In Sandy's Sunny Kitchen - Part 2

I Wanna Rawck!
You know how when you first wake up, your consciousness sort of lingers in Dreamland...Then it hits you all at once! You remember where you are, and your brain picks up the pieces from where you left off. Well, I gotta say that when I snapped back to reality on that morning, I WAS A HAPPY CAMPER! It dawned on me how thrilling and intense my life has been in the last little while. Not that it isn't always, just that the focus has become more external with this new dehydration phase of our raw journey.

But to get back to Sandy's, I was so looking forward to this new raw food prep day, I could hardly stay in bed. So I just HAD TO get up and go down to the kitchen to take a peek at the onion bread. The whole place was bathed in the aroma! Mmmmmmmmmm... Sandy said to me:"Too bad it isn't cinnamon rolls in there!" Sorry Sandy! That will have to wait until our next Rawkin' Revel! LOL

Onion Bread freshly out of the 'oven'...

... then stored into a glass jar.

Meet Sandy and her Family
Since I've been talking to you about Sandy a lot, (and I mean, you're already intimate since you've been in her kitchen, LOL), I thought it's perhaps time for me to more formally introduce you to her and some members of her awesome family (the lucky ones that were around!)

As I was saying in my previous post, her husband Bruce still feels he's 'gotta' have his meat every day. He was born on an Alberta farm, and as we all know, old habits die hard. However, he's always enjoyed salads and fruits, which is a definite plus. Even though he wasn't overly enthusiastic about the whole raw thing, he nevertheless showed an open mind and tried pretty much everything (except for the burgers which we were hoping would be a hit! Oh well... Can't win them all!)

Sandy has been interested in health foods for quite some time. In fact, Don told me how she got into vitamins and making her own yogurt way back when they were teenagers. Her path has naturally and gradually led her to feel like including more raw foods in her diet. She's been attending raw food classes and potlucks organized by Calgary's Raw Chef, Diana Stoevelaar. Sandy dreams of escaping the Canadian winter to spend part of the year 'Down South,' where she could pick her breakfast right off the trees. Ahhhhhhhh! Bliss! She'll be off to Australia in March to visit her older daughter, Julie, for a few months.

With Bruce and Sandy

Jaime is their youngest daughter. At 21, she's artistic, adventurous and full of projects. Like Sandy, she just loooooooves travelling! Last year, Jaime spent 3 months exploring Indonesia and is now in the process of applying to attend art school in New Zealand. Being an athlete, she was particularly interested in how a raw diet would affect her performances. I couldn't be of much help there, but Diana told her about Dr. Douglas Graham's new book "80-10-10". Dr. Graham is "a lifetime athlete and twenty-seven year raw fooder," who has advised world-class athletes and trainers from around the globe, including tennis legend Martina Navratilova.

Jaime and me

The Raw Blitz Begins
OK, now that you know who's who, let's get going! Day 2 is when our Raw blitz began in earnest. We started off our day with some energy fuel: a carrot, apple, beet, celery, ginger and lemon juice. Mmmmmmmmm... Liquid Ambrosia!


Next on our 'to make' list was Almond Milk. We blended almonds, (soaked overnight), with water, at a ratio of roughly 1 cup almonds to 3 cups water. We squeezed the pulp in a mesh bag (a lot of people use the Nut Milk Bag, but a simple cheesecloth or paint strainer will do as good a job for a fraction of the price!) You can then save the precious pulp to make all sorts of yummy recipes. You can use it in pretty much any recipe that calls for almonds, such as cookies or even almonnaise. Some recipes even call specifically for almond pulp, like Rawkinloc's Cinnamon Rolls and Almond Bread.

'The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread'
Russell James' Mediterranean Almond Bread was another obvious choice when it comes to 'winner' recipes. It's light and tasty and makes fantastic sandwiches. Russell, nicknamed 'The Bread Man', told me he has just perfected a new, simpler nut-free bread which he'll be posting as soon as he gets the time. BTW, if you haven't visited Russell's blog yet, I wouldn't walk, I'd run there if I were you, as it has many of his fantastic, mouth-watering creations.

