Where I fit in is among the city’s thriving vegan community (although we have yet to have a neighbourhood named after us), a diverse crowd of individuals who live up to their values of compassion and wellness. The point of connection for all of us is the Toronto Vegetarian Association, an amazing non-profit organization that works to inspire people through community events like the annual Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival and the Totally Fabulous Vegan Bake-Off.

Yesterday, I met up with TVA’s vegan bake-off organizing team for a lovely potluck brunch to celebrate the success of this year’s event (you can read my recap of this year’s bake-off here). The smorgasbord of food included scrambled tofu, tempeh bacon, avocado, oatmeal bake, potato spinach squares, raspberry lemon muffins, mushroom asparagus tart and green macaroons. Thanks to the lovely Lisa, you can find the recipes for the tart and macaroons here.

Because granola is a favourite among us vegans, I decided to contribute the components for a spring-inspired granola parfait—a bowl of crunchy oat granola with seeds and dried fruit; a scoop of blueberry and apple jam; and topped with a thick vanilla cream made with coconut milk and cashews. It made for a delightful end to a delicious meal. And luckily, our hosts Luke and Drew were able to steal the leftovers in what they coined the Great Granola Heist of 2013.

Completely un-food-related but definitely relevant if you follow this blog, Google Reader is shutting down as of July 1st. If you use Google Reader to follow me or other blogs, be sure you have a replacement lined up (I’ve heard good things about Feedly and Bloglovin’). And remember, you can always subscribe to A Dash of Compassion by email and get new posts emailed directly to you if you prefer!

Amazing granola parfaits

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:

Granola:

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats (use gluten-free if necessary)
• 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 tbsp hulled sesame seeds
• 1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
• 1/3 cup dates, chopped
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp melted coconut oil
• 2 tbsp warm water

Vanilla Cream:

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
• 1 (13.5oz) can coconut milk
• 1/4 cup water (omit if using light coconut milk)
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• seeds of 1 vanilla bean
• pinch of sea salt

Blueberry Apple Jam:

• 2 1/2 cups frozen blueberries
• 2 medium apples, peeled and cubed
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Directions:

For the granola:

1. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. In a smaller bowl, whisk together wet ingredients. Pour wet mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and combine thoroughly.
3. Spread out granola on dehydrator trays lined with Teflex sheets and dehydrate at 110F for about 4 hours, or until dry. Alternatively, preheat oven to 250F and spread out granola on a large cookie sheet. Bake for about 45 minutes or until lightly browned and dry.

For the vanilla cream:

1. Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth. Transfer to a container and place in the fridge for an hour or more to thicken up.

For the jam:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and puree with an immersion blender. Allow to cool and then store in the fridge until ready to use.

To assemble:

1. Spoon jam in the bottom of serving glasses or bowls, then add granola and top with vanilla cream. And then dig in!

I gave in and made a maple cinnamon almond butter variation a few months ago and I was immediately love struck. There is something so satisfying and wonderful about the combination of almonds, cinnamon and maple syrup.

But don’t let me fool you. As the title above suggests, this is not another nut butter recipe. Instead, I combined a variety of seeds–think pumpkin, sunflower, flax, chia and hemp–slowly roasted with maple syrup and then blended with cinnamon and a touch of vanilla.

Dare I say this is my new favourite? It tastes so sinfully good you may find your fingers a suitable substitute for apple slices. Not that I did that–I’m just sayin’.

Enjoy!

Maple cinnamon multi-seed butter

Yield: about 1 cup

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 2 tbsp whole flax seeds
• 2 tbsp hemp seeds
• 1 tbsp white chia seeds
• 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 2-3 tbsp oil (I used canola)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300F and line a cookie sheet with with Silpat or parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine all seeds and the maple syrup. Spoon the mixture onto the cookie sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring halfway through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.
3. Transfer the seeds to a food processor and process until crumbly. With the food processor running, pour the oil through the spout (use more or less oil depending on how thin you want it). Allow the food processor to run until the mixture is smooth, about 10 minutes. If you own a high-speed blender, you can transfer the butter for another round of blending to make it super smooth. I did and it is well worth the extra step!
4. Transfer the butter to a mason jar and store in the fridge.

