Veganosaurus Raw Food Theme Full Recap - Vegan MoFo 2013 Day 17

It's the last day of the Vegan Month of Food! I'll miss having something awesome to look forward to on the blogosphere each day. But I definitely won't miss the freaky stress associated with having to post every single day. Ha! In fact, I'm taking a break from my blog for the next week (at least). A well deserved holiday.

Over the last month I've shared a series of raw, vegan dishes here. Unfortunately I wasn't able to do 20+ recipes like I'd intended to. :( But I'm glad that at I'm getting at least 17 posts done for MoFo this year.

It's been a really good challenge to create these raw recipes. I've enjoyed it so much, I think I'll be creating raw foods more often. :)

Thank you everyone who has visited me here and at my various social media spaces (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest) throughout this month. Your supportive comments about my recipes, HowDo clips and time-lapse videos have been really encouraging. :)

I think I've had as much fun participating in Vegan MoFo this year as I did last year. Here's a link to my Vegan MoFo album from 2012 if you want to see what I did last time.

I am highly inspired by all the wonderful recipes I've been seeing on my fellow MoFo blogger's spaces! I'm going to spend the next few days just blog hopping and drooling over the goodies. :) Ahhhh bliss!

I'll leave you now with a recap of all the Vegan MoFo posts on my blog throughout this month. Enjoy! :)

Day 1 - Raw Almond Mylk

Day 2 - Healthy Green Smoothie

Day 3 - Fruit Sweetened Almond Mylk Ice Cream

Day 4 - Making Sprouts and Green Cilantro-Mint Chutney(chutney recipe by Dr.Nandita Shah)

Day 5 - Raw Almond Mylk Pulp Vadai/Cracker Sandwiches

Day 6 - Stuffed Bajji Menasinakayi (Banana Peppers) with Walnut Cilantro Pesto

Day 7 - Creamy Tomato Basil Soup (guest post by Manasa of Cure yourself with Food)

Day 8 - Raw Zucchini Fettuccine and Sun Dried Tomatoes in Cashew Sour Cream Sauce

Day 9 - Raw Cinnamon Apple Crumble with Date Almond Sauce

Day 10 - Melon Mustard Gazpacho

Day 11 - Mid-MoFo Recap and Giveaway

Day 12 - Ruby Smoothie

Day 13 - Fermented Cashew Garlic Cheese

Day 14 - Noochos Gracias Raw Soup

Day 15 - Frozen Basil Seed Pudding

Day 16 - Lemon Lavender Spoon Cream (guest post by Ashlee of The Little Foxes)

Ruby Smoothie Du Jour - Vegan MoFo 2013 Day 12

The moment I made this smoothie for breakfast this morning, I just knew I had to share it here as today's post.

This is the second smoothie recipe I'm sharing here in the raw food theme I have going on for Vegan MoFo this time. The first was a regular old Healthy Green Smoothie. Today, I didn't have any greens at home, so I decided to put some veggies in there with the fruits. And I am soooo happy I did that.

The beetroot gives it such a gorgeous colour! Red is the colour of vitality, and as I sipped on this smoothie, I could feel the positive, healing energy of the red coursing through my system. :)

My friend Angela at Canned-Time is doing a red theme throughout this MoFo. I'm sure she'll be very happy when she sees these smoothie photos. :D

As with all smoothies, this is a highly flexible recipe. You can switch the ingredients around and add in whatever you have on hand.

If you have a high speed blender, you can roughly shop the veggies and pop them in. If not, then grate the veggies before grinding them to get the best results.

Ruby Smoothie
Serves 2-3 people

3 medium, ripe Bananas
1 ripe Guava
1 small Beetroot
1 small Radish
1/2 C Almonds
1 T Flax Seeds
1 tsp Sesame Seeds
1/4 tsp Turmeric
1-2 T Lime juice
pinch of Pachha Karpura (Edible Camphor)
pinch of Salt
1 C clean, filtered Water
Agave Nectar - optional ingredient for sweetening

* Wash and scrub the beets and radish well (don't peel them)
* Roughly chop them and add to a large blender jar
* Add cubed guava and peeled and cubed bananas
* Add all the remaining ingredients
* Grind well
* Mix, add a some water and blend
* Add the remaining water and blend well to get a creamy smoothie
* Pour into large mugs and add some ice cubes if you like
* Sip and enjoy! :)

A word about high speed blenders. I'm a firm believer in the strength and superiority of our old Indian mixer-grinder brands. It makes sense that at least a few awesome mixies come from a country where chutney, idli batter and masalas are ground on a regular basis.

