Raw Food Recipes:
recipes

This post is dedicated to Bitt. She wanted to know about a product I use on a fairly regular basis. Mila.

Mila is created by a network-marking company called Lifemax. Mila "The Miracle Seed," as it is called by the company, is said to have the highest and safest concentration of Omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, fiber and phytonutrients of any source on the planet.

What makes Mila different from your basic, run-of-the mill chia seed? I really can't say. (Sorry, Bitt)

What I can talk about is what the information I have read from the company and I can share a bit of my own personal experience with the product.

To start off, I believe chia seeds (no matter the brand) promote weight loss and overall health. And I have enjoyed using it in my recipes. Yeah, chia!

What makes Mila...well...Mila?

Well it's a berry world and I'm just living in it. Remember to give the cream a chance to get chilly in the refrigerator, it makes the process of stuffing much easier. I hope you enjoy the theme that's developing, if you haven't already guessed, the rest of the week will have recipes containing berries.
COCONUT CREAMMeat from 2 young coconuts (about 1 cup)1 T coconut oil, soften at room temperature (not liquid) 5 T water 1/8 t sea salt
In a blender, whip coconut meat, coconut oil and sea salt. Gradually add water until a creamy consistency is achieved. Add more or less as needed. Place in refrigerator for an hour to firm up.
1 pint strawberries, cleaned
1 cup dried coconut flakesRemove stems from strawberries and stand upright on flat side. Make a deep "X" from the tip of the strawberries towards the bottom.
Place coconut cream into a piping bag with a tip. Pipe into each strawberry and arrange on a serving platter. Garnish with dried coconut flakes.

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.

You can’t get any simpler than Jameth and Kim’s Original Flax Crackers, p. 168.
One cup of flax seeds and 1 ½ cups water. There you go, that’s it.
Of course there’s the customary soaking of the seeds, using purified water and the dehydrating at 110 degrees for a day or two. Surely a small price to pay for a cracker filled with Omega-3 fatty acids.

The recipe is a basic flax cracker recipe. A great jumping off place to make your own creations, playing with spices and seasonings.

One of my favorites is raisin flax crackers, you don’t get a crispy cracker with raisins but I love chewy-ness of it.
What about you? What’s your favorite flavor flax cracker?

Recipe #46 of the Complete Book of Raw Food Endeavor. Loveliest Live Almond Hummus by Michal Adi, p. 275. I served this hummus with a simple cucumber, tomato and parsley salad.

February is coming to a close in a few days and I have to make the decision if I will do the NaBloPoMo again for March. I have my own ideas on it but I would like to open it for discussion with you. So what do you think? To daily blog or not? Leave a comment or answer the poll at the top left.

Fridays seem to be “Man on the Raw's Craft Corner” or something of the sorts. Here is a bookshelf he built for me so my favorite books and magazines can come off the floor next to my nightstand and have a home higher up on the totem pole. He’s so sweet.
Kind of like Michal Adi’s Pistachio Halvah recipe on page 295.

Man on the Raw found it sweet and tasty. It was a breeze to create in the food processor.

Don’t worry that the halvah crumbles a bit every time you cut into it, it is normal.

The primary ingredients for this raw version of Halvah are tahini, honey and shelled pistachios. Add a bit of vanilla extract and you have a delicious Middle Eastern dessert.

Today’s Cream of Shiitake Soup will be accompanied with a tale of break-ups.

My first major break-up, that I recall, was a silly little man-boy by the name of Fulton J. He had these striking, chocolate eyes that mesmerized. They gazed into mine and held tight, giving me the illusion that I was the only thing he saw.
On later recollections, his glare really resembled someone who smoked way too much ganja. None the less, he (and his eyes) were as smooth and charismatic as a 15-year old could be in bible camp.
That‘s where I chased him like an eager puppy. He loved the attention and he played with me, as long as I didn’t piss on his new penny loafers (to mark my territory, mind you) or until a new b**** came into the mix. Whichever came first.
To make long stories, shorter and to prevent opening old wounds, it was nearly 10 years of hooking up with Fulton J. and being tossed aside by him that I finally wised up and got him out of my system for good.
I never want to have anything to do with him, ever. He broke my heart.

