I am having an absolute blast with my gorgeous family! They arrived from Australia a week ago and we have been flying the piggy flag with gusto, exploring the snout-worthy culinary delights of Los Angeles. In my humble opinion, no whole foodie tour of L.A would be complete without a visit to Real Food Daily. I was so proud as my ever-supportive family, who are not vegetarians, but rather "whole foods/slow foods geeks," dove into their vegan troughs with over-zealous piggy enthusiasm and joy. Ann Gentry's delectable vegan recipes continue to inspire and delight me, and I was thrilled that my foodie family agreed. The food is so simple and clean. My sister Kara was hilarious: she closed her eyes as she cleaned every last morsel off her... Keep Reading
Some time ago, I made this phenomenal vegan roasted beetroot (beet) dip that was one of the most incredible vegan dips I have ever tasted. I have been dreaming about it ever since my first bite of piggy Heaven and thought it was time I perfected the blend and shared the best kept secret in the beet-loving world. Actually, let me re-phrase that and say "the dip loving" world. I shared this scrumptious beetroot dip with Kris and Courtney (AKA my staunch beet-phobe skeptics) who took their first bite with a dreaded wince that quickly turned into a look of orgasmic surprise coupled with a mouse-like falsetto cry of "I didn't know beets could taste this good"! Suffice to say -- they are now beet-loving converts. If anyone says they don't like... Keep Reading
It’s time to blend and dip again! You know I am always on the hunt for another “show stopping” vegan dip to add to my whole foods repertoire. For those of you who are new to this crazy vegetarian recipe blog – welcome to another one of my blending obsessions! Who can forget the raw creamy cashew dip, green pea chutney or muhammara? Oh! Show Me the Way to Piggy Heaven! I grabbed a bunch of organic spinach out of the fridge yesterday and was just about to throw it in the blender (my Vitamix) to make a green smoothieg, when the carrot and celery sticks in the crisper cried out in desperation begging to dip into the Eden Alley vegan spinach dip trough. As my mouth started salivating and my taste buds began dancing in memory of the moment I... Keep Reading
My litmus test for any of my raw vegan recipes is to feed them to my friend Joann, who proudly professes “I don’t eat healthy!” If she sticks her snout in my trough without any complaining, and returns for more, I know I have a winner. I am staying with her in Arizona this week, and brought some of my raw kale chips as a snack. When I woke up the first morning to find half the bag empty, and a note that read “I need this recipe!!!!!” I thought it was worthy of a post! She did insist I attach a disclaimer – “the kale gets stuck in your teeth! You have to floss, but it is so worth it”! The rest of the bag is long gone, and she has ordered an Excalibur dehydrator with much excited anticipation. I served these garlic kale chips up to my... Keep Reading
My father always tells me that happiness is tied up in expectations. If you keep your expectations in a realistic place, you are less likely to be disappointed. I have found this advice to be true in all aspects of life; and I offer it up today when making this raw vegan cashew cheese. Don’t get me wrong -- this raw vegan spread is absolutely scrumptious. But if you turn on your food processor expecting this to taste exactly like cheese made from cow’s milk, you might be a little disappointed. Conversely, if you think of it as an raw vegan allergy free alternative to dairy cheeses, or a delicious raw vegan spread to flavour dishes, you will be thrilled with the results. Greedy snouts dipping into this “vegan cashew cheese” usually say the... Keep Reading
It is steaming hot outside! Too hot to cook. It is time to get naked and take a Summer dip.....right into Kurma’s inspired trough of Heaven that is! With all of these gorgeous Summer nights (no I am not going to break into a number from Grease for this dish) I have been existing on a very low maintenance raw vegan piggy diet of lettuce wraps slathered with scrumptious spreads. Whatever raw nuts have been dehydrated take a spin in the food processor with a handful of fresh herbs and spices, lime juice and sea salt, making a great base for rawlicious inspiration. I found a sad lonely little bag of green peas in my freezer the other night begging for a nutty match. As I lay my hands on those naked little beads my taste buds immediately... Keep Reading
OK! So I have been indulging in a bit too much “fun in the sun” and shamefully drowning myself in the Mexican trough of heaven since I got back. I have fallen behind on my posts. Note to self: as a food blogger you need to post recipes! Let me redeem myself by offering up this quick easy fresh tomato salsa we made for our “Vegetarian Mexican Taco Buffet” last week. It takes 5 minutes to prepare and is absolutely scrumptious. This home made vegan salsa is perfect for serving with corn chips, vegetable sticks and drinks for a quick snack on a hot Summer’s night. Or serving as an accompaniment for any Mexican dish. Personally, I will take it any way I can get it. It is simple, fresh and delicious. If you are looking for easy healthy food... Keep Reading
OK – So if you love banana bread you will love these gluten free dairy free banana muffins, because let’s face it, they are just mini banana bread bites! Yes, little bites of heaven, and they only take half an hour to prepare and bake before you are diving into the trough of bananayumma! The best thing about these gluten free banana muffins? You can almost eat them in one bite! LOL! Seriously, if you are looking for great allergy free recipes for muffins this easy recipe is a winner. As I have said a millions times, I always go nuts with bananas. This time it is walnuts that get the divine privilege of laying in the trough with my beloved banana. There is a reason why banana and walnuts are a ubiquitous combination -- they are just simply... Keep Reading
I can’t count the number of times I have made these delicious gluten free carrot muffins. They are quick, easy, and absolutely scrumptious. I used to “make a date” with my carrot grater on many a lazy Saturday afternoon, and make a quadruple batch of these carrot and date muffins to take for snacks at work; and there were many grateful snouts! I have always loved the combination of carrots and dates. Mix in your favourite honey, and you’ve got a blend that makes these gluten free carrot muffins a winner on every level. I have had this muffin recipe on a scratchy bit of paper for about 20 years, and the little card that I have now glued said paper to still takes pride of place in my healthy recipe file. This was the first “refined sugar... Keep Reading
Back in 2001, I took some fantastic cooking classes with vegetarian chef Kurma Dasa. Kurma introduced me to all kinds of fabulous exotic ingredients that I had not tasted or cooked with before; and it opened up a whole new world of flavours that I have been experimenting with, and enjoying ever since such as asafoetida, pomegranate molasses, and the list goes on and on. One of the jewels I picked up from Kurma, was this phenomenal raw vegan dip, and I have been blending and chowing with gratitude ever since. This is seriously one of the most incredible dips I have ever tasted! Kurma’s wonderful vegetarian recipes have a distinct Indian influence, and he adapted this raw vegan recipe from one found in Yamuna Devi’s beautiful book, Yamuna’s... Keep Reading
