Watermelon tomato cold soup (vegan)

--> recette en français

    We've been facing a heat wave lately in Paris and other parts of France - from 25°c/80°f at night to close to 35°c/95°f during the day as felt temperatures. But it seems that it's been very hot too in North America. And I guess, a lot of you are like me, when it's hot like that, I'm not hungry, all I want to to eat fresh drinks, water, fruits or salads and I alternate with mixed salad - with quinoa, raw veggies and my favorite smoked tofu, almond sesame from Taifun and cold soups. I wanted to try watermelon in a salad or cold soup for a long time because I like to use as fruit in savory dishes as veggies in desserts. 

Vegan raw vanilla apple pie

--> recette en français

    The full season of apples is almost at its end so I wanted to try a new recipe. Some eat them all year long but I don't think they taste really good in summer, also I eat enough apples all the rest of the year to enjoy all the yummy fruit Summer has to offer.

   I'm an apple pie fan, yes, the most simple recipes are often the better ! But this time, I'm taking you to towards raw cuisine. We talk about living food because vitamins and nutrients are not damaged through the process of cooking - because there's no cooking obviously or it doesn't go beyond 40°c (100°f).

Avocado cucumber apple cold soup

--> recette en français

   If you've been following the blog for quite some time, you may have noticed that I love soup, I repeat it each time I publish a soup recipe. Whether warm and comfy in Winter or fresh and light in Summer, it's a good way to stay hydrated and eat veggies, legumes or even cereals in a simple manner.

   Lately, we've been brainstorming about what to do with our huge numerous cucumbers we have at work with my colleagues apart from tzatziki and salads and we talked about cold soups. One of them made a cold cream with cucumber and some "kid cheese" as I like to call it, I don't know if it exists outside of France but to me and cheese amateurs, it's not really cheese, it's something chewy wrapped into individuals packs. Anyway,  thought about what to use instead and I thought about avocado to bring some creamy texture.  

Raw Spring pointed cabbage, fennel, carrot and apple salad, almond butter and soy sauce seasoning

--> recette en français

    A few days ago, I stumbled on a type of cabbage I didn't even know about called "chou pointu" which means "pointed cabbage" in French because of the shape its leaves give it. It's a Spring cabbage, sweeter and more easily digestible. Its leaves are tender and slick. It had been a while since I wanted to make a raw cabbage salad so I gave it a try.

   Lately, the weather has ben very ugly in France and I kind of only crave for comforting and warm dishes but I thought a good salad would be nice to celebrate May. 

   I had a fennel and a carrot to use in the fridge and I thought that an apple would bring some sharpness. If you don't like fennel just skip it and put more cabbage.  

Traditional Andalusian Gazpacho

--> recette en français

    I think there's no need to introduce the gazpacho, the traditional cold soup from the South of Spain made of tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, onion, olive oil and stale bread. I love it very much and until last summer, I used to buy a carton at the supermarket - from time to time only because it's not very cheap - but since I tried it at home, I don't think I'm going to buy some anymore, because the liquid and red cold soup has just nothing to do with a good home made one. Plus, the pasteurization of cold soups and juices kills a good part of the nutrients of the veggies and fruit.

   The real color is light red orange, if it's bright red, you know it's not home made! Something good to know if you order one at a restaurant... The home made gazpacho is much more full of flavors and less liquid, so more satiating. Be careful to balance the seasoning and not put too much garlic or it could just ruin your dish.

Individual strawberry and soft goat cheesecakes in a jar { raw, gluten free }

--> recette en français

   I don't know how are the things where you live but in France, the strawberry season is well settled and we can enjoy different kind of fruit, more or less sweet, more or less acid, a really little piece of heaven in the mouth.

   If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you may have seen the toasts I made last week with an association I tried for the first time : soft goat cheese and strawberries and I loved it! Have you ever tasted it?

Raw raspberry & chia seed jam

 --> recette en français

    Last summer, I had seen a few pictures of raw jams with summer fruit, it seemed nice but I didn't pay more attention. And the publishing day of the Foodista Challenge approaching I thought again about these raw jams and thought it was the occasion to try as the red fruit season has just begun in France!