Raw Food Recipes:
cake

Thanks very much to the hundreds of people who came out today to my cooking demo at the Boston Vegetarian Society Food Festival! 400 samples of the recipes I cooked today were prepared, but we ran out faster than expected. Apologies to all who were not able to try a sample of what was made today. For those who missed a copy of the chickpea polenta recipes, and for all of those who could not be there with us today, I am posting it below along with a link to the olive oil cake recipe that was also demoed today.

Among the many reasons to love this dish are its elegance and relative simplicity to make, the rich creaminess of a custardy polenta made with chickpea flour, just like the Romans did it hundreds of years ago, and the flavorful, multi-textured bite of mushroom with a light crunch of leek. Serve with sautéed greens or a salad for a complete and beautiful dinner. The cool autumn months when locally foraged mushrooms are available and winter leeks are thriving is the perfect time to prepare this dish.

Look for chickpea flour in health food stores, ethnic food sections or Italian or Indian markets. In Indian markets, this flour is sometimes called chana flour, gram flour or besan. They are all made from chana dal, a cousin of chickpea. Though there are slight variations in texture and flavor, they are perfect substitutes for one another.

4 cups cold vegetable broth
1 ½ cup chickpea flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled and roughly chopped
½ cup dry white wine (recommend Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc or Pinot Grigio)
1 ½ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
¼ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
2 large or 4 small leeks
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces (about 2 cups) sliced wild mushrooms (miattake, chicken of the woods, chanterelle, oyster, morel, porcini, or other)
8 ounces (about 2 cups) sliced domestic mushrooms (cremini, white button, etc.)
2 tablespoons dry white wine
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
⅛ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

Oil a 9” springform cake pan. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a food processor or blender, blend the vegetable broth and chickpea flour until well combined and frothy. Leave food processor work bowl or blender carafe attached to base unit.

In a large saucepan, warm the olive oil over a medium heat. Add chopped garlic and cook for 3-5 minutes or until garlic is golden and crisp. Pour white wine into pan and stir to scrape up any bits of garlic clinging to pan. Briefly pulse the chickpea-broth mixture before pouring into saucepan. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat to medium-low. Stir frequently and vigorously for 10 minutes. Add sea salt, nutmeg and parsley. Mix well to combine.

Pour polenta into oiled pan, brush the top with olive oil and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until top is golden and lightly crisped.

Clean leeks and slice into very thin pieces, 2-3 inches in length.

Place olive oil in a skillet and toss the leeks in it. Sauté over medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until leeks have wilted. Transfer to an 8x11 baking pan and place in the oven. Stir every 5 minutes through baking time and continue to bake about 20 minutes or until leeks have browned and lightly crisped.

Using the skillet in which the leeks were wilted, heat olive oil over a high flame. Add mushrooms and toss with oil. Cook about 4 minutes or until mushrooms have softened slightly. Add wine, salt, nutmeg, white pepper and stir well to combine. Cook about 2 more minutes or until mushrooms are softened and well coated in spices. Add parsley and combine before turning off heat.

Allow baked chickpea polenta to cool at room temperature about 10 minutes before running a knife around the edge of the pan and releasing the springform. Cut into wedges and place on a plate. Top with mushrooms and finish each wedge with a generous pile of crisp leeks.

Recipe for the olive oil cake with orange macedonia and cocoa nibs may be found at American Feast.