We own an Elgi Ultra Choice+ that we got a couple of months ago and it has made a very significant impact on the amount I grind/blend now. It runs on a powerful 1000W motor and has some neat features that I'm very happy with. If you live in India and are looking to upgrade the mixie at your home, I highly recommend this one.

I have also heard good things about the Preethi brand. Though most of their mixer-grinders have only 750W motors, they have a commercial mixie called Xpro, that runs on 1300W. Preethi is more easily available throughout India and also in many other parts of the world (with country specific power features).

There are many other good Indian mixie brands but I had to mention the two above because they're the most powerful ones. Give them a try before you import a Vitamix, Blendtec or other expensive, fancy blenders. ;)

A Recap and a Giveaway - Vegan MoFo 2013 Day 11

Wow, we've just crossed the halfway point of Vegan MoFo! I started out intending to do at least 20 posts this month and hoping to do a few more than that if possible. So completing half the posts in the first few weeks, despite the daily distractions I've been having, what with blog hopping and drooling over the delicious goodies created by other MoFo bloggers, is something I'm really happy about. :)

For today's post, it seems apt to do a recap of all the recipes I've shared so far. Enjoy! :)

My theme for Vegan MoFo 2013 is Raw Vegan Foods.

Day 1 - Raw Almond Mylk

Day 2 - Healthy Green Smoothie

Day 3 - Fruit Sweetened Almond Mylk Ice Cream

Day 4 - Making Sprouts and Green Cilantro-Mint Chutney(chutney recipe by Dr.Nandita Shah)

Day 5 - Raw Almond Mylk Pulp Vadai/Cracker Sandwiches

Day 6 - Stuffed Bajji Menasinakayi (Banana Peppers) with Walnut Cilantro Pesto

Day 7 - Creamy Tomato Basil Soup(guest post by Manasa)

Day 8 - Raw Zucchini Fettuccine and Sun Dried Tomatoes in Cashew Sour Cream Sauce

Day 9 - Raw Cinnamon Apple Crumble with Date Almond Sauce

Day 10 - Melon Mustard Gazpacho

*Phew!*

And now, to celebrate the success of the first half of Vegan MoFo, I'm giving away something special that I handmade just for this occassion. :D

I present to you, the Kitchen Ninja Necklace!

For those of you who don't know, I create vegan art jewellery under the brand name Art by Susmitha. My favourite materials to work with are polymer clay, copper, silver, brass, gemstones and vegan crystal pearls (made by Swarovski). I've been making and selling my jewellery online for about ten years now.

My long time global store is on Etsy - http://artbysusmitha.etsy.com
And I've had an India specific store on ItsHandmade for a little over a year - http://art-by-susmitha.itshandmade.in

Art by Susmitha has its own pages on Facebook and Twitter. And shares a profile with Veganosaurus on Instagram and Flickr.

I made the focal pendant of this Kitchen Ninja necklace with copper. I hand stamped and textured it with special fonts and texturing hammers. Then I fired it to obtain a beautiful rainbow patina, highlighted the letters and finally hand polished it to bring out all the details.

I added the pendant to a long hemp chord and finished it with copper components. You slip the necklace around your neck and adjust the length by sliding the polymer clay bead at the back up and down.

Since I know many girl Kitchen Ninjas and boy Kitchen Ninjas, I designed this necklace to be worn by men as well as women. :)

If you'd like a chance to win this necklace for yourself or for the Kitchen Ninja in your life, visit this link on my Facebook Page and follow the instructions.

Enjoy! :)

Post by Art by Susmitha.

