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Cranberry Honey Ferment (Mead, Sauce)

Cranberry Honey Ferment (Mead, Sauce)

This year I wanted to the Christmas Cranberry Sauce with a probiotic boost. I have come across several posts on fermented cranberry sauce in fermentation groups on Facebook, most being based on honey.  The process is fairly simple – puncture fresh cranberries with a fork to allow honey to permeate. Place the cranberries in a mason jar, along with your favourite holiday spices (cinnamon, ginger,…

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Raw Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff

Raw Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff - serve over green beans for a holiday dish of Green Bean Casserole!

A raw vegan version of the Russian beef dish Stroganoff. Herb-seasoned mushrooms “cooked” in a savoury-tangy vinaigrette, then tossed in an instant small-batch coconut macadamia sauce. I used coconut cream and macadamia butter for the sauce because it is easier to make a small batch this way. You can substitute soaked cashews for macadamia for more budget-friendly alternative, or if making a…

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Honey Fermented Charoset Chutney

A healthful holiday gift that you can start preparing now - Raw Honey Fermented Charoset Chutney. Give it time to age ferment before being ripe for the wrapping!

I got this idea from Insane in the Brine, a website dedicated to fermented foods. Honey has a moisture content of around 17 percent, which is low enough to prevent spontaneous fermentation. However if moisture increases to above 19 percent, natural fermentation by yeast can occur. The tendency for raw honey to naturally and spontaneously ferment is evident in mead, or honey wine.

This charoset…

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All-Purpose Vegan Kimchi Paste and Mat Baechu (Simple Cabbage) Kimchi

I have prepared Kimchi several times already, and to streamline the process, I have come up with an all-purpose vegan kimchi paste, which can be used to season all types of kimchi (cabbage, radish, pumpkin, mix vegetable, etc.)

In the recipe card below, you can find how to prepare Mat Baechu (Simple Cabbage) kimchi with this all-purpose. In Korean, baechu means cabbage and makmeans simple. It…

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Eggplant & Mushroom Paprikash (High Raw Vegan, Oil-Free)

This creamy, tangy, high raw stew is based on the Hungarian dish paprikash, a goulash-like dish traditionally made with chicken but further enriched with sour cream. In this high raw version, a sauce is formed from tahini sour cream blended with mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, and paprika. Diced vegetables and mushrooms are folded into the sauce. I chose to use stove-cooked eggplants and mushrooms.…

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Raw Sprouted Buckwheat Granola - 4 Variations

Raw vegan granola with a sprouted buckwheat base, mixed with nuts, seeds, and held together in clusters with fruit puree. 4 flavour variations are provided – Dark Force Chocolate Banana with chaga and maca, Green Vitality with spirulina, Superberry, and Golden Five Spice of Lifewith mango, turmeric, and Chinese five spice. Enjoy these bites on top smoothie bowls, parfaits, soaked in your…

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Bulgogi Tempeh (Vegan, Gluten Free)

Korean bulgogi marinade to season tempeh, tofu, or mushrooms.

The South Korean spice palette is largely based on the four stalwarts of soy sauce (tamari), sesame, garlic, and chilli, culminating in a salty, pungent, nutty and slightly sweet profile. The pungency of chillies, garlic, and often ginger is balanced by the rich, toasty flavours of sesame, or mellowed through fermentation in dishes such as kimchi.

Besides kimchi, another popular Korean dish…

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Slow Cooker Medicinal Mushroom Ginseng Stew

Rich and revitalising medicinal mushroom stew that is both food and medicine at once. It takes just minutes to prepare and the slow cooker does the rest of the work of slowly extracting all the nourishing goodness while you sit back and relax.

There are a few recipes that I would make more than once, but this deeply nourishing medicinal mushroom ginseng soup has made regular appearance the past few weeks and that speaks of how delicious it is! More than that, it takes just minutes to prepare – mainly slicing up mushrooms – and the slow cooker does the rest of the work. Patience is a virtue here; sit back, relax, and after a 6 hour…

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Raw Vegan Mushroom Chilli with DIY Taco Seasoning

Raw vegan comfort food - Tex Mex Chilli with DIY Taco Seasoning

The term chilli can be very confusing. When I was first introduced to the Tex-Mex chilli, I thought, “huh, having the chilli pepper as a meal?!” with the image of the pepper fruit in mind. This is because in Southeast Asia, chilli refers only to the spicy fruit, from Thai birdseye chilli to long finger chillies. Later on I learnt that the Tex-Mex chilli is a short form for chilli con carne, or…

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Kvass Two Ways: Brine or Honey

Choose your own kvass adventure with any combination of vegetable, fruit, herbs and spices, salt, and/or honey. This fuss-free ferment needs minimal maintenance - no need for SCOBY or kefir grains!