Mediterranean Almond Bread
Makes 18 'slices'

1/2 c olive oil
1 c sun dried tomatoes, loosely packed
3 c almond flour*
1 c flax meal
3 medium courgettes (zucchinis), peeled & roughly chopped
2 apples, cored and roughly chopped
3 T lemon juice
1 t salt
3 T Herbs De Provence or herbs of your choice
2 T marjoram or herbs of your choice

*You can make almond flour a number of ways. My favorite is to save the pulp from any almond milk I make and dehydrate it so I can keep it in a glass jar until needed. You could also use the almond pulp wet. Another way would be just to grind some almonds into flour in a high powered blender or coffee mill.

- Process the olive oil, sun dried toms, courgettes, apples, lemon juice, salt and dried herbs until thoroughly mixed.

- Add the almond flour and process again until a batter is formed.

- In a bowl mix the batter with the flax meal by hand. The reason you do this separately (not in the processor) is that you are likely to have too much mixture for the size if the processor at this point, and when you add the flax meal it will become quite heavy and sticky and overwork your machine.

- When mixed, process the whole batter in the machine again in small batches to achieve a light fluffy texture.

- Divide the mixture in 2 and place on Paraflexx sheets, on dehydrator trays.

- Use an offset spatula (aka offset palette knife or cranked palette knife) to spread the mixture evenly to all 4 sides and corners of the Paraflexx sheet. If mixture is too sticky you can wet the spatula to make things easier. With a knife score the whole thing into 9 squares.

- Dehydrate for 2 hours and then remove the Paraflexx sheets by placing another dehydrator tray and mesh on top and invert so that your original sheet of bread is upside down. That will allow you to peel the Paraflexx sheet off and continue to dehydrate the underside of the bread.

- Dehydrate for approx 8 hours more (do this overnight so you're not tempted to eat it before it's ready) or until bread feels light in your hand. If the pieces don't fully come apart where you scored, use a knife to cut them.

As Russell James suggests on his blog, try the Almond Bread with some avocado, lettuce, tomato, cashew mayonnaise and a few slices of marinated Portobello mushrooms. Yummo! As the bread has a strong flavor though, we cut down a little on the herbs. We also made a plain version, without any herbs at all, just to give us the option.

Almond Bread about to go in the Excalibur:

Almond Bread ready to be enjoyed:

We then made Alissa Cohen's Calzone dough into pizza crust. Such a delicious and versatile recipe!

Alissa’s Calzone Dough
From "Living on Live Food"

4 Cups Sprouted Buckwheat
1 1/2 Cups Soaked Flax Seeds
3/4 Cup Olive Oil
1 1/2 Cups Carrots
2 Cloves Garlic
1 teaspoons Curry
1 teaspoons Rosemary
1 teaspoons Thyme
2 teaspoons Sea Salt

Form into thin pizza crusts and dehydrate for a couple of hours on teflex sheets. Flip onto mesh and dehydrate for another hour or two. You don't need for the crust to be completely dry since you will be popping it back in the dehydrator once it is dressed with your favorite toppings.

Next was RawGuru’s Veggie Burgers. These are awesome! I'd never had burdock root before and, quite frankly, was a little skeptical about his contention that it gives the burgers a 'meaty' flavor, but you know what? He was right! I wouldn't call it exactly 'meaty', but earthy for sure. We just love them anyhow!

Burgers on the way to the D:

RawGuru’s Veggie Burgers
Posted by RawGuru Alex on Sunfood Nutrition Raw Food Lifestyle Forum

3/4 cup burdock (puree, you can grate it on a very fine grater, or blend it with the water)*
1/2 cup sunflower seeds (soaked)
1/2 cup cashews or pine nuts
1 cup almonds (soaked)
1 cup walnuts (soaked)
3 tbs. olive oil
1/2 cup celery juice or water
1/2 carrot (finely minced)
1 celery stick (minced)
2 tbs. dried basil
1 tbs. dried sage
1 tsp. fresh ginger (minced)
2 tbs. fresh cilantro
pinch of turmeric (keeps the mixture from spoiling)
1 tsp. cayenne or 1 tsp. of fresh diced ripe jalapeno
pinch of freshly ground black pepper (optional)
1 tsp. sea salt

Blend the nuts with the oil and celery juice or water. Mix in everything else. Put this is the fridge to marinate for 1 hour. Lay a piece of parchment paper on the table, put your burger mixture on top, get another piece of parchment and put it on top of the mixture, using a rolling pin or the palms of your hand, roll the dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Then using a cookie cutter or a cup cut out patty shapes, and place the patties on teflex sheets, dehydrate for 2 hours at 145 degrees (only in the Excalibur at this temperature). Then bring the temp. down to 115 degrees and continue to dehydrate until desired consistency. You can make these into little meat balls and serve them with pasta, or make them even smaller and top your pizza. Yummy!

