regular ice cream. This will scoop out nicely even when frozen.

In the food processor with an “S” blade, puree all the ingredients until completely smooth. This won’t work with unripe avocados, they just don’t get smooth enough. Also, don’t add any water for blending. When smooth, process in an ice cream maker until semi firm and then freeze. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, pour into a container and stir every so often until it’s firm.