Donuts

Serves 4-6

Donuts
1 cup raw almonds, soaked overnight
4 large medjool dates, pits removed, soaked overnight
½ cup shredded baby zucchini
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp powdered nutmeg
2 tbsp powdered cinnamon
dash sea salt

Toppings
¼ cup lucuma or mesquite powder mixed with 2 tbsp cinnamon
¼ cup cocoa powder mixed with 2 tbsp powdered raw palm or coconut sugar
¼ cup shredded dried coconut

Place soaked almonds in food processor and blend with an s-blade until very fine but not a paste. Add the rest of the dates, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg while the processor is on. Continue blending until the mixture becomes uniform and sticky like a wet dough.

Remove the almond/date mixture from the food processor and mix with the shredded zucchini in a bowl using your hands or a large spatula. Adjust the spices to taste.

Roll the mixture into small balls, then flatten and poke a hole in the center of each to resemble a small palm-sized donut. Gently place the donut in a shallow bowl of any topping and cover all sides. Dehydrate at 110˚F for 1-3 hours or until the the outside of the donut is dry, solid, and able to be picked up without crumbling.

Marinated Kale Salad

Serves 2-4

Salad
1 large bunch fresh flat-leaf kale
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
olive oil
sea salt

Garnish
fresh-ground pepper
raw sunflower seeds
tomatoes
slivered almonds
diced avocado
raisins

Wash kale leaves and remove woody part of stems. Stack several leaves together and roll tightly; slice crosswise into very thin strips. Place sliced kale in large salad bowl; toss with soy sauce, drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of sea salt. Marinate 1 hour or up to 1 day ahead. Top with raw sunflower seeds, tomato wedges, sliced green onions, and/or raw almonds.

Zucchini Pesto Pasta

Serves 6-8

Pesto
¼ cup olive oil (to start)
1 large bunch fresh basil
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 cup raw macadamia nuts
6 large cloves garlic
1 cup raw walnuts
1 tsp raw honey or agave nectar

Put oil, basil and macadamias into food processor; pulse until smooth, adding more olive oil in a thin stream, as necessary. Add peeled garlic and pulse again until smooth. Add rosemary (save small sprigs for garnish), walnuts and honey or agave nectar. Pulse until smooth, adding more olive oil in a thin stream if necessary.

Zucchini Pasta
1 small zucchini or summer squash per person (about 8 inches long)
2 tbsp olive oil
dash sea salt
12-14 thin slices of fresh tomato

Peel zucchini with vegetable peeler; discard peel. Continue to use peeler lengthwise on the zucchini, placing strips in medium bowl. Stop when you get to the heart of the zucchini, where the seeds are. Drizzle olive oil over zucchini strips and add a bit of sea salt; toss and let rest 5 minutes.

To assemble, place 1-2 slices tomato on plate, add a mound of zucchini pasta and top with pesto and small sprig of rosemary.

Basil Pesto-stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

Makes 20 stuffed tomatoes

Basil Pesto
1 cup macadamia nuts
1 cup pine nuts
4-6 cloves garlic, or to taste
sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
2 cups fresh basil leaves
juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tbsp)
½ cup olive oil, separated

20 grape or small cherry tomatoes

Puree all ingredients except tomatoes with ¼ cup olive oil in food processor until smooth, adding additional olive oil in drizzle until creamy, scraping sides of processor as needed. Continue blending until no chunks of nuts are visible. Stuff grape or cherry tomatoes with pesto, removing pulp of tomatoes if desired. If tomatoes are large, they can be cut in half.

Variations: a white pesto can be prepared by leaving out the basil leaves. Also, spinach, cilantro or arugula can be used in place of the basil.

Macadamia Cookies

Makes 1 dozen cookies

1 cup raw macadamia nuts
3 tbsp raw agave nectar
dash sea salt
dash of each: hazelnut extract, almond extract, coffee extract, vanilla extract

Puree in food processor until consistency of peanut butter. Form into small balls and flatten with a fork onto dehydrator sheets; dehydrate 2-4 hours and serve warm.

