OK, so my homemade salad dressing crusade continues. This time with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette dressing. I have to admit, that I am not normally a fan of balsamic salad dressing. The flavour is usually just too strong for me. So I don’t tend to indulge in balsamic dressing very much. So I asked my friend Mel to come over and help me taste test some balsamic salad dressing recipes, as I didn’t trust my instincts, having not really indulged in a lot of balsamic dressings. Everyone else I know seems to be quite taken with the idea! So I thought I owed it to myself to give it another go. My mild version of this classic favourite can always be ramped up a notch, for those of you who are long time devotees. I think the lime juice is the... Keep Reading
The combination of raw fruit and nuts never gets old for me. Throw in some berries and vegan cream for good measure, and you have a match made in piggy heaven, and a raw nutritional powerhouse. I almost didn’t include this raw vegan breakfast recipe, as I thought it was too easy and obvious, required no skill, and not really a recipe. But then I thought, "that is the whole point of this recipe blog!" So here it is. On of my favourite raw food breakfast recipes. My raw vegan breakfast parfait that was featured in one of my vegan Chow Tips. I am sure many of you have made similar things with granola and yoghurt. This gluten free dairy free vegan version is another reminder of how good the simple things can be; and a perfect example of how... Keep Reading
Yes piggies, I am going to champion my beloved raw cashews again, with an admission that is long overdue -- that I too, am a devout cream dreamer. But I never really liked dairy cream on top of things, or cream filled pies and cakes. It was kind of like traditional mayonnaise for me, it never really did it for me lumped on top of things. But just like almost everyone else, I have long been seduced by the cream-inspired heaven hidden inside things! Let’s face it, whenever you taste a really rich creamy dessert that you would almost rob your grandmother for; more often than not, the magic ingredient contained inside is cream and butter! So when you adopt a dairy free lifestyle or vegan diet so you don’t have to coat check your colon and... Keep Reading
Today I continue my crusade against commercially produced salad dressings, and championing the virtues of the home made salad dressings, by showing you how quick, easy, and delicious they are. Today, my war is against the French! Well not exactly. More accurately, my private little war is with the French inspired pre-made dressings, that I am SURE, would make any self-respecting French chef cringe! By the time you drive up to the store and purchase your favourite bottle of French dressing, I will have blended my home made French dressing recipe, chopped a raw salad, eaten it, and have moved onto a yummy vegan dessert. OK, well maybe I am overstating my claim just a tad, seeing as most everybody has an endless array of bottled dressings... Keep Reading
I thought it was only fair that I post an example of a home made brown rice smoothie to get everyone on their way, and to stoke the fire of home made brown rice milk mania! I made this brown rice smoothie today, and it was nothing short of spectacular. OK, so this vegan banana smoothie will be affectionately reserved for the “I don’t care about carb overload” trough for future emotional emergencies. But hey, I might just have to pull it out in times of celebration too! It is really that good. This brown rice smoothie is rich, thick, creamy, and delicious. If you are looking for fantastic vegan banana smoothie recipes this is a winner. This simple healthy recipe is vegan, gluten free, dairy free, egg free, nut free and soy free. If you are... Keep Reading
I must admit, I am never been a fan of brown rice milk. Why? Cause I never thought it had any flavour! I have tried every rice milk variety on the market and have not been itching to return to the rice milk trough. That was until I made my home-made rice milk. Oh wow! I discovered that by not embracing the potential of rice milk, I had been missing out! I will be honest, brown rice milk is not my first port of call when I make a vegan smoothie, as I prefer to use more nutritionally dense vegan milks to indulge in. But for those of you nut allergies, or those of you who love rice milk, or even for the rest of you -- this milk is a winner. The Chinese have given us so many delicious culinary gifts. Brown rice would have to be at the... Keep Reading
It just doesn’t get much easier than this delicious vegan mousse. This berry tofu pudding can be prepared in less than 10 minutes (and that includes getting the ingredients out of your fridge), and is absolutely delicious. I got this fantastic vegan mousse recipe from my friend Alison about 10 years ago, and my snout has paid homage to her fabulous tofu berry pudding trough countless times since. This refreshing vegan mousse makes a fantastic, quick last-minute dessert; simple healthy after school snack; or guilt-free vegan sweet treat on a hot Summer’s day. Either way it is Soy Berry Good! You can make this vegan mousse even quicker and easier by just blending in frozen berries and serving immediately. But I find that reducing the berries... Keep Reading
There is nothing more refreshing on a stinking hot Summer’s day than a fresh lemon granita or sorbet. It was a scorcher of a day last week and and I couldn’t help wishing I was back in Italy dipping my spoon into a zesty home made lemon granita overlooking the crystal clear blue water of Positano. Oh My! That brings back memories of what would have to be one of the most memorable holidays of my life. I had just finished touring with a theatre show in Europe, and decided to spend a few lazy months exploring Italy on my way home. I should mention that this sadly marked the end of my strict Macrobiotic ways! I have always been a firm believer that the best way to immerse yourself in a culture is to live like a local, have a go at speaking... Keep Reading
I almost wasn’t going to continue posting home made dressing recipes, as I thought it was too basic and obvious – even for THIS recipe blog; where basic is the name of the game! But I was at work the other day, and got to talking about salad dressings. It turned out that nobody there had ever made their own home made salad dressing! Not even the oil and vinegar variety. I drove home determined to change the world -- one pre-made dressing user at a time. Don’t get me wrong, there are some fantastic commercial salad dressings with a recipe for success. But if we are championing the “fresh is best” movement, then why not make your own? Home-made salad dressings are so quick and easy, and a lot better for our health. I don’t know anyone who... Keep Reading
OK, so seeing as I posted a vegan mayonnaise recipe the other day, and bemoaned all things traditional in the mayonnaise world, I felt it was only fair that I give both teams a fair hearing, and post a regular basic mayonnaise recipe using our beloved eggs. Cause I must admit, I do love eggs; and they are key in the main stream traditional blender mayonnaise world. There are tons of mayonnaise recipes out there and they are all pretty similar. You need eggs, oil, vinegar and a bit of sweetness and tartness. The magic is in the emulsification, and of course, our beloved blender (Vitamix). I really thought about which basic mayonnaise recipe was going to get the recipe post guernsey. I settled on adapting this simple blender recipe from... Keep Reading
