Taco (Salad) Tuesday!

This post is dedicated to a few fellow vegans who found themselves unable to contain their excitement over a recent phenomenon which had been brought to my attention:
"Taco Tuesday"

Being fairly certain that the majority of you know very well who you are, I'll specifically aim this entry toward those who felt compelled to foist all of their dinnertime Mexicantics my way this past Tuesday... ;-)
I am incredibly grateful for the inspiration.
As good fortune would have it, many useful ingredients were on hand and I ended up succumbing to peer pressure by making my own raw/vegan, off-the-cuff version of a favourite spicy & delightful treat. Since there was really no planning ahead for this preparation, there's not so much of a recipe as a loose guideline to share. Ingredients consisted of many of my SoCal basics, measurements were mostly eyeballed. In fact, many items were actually last minute throw-ins, spotted whilst poking around in the kitchen!
I don't normally use kale in nut "meat" recipes, but had a bunch of the purple curly variety sitting around and decided to toss in a few leaves for extra nutrient value (perhaps this particular use may be considered as a direct reference the incredibly idiotic new catchphrase "Kale is The New Beef").
In any case, this turned out to be quite a nice, filling meal, and I would very much like to recreate it in future.
The following is my loosely detailed guideline of procedure (for the benefit of my own memory as well as anyone else who may be interested):
Taco Filling:
  • Almonds (raw, unpasteurised & partially soaked) - 1 cup
  • Dulse - ¼ cup
  • Kale (purple, curly) - 5 or 6 leaves
  • Cilantro - ¼ bunch
  • Scallions - about a bunch, green tops only
  • Kelp granules
  • Cayenne - Amount depends upon preference
  • Garlic - 4 scapes (or 2 cloves)
  • Jalapeño pepper -1, seeds intact (I like spicy)
  • Cumin
  • Juice from ½ Lemon
  • Habanero powder
  • Celtic Sea Salt
  • EVOO - about 1Tbsp (optional - makes spices stick)
- Reserve:
  • Tomato - 1 large heirloom (chopped)
  • Cilantro (chopped)
  • Scallions (chopped)
  • Avocado
  • Jalapeño - 1 (sliced, seeds optional)
  • Romaine lettuce leaves (or cabbage, to be used as taco shells)
  • Almond "sour cream" (optional)

  1. Place taco filling items in food processor (saving reserve items to be used post-processing)
  2. Fold in chopped tomatoes, scallions & cilantro
  3. Fill cabbage/romaine leaves with mixture or place mixture on bed of romaine (as seen in top image)
  4. Garnish with chopped tomato, sliced avocado, scallions, sliced peppers, almond "sour cream" & cilantro
  5. Serve & enjoy!


White Chocolate & Raspberry Frozen Truffle Bites

These frozen white chocolate & raspberry bites were the result of some joyful experimentation on the Eve of St. Valentine. They melt in the mouth and delight the senses, without being too sweet or overpowering in any way.

This post is my Valentine's Day dedication to someone I would certainly be sharing these with if geography would allow...

Happy Vegan Valentine's Day!



Step One - Cacao Butter:

2oz. Organic, fair trade RAW cacao butter

Bowl of hot water

Glass or ceramic measuring cup (or something similar - I used a ceramic mug)


1. Chop cacao butter into small, easily dissolvable pieces

2. Place cacao butter into glass or ceramic cup (water in bowl should surround cup - do NOT allow water from bowl to enter cup or come in contact with cacao butter).

3. Place cup into bowl of hot water & leave to melt (additional hot water may be added to maintain temperature warm enough to melt all cacao butter).

- Whilst waiting for cacao butter to melt, continue on to step two.


Step Two - Sweet Raspberry Almond Cream:

Handful RAW (unpasteurised) almonds, pre-soaked & peeled

¼ C water

1tsp virgin coconut oil (RAW & unrefined)

1½ Tbsp ground organic dried raspberries (or organic raspberry powder)

4 dates (I used 3 Barhi & 1 Medjool)

Juice of ¼ lemon

¼ tsp organic vanilla extract

Pinch of Celtic sea salt


Blend these items in Vitamix blender items until a creamy paste is formed.


Step Three - Blend:

Once all cacao butter pieces have melted & turned into a clear liquid, pour into Vitamix with sweet raspberry almond cream. Blend all items together until smooth.


Step 4 - Moulding & Freezing:

Pour entire mixture from Vitamix into candy mould, or into a bowl or cup (if scooping later is your preference). Place in freezer & leave overnight.


Step 5 - Serve & Enjoy:

Serve & garnish as preferred, but please remember to keep cold until ready to relish!