We all look for that golden sauce that will boost and brighten a dish, especially when fresh herbs are in season and widely available. This is an easy to whip up pesto with no extra steps of toasting or soaking, that is creamy and smooth and can act as a dip, a sauce, or even a dressing. Oh and it’s rich in flavour, bright in colour, and can uplift a wearied soul in one mouth full!
We’ve been eating it by the spoonful over here - I like to spread it on a rice cake or cracker for a quick snack and my son likes it on toast. As a meal, I would serve this pesto alongside some roasted veggies, as a pasta or gnocchi sauce, over top of baked yams, tossed with roasted cauliflower, or with a piece of fish or chicken, if that’s your style.
Any way you like it, be sure to gobble it up while basil is abound and throw a few jars in your freezer for a fresh hit during the colder months.

Easy Vegan Cashew Pesto

1/2 cup cashews
3 Tbsp hemp hearts
3 cups fresh basil, packed
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 - 4 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
Juice of 1 large lemon (1/4 cup)
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 - 4 Tbsp unsweetened almond milk

Place all ingredients in your food processor and blend until smooth (this will take several minutes). Store in a glass jar for 5 - 7 days in the fridge or for 1 - 2 months in the freezer.

If you make this pesto, be sure to let me know how it turns out in the comments below! Or better yet, post a pic on IG or FB and give me a tag 😊

It is such an amazing thing to be able to walk into the forest, just a few steps from our door, and find funky edibles to create with and use to feed my family. This soup was inspired a while back, by a bountiful harvest of Honey mushrooms. I’ve made it many times since, with a mix of different wild mushrooms: morels, honeys, and just recently with some Conifer Bear’s Head (a weird looking one!). I’ve also made this soup during the winter months with some of our dried wild mushrooms and even with some store bought brown mushrooms & shiitakes. So if mushroom foraging isn’t your thing, or mushrooms don’t grow wild where you are, you can still make a mushroomy version of this soup that will taste amazing and nourish the soul 😋

A few great reasons to go mushroom hunting:

Time in nature is fun & relaxing & good for your nervous system
Wild mushrooms are high in protein, fibre, selenium, and one of the few natural food sources of vitamin D, which makes them a strong immune support
They can help defend against cancer by protecting our cells against damage
Cooking with wild mushrooms encourages experimentation & connection to your food, which is healing for the soul and promotes a positive relationship with food & body
They are super tasty little guys

Note: Before adventuring out into the forest, remember to know what you are picking and learn about wild mushroom foraging or pick with a smarty pants who knows!

Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup

Makes 5-6 Servings
3 Tbsp coconut oil 
1 large onion, finely diced 
1 1/2 tsp sea salt 
8 cloves garlic, minced 
5 1/2 cups mixed wild mushrooms, sliced (honeys, shiitake, morel, brown, etc.)
2 Tbsp fresh thyme, packed
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper 
3 cups high quality vegetable broth, preferably homemade 
1 can full fat coconut milk 

In a large soup pot over medium high, heat coconut oil.   Add the onion and salt and saute until gently softened.
Add the garlic, mushrooms, fresh thyme, and season liberally with pepper. Saute until mushrooms soften and flavours blend, this will take a good 15 minutes.
Pour in the vegetable broth and coconut milk, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and simmer low-medium for 20 - 25 minutes until mushrooms are well cooked, stirring occasionally. Adjust seasonings if needed (we like a lot of fresh pepper 😊 ). Remove from heat.
With an immersion blender, blend soup until desired consistency is reached. You may also choose to transfer the soup to your blender and blend until creamy. Reheat gently. Soup will keep for 4-5 days in the fridge and also freezes well.

If you make this soup, be sure to comment below and let us know how it turned out!
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