3 Vegan Recipes that pack some punch

Food bloggers spend a lot of time reading other blogs for inspiration. I met vegan / raw food blogger when she contacted me to have me create a photo for her recipe book The Joy of Raw and Vegan Cooking which is available now on Amazon. Follow the link to preview her book which features some beautiful photographs. Also, you will not be disappointed to discover Shernell's blog where she shares her passion for raw food.

I am not vegan but I am always concerned about healthy eating. Often,  I will include vegan or vegetarian meals on my table. Shernell  now resides in New York but her food is still big on island flavour which everyone is sure to enjoy. Hers is one of the blogs that I turn to when I am looking for vegan inspiration with a West Indian twist. Over now to Shernell......

Hello all you readable feast lovers out there! My name is Shernell, and I’m a passionate vegan cook from the island of Barbados. I love making all my food from scratch, however I believe in simple, easy to find ingredient recipes. I have been invited here to share three of them from my new cookbook The Joy of Raw and Vegan Cooking with you. So enough with the long talk and enjoy.

First up I have a recipe that has been known to turn meat eaters into vegans. Flavor is everything when cooking any meal, vegan or not. These cauliflower steaks are dripping with succulent barbeque flavor.

Barbeque Stewed Cauliflower

If you’re new to raw and vegan foods and you miss meat, this easy recipe is for you.

1 tablespoon salted barbeque spice mix

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 sundried tomatoes

½ red bell pepper

1 tablespoon maple (or agave) syrup

½ lemon juice

3 tomatoes

1 head of cauliflower cut into medium florets

Blend the first seven ingredients in your blender and then pour over the cauliflower florets.

Mix the sauce into the florets well and put into a roasting pan.

Roast for 30 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender and then serve.

If your barbeque spice mix isn’t salted, add 1 teaspoon of salt ( or salt to your taste)  to the recipe. 

Second up we have the best tasting green smoothie ever made. That’s right, Shernell says so.  It makes for a great meal replacement.

Best Green Smoothie

I made this recipe over one hundred times; it is so delicious and easy to make.

2 cups fresh organic spinach

3 frozen bananas

1/3 cup cashews

¼ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons of maple ( or agave )syrup 

1 cup water

Blend and serve. Makes about three cups.

If you take your time to make this recipe you will be in cake heaven, guaranteed. Yes I did save the best for last. 

Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Tart

No Exaggeration, this is the absolute best raw dessert I have ever had hands down. Please make it and prove me right. It’s light and airy with smooth chocolate and hazelnut flavor.

Crust

1 cup cashews

1 cup almonds

2 tablespoons of chocolate powder

¼ teaspoon of salt

7 medjool dates

½ teaspoon of vanilla extract

Process the first 4 ingredients in your food processor until flour like then add in the dates and vanilla extract and process until the mixture sticks together.

Press the pie crust into a 10-inch removable bottom tart-pan and place it in the freezer.

Filling

The meat of two young Thai coconuts

11/2 cups coconut water

1/3 cup cashews

1/3 cup of chocolate powder

1/3 cup maple ( agave ) syrup

¼ teaspoon of salt

Blend all the ingredients until creamy and place in the refrigerator in a medium bowl.

Hazelnut Topping

¼ cup of hazelnuts

¼ cup of cashews

2 tablespoons of chocolate powder

1/2 cup of maple syrup

2 teaspoons of coconut oil

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon of salt

1 cup of hazelnuts

Blend the first 7 ingredients in you blender until creamy then set it aside.

To assemble the tart, pour the filling over the crust then pour the topping on and

evenly spread 1 cup of hazelnuts over the tart.

Freeze for 3 hours and serve. Its lasts for one week in the freezer, but trust me, it won’t

last that long.

Have a happy and healthy holiday.

To find out more about Shernell Cooke, visit her at her blog The Raw Food Beginner Chef.  You can also purchase her book The Joy of Raw and Vegan Cooking on Amazon or Barnes and Nobel.