Raw Food Recipes [Search results for tomato] 

The folks at Serious Eats has declared October 18TH "National Meatloaf Appreciation Day" and to celebrate they have invited all to submit their favorite meatloaf recipe. I love a challenge. So, I created this delicious nut-based meatloaf with spinach and tangy sun-dried tomato ketchup to show, you can have comfort food and still eat raw.

I'm really proud of this dish because it helped me conquer a fear of mine. I can be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to just about everything I do. Often I try to reach for the stars, falling short alot, but I keep reaching. I'm not perfect. I know shocker, huh?

I want my recipes to look good but more importantly, I want them to taste off the hook. I was fearful that this dish would make me fall short and it wouldn't turn out the way I like. Yes, I realize if it turns out wrong, start over and do it again. Which I have, BUT THIS dish is special. :)

Anywho, I snapped out of that perfectionist mind-set real quick when I remembered this recipe isn't any different than my others.

Although it's not listed, but my love of raw food is the first ingredient in every single one of my recipes. My heart has a hand in the preparation of every raw meal I create and so I'm guaranteed a tasty dish.

I was right, this dish taste darn good, if I say so myself. And like the cooked version, it was delish the next morning.

On today's menu:Spinach-Stuffed MeatloafLemon Green BeansHoney-Glazed Carrots
SPINACH-STUFFED MEATLOAF

*2 cup walnuts, soaked for 4-6 hours
1 cup almonds, soaked for 4-6 hours
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked until soft, reserved 1 cup water
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 cups fresh spinach, washed and stemmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of one half lemon
2 teaspoon sea salt, divided
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup SUN-DRIED TOMATO KETCHUP (recipe follows)

1 Place spinach, olive oil, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon sea salt Ziploc bag and marinate for 1 hour.
2 In a food processor, combine walnuts, almonds, sun-dried tomatoes, 1/2 cup reserved tomato water, parsley, onion, garlic and celery. Add the remaining 1/2 cup water one tablespoon at a time to moisten the meat loaf. Be careful not to over moisten.
3 Place meatloaf mixture in a large bowl. Add poultry seasoning, pepper and 1 teaspoon sea salt. Mix well.
4 Spread meatloaf mixture on a Teflex sheet into a shape into a rectangle 3x9-inches . Place spinach mixture on top. Roll up the rectangle carefully, beginning at the short side and using the sheet to lift.

5 Transfer loaf to a second Teflex sheet. You should have enough meat to create three mini loaves.

6 Cover with sun-dried tomato ketchup. Place in dehydrator at 115 degrees for an hour.
7 Make 1 inch slices of meat and arrange on the Teflex.
8 Dehydrate at 115 degrees for an hour. Turn over slices, spread sun-dried tomato ketchup and dehydrate an additional hour.
*Please Note: In the bottom left corner of the ingredient photo is ground brown flax flour. In the preparation of the recipe I found I didn't need it.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO KETCHUP
1 cup sun-dried tomato, soaked, 1/4 c reserved water
1/4 cup raisins, soaked
1 T Italian Seasonings
1/4 tablespoon chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
Combine ingredients in a blender until mixture is slightly smooth, yet chunky.

HONEY-GLAZED CARROTS
4 cups baby carrots
2 tablespoons honey
Juice of one half lemon
Dash of sea salt

1 In a small bowl, put honey and salt. Squeeze in lime juice. Whisk ingredients together.
2 Slice the carrots very thin, put them in the honey mixture. Let marinate at least an hour.

Servings: 4

LEMON GREEN BEANS
2 cups green beans, cleaned
Juice of one half small lemon
Lemon zest
1 tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon sea saltDash crushed red pepper

1 Cut green beans in bite-size pieces.
2 Place the beans in a plastic container or Ziploc bag. Put lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt, zest and red pepper flakes in the bag. Let marinate for at least an hour or longer.

Servings: 4 To take nostalgia to the max, serve the meatloaf with Smashed "Potatoes" and Chives.

I always laugh whenever I make a tomato sauce. I can't get out of my head the bright red color of a cooked tomato sauce. But please don't let the color distract you from the flavorful, living sauce. It is worth a try. Oh, and add a few more red pepper flakes than needed, it's okay.

Garden Vegetable Linguine with Spicy Tomato Sauce

Linguine
1 zucchini, spiralized
1 large carrot, spiralized
1 yellow squash, spiralized
½ tablespoon Italian Seasonings
1 teaspoon sea salt

Place vegetable linguine in a large serving bowl. Sprinkle with seasonings and sea salt. Set aside.

Spicy Tomato Sauce
8 Roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 red bell pepper, seeded, coarsely chopped
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves only, reserve a few for garnish
½ red onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sea salt

Combine ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth and silky. Pour sauce over vegetable linguine. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and parsley. Gently toss to coat. Serves 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.

My goal for The Daily Raw is to publish my original recipes without many repeats. From time to time I will posts my Keep It Simple Snack. These are recipes of various recipes (that I have blogged) that are used together in a different way.
It's a way to show that as long as you have the items in the fridge you can whip up something in five minutes or less. SAL (Sprouts, Avocado and Lettuce) Sandwich
2 slices sun-dried tomato bread1 T sun-dried tomato spread1 small lettuce leaf1 small bunch of clover sprouts1/4 avocado, cut into slices
Smear the sun-dried tomato spread on the bread. Top with lettuce, sprouts and avocado. Put other slice on top and voila!
Serve with Sweet Potato Couscous with Apricots.
Take a peek at the directory to the left for the recipes of the sun-dried tomato spread, sun-dried tomato bread and Sweet Potato Couscous.

For the next few months (or year?) The Daily Raw Blog will work its way through the 350 plus recipes in “The Complete Book of Raw Food” edited by Lori Baird and Julie Rodwell.