Day 53 of raw eats

8:29 a.m. green juice at work

9:36 a.m. Blueberry-Basil smoothie

10:25 a.m. Mole kale chips

11:25 a.m. large salad at work

12:01 p.m. Lemon bar dessert at work

1:40 p.m. Mila and water

3:04 p.m. green juice

Living Light Pastry Arts students' dessert menu featuresLemon Poppy CakeKey Lime pieRaspberry CheesecakeChocolate CheesecakeTiramisuChocolate SauceRaspberry Sauce

4:50 p.m. Sharing Lemon Poppy Seed cake with my little one at home

6:42 p.m. kelp noodles and Kimchi at home

7:57 p.m. red wine at home

8:02 p.m. Sharing the students' menu with the family Day 54 of Raw Vegan foods

10:51 a.m. Snacking on Thai Curry Cashews at work

11:23 a.m. large salad at work

3:36 p.m. chocolate cheesecake

3:51 p.m. Chocolate Mousse

5:46 p.m. red wine at home

7:48 p.m. large romaine, onion and avocado salad at home

Today was one of the best Valentine's Day I have ever experienced.

Chef Vinnette created a wonderful impromptu luncheon for the students and staff.

When I came into work this morning she had the tables decorated with Valentine paraphernalia. It looked like cupid gone wild.She a true romantic and a very special person. She went the distance to create a wonderful experience. With each dish you can taste the love and passion that went into its creation. She thought of every detail; from the delectable names on the menu to wine glasses filled with rose petals and coconut water ice cubes.

She even had me setting the tables on my lunch break. Oops, that knife is crooked.

If you ever get a chance to attend Living Light, make sure you take the Gourmet or Pastry series and train under Vinnette. It will be an experience you will never forget. Vinnette is so giving as an instructor and as a person.

I took home a few party favors for the children and myself.I love these little Valentine's Day cards, they remind me of the ones I used when I was a kid. They are so precious.

8:50 a.m. green smoothie at work

11 a.m. Mila with water and celery stick at work

11:27 a.m. celery stick

1:12 p.m. Valentine's Day luncheon at work

4:09 p.m. Mila and water with celery stick

5:02 p.m. Sharing with Man on the Raw at home- Chocolate Lava cake with ice cream, chocolate and raspberry sauces

6:44 p.m. Green juice at home

Happy Anniversary to the hardest-working couple I know!

9:48 a.m. Blueberry Smoothie at work

11:51 a.m. Large salad (spinach, mixed greens, cucumbers, beets, carrots, seasoned seeds, nutritional yeast, dijon dressing) at work

12:36 p.m. kale chips at work

12:50 p.m. green juice at work

2:04 p.m. Mocha cheesecake at work

6:04 p.m. red wine at home

7:57 p.m. wine at home

8:00 p.m. salad with Foods Alive Mike's Special Flax oil dressing

I promise I had the best intentions. I had a beautiful menu planned for you for this Thursday. Each day this week I would focus on a different course for you to seduce your sweetie into a meal he or she would always remember.

The foreplay of the evening would have been the Sweet and Spicy Neptune Salad Cocktail, followed by a bit of cool Cucumber soup or maybe a Shaved Fennel salad with cranberries. Moving on to main event it was a Mushroom Ragu and Chickpea Polenta with Asparagus Rolls. The climax was Cheesecakes Shots with Blueberry sauce.

I like to cuddle after. Do you like to cuddle? I thought you might cuddle with a Fruit Platter of pineapple cubes, strawberries and raspberries with two spicy chocolate sauces for dipping and feeding . One laced with cayenne and the other with cinnamon.

Time escaped me and I really couldn't indulge in such an extravagant venture, you know the juice feasting thing.

Now before you leave in a huff and curse me for being such a tease or so you won't wear "that shirt" that says "I visited The Daily Raw Blog and all I got was this stinking T-shirt"...try this, to soothe the savage beast.

A sweet and fiery concoction that will most definitely set the fires ablazing. Here folks to get your party started is the.....

Sweet and Spicy Neptune Salad Cocktail
2 cups finely diced coconut meat
2 tablespoon finely diced red onion
1 Holland chili (or another red-colored chili or pepper), finely diced
2 long pieces of dried seaweed, broken into small pieces, save extra for garnish
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon coconut butter
Juice of one lime juice
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 lettuce leaf
1 ripe avocado, peeled and cut into slices
A few sprigs of cilantro for garnish

1 Toss coconut meat, onion, chilies and seaweed in a bowl.

2 Whisk together honey, coconut butter, lime juice and sea salt until the honey and coconut butter dissolves a bit, creating a smooth consistency. Pour into bowl with coconut meat. Marinate at least an hour.