*The burdock root CAN NOT be substituted, this is what gives the burger its special flavor

Carmella's note: I usually just form the batter into patties... I like simple! Plus, it works just as great...

Our last task for the morning's uncooking was to make Alissa Cohen's Bean-less Falafels. Now, these are DEEEEEEElish! I was never a huge fan of SAD falafels, as they are made with chickpea powder and deep-fried (yuck!), but these.....Oh my! They are light and fluffy, and taste a thousand times better. Plus, they smell so good while in the dehydrator! An absolute 'must try'!

Bean-less Falafel
From Alissa Cohen's "Living on Live Food"

I’m not all that crazy about eating a lot of beans, they just don’t digest well for me. But, I love falafel, which is usually made with chickpeas. The solution: almonds! These are out of this world! Dehydrate them for only a few hours and they come out fluffy and soft.

2 cups almonds
1/2 cup cilantro
1/4 cup parsley
4 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons tahini
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup water

In a food processor, blend the almonds until fine.

Add the remaining ingredients, and blend well.

Roll mixture into small balls and place on a mesh dehydrator screen.

Dehydrate at 105 degrees for 4-5 hours, longer if you desire a crispy falafel.

Serve with Cucumber Sauce.

Here they are before dehydration:

Your Raw Recipe Collection Just a Few Clicks Away...

We then took a break from the kitchen to work on their iMac computer. I showed Sandy about MacGourmet, an awesome program from Advenio. It's the most feature-full and intuitive recipe program that we've found. In fact, the newest version of MacGourmet just came out in December, so it's brand sparkling new with LOTS of great features, including a variety of display and printing templates. It makes importing recipes and photos sooooooo easy (all you have to do is drag and drop!) and you can find your recipes in a snap. With its blown up 'Chef View' feature, you can follow a recipe without leaving your counter. Best of all, it's not expensive, and Michael, the guy who created it, is just super! From within MacGourmet itself, you can send feedbacks directly to him and he's right on top of it, always ready to make improvements and help you out. MacGourmet is available for a free trial period so you can get a feel for it first. Oh, and in case you're wondering, I don't work for the guy, I just LOVE his program, which has made my exploration of raw foods soooooooo much easier!

Here's what the screen looks like:

Off to China...and Back!
We then went to Calgary's Chinatown to look for a Benriner Cook Help spiral slicer, as Sandy has the saladacco and, like many others, find the thing difficult to use. I had forgotten how walking into a Chinese grocery store can be a cultural shocker. Next to the dried octopus and countless dried mushrooms, I found some Nori sheets and other types of seaweed for at least half the price of what I pay back in Nelson.

Again, time just flewwwwww! So we got home and started working on tonite's feast.

The Art of Feasting in The Raw - Day 2
Soup is a staple in our diet, and so I couldn't help but show Sandy and Jaime my favorite recipes. We started our meal with Maraw's Spinach & Herb Soup. It's sublime! Back home, we have it about twice a week!

Maraw’s Spinach & Herb Soup

The RawTable.com

I make this almost daily. Yes, it's that good - and filling too!

3 C of fresh raw spinach
1 C frozen sweet peas
2 1/2-3 C almond milk
1 kiwi, peeled
2 celery stalks
1/2 C cilantro
4 basil leaves
2 green onions
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp. sea salt (or to taste)

Place all ingredients in a Vitamix or high-powered blender and process until smooth. Serves 4-6

Here's our Full Dinner Menu:

RawGuru's Burgers and Alissa's Falafels

Oh yeah, we served the burgers with onion bread and whole Portobello mushroom caps that we brushed with a little olive oil and Braggs, and left to dehydrate for a couple of hours. You'll be amazed at how much they look like real buns!


Sandy's Charmoula
1 cup almonnaise (see recipe below)
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tbs lemon juice
1/4 cup cilantro

Blend together in food processor until smooth.


