Rawsome Caramelised Fig and Ginger Custard Tarts

Fig-ed about it!

Caramelised Fig and Ginger Custard Tarts 
Makes 18 small tarts or one large one)

The perfect Autumnal dessert, this little number gives a good fruit punch with a delicious, crunchy chocolate base! You can have these on the table within a couple of hours, but the topping needs to be pre-made.

For the base:

1.5 cups cacao nibs

1 cup activated almonds

1.5 cups (or around 10) Medjool dates

1 tablespoon vanilla powder

1 tablespoon lucuma powder

pinch of sea salt

Blend everything in a food processor, except the dates, add these slowly until the mixture comes together.

You can use individual tart moulds (with removable base) if you like, or a mini cheesecake tin with removable bases.You can also do this in a large cheesecake mould- I suggest that rather than a tart pan as the filling will be too much) 

Take around 2 tablespoons of mix per mould and press into place, you can bring up the sides a little or leave as a solid base if preferred.

For the filling:

2 cups of cashews, soaked

3 very ripe bananas

½ cup melted coconut oil

3 medium sized figs

1 tablespoon lucuma powder

2 tablespoons of ginger powder

juice of half a lemon

10 soft Medjool dates

3 tablespoons coconut nectar

pinch of sea salt

Using a high speed blender, blend everything until smooth. Pour into the prepared crusts to almost the top of the pan.

Place in freezer to set for a couple of hours.

For the topping:

6 medium figs, sliced lengthwise

2 tablespoons of coconut nectar

2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated

Place the figs in a glass baking dish, the thinner the layers the better, mix through the nectar and ginger.

Dehydrate overnight

You can chop these up a little more if you prefer, then add around a teaspoon to the tops of your tarts, plus a little drizzle of coconut nectar to complete.

Rawsome Autumn-Fix-Up-Your-Insides-For-Winter-Salad

This is the  time of year, with the seasons changing that our immune systems take a hit! It coincides with the time of year when people feel least like eating really nourishing raw foods! This makes perfect sense – especially if your idea of ‘raw’ is salad based. As you know, we’re doing a bunch of winter dishes in our classes this term, but tonight I wanted to show you how rich and satisfying a ‘salad’ can actually be! Every mouthful of this baby is pure GOODNESS, you will be warm and well after a bowl of this!

5 large Kale leaves

4 broccoli florets

½ red capsicum

handful cherry tomatoes

2 beetroot

1 carrot

1 spring onion

1 inch ginger (optional)

2 tablespoons activated pumpkin seeds

2 tablespoons sprouted sunflower seeds

1 tablespoon hemp Seeds

1 Tablespoon Wakame flakes (sea vegetables are so RICH in minerals, they are a big part of my diet! You can get many types of seaweed at health food stores, organic shops and on iherb)

Chop the vegetables, I use a food processor to blitz the kale and broccoli, you want them a little chunky still. I use the grater attachment for the carrot and beetroot. You don't have to activate the seeds but boy oh boy, do you unleash a nutritional tornado if you do!

Dressing

½ cup Almond butter (I use a raw sprouted one I get from iherb, all the ones made in Australia are roasted, I also make my own)

4 slices of Jalapeños

1 inch ginger

2 tablespoons Tamari

1 tablespoon miso

juice of half a lemon

2 dates

¼ teaspoon cayenne

¼ teaspoon tumeric

2 dates

Splash of olive oil

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup coconut water

Adjust the seasonings to your palate, but be aware, this tastes really intense until you mix it through the vegetables, so don’t panic!

A Pandemic of Happiness

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”

― Thích Nhất Hạnh

I’m a cautious greeter when I’m running. Oh put me in a social setting and I’ll be smiling and Hello-ing till the cows come home, but when I run, I’m cautious.

Why? I don’t know. I always acknowledge the person coming towards me, a cursory nod, a slight smile that says ‘yeah, that we’re both hauling ass around the waterfront, I can’t wait till it’s over either’’ especially if you see the same person multiple times.