Modifications: Did you notice I was changing some of the recipes? Well, that's going to happen. I'm not a purist as far as this endeavor goes, and there will be some changes based on lack of ingredients, equipment, ambition, etc. I will let you know what I did or didn't do. No biggie.

Recipes. Have you bought the book yet? If not, I don't blame you. I'm not hating, I'm broke, too (but I'm going to win the Powerball any day now).

The recipes posted will be my versions of the original recipe or if the recipe is really, really good and I will forget about copyrights for a moment.

If not...

Here are some suggestions for if you want the recipes I don't print:

#1 go to the page number in the book (if you have it)

#2 try the link of the creator of the recipe. They might have it on their website.

#3 Google it

If you still can't find it or just too lazy to do the above mentioned (don't worry, I ain't mad at you), shoot me an email (yahoo.com) and I'll type it and send it to you. On the downlow, of course. Shh.

But don't get carried away. Believe it or not I do have a life away from the computer. Okay that was a total lie, I'm constantly on the computer.

But I have to make an appearance in front of the kids or they get worried how their going to be fed. This little challenge of mine is to have fun. I'm having a total ball doing it and I hope you enjoy reading about it.

Anyhoo, I thank you bunches for reading my blog after my hiatus and I have it on good authority that I will be around for a very long time.

Terilynn

Recipes from the Complete Book of Raw Food.