Almonnaise
Adapted from the recipe in Marilyn Diamond's book "Fit For Life"

½ cup raw almonds
½ to ¾ cup water
1 tsp nutritional yeast
1 or 2 garlic cloves, crushed
¾ tsp salt
1 tsp herbal seasoning
1 to 1 ¼ cup oil (I like to use 1/2 an avocado instead)
3 tbs lemon juice
½ tsp apple cider vinegar

Grind almonds in coffee grinder to a fine powder. Transfer almonds to blender and add half the water along with yeast, garlic, salt and seasoning. Blend well, then add remaining water to form smooth cream.

With blender on low, remove insert in top and drizzle in the oil in a thin stream until mixture is thick.

Keep blender running and add lemon juice and vinegar. Blend on low for one more minute, to allow mixture to thicken.

Refrigerate tightly sealed.

Herbed variation:
At the end of blending the almonnaise, add: 2 tsp minced chive or green onion, 2 tsp dried basil, some tarragon and dill and a handful of fresh parsley and cilantro. Yum!


Zucchini Hummus
Ooops! I forget who's recipe this is...

Another recipe where the raw version tastes so much better than the cooked, at least, to my taste buds!

2 cups peeled zucchini, chopped
4 Tbs. olive oil
1 and 1/2 lemon, juice of
3/4 cup ground sesame seeds
3/4 tsp. sea salt
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp. paprika
1 t ground cumin
Cayenne to taste

Blend all of the ingredients in food processor.

Alissa's Cucumber Sauce:

Alissa Cohen's Cucumber Sauce
Posted by Alissa on VeggieBoards Forum
Light, refreshing, and delicious. Serve with the falafels.

1/2 large cucumber (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup raw tahini
1/4 cup fresh dill weed
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 Tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Blend all ingredients thoroughly in a food processor or blender.


OK, I know the following doesn't fit too well with the Middle-Eastern theme, but I just HAD to include it since Jaime wouldn't be able to join us for the next day's dinner party (when I had originally planned to make it.) It's really simple but fantastic! In fact, I'm glad I did 'cause Jaime just couldn't have enough of it... LOL

Baby Spinach Salad with Bosc Pear and Pecans by Renee Loux

And, finally, Tabouli from the Raw Pleasure Australia ebook

Mmmmmmmmmm! What a feast! We were pretty stuffed (and a little wiped) so we only had a few cookies for dessert (that I'd brought from home for them to taste.)

Did you say 'Cheesecake'?
We finished the day by making cheesecake for tomorrow's dinner party, as it needs to set in the freezer. Since Sandy didn't have a spring form pan, we lined a regular pie pan with saran wrap. We then simply pressed the pecan crust with our fingers and put the 'cheese' filling on top.


Enough for the day! I bet I'll be dreaming about raw foods...

Stay tuned for Day 3 and 4!

(If you'd like to be automatically notified by email of any new post, just fill out the form at the top of the page. Your email address won't be given or sold to third parties, no worries!)

*~*~*~*
Photo credits:
Almond Bread by Russell James

In Sandy's Sunny Kitchen - Part 1

... or The Art of Feasting in the Raw!

A'right! I'm back to report! I needed some rest after all the intense uncooking in Sandy's Sunny Kitchen, but I started 'working' sooner than I thought. Between photo editing, contacting recipe authors for permission, and trying out some new recipes I just couldn't resist, this has been another busy week!

As you probably know from my previous posts, I recently spent a few days in Calgary rawk 'n reveling with Don's sister, Sandy, and her daughter, Jaime.

One thing I've learned along the way is that things never quite turn out as you expect them to. Actually, here's one of my favorite jokes: "How do you make God laugh? Make plans!" I love it because I find it to be so true. Life is so incredible and deep, and so many elements come into play that you just can't predict how things will unfold. This was the case for my trip to Calgary as well... only it went BEYOND anything I could have ever imagined! The setting was beautiful, the atmosphere was relaxed and fun, and Sandy and Jaime were fantastic assistants; enthusiastic and eager to learn more about raw food prep. Even the sun joined us, shining down on our working area. It truly was magical! Oh, and did I mention the food? I don't think it could have gone any better. And now, I get to share it all with you, so hang on to your seats and get ready for an intense, bliss-full raw adventure!

On Our Way...

The actual physical journey, as it turned out, was not at all indicative of what was awaiting us in the days to come. In fact, we nearly couldn't get going, as the gas tank wouldn't open. But some kind soul showed us how to defrost the lock and we were on our way. The going was slow and difficult however. The roads were icy and we even got some snow. But, thankfully, things improved as we got closer to Alberta. We finally made it to Calgary on Tuesday evening, after an almost 10 hour drive.