But today, a woman ran by me with a grin on her face, yes a full grin, and she beamed out a bubby “ HI!’’ to me, such that I thought I must know her. I didn’t but I did smile back, like, really smile.

Gee that felt good! Buoyed by this surge in endorphins, I decided for the remainder of my run to effusively acknowledge people coming past me.

First was another woman running, she had headphones in and smiled back but seemed a little pre-occupied (I don’t run with headphones btw, I find they make it hard to be ‘in the moment’). Next was an elderly man who looked deep in thought and very serious, “ Good Morning!” I announced with a large smile, he looked up and I swear he just lit up: it was remarkable! I was rather enjoying this now, a lady with a dog smiled back, a chap running did too, two old ladies and a Chihuahua  chorused ‘Good Morning!’ back to me, one young lad gave me a wide berth- but he got smiled at all the same.

I think I used to do this more but I’ve gotten slack: I’d forgotten how easy it is to lift your mood by trying to lift someone else’s. Maybe I took it personally when I didn’t get a smile back, or too preoccupied with the thoughts in my head to notice other people. You can never really know the burden someone is carrying but a gentle reminder that they’re not alone in the world can go a long way. It is true that we’re often so tied up with our own thoughts to notice what other people are doing, but I do wonder what would happen if we all smiled a little more. We may have no idea what is going in someone’s life but a smile certainly never did any harm (well, unless you crack one when your mum is telling you off, or you’re having a passport photo taken.) It also makes you feel damn good. I will from now on, be smiling at will. Even when I’m going uphill (physically or metaphorically) I shall smile all the harder. Lighting up your face ignites a light in someone else, its literally contagious. Imagine if we could start a pandemic of happiness! 

Oh goodness, I think I’m coming down with something!

See if you can catch it too.

Rawsome Hot Cross Buns!

I love Easter! The smell of these warming spices fills the house and just makes you feel HAPPY! 

Buns:

3 Cups wet Almond Pulp (from milk) *

½ Cup Steel Cut Oats
2 Tablespoons Golden Flax Meal

1 Cup Sultanas

6 Dates

3 Oranges (you'll need the zest of one) 

2 Tablespoons of **Apple Pie Spice (no you probably haven’t heard of this, it’s something I bring in from the USA and sell at classes!) OR:

1.5 tsp of the following Fenugreek, Ginger, Nutmeg

2 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp of Lemon Powder (or the zest of one lemon will do)

1 tsp Vanilla extract

1 tsp of Salt

*I do NOT suggested just blending almonds, they really need to be activated (soaked) for this recipe otherwise it can be pretty hard to digest.

**yes you could also just use Mixed Spice plus some extra Cinnamon, it’s a different flavour profile but will work fine, just taste as you go!

First, zest one orange and set zest aside, then juice all three oranges and soak the sultanas and dates, top with water to cover and leave for an hour or so.

Mix the steel cut oats so they become powdery and add everything else in a food processor (including soaking water but add gradually) until all ingredients come together to form a dough. 

Create a square on a dehydrator sheet, with a thickness of about 1-1.5 inches. Cut into buns. Dehydrate overnight on a mesh sheet, then separate each bun, glaze and put onto a mesh sheet for 2 hours.

Glaze:

Juice of one Lemon

2 Tablespoons Coconut Nectar

Sugar Dust:

Once you remove from the dehydrator, I like to dip in a light dusting of coconut sugar and cinnamon:

1 Tablespoon Coconut Sugar

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

Mix together making sure there are no lumps. Dip in your buns one at a time.

Crosses:

½ Cup soaked Cashews

1/4 Cup Coconut Oil

1 Tablespoon Coconut Nectar

Pinch of Salt

1 little Water

Blend together till smooth (I find a personal blender ideal for this). Then put into an icing dispenser and make your crosses.