Raw Food Recipes:
shazzie

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

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.

Today’s recipe started out as Shazzie’s Guacamole (p. 274) but spiraled into our own creation. I’m sure we aren’t doing anything new and spectacular with this recipe but it’s ours all the same. Or shall I say it belongs to Avery. She kind of took over the kitchen when avocados entered the picture. She should be called Baby Avocado, she eats them with a passion. Just takes a spoon and scoops the sweet flesh from its shell. She was very insistent when it came to preparing this recipe.

Guacamole
4 Hass Avocados, halved, pitted
2 tomatoes, seeded, chopped
1 red chile pepper, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped*
2 garlic cloves, minced
Juice of two limes
1 ½ teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste

Scoop the flesh from the avocado halves into a large bowl, add the tomatoes, pepper, garlic, lime juice and sea salt. Smash all the ingredients together with a potato masher until you get a smooth, yet slightly chunky consistency.

*If a guacamole with more heat is what you seek, add the chile’s seeds to the mix.

Note: If the mood strikes you, add a handful of cilantro leaves and a tablespoon or two of chopped white onion . We were out, but I know for a fact they are welcome additions.

Today was all about finding lost friends, connecting with relatives and re-discovering old recipes.

Can you tell I spent the entire day on Facebook?

I had the pleasure of spending time in Facebook chat with my cousin’s wife Michelle. She and I never really spoke at any great length, and I’m afraid the 15 minutes of “chatting” on the computer is the longest time we have conversed.

There was a time she hosted the Fourth of July and I brought ingredients for a salad and she very kindly let me have her kitchen. I remember the conversation was mostly about the food. Small talk, you know. There might have been mention of lack of a good cutting knives or blender or something of the sort. Through it all she remained wonderfully gracious.
Even while I typed, I pictured her warm, friendly smile and how her eyes squint a bit when she was really tickled. She is a lady I would like to get to know better.

Angela, Angela, Angela. What can I say about Angela? The fact that she’s drop-dead gorgeous comes to mind. But why don’t I share the first time I realized she was my best friend.

You know how you are friends with someone and you have fun together, you hang out all the time and share secrets, but, you don’t really know if it’s truly friendship or acquaintances.

Maybe if you are lucky, you settle into a routine and one day someone introduces you as "my friend so-and-so." But most of the time you just don’t know. The dear that Angela is, spared me of that whole guessing game. One day after a day of not doing too much, she handed me a little red envelope and told me to open it later when I was alone. Long-story-short, inside the little red envelope was a little white card with the world’s best penmanship stating the most beautiful words of friendship that a person could write to another. That was about 12-13 years ago and I still have the card. Somewhere, tucked away in a box of my treasured documents. Thank you Angela for today’s lengthy conversation and for being my friend.

In the midst of Facebook and phone conversations,

I prepared two recipes that were one of the first ones made when I purchased The Complete Book of Raw Food several years back. So in honor of Angela, I give you dishes that are tried-and-true and they can never do you wrong, Almond Milk and the Best Ever Almond Nut Pate.

Both are no-brainers. They are simple to make, provided you have soaked almonds handy, and the nut pate is very flavorful.

And for Michelle, a recipe that I’ve never discovered before, will call upon again and again and was a much needed breathe of fresh air, The Sunrise.

Recipes 18, 19, 20 of the Complete Book of Raw Food Endeavor

Almond Milk, by Elaina Love, p. 182
Best Ever Almond Nut Pate, by Rose Lee Calabro, p. 249
Sunrise, by Shazzie, p. 154

Recipe #16,

Whip the Mister by Shazzie, p. 327

Dear Shazzie,

My son, Bishop, loved your delicious banana ice cream. And I appreciated the fact that it was super easy to prepare; just throw frozen bananas into a food processor to create a creamy dream of a dessert. Also, thank you for the pointer about topping the sweet treat with nuts, carob powder or soft fruit. I choose chopped walnuts. I do wish you would have given me fair warning about the importance of eating this dish immediately, it was a soggy mess after 15 minutes or so out of the freezer. I just have one tiny, itty, bitty question. What does “Whip the Mister” mean?

Sincerely,

Terilynn

Banana Bites by Shazzie, p. 193

Gotta love it. Banana, walnut and raisin. Sweet and simple. And they are just so darn cute.
What’s your favorite sweet and simple treat?

Carrot and Cilantro Dip by Shazzie, p. 271

I give you permission. You have my permission to use a bit of sea salt on all the recipes in The Complete Book of Raw Food that doesn’t have it listed.

Salt, (in this case) sea salt, is our friend. It enhances and brings out the flavors within the dish.

It is puzzling to me how many recipes in the book do not include some form of salt.
Although the cilantro in this dip provides a bit of the salty taste I seek, it’s not enough to carry the dish. It was only after I added a pinch or so of sea salt the flavors sang and danced.

If you are not in too much of a rush to try the dip, I would suggest making it and let it hang out in the refrigerator overnight. The flavors and fragrances, particularly the cilantro and onions, became more prominent. Your taste buds will thank you.

I used my Vita-Mix to combine the ingredients, but because of the carrots, you get more of a chunky consistency rather than creamy, or the texture could have been my lack of the hand blender it suggested using. I’m willing to bet it was the carrots.

Anyhoo, overall this dish was delish and please don’t forget to pass the salt.

1.One thing the world doesn’t know about me is over 20 years ago I used to do kissograms and dress up as cartoon characters for a living to support my college studies. I guess in one way or another I've always been a performer!

2. A perfect day is waking up with future Mr. Amazing and Evie, playing together, doing yoga, drinking tea with friends, gardening, sunbathing, eating from the garden, swimming naked, kissing, planning, loving, massage, dreaming, laughing, getting messy, giving thanks, eating superfood chocolate by the woodburner, falling asleep in future Mr. Amazing's arms, with my daughter in my lap.

3. My motto is “We are all Visionaries In Paradise.”

4. I can't choose just one [superfood], that's not fair! In volume: hemp and chia seeds, for sprinkling: blue manna, for taste: chocolate, for being a woman: maca and brazilian ginseng. OK, I love them all, I really do!

5. I am reading "Muses," "Blink," "The Melatonin Miracle" and "The Prophet." My brain likes all its compartments to feel the love so I can't just read one book at a time.

6. The most beautiful place on earth is our hearts.

7. My hidden talents aren’t too hidden if you've seen my yoga video on YouTube! I am hyperflexible so can put my legs behind my head, lick my elbows and write with my feet.

8. Oh, do you know, I have a whole list of people that I would share [raw] dinner with. In there, there's John Lennon, Peace Pilgrim, Hulda Clark, loads. Let me try to narrow it down to three...
1) Adam, one last supper with him would be amazing. Oh, that's made me cry! I'd try to convince him to stay and he wouldn't be able to because his destiny was written differently.
2) Russell Brand but before he was in love with Katy Perry so we could have a ridicularse time with a durian.
3) Buddha. I would feed him lots of onions and garlic and he'd just quietly observe his brainwaves going weird but not be attached to it.

9. If I were to be remembered for one thing, it would be "Shazzie loved and laughed with all her heart"

10. My favorite invention is the transportation device. Anyone who has one they no longer need, please send it to me right now!

Author and raw foodist Shazzie is CEO of of Rawcreation Ltd and owner of the wildly popular site Shazzie.com. She works a maximum of ten hours a week, using the rest of her time to play, laugh, love and be.