Raw Food Recipes:
spread

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.

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.

Tuna Salad Pate served with Herb Essene bread
Tuna fish sandwiches were a staple in my childhood. This recipe is actually my mom's minus the tuna and other elements (I believe she used white onion, eggs and Miracle Whip and of course no dulse flakes). No disrespect to mom's, but I like my raw version better, sorry mommy.

Tuna Salad Pate

2 cup sunflower seeds, soaked for two hours
1 tablespoon dulse flakes
juice of one half lemon
2 tablespoons dill pickle juice
½ cup diced celery
¼ cup diced red onion
½ dill pickle, finely diced
½ teaspoon sea salt

1 In a food processor, combine sunflower seeds, dulse flakes, lemon and pickle juice. Process until seeds are a pate consistency. Transfer to a large bowl.

2 Fold in celery, red onion and diced pickle. Sprinkle in the sea salt.

Serves 2-4

One of my favorite things to eat is collard green wraps with Sun-dried tomato spread, cucumbers, sprouts and avocado. Cucumber Bird's Nest is a variation of that. I wanted to make it an appetizer because that's what I'm in to right now.
1/2 cucumber, sliced into 1/4-in, it should be about 18 slices1 avocado, dicedclover sprouts
SUN-DRIED TOMATO SPREAD (1-1/2 c)1/2 c sun-dried tomatoes, soaked, reserve water2 garlic cloves, minced1 small tomato, remove seeds, diced1 date, pitted and soaked1 T apple cider vinegar1 T olive oil1 T Italian seasoning
Combine all ingredients, except sun-dried tomatoes in a food processor. Add sun-dried tomatoes last, along with reserved water to create a thick mixture.
To assemble, spread sun-dried tomato mixture spread on top of cucumber slices. Arrange a small stack of sprouts and then 2-3 pieces of avocado on the tomato mixture.

Since completing 80 days on my latest juice feast, uncooking my way through The Complete Book of Raw (on most days) has lost its luster. There are still a good handful of recipes I am eager to try but in the coming weeks I will be sharing my own recipes.

I also want to open the playing field to other raw cookbooks. The Complete Book of Raw Food Endeavor will continue but at a slower pace than anticipated. There isn‘t really a rush anyway. I’m not going anywhere, are you?

My grey hairs are making cameos around the hairline. I read somewhere that black sesame seeds were good for keeping dark, luxurious hair. It could be an old folklore but if I believe it will work than it will, regardless. I mean, a belief is simply a thought you keep thinking, right?

Sesame seeds are rich in minerals such as calcium, zinc and manganese. They also contain useful quantities of some B group vitamins including thiamin and B6 and are a useful source of vegetable protein.

Black Tahini *
This Homemade Tahini recipe is the first in a 3-part series featuring black sesame seeds.

Makes approximately 2-2 ½ cups

2 cups black sesame seeds
½ cup cold-pressed sesame or olive oil, or more if needed

Process sesame seeds in a food processor or high-speed blender until seeds turn to a powder. Drizzle in the olive oil while the machine runs.

Pulse for 3-5 minutes, stopping, from time-to-time, to clean the sides with a spatula.

Continue to pulse until it's as smooth as you can get it, add a little more olive oil if necessary. It will be the consistency of a grainy paste. Transfer the tahini to a Mason jar with a lid. Refrigerate.

Fair-warning #1: If you are seeking a smooth, silky consistency you can find it here. The texture of this home-made tahini is slightly coarser than store-bought tahini, but it has the same delicious flavor.

Fair warning #2: If you love this recipe, double the recipe next time. As you will find with the first time around this process is very, very hot, sticky messy, so expect a fair amount of clean-up of the appliance of choice.

How about a raw chocolate giveaway to go with your tahini?
The folks of Snubbr.com, has graciously sponsored a giveaway of raw chocolates. In addition, Snubbr.com will donate $20 in the name of the winner towards a charity that is helping to bring fresh water to Haiti. You can find their charity page here.

Snubbr.com is a buying advice site. Suppose you're looking to buy a juicer, head over to Snubbr.com, ask their experts, and they will choose the best one for you.

Here's how you can win YOUR CHOICE of raw chocolate:

Go HERE and tell me, in the comment section below, which chocolate you would like to win.

For more chances to win leave a comment for each thing you do:

1. Tweet this giveaway on Twitter

2. Post a link to this post on your blog

3. Follow @snubbr on Twitter

4. Tell someone they are "sweet like raw chocolate" and let me know who it was.
The contest will end Monday night, April 19th at 11:59 p.m. (EST)is CLOSED. I'll enter the numbers in the handy-dandy True Random Number Generator and announce the winner on the Daily Raw Café, Tuesday, April 20th.

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