Parvati's InstaPot Kitchari

Ingredients:

Brown rice

Lentils

Water

Kale

Spices

Basic Ratio:

1 part lentil – 1 part rice – 4 parts water

Directions (as prepared for the retreat):

1. Place 1 cup rice and 1 cup lentils in InstaPost. Add 4 cups of water.

2. Add approximately 2 cups of chopped kale.

3. Add spices. I used approximately 2 tablespoons of a pre-mixed blend of cumin, coriander,

fennel, and turmeric. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.

4. Cover and cook 20 minutes.

5. Open, stir, and serve.

Notes:

-replace some of the water with broth

-use your favorite spices

-add more liquid for a soupier consistency

-top with ghee or toasted sesame oil

*If making on stove top, change the ratios to 1 cup lentil – 1 cup rice – 5 to 6 cups liquid

Roshan’s Intuitive Tapenade

Kalamata olives (pitted) chopped in a food processor, or by hand.

Add fresh lemon juice (1/2 a lemon).

Taste and add more lemon if preferred.

Great for savory eats to put on top.

Salt needs are satisfied.

Caroline Frank’s Corn Shishito "Tabouli"

1/2 cup lemon and/or lime juice

1/4 cup good olive oil

1 small red onion

3/4 cup bulgur

3-4 ears corn

8 oz. shishito peppers, cut in pieces

1 small jalapeno (optional)

2 small tomatoes

4 cups mixed fresh parsley, mint, cilantro, basil (any or all in any proportion)

1 small garlic clove

1/2 tsp. ground toasted cumin (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

1. Thinly slice onion and in salad bowl let soak in half citrus juice and olive oil.

2. Cover bulgur in 1 cup boiling water and a pinch of salt. Let sit one hour. (Or follow package directions.)

3. Cut kernels off shucked corn. Sauté in remaining olive oil. After 2-3 minutes add shishito pieces and jalapeno. Cook for additional 6-7 minutes.

4. Chop tomatoes and add to onions.

5. Using mortar and pestle or mini-processor, chop greens, garlic, and cumin. Add Tbsp juice.

6. Mix everything together in onion bowl. Correct seasoning, adding more lime juice and/or olive oil if desired.

TIP: You can basically add any veggies to the citrus bulgur and herbs. Olives, feta, or sunflower seeds are also good additions!

Curried carrot salad

1 lbs. Carrots peeled and shredded

¼ cup Vegan Mayo

1 cup Raisins

2 Tbsp Curry powder

2 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar

Himalayan pink salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together and chill for at least 2 hours

Kale Salad

1 ½ lbs. Kale stems removed

1 medium sized apple diced (I leave the skin on for color)

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Tbsp ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar)

1 Tbsp Himalayan pink salt.

In a large bowl add all of the ingredients except the apple.

Massage the kale like you were kneading dough until it is uniformly dark green, and the amount of kale has reduced in size by half and then add the apple. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

Parvati's Prasad Date Balls

Ingredients:

8 whole pitted dates

¼ cup raisins

½ cup raw almonds

1 teaspoon ghee (optional)

2 tablespoons honey

½ teaspoon cardamom

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ ground coconut or nut of choice

Directions:

1. Soak dates and raisins in hot water for 5 minutes. In a food processor, grind the almonds,

stopping before they become a paste. Drain the dates and raisins, reserving the liquid, and add

to food processor. Add ghee (if using), honey, cardamom, vanilla.

2. Mix until the dried food is well blended. You may need to use the reserved soaking water to get

the right consistence, especially if not using ghee.

3. Remove from food processor and roll into small balls. Roll each ball in coconut or ground nuts

Refrigerate before serving.

Makes 12-20 balls. Keeps for 2 weeks in refrigerator. Adapted from Kripalu Center.

**Notes: I did not use ghee, just the soaking liquid. I did add coconut flour to the mixture due to adding

too much liquid.