Recipe inspired by Angela's almond butter.

Let me explain.

A few days earlier, I was browsing through some of my favourite food blogs and came across an absolutely stunning post on Golubka. (If you haven’t visited that blog yet, you must go there. Now.) You see, I wasn’t necessarily looking for recipes to try out because, at that time, I felt like I really needed a break from the kitchen. I was essentially living vicariously through other people’s creations and bookmarking intriguing ideas to try after the holidays.

Have you ever come across a recipe that just screams “Make me!” That’s what this recipe did to me.

I started with the basic bread recipe and got to work soaking, sprouting and dehydrating. Rather than sticking to a basic savoury flavour, I decided to make a new version of my beloved banana bread by adding bananas, walnuts, cinnamon and a touch of agave nectar. And boy, was I happy with the outcome. It results in a crispy outer crust and a nice, moist banana bread-like centre. The sprinkle of seeds on top is also a must.

The best part about this bread recipe is that there’s no need for flour, yeast or sugar. I experimented with two versions, one baked and one dehydrated, and I must admit that I liked the texure and taste of the baked version much better. Dehydrating does work, but I could detect a subtle fishy flavour from the Irish moss, so you might want to add more spices or other flavours if you prefer to use that method. Or, make sure to thoroughly rinse your Irish moss several times before making it into a paste! Lesson learned.

Also, feel free to use whatever seeds you have on hand for this recipe. It seems quite versatile. I made two mini loafs, but you can easily make one large loaf or several small buns (or even bagels!) if you prefer. Keep in mind that you may need to adjust the baking time though. Enjoy!

Sprouted multiseed banana loaf

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients:

• 1 cup mixture of raw oat groats, buckwheat groats, amaranth and millet seeds, preferably sprouted (or just soaked overnight) and dehydrated
• 1/2 cup flax seeds
• 1 cup sunflower seeds, preferably sprouted and dehydrated
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1 cup psyllium husks
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 very ripe bananas, peeled (mine were previously frozen)
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup Irish moss paste (see instructions here)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 2 tbsp agave nectar
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Agave glaze:

• 1 tbsp agave nectar
• 1 tbsp water

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. Set aside.
2. Start by grinding the grains, flax seeds and sunflower seeds. I did it in batches using a spice grinder, but a high-speed blender will work, too.
3. In a large bowl, combine the ground grains and seeds. Add the sesame seeds, psyllium husks, cinnamon and salt and whisk together.
4. In a medium bowl, mash the bananas using a fork. Add the water, Irish moss paste, agave nectar and coconut oil and whisk until well combined and fairly smooth. (You can also do this step using a blender, if desired.)
5. Pour the wet mixture in the dry mixture and mix to form a dough. You might want to use your hands at this point. Fold in the chopped walnuts.
6. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and shape into a loaf (I made two long, thin loafs).
7. Make the agave glaze by whisking together the agave and water. Brush the glaze over the top of the loaf and sprinkle with a mixture of seeds.
8. Bake the loaf at 350F for about one hour or until the loaf is golden and crispy to the touch. Allow to cool before slicing.

Basic bread recipe adapted from Golubka's recipe.

Enter my brand-spanking new Excalibur dehydrator, recently given to me by a wonderful friend.

Hello, pretty thing, you are big and bulky but oh so useful.

She’s even got a power and temperature control.

And five large trays.

Dehydrators are the raw foodist’s version of an oven. The appliances gently blow warm air over food, causing it to lose its own moisture and dry out. This process can take anywhere from hours to days, depending on what you’re making.

This may seem like too long of a process to be worthwhile, yet dehydrating enables you to attain a wider variety of ways you can make food in raw form. From crackers and breads, to pizza, granola and dried fruit, it creates endless possibilities with flavours, textures and storage options. A whole new world opens up when you start making things and experimenting.