1. Rejuvelac, p. 9
2. Applenut Salad, 54
3. Asparagus Avocado Salad, 54
4. Broccoli & Carrot “Noodle” Salad, 55
5. Cabbage Salad, 55
6. Caesar Salad, 56
7. Chakra Salad, 57
8. Citrus, Avocado and Mango Salad, 58
9. Cocochina Salad, 59
10. Cucumber Crunch, 59
11. Dulse Sprout Salad, 60
12. Easy Kim Chee Salad, 60
13. Fast Avocado Salad, 61
14. Kale Mixed Green Salad, 62
15. Karyn’s Tomato and Pea Salad, 63
16. Lentil Salad, 63
17. Marinated Baby Bok Choy Salad, 64
18. Marinated Collard Ribbons, 65
19. Nature’s First Slaw, 66
20. “No” Egg Salad Spread, 67
21. Orange Spinach Salad, 67
22. Quinoa Tabouli, 68
23. Rainbow Veggie Slaw, 69
24. Red-Hot-Pepper-Powerman’s Tasmania Tandoori Cucumber Salad, 70
25. Simple & Saucy Cucumber-Coconut Salad, 71
26. Spinach Hiziki Salad, 71
27. Summer Salad, 72
28. Superfood Tabouli, 73
29. Thai Cucumber Seaweed Salad, 73
30. Thai Salad, 74
31. Trio of Shaved Cabbages with Sweet Sesame vinaigrette, 75
32. Wakame Escarole Salad, 76
33. Weird Salad, 76
34. Wild Rice Salad, 77
35. Winter Salad, 77
36. Yammy Sea Salad, 78
37. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Waldorf Salad, 79
38. Almond Dressing, 80
39. Asian Dressing, 80
40. Creamy Cumin Salad Dressing, 81
41. Creamy Italian Dressing, 82
42. Creamy Mac Ranch Dressing, 82
43. Dragon’s Dressing, 83
44. Green Onion Dressing, 83
45. High Vibe Dressing, 84
46. Hiziki Salad Dressing, 84
47. Honey Mustard Dressing with Poppy Seeds, 85
48. Indian Mango Curry Dressing, 85
49. Oil-Free Dressing, 86
50. Pineapple Anise Dressing, 86
51. Premier French Dressing, 87
52. Robert’s Hemp Lemon Caesar Dressing, 87
53. Sweet Basil Oil Salad Dressing, 88
54. Tahini Dressing, 88
55. Wild Live Undressing, 89
56. Abeba & Anna’s It’s Really Soup!, 91
57. African Spicy Sesame Soup, 92
58. Avo Soup, 92
59. Blended Salad, 93
60. Borscht, 94
61. Broccoli Soup, 94
62. Butternut Squash Soup, 95
63. Carrot/Orange/Pumpkin Soup, 95
64. Celery Chowder, 96
65. Cold Nectarine Dessert soup, 96
66. Creamy Bell Pepper soup, 97
67. Cream of Shiitake soup, 97
68. Fresh Corner Gazpacho, 98
69. Gazpacho, 99
70. Mango soup, 100
71. Mushroom Soup or Gravy, 100
72. Raspberry Cream Soup, 101
73. Raw Thai Lemon Coconut Soup, 101
74. Seaweed Chowder, 102
75. Squash and Kumquat soup, 102
76. Sweet China soup, 103
77. Sweet Potato soup, 104
78. Thai Coconut Curry soup, 104
79. Thai Soup, 105
80. Tomato Wild Rice soup with Rosemary Croutons, 106
81. Udon Noodle soup with Green Onion, 107
82. Vitality Soup, 108
83. Watercress Pear Soup, 108
84. Ants in a Canoe, 110
85. Ants on a Log, 110
86. Chili Pistachios, 111
87. Mustard-Ginger Pumpkin Seed Crunchies, 111
88. Olive Buckwheat Snacks, 112
89. Portobello Mushroom Marinated and Stuffed, 113
90. Spicy Almonds, 114
91. Spicy Party Mix, 115
92. Spicy Seed Mix, 116
93. Tasty Sea Snacks, 117
94. Watermelon Mountains, 118
95. Cheese Pierogi, 118
96. Crispy Spring Rolls, 119
97. Crunchy Fries with Ketchup, 120
98. Dolmades, 120
99. Eddie’s Spring Rolls, 121
100. Fresh Spring Rolls In Romaine Leaves, 122
101. Fried Mushrooms, 123
102. Marinated Veggies, 123
103. Mesquite Melts, 124
104. Onion Bhajis, 125
105. Pepper-Corn Boats, 126
106. Pesto Mushrooms, 126
107. Roasted Bell Pepper Cheese & Mushroom Risotto, 127
108. Romaine Roll-ups, 128
109. Sauerkraut, 128
110. Scrumptious Samosa, 130
111. Spring Rolls, 131
112. Spring Roll Wraps, 131
113. Sweet and Sour Neatballs, 132
114. Thai Cannelloni Bites with Pine Nut-Herb Pate, 133
115. Tomato Cocorella Appetizer, 134
116. Zucchini Cashew Sour Cream Treats, 134
117. Zucchini Satay with No-Peanut Sauce, 135
118. Banana Tahini Drink, 138
119. A Berry Delicious Drink, 138
120. Broccoli, Kale and Celery Juice, 139
121. Brutus is Scared, 139
122. Cabbage and Carrot Juice, 140
123. Captain’s Powerhouse, 140
124. Cardamom Cooler, 141
125. Chockie Milkshake, 141
126. Coconut Drink, 142
127. Cranberry Wine, 142
128. Cucumber Number, 143
129. Energized Smoothie, 143
130. Fractal Fortnight, 144
131. Frozen Cho-Shake, 144
132. FUN, 145
133. Ginger Ale, 146
134. “Give Me Greens!” Sweet Milkshake, 146
135. Grape-Celery Cooler, 147
136. Green Lemonade, 147
137. Heavenly Chai, 148
138. Hopping Wild, 148
139. Malted Vegetable Juice, 149
140. Mango Lassi, 150
141. Molotov Cocktail, 150
142. Morning Glory, 151
143. Pink Elephant, 151
144. Persimmon Nog, 152
145. Seaside Smoothie, 152
146. Spicy Pear, 153
147. Strawberry Patch, 153
148. Sunrise, 154
149. Sun Tea, 154
150. The Candy Floss Tart, 155
151. Vanilla and Sesame Shake, 155
152. Wake Up Ginger, 156
153. Wandering Monotrome, 156
154. Warm Apple Punch, 157
155. Almond Cinnamon Bread, 159
156. Apple Cinnamon Bread, 160
157. Corn Bread, 161
158. Garlic Rosemary Sourdough Bread, 162
159. Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Nut Loaf, 163
160. Zucchini Bread, 164
161. Almond Flax Crackers, 165
162. Buckflax Savory Crackers, 166
163. Corn Off the Cob Crackers, 167
164. Jameth and Kim’s Original Flax Crackers, 168
165. Corn Tortillas, 169
166. Flax and Corn Crackers, 170
167. “Pizza” Crackers, 171
168. Raw Tortillas, 172
169. Really Veggie Crackers, 173
170. Rosemary Croutons, 174
171. Rye Bread Sticks with Avocado Sauce, 175
172. Sweet Golden Crackers, 176
173. Abeba’s Corn Chips, 176
174. Barbecue Chips, 177
175. Curly Crisps, 178
176. Joe’s Chip Shop Chips, 178
177. Hemp Corn Chips, 179
178. Nut Chips, 180
179. Almond Milk, 182
180. Almond Cheese or Yogurt, 183
181. Almond, Hazel or Sunflower Milk, 184
182. Brazil Nut Mylk Magic, 184
183. Cashew Yogurt, 185
184. Green Hemp Milk, 186
185. Quickest Tahini Milk, 186
186. Chedda Sauce, 187
187. Cheddary Cheeze Spread, 188
188. Macadamia Cream, 189
189. Macadamia Nut Cream Cheese, 189
190. Mild Almcheddar cheese Crumbs, 190
191. Parmesan Cheese, 191
192. Banana Bites, 193
193. Granola, 193