Brazil Nut Hummus with Rosemary Crackers

Serves 4-6

Hummus
2-3 medium-sized yellow or green zucchini, peeled and coarsely chopped
¾ cup raw brazil nuts
¼ cup raw tahini
3-4 cloves garlic, or to taste, peeled
juice of 3 medium lemons (about 1/3 cup)
2 tsp powdered cumin (or to taste)
½ tsp sea salt (or to taste)
½ jalapeno pepper, seeded (optional)
¼ cup olive oil, separated

Puree all ingredients with 2 tbsp olive oil in food processor until smooth, adding additional olive oil in drizzle until creamy, scraping sides of processor as needed. Puree until no chunks of nuts are visible. Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight (keeps up to 2 days in refrigerator). Makes about 3 cups of hummus.

Serve with buckwheat crackers, apple wedges and/or carrot slices and garnish with olive oil, paprika and minced parsley.

Rosemary Buckwheat Crackers
1 cup buckwheat, rinsed and soaked in water 20 minutes to 1 hour
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, stems removed
3-4 cloves garlic (or to taste)
1 tbsp. sea salt
1 tbsp olive oil

Puree all ingredients in food processor until smooth, scraping sides of processor as needed. Puree until wet, frothy dough forms and no chunks of buckwheat are visible.

Spread dough on sheets of dehydrator as thin as possible, about ¼ inch. Dehydrate 12-16 hours or until crispy. Break into dipping pieces and serve.

Mushroom Eggplant Soup

Serves 6-8

Soup
marinate in separate bowls in raw soy sauce just to cover overnight:
1 medium-sized eggplant, peeled and finely cubed
1 large sweet yellow onion, thinly sliced
8-10 crimini or button mushrooms, thinly sliced

In a large bowl or saucepan, combine the following:

4 cups very hot tap water (not boiling)
1 tbsp herbamare salt substitute

Drain marinated onions (save marinade) and add to hot water mixture; let cool about 5 minutes. Drain remaining vegetables (again, saving marinade) and add to water and onion mixture.

Flavoring mix
¼ cup brazil nuts
2 cloves garlic
1 pkg fresh poultry rub mix (combination of thyme, marjoram, rosemary, sage and basil – about 4 tbsp total)

Puree all above ingredients in a food processor until a sandy texture is achieved. Add to water/vegetable mixture. Let cool another 5 minutes.

Add about 1 cup reserved marinade and about 2 tbsp olive oil to soup; season with additional salt substitute and ground pepper to taste. The soup may be prepared up to 24 hours in advance and held in refrigerator, but bring to room temperature at least 3-4 hours before serving in heated bowls.

Serve soup in heated bowls.

Cucumber Ravioli with Marinara Sauce

Serves 6-8

Filling
½ lb raw macadamia nuts
1½ cups raw walnuts
3 carrots
¼ cup olive oil
dash sea salt
dash black pepper
1 sprig each of fresh oregano, thyme and rosemary

Place macadamias, walnuts, carrots and olive oil in food processor. Pulse until coarsely chopped. Add herbs, plenty of salt and fresh-ground pepper; pulse until smooth and the mixture pulls away from sides of processor, adding more olive oil in a thin stream as needed. Season to taste.
Peel the cucumber, then slice very thin on the diagonal. Marinate slices in a drizzle of olive oil and fresh-ground pepper for 10 minutes.

Marinara
¾ cup sun dried tomatoes, rehydrated in olive oil
1 large fresh tomato
1 sprig fresh rosemary
2 tbsp olive oil
dash sea salt

Place all marinara ingredients in bowl of food processor; pulse until creamy. Add a tiny bit of sea salt to taste.

To assemble, place a 1” ball of filling between two slices of cucumber, flattening it a little. Top with marinara sauce and serve immediately.

Apple Pie with Coconut Cinnamon Frosting

Serves 6-8

Filling
2 large Fuji apples, cored and finely chopped
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp raw agave nectar, or to taste

Toss all together in small mixing bowl.

Crust
½ cup raw walnuts
4 dates
¼ cup raisins
1 tsp sea salt

Puree crust ingredients in food processor until it achieves a sandy texture. Press into pie pan along sides and bottom. Fill with apple mixture.

Frosting
meat of 1 young coconut (about ¼ cup coconut meat)
2 dates
1 tsp cinnamon

Puree all frosting ingredients in food processor until smooth. Pipe decoratively onto top of apple pie. Serve immediately, or place in refrigerator for up to 24 hours.