3 Place lettuce leaf in the bottom of cocktail glass. Place a heaping amount of Neptune salad on top of leaf. Garnish with avocado, cilantro and a few flakes of seaweed.

Servings: 2

After you finish eating the salad, sip on the juice that have collected in the bottom of the glasses.

Have a very happy V-Day!

I want to pursue my Raw Chef Certification. Pretty neat goal, huh? It has been something I’ve wanted to do for a very, very long time. That was one of the reason I started the Daily Raw Café. It is a safe haven to help develop my skills until I could one day learn from the big boys.

As a mother, there is always, and I mean always that realization that you can’t make a move in life without taking in consideration of the children.

A father may say he understands, but unless he’s a single father or a saint, his first thought is how a situation will work for him and then it trickles down to wife, children, dog, etc.

It was brought to my attention that maybe I should discard this pipe dream of raw food culinary school until the children are old enough to fend for themselves. A suggestion of the children staying with their father while I go to school out of state for 4 months was suggested and the answer was no, children need to be with their mother.

It was mentioned that if their father had a chance to go away for 4 months to pursue whatever he choose that would be okay because he’s a man. I’m sorry, but what century are we in?

I understand that I took on a huge responsibility with having children (so did dad by the way) but where is it written that a mother’s personal fulfillment is placed on hold until her youngest’s 18th birthday? Or that mothers are welcome to have personal growth as long as it doesn’t interfere with raising their offspring. I really want to see this documentation, preferable something that is notarized.

So in the midst of finding balance with doing what I want to do and being a good mother, it’s a wonder I found time to create Chad Sarno’s Carrot Pineapple Shortcake with Mesquite Flour and Sweet Cashew Cream Cheese (p. 310) (Okay, Avery helped), go grocery shopping, help my son make his school project, submit some job applications, do some laundry, yada, yada, ya... The cake was very good, my children (and their father) ate it up.

I had the fortune to get my hands on a copy of "Raw for Dessert: Easy Delights for Everyone" and since Valentine's Day is steadily approaching I thought I would take the time to discuss this book.

"Raw for Dessert" is an eclectic collection of sweet and scrumptious recipes from internationally recognized Raw Food Chef and instructor Jennifer Cornbleet.

Cornbleet substitutes customary dessert ingredients such as flour, butter and processed white sugar, with ground nuts, coconut oil and dates and other healthy alternatives to create sweet treats that are bursting with flavor. She demonstrates that baking isn’t necessary to create the sophisticated Vanilla Bean Crème Brulee, comforting Chocolate Cake with Fudge Frosting or festive Pumpkin Pie.

Covering the full spectrum of desserts from cakes and cookies, to pies, candy and creamy desserts, "Raw for Dessert" starts off with the “Basics” chapter featuring recipes, which delicious in their own right, are predominately used as the building blocks of Cornbleet’s other creations. All of the desserts are a breeze to construct and require no more time than it takes the Coffee Ice Cream to freeze. Yes, that’s right, coffee. Not all the ingredients are raw. Cornbleet is forthcoming with the use of non-raw items and provides a detailed ingredient list at the beginning of the book.

Ideal for foodies, raw or not, with a mad sweet tooth, "Raw for Dessert" offers up a slew of tips, suggestions and recipes. Whether you are in the mood for cool and refreshing, like the Grapefruit Granita or leaning more to the exotic with the Indian dessert Kheer, this book will not disappoint.