194. Grawnola, 194
195. Maple Hemp Nut Bars, 195
196. Marvelous Muesli, 196
197. Pink Porridge, 197
198. Spiced Strawberry Granola Crunch, 197
199. Viktoras’ Secret Raw Horamola, 198
200. Vanilla Bean Porridge, 199
201. Double Stuffed Tomatoes, 200
202. Eggplant Pizza, 201
203. Italian Rawsage, 202
204. Italian-Style Zucchini Pasta Pesto, 202
205. Karie’s Lasagna, 203
206. Living Pizza, 204
207. Mock Spaghetti, 205
208. Raw-Violi, 205
209. Walnut Stuffed Peppers, 206
210. Youktoras Have a Heart Pizza, 207
211. Avocado Burritors, 208
212. Calabasa Relleno with Pico de Gallo, 209
213. Chili Rellenos, 210
214. Fajita Vegetables with Chili Pistachios, 211
215. Haiku Burritos, 211
216. Mexican Stuffed Peppers, 212
217. Soft Tacos, 213
218. Vegetable Paella, 214
219. Wild Mushroom Fajitas, 215
220. Beggin’ For Bangkok Broccoli Bombast Bonanza, 216
221. Chinese Wild Rice with Tender Vegetables, 217
222. Chow Mein Memory, 218
223. Curred Kofta Balls in Cashew Tomato Curry Sauce, 219
224. Easy Pad Thai, 220
225. Easy Sushi, 221
226. Herby Stir-Fry, 222
227. Roast Tofu with Satay Sauce, 223
228. Thai Wild Rice with Spring Vegetables, 224
229. Assorted Vegetables with Almond Chili Sauce and Bean Sprouts, 225
230. Broccoli with Chedda Sauce, 226
231. Broccoli with Red Pepper Dressing, 227
232. Coconut Rice, 228
233. Endive Cups with Ragout of Wild Mushrooms and Chili Tamarind Sauce, 229
234. Erie Ojibwa Rice, 230
235. Falafels, 230
236. Fig Stew, 231
237. Live Gardenburgers, 232
238. Lotus Manitok, 233
239. Miss Lill’s down Home Marinated Greens, 234
240. Neat Balls, 234
241. NutMeat, 235
242. Nutmeat Stroganoff, 235
243. Oh My Chili, 236
244. Pecan Almond Stuffed Mushrooms, 237
245. Raw Ratatouille, 238
246. Seeded Noodles, 238
247. Shiitake Croquettes with Puree of Yellow and Red Peppers, 239
248. Snappy Unfried Peask 240
249. Spinach and Potato Latkes, 241
250. Sun Garden Burgers, 242
251. Super Asparagus Wraps, 243
252. Super Broccoli Quiche, 243
253. Thai Crane’s Nest in Coconut Curry, 244
254. Toona, 245
255. Walnut Burgers, 246
256. What’s for dinner Loaf, 247
257. Best Ever Almond Nut Pate, 249
258. Carrocado Mash, 250
259. Carrot and Tomato Spread, 250
260. Heart Warmin’ Fruit Spread, 251
261. Honey Butter, 251
262. Horseradish, 252
263. It’s Not Really Mayonnaise, 253
264. Mediterranean Black Olive & Walnut Tapenade, 253
265. Miso Mayo, 254
266. Pico de Gallo, 254
267. Spicy Cilantro Chutney, 255
268. Sunny Dill Seed Spread, 255
269. Sunny Pate, 256
270. Sweet Mango Chutney, 258
271. Walnut Pate, 258
272. Already-Alive Atomic Really all Right Astounding Alfredo Sauce, 259
273. Better-Than-Fish Sauce, 260
274. Bon Apricot Sauce, 260
275. Date Syrup, 261
276. Eastern Kung-Foo Cashew Sauce, 261
277. Golden Applesauce, 262
278. Jalil’s Tomato Sauce, 263
279. Mushroom Gravy, 264
280. Plum Sauce, 264
281. Pad Thai and Thai Wild Rice Sauce, 265
282. Spicy Ginger Marinara, 266
283. Spinach Pesto, 267
284. Sweet Apricot Sauce, 267
285. Sweet Miso-Ginger Sauce, 268
286. Sweet and Sour Sauce, 268
287. Sweet and Spicy Chili Sauce, 269
288. Tomato Sauce, 270
289. White Sauce/Salad Dressing, 270
290. Carrot and Cilantro Dip, 271
291. Carrot-Corn Salsa, 272
292. Cucumber Raita, 272
293. Creamy Herb Dip, 273
294. Dahl, 273
295. Guacamole, 274
296. Loveliest Live Almond Hummus, 275
297. Papaya Macadamia Nut Salsa, 275
298. Pine Nut Sour Cream, 276
299. Ranch Dip or Dressing, 276
300. Raw Hummus, 277
301. Salsa Fresca, 278
302. Tahitian Almond Dipping Sauce, 278
303. Tomatillo Salsa, 279
304. Apple Raisin Cookies, 281
305. Blueberry Snow Cookies, 281
306. Carob-Cherry Thumbprint Cookies, 282
307. Chewy Apricot Cookies, 283
308. Fruity-Mint Patties, 284
309. Gooey Mint Cookies, 284
310. Haystacks, 285
311. Meltaway Peppermint Patties, 286
312. Pecan Sandies, 287
313. Sunflower Raisin Cookies, 288
314. Valya's Almond Orange Cookies, 288
315. Amazing Coconut Fudge, 289
316. Candied Pecans, 290
317. Carob Fudge Brownies, 291
318. Carob Nut Brownies, 292
319. Carob Walnut Fudge, 292
320. Cashew Date Frosting, 293
321. Christmas Balls, 293
322. Divine Truffles, 294
323. Pistachio Halvah, 295
324. Raw Candy, 295
325. Sergei’s Amazing Truffles, 296
326. Sesame Honey Crunch Bars, 296
327. Sweet (blue-green) Balls, 297
328. Vanilla Crème, 298
329. Raw Apple Pie, 300
330. Carob Mint Pie, 300
331. Coconut Cream Pie, 301
332. Coconut Lime Tarts, 302
333. Creamed Strawberry Pie, 303
334. Decadent Vanilla Carob Halva Pie, 304
335. De Lime Pie, 305
336. Fresh Strawberry Pie, 305
337. Mango Tart with Pecan Fig Crust and Rambutan Coulis, 306
338. Mud Pie, 307
339. Papaya Pie, 308
340. Carrot Cake, 309
341. Carrot Pineapple Shortcake with Mesquite Flour and Sweet Cashew Cream Cheese, 310
342. Celebrate the Good Times Cake, 311
343. Five-Minute Raw-Berry Shortcake, 312
344. Holiday Fruitcake, 313
345. Just Like Cheesecake, 314
346. Kumquat and Nutmeg Cheesecake, 315
347. Party Carrot Cake, 316
348. Wedding Cake, 317
349. Yummy Cake, 318
350. Banana Ice Cream with Chocolate or Carob syrup, 320
351. Cashew Gelato, 321
352. Choconilla Ice Cream, 321
353. Coconut Banana Split, 322
354. Mangoes Marinated in Golden Ginger Syrup with Lychee Ice Cream, 323
355. Pistachio Raspberry Ice Cream Pie, 324
356. Rainbow Sherbet, 325
357. Smooth Coconut Ice Cream, 326
358. Tutti Frutti Ice Cream, 327
359. Whip the Mister, 327
360. Aloe Super Mousse, 328
361. Cacao Crème, 328
362. Carob Pudding, 329
363. Coconut Flan with Orange Glaze, 329
364. Dreamy Rice Pudding, 330
365. Fruit Parfait, 330
366. Fruity Flaxseed Pudding, 321
367. Macadamia Pudding, 331
368. Mousse de Naranja, 332
369. Papaya Banana Pudding, 332
370. Pecan Pudding, 333
371. Purple Brosia, 334
372. Raspberry and Physalis Dream, 334
373. Semolina Pudding with Figgy Jam, 335
374. Toffee and Raspberry Fool, 335

