Cinnamon Coconut Milk Yogurt Fruit Dip

I use to make this recipe with cow’s milk yogurt, but haven’t made it in a long time.  Until, that is, our most recent summer visit to Connecticut.  My sister needed something to bring for ‘snack day’ at work.  I gave her a few options, and wouldn’t you know… she loved the sound of everything.  So I chose my old favorite and it was settled.  I was in the kitchen for the rest of the evening preparing snack for tomorrow’s ‘snack day’. Oh don’t feel bad - we all know the kitchen is my favorite room to be in!

The Results? When she came home from work the next evening, she was so excited to tell me how much people loved the snacks.  Especially the fruit dip she brought! I was beaming as she told me how they ate every last bit.  They even resorted to dunking the brownies in the dip when the fruit was all gone! Not a bad idea actually.   

Anyhow, I was so thrilled about my sister’s reviews, that I decided to make it again for an upcoming family BBQ.  Only this time, I ‘veganized’ it by using the coconut yogurt.   The results? Well, when I went to pick up my plates at the end of the day – there was nothing left.  That’s a great sign! 

 

Now I really don’t believe we need to add sweeteners to fruit - it’s already so sweet and delicious by itself!  But sometimes, I like to change things up a bit and make them even more special.  Well, this is the dip that does it!  Enjoy. 

What you need:

1 cup of coconut milk yogurt

2 tbs brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Lots of fresh fruit

Mix ingredients well and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Serve with lots of fresh fruit.
 
*If you can’t find coconut milk yogurt you can substitute with soy yogurt.

**If you are interested in making a simple homemade raw vegan coconut yogurt, here is a link from a newly discovered favourite blog that’ll tell you how.

 
http://www.choosingraw.com/greek-yogurt-raw-vegan-style/

Apricot Chutney

After a recent weekly trip to a new favourite restaurant in Sofia, a couple of friends decided that I needed to figure out how to make the Apricot Chutney to accompany my Chapatis when preparing Indian meals at home. So, here it is…

What You'll Need:

Dried Apricots - 450 grams (about 16 oz), finely diced
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Honey - 1 1/4 cups
Apple Cider Vinegar - 2 cups
Fresh Root Ginger - 1 tsp, grated
Salt - 1 tsp
Golden Raisins - 1/2 cup
Water - 2 cups

What You’ll Do:

Put the dried apricots and Garam Masala into a medium pot and add the honey, vinegar, ginger, salt, raisins and water. Mix thoroughly with a spoon.

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the chutney has thickened to a fairly stiff consistency, spoon it into 2-3 clean jars and leave it to cool.

Store it in the refrigerator.

Salad Rolls

Salad Rolls are a healthy alternative to spring rolls. They make a great appetizer, snack or the perfect lunch. I made these this weekend and they turned out just great. Quick and easy with so much flavor. What more could you ask for?

The great thing about salad rolls is really you can add any veggies (or even fruit) that you like. So what are you waiting for? Get moving and make some salad rolls!

What You’ll Need:

1 package of baked tofu (I liked the teriyaki one)
1 cucumber, remove the seeds and cut into thin strips
2-3 medium carrot, shredded
1 mango, cut into thin strips
Salad greens
Large round rice paper wrappers
Dipping Sauces of choice (I like the Sweet Chili sauce and Plum sauce) or better yet stay tuned for our peanut sauce

What You’ll Do:

Soften 1 rice paper wrapper by immersing in warm water until soft (about 10-20 sec), carefully remove and place flat on a large plate or cutting board. Be careful not to let the paper fold on itself when removing the wrapper from the water.

Place veggies in the middle of the wrapper, making sure not to add too much. Roll rice paper as you would a burritos, tucking in the sides, it should stick to itself easily. Repeat for the remaining wrappers.

Cut in half and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Romaine 'Tacos'

Romaine lettuce leaves have a perfect boat like shape and are ideal for holding a generous scoop of my favourite guacamole. While I eat 4 -6 of these 'tacos' for a meal, they would definitely make a tasty light lunch or appetizer as well.