It was hard to choose a recipe to try for this review, everything reads so delectable. I finally decided on this candy. My eldest daughter, Jordan, is deathly allergic to most nuts and I was pleasantly surprised that this chocolate indulgence was nut-free. She happily ate the lot of them.
Dark Chocolate Truffles
1/3 cup virgin coconut oil, melted
4 pitted Medjool dates
½ cup maple syrup or dark agave syrup
1 cup cocoa powder or raw cacao powder
1/8 teaspoon plus a pinch of salt

Combine the coconut oil and dates in a small bowl and soak for 30 minutes. Transfer to a blender and add the maple syrup, ¾ cup of the cocoa powder, and all of the salt and process until very smooth. Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides of the blender jar with a rubber spatula. Transfer to a small mixing bowl and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

The Daily Raw Note:

Now it‘s just about this point where you might be tempted to eat the dish as is. You know who you are. To be honest, who could blame you? It is rich and gooey and luxurious as all chocolate concoctions should be, but, please refrain from eating it. If you must get your chocolate fix, lick the blender cup. Believe me, the truffles are worth the wait.
Place the remaining ¼ cup cocoa powder in a small bowl and set aside.

Scoop out a heaping ½ teaspoon of the chocolate mixture. Pull it off the measuring spoon with your fingers and lightly roll it into a ball between your palms. Dip and roll the truffle in the cocoa powder, then place it on a plate or in a paper candy cup. Repeat with the remainder of the chocolate mixture. Chill the finished truffles in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving.

Stored in sealed container in the refrigerator, Chocolate Truffles will keep for a 1 week.

VARIATIONSCoconut Truffles: Dip and roll each truffle in unsweetened shredded dried coconut instead of cocoa powder.

Curry Truffles: Dip and roll each truffle in curry powder instead of cocoa powder.

Mexican Chocolate Truffles: Add ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon and a generous pinch of cayenne to the chocolate mixture in the blender. Roll each truffle in cocoa powder. (The Daily Raw Café Note: I added a bit of cayenne pepper to the cocoa powder.)

You know what? I can't have all the fun. Since Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, I want to offer one (1) lucky winner a copy of Jennifer Cornbleet’s “Raw for Dessert.”

All you have to do is answer the following question in this post's comment section.

“What are your Valentine’s Day plans?”

The contest will end Monday night, February 8th @ 11:59 pm. IS CLOSED I'll enter all who answered the question into a drawing and announce the winner on the Daily Raw Café, Tuesday, February 9th.

*Please note: this contest is only open to people living in the United States and Canada.

10:15 a.m. Smoothie (ingredients listed above) at my work

11:30 a.m. Mila and water with celery at work11:45 a.m. celery at my desk

2:23 p.m. Mixed greens with food prepared by the Associate Chef students — Vegetable Teriyaki Stirred Not Fried, Pineapple Skewers, Sesame Sea Palm Salad, Asian Slaw, Seaweed crackers

3:35 p.m. Chocolate Cheesecake3:59 p.m. Raw Chocolate at work

6:36 p.m. Granny Smith apple and date paste at home

All these items are not necessary to eat and enjoy raw foods(a knife will do in most cases) but they make creating raw dishes more fun.

Blender or high-speed blender (Vita-Mix)
Dehydrator (Excalibur)
Extra Teflex sheets for dehydrator
Food processor
Juicer
Hand blenders
Coffee grinder
Spiralizer
Mandoline
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Mason Jars (pint and quart sizes)
Gallon Jar
Sprouting Jar with Wire Mesh top
Funnels
Rolling Pin
Wooden Cutting Boards
Various Kitchen Knives
Butcher Knife (great for opening coconuts)
Knife Sharpener
Cheesecloth
Nut Bags
Wooden Spoons
Spatulas (various sizes, including an offset spatula)
Whisks (various sizes)
Garlic Press
Potato Masher
Strainers (various sizes)
Grater
Cookie Cutters
Cake Molds
Pizza cutter (great for scoring flax crackers)
Citrus Juicer
Spring form pans
Tart Pans
Mixing bowls
Storage containers
Lettuce Spinner
Ice cream maker

Go here to stock your pantry.