*A slider is a miniature hamburger.

Flax Bread 2 cup brown flax seeds, soaked for 2 hours 2 cup golden flax seeds, ground into flour 1/4 cup olive oil 1 tomato, chopped 1 tablespoon oregano 1 tablespoon sea salt In a food processor, combine brown flax, olive and tomato. Remove from food processor and place in a large bowl.
Fold in golden flax flour and seasonings.
Spread mixture on two Teflex sheets making a 8 x 8-inch square on each. Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 24-36 hours.
Flip bread over after 8 hours. With a pizza cutter, score the bread into a tic-tac-toe pattern.
You should have 9 slices per Teflex sheet (18 slices).
Making the slider hamburger bun: Take a small piece of the flax bread dough and form it into a miniature burger top, take a second piece and form into the burger bottom.

Jalapeno Burgers 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped 1/2 onion, finely chopped 1 cup walnuts, soaked for 4 hours 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked until very soft, reserve 1/8 cup soaking water 1 tablespoon Nama Shoyu 1 teaspoon Hamburger seasonings 1 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
In a food processor, combine walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes and soaking water until you achieve a meat consistency. Remove from processor.

In a mixing bowl, lightly mix together walnut meat, onions, jalapeno peppers, Nama Shoyu, salt and pepper. Shape into 6 patties. Serve.
Optional: Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 1 hour.

Sun-dried Tomato Ketchup

Jicama Fries1 medium jicama, peeled 2 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Slice the jicama, as you would a potato to make chips. Stack a few slices at a time and cut them all into french fry-sized pieces.
Place the seasonings in a plastic bag.
Lightly coat jicama fries with oil, then place fries in bag and shake until well coated.

Want more miniatures? Try SP Miniatures, they carry non-edible mini fruit and vegetables.

Collard greens provide an excellent source of calcium, zinc, folate, manganese, vitamins C, A and K.

4 collard large leaves, cleaned
1 avocado, cored and sliced
6 baby carrots, sliced into matchsticks
1/2 cucumber, sliced into matchsticks
1 cup sun-dried tomato paste (recipe follows)
1/2 cup clover sprouts
1/2 cup wasabi dipping sauce (recipe follows)

1 Fold the collard green in half lengthwise and with a knife, remove the center stem from each leaf. You should have 8 leaf-halves total.
2 Spread 1-2 teaspoons of sun-dried tomato paste on each leaf. Top with cucumber, carrots, avocado slice and sprouts. Roll the leaf.
3 Serve with wasabi dipping sauce.

Servings: 2
Yield: 8 rolls

SUN-DRIED TOMATO SPREAD
1/2 c sun-dried tomatoes, soaked, reserve water
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small tomato, remove seeds, diced
1 date, pitted and soaked
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 T olive oil
1 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.

Yield: 1-1/2 cups

WASABI SAUCE #2
1 avocado
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Combine avocado, apple cider vinegar, ground mustard, salt and water in a blender until smooth.

Serves 2
Yields: 1/2 cup

My husband and I were in the kitchen together making this pizza. It's been awhile. Welcome back, baby!

Pizza Bread
4 cups sprouted grains, Kamut, wheat berries, rye, etc.
1 cup almond flour
½ cup soaked Sun-dried tomatoes
½ cup sliced Kalamata olives
½ garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt

1 In a food processor, grind the grains well. If your processor doesn’t have a powerful motor, use ¼ cup of water to get things going. Stop every so often to scrape the sides of the food processor. Blend the mixture until it forms a sticky dough. Remove from processor and place in a large bowl.

2 Add sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and olive to processor. Briefly process to make a thick paste.**
3 Place dough in a large bowl and add almond flour, sun-dried tomato paste, olives and sea salt. Combine well.

4 Divide the mixture in half and spread each half on a two Teflex sheets, forming 8 x 8 squares.

5 Dehydrate at 110 degrees for 6 hours, flip over and with a pizza cutter, score into nine slices. Dehydrate an additional 6-8 hours or until the bread is crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.

**You may also add the ingredients to the dough without processing into a paste. The paste option produces a tomato-red colored bread.

Cashew Pepper Cheese Spread
1 cup cashew nuts
Juice of one half lemon
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1/4 cup water

Combine ingredients in a blender until well mixed.

Chunky Marinara Sauce
2 ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 1 hour to soften, reserve soaking water
4 Roma tomatoes, seeded, roughly chopped
4 Medjool dates, pitted and soaked for 1 hour to soften
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ onion, roughly chopped
2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Combine dates Roma tomatoes, garlic, onion, Italian seasonings and olive oil in a blender. Add sun-dried tomatoes, using soaking water to get the blender going. Puree until you reach a chunky consistency. Add sea salt and pepper.

Marinated Mushrooms2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil
juice of one half lemon
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
½ teaspoon sea salt

Toss mushrooms with olive oil, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, Italian seasonings and sea salt. Let marinate for 2 hours

Toppings
1/2 bunch of Spinach, washed and chopped
1 cup marinated Mushrooms, sliced
1 small Red onion, sliced
tomato, sliced

Spread the cashew cheese on the pizza bread add the marinara. Top with spinach, mushrooms, onion and tomato.

