Cashew Cream

1 cup Cashews raw
3/4 cup water

Pour cashews in a container and top with filtered water.  Put in fridge and allow to soak for 8 hours or overnight.  Rinse cashews with cold water then put into Vitamix or high speed blender with 3/4 cup filtered water.  Puree until creamy smooth.  Cream can be used in coffee, soups or sauces.  If you want cashew milk, just add more water.

For "non planners" like me, soak up a few cups of cashews as a time then rinse and strain well.  Pour into a zip lock bag or freeze safe container and take out to puree as needed.  This way you can make the cream/milk on the fly for whatever you are cooking up on a whim.

Eggplant Puree

3 med eggplants
3 T olive or grapeseed oil
1/4 onion
salt & pepper to taste

Bake eggplants in oven at 350 for one hour, rotating ever 15 minutes
Cool then peel skins and put eggplant meat into high speed blender

Cut up onion into piece that fit in garlic press and press onion juice into blender, add oil, salt and puree until smooth.  Chill and try not to eat it all in one sitting...I am still working on that ;)

Maple Pecan Glaze

Adapted from Detoxinista.com

A rich maple glaze perfect for any fall recipe or as a dip with fruit.

Ingredients

• ¾ cup pecans
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup
• 2 T coconut oil
• ¼ cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a high-speed blender, and blend until smooth and creamy.
2. Can be used immediately or if you prefer a bit thicker, chill slightly.  Can be stored in for up to 4 days.

Super Easy Yummy Vinaigrette

1 cup fresh strawberries ( any berry or fruit would do and could even use frozen)
1/4 cup fresh juice (I used mango but could use orange, apple etc.)
2 t apple cider vinegar
4 dates
1/4 cup nuts (toasted or raw walnuts, pecans almonds etc. chopped up into fine pieces)

Throw all ingredients except the nuts into blender and blend at highest speed until creamy smooth.  Toss dressing and nuts with greens such as spinach, organic salad mix or even coleslaw. If using fresh fruit, slice up 1 cup and toss into salad as well.

This is a great recipe for kids and easy to mix up so they think they are getting something different every time.  Also makes a great dip for veggies or fruit as is quite thick and creamy if you have a high powered blender.

Cashew Goat Cheese

This recipe is adapted from Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day.

1. 1 c cashews or almonds
2. 1 c sauerkraut
3. 2 T miso
4. 2 t Dijon
5. 1 t apple cider vinegar
6. Pinch sea salt

Method:

1. Blend very well in either a high power blender or food processor
2. If you have a yogurt maker, culture overnight
3. If you don’t have a yogurt maker, let sit covered for 2 days on the counter then store in fridge.

Raw Vegan Green Pea Dip

I came across The Blender Girl on pinterest today (YAY) as I have been looking for more dips and spreads to add to my repertoire and viola! She has a ton of awesome looking recipes all laid out just waiting to be tried.  Finding gluten free and vegan recipes listed out like this is making my life so much easier as hunting for individual recipes that fit the bill can be quite time consuming.

This Green Peas dip is the first on I have tried and I did not have cilantro or coriander on hand so I used parsley and wow, is it ever tasty!  I think I may need to be making a dip a day as they are disappearing as fast as I can make em, which is a good thing.

• 1 cup organic frozen green peas defrosted
• ½ cup raw almonds soaked and dehydrated
• 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
• 2-3 Tbsp filtered water
• 3 tsp fresh lime juice (1- 2 limes)
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro / coriander or parsley
• 1/4 tsp fine Celtic sea salt
• freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Put the almonds into your food processor until rustically chopped.
2. Mix in the remaining ingredients until you get a nice thick consistency.
3. Add in more lime juice, ginger and seasoning to taste.

Serve with  crackers, veggies chips, or on top raw tacos. YUM!
Adapted from theblendergirl who originally go the recipe from Kurma Dasa who has some amazing vegan recipes which I will have to try soon.