Recipe: RAW TACOS

Raw vegan walnut taco ‘meat’

1 ½ c raw walnuts
1 ½ t ground cumin
¾ t ground coriander
2 t braggs (I just used soy sauce, which is not technically raw)
Pinch of cayenne

Grind walnuts in food processor to a meat like texture add remaining ingredients and mix.

Cashew Cheeze

1 ½ t garlic, about two cloves
½ t sea salt
1 c raw cashews
2 ½ t fresh lemon juice
¼ c filtered water

Place garlic and salt in a food processor; process into small pieces. Add cashews and process into paste. Add lemon juice and water, process well.

Serve on a leafy green (I used romaine) with avocado and homemade pico. Yum!

Recipe: Tapenade and Tzatziki

I was very happy with the tapenade and would defiantly make this again. However, the tzatziki was a little to thin. It was still good, but I would have preferred the texture to be a little thicker. Trader Joe's has an awesome tzatziki, so I never felt inspired to make it, but this is cooking club and we all try to do something different. Here are the recipes. For the tzatziki, I think draining some of the water from the yogurt would have helped. I tried to get as much water out of the cucumbers as I could, as the recipe instructed. I may try it again, but probably just keep getting the Trader Joe's version.
Artichoke Tapenade

-1 14-ounce can artichoke bottoms, drained and rinsed well
-3 tablespoon green olives
-5 tablespoons kalamata olives
-1/2 teaspoon dried basil
-2 tablespoons fresh parsley
-1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
-1 clove garlic, crushed
-1 teaspoon lemon juice

Put all ingredients except lemon juice into food processor. Process, stopping to scrape down sides a couple of times, until everything is finely chopped. Taste and add lemon or lime juice, if needed. Refrigerate and allow flavors to blend for at least an hour before serving. (It's even better if you let it rest overnight and bring to room temperature before eating.)

Tzatziki

(Makes about 3 1/2 cups. You can cut the recipe in half)

-3 cups Greek Yogurt
-juice of one lemon (about 3 T)

-1 garlic clove, chopped
-2 medium cucumbers, seeded and diced
-about 1 T kosher salt for salting cucumbers
-1 T finely chopped fresh dill
-Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Peel cucumbers, then cut in half lengthwise and take a small spoon and scrape out seeds. Discard seeds. (If you use the small seedless or European cucumbers with few seeds, you can skip this step.) Dice cucumbers, then put in a colander, sprinkle on 1 T salt, and let stand for 30 minutes to draw out water. Drain well and wipe dry with paper towel.

In food processor with steel blade, add cucumbers, garlic, lemon juice, dill, and a few grinds of black pepper. Process until well blended, stir this mixture into the yogurt. Taste before adding any extra salt, salt if needed. Place in refrigerator for at least two hours before serving so flavors can blend. (This resting time is very important.)

This will keep for a few days or more in the refrigerator, but you will need to drain off any water and stir each time you use it.

Recipe: Ginger-Tofu Pot Stickers with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

Pot Stickers:

3/4 cup shredded green cabbage
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup matchstick-cut carrots
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp. minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tsp. dark sesame oil
1/2 tsp. salt
7-8 oz. extra firm tofu
Dash of hot sauce
24 wonton wrappers
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. canola oil, divided
1 cup of water, divided

Sauce:

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp. chile paste with garlic (such as sambal oelek)
1/2 tsp. sugar

To prepare pot stickers, combine first 10 ingredients in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Working with 1 wonton wrapper at a time (cover remaining wrappers with a damp towel to prevent drying), spoon about 1 1/2 tsp. of tofu mixture in center of each wrapper. Moisten edges of dough with water; bring 2 opposite corners to center, pinching points to seal. Bring remaining 2 corners to center, pinching points to seal. Pinch 4 edges together to seal. Place pot stickers on a large baking sheet sprinkled with cornstarch.

Heat 1 1/2 tsp. canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 12 pot stickers to pan; cook 2 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown. Slowly add 1/2 cup water to pan; cover and cook 4 minutes. Uncover and cook 3 minutes or until liquid evaporates. Repeat procedure with remaining pot stickers, oil and water.

To prepare sauce, combine 1/4 cup water and next 5 ingredients (through sugar) in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Serve sauce with pot stickers.