All of the photographs are by DD with my camera.

The full recipe can be found here.

For pictures of ALL the steps, click here.

The full recipe can be found here

Assemble your ingredients for the crust. They are

1 ½ cups pecans
2 oz. cacao powder *(1 oz. = ⅓ cup)
⅓ cup cacao nibs
4 oz. date paste
½ tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. liquid vanilla *(do not add w/dry ingredients)

Put everything in the food processor except for the vanilla (I used vanilla water Shari had sent me). I didn’t have date paste so I used dates I’d pitted.

Process the dry ingredients:

THEN add the vanilla.

Blend just enough longer to incorporate the vanilla water. Pick up some with your fingers and press it together. If you can “break” it in two, it’s perfect.

Get out your springform pan. 10″ won’t be any too big for this recipe. If you halve it, adjust the pan size accordingly. Traditionally, the pans are used with the logo facing up so you can read it. Don’t be a traditionalist. Take it out and flip it over. It’s easier to cut and serve later.

Cover the pan with a thin coating of coconut oil.

Put the crust mixture into the pan

and press it in evenly to completely cover the bottom.

Get out your washed berries (I used blueberries) and put them evenly on the crust.

Set the crust with the blueberries aside and get the ingredients together for the filling. If you want to get fancy, do your mise en place.

Ingredients for the filling are:

3 cups soaked cashews
2 cups almond milk (click here for the recipe)
¾ cup agave nectar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup liquid vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt

Here’s a beauty shot of the agave nectar:

I just had to put that in. It looks so pretty!

Put the cashews into the blender.

Add the almond milk.

Pour in the agave nectar.

Now, the next ingredient gave me pause but, since I was using vanilla water, I added ¼ cup.

Put in the lemon juice

and the salt.

Blend everything together until smooth.

Next add

3 tablespoons lecithin granules
⅔ cup melted cacao butter

Pour the filling into the cheesecake pan, reserving two cups for swirling.

Add the berries of your choice (once again, mine were blueberries) and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.

Blend everything well.

Now, this is where my cheesecake radically departed from what the end result was supposed to be. The filling sets up very quickly and, with all the photographing going on, the part that was blended with the reserved filling didn’t sink in like it was supposed to.

What happened way, try as I might, I couldn’t get it to swirl. The blueberry filling sat on top in a separate layer.

We put it in the freezer long enough for it to chill thoroughly. Then it was time for the unveiling.

I ran the knife around the pan as prescribed.

Then I loosened the springy part and lifted it off.

It shows where I fell short but that was okay. This was a maiden voyage. No perfection expected.

Next, the first piece was cut.

It looked kind of naked sitting there.

I didn’t have any more blueberries so cacao nibs had to do all by themselves.

And then there was the first bite.

Smooth and creamy and oh! so delicious!

The equipment I used:

No VitaMix this time. The main piece is the food processor. Then there’s a bowl, spoon, and bowl scraper. In the background, you can see my latest batch of water kefir which has absolutely nothing to do with the fudge.

My mise en place–there that French phrase again which simply means “everything in its place”.

Starting from the back left, vanilla DD made me for Mother’s Day, pink Himalayan sea salt, really raw cashews, raw cacao powder, raw agave nectar, and desiccated coconut.

The ingredients and amounts are:

2 cups really raw organic cashews
1/2 cup raw organic agave nectar
1/2 cup raw organic cacao powder (or toasted carob)(which would make it not raw)
1/4 cup desiccated coconut
Dash pink Himalayan sea salt
Dollop of vanilla extract

The cashews and coconut were the ingredients to go into the processor with the dash of sea salt.

Pulse the cashew and coconut:

This is after pulsing a few times:

Now it’s beginning to turn into “butter”:

The mixture was very stiff so I added about a tablespoonful water and processed some more. This is the result:

I turned it out into a bowl and added the agave nectar:

Then I blended it with a spoon:

The cacao powder is next:

It gets mixed in well:

An entirely optional ingredient I add is 1/2 cup black walnuts:

This is the maiden voyage for my small Pyrex pan (7″x7″x1″)

but it’s the perfect size.

Covered, it’s ready to go into the fridge to chill:

And now the end result! All ready to eat. These go to my friend in the nursing home though I was able to force myself to eat a couple of pieces myself.

My review:
★★★★ out of ★★★★★
The cacao is very pronounced and the fudge isn’t at all sweet. It’s something that dark chocolate lovers like me prefer to the milder, sweeter variety. The desiccated coconut makes it a tad grainy but it isn’t unpleasant. When I make it again (and I’m sure to), I won’t add the coconut at the beginning. Another thing I’ll do is powder the coconut in my spice grinder. I’ll report back with how it turns out.