I hadn't seen Sandy and Jaime for quite a while, so we had some catching up to do. It felt so good to connect again and we were all excited about the upcoming time we were to have together. Before going to bed, we loaded the Excalibur with nuts and seeds that Sandy had put to soaking earlier that morning. This process allows for the release of the enzyme-inhibitors, thereby facilitating digestion.

On Your Mark, Get Set...GO!
Although I would have gladly slept a little longer, I woke up early to the sound of engines revving, as workers were getting ready for the day. As strange as this may sound, I had almost forgotten about that reality, as we live in the boonies, surrounded by Crown land, where the comings and goings of society are but a faint whisper.

We began Day 1 of our raw adventure by the fireplace, preparing our daily menus and coming up with an uncooking plan. Sandy was particularly interested in learning how to prepare raw dishes that would appeal to her husband, Bruce, who is a real 'meat and potato' guy. She was hoping that my stay would help ease him into the Raw Vegan Diet and, who knows, maybe even eventually 'win him over.' There was so much I wanted to show them! The 'must try' list was impressive and, quite frankly, I doubted that we'd manage to make it all in just four days. Yet somehow we nearly did, except for a couple of salads!

First thing was to go do some grocery shopping. Before leaving though, we prepared two batches of soaked pumpkin and sunflower seeds that we seasoned with some Braggs, garlic and herbs and curry spices. We then simply spread them on the mesh trays and left them to dry. They make such a wonderful snack and are certain to add a nice touch to any salad.

While shopping, I couldn't resist loading up on fresh young coconuts, as we virtually never get them where we live. By the time we got back and put all the food away, it was already mid-afternoon, so we got to work on our evening meal. We opted for relatively easy, quickly whipped-up dishes that don't require any dehydration.

Let's Get Noodling!
What better way to begin our class than by playing with a spiral slicer? So I got my Chef Help out and we had fun making pasta and slicing up turnips for Alissa Cohen's raviolis.

Raw Ravioli
From "Living on Live Food" by Alissa Cohen

This is one of my favorite raw recipes, I often make these at seminars and events and people go wild over them! There is always one person who continues to ask me through the whole event "What kind of pasta is this made from" even after I tell them numerous times that it's turnip not pasta. It's hard to believe these are raw!

Wrapper:
4 turnips

Peal the turnips. Slice the turnips into very thin slices, by cutting them in half and then using a spiral slicer, mandolin or other vegetable slicer to make thin round disks.

These will be used as the wrapper which would normally be the pasta dough.

Cheese filling:
1 cup pine nuts
1 cup macadamia nuts
1 cup walnuts
6 t tamari
8 t lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1 cup parsley

Blend the pine nuts, macadamia nuts and walnuts in a food processor until ground. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend well, until creamy.

Tomato Sauce:
2 large tomatoes
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
1/4 fresh basil
1 clove garlic
6 dates
dash of olive oil (optional)

Soak the sun dried tomatoes until soft. Blend in food processor, the tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, and garlic until well blended . Add the dates and olive oil and blend until smooth. This sauce should be thick.

Directions for assembling the ravioli:
Remove a single turnip slice from the batch. Place a tsp full of cheese filling in the turnip slice and fold the turnip over until all the sides meet. Squeeze the edges together. Some of the filling will ooze out, but this is what will hold the edges together. Just put the excess back into the bowl to reuse. If you don't have enough filling in them they will not stick together. Place them in a single layer on a large plate and drizzle the tomato sauce on top, allow to sit for a few hours. The turnip will become soft from the tomato sauce. Use a spatula to scoop the ravioli's up and serve.

Raviolis, all ready for assembly

We started our first raw feast with the Boutenko's wonderful Green Spinach Soup. On the Raw Food Society of BC's site, they described it as "Raw Family’s All New, Stupendously Magnificent, Outstandingly Exceptional" soup... and they weren't far from the truth!


Green Spinach Soup
Boutenko

3 Small avocados (or one extra large)
2 Red bell peppers
½ Bunch cilantro
½ Bunch Organic Spinach
2 Small lemons (without seeds)
3 Cups pure water
1 Small jalapeno pepper
½ Teaspoon celtic sea salt (optional)

Put all the ingredients in a Vita-Mix blender and blend well using the tamper.