9:32 a.m. Green Smoothie at work

10 a.m. Red apple at work10:23 a.m. Mila in water at work

11:15 p.m. Lemon Poppyseed cake sample at Living Light Cafe12:17 p.m. Green juice

1:10 p.m. Lunch with Associate Chef students and Jenny Cornbleet (Mixed greens, avocado, Pickled "Pink" onions, Sun-dried tomato rose, not tuna pate, slaw)1:45 p.m. Cheesecake made by an Associate Chef student

3:32 p.m. green juice at work

5:23 p.m. Green apples at home with my Avery

6:30 p.m. Spinach salad with cranberries, walnuts and a glass of wine at home with Man on the Raw

7:35 p.m. Glass of wine and dates stuffed with almonds at home

9:30 a.m. Green Smoothie at work

12:30 p.m. Large Salad (Romaine, mixed greens, spinach, beets, carrots, sprouts, cucumber, seasoned seeds, 1/4 of avocado, Dijon dressing)

2 p.m. Orange Jewels Drink (Orange juice, cashews, dates, agave, soy lecithin, vanilla) and a E3Live shot

3:45 p.m. Cherry Cheesecake

6:15 p.m. olives

6:15 p.m. Organic wine

6:30 p.m. radish bite

7:15 p.m. Fig and Cacao Bean

7:17 p.m. Figs

Time? 7:17 p.m.

Time? almonds

Time? Organic wine

Time? Organic wine and olives while outside looking at the stars with Man on the Raw

Time?: Cacao Beans with agave at home while blogging this post
Due to 3 4 glasses too many glasses of wine, the evening times and names of food will appear tomorrow could not be fully recalled. Good nite folks, have a great weekend.

9:50 A.M. Sample Flourless chocolate cake with rosewater frosting at work

9:55 a.m. E3Live shot at work

10:10 a.m. Piña Colada smoothie (almond milk, pineapple, coconut, agave) at work

11:50 a.m. Salad bar (mixed greens, cucumber, romaine, carrot, cabbage, sprouted chickpeas, nutritional yeast, raw Dijon dressing) at work

1:35 p.m. Flourless chocolate cake with rosewater frosting at work

6 p.m. Thai Coleslaw at home with Man on the Raw

8ish Glass of Organic red wine with Man on the Raw

8:30 p.m. Spanish olives at home

9:30 p.m. Glass of Organic red wine at home

To tomorrow's FUNdamentals class.

Welcome! I am so excited for you. I was in your spot last July and I can tell you that I had a blast!
If your experience is half as fabulous as mine then you are well on your way to something special. You are in for a joyous ride.

Terilynn


At the Water Cooler
What are you plans for this weekend?

Image by Cool Text: Logo and Button Generator — Create Your Own Logo
January 5, 2011 — Day 5

12:13 p.m. salad (mixed greens, spinach, romaine, carrots, cucumbers, Dijon, nutritional yeast) at work

3:30 p.m. Kombucha at work

4:20 p.m Coconut Date Logs and Cardamom Cake with Rosewater cream at work

6:30 p.m. Pure Power Bars with Man on the Raw at home

7:15 p.m. Salad (Romaine, cucumber, tomato, avocado, very hot jalapeno) at home with Man on the Raw

January 6, 2011 — Day 6

10:30 a.m. Berries ‘n’ Cream smoothie (almond milk, raspberries, strawberries, bananas, dates); a shot of E3live at work

11:45 a.m. Salad (mixed greens, romaine, carrots, cabbage, cucumber, nutritional yeast, Dijon dressing) at work

3:15 p.m. Apple at work

7:15 p.m. Sweet and Spicy Cabbage with avocado at home with Man on the Raw

Sweet and Spicy Cabbage
1/2 head green cabbage, chopped
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 carrot, grated
1 tablespoon Agave nectar
1-2 teaspoons Chili Garlic Sauce (not raw product), or more depending on how spicy you want it
1-2 teaspoons sea salt
juice of one lemon

2 avocado, peeled and cubed

Toss cabbage, onion, carrot in a bowl. Add agave, chili garlic sauce salt and lemon. Mix well. Let set for 10 minutes.

