Tag Archives: cranberries

Lime and Herb Infused Green Papaya Salad

25 February 2013

33 Comments

A total craving for Green Papaya Salad lured me out into the cold and windy day, on the hunt for green papaya. I love my local China town – it’s always full of life, hectic, intense, full of colors, smells and hints of adventure. Then, the sun came out, and what more can you really ask for?

China Town


Fisgaard market

Red Door

Fan Tan Alley Victoria

China Town Victoria MarketMarketMarket

I found the freshest and most beautiful green papaya fruit, a deliciously sweet pineapple, fresh herbs, big juicy oranges, tangy lime fruit and dried cranberries. That’s when I knew I was fully ready to go home and create a delicious Green Papaya Salad.

Green Papaya Salad

Green Papaya

Green Papaya

Papaya in Julienne

Papaya in Julienne

Filets of Orange

Filets of Orange

Juicy Orange

Juicy Orange

Mint, Cilantro and Basil

Mint, Cilantro and Basil

Green Papaya Salad

1/2 green papaya

1/4 fresh sweet pineapple

1 big orange

1 bunch fresh cilantro

1 bunch fresh basil

1 bunch fresh mint

A handful of cranberries

Cut the papaya and the pineapple into julienne strips and cut the orange into fillets. Wash and finely chop the herbs, mix everything in a bowl. Add a handful of dried cranberries

Marinade

2 lime

3-4 sps of maple syrup or agave

1 -2 cloves of garlic

some freshly grated ginger

Squeeze the lime, add maple syrup, squeeze garlic and grate some fresh ginger – mix well.

Pour the marinade over the salad and enjoy!

Green Papaya Salad

Green Papaya Salad

Healthy Energy Truffles

21 January 2013

28 Comments

This recipe is from a very dear and special friend of mine. She suffers from gluten allergy and therefore she is always looking for new and creative ways for eating healthy and gluten-free.

She gave me her recipe here for these “Healthy Energy Truffles” and I just love it. They are easy to make and can be put in the freezer and taken out to enjoy whenever and whereever you need a good healthy snack.

Perfect snack

Perfect snack

They are full of goodness – seeds, raisins, cranberries, honey and chocolate chips.

Energy Balls

Healthy Energy Truffles

1/2 cup  toasted sunflower seeds

1/2 cup  toasted pumpkin seeds

1 cup toasted sesame seeds

1 cup  quinoa flakes

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup of cocoa powder – or 100g dark good quality chocolate

1 cup dried cranberries

2 cups of peanut butter (1 jar @ 500g)

1/2 cup of honey

1 cup of toasted sesame or coconut seeds to roll the truffles in. I used toasted sesame seeds and a bit of pumpkin seeds.

Everything is mixed well together and made into balls the size of a golf ball and finished of by rolling them in toasted sesame/ pumpkin or coconut. Keep what you need in the fridge and freeze the rest.

Served with a nice cup of tea

Served with a nice cup of tea

VVP- Carrot cake with cranberries and orange, vanilla cream icing, served with orange sauce

1 November 2012

41 Comments

Welcome to the famous, amazing, wonderful and incredible – the Virtual Vegan Potluck!

This is it – the day I have been looking forward to for weeks has finally arrived! The Virtual Vegan Potluck is a gathering of more than 100 enthused bloggers, from all over the world, sharing their creative vegan recipes. Maybe you have already been working your way around the virtual vegan potluck – if so, I hope you have enjoyed some wonderful food – appetizers, soups, breads, starters, mains, drinks, and now desserts!  I am so happy I signed up to make dessert! Because….

“Dessert is probably the most important stage of the meal,

since it will be the last thing your guests will

remember before they pass out all over the table” – William Powel

I love Vegan desserts and in particular Raw food  desserts make my heart beat. Apart from being sinfully delicious, they are nutritious and packed full of goodness! So go for it – eat, indulge, enjoy and be healthier for every bite.

One of my old time favorites – is carrot cake with creme cheese icing!

