Vegan Gluten-free Dairy-free Cheesecake

Goodbyes are always difficult. It seems the more I do, the worse I get at doing them. You think there'd be an elegance or grace that one would acquire over the years, a finesse to doing this sort of thing but I've found the opposite to be true.

My manager announced that he's going to be leaving to go live down in AR before the end of the year. Not that he's leaving the company, mind you, just will be working remotely. So, there was a happy hour held to see his wife off (who's moving down before him) at a local brewery. She's dairy-free, which gave me the perfect opportunity to go crazy with my dairy-free recipes I've been stocking up, particularly this "cheese"cake one.

It came out great, and I think it was actually better on subsequent days. I would recommend soaking the cashews overnight if possible. Definitely looking forward to making all the suggested variations when I have need of a faux cheesecake again!

Vegan Gluten-free Dairy-free Cheesecake w Coconut Whipped Cream
from Chickpea Magazine, Summer 2013

Cheesecake:
2 cups cashews, soaked 2 hours - overnight, well rinsed
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
14 oz. can full-fat coconut milk
2 Tbs coconut oil
1 tsp agar powder

Instructions:
1. Blend cashews with maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt.
2. In a small saucepan, heat coconut milk and oil until just bubbling.
3. Whisk agar powder into coconut mixture for 1 minute.
4. Add coconut mixture to blender, and blend until velvety smooth, scraping down sides of blender as needed.

Crust:
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
10 dates
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch salt

Instructions:
1. Combine all ingredients in food processor and pulse together until finely chopped and starts to clump.
2. Firmly press mixture into bottom and slighly up side walls of 9" a spring-form pan. Set aside.

Blueberry Swirl:
1 cup blueberries
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1/2 Tbs chia seeds

Instructions:
1. Add all ingredients to small saucepan, heat over medium heat until blueberries burst.
2. Use immersion blender to blend until smooth.  Set aside.

Lemon Coconut Whipped Coconut Cream:
1 can full-fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
 2 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs maple syrup

Instructions:
1. Turn can of coconut milk upside down, open, and pour off coconut water into separate container to safe for another applications.
2. Scoop out coconut cream into a medium bowl. Combine with lemon juice and maple syrup, and whisk together with hand mixer until creamy.

To compile:
1. Pour cashew cheesecake base into prepared crust. Dot blueberry mixture onto th etop of the cheesecake, and use a knife to swirl the blueberries into the cake.
2. Refridgerate for 4 hours until chilled and firm.
3. Serve with dallop of coconut whipped cream and garnish with fresh blueberries.

Possible alterations:
Toasted Hazlenut Chocolate Chip
- Replace walnuts with toasted hazelnuts in the crust. Omit lemon juice and bluebrry swirl from cheesecake base and add 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips. Cool and top cheesecake with chocolate ganache (1 cup chocolate chips, 2 Tbs coconut milk, 1 Tbs coconut oil, melted together in double boiler). Garnish with chopped hazlenuts.

Peanut Butter with Chocolate Drizzle
- Omit lemon juice and blackbery swirl, add 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter to cashew cheesecake base. Drizzle top with chocolate ganache (recipe above). Garnish with chopped peanuts

Raspberry Lemon
- Add zest of 1 lemon to cheesecake base, omit blueberry swirl. Sprinkle 1/2 cup fresh raspberries over bottom of crust before pouring cheesecake base in. Serve with dollop of whipped cream, fresh raspberries, and sprinkle of finely grated lemon zest.

Coconut Quiona and Kale with Cilantro Pesto

Delicious detox food, exactly what I needed after Halloween weekend (part 1). My friends and I went to the haunted corn maze *insert maize pun here* Saturday night, then came back here for home-made hot chocolate spiked with baileys and played cards. Well, after the hot chocolate ran out, then there was....
THE KRAKEN
It's basically just rum that comes in a cool bottle and has pictures of the kraken on it, but it's pretty sweet stuff : )

This is my first experience with both kale and quiona, and I'm quite pleased with both. My friend Sam, who dines with me (and helps split grocery costs : D) I didn't happen to have red onion, so I omitted that, and I had shredded coconut on hand (not flakes) so I used that instead, but I think I would have slightly preferred the flakes for their crunchy texture. If anyone else tries this, let me know what you think!

Coconut Quiona and Kale with Cilantro Pesto
adapted from Cookie and Katie

Ingredients:
1 cup quiona, well rinsed
1 cup coconut milk
1 small bunch kale, stems removed and finely chopped (~4 cups)
1/2 small/medium red onion, chopped (optional)
1/3 cup coconut flakes, un-sweetened

Cilantro Cashew Pesto
2 cups cilantro, packed
1/2 cup cashews, toasted/roasted (salted or unsalted)
4 cloves garlic
1/2 lime, juiced
pinch red pepper flakes
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. In a medium sauce pan, combine coconut milk and 1 cup water, and bring to a boil. Add quinoa, cover, and simmer for 15-17 mins (until the water is absorbed). Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Cover and set aside.
2. Add cilantro, cashews, garlic, lime juice, and red pepper flakes to a food processor and process together, slowly drizzling in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine quinoa, kale, onion, and pesto. Mix well to combine, and add more salt and pepper to taste.
4. In a small skillet over medium-heat, toast coconut until golden brown, stirring often. Top salad with toasted coconut and serve warm.

Apple Almond Granola

This makes SO much granola, but it's delicious. I prefer it without the salt, and I would like to play around with it temperature and cooking time wise. I think lower temperature for longer, or perhaps taking it out and stirring ever 10 minutes would help it so the inside and outside of the pan is more evenly distributed with crispiness.


Apple Almond Granola
from Anecdotes & Applecores

Ingredients:
1 cup almonds, chopped
1/2 cup walnuts (or peacans), choped
4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, flakes or shredded
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup almond butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1.5 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. sea salt (optional)
1 cup dried apples, chopped

Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 300F.
2. In a large bowl mix together almonds, walnuts, oats, coconut, and flax seed.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together honey, maple syrup, almond butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Pour over oat mixture and stir together with a large wooden spoon or spatula.
4. Divide between 2 cookie sheets, and spread into a thin, even layer. Bake for 30 - 50 minutes, until desired crispyness is achieved. (I only cooked mine for 30 minutes, and the edges started to burn by then)
5. Once removed from the oven, stir in the apples and allow to cool completely before storing in a container.