I must give credit to my nursing home friend who sent me the link for the recipe and the site where it lives.

First of all, I did my mise en place (pronounced MEEZ ahn plahs). Now, that’s just a fancy term for “everything in its place”. It makes it easier to make a mess later. You can tell I watch too many cooking shows.

Here are my first four ingredients:

They are

2 cups really raw organic cashews
1/2 cup raw organic agave nectar
1/2 cup raw organic cacao powder
1/4 cup extra virgin organic coconut oil

The coconut oil is closest to the camera with the agave nectar next and the cacao powder in the back. Cashews are easy to identify.

Okay. The instructions with the recipe say to use a food processor to make the cashews into butter, then to combine the rest of the ingredients by hand. HA! I thought. I have a handy dandy VitaMix. Just throw everything into that baby and it will make quick work of it and I’ll be on to the next step that will make the recipe truly mine. The three other ingredients that I was adding after the blending was finished were:

A dash of pink Himalayan sea salt
A capful of vanilla DD made me for Mother’s Day
1/2 cup (more or less) black walnuts

It all started out quite promising:

But, when the mixture began to look like it was fudge, the VitaMix quit. It has a safety feature that shuts it off so it doesn’t burn the motor up.

I’d stopped and scraped the sides and was prepared to pour the mixture into a bowl so I could blend in the rest of the ingredients I’ve already pictured above. It was not to be.

I believe, in chef-y terms, it would be said that the mixture had split and seized. Or it had seized and split. And it was like Humpty Dumpty. I couldn’t put it together again. I even got out the Ninja and all it did was make the ball of goo dance around. And it was HOT. Not raw any more.

Maybe if I cooled it I could incorporate the oil into the rest.

The oil had somewhat solidified but the rest had, too. I could hardly get a spoon into it.

I took it out of the bowl sans oil and put it into a gallon ZipLoc bag and began to press it out into a “pancake”.

Taking it out, I put it on several thicknesses of paper towels to sop up the oil.

For the next step, I used my nylon cutting board because I didn’t want to mess up my good bamboo one.

I evened it up and cut approximately 1″ pieces. They remind me of Tootsie Rolls but they aren’t as chewy.

A heavy quart size freezer bag held all of the “rolls” but they started sticking together. That is, I found out they were when I reached in for another and another. I think I ate too many. Since I planned to take some to my friend who turned me onto the recipe, I got the bright idea of wrapping them in waxed paper.

Even though the recipe didn’t turn out like it was supposed to, I managed to salvage all but the coconut oil. I figured that was about a $1 loss. The walnuts went back into the bag.

For someone who eschews (there’s another fancy word) chocolate, this could be made with carob. If anyone tries this recipe and is successful, please let me know. Another day and another time, I may hunt up the “S” blade for my Cuisinart and try it again.

My yen for pickles had me searching the World Wide Web until I found Bubbies Pure Kosher Dills, a raw pickle. They are expensive and relatively hard to find. To get them, I have to travel anywhere from 80 to 100 miles round trip. As a consequence, I have them for a special treat now and then. But now I can have “sort of” pickles just about any time I want them. Enter my original recipe for…

Tommie’s Marinated Cucumbers with Onion

2 English cucumbers (squeeze both ends when selecting them–if either end is soft, select another one)
1 medium sweet onion
Juice of 3 lemons
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (I like a full flavored one for this)
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp Chinese five spice powder (I haven’t tried Frontier’s brand but it’s available)
Note: I have found I don’t get the same results unless I use the Dynasty brand five spice.
1/2 tsp garlic granules (I use Frontier)
Wholesome (the brand) raw organic dark agave nectar to taste

I run the cucumbers and onion through the Cuisinart using the slicing blade. Don’t push them through. The weight of the veggies will make them just the right thickness. Mix the other ingredients together thoroughly with a whisk. Put the sliced cukes and onion in a large bowl and pour the liquid over them. Stir to coat all the slices. Put in a covered container in the fridge. Stir a couple of times the next few hours and press the cucumbers down so the liquid covers them. Leave overnight. Serve chilled or room temperature. Keeps several days, covered, in the fridge. I don’t know how many because none of them have lasted long enough to spoil.

I’ve made these enough times that I don’t usually need to refer to my list of ingredients. However, once I forgot the garlic granules but it was no biggie. The cukes were still delicious.

BTW, the Frontier herbs and spices are available from Amazon, too. They come in packages of multiples. Get some of your friends to go in with you and it will make the seasonings very affordable.

Everyone knows how to shuck corn. I never wash my corn once it’s shucked. To me, that equates with washing a banana after it’s peeled. It’s unnecessary and the water clinging to it dilutes everything and you lose flavor if you’re going to eat it raw—and is there any other way?? Then put one hand against the ear and roll it with the other one to get the silks off. The real skill comes in cutting it off the cob.