What you'll need:

Organic fresh Romaine leaves

Avocados

Tomatoes

Cucumbers

Mangos (preferably Champagne/Atulfo)

Onions or scallions (or both)

Cilantro

Garlic

Lime

Sea Salt

Jalapeños( optional )

Prep:

Cut your Avocados and mash to desired consistency. Depending on your own preferences, mince your veggies to a size of your liking, then throw 'em all in a bowl. (See links below for Mango and Avocado Cutting tips and photos). Slice limes in half, and use a fork to juice them - directly into the bowl. I would start out with one half a lime, and add more as your taste buds require. Mix well, add salt and Jalapeños to taste. Fill your romaine shells and enjoy!

http://homecooking.about.com/od/howtocookbasics/ss/cutmango.htm

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_cut_and_peel_an_avocado/

Tabbouleh

Recently, we were visiting some friends of ours for dinner, and they served a light meal of hummus with veggies and pita. But then - there was something new. Something I had heard of before, but never tried. Of course, being a good role model for my kids(as well as a gracious guest), I took a small portion of this new and interesting dish. As we enjoyed our meal (and conversation) I realized that I went back for not only a second serving of this new dish, but also a third!

Tabbouleh is the classic bulgur salad of the Mediterranean, and man is it good. The combination of fresh herbs and spices in this dish was so refreshingly satisfying. I couldn’t wait to make this at home!!

Enjoy it with some warm pita slices or flat bread. Delicious!

What you will need:
1 cup of dry bulgur wheat
1½ cups of boiling water
1 tsp salt
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
3 medium garlic cloves, crushed
Black pepper, to taste
4 scallions, minced (whites and greens)
1 cup of packed parsley, minced
15 fresh mint leaves, minced (if using dried mint it’s about 2 Tbs – but use fresh…it makes the dish!)
2 medium tomatoes, diced

Combine bulgur and boiling water in a medium bowl. Cover and let stand for about 25 – 30 minutes, until the bulgur is tender.

Add salt, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and black pepper and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate until about 30 minutes before serving. Then stir in remaining ingredients. Enjoy with warm pita slices or flat bread.

Avocado Spring Rolls

These are not your ordinary spring rolls. I don’t remember the exact date I first tried these at The Cheesecake Factory, but I think we were in California with my boys and mother in law on a trip to Disneyland.



“Avocado spring rolls... that sounds interesting”, I thought.

“Oh we may want to order two of those” my mother-in-law's sister told us.

Well, she was right. We gobbled those up so quickly and even made an out of the way trip back to the Cheesecake Factory, a few days later, to pick up some more before our flight home. Yep, they were that good.

Since we don’t have a Cheesecake Factory in Oregon yet, I knew I needed to recreate these to share with my friends and family. So here is my version of avocado spring rolls, but you may want to double this recipe.

Dipping Sauce

1 Tbs white vinegar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
½ tamarind pulp
½ cup honey or agave
1 pinch ground saffron
½ chopped cashews
2/3 cup fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic
2 green onions
1 Tbs sugar (optional)
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
¼ cup olive oil

In a small pot mix vinegars, tamarind paste, honey and saffron and heat for about 1 minute, until tamarind dissolves. Puree this mixture, cashews, cilantro, garlic, green onions, sugar (if using), pepper and cumin in food processor.

Pour mixture into bowl and stir in oil. Refrigerate until ready to use. Make sure to save any leftovers. This is an excellent dip for fresh veggies!

Spring Rolls

1 large avocado, pitted and diced
2 Tbs sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped
1 Tbs minced red onion
½ tsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 pinch salt
Egg roll wrappers
Cornstarch and warm water to seal rolls

Gently stir together avocadoes, sun dried tomatoes, red onions, ½ tsp of cilantro and salt.

Create a glue with the cornstarch and warm water to use to hold the spring roll together.

Distributed filling evenly onto center of each egg roll wrapper

Position wrapper so the point is facing you, fold the bottom corner up so it just covers the filling. Continue rolling up from side to side fold corners in and seal with cornstarch mix.

Deep fry rolls in hot oil for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper bag.



For those of you more health conscious individuals, you can try baking them on 425 for 15 minutes then flip and cook for an additional 10 minutes.



Slice rolls diagonally across the middle and serve with dipping sauce. Oh, and be sure to take a couple for yourself, cause they’re gonna go real fast.

Baked Brie

Have little time for preparing a last minute get together, but you want to impress your guests? Baked brie with raspberry is simple yet decadent, and your cheese loving friends will gobble this up. Seriously...you should probably make two, or three.

What you'll need:

Brie
Raspberry jam
Pillsbury Crescent dough

Pre-heat your oven 350 degrees. Roll your dough flat onto a non-skick baking sheeting. Place brie on dough and spread jam on top of brie. Fold dough over brie and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Serve warm on its own or with apples and crackers.


*Those of you who have the time and prefer to make your own dough, we'll get a recipe up soon.