Nacho Cheese Dip

My good friend Linda shared this fantastic recipe with me. We were all delighted by this creamy, cheesy nacho dip; pour it on tortilla chips, tacos, and burritos, or serve it as a warm dip with carrots, celery, and bell pepper strips.

We believe the recipe is adapted from Something To Shout About (follow link and scroll down) by Donna Green-Goodman. The book chronicles her recovery from aggressive breast cancer by following a healthy, plant-based diet.

makes about 2 cups

2 cups water
¼ cup raw cashews
One 4 oz. jar pimentos, drained
1 cup nutritional yeast flakes
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoons salt, or to taste
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon cumin, heaping

Combine all ingredients in a Vita-Mix or other blender and blend until completely smooth. Transfer mixture to a medium saucepan and whisk constantly over medium heat until thickened, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Serve as a dip with tortilla chips and vegetables.

Variations: Add some vegetarian burger crumbles, black olives, or salsa.

Peach Blueberry Campout Crumble

Perfect for campouts, this sugar-free crumble is made in one pot on the stovetop. The dehydrated blueberries plump up quickly during cooking and go nicely with warm peaches and toasted almonds.

serves 4

¾ cup rolled oats
¼ cup sliced almonds
One 28 oz. can sliced peaches (canned in juice)
1 ½ TB cornstarch
½ tsp. mace
One 1 oz. package Just Blueberries

Mix the oats and almonds together and cook in a saucepan over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until the oats and almonds are toasted. Transfer the oat mixture to a bowl and set aside.

Drain all the juices from the canned peaches into the saucepan and slowly add the cornstarch and mace, whisking with a fork. Add the Just Blueberries and bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens and the blueberries have plumped up, about one minute. Remove from heat and stir in the sliced peaches.

Divide the peach mixture into four bowls and top each serving with the oats and almonds.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Cookies without wheat, sugar, oil, or salt? You betcha! You'll need a good, strong blender like a Vita-Mix to blend the oats into a fine flour; otherwise, purchase oat flour at the health food store.

makes about 24 cookies

2 cups oats
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 medium overripe bananas
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup chopped dates

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment and spray with nonstick spray.

Use a good blender to blend the oats into fine flour. Pour the oat flour into a mixing bowl and add the baking soda and cinnamon.

Put the peeled, overripe bananas into the blender and blend until completely smooth. Add to the oat mixture along with the sunflower seeds and dates, and mix until well combined.

Use a 1-ounce cookie scoop to place spoonfuls of the cookie dough on the baking sheet.

Bake for 12 minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Fruit & Nut Bars

These bars contain no oil and no sugar; they get their sweetness from dried fruit. They are also chock full of walnuts, which contain lots of those fabulous omega-3 fatty acids. These bars are wheat and soy-free -- great for those with allergy concerns.

makes 16 bars

1 cup whole spelt flour
1 cup rolled oats
¼ cup prune purée or one 2.5 oz container baby prunes
½ cup currants or finely chopped raisins
½ cup dried apricots, chopped fine
1 cup walnuts, chopped
⅓ cup water

Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Lightly coat an 8-inch x 8-inch pan with nonstick spray and set aside.

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and knead with your hands until a good, stiff dough forms. Add a tablespoon of water if the mixture is too dry. Press dough firmly and evenly into the prepared pan. Cut into squares with a sharp knife before placing in the oven.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until baked through but still soft (don’t overbake them or the bars will be tough). Store leftover bars in the refrigerator.

Tahinopita

Tahinopita is Greek tahini cake -- a dense cake studded with raisins and nuts that tastes something like an enormous raisin cookie. It is "strict fasting" or "Lenten", meaning it contains no dairy, eggs, or oil and is suitable for "fasting" days in the Orthodox church.

makes one 8-inch cake

for the dough:
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
3 ¼ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. kosher salt
¾ tsp. cinnamon
¾ cup tahini (raw or roasted; roasted lends a nice flavor)
¾ cup orange juice
½ cup sugar
¾ cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

for the syrup:
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 350º. Spray an 8-inch round springform pan (or cake pan) with nonstick spray and dust with flour. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and set aside. Place the tahini in a large mixing bowl and slowly drizzle in the orange juice while beating with an electric beater. Add the sugar and beat well for several minutes, until smooth and lighter in color.

Add the dry ingredients and mix well. The dough will be thick like cookie dough, so stop if your beaters get bogged down. Knead in the raisins and walnuts.

Press the dough into the prepared pan, using a spatula or slightly moistened fingers to press the dough into place and smooth out the top.

Bake for 35 to 38 minutes, until golden brown on top. Let the cake rest in the pan for several minutes, then remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

Now, you can eat the cake just like this, or dust it lightly with powdered sugar, but if you want to be really Greek about it you'll make a sugar syrup:

Boil the sugar and water together in a small saucepan for about 10 minutes to form a slightly thick sugar syrup. Drizzle the syrup liberally over the top of the cake and brush on the sides.

Cut into wedges and enjoy!