Serve with avocado cubes.

At the Water Cooler
What is your favorite raw food dessert?
(enter your answers in the comment box)

Where are all the daily recipes from The Daily Raw Blog? With the holidays, hanging with the expanded family and a couple of other projects in the works, I've been kind of busy. No worries, there will still be tasty raw recipes posted, just not everyday.

I do have some exciting news I will post later in the month, so at the very least you have to stay tuned for that.

Here is the fruitcake I promised a couple of weeks back. This is the one my (very picker eater) eldest daughter was willing to go raw for if she could only eat this. When I told her no, she nixed the whole idea of raw foods.

Raw Fruitcake
serves 4-6

Dried Fruit
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup dried pineapples, chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup golden raisins

Cake
4 cups walnuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup dates

In a large bowl, whisk agave nectar and water together. Add all of dried fruit into bowl. Let set for one-two hours or until the fruit softens.

In a food processor, combine walnuts, seasonings and sea salt. Add dates and continue to mix until you achieve a sticky dough.

Transfer the walnut dough to a large bowl. Fold in the soaked fruit until distributed throughout the dough.

Shape the fruitcake in a 5-inch round or square or however you choose. Have fun with it!

From The Daily Raw Blog archives2007: Fruitcake

Okay, I wasn't going to blog any more this week, I'm on vaca, right?
But when my 16 year-old daughter (whose diet consists of pasta, cheese and apples) said she would be willing to eat raw foods if she could eat only this cake, I couldn't resist posting my photo of a raw fruitcake.
Now it is just a food teaser, the recipe won't be posted until a later date.
I just wanted to whet your appetite. Happy Thanksgiving,Terilynn

We don't do it as often as we should, but sitting down as a family for a meal, that does the body good, makes eating raw even more special.

My son showing off his broccoli.

Birthday girl eating her dinner.

The kids assembling their raw burgers.

Raw Burgers and fixings with Butternut fries

Granddaddy's Raw Jam Cake

Although January is National Oatmeal month, today the Daily Raw Blog celebrates National Oatmeal Day. With Colorado weather taking a turn for the chilly, a nice hearty bowl of oatmeal is definitely what's needed.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
1 cup sprouted oat groats
1 Granny Smith apple, diced
1 tablespoon coconut butter
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ cup agave nectar

1 Place oat groats and agave nectar in a food processor and pulse until it's a oatmeal consistency. Add diced apple and coconut butter and process briefly.

2 Put mixture into a large bowl, add ground cinnamon and mix well

Want more raw food oatmeal recipes? Try these.

Oatmeal Cookie Biscotti

Oatmeal Shortcakes with Spiced Plums

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Congrats to these rawsome folks for guessing last week's "What's That Food":
bidarlah

hello, my name is danny.

TR

Rediscover Raw Food (But Wonder Girl gets the credit.)

Heathy

AnnaCakespy

Annie

Meagan Ricca

Elyse Melissa at

Love Raw Life

Monica om girl and the Diva Extraordinaire Keely

Wow, I can't fool you guys. Congrats to a lot of people for guessing correctly the "What's that Food" last week. You are truely rawsome. Give a major shout-out to:

Rediscover Raw Food
Kelly Jene
Elaine
Triny said...
Bob Bush
Kim
Monica
Keely
SCOUT
Naren
KRBinAmsterdam
Evol*Etah
danny
Heathy
Raising Alex
Raw Love
Alex & Melissa
Olivia
der_erzahler said...
L.oves I.rish C.obs and
Meagan