Cheezy Veggie Flax Crackers & Cucumber Dill Cashew Cheese Dip

Inspired by a Facebook post from Viva Institute of some very appealing carrot fax crackers they prepared in their kitchen I tried some of my own with some fresh baby carrots and zucchini from the garden.  I was chatting with someone on their site and they mentioned they used 1 cup of flax seeds to two cups of nuts for a crispier, flakier cracker.  I also thought the tahini marinade I use for my kale chips might add a little cheezy zing to the crackers.  Here's what I came up with.  
  

Cheezy Veggie Flax Crackers

I used: 1 cup flax seed, 2 cups macadamia nuts, 1 cup pumpkin seeds, 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes soaked in 1 cup filtered water, finely grated zucchini & carrots, a few fresh herbs from the garden, and a little sauce made with the water from the sun dried tomatoes, 1 1/2 TB tamari, 2 heaping TB of tahini, 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, and a dash of chili powder, cayenne, and sea salt.

I soaked the flax seeds in 1 1/4 cups water and the pumpkin seeds and macadamia nuts for two hours or more.  I blended half the macadamia nuts and pumpkin seeds in the food processor with the tomatoes and soak water from the tomatoes with the herbs and seasonings.  I tossed the grated zucchini & carrots in with the flax seeds,  nuts, and pumpkins seeds and dehydrated for not quite 18 hours, turning over half way through so they would dry thoroughly.

I made a nice cool cucumber dill cashew cheese dip to go with them. These crackers came out really great.  It made for a nice summer meal.

Cucumber Dill Cashew Cheese

2 cups cashews
1 cup filtered water or rejuvelac
1/3 cup red bell pepper, diced
2 1/2 TB green onion, chopped, I used a fresh white one from the garden.
2 TB dried dill or 1 TB fresh dill
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp tamari
1/4 tsp sea salt, or to taste
Pinch red pepper flakes

Dash of fresh ground pepper.
1 medium to large fresh cucumber, diced

Blend the cashews and filtered water until very smooth. Place in a 1/2 gallon open-mouth glass jar or pitcher.  Cover lightly with plastic wrap and secure with a rubber band.  Cover with a towl and allow to sit in a warm place overnight.

Pour cashew mixture into a large mixing bowl, combine with remaining ingredients and mix well. 


What a journey, a couple of years ago I could say we were almost vegan.  Now, we're mostly vegan and getting very much into the raw food fun.  My stovetop resembles a prep table most the time now instead of a place to cook food.

Creamy Coconut Milk Marionberry Ice Cream ~ It's an Ice Cream Party

You scream, I scream, we all scream for Ice Cream.  Yum.

Had sort of an ice cream party this weekend.  A few of my friends made ice cream and we all posted on FB. It began with Felicia, she just bought an ice cream machine last week and she was anxious to get started.  She asked for some ideas and I gave her some tips as well as went shopping with her to pick out some key ingredients. She promptly whipped up some chocolate chip ice cream using bananas and coconut milk as her base.  I got to try some and it was delicious. I didn't get a picture of hers though.

Last week I gave Rachel some of my organic cherries I put up in the freezer last weekend.  This weekend she made some Cherry Pecan frozen yogurt. She used: Greek Yoghurt, Coconut Milk, Homemade Vanilla (w/alcohol to ensure it doesn't turn to a brick in the freezer), Fresh Cherries, Honey, Handful of Pecans.  She described it as "Rich and Delightful".  It looks like it is.

Rachel's Cherry Pecan Frozen Yogurt

Barb made homemade apricot preserve cream cheese ice cream.  Looks very creamy. 

Barb's Homemade Apricot Preserve Cream Cheese Ice Cream

It all looked so good, I had to join in with my vegan version of ice cream.  Wasn't sure which flavor I wanted to play with.  It was a toss up between cherry and marionberry.  I mentioned it to Barb and she said she wanted some marionberry. I was lucky enough to be at Payton's Produce when a berry picker came in with his berries a couple weeks ago.  He had fresh raspberries and two flats of plump fresh marionberries.  I took home three flats of his raspberries and one flat of the beautiful marionberries.   I mixed up a creamy coconut milk marionberry ice cream.  

Deb's Creamy Coconut Milk Marionberry Ice Cream

Creamy Coconut Milk Marionberry Ice Cream

Makes 6 cups

Ice Cream:

3 cups organic full fat coconut milk, chilled

2 cups fresh marionberries, or substitute your favorite fruit

3/4 cup agave nectar

1 tsp almond extract

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

seeds of one vanilla bean

1/4 tsp sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a blender, and process until well blended.  I strained the berries and used the juice in the ice cream mixture.  About five minutes before the mixture was finished I added whole berries.   Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and process according to your maker's directions.  Mine takes about half an hour. Once processed, pour into freezable container with a lid, and place in the freezer for at least a few hours, or overnight to firm up for best results.