I have created an almost raw food version of this old time favorite, and I can’t wait to share it with you!

So lets get to it!

Carrot Cake with cranberries topped with an orange, vanilla cream icing, served with orange sauce

3 cups of grated carrots

1 1/2 cup cooked quinoa

2 oranges

1 cup of walnuts

1 cup of oats

10 -12 dates Mojol

2-4 spoons agave

1 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a bowl, add the grated carrots and the cooked sprouted quinoa, grate the rind of the oranges, and then add the juice of the oranges. In a blender, blend the walnuts and the oats till it becomes flour-like, and add to the carrots. Add the spices to the bowl and stir well. In a blender put the ingredients from the bowl and add the pitted dates, blend smooth – I needed to do it in two batches. Put it back in the bowl and add the agave and the cranberries.

Put it into a pie pan

Make the  Orange, Vanilla cream icing

2 cups of cashews ( that have been soaked for 2-4 hrs or overnight in the fridge)

1 orange

4 spoons of Agave

1 vanilla pod

Drain the soaked cashews and put them in the blender, add the juice of one freshly squeezed orange, add the agave and scrape out the vanilla bean. Put it in and blend into a smooth cream. Spread it on top of the cake and decorate with walnuts.

Serve with Orange Sauce

1 Orange

2 spoons of Agave

Squeeze the juice of the orange and add agave to make the sauce.

Sorry I had to take a bite and another one and one more …………………. and then tomorrow I will have leftovers for breakfast!

This is my contribution. Thank you for coming to the Virtual Potluck – I am thrilled you came!!

But before I let you go – lets raise our glasses and make a big heartfelt toast to the Virtual Potluck people! – The Virtual Vegan Potluck was initiated and arranged by one of my favorite virtual friends and bloggers, Annie at anunrefinedvegan!

She birthed this idea and made it possible – thank you Annie!! Thank you also to 3 more beautiful virtual friends and bloggers, Somer from Vedged Out  , Lidia from Veganbloggersunite and Jason from Jason and the Veganauts for helping make this event possible. Lots of work went into this – thank you guys you are amazing!!!

… and so the party continues the show goes on and on and on – click forward or backward as you please by clicking the “go forward” – “go back”  images below.

Enjoy and have fun

 

Kale, beet salad with peaches, cranberries, creamy goat cheese and orange, honey dressing

4 September 2012

18 Comments

September is one of my favorite months. It’s the month where we bask in the lasts days of summer, dwell on them like we trying to make them last forever, soaking up the sunshine, treasuring the fruits and berries. I really don’t want it to end – on the other hand what is better than a crisp, fresh autumn day with a clear blue sky and the trees turning orange?

This salad is a real September treat and it is easy to make. It tastes wonderful and is full of intense flavor combinations – sweet, salty, sour and zesty. Make sure you eat it wearing a big bib or even better your bathing suit – the juices go everywhere!

Kale,beet salad with peaches, cranberries, creamy goats cheese and orange, honey dressing

A big bunch of red kale

one bunch of beets – 5-6 beets ( keep the tops and use them later for juicing or in smoothies)

one handful of pumpkin seeds

goat cheese

one handful of dried cranberries

olive oil

one peach

dressing

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

juice of one orange

2 tbsp honey

sea salt

1 clove of garlic

1 tbsp olive oil

Wash and rinse the kale, remove the stems and cut the kale finely. Add it in to a bowl and drizzle a bit of olive oil on top, and then “massage” the kale to tenderise it. Peel the beets and either grate them or run them through the food processor. Add to the kale. Add a handful of dried cranberries  and a handful of pumpkin seeds.

In a small bowl add the balsamic vinegar, the orange juice, olive oil, honey, sea salt and freshly squeezed garlic. Mix it all well and add it to the salad, mixing well. Arrange the salad in a dish or on plates, Cut slices of peach and arrange it on top of the salad, add a bit of crumbled creamy goats cheese on the top and a few more pumpkin seeds.

Enjoy!

This salad can of course be eaten without the goats cheese for a vegan version, like this.