Wild Rice Cranberry Chard Risotto- for the vegan variety

This dish was inspired by a massive vegan feast at my cottage in northern Ontario. Yum!

Ingredients:

2 cups Wild Rice melange ( go for a blend of 3 or more types of rice)

4 cups Veggie Stock

1/2 cup Cranberries

1/2 cup Crushed Almonds

1 bunch of Spinach

1 Bunch of Chard Leaves

2 Tbs of Fresh Thyme

Directions:

Bring Veggie Stock to Boil, reduce to low heat and then add everything else to pot. Put a lid on the pot and stir every 5 minutes until rice is cooked. Easiest. Recipe. Ever.

Homemade Peppermint Rose Iced Tea

Ever wondered what to do with the gorgeous roses that are dying on your kitchen counter? How about the peppermint that is rotting in your fridge. Well, maybe I am the only one obsessed with having no waste - this tea was my recent solution to the above dilemma.

Ingredients:

Fresh Roses that are starting to wilt

Fresh Peppermint that is starting to brown at the edges

Agave Nectar.

Directions:

1) Dehydrate Rose Petals and Peppermint- either in a dehydrator, or by tying them in bundles with string and hanging the bundles upside down until they are dry (about 7 days).

2) Crush dried Roses and Peppermint and mix them together. Make sure the pieces are not so small that a sieve won't catch them when you are steeping the tea.

3) Boil water and steep tea

4) Add agave nectar until it is sweet enough for you and then cool in fridge for 3 to 6 hours (or just add ice).

Raw Chocolate Macaroons

For some reason, macaroons always remind me of passover. So I guess that this dish is being posted just on time. Oy Vey!

Ingredients:

6 Tbs Agave Nectar

3 Tbs Hazelnut Butter

3 Tbs Organic Shredded Coconut

1 Dash of Salt

1 tsp Ground Raw Cacoa

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients together ferociously and try to make balls of the concoction before you down it in one gulp. Gulp. Place balls, now Macaroons, on a pretty plate and garnish with Berries and Shredded Coconut.

Bird Food: Raw Chocolate Bars

I don't really have an adequate picture for this yet. But it seems to be the most popular of my dishes. So I will post the recipe now and take pictures later. By the way, these are highly addictive. Perhaps more so than crack. So beware.

Ingredients:

1 Dash Pink Himalayan Crystal Salt ( the secret ingredient)

3 Tbs Raw Cacao Powder

3 Tbs Coconut Oil

4 Tbs Coconut Butter

6 Tbs Agave Nectar

As much trail mix as you want... the more raisins the better.

Instructions:

Mix the Agave, Cacao Powder, Salt and trail mix. Heat Coconut Oil and Coconut Butter until melted. Then add dry and wet together and mix until it is consistent. Spread onto Aluminum foil and create a bar shape. Wrap it up so that it looks like a chocolate bar and stick it in the freezer for 30 minutes. Take it out of the freezer and try to share it before you eat it all yourself.

Maple Glazed Beets Sprinkled with Chevre

You might want food to taste good. I want it to look and sound good too. I mean I could call this dish "some beets with maple syrup and cheese" but the above title sounds so much better. Doesn't it?

Ingredients:

Makes 3-4 servings

4 Red Beets

4 Yellow Beets

Chevre (Goat Cheese)

4 Tbs Olive Oil

6 Tbs B grade Maple Syrup

A dash of Pink Himalayan Salt ( or sea salt if you don't have fancy ingredients)

Bed of Green Leaves ( Preferably Spinach, Kale or Chard)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Chop beets into 1 inch cubes. In a bowl, whisk together Olive Oil, Maple Syrup and Salt. Stir in chopped Beets and mix till they are covered in Oil, Maple Syrup and Salt concoction. Lay Beets on a baking pan and put them in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes. When beets are cooked, lay them on a bed of green leaves and then sprinkle with Chevre.

Voila, you are now a fancy cook!