Kavita’s Vegan Pavlova

I used this recipe as my base but took some cues from some other versions I found online. bakedbyclo.com had some great tips - that's where I found the info on reducing the aquafaba.

https://bakedbyclo.com/vegan-pavlova/

1st off - this is a 2-day project!

Read everything 1st so that you don't beat yourself up for unmet expectations.

In order to make this amount I did I doubled the recipe for the meringue and for the coconut pastry cream. The amount in the recipe here will serve about 6-8.

For the meringues-

I recommend drawing 2 - 6"circles on piece of parchment paper as guides for how big to make your meringue layers. Flip the paper over on the tray before you pipe out your meringues. (You should be able to clearly see your circles.)

The recipe calls for 200 ml of aquafaba. Many recipes called for 150ml but noted that they had better results when they reduced the aquafaba from 200ml. I found about 180 was good. I also had better results when I added the sugar into the pot with the aquafaba right at the beginning.

The process of cooking the sugar with the aquafaba is called Swiss Meringue. The beauty of this is that we don't have to buy castor sugar- the granulated sugar will already be melted so we don't have to worry about the sugar in the meringue being gritty. (Castor sugar is much finer - akin to superfine sugar. That is why the original recipe instructs a French meringue. Castor sugar is far more available and reasonable in England)

Once you have a reduction, you can pop it immediately into your stand-up mixer with your cream of tartar and vanilla. I just used a little extract as I rarely have beans kicking around. If you have xanthan gum, that will also help to keep your meringue firmer. If you don't have any, don't bother. I didn't use any.

Yes - you need a stand-up mixer. You will not get the oomph you need for this from those little electric hand beaters. Even with a stand mixer it will take about 10 minutes of whipping on high with the WHIP attachment to get the volume you need. Just like egg whites, make sure there is no fat residue in your bowl and high humidity will also take its toll on your product.

Baking:

the recipe calls for 160 C = 305 F. BUT - I started my 1st meringue at 295F which I think was still WAY TOO HIGH. I would bake it at 270 for 2 hours. Then, shut your oven off and leave in for another 3-4 hours before you remove the tray(s) to finish drying overnight.

The coconut pastry cream:

USE COCONUT CREAM which you can find at the Asian markets. It is richer and easier to whip.

You will need 1 full can for the recipe as given. For vegan butter you can either use your favorite or my method. I placed a 2ND 400 ml can of coconut cream in the fridge earlier (a day ahead of time is probably best) This allows the separated cream solids to firm up. When you open up the can, CAREFULLY SCOOP OUT THE SOLIDS. Set the more fluid part aside- you may want some to help thin out the pastry cream when you go to rewhip it. Just put it back in the fridge. SAVE THE REMAINING SOLIDS in another container. You will whip up that when you go to put the pavlova together.

I did not use the desiccated coconut or the coconut yogurt. Feel free to use or not.

After making the pastry cream on the stove and adding in the "butter" and vanilla and whisking together well, place the pastry cream in a bowl or wide flat container. Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.

Putting it all together:

1 lime (lemon or orange ok too)

10x sugar

Fruit of your choice: for the above recipe doubled I used almost 2 qt of strawberries, washed, hulled, cut to bite size as needed. 1 mango, 2 kiwi, and 2 peeled and separated clementines. If you are making the single version, you can cut that amount of fruit in half.

Zest the lime, and juice it. I used a whole lime for the one I made, but it was pretty juicy. Use your judgment.

Whip the leftover set aside coconut cream with 1 - 2 T of 10x. Take it out of your stand mixer bowl and place in another container.

Place your pastry cream into the stand mixer. Add your zest.

Whip the bejesus out of it until it's smooth! Add in your lime juice. If it still feels a little too boing-y, here's a good place to put in some of that leftover coconut milk (the not solid stuff). Once that is pretty smooth, you can take the bowl off the mixer and fold in the whipped coconut cream. Voilà.

Place 1 meringue disk on the serving plate. Top with a bit more than 1/2 of the pastry cream mousse. Generously place1/2 the fruit. Place the 2nd meringue disk on that and repeat with the cream and the fruit. ENJOY!