Most websites I’ve searched have reported little success with yogurt made from nut or seed milk. I did find one recipe that worked well, but included a lot of waste in the form of whey (the separated watery part). I am happy to report though, that I have successfully now made a really nice yogurt that has no waste and is really simple to make. 

First, you need to get a yogurt culture. I got mine from Green Living Australia and a little goes a long way, but you’ll need to use the amounts given to you with your culture. 

Ingredients

1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight and drained

1.5 cups of lukewarm water

2Tb agave syrup

1tsp coconut butter

yogurt culture powder

Method

• Blend all ingredients except the yogurt culture until it is thick and creamy. Then add the culture and blend for another 20 seconds or so. 
• Pour into a large, clean jar. (I like to sterilise it by warming it up first, then rinsing it with boiling water).
• Put the lid in the jar and put in the dehydrator at 110 degrees F for 8 hours. 

**you can also use a yogurt maker

There is the potential of using probiotic powder, but I had little success with this in other nut/seed milk yogurts, mainly I think because probiotics don’t contain the strain of culture which thickens the yogurt, but I have seen people use probiotics in young thai coconut yogurt with success. Let me know if you have a different experience.

some of the somewhat rustic raw chocolate bars made at the workshop

Raw chocolate is a really nice thing to eat. Loving Earth  raw chocolate is my favourite chocolate, so I was really excited to find out about the chocolate workshop at the Loving Earth factory, organised by the Melbourne Raw Food Meetup Group. 

Entering the door, we were met by Christian who was handing out his special recipe hot chocolate - which I might add was pretty nice, especially because it had no milk in it of any kind, just cacao, agave and superfood powders. 

Scott, the founder of Loving Earth, talked about cacao, and where he sources his cacao from. He works directly with growers, and all his cacao is a heritage variety, organic and fair trade. It was kinda cool to see photos of the plantations and videos of some of the growers, as well as the process of creating the raw ingredients for chocolate. For instance, I had no idea that cacao powder has had the butter (or fat) extracted from it before being powdered. I just assumed that it was ground up cacao beans. 

After the talk it was chocolate making time. During the talk bars of chocolate had been handed around, and adding that to Christians’ hot chocolate, we were all feeling pretty good right about that point. 

When I got home that night, I have to admit I was spinning a bit. Yes, you can eat too much chocolate! So boys and girls, the moral of this story is to eat your raw chocolate in moderation. But only if you’re able. 

stirring the rather large vat of melted chocolate

pouring jugs for the sweet, sweet chocolate. I didn't see anyone drink directly from them, although I think some were tempted.

Anything you add into the chocolate as extras (such as nuts and goji berries) are called 'inclusions'

cacao nibs

cacao butter. It has that beautiful white chocolate smell....

Scones were one of the first things I learned how to bake with my Mum, and they’re one of those foods that were always simple to make and created when visitors came around. I was really excited to find a recipe for scones in a library book which I can’t remember the name of just right now. I was equally happy to find that this is made from sprouted wheat rather than nuts, nuts and more nuts like a lot of recipes.

I don’t have exact measurements but the ingredients are: sprouted wheat, flax meal, water, dates, walnuts, cinnamon and nutmeg. They are dehydrated for an hour  on 145 F. Served with a nice cashew cream and jam (berries and dates blended together works well) makes for a raw vegan Devonshire Tea (or Raw Veganshire Tea, as I call it). 

These ones had some pistachios in them as well because I didn’t have quite enough walnuts, LOL. 

Unlike baked scones, these ones aren’t “time sensitive” and can be eaten later, which is a bonus. Or, if you’re like us and later has little meaning in your house, you can eat them in one sitting and miss out on dinner.

sweet potato wasabi crisps

Well when we go to the movies we take our own food. Let’s face it, besides being overpriced, cinema food is not really food. I was flicking through a library copy of Donna Hay magazine and there was a feature on all kinds of chips. I hybridised a couple of different recipes and then dehydrated these babies overnight - and it was a winner!

Sweet Potato Wasabi Crisps

1/2 sweet potato, sliced with mandolin/V-slicer

2 tsp coconut oil, melted

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp wasabi powder

method

Combine all ingredients in a bowl until the sweet potato is thoroughly covered. 

Place on baking parchment or teflex and dehydrate overnight at 115 degrees F. 

*If you like a good wasabi hit, I would increase the amount of wasabi powder, I think I’ll add more next time. 

yummo - and really simple to make!

I love Essene Bread - it’s basically sprouted wheat that’s mashed up, spread out in a thin layer, and either sundried or dehydrated. Hubby loves it even more than I do - so I’m making another batch today, as well as some Essene Scones. More on that later….