blueberry icey

To make you'll need: frozen blueberries, almond milk, salt, and some kind of sweet syrup such as honey. that is it. Eat right away when it's nice and cold and the almond milk has created a lovely hard white coat over the frozen blueberries.

It' best to serve this in a clear glass container of some sort so that you can observe how the devilishly juicy blueberries tarnish the pure white milk. It's a lovely sight, kind of like edible tie dye.

Ginger Raspberry Sorbet

Frozen raspberries, candied ginger soaked in either water or grapefruit juice(then cut into tiny pieces), vanilla extract, honey, lemon juice, black pepper. Adjust the quantities of these ingredients as needed, but the majority of this sorbet should be frozen Raspberries. Combine in a food processor until very thick and smooth. Finish with a garnish of unsoaked Julienned candied ginger and some fresh black pepper.

This stuff brings the chill. Perfect for the hot summer days to come. Brrr !

bitter cherry salad

Bitter Cherry Salad
dried cherries soaked in water for about a half hour or so
radicchio lettuce, very thinly shredded
pink lady apple(or any you like), peeled and chop in to teeny tiny cubes
parsley, minced

orange zest, if ya got it(optional)
lemon juice
olive oil
vanilla extract
salt and pepper to taste

red pepper eggplant dip

Red Pepper Eggplant Dip
1 medium sized eggplant
1 large red bell pepper(or 2, depending on how peppery you want it)
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes
hot sauce(optional)
roasted garlic(optional)

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Coat a cookie sheet in a light layer of cooking oil. Cut the eggplant in half, length wise. place eggplant halves cut side down on to the cookie sheet, place in the oven and let cook for about 30 minutes, until very tender.

I have a gas stove top, so i used the open flame to roast the red bell pepper. If you do not have a gas stove you can simply place the stemmed bell pepper on the cookie sheet along side the eggplant. You'll need to let the pepper cook a bit longer than the eggplant, and maybe increase the heat to 450 once the eggplant is out of the oven. Once the bell pepper is charred on the outside place it in a bowl covered in plastic wrap for a few minutes, let cool so you can handle it, then remove seeds and peel the skin off(perhaps leaving a bit of the burnt bits on to add a nice smokey flavor to the dip, if you want) .

In a food processor, place the pulp of the roasted eggplant(discard skin), and roasted red bell pepper, pulse until fully combined. Add in the olive oil, and pulse again. From here on you can get creative with the spices, feel free to add any herbs, perhaps oregano or whatever you see fitting.

Let refrigerate so the flavors can intensify, then finish by drizzling with olive oil and serve with cracker or veggies. I like to eat this with celery sticks and romaine lettuce leaves like a wrap. I love this and could pretty much eat the entire recipe as a meal.

Tart Cherry Tart

I'm alive ! I know it's amazing. and i have a recipe to share(my way of saying, i know i haven't posted in a very long time, long enough for you to wonder if i existed anymore).

I have a food processor now. I've been without one for probably four months, so now i can make all kinds of  interesting things .

Today i made a pie/tart, which is such a relaxing activity(for me anyway). I could press raw pie crust into tart shells all day long. It's kind of like playing with clay, you seriously can't even try to worry about any problem you have going on in your life when you're playing with clay, same with pie crust. but mostly i love working with my hands/squishing things, it makes me happy.

This is a Raw Coconut Pie Crust filled with a (not raw or vegan) Tart Cherry Curd ...

Crust
1 cup shredded coconut
8-10 pitted dates, chopped
1 1/2 -2 tablesoons coconut oil
bit of salt

Process all of the above in a food processor,(blissfully!) press into a large tart pan with a removable bottom lined with plastic wrap. Refrigerate while making the filling.

Curd
6 egg yolks
1 cup fresh or frozen(i used frozen) cherries
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup water
a very small nob of ginger(optional)
1/3 cup honey
6 tablespoons coconut oil

In a saucepan, let the cherries, ginger(if you want) lemon juice and water simmer over medium heat. Once the cherries have softened and released their juices into the lemon water mixture take off the heat and pour through a sieve.  Remove the ginger nob, then sort of mashing the whole cherries through the sieve a little to squish them a bit. Don't throw the cherry bits away, we'll use them later. Let the cherry lemon water mixture cool down a bit before continuing on. Once the cherry mixture has come to room temperature measure out 1/2 cup of it and pour into a saucepan, then add the egg yolks and honey, whisk together until fully combined.  Over medium heat, whisk constantly until it starts to bubble. Continue whisking and add in the coconut oil is small bits. Let the mixture bubble for one minute before removing from the heat. Pour into your cooled pie shell, randomly distribute the left over cherry bits, let refrigerate for at least a half hour.

Would be great served with a coconut or cashew whipped cream cream.

cilantro rice salad

1 cup cooked wild rice(or red quinoa or even buckwheat), cooled
10 sprigs of cilantro(stems and all), finely chopped
5 sprigs parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup alfalfa sprouts
1 1/2 tablespoons dried cranberries
1/2 of a dill pickle, finely chopped(optional)
1 tablespoons hemp seeds(optional)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil

I made up this salad at 1am after coming home from work. I't fun sometimes not having much in the house because you end up creating something rather tasty that you never would have made otherwise.

...but, everything tastes good at 1 in the morning. still, i think i'd like this any time of the day.

salad and a cactus plant

this makes a lot ...

1 head curly parsley. finely chopped
2 small roma tomatoes, finely chopped
1 small pickling cucumber, finely chopped(skin and all)
1 spring onion or 5 chives, finely chopped

Dressing
2-3 tablespoons of the left over juice in a jar of pickles(or vinegar/lemon juice)
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt
dulse flakes

Optional Add In's
dried cranberries or cherries, finely chopped
quinoa



My sister gave me this amazing glass globe filled with soil moss rocks and the most amazing cactus plants. She knows me well because cacti are pretty much the only plant(besides edible plants) i have an interest in growing . . .not saying that i have a green thumb in the least, i just hope i can keep this one alive.