What is Kvass? The Russian “Water”

Like beer is to the Germans, Kvass is the national drink and a daily staple of East Slavic peoples, its importance dramatised in the words of poet Alexander Pushkin, “their kvass they needed like fresh air.” The linguistic root -kvasmeans “ferment” or “sour.” The original kvass is a ferment of stale black (rye) bread, water, honey, and sometimes yeast. The…

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Winter Hobak (Pumpkin) Kimchi

Pumpkin Kimchi. I love winter squash but it is not always easy to eat it raw due to its dense and firm texture. This is where we bring in out little helpers, salt and lactic acid bacteria, to help break down the cell structures and render it pleasingly palatable via lactofermentation. The final result is like a Fuyu persimmon!

I love winter squash but it is not always easy to eat it raw due to its dense and firm texture. This is where we bring in out little helpers, salt and lactic acid bacteria, to help break down the cell structures and render it pleasingly palatable via lactofermentation.

I came across two ways to lactoferment winter squash. In Ferment Your Vegetablesby Amanda Feifer (2015), she ferments winter…

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Eggplant Caponata (Semi Raw Vegan)

Here is another eggplant dish with summer vegetables. Almost every culture has its version of an eggplant dip or relish: Turkish Baba Ganoush and Moutabal, Indian Baingan Bharta, and Russian Baklazhannaia Ikra (poor man’s caviar). For Sicily, their answer is Caponata.

Sicilian Caponata is a chunky relish made with sauteed eggplant, onion, celery, tomatoes, and bell peppers or other late summer…

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Cinnabun Cake with Raw Banana Cinnamon Rolls

Lately, I have been on a roll with raw banana cinnamon rolls (or snails as I like to call them) lately, so I decided to turn it into a giant cinnabun cake.

This Cinnabun Cake has four components. A rich baked vegan paleo chocolate sponge layered with banana maple cream, a white chocolate drip for that cinnamon roll icing look, and raw banana cinnamon rolls for garnish.

Tips on Baked Rich…

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Sweetcorn Tortillas (Raw, Vegan, Gluten Free)

Raw Sweetcorn Tortillas - the perfect vehicles for Mexican fillings. With corn as the main ingredient, they exude a soft, buttery flavour.

These sweetcorn tortillas are the perfect vehicles for Mexican fillings. With corn as the main ingredient, they exude a soft, buttery flavour. Red bell pepper and ras el hanout spices contribute a smoky tone – a nod to Mexican cuisine. The tortillas are bound by ground flaxseed and slow-dried in the dehydrator to your desired consistency. You can spread the batter as small or large as you like,…

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Rawtatouille

Rawtatouille with summer vegetables.

Ratatouille is a Provencal dish. This dish was likely invented to make use of the summer’s vegetable harvest, where summer squash (zucchini), tomatoes, bell peppers, and eggplants have bear fruit and need to be used up. The word Ratatouille is derived from the French word touiller (to mix or stir). Traditionally equal part of each vegetable is cooked separately before being combined and then…

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Great Depression Chocolate Cake (Vegan, Gluten Free)

The Great Depression Chocolate Cake. A vegan gluten free spin on the eponymous wartime cake that emerged from the Great Depression of the 1930s. Made with basic pantry ingredients - almond, chia, flax, cacao, and hot water. No oil, milk, chocolate. You can have your chocolate cake and eat it too despite dire times.

We can’t deny that we are in a depression era due to the Coronavirus. Many of us are under quarantine, or have our movements restricted. Food and groceries are harder to come by; we must be conservative on how we use our resources.

One thing I find it hard to give up is chocolate treats. I mean, in this depressive era, we can definitely do with anti-depressive foods like cacao to boost our…

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Peanut Butter Berry Fault Line Cake (Vegan, Gluten Free)

Peanut butter berry cake in fault line design. I wanted to try out the fault line design just for fun. It was a trending design back in 2019. To create this style, you make a four layer cake, with the middle two layers slightly smaller than the top and bottom layers. You frost and decorate the middle two layers, stack them between the top and bottom, and spread a thick layer of frosting on the…