That’s right, we have finally gotten our own domain. I’m happy to report we are hosted on a very eco-friendly, wind-powered server (thanks Green Geeks). We are still having some teething problems with the new site, so bear with us as we get it fully functional, and then make it even better than this one was.

Click here for the new site, www.joziuncooked.com.

Main course: Not-tuna salad sandwich: a delicious sunflower seed-based tuna salad with fresh veggies on dehydrated (gluten-free) “brown bread”. Served with a side salad. R50
Dessert: Caramel-filled brownie: a chocolate brownie with a date caramel filling. Tastes too good to be good for you. R20

How it works:
Please email joziuncooked[at]gmail.com to place your order. Let us know how many main courses and desserts you want. We will send payment details. Once your payment is received, your order is confirmed.
All orders must be in by Monday, 30 August at 12:00. Pick-up is on Tuesday, 31 August from 12:00-14:00 in Observatory, or 17:00-19:00 in Melville. Alternative arrangements also available upon request. Please inform us of any food allergies or special dietary needs.

The Raw Chef's falafel patties

I also make the falafel as flat patties, rather than round balls, so it dehydrates faster.

Raw vegan falafel wrap, "unwrapped"

Raw vegan falafel wrap

1/2 batch of the Raw Chef’s falafel (here)

10 smooth spinach leaves, with part of the tough stem removed

chopped plum tomatoes

sprouted lentils

shredded carrot

diced cucumber

raw hummus (see recipe previously posted here)

Instructions: Place a spinach leaf flat in front of you. Break up a falafel patty into a few pieces and put them across the short edge of the leaf. Top with tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, sprouts and a drizzle of hummus. Roll up the leaf around the filling and enjoy. You can use any vegetables you want in the filling, and can also use other types of leaf for the wrap (e.g. cos/ romaine lettuce, swiss chard, etc).

Raw vegan falafel wrap

Sorry for the blurry pictures. I think the camera lens needs a serious cleaning.

Raw vegan strawberry chocolate parfait

Raw vegan strawberry chocolate parfait

sliced strawberries (about 6 per serving)

chocolate mousse (see recipe posted here. Skip the first few ingredients and start with the avocado, since you won’t need a crust)

coconut- cashew whipped cream (see recipe below)

cacao nibs for garnish (optional)

Instructions: Use a wine glass or a short juice class for this. The prettier, the better. Begin with a layer of sliced strawberries, top with a layer of chocolate mousse, then another layer of strawberries, another layer of mousse, one more layer of strawberries and then coconut-cashew whipped cream on top. Top with a few slices of strawberry and cacao nibs for garnish.

parfait

Coconut-cashew whipped cream

2-3 Tb Irish moss, washed and soaked

water to blend

meat and water of 1 young green coconut

small handful of cashews, soaked

1 Tb lemon juice

pinch of vanilla

agave or other sweetener, to taste

additional water as needed to blend

Instructions: Begin by blending Irish moss with some water in the blender, until it becomes gelatinous. Then add coconut water and some of the coconut meat in the blender, to form a creamy texture. Add cashews, agave, lemon juice, vanilla and water as needed to blend into a thick cream.

Main course: Falafel- Delicious dehydrated falafel patties with fresh vegetables and marrow (courgette) hummus in a spinach wrap R 50
Dessert: Parfait- Layers of chocolate mousse and fresh strawberries R 20.

How it works:

Please email joziuncooked[at]gmail.com to place your order. Let us know how many main courses and desserts you want. We will send payment details. Once your payment is received, your order is confirmed. All orders must be in by Monday, the 23rd of August at 12:00.

Pick-up is on Tuesday, the 24th of August from 12:00-14:00 in Observatory, or 17:00-19:00 in Melville. Alternative arrangements also available upon request. Please inform us of any food allergies or special dietary needs.

Raw vegan shepherd's pie filling

Shepherd’s pie (serves 4)

Filling ingredients:

8 baby marrows (courgettes/ zucchini), peeled if not organic

8 small carrots, peeled if not organic

1 small onion (optional)

8 baby portabello mushrooms (or other medium-sized mushrooms)

1 red bell pepper

8 plum tomatoes

1/2 head of cauliflower

handful of fresh parsley, chopped

olive oil

lemon juice

tamari

herbs and spices: pinch of rosemary, sage, thyme

Filling instructions:

Dice all of the vegetables, toss with olive oil, lemon juice and tamari, and let marinate overnight. If you wish, you can dehydrate the vegetables for about an hour to soften them a bit more. Add chopped parsley and herbs after marinating overnight, and toss to combine.

