Ani's Raw Food Essentials by Ani Phyo Page A

GRAVY
    MAKES 1 CUP
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    Cashews are blended with nutritional yeast for a cheeselike gravy that’s great with scrambles, on nachos, and over biscuits.
    Â½ cup cashews
¼ cup nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unpasturized yellow miso
2 teaspoons lemon juice
½ cup water
    Blend all the ingredients together in a high-speed blender until smooth.
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    Will keep for 4 to 5 days in the fridge.

SCONES WITH CLOTTED KREAM AND JAM
    MAKES 4 SERVINGS
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    A classic English afternoon tea is served with scones that are split and spread with strawberry jam and topped with clotted cream. For this recipe, you’ll use Whipped Cashew Kream as a healthy alternative to traditional, fat-laden clotted cream, and homemade strawberry jam, with butter of your choice, on top of my moist Buckwheat Biscuits, served with your favorite sun tea with mylk.
    1 recipe Buckwheat Biscuits (page 93), dehydrated as directed
1 recipe of your favorite sweet butter (pages 98 to 100)
1 recipe Whipped Cashew Kream (page 266)
1 recipe Fresh Fruit Jam (page 96), made with strawberries
    Split the biscuits in half horizontally, and place a top and bottom on each of four serving dishes, the soft insides facing upward.
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    Spread each half with butter, top with kream and jam.

JAMS AND BUTTERS
    My raw jams are healthier than store-bought jams, which are often preserved using processed white sugar. These simple recipes are made by pulsing together fresh fruits, with semisoft dates as a sweetener. The consistency is chunky and thicker than a sauce for a full-fruit experience.
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    Butter is made by beating soft coconut oil for a whipped butter consistency. For a savory flavor, I add salty miso paste. For a sweet butter, I use flavorings with low-glycemic agave syrup.

ORANGE MARMALADE
    MAKES 1 CUP
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    Orange is processed with zest and sweet dates to make a chunky, fresh jam.
    1 cup seeded orange segments (remove all peel and pith)
2 tablespoons fresh orange zest
¼ cup pitted Medjool dates, packed
    Place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse lightly to mix into a chunky marmalade.

FRESH FRUIT JAM
    MAKES 1 CUP
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    Make your own healthy fruit preserve. Choose your favorite in-season fruit, such as persimmon, raspberry, strawberry, pineapple, or blueberry, and mix in a food processor with dates.
    For a smoother consistency, you can blend in a smaller-scaled blender rather than in food processor.
    1 cup of your favorite fruit
¼ cup pitted Medjool dates, packed
    Place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse lightly to mix into a chunky jam consistency.
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    Will keep in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.

    Coconut Oil Is a Saturated Fat
    THERE’S A debate in the raw food community over coconut oil and its saturated fat. On the plus side, eating it is said to raise your HDL, which is the “good” cholesterol in your body, and this helps the ratio of good-to-bad improve for the better.
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    I love coconut oil for its flavor, but use it in moderation.

MISO BUTTER
    MAKES ½ CUP
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    This butter is slightly salted with unpasturized miso and is so delicious you’ll forget there’s no dairy in it. It has the consistency of a whipped butter and melts like butter, too! Use on your pancakes, scones, and toast, just as you would dairy butter.
    1 to 2 tablespoons unpasturized white miso
½ cup coconut butter, softened but not liquid
    Place the miso, to taste, and coconut butter in a bowl and mix together with a spoon.
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    Will keep for a week or more at room temperature.

VANILLA BUTTER
    MAKES ½ CUP
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    I found vanilla butter at a French patisserie, and it sounded delicious, so that inspired me to create this guilt-free version. This is a sweet butter without salt.
    Â½ cup coconut butter, softened but not liquid
1 tablespoon alcohol-free vanilla extract, or 1 vanilla bean, seeded
1 to 2 teaspoons agave syrup
    Place the ingredients in a bowl, adding the agave syrup to taste, and mix