During that time, my best friend Monique was there to pick up the pieces.
Monique and I met during 5th grade at Amesse Elementary School in Denver. I said something that made her feel bad to which she immediately set me straight. She told me if we were going to be friends I couldn’t be mean to her. I apologized and we have been best friends ever since.

I loved Monique like a sister, that‘s how close we were. If it ever possible for two only children to break free from that “me only” habit and love another as a sibling. But that‘s how I loved her.

Monique has been there for me through thick and thin and she has always been my cheerleader. She has loved me even when I couldn’t find the strength to love myself.
I, for her, have given her positive and happy-go-lucky inspiration. I tried to remain upbeat and
optimistic when she refused to. And I, at times, provided the voice of reason.

Unfortunately, I had to listened to her same issues surface again and again with a supportive stance. By supportive, I mean without comment that would set her into attack mode. She had endowed with me with a the gift of holding my tongue.
Enter juice feasting. I am cruising along, detoxing crap, purging old habits, getting out everything that's on my mind that would be beneficial for me. Not a good thing if your best friend is Monique.
Again making that long story, short.On Wednesday, February 10, 2010, when she mentioned taking a break from the friendship, I thought it a bit harsh that many, many years of friendship could be tossed aside with such ease.

Monique stated that since I said something that made her feel bad she thought it best we end our relationship.

This time around, I did not apologize. After several man-boys, birth of 7 children between us, tragic deaths, ups, downs and whatnots... after 30 years of friendship, Monique has broken up with me.
I want to get her out of my system for good. I never want to have anything to do with her, ever. She has shattered my heart. On to soup. Cream of Shiitake Soup to be exact. This particular soup really has nothing to do with the story. Well, except this is the first day I hadn’t got that sinking feeling in my stomach from thinking of her. That alone is a reason to celebrate with a soup.This soup started out as Shazzie’s (p. 97) until I realized I didn’t have half the ingredients required for completion. I guess coming out of the fog that break-ups provide, I missed a few steps.
No worries, I promise I am okay. After twice-a-day Bikram sessions and running endless miles on the treadmill, I feel better than yesterday and twice as good as the day before. And so is this soup.
Although, Man on the Raw, didn’t enjoy it. I was surprised that he didn’t, it smelled amazing to me, very rich. But when he reacted so negative about it, I couldn’t resist I had the tiniest bit of a taste of the broth (I know, I know the juice feast). I thought it had a nice earthy taste to it. A statement in which Man on the Raw proclaimed, “Earthy?!? More like dirt.” Well, you my dear readers will have to be the deciding vote. Try it and tell me if you taste “earthy” or “dirt”. Just remember, I'm the one going through a break-up.

Cream of Shiitake Soup
2 cups fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
4 tablespoons Nama Shoyu
2 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups almond milk
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons parsley leaves
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon sea salt
Red pepper flakes
Parsley
Slice 1 cup of mushrooms and place in a bowl. Finely dice the remaining 1 cup of mushrooms and place in a second bowl.
Add 2 tablespoon Nama Shoyu and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to each bowl. Toss to coat. Marinate mushrooms for 1 hour.
Combine the sliced mushrooms, almond milk, red onion, parsley leaves, garlic and sea salt in a blender. Puree until smooth and creamy.
Transfer to a bowl and add the diced mushrooms to the soup. Garnish with red pepper flakes and parsley, to taste.
Recipe #42 of the Complete Book of Raw Food Endeavor - Shazzie's Cream of Shiitake Soup, p. 97
Recipe #43 of the Complete Book of Raw Food Endeavor — Shazzie's Almond Milk, p. 184

Here are the ingredients I used to create my recipes for The Daily Raw Blog Recipe Challenge

1. Red Grapes
2. Cashews
3. Almonds
4. Garlic
5. Red Pepper
6. Lemon 7. Tomatoes

Focaccia with Grapes
Yield: 12 slices

2 cups flax seeds, ground into flour
1 cup almonds, ground into flour
¼ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 teaspoons agave nectar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon chopped onions
2 tablespoons Italian seasonings
2 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 cup red grapes, sliced

1 Combine flax and almond flours in a large bowl. Add olive oil, agave nectar, garlic, onion, rosemary and sea salt. Mix well.