If you don't like these toppings try these:
Sweet bell peppers
Green onions
Jalapenos
Chili peppers
Broccoli
Carrots
Alfalfa Sprouts
Asparagus
Bean Sprouts
Chives
Cilantro
Lettuce
Pineapple
Shallots
Snow Peas
Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Walnuts
Yellow Squash
Zucchini

Almond nutballs covered in chunky marinara with zucchini slices

Almond nutball before dehydrating

Almond nutballs after dehydrating

Chunky Marinara Sauce
2 ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 1 hour to soften, reserve soaking water
4 Roma tomatoes, seeded, roughly chopped
4 Medjool dates, pitted and soaked for 1 hour to soften
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ onion, roughly chopped
2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Combine dates Roma tomatoes, garlic, onion, Italian seasonings and olive oil in a blender. Add sun-dried tomatoes, using soaking water to get the blender going. Puree until you reach a chunky consistency. Add sea salt and pepper.Almond Nutballs2 c almonds, soaked for 6-8 hours1 clove garlic, minced1/2 green sweet bell pepper, diced1/2 yellow sweet bell pepper, diced1/2 yellow onion, diced1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped1/4 c sundried tomato paste (recipe below)In a food processor, grind almonds into pulp. Place in a large bowl and add remaining ingredients. Form into meatballs. Dehydrate for 4-6 hours until dry and firm.Sundried tomato paste1/4 c sundried tomato, soaked until soft, reserve water1 clove garlic 3 T sundried tomato waterIn a blender combine ingredients until it forms a smooth paste. Add more water as needed.Zucchini slicesCut 1/2 zucchini into 1-inch slices, sprinkle with olive oil, sea salt and pepper.Author Notes:In conjunction with National Zucchini Day it is also Put a Zucchini on your Neighbor's Porch Day.

“Doesn’t that clean you out?”

My sister’s right, my husband and I had been raw on and off for the past three years and I had been pretty consistently, mostly 100 percent raw for the past few months.

Recently, a slight bit of hypocrisy filled my heart and I secretly wondered to myself this…

For as long as I had been practicing being a raw foodist…for as many times as I sang the praises of eating raw to my friends and family…and the brief moments I felt a bit superior to those who were slowing killing themselves by eating cooked food while I was living to be 120 because of uncooked foods…it dawned on me, I am still overweight.

No wonder the people who watched me gloat on my pulpit couldn’t take me serious. I didn’t look like what a raw foodist should look. I was a fraud.

Don’t misunderstand. I’m all for eating raw; it’s the best thing for my body. I have energy, I’m happier; more patient with the kids (all ten of them, oops sorry four) and the list goes on. I love being raw, I love talking about raw foods, I love preparing raw meals, I love meeting other raw foodists. I love raw.

But my body was proof that I hadn’t followed the raw lifestyle on a consistent basis.

Granted, I had been pregnant for the past two years and my hormonal cravings for Chipotle burritos always seemed to win out in the race to stay raw but there was always room for improvement.

And that starts now, well tomorrow. Tomorrow I begin the my 92-day juice feast adventure.

I don’t anticipate it being easy, especially when my seven-year old comes to me with a mouth full of Cheetos and brags that she can fit five in at once. "Great for you honey, now try that with some carrots."

But knowing myself, if it were easy, I wouldn’t want any part of it.

If I may step back on my high horse for a moment and say that I have seen the radiate glow and it’s raw food and for me it will begin (again) with the feast.

“Well, I’m going to end up hating you.”

Stunned, I asked my sister why.

“Because, you’re going to be skinny.”

God I hope so.

Here are a few items I need to begin my feast:

• Angela’s e-book. . .check
• Fresh, organic produce. . .check
• Juicer (brought out from of storage). . .check
• Blender and nut bags. . .check
• Hemp, flax and coconut oil. . .check
• MSM, Cascara Sagrada, digestive enzymes, yada, yada, ya...check
• Sympathetic husband. . .check
• Hot springs date with sympathetic husband. . .sexy
• Tongue scraper. . .kind of kinky
• Artsana enema bag. . .don’t ask

My last (solid) supper

Collard green wraps

4-5 collard green, de-veined (you should have 8-10 wraps)
sun-dried tomato paste (recipe below)
2 cucumber, sliced
2-3 carrot, sliced
1 avocado, sliced
1-2 handfuls of sprouts

Sun-dried tomato paste
1 cup sun-dried tomato, soaked for hours
½ avocado
½ tomato
1 garlic clove
Water to make paste smooth
Sea salt, to taste

Process in food processor.

Spread the paste on the a collard and pile on the veggies, sprouts and avocado.

I love soups, the are my favorite type of meals. Seaweed soup is my ultimate favorite, with a creamy tomato- or coconut-based coming in a close second and...of yes, a cheezy soup definitely is third. But somewhere in between the seaweed soup and the tomato, say like my first and one-half favorite type of "soup" is actually broth.

On most days, I sip on a cup (or two) of miso broth, sometimes I sprinkle a piece of seaweed here or there, but for the most part it's just 1 tablespoon Miso and 1 cup very warm water and stir until the miso dissolves.

I wanted to play with the broth concept a bit, (switch it up from the Miso) so I came up with this Shiitake Mushroom and Sun-dried tomato broth. It super easy, just make a powder and add it to water.

The flavor is a pretty cool combination, the meatiness of the mushroom pairs well with the hint of sweetness from tomatoes. You are going to want to make a lot of this and store it in pint-size Mason jar in the refrigerator. It's great to add raw soups, sauces, gravies, burgers or wherever you want to add a bit of flavor.

Shiitake and Sun-dried Tomato Powder
Makes approximately 4 cups

1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes

Place mushrooms and tomatoes in a high-speed blender or a coffee grinder, and process in pulses until very finely chopped. Continue processing until the mushrooms turn into powder.
Store in a Mason jar in the refrigerator, indefinitely.
To make 1 cup of broth: add 1 tablespoon of powder to 1 cup of warm to hot water.

Where are all my American Idol fans? Heidi? Althea? Ladies what do you think about it?

I can't believe Season 9 is coming to an end. Wow, this is the first AI season I have watched in its entirety, pretty cool. Now I can say I did it and unless I work for them again (doubtful) it's not going to happen again. My AI claim to fame is I got to hold Casey's guitar in Denver, woo hoo! I need therapy.

Let's do a poll, sure why not, you say?

I think it's going to go down like this: Casey James and his golden locks are going home tonight. Sorry Kara "Mrs. Robinson" DioGuardi.

Front runner and earth mother Crystal Bowersox is going to be eliminated next week leaving sad-eyed Lee Dewyze winning American Idol Season 9. Lee is crazy-sexy-cool-and-all but I really want Crystal to win. Oh-the-well, it's all good, both will have sick music careers, it's really a win-win.

