Happy week 3 of BaltimOrganic CSA!  
What in the world is Kohlrabi? I'll be honest, I have very little idea of what I'm doing with the honor of creating and sharing these CSA recipes!  I would say that we must have been drinking when Jon (our farmer), Gay, and I decided there should be a recipe to go with the weekly vegetable bag, but we don't actually drink (well, maybe just a tiny bit on occasion!) so I have no excuse expect that it seemed like a great idea! Maybe, like you, I'm learning as I go.  I like to think we are all in this together and if you have recipes you'd like to share, send them along through my contact page and I'll post them with your name (or without your name if you don't want to be held accountable:))

This week's recipe is, for me, a little leap of faith (a term i use sometimes when I'm teaching); it's my experience that leaps in the direction of self growth usually result in greatness.  

Serves about 4.

What you'll use from your bag:

• Kohlrabi (2)
• Kale (6-10 stems)
• Amethyst Radish (5)
• Snap Peas (~10)

What else you'll need:

• Plain (non dairy) yogurt or Veganaise (1/2 Cup) (not vegan?, well, feel free to use non vegan versions) 
•  Apple (1)
• Lemon (2 Tbs.) + more for squeezing
• Honey, Agave nectar, or pure maple syrup (1 Tbs. or less )
• Dried Cranberries (2 Tbs.,optional)
• Salt & Pepper

First, Prepare:

• Peel outer skin & julienne cut (or shred with peeler) kohlrabi- set aside in medium bowl
• Peel, core, & julienne cut the apple; squeeze a bit of lemon on it & put in the bowl w/Kohlrabi
• Julienne cut the radishes- add to the bowl
• Slice the snap peas in half length wise -add to the bowl (including the peas that came out when you sliced them)
• Toss the veggies around gentle in the bowl until well combined
• Break up the kale as you would for a salad. Then equally distribute the kale on plates, drizzle a little squeezed lemon & salt on top

Next: 

• In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt/veganaise, honey, lemon & a little salt and pepper
• Stir the dressing into the veggie mixture and let sit for a bit- 10 minutes or so or put in the fridge for later.
• Incorporate the dried cranberries (if using)
• Serve on top the kale you prepared

And that's it! Prepare your food with love; it tastes better! :-)

A couple years ago I was on a very limited vegan diet for a yoga training I was participating in.  Remarkably I was “allowed” to eat natural dried fruit and found that Whole Foods sells mini coconut date logs in their bulk food section.  Let me say that for the four months I was on this diet eating the occasional coconut date log from Whole Foods seemed like I was cheating. 

There are lots of coconuts here in the islands and the other day the market had some local dates- score! Dates are awesome! So I made my own version.  It was a bit of work but that’s might be because we have a rather small grater!  If you live somewhere where coconuts don’t fall off the trees you can purchase one of those brown coconuts from the store, drink the juice and crack it open for the meat.

What you’ll need:
-1 cup freshly grated coconut meat
-1 cup dates
-agave nectar (optional, for extra sweetness)

What’s Next:
-Put the grated coconut and dates in a food processor and pulse to shred and incorporate
-Transfer mixture to a bowl & stir in a little agave if using (it doesn’t take much)
-Form into balls and eat or refrigerate

*Makes about 12 balls*

We had some friends from another boat over for dinner last night and they were my taste testers for a few new recipes.  It might go without saying that our cruiser friends are not vegan (we have not met any other cruising vegans in person) and I like to see if I can make something that taste “good” in their opinions, not just “good for being vegan.”  And they seemed to enjoy this soup and Marty and I liked it too!  I didn’t come up with this myself; it’s a variation of another great recipe from my yoga teacher Dharma Mittra.  It has the taste of energizing food!

What you’ll need:
-2 medium tomatoes, chopped 
-1 cup cucumber, cubed
-1/2 cup zucchini, cubed
-1/2 cup cubed bell pepper (any color)
-1 medium avocado, halved
-1 cup spinach
-1/2 cup basil
-1 lemon, juiced
-4-6 (4 if they are big or 6 if medium) dates, soaked 
 
What’s Next:
-Put aside half of the zucchini, half the avocado, and about a fourth of the tomato
-Put everything else in a food processor and blend until creamy
-Chop the ingredients you set aside 
-Distribute the soup into small bowls adding the chopped zucchini, avocado, and tomato into each


*Serves 4 Marty’s as an appetizer*

Veggie Sandwiches/pitas/wraps are my favorite thing to eat for lunch.  Raw vegetables, especially local organic ones, taste earthy and also refreshing; a perfect energizing lunch!  You don't have to some sort of chef for this one you just need some raw veggies and your favorite bread/wrap/pita and some love and you’ve got it.  I spread hummus (we totally love hummus-recipe below) on  sprouted bread that I can buy on Grenada (where we are now) but in the states I would buy Ezekiel wraps.
What you’ll need:
-Bread/pita/wrap
-Raw Veggies cut up
-Hummus (recipe follows)

Hummus Ingredients:
- 1 ½  cups sprouted to ready or cooked (from raw)garbanzo beans/ chick peas*
- Juice of two lemons* (see note)
- 1 tbls. Tahini
- Tad of olive oil
- Water- enough to get the hummus to creamy consistency 
- Half a bell pepper, cut into chunks (optional)
- Salt/Pepper/Cumin/Cayenne to taste
*If you are using a can of chick peas they generally require alot less liquid (lemon juice & water) to get to a creamy consistency.  So start with juice of one lemon and see how much more you need to add.