2 Fold in grapes.

3 Spread Focaccia dough on two Teflex-sheets, making them about 1/4-inch thick. Drizzle with olive oil. Place in dehydrator at 140 degrees for 4-6 hours or until Focaccia is dry on the top.

4 Flip over and remove Teflex sheets. With a pizza cutter, score the Focaccia into six large rectangles. You should have 12 slices of Focaccia bread. Drizzle with olive oil. Dehydrate at 110 degrees for an additional 8-12 hours or until the Focaccia is dry and semi-hard on the outside but soft and somewhat moist on the inside.

The Daily Raw Blog Kitchen Tip: From time to time I use a thermometer to check the temperature of the foods I dehydrate. Particularly when I raise the temperature of the dehydrator. I just like to make sure the temperature of my food doesn't rise also.

My 1, 2 and 8-year old children are used to mom's raw food creations. For better or worse, they have acquired a taste for fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Kevin, my 14 year-old stepson is the new kid on the block and has come from a bag-of-candy-a-day habit.
Now, when I create dishes, he is the gauge I use to determine if my recipes are up to par. I am pleased to say that he has asked me to make this recipe twice since it's conception.

Red Pepper Aioli
1 cup cashews, soaked for an hour
¼ cup water
2 garlic cloves, minced
juice one one lemon
½ red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons sea salt

1 Combine cashews, water, lemon juice and garlic in a blender. Blend until cashew becomes a thick, smooth mayonnaise. Add more water one tablespoon at a time until you cashews break down and you achieve desired consistency.

2 Add in the red peppers, olive oil and sea salt. Briefly process until peppers are smooth.
3 Serve with bread, cucumbers, mushrooms and tomatoes.

It's not too late to submit a recipe for February's challenge. Next week, I'll post the recipe for Radicchio and Fennel Coleslaw.

In 2007 I posted a recipe for this chocolate pudding that featured my two youngest children.
This is one of the things I love about blogging.

I wanted to share how talented and creative Man on the Raw is. Here are a few things he has created over the last week or so.

A Git-Fiddle out of a cigar box. It‘s very intricate, the neck is made from wood with inlay made from peach wood . He also made an amp from a thrift-store tin and a speaker from one of the kids’ broken toys. The amazing thing is that the fiddle plays and the amp and speaker work. It’s amazing what you can do with scraps. Wicked.

His Valentine’s Day gift to me was a fruit and vegetable sculpture which I immediately juiced. Very nice. To top it off he bought me a sugar cane to chew on.

In return I made him a chopped salad with Matt Amsden’s Sweet Basil Oil Salad Dressing (p. 88).

Salad

Scott's chocolate sesame balls
Kimchee

Carrots and Dip

Salad

Gary's Suishi

Grapes

Apples and Walnuts

Purple Cabbage and Onions

Gary enjoying the Radicchio and Fennel Coleslaw

Here are some photos from last night's The Aurora Living and Raw Food Cafe hosted by the lovely Gina. My contribution was Radicchio and Fennel Coleslaw. I used some ingredients from the Daily Raw Recipe Challenge. I will post the recipe some time this week. This month's challenge is almost over. March 1 will bring a new ingredient list.

My mother asked me to write something to help my Aunt Gigi get on a path of healthier eating. And although I would be the first to say “Go Raw” I realize saying it is much easier than doing it.

If I can offer Aunt Gigi a smoothie or salad recipe here or there, she could take baby steps into more greener pastures.

But first I should remind her of the reasons why incorporating more fruits and green leafy vegetables into her meals (and less of the processed, dead crap) is beneficial to her health. Also, exercise is a must with our family history. You feeling me?

So here are the Top Five Reasons you, Aunt Gigi should eat healthier.

5. You gain a tremendous amount of energy to continue to stay out all night dancing.

4. You feel good. Just ask the man who was rubbing up against you on the dance floor.

3. You become positive and happy without doing major drugs.

2. Your mind becomes sharp and alert, so when you get pulled over, you can think of something clever to tell the police officer.

