Raw Vegan Apple Cobbler with Maple Cream

I had the 'pleasure' of working last Sunday which means that I had the opportunity to enjoy a rare Monday off. I had a long list of errands to finish but I made sure to save time to play in the kitchen.

My husband gave me this un-cookbook for my birthday all the way back in July. It's 'Going Raw' by Judita Wignall. Be sure to check out her http://www.rawjudita.com/.

You can only imagine how much I was itching to give the recipes a try

Judita's book is unique in that it offers a bonus DVD which features tutorials on raw food techniques such as using a dehydrator, a spiralizer and basic knife skills. She does a great job at teaching in these brief vignettes. The book includes discussion on the benefits of living raw and basically everything you need to start your own raw food diet (which happens to be the tag line of the book!).

Some recipes on my must-try list include Herbed Cashew Hemp Cheese, Sunshine Smoothie, Chia Pudding, Jicama-Papaya-Mango Salad, Mexian Spiced Brownies and of course the Apple Cobbler with Maple Cream.

To respect Judita's copyright, I won't list the recipe here but I will mention that I did not follow it to the letter. I chose to omit the agave nectar because of its high fructose content and used maple syrup instead even though it's not raw. Next time I'm going to try making a syrup with dates and use that mixture as the sweetener.

I also chose to omit the rolled oats. Ingredients I didn't have on hand were raisins and a vanilla bean. I used extract instead (I know, heresy) but next time I'll be completely ready. Lastly, I used walnuts for the crumble.

With all of those modifications, the final result was delicious!

In all, I took about 45 minutes to put everything together and yielded 4 servings. I need to practice my knife skills and get a better blender. I struggled with that cashew cream. For my first try, I was happy!

Have you tried any new foods or recipes this week?

- Kareen, RD