Raw Pasta a Kid Can Make

I enjoy food preparation, but I really love having company in the kitchen, especially when it's one of my daughters. Ray (AKA Wonder Girl) did much of the work in this celery root pasta. She made the dressing, spiralized the celery root, and tossed everything together. Kids are more likely to eat healthy foods if they helped prepare them, but I haven't been able to sell her on celery root yet. I'm not giving up though. This inexpensive veggie provides lots of fiber, and nutrients including Vitamin C, Vitamin K, potassium, and more.

If you don't like celery root, substitute the veggie of your choice.

Spring Celery Root Pasta

2 celery roots, peeled

1 large tomato, diced

1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, diced

1/2 medium onion, diced

a big handful of spinach, sliced in thin strips

Dressing

4 tablespoons olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 clove garlic, crushed or minced

sea salt

other seasonings as desired

Spiralize the celery root.If you don't have a spiral slicer, you can just make ribbons with a veggie peeler, though I really love the noodle shapes. Throw the noodles into a bowl and add the other veggies.

Mix all your dressing ingredients, and pour over the pasta and veggies. Toss well and let it all marinate for a few hours. Toss well again before serving.

Sooooo easy, and sooooo good!

Raw Veggie Burger

Everyone in the family loved this all Raw meal! The Raw veggie burger immediately appealed to me, because it's veggie based. Most raw burger recipes seem to be nut-based, and since my 11 year old daughter is allergic to nuts, those are pretty much out.

Raw bacon is always a favorite around here. You've never seen an eggplant (or two) disappear so fast. We eat a lot of salads, so it's always nice to find dressing alternatives. Ranch dressing definitely fit the bill. This one is nicely tangy. I'm prone to experimentation, so I rarely follow recipes exactly. The recipe is nut-based, but I had some sunflower cheese left over from yesterday, so I used that as the base instead.

Yummy deliciousness ensued!

We also made it to the Dekalb Farmer's Market today. This is only part of our haul. Some things, including 10 young thai coconuts, are already in the fridge. If you're in the Atlanta area, this farmer's market is a great place to check out, especially when the open-air markets are closed for the winter.

Another Raw Onion Bread Recipe

When I ate a standard cooked diet, I was a sandwich master. There seemed to be an endless variety of bread options available, and don't get me started on the best cheese/veggie/condiment combinations. I never thought sandwiches got enough respect. A well-rounded meal you can hold in one hand--what more could you ask for?

Bread is still one of my favorite things. Wheat makes my face break out and my ears itch, so cooked bread no longer tempts me, but I love experimenting with Raw breads, crackers, and crepes. A piece of toast on the side of my salad, a Raw burger, or a veggie sandwich is one of my greatest pleasures. The options are still limitless.

This time, I started with my version of Matt Amsden's classic onion bread recipe, and used Julie's technique for caramelized onions. I threw in my own twist, and the result was delicious. (I also like to add in other veggies, like zucchini or finely chopped spinach when I have them on hand.) I'm a big fan of taste-as-you-go food creating, so I didn't measure or write things down. This is how it generally went.

Garam Masala Onion Bread

2 medium yellow onions

1 medium red onion

sea salt

1 tablespoon agave

1 cup flax seed, soaked in 1 cup water for 30+ minutes

3/4 cup sunflower seed, soaked and drained (Mine were already dehydrated.)

1/4 cup wheat-free, reduced-sodium tamari

1/8 cup agave

1/8 cup olive oil

garam masala seasonings

water as needed

sea salt to taste

(My onions were crazy strong in flavor and odor, so I used Julie's method of caramelizing them. They actually can go in without that step.)

Slice onions thin. I used a mandoline for this, but I cut my finger! Sprinkle generously with sea salt and let sit for an hour or two. Pour off the excess liquid. If they still seem stronger than you like, rinse them in running water.

Toss the onions with 1 tablespoon agave and a bit of salt. Let dehydrate overnight, or until they reach the desired consistency.

In a high-speed blender, process the soaked flaxseeds with enough water to get the job done. It can get very sticky in there if you don't add enough water, and it would definitely shut down a regular blender. If you don't have a high-speed blender, you're better off grinding dry flaxseeds in a coffee grinder.

Grind the sunflower seeds. Mine were soaked and dehydrated, so I used the coffee grinder.