I mixed about 1 TB pure maple syrup to about 1 cup berries for a juicy berry topping.

Pine and Macadamia Nut Stuffed Squash Flowers

Yesterday morning I couldn't help but gather a few squash flowers for dinner.  I have to be careful not to take too many because I want the squash to grow.  So, I took just a couple flowers from all the squash in the garden:  zucchini, delicata, pumpkin, crookneck, acorn, and butternut.  I am amazed how all the flowers from the various varieties of  of squash all look the same.  I don't get to see them blooming too much as I usually get out to the garden in the late afternoon and they've mostly closed up by then.  Yesterday morning they were all standing up and showing their beauty. I can and do pick them occasionally and have a raw flower snack in the garden. I didn't know they were so delightful until last year when I heard about cooking them. If you haven't tried your squash flowers, I think you should.  It surprised me how much a flower can taste like a fresh zucchini.  Be sure to be careful when cleaning them and always look inside before eating them in the garden.  I have brought home some guests like bumblebees and cucumber beetles.

I made a nut cheese for some raw zucchini ravioli from a Vegan Fusion Recipe.  It's from the The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Raw.  I made the Turnip and Pine Nut Ravioli, page 230, substituting fresh zucchini for the ravioli. I thought the cheese would also make a lovely cheese filling for my flowers.  I squeezed about 1 tsp of cheese into the bottom of a cleaned flower with my handy tool and dipped in a mixture of ground flax seeds and non-dairy milk, then dredged in a little flour and cornmeal, and gently sautéed in hot grape seed oil with a fresh sprig each of fresh thyme and rosemary.  A small teaspoon works well for stuffing the flowers, that's what I used last year.

Pine & Macadamia Nut Cheese
      The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Raw.

1 cup pine nuts soaked at least 2 hours
2 cups macadamia nuts, soaked at least 2 hours **
1 TB fresh rosemary, minced
4 tsp fresh parsley, minced
4 tsp fresh thyme, minced
2 TB nutritional yeast
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 TB apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup rejuvelac or filtered water, as needed

**Other nuts may be substituted such as: cashews, Brazil nuts, or almonds.

Rinse pine nuts and macadamia nuts, and drain well for at least 10 minutes.  Place in a food processor fitted with an S blade, and process on high speed for about 10 seconds.

Add rosemary, parsley, thyme, nutritional yeast, salt, black pepper, and apple cider vinegar.  Blend on high speed for about 20 seconds while adding rejuvelac through the top until a smooth, cheesy consistency is reached. 

Squash Flowers, stuffed with pine and macadamia nut cheese, dipped in a mixture of ground flax seeds and hemp milk, then dredged in a little flour and cornmeal, and gently sautéed in grape seed oil with a fresh sprig each of fresh thyme and rosemary.

Garden Update ~ Early August

I don't remember the name of these bulbs, but I sure love them.  I have to get out to the garden in the morning to catch them in full bloom though, they close up and go to sleep by early afternoon.


Despite the few days of sunny weather, our garden is moving along.  I'm pulling out onions and zucchini daily and just about everything has something that looks like a vegetable growing.  The corn is almost to the bottom of the second pink row going up on Molly's overalls.  I figured out I can watch the corn's progress by comparing it to the color rows on her pants. I walked around and got some photos of just baby veggies the other day.

Yesterday I filled a box with lots of treats: two kinds of zucchini, crookneck squash, three kinds of beets, red cabbage, broccoli, a dozen artichokes, shallots, onions, squash flowers of every kind of squash I have, (Don't want to take too many from one plant.), fresh rosemary and lavender.

The husband of a dear friend of mine, who passed away in 2009, lives in the house behind my garden and there was some interesting commotion going on.  I recognized his daughter, whom I haven't seen in awhile, Wasipi.  I was glad to see her. I've been wanting to thank her for reminding me of the Green Tortoise's Baja adventure.  Something, we'd want to go on, but I had forgotten about.  After she told me of her 15 day whale watching adventure, I checked it out.  We ended up having an unforgettable Thanksgiving on a secluded beach in Baja with a small group of wonderful people. Turns out, yesterday was Steve's 90th birthday and they were getting ready setting up the celebration in his backyard.  I was happy to fill a bag with some fresh veggies and nasturtiums for their salad.

I dropped some veggies off to another friend on the way home who likes to cook with fresh ingredients. She's just started doing some cooking and baking without animal products.  Felicia told me she had never eaten a beet in her life.  Lucky her, most of us were introduced to beets as canned, overcooked, remnants of their original form.  I am not surprised when someone's first reaction to beets is negative. She gets to try beets for the first time, tender and fresh out of the garden.  My husband never liked them until we started eating them fresh and most times raw. The golden beets are so tender when fresh picked I can eat them like an apple.