Happy October!
A new month comes with a new special guest and a new marvelous matcha recipe for our favorite session Kenko Chat.
Let’s welcome Lorena Salas fromDates And Avocados!
Lorena was originally a maths and engineer teacher from Barcelona. These days she is a pastry and raw chef who recently graduated fromMatthew Kenney Cuisine to specialise in raw and vegan desserts.
Visit and follow Lorena and her amazing creations at:
Lorena is here to tell us about the importance of nutrition and eating right. She will also share with us her favourite matcha dessert which we’re sure you’re going to love.
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Q: Can you tell us about yourself and why you became a recipe maker?
My name is Lorena and I’m a 32-year-old Spanish girl raised in Barcelona. I’m a civil engineer who is passionate about healthy food and yet obsessed with sweets and desserts. So last year I decided to change my professional career and become a chef.
As a pastry chef, my goal is to make desserts a healthy pleasure everyone can enjoy without regrets. That’s why all my desserts are vegan and refined sugar-free.
Q: Why are you interested in vegan and raw food? How is it good for our health?
I decided to move to a vegetarian diet a few years ago after a trip to Peru and watching the shocking documentary“Earthlings”. Although the exploitation of animals is my main reason, it’s not the only one. I felt being vegetarian wasn’t enough and I progressively evolved to a vegan diet for health and environment reasons.
Last year I started reading about the benefits of following a raw food diet and I was impressed. Although I don’t eat only raw food, I was so interested in discovering this amazing cuisine that I decided to become a raw chef, and that is what I studied at Matthew Kenney’s culinary school.
After a lot of research I am more than convinced that following a plant-based diet is the healthiest way to feed our bodies. We can eat delicious food and get all the nutrients we need while fighting against animal abuse and helping to maintain our planet.
Q: How did you hear about matcha and how long have you used it?
I discovered matcha for the first time two years ago during a wonderful trip to Japan and since then I’ve been completely addicted to it.
Q: What is your favourite matcha recipe(s)?
A matcha latte is one of my favorite things in the world, but a few weeks ago I started playing with matcha in my pastry recipes and I just love it! The color and flavor of matcha is amazing.
Q: What do you like about how matcha benefits your health?
Matcha is loaded with a high amount of antioxidants and it’s also my energy booster. It’s the perfect coffee substitute.
Thank you so much for your insights about eating right. It was great to talk about how and what we eat can have an impact on the environment. It is so important for all of us to be more conscious of what we’re consuming to protect this planet.
We also hope to see more of your amazing vegan desserts in the future!
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As promised, we have the delicious matcha recipe shared by our awesome Lorena. It’s a vegan and raw dessert which is really easy to make. It’s so tasty you’ll want to share it with your loved ones.
Matcha Blueberry Vegan Cheesecake
Yields two 4-inch round molds
Ingredients
Crust
- ½ cup almonds
- 1 tsp cashew butter
- 1 tsp coconut sugar
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- Pinch of salt
Filling
- 2 cups cashews, soaked
- ½ cup almond milk
- 4 tsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp coconut sugar
- 2 + ½ tsp matcha tea
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, liquid
- ¼ cup fresh blueberries
Instructions
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Pulse the almonds in a food processor until partially broken down
- Add and process the remaining crust ingredients until sticky but still crumbled
- Press the mix into two separate 4’’(10 cm) round molds, forming an even crust layer
- Freeze for 30 minutes until it firms up
- For the cream filling, rinse and drain the soaked cashews
- Blend all the ingredients (except the coconut oil and blueberries) in a high-speed blender until smooth
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Add the coconut oil and blend on a slow speed for just for a few seconds until incorporated
- Pour the cream over the base, and freeze for at least three hours
- Remove from the molds, and refrigerate the cheesecakes an hour before serving
- Garnish with matcha and blueberries and enjoy!
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