i really love broccoli potato soup and when i came down with a cold yesterday, i decided to make my favorite vegan recipe raw. enjoy!

This is my favorite Summer salad. It is fresh, raw, simple, quick, easy, nutritious, satisfying, refreshing and absolutely delicious! This simple slaw is a good balance of vegetables for me. But you could really add anything you wanted. Spinach and rocket work well. I just love the nutritional density and texture of kale. You could just toss these vegetables with a generous amount of olive oil, lemon juice and Celtic sea salt if you need to make this recipe nut-free. But I really love the depth of flavor the cashews add.

I share this recipe as a delicious way to serve up raw broccoli. I have used sunflower seeds and raw almonds. But you could use any nuts you like. For the dressing I have listed the quantities that I like. But you might like it with a bit more of a kick, and want to add in a bit more vinegar, lemon juice and sweetener. But this blend struck a nice tangy balance for me. If you are allergic to nuts, you could use soy bacon bits to jazz up this salad instead of blanched almonds. This adds in a splash of color. But I love the lush green color that stands alone. If it is just an allergy to almonds, cashews work really well too. Traditional mayonnaise or soy mayonnaise can be substituted for the cashew mayonnaise that I have used. Obviously, it would yield a dressing of a slightly different personality. Just play around with the vinegar quantities and it will still taste delicious. The secret to the success of this salad is chopping the broccoli into really small bite size pieces. That way, you can grab the perfect bite with every lift of the fork – with a well coated piece of broccoli, celery, and seeds that creates a crunchy tangy taste sensation.

This raw vegan corn salad is super easy and absolutely scrumptious. I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of corn. Well the vegetable variety anyway. I don’t cook with it very often as I can think of so many other more nutritious vegetables I prefer to work with. But there is something about the light zestiness of the lime juice and the heat of the chili that puts a zing in the step of even the most corn-phobic diner and bewitches the palate, creating culinary music of a very simple and universal nature. And the best thing about this salad? It doesn’t taste “corny”!

I have added the quantities of chili, garlic and lime juice that I like. I used frozen corn, but fresh is always best. The best part is, that either way, you don’t have to cook the corn. Just soak it in some hot water for a few minutes and then drain. Throw it together and season to taste. YUM!

This recipe uses collard leaves for wrapping up vegetables, such as spinach, zucchini, black olives, and avocado, with a delicious Red Pepper Hummus.

From the book Ani's Raw Food Essentials by Ani Phyo. Excerpted by arrangement with Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Copyright (c) 2010.

Photo credit: Tyler Golden.