When I was a child, my mother would cut corn off and never never cut it clear down to the cob. She always barely “tipped” it and had me up in a chair doing the same thing when I was eight years old. Yes, with a sharp knife. The sharper the better.

Here’s what you want it to look like after you’ve finished tipping it.

Then she taught me to turn the knife over and use the dull edge to scrape the “cream” off the cob.

We’ve already treated it gently. This is where you want to put some muscle into it and get every last bit of the creamy goodness.

Now for the basil. This was straight out of my garden. I’ve never used dried basil in this recipe but if you have to, let me know how it tastes. I like a LOT of basil.

For a job this small, I don’t break out the cutting board, I just roll up the leaves and cut them right over the bowl to make a chiffonade of basil. Can you tell I’ve been watching the Food Network?

Now for the salt or not. Either way you want it. I prefer mine with a nice sprinkle.

Then grab your spoon and give it a good stir.

Now, take a look at all the good cream from the corn. Amazing! Not a drop of water in it! And do you know that canned creamed corn doesn’t have any cream in it? Next time you are in the grocery store, visit the foreign country known as Canned Goods and read the label.

See the little arrow pointing at the mess? If it isn’t cleaned up right away, it will stick like glue. If you don’t want to mess up your table (and my mother would have been disgraced at my behavior) you can cut the corn in a container in the sink or put newspaper on the table. Neither one would have looked pretty in the pictures, though.

And now for the finished product. All ready to eat and garnished with a basil leaf. (I’ve also learned not to garnish with something that isn’t in the actual dish as an ingredient.)

Can you say “SUPER DELICIOUS!”? I eat it with the same spoon I use for stirring. Saves on dishes and it gives me the mouthful I want. And want. And want. BTW, this was the sweetest corn I’ve had so far this summer!

If you have another take on this, share by leaving a comment!

One note here—after cleaning the outer leaves off, I don’t wash them. I would equate washing a cleaned Brussels sprout with washing a peeled banana.

Another brief note—I rarely use any of these items but this is more of what we call a Sumptuous Feast on the forum.

For the marinade, I used two tablespoons Bragg EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), the same amount of Bragg Liquid Aminos

and one teaspoon Hickory Seasoning. This can be omitted if you want.

Whisk to emulsify.

Leave in/on the dehydrator as long as you want to get the desired result. I left mine for probably eight hours.

Stir once or twice to coat with the marinade.

Store the leftovers (if there are any) in the fridge, covered. I don’t know how long they will keep. I ate all of the first making at one sitting.

The only ingredients are a good, ripe cantaloupe and half a container of organic spinach (unless you decide to add that dash of vanilla). I use conventional produce when I can’t get organic but I never buy conventional spinach. It is the highest on the list of the presence of pesticides. Do yourself a favor and pay more for organic.

PEEL the cantaloupe and take out the seeds (I’ll post what I did with the scraps later). I know of at least one person who includes everything but, to me, that isn’t necessary or appetizing. Cut the flesh into chunks.

I have the quart size blender container that I use constantly and I fill it to the very top.

Then I blend it just a little so it will settle. That’s when I add the spinach.

Blend. The ingredients aren’t tough so it doesn’t take much speed or very long. As you can see, the container isn’t close to full. You can add more ingredients to make a full quart if you want.

Now, here’s a variation. You can drink it as is, or, if you haven’t munched all the extra chunks, dice some of the cantaloupe into 1/4″ pieces, give or take and put them in a bowl.

Pour some of the smoothie over the dices and you have cantaloupe soup! Put the rest of it in a glass and you have a yummy meal.

If I’m not intent on getting my minerals for the day, I’ll leave out the spinach and just have a cantaloupe smoothie. I do like to just eat the cantaloupe plain, too, but it’s so nice to have the cool creamy goodness on a hot summer day. Mark my words! Those days will be here in Tennessee soon!

A little background is in order. I’d had a call from one of the ladies in the church and she said the menu would be haystacks. I never did like them much even when I ate cooked. It’s a mound of stuff on a plate that would be more easily managed in a bowl. The first layer is corn chips which aren’t even close to being something a self-respecting person should subject the heart to. Next comes beans, usually from a can. On top of that layer is shredded lettuce and any of a number of condiments. They can include chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, salsa, shredded cheese, canned olives, and sour cream. If a person puts just a little of each thing, it can get to be a disaster on a plate if it isn’t carefully carried.

