Tropicalmond Cheesecake! (Raw)

This fun dessert was made for June's Royal Foodie Joust, which showcases raspberries, almonds, and lime. My room mate Candace and I have been dying to make a raw vegan cheesecake for months, and when this month's Joust ingredients were announced, we knew we had to go up to our elbows in CASHEW CHEESE!

As a vegan, I don't do dairy cheeses, so we decided to experiment with a non-dairy alternative. Cashew cheese is made by fermenting pureed cashews with probiotics and Rejuvelac, a fizzy fermented beverage (typically made from sprouted wheat berries), which helps boost the fermentation process. We use buckwheat to make our rejuvelac because it's not only gluten-free, but has an earthy, nutty flavour. We really wanted the almonds to shine through in this dish, so we only put about a cup of cheese into it. I'm definitely making an all-cheese cake soon, with full instructions and pictures on making your own cashew cheese. How can I resist? ;)

Tropicalmond Cheesecake


Crust:
1 1/2 cup raw almonds
1/4 cup cacao nibs
7 dates, soaked for 5 minutes
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

First, take a small amount of plastic wrap and cover the bottom of a spring form pan.

Put all ingredients except oil into a food processor until it's a medium-fine crumb. Add coconut oil and process until just incorporated. Press into the bottom of the spring form pan, and put into the fridge.

Filling:
2 cups soaked almonds
2 cups water
5 Tbsp. agave (or other liquid sweetener)
4 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
1 cup cashew cheese*
2 cups frozen raspberries, 1/4 cup reserved
1/2 tsp. vanilla
juice of one lime
2 sliced bananas
6-8 sliced kiwis (no need to skin them)

In a blender, liquefy your almonds and water. Toss in everything else except the bananas, kiwis and reserved raspberries. Blend until very smooth, then gently fold in the reserved raspberries. Take out your spring form pan, and pour half of the filling in. Then, gently add a thick layer of bananas, and pour the rest of your filling over the top. Garnish the top with sliced kiwis, and chill in the freezer until the center has set, about 3 hours.

Enjoy!

Cardamom-Glazed Grilled Mango

I think that by now, everyone knows how much I love mangoes.

When I read the ingredients for this month's Royal Foodie Joust, put on by the Leftover Queen, I about squealed with delight. They were right up my alley: mangoes, cardamom, and brown sugar! With spring coming on, and our days getting warmer by the minute, I couldn't resist grilling up some mango with my room mate's new grill. :)

I love the way this recipe turned out. It's quick, easy, and incredibly tasty. SO happy I thought to grill them! The slightly-burned sugar gives the mango a really nice caramelized flavour, which compliments the cardamom beautifully. Enjoy!

Cardamom-Glazed Grilled Mango

2 ripe mangoes, skin on, cubed
4 Tb. brown sugar
3 green cardamom pods, shelled and ground
2 Tb. dessicated coconut
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

about 6 skewers, soaked in water

Set your grill to high heat (we use propane) and get it warming up.

Mix all ingredients together (except the mango) in a bowl. Holding on by the skin, dip the mango into the sugar mixture, coating every side. Load the skewers with the crusted mango, and set on the grill. Let it go until it just starts to blacken (about 2 mins), and flip, doing the same with the other side. Serve on a bed of greens and sprinkle with a little pan-toasted coconut.

March Royal Foodie Joust!

Remember my entry for the Royal Foodie Joust, but on by the Leftover Queen? It was the Ginger-Lime Tofu with Citrus Marmalade Glaze. Well, the voting begins today! I would love it if you could take a few moments to go to the forum (if you're registered) and vote for me. The winner receives a Royal Foodie Joust Apron. If I win, I promise I'll post pictures of me modeling it! :D

You do have to be member in the forum for at least a week to vote, so if you're not a member yet, you can't vote for me this month. It's a really fun forum though, so I encourage you to join and vote for me next month!


Vote for me!

Ginger-Lime Tofu with Citrus Marmalade Glaze, March Joust Entry

Here's my entry for the Royal Foodie Joust!

Ginger-Lime Tofu with Citrus Marmalade Glaze, Coconut Quinoa with Pink Peppercorns, Orange Balsamic Chard and Radish Greens

I'm so pleased with this menu, because they compliment each other so well. The delicate flavour of the quinoa counterbalances the citrus kick of the tofu, and the greens had a smooth, almost creamy texture from the radish tops.