Add the seeds and all other ingredients to a bowl and mix well. Add water until you get your desired consistency. More water will result in a thinner bread.

Dehydrate on teflex sheets at 105-degrees, or until you can easily flip the sheets and lift them off. Dehydrate overnight, or until the bread is as crispy as you like.

This is great for sandwiches or topped with Raw honey butter (coconut oil mixed with honey and a dash of salt.) Enjoy!

Raw Food Today

Breakfast: 3 cups green tea, chia pudding with chopped apples, dried bananas, raisins, and pecans

Lunch: Raw bar with 1 apple

Pre-workout Snack: Green drink

Dinner: Chopped collards (marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, Raw apple cider vinegar, crushed garlic and ginger, and sea salt; dehydrated for 6 hours at 105-degrees F) topped with tomatoes, avocado, onions, and sesame seed

Parsley - It Aint Just for Fresh Breath

For the last few weeks, my CSA basket has arrived bearing a bunch of Italian parsley (the kind with flat, pointy leaves). I've used a sprig here and there, but in the end, most of it ended in a dessicated mass, tossed during fridge cleanup.

This morning, I pulled out yet another bunch of those clean leaves, and I was determined not to let them go to waste. My first thought was to dehydrate the stuff, crush it into a powder and use it as a seasoning. But these were fresh greens, picked the very same day, and I desired to use them at the height of their nutritional potency.

It's just the plant we use to take up white space on a plate. What's the big deal about parsley?

• 3 times as much Vitamin C as oranges
  
• 2 times as much Iron as spinach
  
• Contains Vitamin A, Potassium, and Calcium
  
• Diuretic that stimulates kidneys to release waste
  
• Contains 4 known cancer-fighting chemicals
  
• Tastes like summer!
  
• Green leaves = Chlorophyll

A quick perusal of the Internet resulted in a salad idea. Here's my version:

Summer Parsley Salad

One bunch flat Italian parsley (chopped, with stems removed)

1 handful cherry tomatoes (quartered)

1 handful sliced mushrooms

2 tablespoons really raw olive oil (try Bariani, as some cold-pressed oils are overheated)

a few drops sesame oil (to taste, and this stuff is strong)

2 tablespoons raw sesame seeds

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

sea salt to taste

1 tablespoon raw agave or raw honey

Combine parsley, mushrooms, tomatoes, and sesame seeds in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients. Pour dressing over salad and toss. This salad is super-yummy if you allow the flavors to blend for 30 minutes or so.

This really was like eating a bowl of summer. I would've loved to add onions and cucumbers, if I had them. Yummy goodness!

Enjoy!

Raw Chicken Tenders

Wonder Girl and I cheated on this recipe for Raw BBQ Chicken Fingers, which of course contain no meat products (cuz raw chicken flesh is just nasty). It's the first Alissa Cohen recipe I've tried, and I'm so glad I did. We all loved these!

The original recipe calls for sprouted lentils, but they take a few days to sprout, so we used soaked sunflower seeds instead. I still want to try the lentils. I'm curious to see if they'll give an even meatier texture. Next time I'll try making a Raw BBQ sauce for dipping. The sweet and sour sauce we had was delicious, but not what I wanted with these.

We love our dehydrated treats, but like to make sure our meals are still primarily whole, fresh foods, thus the salads.

Fennel & Orange Salad

Fennel has a mild licorice taste. I don't love licorice, but fennel really appeals to me. To temper the unique flavor, I slice the bulbs into 1/4 inch rounds, separate the slices, and toss them in olive oil , sea salt, and balsamic vinegar. The vinegar, which isn't raw, adds a nice flavor. You can marinate without it--using Raw apple cider vinegar and other things, like Raw agave. Dehydrate at 105-degrees, for 4-5 hours, or until the desired state of chewiness is achieved. I usually leave mine in overnight.

Fennel & Orange Salad

3 bulbs fennel (marinated & dehydrated)

3 oranges (peeled & sliced horizontally)

sea salt (to taste)

black pepper (to taste)

Break the orange slices into little segments. Toss everything together and allow time for the flavors to blend. LB really doesn't like licorice and didn't love this salad, but I enjoyed it. Next time, I'll serve it over spinach. Very satisfying!

Raw Roasted Radishes

I like radishes, but I was getting bored of slicing them to toss on top of a salad, and they come in my CSA basket just about every week. The farm newsletter recommended roasting them. I figured what's good for the oven was good for the dehydrator.

