Creamy Cashew Coconut Soup

I have been rather absent for my blogging the last few weeks due to some major deadlines & projects that took up more time than I had imagined!  But it feels good to be back here online, and back in my kitchen playing with FOOD!

I just wrapped up a very busy weekend up in cottage country, where I was guest speaker/presenter/yoga teacher during the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario's Spring Wellness Weekend at Taboo Resort.  It was a beautiful event, and I feel blessed to have been selected to lead not one, not two, but THREE sessions over the course of the three days.  My two hour lecture on how to overcome trauma and life's many hurdles was a brand new experience for me, but received great response, as did my yoga class & RAW Food Demo (60 ladies got to sample my recipes!).  I am very excited to have been asked to again take part in another upcoming retreat weekend with the organization in June, and if you want to see picture highlights from this past week's event, and hear about what's on tap for MAP Wellness in the coming months, sign up for my newsletter HERE.

Now, onto today's recipe...

With the warm weather that has finally been whisked into our world, I find myself even more in want of easy, breezy raw meals.  Sometimes a gal gets tired of salads, and so I decided that this week I wanted to whip up a light and fresh soup that I could snack on all day long, but that also had enough sustenance to hold off hunger pangs if it was all I managed to scarf down on busy afternoons at the clinic.  What I came up with is the following cashew creation, that I managed to create using only a handful of ingredients I had on hand; no grocery store trip required.  Whiz away!

Creamy Cashew Coconut Soup

In a high powered blender, puree the following until rich, smooth, and frothy:

2 C water
1 C dried, shredded, unsweetened coconut
1 C raw cashews
1 clove garlic
3 dates
2 T fresh OJ or 1/2 an orange
1/2 t onion powder OR 1 green onion
pinch chili flakes
1 t sea salt

To serve, top with your choice of thai inspired stir-ins such as:

cucumber or zucchini noodles (I used tofu noodles)
cherry tomatoes
fresh basil
fresh cilantro
baby spinach 
diced fresh shallot
sliced avocado
(I used tofu noodles, green mango, basil & goji berries!)