This practical piece of equipment will allow me to do much more than my previous round dehydrator, and I can’t wait to get started. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to share a few of my favourite dehydrator recipes and uses for vegetarians, vegans and, of course, raw foodists, too. Whether you’re looking for some tasty snacks, to experiment with raw food cuisine or to just preserve some fruit, there’s so much you can do with a dehydrator at home.

While we’re on the subject of food (because that’s what this blog is all about, really), I’d like to draw your attention to a story I wrote for a website that is appropriately named Stop Chasing Skinny. I haven’t written much about my personal history here on ADC—because I’d much rather focus on things that make me happy—but when JL contacted me recently to ask if I’d be interested in sharing my story, I thought it was a good opportunity to write about a part of my life I don’t talk about much anymore, even though it was a huge part of my life at one time. Anyway, if you’re interested, you can read it here.

Without further ado, here’s one of my favourite dehydrator snacks—granola. It’s just a matter of mixing a few ingredients together, spreading it out on a dehydrator tray and letting the dehydrator do its magic!

Nut-free, go-to granola

Yield: about 3 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups raw oat flakes (use certified gluten-free, if necessary)
• 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1/4 cup raw sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup raw buckwheat groats
• 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
• dash of nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the oats, sunflower seeds, coconut, sesame seeds, buckwheat groats, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
2. Add the maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla and stir to cover all the dry ingredients.
3. Spread the mixture out on a teflex sheet on a dehydrator tray and dehydrate at 110F for about 4 hours or until desired crunch is achieved. Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer to preserve freshness.

Yet here I am, within hours of the midnight cut-off to the SOS Kitchen Challenge, presenting you with my final recipe. Highlighting the flavours of carob, kamut and sunflower seeds, these crispy squares are a quick and easy, no-bake summer treat. I made use of some kamut puffs cereal sitting in my cupboard as well as my homemade sunflower seed butter to create a spin-off of my sunbutter bites with a creamy carob frosting. Dare I say these ones taste better?

Crispy carob kamut squares

Ingredients:

For the squares:

• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 1/4 cup sunbutter (homemade or storebought)
• 1 tbsp warm water
• 1/4 cup carob powder
• 2 1/2 cups kamut puffs (I use Nature's Path)
• 2 tbsp sunflower seeds (optional)

For the carob frosting:

• 1/3 cup coconut butter, softened
• 3 tbsp agave nectar
• 1 1/2 tbsp carob powder
• 1 1/2 tbsp sunbutter

Directions:

For the squares:

1. In a large bowl, stir together the coconut oil, agave nectar, sunbutter, water and carob powder until well combined and smooth. Set aside.
2. Using a food processor, pulse the kamut puffs to a coarse meal. You want them to still have chunks, not completely powdered.
3. Add the kamut puffs and sunflower seeds to the carob mixture and mix until they are completely coated. Press the mixture into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan (or small square pan) that is covered with parchment paper. Place the pan in the freezer while you make the frosting (recipe below).

For the carob frosting:

1. In a small bowl, stir together all ingredients until well combined and smooth.
2. Remove the pan from the freezer and spoon the frosting over the kamut base and smooth out with the back of a spoon.
3. Return the pan to the freezer for about 30 minutes until set. Cut into squares and serve. Store leftovers in the fridge or freezer.

But alas, that is what I did after reading the magazine article about sushi and remembering that I still had a package of nori in my cupboard that really needed to be used up. But, unfortunately, I’m not a fan of sushi-making. So what to do?

I’ve had healthy snack ideas on the brain since increasing my cardio routine a few weeks ago so, after collecting some simple ingredients in bulk, I came up with these no-bake brown rice cereal bars that are made up of all the delicious flavour components of sushi, minus the rolling and vegetable slicing. They include hints of nori, peanuts, sesame and wasabi combined with crunchy brown rice cereal and the subtle addition of brown rice syrup and coconut oil. Super yum.