I knew there would be dairy-type sour cream so I decided I’d try my hand at making vegan sour cream for the folks who would, otherwise, have to go without. I made a reasonable facsimile and stored it in the fridge overnight. It occurred to me no one would know what it was if I didn’t label it. I cranked up the printer and printed off a little sign, “Vegan Sour Cream”. That might be a little ambitious and cause preconceived ideas so I did another. This time, it was Vegan Macadamia Nut Cream. Hmmmm. What if it got put too close to the desserts and someone mistook it for a whipped cream substitute? That wouldn’t be good. I finally settled on

No promises. No mistakes. It was what it was.

Here are the ingredients:

I use Bragg Extra Virgin Olive Oil because it has a lighter taste than other oils. I like a full-flavored oil on my salad once in a blue moon for a treat but not as an ingredient.

Put two cups macadamias (raw unsalted and organic if you can get them) in the blender container:

Add the water:

I use a citrus juicer to juice the lemons. The lime juicer puts some of the citrus oil from the peel in the mix and it can be bitter. DO NOT! use that stuff that comes in a bottle. It’s awful and it can ruin what could be the best of mixtures otherwise.

I’m hooked on this juicer. It’s no longer available but you can find it on eBay now and then.

The strainer does a good job of keeping the seeds and pulp from the juice. I normally use the pulp but there were so many seeds I tossed everything.

I ended up with a little more than 1/3 cup lemon juice:

Add one teaspoon sea salt:

Put in two teaspoons onion powder:

The first time I made this, I just dumped in the EVOO but I measured it this time. I used one and a half tablespoons olive oil:

All the ingredients are in the container and ready to blend.

I don’t always put the lid and cap on the container but this mixture requires them:

Start out slowly:

If you need to, you can add more water. As the nuts start breaking up, crank it up to high and let ‘er rip!

At this point, if you want a raw cream, blend only until smooth. The VitaMix will cook quickly so be careful if you don’t want to go that far.

When the mixture thickens, take the cap off so you can see when it starts to steam:

When the steam starts coming up in volume, it’s done:

Taking the lid off shows how the mixture boiled and “plopped” up against the side of the container:

Here it is ready to cover and store in the fridge:

Okay, okay! I’ll admit it! That’s a little place where I stuck my fingertip and licked it to see if it passed muster. It did and I guess I wasn’t 100% raw today.

First, I picked out four ripe tomatoes. These are rather small ones so if you are using a different size, adjust the number.

It’s my personal preference to briefly scald the tomatoes and peel them. You can leave the peeling on if you want.

Chunk them up and put them in the blender container:

I always just use 1/4 cup really raw cashews but I got out the scale for people who think it’s important to weigh ingredients. Make sure the scale is calibrated before weighing.

For about a quart of chunked tomatoes, I use one ozzie (1/4 cup) cashews.

Add the cashews to the tomatoes in the blender:

Use either sea salt

or a good quality garlic salt blend (this is Simply Organic Garlic Salt) to taste.

Be careful when seasoning! You can add more later but you can’t take it out!

Here are the ingredients for the Raw Vegan Creamy Tomato Soup:

It’s just

One quart (approx.) chunked tomatoes
1/4 cup (one ozzie) really raw cashews
Sea salt or garlic salt to taste or a blend of the two

Fairly easy and very basic. Now to the rest of the story…

I always use the lid for this step. I’ve been known to blend smoothies without the lid but for soup, you need the lid:

Blend the soup until smooth:

As someone who used to cook in the VitaMix, I can testify that you can bring mixtures to boiling if you blend it long enough. Be careful if you are a raw vegan! Warm is okay—hot isn’t. If you eat cooked food, heat it as hot as you like.

The resulting mix will be very foamy:

Turn the blender back on, on the lowest speed. Slowly increase it until the force starts pulling the mix down and popping the bubbles. The following pictures show the process:

Serve in soup mugs. This recipe makes one serving of two mugs of soup. I had the first one plain

and the second mug with a sprinkle of garlic salt.

Sit in front of the fire and enjoy!

I scald the tomatoes very briefly to make it easy to peel them:

Using my bamboo cutting board and knife, I rough-chop the tomatoes:

The link goes to the cutting board like I have. There are lots to choose from but I like this one because I don’t lose the good juices.

This picture shows the approximate size and shape of the chop I go for:

Under the tomatoes, you can see the other ingredients peeking out. I used yellow sweet pepper in this batch to give it some contrast. The flavor is only slightly different from red sweet pepper.

This looks like I’m really going to town mixing the ingredients:

I almost forgot the lime juice!

Another quick mix and it’s salsa!

It was too late to eat it that day so I put it in a jar to be stored away for the morrow. Overnight, the flavors intensify.

I ate it in a bowl with avocado. DD and merm ate it with beans, tortillas, and chips. To each his (her) own.