As a matter of fact, I predict that this season's contestants will obtain the most record deals of previous shows. I even think "Teflon" Tim Urban just might have a one hit wonder in him.

Vote in the poll up top and let me know who you think will win American Idol Season 9.

photo by [OP]

Tomatoes are an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin K, plus the antioxidant benefits of lycopene*. They are a fruit, but they are usually served as a vegetable.
*Lycopene is the pigment that makes tomatoes red. The redder the tomato, the more lycopene it has.
Season: Available year-round but tomatoes are at their peak June-September

How to select: Choose firm tomatoes, richly colored and noticeably fragrant.

photo by babybee

How to store: Ripe tomatoes should be stored at room temperature and used within a few days.

photo by Pieter Pieterse
Tip: Don't store tomatoes in the refrigerator, cold temperatures kill the flavor and turns the flesh grainy.

Tomato Salad 6 large ripe tomatoes, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces 1 small red onion, thinly sliced1 orange or yellow bell pepper, sliced in strips (de-seed)1/2 cup basil, cut into stripsHemp oil (or your favorite oil)
Apple Cider Vinegar
Sea salt, to taste
1. Place tomatoes in large salad bowl, add slice onions on top.
2. Layer with bell pepper and basil.

3. Drizzle hemp oil and vinegar over the top of salad. Sprinkle with sea salt and gently toss. Fun Facts: The tomato is in the same family as the potato, pepper, eggplant, and petunia (nightshades). Tomatoes are also known as the 'apple of love' There are at least 10,000 varieties of tomatoes

Image by Cool Text: Logo and Button Generator — Create Your Own Logo

12:30 p.m. Large salad (spinach, romaine, mixed greens, purple cabbage, carrots, cucumber and sprouts with Living Light's raw Dijon dressing) at my desk at work.

2:30 p.m. Kombucha at my desk at work.

6:45 p.m. Lettuce Wraps with Man in the Raw

This post is dedicated to Candace and my other Raw Buddies at Living Light. Candace and I had a nice discussion on what to put in lettuce wraps. I offered a few suggestions, sunflower pate, veggies, sprouts and such.

But it totally slipped my mind one of my favorite lettuce wraps. Avocado Ceviche. I call it a ceviche because it's not quite a guacamole. Although all the players are there (tomato, pepper, cilantro) it is not prepared like a guacamole would be. And the bonus was it was quick and easy to make.

Avocado Ceviche
serves 2

2 avocados, peeled and diced
1 Roma tomato, seeded and diced
1 Serrano pepper, diced
1/2 cup cilanto, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Sea Salt, to taste

Lightly toss avocado, tomato, pepper and cilantro in a large bowl. Toss in lemon juice and season with the sea salt.

Serve with 8-10 Romaine lettuce leaves (Red or Green leaf lettuce works great also) and your favorite fixings (we used cucumber and carrot strips, parsley and scallions)

At the Water Cooler
What are some of your favorite fixings for lettuce wraps? Leave your faves in the comment box.

This is my first official recipe using chia. Yeah! I have never had the pleasure.

Since I hosted a Mexican Fiesta luncheon on Monday for Man on the Raw's friend, Bill, chia seemed to fit in the mix just fine.
When I am done juicing I think I might go on a chia exploration. I have heard alot of wonderful things about it (Omega 3s, protein) and from the rich Aztec nutritional history behind it, I am surprised that it wasn't used for nothing more than a novelty (ie. Chia pet). Better late than never.
Bitt of Raw is giving away a 2 pound bag of chia seeds. Today is the last day to take advantage of the give-away. Go here for details. Good luck.

And if you happen to be the lucky winner, try this recipe and tell me what you think.

Corn and Chia Crackers1 cup flax flour (approximately ½ cup flax seeds)
½ cup chia flour (approximately ¼ cup chia seeds)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups fresh corn kernels, cut from 3-4 cobs
1 tomato, chopped
¼ cup chopped yellow bell pepper
¼ cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, crushed

Combine flax flour, chia flour and seasonings in a large bowl. Set aside.

Place corn, tomato, bell pepper, onion and garlic in a food processor; pulse until smooth. Pour corn mixture into flour mixture. Stir until well combined. Mixture should be a bit on the thick side.

Spread mixture out evenly with a spatula on two Teflex sheets.

Dehydrate at 115 degrees Fahrenheit for 6-8 hours. Flip Teflex sheets over on the trays and peel off the cracker mixture. Score the crackers into desired shapes.

Continue to dehydrate for 10-24 hours or until crackers are dry and very crispy.

Falafel Balls are one of my favorite things to make and I enjoy thinking outside of the box and creating unique flavor combinations.
Southwestern Falafel Balls with Avocado Spread

Southwestern Seasoning Mix
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon sea salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Combine seasonings in a Mason jar and give a good shake. Stores in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Avocado Spread
1 cup cashews, soaked for 1 hour to soften
Juice of 2 limes
¼ cup water
2 avocado, mashed
1 tomato, seeded, finely chopped
¼ cup chopped red onion
1 teaspoon sea salt

Combine cashews, lime juice and water in a blender; process until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in avocado until well combined. Fold in tomato, onion and salt. Refrigerate, covered until ready to use.

Southwestern Falafel
2 cups sprouted chickpeas
1 cup almonds, soaked
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons water
2 green onions, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1 small bunch cilantro, leaves only
2 tablespoons southwestern seasoning mix
1 teaspoon sea salt

Microgreens

Combine chickpeas, almonds, garlic, olive oil, water and cilantro in food processor until you achieve a thick paste. Add onions and lemon juice, seasonings and sea salt, briefly pulse until onions are combined but still intact.

Shape the falafel mixture into small ping-pong-size balls. Place balls on mesh screens and dehydrate at 115 degrees for 6-8 hours. The falafels should be slightly hard on the outside and soft on the inside.