Once the ingredients are well blended, pour the soup into a large bowl.

Add thinly sliced napa cabbage or red cabbage and dulse leaves or flakes.

Serves 6


Here's our full dinner menu: Caesar Salad, Carrot and Parsnip Pasta with Cilantro Pesto, Stir-Dried Broccoli and Portobello Mushrooms, and Alissa's Raviolis.

Crisp Caesar Salad
Posted on Woody Harrelson’s site

A classic Caesar salad with crisp romaine lettuce and a Pinenut Parmesan. Tamarind is a tangy, sweet compliment for an authentic Caesar Salad flavor and can be found in Indian and ethnic markets. Crumble in leftover onion bread as croutons to absorb flavor.

1-2 heads Romaine lettuce

Caesar Salad Dressing:
Makes 1 pint of thick dressing that will keep fresh for a week.

5 tablespoons raw tahini
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons tamarind paste (optional)
1 nice clove garlic
2 green onions, or 1/4 cup sweet onion
1 lemon, juiced
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup or 3 soft dates, pitted
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1-2 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
1-2 teaspoons sea salt or to taste
2 tablespoons good olive oil (optional)
fresh water, 2 tablespoons at a time as necessary to blend

In a blender or Vita Mix: Blend tahini, pine nuts, tamarind, garlic, green onion or minced onion, lemon juice, vinegar, maple syrup or dates, nutritional yeast, black pepper and sea salt, adding oil and fresh water, 2 tablespoons at a time as necessary to blend until very smooth.

Season with sea salt and pepper to taste.

Pinenut parmesan:
1/4 cup pinenuts
1/4 cup whole cashews or macadamia nuts
1 teaspoon good oil or fresh water
2-3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
pinch dried garlic granules or powder
pinch Celtic or sea salt

In a food processor or blender: Chop pinenuts and cashews into a fine meal. Drizzle in a touch of oil or water. Chop in pulses until moist and ground. Add nutritional yeast, dried garlic and salt and chop in pulses until crumbly.

Assembly:
Separate Romaine lettuce leaves and break into pieces. Dollop dressing on, a few tablespoons at a time, and toss with lettuce until well coated, but not drenched. Serve and sprinkle with ‘Pinenut Parmesan’

Serves 4-6

Carmella's note: We only used the dressing, without the parmesan, and it was still fantastic! In fact, Jaime pronounced it her 'new favorite dressing'. It's partly because of that (and the fact that we made so much of it! LOL), that we ended up passing on the other salads I had planned on making.


Carrot and Parsnip Pasta with Cilantro-Pumpkin Seed Pesto
Inspired by Vanessa Sherwood's recipe posted on GreenChefs

I just love this dish! Even Don, who was never a parsnip fan, enjoys it. I find that the personality of the Cilantro pesto blends just beautifully with the root vegetables. Add some marinated or stir-dried veggies, such as broccoli and mushrooms (oysters work wonderfully!) for a special touch. Feel free to use whatever pesto recipe you prefer.

Vanessa's Pumpkin Seed Pesto
1/2 Cup Raw Pumpkin Seeds, soaked 1 hour or more
1/2 Bunch Cilantro
3 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Tablespoon Lime Juice
1 Large Clove Garlic Minced
1/2 Teaspoon Himalayan Crystal Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Cumin

Blend in food processor until smooth.

Carrot & Parsnip Pasta
2 to 3 Large Carrots
2 Large Parsnips
Some Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Pumpkin Seeds for the garnish

Make angel hair pasta, using a spiral slicer! Alternatively, with a vegetable peeler, peel the carrot and parsnip into thin ribbons. Place into a large bowl and drizzle with a little olive oil.

Stir-dried Portobello and Broccoli
1 or 2 Portobello mushrooms
2 cups of broccoli
a little olive oil
a little tamari, Nama Shoyu or salt
1 or 2 garlic cloves, crushed (garlic powder would also work)

Thinly slice the Portobello mushrooms, and chop the broccoli into small florets. Toss the mushrooms and broccoli with the oil, garlic, and tamari. Dehydrate the Portobellos on a teflex sheet for 1-2 hours until soft. Put the broccoli in a bowl covered with a plate and leave in the dehydrator for 1 or 2 hours as well. This is to get a 'stir-dried' effect and prevent the broccoli from getting all shriveled up and dry.