Quite simple:

Cut the cleaned radishes into halves or quarters, depending on what size you want. Mix with your favorite Raw Italian Dressing. I used a modified version of this one. Dehydrate for 3-4 hours at 105 degrees. Serve warm over a bed of spinach, pouring the the excess dressing on top. Add whatever you want to finish the salad. I went with avocados and tomatoes.

I should've taken a picture. The dressing turns a lovely pink color. Try it!

Almost Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Searching for recipes for a dinner party, I ran into a blog about slow-roasted tomatoes. They sounded great but required temperatures of about 200 degrees F. Luckily I have my handy-dandy Excalibur and decided to do a raw version, keeping the temp down around 105 degrees.

How easy is this? Get a bunch of tomatoes and slice them into chunks about 1/2 inch thick. (Cherry tomatoes can be cut in half.) Spread them out on a dehydrator sheet. Drizzle them with a mixture of olive oil and raw agave. (Sorry, no measurements. Maybe a 3:1 ratio. It should taste good.) Sprinkle with dried oregano, sea salt and black pepper. Let dehydrate for 6-8 hours. A few hours in, flip and drizzle with more of the same. They're done when they've reached the desired level of chewiness. Serve warm, especially good over a plate of spinach.

So, yes, this is about as unspecific as a recipe can get. Trust me: you can't go wrong. Just season to taste. They're sweet, savory, chewy and delicious.

The Trouble with Dehydrators

I've been using my Excalibur a lot lately--to hasten the marinating of greens and broccoli and onions and mushrooms, to prepare breads and crackers, and to try out new recipes that wouldn't be possible without that box hulking on my kitchen countertop.

So what's the problem, you ask? Almost everything I prepare in the dehydrator is too delicious to wait out the long dehydration times! Every couple of hours, I find myself taking off the cover and reaching in to sneak a pinch. Worse yet, the girls have developed the habit of doing the same. (Okay, that's really a terrific thing, since it means they're snacking on healthy stuff.)

At this moment, a batch of Kristen's Chewy Bolder Boulder Granola is just about ready to flip. The question is: how much of it will survive the process without meeting my greedy fingers?

Cinnamon-Orange French Toast

I came up with this last night based on this recipe. The original didn't have explicit directions, so I winged it. I loved the result! Though it definitely didn't have the typical french toast texture (likely due to not knowing the exact procedure to follow) it's much better than Raw bread products I've purchased in stores, and so simple!

Cinnamon-Orange French Toast

1 cup flax seeds

juice of 3 oranges

1 handful raisins

a few shakes ground cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 and 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon

4 Tbsp raw agave (since the brand I buy claims not to be heated above 118 degrees, I'm considering it Raw)

Grind the flax seeds in a coffee grinder. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients. Spread on one paraflex sheet and dehydrate at 105 for 2 hours. Flip onto mesh screen and dehydrate 4 more hours. (This last step may have been what robbed me of the fluffy texture, since the original didn't call for flipping.)

Better Than Strawberry Shortcake

3-4 Servings

Berry Mix
1 pint strawberries, cleaned and sliced
2 t coconut oil, liquid (optional)
4 T raw agave syrup
1 pinch salt
a dash or 2 of cinnamon

Topping
5-6 dried dates, pitted
1/2 cup pecans
1/8 cup ground flaxseed
1 T coconut oil (optional)
a few dashes cinnamon

Preparation
Blend Berry Mix and set aside. In food processor, combine topping ingredients until crumbly. Spoon topping over berries and enjoy!

Since peaches are hard to find right now, I decided on this twist to the Peace Crumble I enjoy so much. I ate this one before I thought of taking a photo--maybe on the next round.

Today's Yummy Food

Breakfast: Strawberry Shortcake
1 cup coffee (non-raw)


Lunch: salad of lettuce, red peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, celery & sunflower seeds, topped with Warm Currant Dressing


Snack: 1 small piece Raw Breakfast Crust

Dinner: salad of mixed greens topped with ahi sashimi (Sorry, vegans! Not quite there!), seaweed & pickled ginger.

Warm Currant Dressing

1/2 cup water (use more if you want a thinner dressing)

1 cup olive oil

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar (I don't know if this is raw, but you could try subbing Raw Apple Cider Vinegar)

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper (non-raw, I'm pretty sure)

1/2 cup dried currants (soaked in water for about an hour, and drained)

2 cloves garlic

Blend all, except oil and water until smooth. Blend in oil. Add water as needed to thin dressing.