When creating these treats, I experimented with different liquid sweeteners and I found that the thick brown rice syrup combined with enough agar flakes worked out best as a binding agent, so you won’t see these babies falling apart as soon as they hit room temperature. This recipe also requires sheets of nori that are crisp enough to crumble into tiny pieces. The easiest way to do that is to place the sheets directly on your oven rack and toast them at 350 degrees for a few minutes until slightly crisp. You can lightly toast your peanuts and seeds at the same time. Enjoy!

Sweet nori bars

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup brown rice syrup
• 6 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp wasabi paste
• 3 1/2 tbsp agar flakes
• 2 cups crispy brown rice cereal (like Erewhon brand)
• 1/2 cup toasted peanuts
• 1/3 cup toasted sunflower seeds
• 1/3 cup toasted, hulled sesame seeds
• 2 sheets toasted nori, crumbled

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the brown rice syrup, coconut oil, salt and wasabi. Sprinkle the agar flakes on top and gently stir. Heat over medium-low until the coconut oil melts and the mixture comes to a light boil. Simmer for about 30 seconds until the mixture begins to thicken slightly. Remove from heat.
2. Add the brown rice cereal, peanuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and nori. Stir until well combined, making sure the dry ingredients are well coated with the syrup mixture.
3. Spoon the mixture into a 8 x 8-inch square pan, pressing down gently and spreading it out evenly using the back of a spoon. Place the pan in the freezer for about one hour to firm up. Cut into bars using a sharp knife. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge or freezer.

And then I discovered a new love: sunbutter. Made of roasted sunflower seeds, it resembles the appearance and texture of PB, but with a milder, toasty flavour. With less saturated fat and a higher protein, iron and fiber content, it is the perfect base for my new health snack. You can buy sunbutter in most grocery stores these days, but making your own is cheap and easy, so why not? I add flax to my version for an extra punch of minerals and omega-3.

Aren’t my new sunbutter bites cute? Eating one of these is like taking a bite of sunshine. Although there are similar vegan brown rice treats floating around the web, I found that most of them don’t hold together very well at room temperature, which means packing them to go is not an option. The use of agar flakes in this recipe solves that problem!

Sunbutter bites

Ingredients:

Homemade sunbutter:

• 2 cups hulled sunflower seeds
• 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
• 3 tbsp sunflower or canola oil
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 tbsp maple syrup (optional)

Sunbutter bites:

• 1/2 cup sunbutter
• 1/4 cup maple syrup or agave nectar
• 1/4 cup brown rice syrup
• 2 tbsp agar flakes (see notes below)
• 1 1/2 cups crispy brown rice cereal
• 1/2 cup kamut flakes
• 1 cup granola (preferably homemade)
• Optional additions: handful of hemp hearts, dried fruit, poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds, ancient grain cereal flakes,etc.

Directions:

For the sunbutter:

1. Toast sunflower seeds until slightly golden.
2. Once cooled, put sunflower seeds in a food processor and grind until they become a coarse meal.
3. Add the oil, salt and optional maple syrup. Process for about 10 minutes, occasionally stopping the processor to scrap down the sides of the bowl. If it looks too thick, add a tbsp more oil and continue to process. It will eventually become smooth, I promise! Store sunbutter in the refrigerator.

For the sunbutter bites:

1. In a medium saucepan, mix together the sunbutter, maple syrup and agar flakes and heat on low, stirring occasionally, until the mixture comes to a light boil. Remove from heat.
2. Stir in the crispy brown rice cereal, kamut flakes and granola. The mixture should stick together well.
3. Spoon the mixture into an 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and refrigerate until firm (about an hour). Cut into bars or squares and enjoy!

 

Please note that the amount of agar depends on how much oil you used in your homemade sunbutter. If you used little to no oil or if you are using store-bought sunbutter, reduce the agar amount to 1 tbsp.