To Assemble:
Toss the carrot and parsnip pasta with the Cilantro-Pumpkin Pesto. Because the pesto will be quite thick, you may need to use your hands to make sure it is mixed in well. Top with stir-dried mushrooms and broccoli. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and serve.

A Taste of Heaven...
For dessert, we had Don and I's favorite: Rhio's Celestial Pecan Pie. So simple yet soooooo delish!

CELESTIAL PECAN PIE
5 bananas
1 papaya (or mango, or a pint of strawberries, sliced)
1 cup pecans (soaked in water for 1 hour)
1 1/2 cups pecans (don't soak)
6 oz. filtered water
5-10 dates, soaked
1/2 vanilla bean, cut into tiny pieces
1 heaping tbsp. raw honey (or to taste)
dash of Nama Shoyu

1) Soak one cup of pecans in filtered water. Set aside.

FRUIT CRUST:
2) In a 9-inch glass pie pan, arrange one layer of sliced bananas (2 1/2 bananas should do it). Lay the banana slices in a spiral pattern with one slice slightly overlapping the other until you have covered the entire pie pan. Also put a layer going up the sides of the pie pan. Next, cut the papaya into 1/4 inch thin slices and layer the papaya over the banana. Over the papaya, put another layer of slightly overlapping banana slices. Now with your hands, compress the fruit down evenly. Set aside.

FILLING:
3) In a blender, put 1 cup of soaked (drained) pecans, dates, 6 oz. filtered water and tiny pieces of vanilla bean and blend to a fine cream. Taste the cream, and if it is not sweet enough for your taste, add more dates.

4) Pour the cream over the fruit in the pie pan. Put the pie pan into the dehydrator and dehydrate at 95¡ F for 3 hours.

5) In a small bowl, blend the raw honey with just a little water and a dash of Nama Shoyu. Prepare the unsoaked pecans for the topping by tossing gently with the honeyed water to coat the pecans.

6) After 3 hours, take the pie out of the dehydrator and place one layer of the prepared pecans on top of the pie. Place them artistically radiating towards the center of the pie.

7) Chill the pie at least one hour before serving.

Serves 6-8. Keeps for a few days in the refrigerator.

I don't know if it's just me, but everything always seems to taste better when somebody else prepares it. Everything was fabulous! They were amazed at all the different colors, flavors, and textures of our raw food dishes. Even Bruce tried everything. He especially liked the Pecan Pie. In fact, he took some to work the next day!

Raw Snacks to LIVE For!
Our day's 'work' wasn't quite over yet, though, as there were a few things we wanted to put in the Excalibur overnite. First, we assembled the Zucchini Roll-ups from Nomi Shannon and Sheryl Duruz's Raw Food Holiday Celebration Guide. They are so tasty and make wonderful appetizers and snacks. I had already prepared the Pate du Soleil back home so as to give us a head start.

Oh, by the way, this mouth-watering photo is courtesy of Nomi and Sheryl...

Pate Du Soleil (Nope...no blood relationship here! he he)
3 cups hulled sunflower seeds, soaked 8-12 hours, sprouted 2-4 hours
1 cup lemon juice
2 red capsicums/peppers, roughly chopped
4 scallions (green onions), roughly chopped
½ small onion roughly chopped
½ cup raw tahini
2 tablespoons nama shoyu or other salty product
8 tablespoons coarsely chopped parsley
2-3 medium cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. Soak sunflower seeds overnight. Drain.

2. Allow to sit out on counter for 2-4 hours (but no longer, if you are not ready to continue with recipe, rinse, drain and refrigerate to slow the sprouting process).

3. Rinse and drain.

4. If you have a large enough food processor just put all the ingredients in it, and run until pate is quite smooth.

5. Taste, adjust seasonings. The garlic flavor will develop and become stronger in a few hours.

Notes:
This pate can be made with nuts or a combination of seeds and nuts; when you make it with all sunflower seeds it will keep for a week or more in the refrigerator.

Zucchini Roll-ups

½ zucchini per person
Pate du Soleil (enough to lightly cover each slice)

1. Thinly slice room temperature zucchini the long way using a mandolin on the thinnest setting. It is difficult to slice this thinly using a knife, but if you don't have a mandolin or other type of slicer, be sure your knife is very sharp and slice as thinly as possible.