1. You live longer. I’ve got a few bucks on you outlasting mom, do me proud.

Love you both,
Terilynn

Recipe #39 of the Complete Book of Raw Food Endeavor is Rhio’s Marinated Collard Ribbons (p. 65).
Now this is a risky recipe for Aunt Gigi to try because I don’t think any woman in our family, excluding myself, has ever eaten collards raw.
I believe that there is a family law, punishable by death, which states collards (or mustards, or turnips) greens must be cooked a minimum of 8 hours or until the paint wears from the walls, whichever happens first.
Trust me Aunt Gigi, these marinated collards are delicious and you will enjoy.
　Spicy Marinated Collardsadapted from Rhio's recipe
1 bunch collard greens, stems removed, cut into thin strips (Chiffonade)2 tablespoons olive oilJuice of one lemon2 teaspoons sea salt1/4 teaspoon cayenne peppera pinch of red pepper flakes
In a large bowl, combine collard strips, olive oil, lemon, sea salt, cayenne and red pepper flakes.
Massage the collards with your hands. Cover the bowl and let set at room temperature for 1-2 hours.

Spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate (recipe included)
I wish you a very sweet and tasty Valentine's day. Here are a few dishes to kick start your day. Happy Valentine's!

A Blended Salad is a mixture of raw, leafy greens and other foods blended together to create a smooth, creamy consistency. Eating a salad prepared in this manner is quick, convenient and increases absorption of important nutrients.

Recipe #37 of the Complete Book of Raw Food Endeavor.

This is a pretty standard recipe and the beauty of the salad is you can add your favorite vegetables to eat.

Blended Salad by Paul Nison, p. 93
1 handful leafy greens (lettuce and spinach work best)
1/2 cucumber
1 stalk celery
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 handful sunflower sprouts (optional)
1/2 red pepper (optional)
1 avocado
1 teaspoon flaxseed oil (optional)
1 tomato

Blend all ingredients and serve.

Asparagus
Select — Spears with a vibrant color and no bruises or blemishes. The buds at the tip should be tightly close. Peak Season: March to May

Store — Remove any bands that bind the spears together and put the bases of the steams in a jar filled with 2” of water. Change the water daily to keep asparagus fresh longer. Refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Trim — Hold one end of the asparagus spear in each hand and bend the stalk. It will naturally break at the point where it is tough.　

Recipe #35 and #36 of "the Complete Book of Raw Food" Endeavor

Asparagus Avocado Salad by Rita Romano, p. 54
Honey Mustard Dressing with Poppy Seeds by Elaina Love, p. 85

This refreshing salad combines the crispiness of asparagus with creamy avocado and tangy grapefruit.

Thursday was a full day. I went to not one Bikram Yoga class but two, plus played basketball with Man on the Raw and our 10-year-old Donavan. The juice feast has given me an excess of energy and I'm taking full advantage of it. Dave Klein's Ginger Ale, (p. 146) was a good, energizing drink to get me through my busy day.

The beautiful Wendi Dee from Pure Jeeven has kicked off February's Daily Raw Blog recipe challenge with "Easy To Swallow Veggie Soup," a delicious-looking vegetable soup. For the recipe visit here. Thank you very much Wendi Dee for submitting your soup, you are truly rawsome. To everyone else keep it coming! For the details of the Daily Raw Blog recipe challenge visit here.

Other blog news. I have passed along my Creative Blogger Award to Paulina of Veggie Delight. She is our future in raw and vegan cuisine and I wanted to acknowledge the talent that this 16-year-old possesses. Keep up the great work Paulina!

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.

To commemorate Day 40 of My Juice Feast please enjoy a few Shazzie drinks.
Cabbage and Carrot Juice, by Shazzie, p. 140 — pretty basic, tasted more like carrots than cabbage, which is a good thing when drinking cabbage.
Brutus is Scared, by Shazzie, p. 139. I drank gallons of this juice all last week before I realized there was an actual recipe in the book. (no photo available)

Coconut Drink, by Shazzie, p. 142. Tastes a bit like an Orange Julius without the sweetness.
Hopping Wild, by Shazzie, p. 148.

Take Shazzie's advice and work your way up the wild green ladder. Dandelions (my green of choice) are bitter and 10-20 leaves overpower the drink. And a bit of ramblings at Inspiration:Life.