Topping ingredients:

8 small parsnips, peeled

1/2 head cauliflower

1 cup cashews

salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

Topping instructions: process all ingredients in food processor or blender until they form the consistency of mashed potatoes. Feel free to add additional herbs and spices if you like.

Assembly: Place vegetable filling into 4 serving dishes. Top with “mashed potato” topping to cover. Garnish with a sprig of parsley or fresh rosemary.

Raw vegan shepherd's pie with topping

Raw vegan strawberry cream pie

crust ingredients

1 cup nuts (almonds or brazil nuts are great), soaked overnight

1/2 cup pitted dates

1/4 cup shredded coconut

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

Crust instructions: process all ingredients until a dough forms. Press into a pie tin, or individual tart/muffin tins. Place tins in freezer to set.

Raw vegan strawberry cream pie, with a little bit of puree topping

Filling ingredients:

1 cup strawberries, chopped

1 cup cashews, soaked at least 4 hours

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup agave (or to taste, depending on sweetness of berries)

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

Filling instructions: process berries and cashews in food processor until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth, adding a little water if needed. Add coconut oil last and blend until smooth. Pour filling into crust and place in freezer to set.

Topping ingredients:

1 cup strawberries

approx 4 Tbsp washed and soaked irish moss

approx 6 Tbsp water

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp agave (or more to taste)

2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted

Topping instructions: Place Irish moss and water in the blender and blend until a gelatinous paste forms. This may take a couple of minutes. Add lemon juice and agave and blend until combined. Add strawberries and blend until pureed. Add coconut oil and blend until mixed.

Spread topping over filling and return pies to the freezer to set. They can be stored in the freezer and defrosted before eating, or stored in the refrigerator.

Raw vegan strawberry cream pie

The strawberry cream pie is truly delicious! If another fruit is in season, you could substitute it. Mango would be delicious, or passion fruit (granadilla, which would need to be strained for the filling), or even kiwi if you don’t mind a green pie.

Raw vegan carrot and coriander (cilantro) soup

First, we made nut milk (walnut milk, which is especially rich) and turned it into a delicious carrot and coriander soup.

Then we made a delicious Mexican-spiced cheese dip, which we ate with crudites and flax crackers– some from Sprouts (I love these!) and some that I made (more on that in another post).

Raw vegan mexican cheese dip with crudites and flax crackers

We also made almond feta (one of my favourites). Because it’s a 24-hour process to make it, I had started it the day before. So we made a new batch, but also ate the one from yesterday in a delicious salad with mixed greens, strawberries, cucumber, spring onion and a citrus dressing.

Making the raw vegan almond feta cheese

Salad with almond feta

The third and final “cheese” was macadamia ricotta. We made lasagna roll-ups, one of my current favourite raw appetizers. They are so pretty!

Raw vegan lasagna roll-ups

For dessert, we made a classic cashew cheesecake on a nut crust– using the nut pulp leftover from making milk, along with some extra pecans and dates. Yum!

Raw vegan cashew cheesecake

And since two desserts are better than one, we also made ice cream. Or banana soft serve, as some people call it. I’m afraid the picture’s not so pretty, but the ice cream was wonderful, especially with raw cacao nibs on top.

Raw vegan chocolate soft serve ice cream

It was a great day and a delicious meal. Somehow meals always test better when you’ve prepared them yourself, and when you share them with an interesting group of people. Here are a few more pictures from the workshop (special thanks to Heidi for being a superstar photographer). Enjoy!

The feast (minus a few items)

Raw vegan chefs at work

Lots of learning going on in this kitchen!

