Crazy Sexy Diet: Eat Your Veggies, Ignite Your Spark, and Live Like You Mean It! (58 page)

Blend all the ingredients on high in a food processor, Magic Bullet, or blender (if you’re using a food processor, you might want to chop the garlic first).

Contributed by Gena Hamshaw,
www.choosingraw.com

3–4 very large carrots (or 7–8 small), chopped

1 cup water

3 tablespoons mellow white miso

1 tablespoon nama shoyu

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 large, pitted medjool dates

1” piece gingerroot, peeled

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

Blend all ingredients save the sesame oil in a Vita-Mix. You’ll have to start on low and work the speed up; your machine will sound a little angry, but once it gets blending, it’ll simmer down! When you have a creamy, even mix, turn the speed to high and drizzle the sesame oil in. Check the texture: If you’d like it thicker, add some more chopped carrots!

If you don’t have a Vita-Mix, simply grate the carrots first, and blend in a conventional blender. Serve on top of a salad or as a dip for some veggie snacking, and enjoy!

Contributed by Gena Hamshaw,
www.choosingraw.com

Inspired by a recipe taught by vegan chef Myra Cornfield, this creamy dressing is always a hit at parties and dinners!

1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 ripe avocado

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, minced

¼–½ cup water (depending how thick you like it) Black pepper

Dry-toast the cumin seeds in a heavy-bottomed skillet until fragrant. Grind into a powder using a spice grinder. Put the ground cumin, lime juice, oil, avocado, salt, mustard, garlic, and water into a blender and blend until very smooth. Sprinkle with pepper and season to taste.

Contributed by Gena Hamshaw,
www.choosingraw.com

¾ cup cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours

½ cup water

2 tablespoons lemon juice

¼ cup apple cider vinegar (a little more if you like it more tart)

¼–½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon dried oregano

1 clove garlic (optional)

½ teaspoon onion powder (optional)

3 tablespoons fresh dill

3 tablespoons fresh parsley

3 tablespoons olive oil

Blend all the ingredients in a high-speed blender—or blend all the ingredients except for the oil in a food processor, and drizzle the oil in until the mixture is creamy and emulsified.

When the dressing is blended, chop an additional few tablespoons of herbs and mix them in. Enjoy on top of a big green salad.

Contributed by Gena Hamshaw,
www.choosingraw.com

1” piece gingerroot (or 1½ teaspoons powdered)

½ teaspoon turmeric

¾ cup flax oil

2 teaspoons sesame oil (toasted)

¼ cup lime juice

2 tablespoons mellow white miso

4 large medjool dates, pitted, or 1–2 packets of stevia

¼ cup nama shoyu

½ cup water

Blend all ingredients on high till creamy and emulsified.

Contributed by Kristen Suzanne,
www.kristensraw.com

1 cup hemp oil

½ cup fresh lemon juice

3 large cloves garlic

1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning

½ teaspoon Himalayan crystal salt

Blend all of the ingredients thoroughly until the mixture reaches a creamy consistency. Drizzle some on your next salad. Stored in an airtight container in your refrigerator, King Garlic Hemp Dressing will stay fresh for up to 5 days.

Contributed by Candle Café, New York, New York,
www.candlecafe.com

This rich and satisfying salad is full of the flavors of Mexico. All of the components can be prepared well ahead of time and tossed together just before serving.

8 ounces tempeh, quartered

1 cup apple juice

1 cup shoyu

⅔
cup water

¼ cup peeled and shredded ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup agave nectar

Chipotle Barbecue Sauce (recipe follows)

1½ cups uncooked quinoa

2¾ cups water

1 tablespoon sea salt

2 ears sweet corn, husked

1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 red bell pepper, seeded, deveined, and cut into thin strips

2 cups dried black beans, cooked and drained, or 2 cups canned beans, drained

Juice of 1 lime

Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

1 cup pumpkin seeds

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon chili powder

4 cups mesclun

To prepare the tempeh: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the tempeh quarters in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix the apple juice, shoyu, water, ginger, garlic, and agave nectar together and pour over the tempeh. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Drain the tempeh and let it cool.

Prepare a stovetop or charcoal grill or heat up the broiler. Brush the tempeh with Chipotle Barbecue Sauce and grill until lightly browned.

To prepare the quinoa salad: Rinse the quinoa until the water runs clear, then drain. Bring the water and salt to a boil, add the quinoa, reduce the heat, and simmer. Cover and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork and remove the quinoa to a large bowl. Fluff again and set aside to cool.

Cook the corn in boiling salted water for 8 minutes. Drain and cool. Scrape the kernels off the ears with a sharp knife. Set aside.

Toss the onion, cilantro, red pepper, and black beans together. Add the lime juice and toss again.

Mix into the quinoa and gently toss together. Add about ¼ cup Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette and toss again.

To prepare the Toasted Pumpkin Seeds: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Toss the pumpkin seeds with the olive oil, salt, and chili powder. Spread on a baking sheet and bake until the seeds just begin to pop, 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside to cool.

To assemble the salad: Divide the mesclun into four salad bowls. Place about 1 cup of the dressed quinoa mixture on top of the lettuce. Slice each tempeh square into triangles and place four triangles of tempeh over the quinoa in a spoke pattern. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and drizzle with a small amount of dressing.

Contributed by Candle Café, New York, New York,
www.candlecafe.com

This spicy sauce is a great pantry item. We always like to have some on hand to use over grilled tofu or seitan. It’s also delicious with grilled vegetables.

3 dried chipotle peppers

3 tablespoons minced garlic

1½ cups tomato paste

1 cup apple cider vinegar

½ cup molasses

1 cup agave nectar

¼ cup mustard

¾ cup dried basil

1 teaspoon sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup water

½ cup shoyu

Soak the peppers in hot water for 15 minutes. Drain and chop.

Place the chopped chipotles and the remaining ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. The sauce will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Contributed by Candle Café, New York, New York,
www.candlecafe.com

This is a versatile and delicious dressing. Its robust flavor holds up to a variety of vegetables and grains, as well as salads.

4 Roma tomatoes, halved

1¼ cups plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

½ cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Toss the tomatoes with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, along with the salt and pepper. Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet, cut-side down, and roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until the skin blisters. Set aside to cool.

Transfer the tomatoes, remaining 1¼ cups olive oil, vinegar, red pepper flakes, garlic, cilantro, and salt and pepper to a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings. The vinaigrette will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Variation: For a Spicy Southwestern-Style Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette, add 4 rehydrated chipotles to the tomatoes before blending.

Contributed by Latham Thomas, Tender Shoots Wellness,
www.tendershootswellness.com

2½ bunches dino kale (lacinato), cut in thin strips across ribs

1 teaspoon sea salt

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup (2 ounces) nama shoyu

1 tablespoon raw agave nectar

1 teaspoon spicy curry

½ cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup raw tahini

1 ounce grated gingerroot

1 cup pine nuts

1½ cups pitted green olives

1½ cups diced red bell pepper

1 cup hemp seeds

Take 3 stalks of kale and stack together. Slice the kale in ¼-inch ribbons across the ribs to get thin slices. Blend all the other ingredients (minus the olives, bell pepper, and hemp seeds) to get a thick dressing. Add the olives, bell pepper, and hemp seeds to the bowl with kale. Then pour over the tahini dressing and mix thoroughly. Allow the kale to wilt when mixed with the dressing—the salt and acid from lemon in the dressing softens the kale and makes the fiber more tender and easier to digest. Massaging the kale is a part of it as well, so use a nice wooden spoon or your own hands to mix.