Authors: Ani Phyo

Ani's Raw Food Essentials (28 page)

BOOK: Ani's Raw Food Essentials

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BASIC CHEEZE

MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS

This is the base recipe for raw vegan cheeze. Try using your favorite nuts and seedsâsuch as almonds, cashews, Brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and macadamia nutsâto add variety to your flavors and textures.

1 teaspoon coarsely chopped fresh garlic
Â½ teaspoon sea salt
2 cups of your favorite nut or seed
Â¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
Â¼ cup water, as needed

Place the garlic and salt in a food processor and process into small pieces. Add the nuts or seeds, and process into small pieces. Add the lemon juice and water; process to mix well. Add more or less water to reach your desired consistency.

Will keep for 4 to 5 days in the fridge.

OPTIONS:
Add fresh or dried herbs such as basil or rosemary, or pitted olives and sun-dried tomatoes, to create new flavors of cheezes.

CHIPOTLE CHEEZE

MAKES 2 CUPS

An example of how to add spice and a new flavor to the Basic Cheeze recipe, this is a deliciously smoky and slightly spicy cheeze.

1 recipe Basic Cheeze (page 103), made with cashews or pine nuts
Â½ to 1 teaspoon powdered chipotle

Follow the directions for making Basic Cheeze, adding chipotle powder to taste.

Will keep up to 1 week in the fridge.

SERVING SUGGESTION:
Enjoy in South of the Border Wraps (page 180), as a dip, tossed with spiralized zucchini noodles, and in nachos made with Salted Flax Chips (page 108).

COOKED VARIATIONS:
Toss with brown rice macaroni for a Chipotle Mac and Cheeze, and enjoy with organic blue corn chips.

JALAPEÃO CHEEZE SAUCE

MAKES 2 CUPS

A delicious sauce mixed with fresh jalapeÃ±o for an added kick. Adjust the amount of jalapeÃ±o per your spice preference. Removing the seeds will make the pepper less spicy, too.

To make a sauce consistency, which is runnier than a cheeze, just add a bit more water to your favorite Basic Cheeze recipe.

1 recipe Basic Cheeze (page 103), made with your favorite nut or seed
1 tablespoon jalapeÃ±o pepper, to taste
Â½ to Â¾ cup water, as needed

Follow the directions for Basic Cheeze, adding the jalapeÃ±o and additional water.

Will keep for 4 to 5 days in the fridge.

CHEDDAR CHEEZE SAUCE

MAKES 2 CUPS

This sauce is colored orange with turmeric to look like Cheddar. Drizzle over fresh vegetables, asparagus spears, or dehydrated Battered Zucchini Sticks (page 116) or “Roasted” Bell Peppers (page 118).

Turmeric works to decrease inflammation in the body. The less inflammation we have, the better we feel, and the tighter and leaner we look.

1 recipe Basic Cheeze (page 103), made with sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon turmeric, for color (optional)
Â½ to Â¾ cup water, as needed

Follow the directions for Basic Cheeze, adding the turmeric and additional water.

Will keep for 4 to 5 days in the fridge.

OPTION:
Spread your Cheddar Cheeze Sauce on a lined dehydrator tray and dry at 104Â°F for 6 to 8 hours, until dried. Crumble and use like Parmesan.

RAWMESAN CHEEZE

MAKES
Â½
CUP

Sprinkle an extra layer of savory goodness on soups, salads, wraps, and pizzas. I use cashews for their color, although pine nuts work just as well. If you don't mind a darker-colored Rawmesan, feel free to use your favorite nut or seed instead.

Â½ cup cashews, ground into a powder
Â½ teaspoon minced garlic
Â¼ teaspoon sea salt

Mix the ingredients together in a small bowl.

Will keep for 5 days in the fridge.

GENERAL TIP: Get Experimental

CASHEWS AND ALMONDS
have the mildest flavors and work great in cheeze recipes. But it's fun to experiment with other nuts and seeds, such as walnuts, sunflower, hemp nut, and pumpkin seeds, which can yield a whole new flavor profile.