2. Spread a thin layer of pate on each zucchini slice and place on dehydrator mesh tray.

3. Run the dehydrator and when the zucchinis are soft and flexible (2-4 hours) take the trays out and roll up the zucchini. You may have to hold them together with a toothpick.

4. Remove enough trays so roll-ups will fit back in to the dehydrator and dry until zucchinis are hard.

5. This could take as long as 24 hours. These will keep for some time.

6. Serve on a tray. They are so delicious just try to keep your guests from eating too many! Before they know it they will have eaten two zucchinis and 1⁄4 cup of pate before the meal even begins!

Notes:
Sheryl says: Nomi was amazed when she saw our photo of this recipe. She uses less than half the filling we did. Try it both ways and see how you enjoy it the most!

Carmella: If you're using a mandoline, I'd recommend slicing the zucchinis in half length-wise first. You'll get nicer and more uniform slices that way. If you happen to leave your slices a tad too long in the dehydrator and find them hard to roll up, simply spray them from underneath with a little water, allow to soften up and proceed.

Here are the Roll-ups after a couple of hours of dehydration. As you can see, we've just started to roll them up.


OK, I'm cheating a little... Here's a photo taken from the batch I made today, just before popping the Roll-ups back in the Excalibur. All nice and chubby... Mmmmmmmmmm!


We also made the Savory Nori Snacks from Raw Pleasure Australia's free ebook. These are sooooooo good! I always carry a few with me whenever I leave home.

Savory Nori Snacks

Finally, we prepared the Famous Onion Bread, posted by Pansy on Raw Food Talk Forum. It makes fabulous and tasty sandwiches or pizza crusts. Or enjoy it as crackers with some spread for a quick, no-brainer snack. We didn't find any sweet onions so we used red ones instead. The dough turned out much drier than usual as red onions don't seem to be quite as juicy. We just added a little water until we reached a spreadable consistency. Still, for some reason, spreading the batter didn't go as smoothly as when I make it at home. I was glad I was just teaching an informal class and not in front of a whole classroom! LOL

THE famous Onion bread
2 1/2 lbs sweet onions, peeled
1 cup ground sunflower seeds
1 cup ground golden flax seeds
1/2 cup olive oil
3 oz. Nama Shoyu

Put onions in food processor with 's' blade and process until small pieces, (but not mush). Put in mixing bowl with the other ingredients and mix thoroughly. The flax will absorb liquid. Smooth onto teflex sheets* about 1/4" thick and place in dehydrator for 5 hours, turning over for another 3-4 hours or until dry and crispy. Either break into pieces or cut with a pizza cutter, and store in refrigerator in an airtight container.

*If you don't have an Excalibur dehydrator, any type will do - just use natural unbleached parchment paper instead of the teflex sheets.

Carmella’s notes: I usually mix a little avocado, 1 or 2 tbs of olive oil and water in the food processor to make up the amount of oil called for in the recipe. I also tend to put a lot less Braggs as I don't like it too salty. I spread the batter with my hands which makes the process soooo much easier. Thanks Mel for the tip! I start dehydrating the bread at about 115 degrees for a couple of hours (this helps avoid fermentation), and then transfer it from the teflex sheets onto the mesh. I then turn the temp back down to 105 and leave it overnight.

Here's the bread after transferring it onto the mesh:

Not bad for the first day of our rawkin revel!

Off to get some well deserved rest...

Back from the Calgary Rawkin' Revel

Hello everyone!
I just got home yesterday, after a fantastic, mind-blowing rawkin time in Calgary. It was beyond our wildest expectations! As promised, I've taken LOTS of pics, which I'll be sharing with you as soon as I recover and get myself organized. I have tons of interesting material for upcoming posts which are sure to make you drool all over your keyboards. Amongst other things, I'll be giving you a day by day account of the wonderful raw food we prepared in Sandy's sunny kitchen, as well as detailed descriptions and pics of how to make my Luscious Lasagna and Tropical Cheesecake, not to mention a feature post on Fairygirl. But here's a little something to keep you patiently waiting...

Maraw's Spinach and Herb Soup

Sunny Sushi

Alissa Cohen's Raviolis

Cilantro Pesto Pizza

RP's Brownies with Rawkinlocs' Cinnamon Bun Frosting and Maraw's
Chocolate-Dipped Date Truffles

Tropical Cheesecake in the making

Carmella and Diana Stoevelaar

How's that for getting your attention?

Be back before you know it...

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