Healthy Green Smoothie - Vegan MoFo 2013 Day 2

Here we are on day two of the Vegan Month of Food. Yesterday I shared a HowDo about making Raw Almond Mylk because it's delicious, healthy and an ingredient that is often used in the preparation of raw food dishes.

I'm going to be featuring raw vegan recipes here throughout September. If you'd like to be notified about my blog posts, subscribe to my blog by submitting your email address in the "Follow by Email" box in the right hand column, just under the Vegan MoFo icon.

I'd also love to connect with you on my Veganosaurus Facebook Page, Instagram and Twitter.

I'd like to thank everyone who has been watching my HowDo videos and encouraging me to make more of them. They're definitely going to be incorporated into many of my Vegan MoFo posts this month to make the recipes more interesting, fun and easy to follow.

In some cases I'll have a HowDo video as well as a text version of the recipe. But for easy, simple recipes where it's more about the method and not the recipe itself, I feel typing out the recipe isn't necessary. In those cases I'll just embed the HowDo clip here and save myself some time and effort. ;)

Today I have a basic Healthy Green Smoothie recipe to share. Pretty much everyone makes smoothies these days, so a smoothie recipe is nothing novel. But a month of raw food recipes just doesn't seem complete without at least one or two smoothies in there. :)

The recipe below features my favourite components that go into most of my smoothies. Of course, you can switch around the ingredients and tweak the quantities to your liking because it's a very, very adaptable recipe. If you can get your hands on Cooking Camphor aka Pachha Karpura, I highly recommend you adding a tiny pinch of it into all your smoothies. Takes things to a whole new level of yum!

Once again, the recipe is in the form of a step-by-step HowDo micro guide. Enjoy! :)

Happy Morning Banana Mocha Smoothie

Monday morning zombiness? Treat yourself to a large mug full of Happy Morning Banana Mocha Smoothie and zip through your week like a boss! :D



I'm probably going to be hated for saying this, but Monday mornings aren't such a big deal to me. :p Considering I work for myself, on my own schedule, I sometimes like to extend my weekend until late afternoon on Mondays. But, this means my Fridays are very packed. I want to finish off all pending work and household chores from the week so that I am mentally free during the weekends.

This last Saturday was a busy one for me. I had a baking event at Carrots where I demonstrated how to make vegan brownies, cookies, bread and tea. I'll be posting the event video and recipes next week. So Friday was an especially busy day for me because I had a lot to get done. I made this awesome smoothie for myself on Friday morning and it really helped me buzz about my day's work super smoothly. :D

I figured, Monday would be a great day to share this recipe with all of you. Here's a step by step tutorial:

 

Green Guava Grainee and Vegan MoFo Preparations

Though this is a technically a smoothie, I'd like to call it a "grainee" because the guava seeds get ground to a fine, grainy texture. It's a nice way to enjoy a smoothie, with a wee bit of crunchiness in every mouthful. :)

Makes for a delicious, nutritious, filling breakfast. Consume it as soon as it's made, to get the maximum benefits of the fruits and the spinach.

1 large Guava - cubed
3 Yelakki Bananas (small) - cut into chunks
1 1/2 C Spinach
8 Dates - seeds removed
1/2 C Cashews
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
3 Black Pepper Corns
A pinch of Salt
Lemon Juice

Blend everything together along with some water into a creamy smoothie.
Serve into large mugs.
Start slurping immediately.
Enjoy! :)

While you're slurping, let me tell you about what I've been up to and what's about to happen on my blog in October.

Shhhh, listen...can you hear that low rumbling sound? It's the chorus of thousands of tummies growling in anticipation. And soon you'll be hearing buckets drool dripping onto keyboards all over the world too because, it's that time of the year again...Vegan MoFo time!! :D

For those who are new to this, Vegan MoFo aka Vegan Month of Food, is a global blogging event. Hundreds of bloggers from all over the world take part each year and all month long blogs are flooded with talk about about vegan food, vegan food and more vegan food.