Main course: Shepherd’s pie- marinated vegetables topped with a “mashed potato” (parsnip and cashew) crust. R 50

Dessert: Strawberry cream pie- rich but light strawberry and coconut filling in a nut crust. R 20

How it works:

Please email joziuncooked[at]gmail.com to place your order. Let us know how many main courses and desserts you want. We will send payment details. Once your payment is received, your order is confirmed. All orders must be in by Monday, the 16th of August at 12:00.
Pick-up is on Tuesday, the 17th of August from 12:00-14:00 in Observatory, or 17:00-19:00 in Melville. Alternative arrangements also available upon request. Please inform us of any food allergies or special dietary needs.

Raw vegan curried spinach with carrot & cauliflower "rice"

Raw vegan saag (curried spinach puree)

I got this recipe from a lovely little raw recipe book by Jonsi and Alex. It’s a free download. I highly recommend it. So far, everything I’ve made from their book is delicious.I modified their recipe slightly, but not much. It’s tomato, avocado, garlic, ginger, curry and other spices, and spinach, all mixed in the food processor or blender. Then you can sprinkle chopped veggies on top– onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, etc. Even sprouted lentils.

Carrot & cauliflower biryani

This one comes from the recent “Hot Raw Chef” competition hosted by Living Light Culinary Arts Institute, a raw food culinary school in California. A bunch of people entered the competition with a wide range of raw vegan recipes– some simple, some complicated. I’ve tried a few and they’ve generally been ok. While I usually like making my rice from parsnips, I thought it would be good to try something different. Normally I find cauliflower rice to bitter, but the combination of equal parts cauliflower and carrot, with shredded coconut and spices, is sweeter. I add raisins to mine for a little extra sweetness. You can watch the video for the recipe at the Hot Raw Chef site. For the recipe booklet, I think you need to sign up on their mailing list.

Raw vegan pear crisp

Raw vegan pear crisp recipe

This recipe was inspired by a lovely apple pie by Heathy Pace. I was going to share the “play by play” photos of preparation, assembly, etc but they were too dark. Sorry.

Ingredients:

1 cup almonds, soaked overnight

1/2 cup dates, pitted

pinch of salt

pinch of vanilla

4 pears

juice of 1/2 lemon

pinch of nutmeg

1 Tbsp agave syrup

Instructions: To make the crust, process nuts in food processor until ground. Add dates, vanilla and salt and process until crumbly.

Press half of the crust mixture into the bottom of muffin or tart pans.

To make the filling, peel and core 2 pears, slice them and put them in food processor or blender with lemon juice, nutmeg and agave. Process until smooth. Peel and core the other two pears and chop them finely (small dice). Mix the diced pears into the pear puree. Pour this over the crust in the muffin pans, then sprinkle the rest of crumbly mixture on top. Set at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.

The filling for the pear crisp

This week’s menu:

Main course: Creamy curried spinach with a carrot & cauliflower biryani R 50

Dessert: Pear crumble R 20

How it works:

Please email joziuncooked[at]gmail.com to place your order. Let us know how many main courses and desserts you want. We will send payment details. Once your payment is received, your order is confirmed. All orders must be in by Monday, the 9th of August at 12:00 (remember it’s a holiday this week).

Pick-up is on Tuesday the 10th, in Observatory (from 12:00 to 15:00) or Melville (17:00-19:00). Alternative arrangements also available upon request. Please inform us of any food allergies or special dietary needs.

raw vegan tacos

Raw Tacos

1 batch of Raw Chef Russel James’ quesadilla filling- I can’t reprint the recipe without permission, but it’s based on pumpkin seeds, mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes, with some spices and other good stuff thrown in.

guacamole (see recipe here)

fresh salsa (see recipe here)

shredded vegetables (e.g. carrots, bell peppers, red cabbage)

Cos/ romaine lettuce for wraps

Instructions: Place cos lettuce leaf on a plate. Fill with shredded veggies, then taco meat, then guacamole and salsa on top.

Pineapple cream cake

This was based on Ani Phyo’s recipe, with a few modifications. I decided not to put the crust on top of the filling, just underneath it. I used agave, not honey, of course. And I put a layer of fresh pineapple on top of the crust, before putting the creamy filling in.

I didn’t manage to snap a picture of the cakes when they were whole and pretty, but here’s one with a few bites out of it, just to give you an idea.

Raw vegan pineapple cream cake, minus a few bites

Delicious! Though if you’ve got hours and hours of time to make a cake, I’d actually recommend this pineapple cake. It’s amazing!