The tofu was wonderful in itself, with the texture very akin to pork, and even the color was spot on. I find that red wine and tofu cooked together in most forms makes for a good substitute for heavier meats in recipes. My fiance said that it reminded him very much of a gourmet version of orange beef he used to get at Chinese restaurants, and he gobbled up everything left in the pan, including the leftover glaze!

A wonderfully pink Valentine's meal, indeed. :)

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Ginger-Lime Tofu with Citrus Marmalade Glaze

13 ounces of firm tofu
3 tbs. grated ginger
5 tbs. lime juice
2 tbs. red wine (merlot)
2 green onions, diced (just the dark green tops; reserve the whites for later)

Cut tofu into quarters, then slice each quarter lengthwise into three cutlets. Place tofu into a freezer-safe container, and add in red wine, ginger and lime juice, making sure to coat.
Place in the freezer overnight (this firms up the texture of the tofu, making it more meat-like.) Remove from the freezer and allow the mass to thaw.
Drain and spread tofu cutlets onto a cookie sheet, and place in the oven for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, then flip, and return to the oven for 20 more minutes. Both sides should be a nice golden brown.
Arrange the tofu in a baking dish. Pour on the marmalade glaze and top with diced green onion.
Bake at 400 degrees for another 10-15 minutes, or until the glaze has reduced slightly. (It will get very bubbly, the bubbles should start to rise just a bit.) Garnish with diced green onion tops and diced red bell pepper [not pictured - thought that up while we were eating!]

Citrus Marmalade Glaze

1/2 cup marmalade (lemon, grapefruit and orange, with black currant juice)
1/4 cup white wine (chardonnay)
large pinch of ground pink peppercorns
1 tsp. whole pink peppercorns
1 tsp. lime juice
1 tbs. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. wheat-free tamari
pinch cayenne pepper, to taste

Simmer all ingredients in a small saucepan over VERY low heat (watch that it doesn't burn!) to till it reduces by about 1/4.


Coconut Quinoa Pilaf with Pink Peppercorns

2 cups sprouted quinoa
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup coconut water
1 tsp. lime juice
squeeze of lemon
1 tsp. coconut oil
2 tsp. ground pink peppercorns

1/4 onion, thinly sliced and caramelized with 2 tsp coconut oil and splash of coconut water (reserve pan for sautéing the greens)

Heat coconut oil in a pot on med-high heat, and add quinoa, sautéing for about 5 minutes. Add coconut water, lemon, lime, pepper, and salt, and simmer on med-low for about ten minutes, until the liquid evaporates. Once the quinoa cools a bit, toss in the onions. Serve on a bed of watercress.


Orange-Balsamic Chard and Radish Greens

4 chard leaves, roughly chopped (stem sliced thin and reserved)
1 large bunch radish tops, destemmed and large leaves torn in half
Whites from diced green onion
Juice from half a navel orange
Splash balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. coconut oil
pinch salt

Warm 1 tsp. coconut oil in the pan you used to caramelize the onions, and add the green onions. Sauté for 2 minutes, until softened. Add chard, toss to wilt slightly, then add the radish greens, orange juice, salt and balsamic. Once wilted, plate with a sprinkling of ground peppercorns and a few raw chard stem pieces.



Enjoy! If you like this recipe, vote for me at the Joust on March 1st, Thanks!

Update!

As you've probably noticed, I've added a lot of new things to my blog in the past few days. I can now do email subscriptions, joined a couple affiliate sites, added a feature where you can rate my blog, and am now part of a few (really) fun Blogrolls. I'm particularly happy about the Blogrolls, because it connects me to so many other food geeks and brings more people to my page. After putting them on this morning, I came home tonight and had three new comments from Blogroll people! Yay!

The Foodie Blogroll is going to be quite exciting because they do a "Royal Foodie Joust" (run by the Queen of Leftover Foods) which is a monthly contest for all the foodies out there who want to participate. The idea is, everyone gets three ingredients to work with, chosen by the previous month's winner, and whoever gets the most votes as "best dish" wins a Royal Foodie Joust apron! I'm SO excited for this!


This month's ingredients are:

pork (I'm using tofu instead)
citrus
pink or white peppercorns

I'll be making my dish tomorrow for an early Valentine's Day dinner, then going out to an undisclosed (by Jeremy) location for drinks to watch the sunset over Vancouver Island. Watching the sun set over those high peaks is just breathtaking.


If you scroll down through all those icons on my right-hand side, make sure to rate my blog, and leave me a comment to tell me what you think of the new updates. I'd love to get some more comments and feedback on my recipes, too! *nudgenudge* ;)


Blessings!
Lyra