I wanted to make this recipe for Tangy Cranberry Balsamic Vinaigrette, but didn't have any cranberries. We ended up with this instead. It was slightly warm from the blender, but also had a nice warm flavor. It's quite creamy, which is a nice change from our usual oil & lemon juice dressing.

Today's Yummy Food

Breakfast: Raw Cereal of dates, walnuts and diced apples, topped with banana mylk

1 cup coffee (non-raw)

Lunch: salad of 2 types of lettuce, topped with celery, carrots, cauliflower, red onions & yellow cherry tomatoes

Warm Currant Dressing This was probably a perfect salad--tasty and crunchy. Lovely boyfriend put it together, while I made the dressing.

Dinner: 1 large spoonful of roasted squash & onions, on a bed of spinach with Raw Warm Currant Dressing

Today's Yummy Food

Breakfast: same as yesterday...Raw cereal of pecans, dates & raisins, processed to bits, topped with diced apple, sliced banana & banana mylk
This tastes a lot like caramel apples.
1 and 1/2 cups coffee (non-raw)


Lunch: Raw "meatloaf with mashed potatoes & gravy"

Snack: smoothie of spinach, banana, strawberries, blueberries & ground flaxseeds

Dinner: salad of spinach, tomatoes & pecans
4 bites of cooked sandwich

Today's Yummy Food

Breakfast: Raw cereal (dates, raisins, pecans processed to small pieces) topped with chopped apple, sliced banana & cinnamon banana mylk
This was based on a recipe from goneraw.com. Slightly sweet & very satisfying.
1 cup coffee (non-raw)

Lunch & Dinner: Samples from undehydrated Raw "meatloaf & mashed potatoes"
We were using a recipe from Juliano's Raw UNcookbook, but the proportions were waaaaay off, so were spent a lot of time sampling & re-seasoning. The recipe supposedly serves 2, but we ended up with enough for at least 10 people, by the time we were done. It's incredible filling!

Dessert: 1/2 piece of Strawberry cheesecake from Earth Cafe
1/2 cup coffee (non-raw)
The cold weather's really interfering with my desire to cut back on the coffee.

Raw Pasta Sauce

I've been threatening to make a Raw pasta sauce for a while. Since I was getting a full basket of organic goodies from the CSA today, I figured it would be a good time to use up some of what I still had left from last week. Measurements may be approximate, since I was sort of winging it, but the end result was delicious.

Raw Pasta Sauce

3 dates, pitted

1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked and drained

3 roma tomatoes

3-4 cloves garlic

a handful of fresh herbs of choice (I used basil)

water, started with 1 and 1/2 cups and continued adding until desired consistency

Process all in the food processor.

I intended to serve this over kelp noodles, but I had a couple of bags of zucchini to use. Wonder Girl, Fierce-as-in-Fabulous Teenager, Lovely Boyfriend and I really enjoyed this meal. It was even better with the marinated mushrooms for dinner.

Today's Yummy Food

Breakfast: strawberries topped with banana mylk, raw cereal & raw granola
1 cup coffee (non-raw)

Snack: 2 dates & a few nuts & a few pumpkin seeds

Lunch: 4 dried figs
smoothie of cantaloupe & spinach
2 large carrots

Snack: a few mulberries
1/2 glass coconut milk
We used cinnamon instead of nutmeg and vanilla extract instead of almond, just because that's what we had on hand. Still, this was incredibly rich and delicious. Even Lovely Boyfriend, who's no fan of the coconut's meat or drink, enjoyed this tasty treat!

Dinner: a delicious salad (made all the more delicious by the fact that I didn't have to prepare it) of spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, red onions, celery, sundried tomatoes

Today's Yummy Food

Breakfast: strawberries & bananas topped with raw cereal, raw granola, banana mylk and mulberries

Snack: 1 small handful of raw & sprouted pumpkin seeds

Lunch: A smoothie from Victoria Boutenko's Green For Life. The 3 main ingredients are kiwi, banana and celery.

Snack: Raw Breakfast Crusts with raw honey & coconut butter

Dinner: mango, red onion, cilantro & garlic on a bed of spinach
more of the taquitos from last Sunday