Last October was my first time participating in MoFo and it was a mad, last minute scramble. I did a lot of huffing and puffing and just barely reached my quota of posts for the month. This year however, I've turned into a super smart cookie (pun intended) and have started to cook and capture and choreograph.

I'd like to have at least half the blog posts ready and scheduled over the next week so that during MoFo I can chill and hoppity hop hop through all the awesome participating blogs.

I've even got a theme going this time - Super Scrumptious Four Course Meal. Each week, I will feature recipes for one course of a meal.

Week One - Desserts (well of course I have to start with desserts!)
Week Two - Soups and Salads
Week Three - Appetizers and Snacks
Week Four - Main Courses

There may or may not be sub-themes within each week. We'll just have to wait and watch. :oP

If you would like a taste of what's to come, here's my Vegan MoFo 2012 Sneak Peek album. It's going to keep getting filled up all week long and through October as the recipes start rolling out.

Until then, here are a few recipes from my last year's Vegan MoFo collection for you to try out:

Super Loaded Burritos



Idlis



Maize Bread



And of course, the MOST popular post of them all...Vegan Ice Cream Basics :D



If you're taking part in Vegan MoFo this year, do leave a comment and let me know so I can visit you often through October. Enjoy making magic in the kitchen and have a wonderful weekend! :)

Peanut Butter and Banana Fusion Smoothie

Peanut Butter and Banana smoothies are pretty common these days. The first time I tasted one was at a local vegetarian, organic restaurant called The Green Theory. Their smoothies are more like milkshakes - decadent, creamy and well, fattening (hey, I'm not complaining :D). If you let them know in advance that you'd like your smoothies to be made with soy mylk (instead of animal milk), they usually oblige.

Bikash Parik, who owns the restaurant, is a really nice guy and very helpful and accommodating. I've seen him there almost every time I've visited. He's the tall guy wearing the glasses. If he's around, then it's a guarantee that you'll have a good, vegan dining experience after explaining to him that you're vegan upon entering the restaurant.

Coming back to my smoothie, I personally feel that a smoothie doesn't need any sort of mylk to be added. Especially not one with peanuts or bananas in it. You have all the creaminess required right there, in those two ingredients. Here's my version of the Peanut Butter and Banana smoothie. I added a small pinch of a special ingredient to give it a more Indian flavour. Hence the 'fusion' in the title. :)

1 big scoop of Peanut Butter
1 large, ripe Bananas (the Pachbale kind) - peeled and cut into large chunks with a few small slices kept aside for topping
4 Dates - seeds removed
2 tsp Sugar (optional for additional sweetness)
1 T Cocoa Powder (optional)
A pinch of Pachha Karpura (Edible Camphor)
A pinch of Salt

Blend everything (you can adjust thickness with a little water if you like).
Serve into tall glasses.
Top with banana slices.
Dust with cocoa powder.
Enjoy! :)

Pale Green Smoothie

Green smoothies are an amazingly nutritious and energy boosting breakfast option. All it takes is greens and fruit to make a basic smoothie. Wash, blend, drink. But sometimes I like to make my breakfast drink a bit special with additional ingredients for extra nutrients and taste. This one that I made today turned out super delicious (so much so that the empty mug got invaded by ants a few minutes after it was put down)! And the pale green colour was so pretty that I just had to grab some pics.

Dates are very rich in iron so I like using them to sweeten foods which are healthy to begin with. Sesame seeds are an excellent source of calcium. Lemon juice helps the nutrients get absorbed better. Turmeric has anti bacterial properties so a small pinch helps to make the raw food more safe.



1 Handful Spinach
1 Large Banana
8-10 Cashews
5 Pitted Dates
1 tsp Sesame Seeds
Pinch Turmeric
Pinch Salt
Pinch Pepper
Large Splash Lemon Juice

Blend everything together with as much or little water as you like.
Pour into a pretty mug.
Slurp away!

Enjoy. :)



What kind of stuff do you like adding into your green smoothie?

Avocado Mint Smoothie

This one has Avocado, Date Syrup, Agave Nectar, Fresh Mint Leaves and plenty of water. All just blended well into a delightfully refreshing and delicious smoothie. YUM!