Slow and damp...

Slow and damp...

That's basically what I've been feeling like lately. Northern California (and Southern California, for that matter) have been pelted with ridiculous rainstorms for the past week. Trudging from the far parking lot halfway across campus to get to class in the pouring rain blowing in all directions is miserable. Even worse is the fact that no one carries rainboots or galoshes around here (why would they??) and even the places that do are sold out. Plus, you all know about my sumo calf + tiny ankle situation from posts past so that all makes for rainboot disaster.

On top of that, I got into a fender bender today. No one else was involved and I'm not hurt - it just sucked. It was pouring, it was hard to see, and I happened to turn into the ONE left turn lane around here that is demarcated by its own cement divider instead of a painted line. I didn't see that it was a cement line until I was up on the damn thing, so basically, my car rode a skinny median for about 20 feet until I could stop it. Outwardly nothing appears to be wrong and I can drive it fine, but while my car drives straight, the steering wheel is off center. Totally bizarre. I probably bent something down there. Oh well. I'm thankful no one is hurt and my car is drivable. PTL (Praise the Lord).

I've been lazy and forgetting to snap photos of my eats so I don't have any pictures for you, but I have been eating lots of yummy food, thanks to some fallback recipes of mine and the many brilliant bloggers out there!

The Vitamix has been my constant companion. I even dragged it to my friend's house for Sunday night dinner (Mexican Night!) and treated the gang to amazing Frozen Meyer Lemon + Mandarin Margaritas! Basically, I juiced 64oz. of Meyer lemons and Satsuma mandarins and sweetened with a mix of agave syrup and stevia to make a fresh sour mix. Then I blended it with tequila, plenty of ice and (SECRET INGREDIENT ALERT!) a dash of guar gum. The guar gum keeps the mixture from separating and getting all icy. Because everything stays mixed together, you can suck it through a straw like a Slurpee.

The Vitamix also made a huge bowl of delicious roasted tomato salsa, sofrito base for bomb Spanish rice, the BEST vegan nacho cheese, tons of sorbet (tonight's version was coconut milk, frozen pineapple, mango and banana), protein smoothies and raw soup.

Tonight, I made my version of "raw pumpkin pie in a bowl" soup. I looked at Gena's recipe and Natalia Rose's recipe in Raw Food Detox Diet and tweaked it to my taste. Here's my recipe:

Raw Pumpkin Pie Soup
serves 2-3

3 cups of raw butternut squash cubes
1.5 cups of carrot, apple, and ginger juice (8 carrots, 1 fuji apple, 1-inch nob of ginger juiced)
1/2 cup So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk or nutmilk (or see recipe below)
1 teaspoon cinnamon, maybe more
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (adjust this to your liking - I like a lot of nutmeg!)
Fat pinch of salt
2 tablespoons of agave syrup (go easy, agave is SWEET - taste as you go)

1. Throw all of the ingredients in your Vitamix, except for 1/2 cup of the carrot juice. Blend until smooth, adding the remaining juice if you like a slightly thinner soup. If you don't have a Vitamix, steam the butternut squash until soft and blend in a regular blender or food processor. If you don't have a juicer, just use a bottle of Odwalla carrot juice and add some powdered ginger.

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This soup was sooooo good. Incredibly fresh tasting and yet warming from the spices!

I ran out of my So Delicious coconut milk but had 2 Thai young coconuts in my fridge so I set out to make my own homemade version. So far, I've been really pleased!

Homemade Coconut Beverage
yields about 60-ish ounces

2 Thai young coconuts - water and meat
6 cups of water
1 teaspoon guar gum, maybe more depending on how thick/creamy you want it
Stevia or agave to sweeten
*Optional: 2 tablespoons coconut butter (I used Artisana Raw Coconut Butter) or coconut cream

1. Throw everything in the Vitamix and let it rip until smooth and creamy.

I basically add enough water to fill the jar of the blender and adjust the guar gum until its as thick as I like it. Then I poured everything right back into my coconut milk carton with a funnel.
I haven't really tried drinking it straight up, but it works awesome in smoothies (especially because of the built in guar gum) and baked goods. If you don't have access to fresh coconuts, I'm pretty sure you could make a delicious alternative with a can of coconut milk, water, sweetener and guar gum.

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As if the Vitamix wasn't working hard enough, I snagged a CrockPot at the thrift store for $6 bucks the other week. It looks like a bunch of y'all are also showing the crock some love so I thought I would share this absolutely delicious black bean soup recipe. It was done from dry beans in 4 hours on HIGH. Yes, it requires a little pre-sauteeing of veggies in the pan, but its mostly for the flavor. I think if you wanted to skip that step, you could use veggie broth instead of water. Either way, its friggin' delicious. I didn't bother making the crema, but as a cumin lover, I bet its amazing.

The crockpot also made amazing refried beans. Just add 1 pound of dried pinto beans to your CrockPot, add 5 cups of hot water, 1 bay leaf, 1 chopped onion, 1 tablespoon of chopped garlic, and 2 chopped chipotle in adobo. 4-6 hours later, or whenever the beans are nice and soft, add salt and mash with a potato masher until the beans are as smooth as you want.

And if that wasn't enough to keep you occupied, I give you moist, delicious vegan brownies with no added fat except for the chocolate chips! Sooooo good!

Vegan Brownies
yields 16 brownies

1.5 cups unsweetened applesauce (I used Santa Cruz Organic Blackberry Applesauce)
1/2 cup agave syrup
1.5 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegan dark chocolate chips
Pam

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Dump all the ingredients except the chocolate chips into a bowl. Stir until combined.
3. Fold in chocolate chips. Batter will be thick.
4. Spray a 9x9 pan generously with Pam and then spread brownie batter evenly into the pan.
5. Bake for 25 minutes and then cool on the counter. Slice and enjoy!

Well, that should keep you all busy for a while! (Seriously, make. brownies. now.) I'll peep you laters!

P.S. How much are we all going to miss this gorgeous chica?? I'm dying inside, but so proud that she's going on to bigger and better things! We love you Erin!