What’s next:
-Add all ingredients to your food processor (except the bell pepper) and pulse, pausing to scrape the sides along the way.  Mix until smooth and creamy consistency (or the consistency you like).
-Add the bell pepper & continue to puree until well chopped and incorporated

Put together your sandwich:
- Brush the bread/pita/wrap with lots of hummus
 -Pile on your veggies- I generally use carrots, spinach (or some leafy greens), cucumber, bell pepper, sprouts, tomato, and avocado **use a longer cut for things like carrots and peppers- if they are chopped too small they’ll fall out**
-Cut in half

That’s it- Enjoy!

This is a recipe I came up with because I had some raw nut cheese left over from the Half Raw Pizza.  It’s really easy to make and served as a light and fabulously good lunch!


 
What you’ll need:
• Pitas
• Raw Neat (recipe below) **enough for 4 dinner plate size pitas**
• Raw Nut Cheese (click to view recipe)
• Raw veggies/herbs like: tomato, peppers, basil

Raw Neat Ingredients:
• ½  cup of raw walnuts 
• ½ cup loosely measured cilantro leaves
• 1 medium tomato (cut into fours)
• 1 stalk of corn destalked
• 1/8 cup raisins
• 1⁄4 of an onion (optional)
• garlic clove (optional)
• sea salt to taste

Next:
Add all ingredients to food processor and chop until well blended.  Set aside

Put it together:
I buy freshly made pitas here in Grenada and I use them for this recipe.  You can make your own, buy them, or do a dehydrated version for a full raw meal. 
If you’re using a cooked pita:
Drizzle olive oil on apan and heat on medium for a minute. Place a pita in the pan and heat for a
minute on each side, with the lid closed, or until crunchy but not totally hard.  Do this for as many pitas as you are making and set aside.

Next:
Spread raw nut cheese on each pita.  Over the nut cheese lightly spread the Raw Neat (nut meat.)  Then add your toppings.  Here I used all locally grown stuff: tomato, green pepper, and basil.


 

We very recently came back from visiting the states where I picked up some inspiration to create some new dishes.  In Chicago, NYC, and Baltimore, it was so nice to eat at actual vegan restaurants again!  I’m experimenting with easy raw recipes.  I’d like to get more into raw “cooking” but we don’t have room for a dehydrator or other materials needed for such recipes. In the states I did pick up a new puree machine from Sur La Table that was on sale for $49.  Previously I had been using this small one that I’ve had for 10
years and cost about $10.  It’s done the job for me for a long time but I had to do everything in batches and now my new 4 cup puree-r seems luxurious. 

This week, using my new puree-r, I made my first attempt at a half-raw pizza.  It is now near the top of Marty’s “favorites” list.   

What you’ll be preparing: pizza dough, any raw veggies you like, raw nut cheese, raw pizza sauce

For the Pizza Dough:
You can always buy fresh
pizza dough but this is a good easy recipe that I like to use:
**Makes enough for 2 fairly thin crust, 8 ½ x 11 pans**
• 3 Cups flour
• 1 Pack dry yeast
• 2 tbls. Oil (canola, vegetable, sunflower)
• 1 Cup of 100 degree water
• *a little salt and sugar if you like those things

Mix all the dry ingredients together then add the oil and water.  Mix and knead the dough with floured (or oiled) hands until completely incorporated then let sit covered for 10 minutes or so.  Spread some flour on the counter or whatever service you’ll be rolling out the dough so it doesn’t stick.  Form the crust in your pan or pizza stone.  I use half the dough on an 8 ½ x 11 pan because that’s all that I have to fit in my oven! Then bake the crust at 375 until it shows signs of golden brown on the top.

Meanwhile, make the nut cheese and pizza sauce…

Raw Nut Cheese:
**This will make enough (or more) for your two pizza crusts**
•  1 cup of macadamia nuts, cashews, or any other white nut (preferable soaked for an hour)
• ½  lemon juiced
• ½  teaspoon salt or ½  celery stalk for a salt-free version
• (optional)chunk of onion 
• water to blend while using your puree-r or blender
• (note) you can add any twist you like to this basic recipe, I use local sweet & spicy peppers.

Put everything in your blender of choice and pulse- keep adding
small amounts of water until well mixed but not at all runny.  Remove the
nut cheese from the blender and set aside.


Raw Tomato Sauce
**This will make enough (or more) for your two pizza crusts**
• 1 ½  cups baby grape tomatoes
• 1⁄2 cup raisins
• ½  lemon, juiced
• 2  garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup fresh basil or tablespoon of Italian Seasoning or dry basil
• sea salt to taste

Add everything in your blender of choice
and blend until smooth. Adjust for flavor and set aside.


Very Lightly Sautéed Veggies:
We like to cover our whole pizza with veggies.  This last I used…
• Broccoli
• Variety of Bell Peppers
• Spinach
• Sliced Roma Tomato
• Fresh Basil

Cut the veggies up to the size you like for your pizza.  This
time, in a small bit of olive oil, I briefly sautéed the broccoli, spinach, and
bell peppers until the broccoli just turned bright. Remove from heat.


Now, your pizza crust should be done and you can begin assembling your pie.   This is the fun part…I have previously spread the nut cheese on first and also tomato sauce first- experiment or do half and half- whatever. In the picture the tomato sauce is the base. But lets say you spread the nut cheese on first.  Use a spreader to lay a good amount all over your crust. Then, arrange your sautéed veggies then add the sliced tomato.  Now, using a small spoon, take on spoon full at a time of the tomato sauce and drag it along
the length of the pizza in rows.  Sprinkle the fresh basil on top.  At
this point your pizza is ready to eat or you can pop it in the still warm oven
for 5 minutes or so to warm everything up.


***One 8 ½ x 11 pizza crust (the dough recipe makes 2 crusts) is enough for 2 hungry Martys!***