Mint Lemonade in Bethleham!

Natasha's Fruit Salad

While I was in Jerusalem, my old buddy Natasha (we have known each since we were 12 and attended the Vienna International School, where we sat next to each other for 3 years in middle school home-room - but that's another story) whipped up this amazing salad, the secret ingredient - tahini! I have been home 10 days now and have eaten it daily.

Fruit of choice - strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, banana, plum, peach - chopped into bite size pieces

favorite plain yogurt (I use goat yogurt)

a few spoonfuls of tahini (I but it raw, not toasted)

raw honey - mine came straight from the honeycomb)

nuts of choice

The combination of the yogurt with the tahini makes an amazingly delicious sauce!

A note on tahini - it's a powerhouse seed, packed with vitamin B, E and A - it's also 20% complete protein and thus a better source of protein than milk, soy and most nuts. It also has a high level of methionine, an essential amino acid as well as lecithin which helps to reduce fat levels in the blood. It is an excellent source of calcium - claimed by some to be the best source of calcium, even over milk - and, it's not mucus forming. Eat up!

Citrus Goji Berry Smoothie

This is an all raw smoothie that is refreshing, tart and packed with vitamin C.

-1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (per person)

-frozen mango to the top of the OJ

-1/4 cup soaked goji berries (10 min)

-optional - little bit o lime, freshly squeezed. Or leave goji berries out if you don't have them.

Thanks to Franco Lanzi for capturing the smoothie as it really is.

Raw Chocolate Hazelnut Pie

Ever since I was little girl living Vienna, Austria, I have loved the combination of chocolate and hazelnuts. I remember the Milka bars and the first bite into milk chocolate with whole hazelnuts is a sensory experience I have not forgotten and tried to recreate with this pie.

Crust

1 cup Macadamia nuts

1 cup dried coconut (shredded)

6-8 dates, depending on the size

Filling

2 cups soaked cashews

3/4 cup hazelnut milk (put 1/2 cup hazelnuts in 1 & 1/2 cups water and blend till smooth in Vita-mix - strain through nut milk bag)

1 teaspoon vanilla powder

1/2 cup coconut palm sugar

1/2 softened coconut butter (or oil, but I prefer the butter in this one - I soften it by letting the jar sit in hot water in a bowl for 10 min)

Blend in Vita-mix and pour into crust - chill in freezer for an hour and then move to fridge or fridge for a few hours if you have time.

Key Lime Mango Pie

One of my favorite dessert books is Jennifer Cornbleet's Raw for Dessert. Anyone new to raw can take a stab successfully. Her Key Lime Pie is amazing and the base is avocado, shocking to most! I was ready to try a different base and experimented with mango and papaya. The mango was scrumptious (A big shout out to my fabulous photographer Franco Lanzi!) -

Crust

1 cup Macadamia nuts

1 cup coconut

6-9 dates depending on size

Blend in Vita-mix until a paste

Filling

2 cups cashews, soaked

3 cups fresh mango

1/4 cup lime juice

3/4 cup almond milk

1/3 cup maple syrup (I used coconut palm sugar in this recipe and it tasted great - I also felt it helped firm it up a bit)

2 teaspoons vanilla powder (www.LivingTreeCommunity.com)

pinch salt

pinch cardamom (or cinnamon)

1/2 coconut butter, softened in the jar but soaking it in hot water for 10 min

Pour into crust and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

Raspberry puree

Add 1 cup raspberries to food processor. Remove while still chunky.

Rawsta Pasta

Angel hair Zucchini Pasta with Live Marinara Sauce,

Topped with Green Olives and Macadamia Nut Cheese

Spiralize zucchini noodles

Put 2 cups cherry tomatoes, 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes (in oil or rehydrated in water), 1/2 a red pepper, few leaves of fresh basil, 1/2 olive oil (www.LivingTreeCommunity.com), pinch salt and fresh black pepper in the Vita mix or food processor. Wait to mix it into the pasta when you are ready to eat as the zucchini mixed with the marinara will get watery, fast.

Top with green olives and macadamia nut cheese (1 and 1/2 cup soaked mac nuts, 1/2 cup water, 1 teaspoon brewers yeast flakes, lemon zest of half a lemon - puree in Vita mix)

Sustainable CAN feed the world!

http://www.grist.org/sustainable-farming/2011-05-11-factory-farms-only-way-to-feed-the-world-no-says-science-paper