Place patties on a bed of micro greens. Serve with a gallop of avocado spread. Serves 4

I adapted this from Ani Phyo’s Black Sesame Sunflower Bread. Use this bread to make smashed avocado and alfalfa sprouts sandwiches.

Ingredients
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked until soft; save water
1 cup walnuts, soaked
1 cup flax seeds, ground
⅓ cup flax seeds, whole, unsoaked
¼ cup black sesame seeds
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1⅓ cups sun-dried tomato water, saved from soaked sun-dried tomatoes

1. In food processor, mix flax seeds, salt, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and soaking water. Add walnuts and sesame seeds.

2. Divide the mixture into two and spread them on two dehydrator trays about 1/4-inch high.

3. Dehydrate at 110 degrees for 4 hours. Flip and score (use a pizza cutter) the bread into 9 slices. Dehydrate another 4-6 hours.

My husband created a yummie Mexican feast last night and he decided to share MOST of his recipes. He made really creamy guacamole, Pico de Gallo, refried beans and a sour cream mousse with a cabbage leaf "chip".

He used my sour cream recipe (with a half the amount of water), so it had the consistency of a mousse instead of a traditional sour cream, which works just fine and it sure was tasty.

He wouldn't give up the recipe for the refried beans, though. Because of a secret ingredient that he chose not to share, yes folks, even with me. But I'll work on that one.

Good thing I have a recipe for the beans.

For the cabbage "chips", soak cabbage leaves in olive oil and sea salt for an hour or so to soften the leaves and rinse the oil and salt off. It may not have the crunch of a conventional chip but it is very crispy and it marries well with the fresh ingredients.

PICO de GALLO
1 tomato, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1/4 red onion, chopped
1/2 c cilantro, chopped
Juice of one lime
Sea salt, to taste

Lightly toss ingredients together.

KID SAFE GUACAMOLE
2 avocados, chopped
1/2 tomato, chopped
1/4 c chopped onion
Juice of one lime
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Sea salt, to taste

Mash ingredients with a potato masher.

To assemble, spread the ingredients on top of the cabbage "chip".

On Today's Menu

Exotic Fruits from the Mediterranean

Tomato Heirloom Terrine with Spinach Puree

Tomato Pepper Soup with Marinated Porcini Mushrooms

Creamy Spinach Pesto Cannellini Pomodoro, Baba Ganoush, Southwestern Dolmas with Avocado Tzatziki*

*The Southwestern Dolmas with Avocado Tzatziki was my team's element in the plating.
photos by Dan Ladermann

HUMMUS
2 c garbanzo beans (chickpeas), sprouted1/4c raw tahiniJuice of 1 lemon1 clove garlic, minced
6 T water1 T olive oil1 t sea salt1 c sun-dried tomato, soaked til soft1 c spinach
In a food processor, combine all ingredients except the sun-dried tomatoes and spinach.
Divide hummus into three portions, leaving one of the portions in the food processor.
Put sun-dried tomatoes in the food processor with the hummus. Blend until creamy and slightly chunky. Remove sun-dried tomato hummus. Set aside.
Rinse processor and add spinach with the second portion of hummus. Combine thoroughly.
CRUDITES
Cucumber slices
Carrot slices
Broccoli
Cherry tomatoes

In Ani’s Raw Food Essentials: Recipes and Techniques for Mastering the Art of Live Food, Ani Phyo guides readers through the fundamentals of raw food preparation in a simple and user-friendly manner.

Phyo has left no stone unturned when it comes to this collection of over 250 recipes. As in her previous book, Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen, she offers tips, cleaning product recipes and advice on how to be eco-friendly. Divided into three parts, Part 1 is the basics; it uncovers the mysteries of dehydrating, soaking and sprouting, fermentation and pickling. This section presents a few starter recipes: flatbreads and pickles, to be exact.

Phyo gets down to business in Part 2 where she showcases her talent of taking a basic recipe, using minimal ingredients and straightforward instructions, and creates variations. For example, her recipe for “Basic Nut Mylk” on page 41 transforms into “Vanilla Almond Mylk,” (p.41) “Chocolate Flurry Shake” (p. 42) or “Chilled Chai Frosty Shake” (p. 45). Another good example is the insanely, easy recipe for “Buckwheat Crispies” on page 63. The only ingredient is one pound of buckwheat groats and the recipe can be used as cereal in “Chocolate Crispies” (p. 63) or as “Basic Buckwheat Batter” (p. 115) for “fried” onion rings (p. 116) or as the base for “Buckwheat Pizza Crust” (p. 213).
Phyo offers effortless, quick, step-by-step instructions on the techniques of every raw culinary dish imagined. She leads with, a fruit smoothie (p. 31), and travels right along, from breakfast to desserts, with the likes of “Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Coconut Bacon Scramble” (p. 85) to Kimchi (p. 126), to “Vietnamese Pho Noodle Soup” (p. 232), to “Lucuma Ice Kream” --- and we haven’t even touched the chapter on feeding your raw dog.

Pay attention to the green and gray boxes interspersed throughout the book, they offer handy tips (“Dehydrating in Your Oven” p. 195) and bits of factoids (Is Sugar Vegan? Turbinado vs. Sucanat vs White Sugar” p. 57).

Part 3 is a resource guide to Phyo’s uncooking videos, metric conversions, movies to watch and advice on reducing your carbon footprint.

My one complaint of the book is not enough color photos. Fortunately, Phyo has the skill of descriptive writing that brings a dish to life, but the dowdy black-and- white photography doesn’t add anything to the book. Part of the appeal of living foods, especially in a cookbook, is experiencing the “life of the foods” through the vibrant colors and textures seen through the photography. The dozen or so colored photos in the book are definitely drool-worthy. I would gladly trade seeing photos of Phyo (although, she is quite beautiful) for a few more colored pictures of the food.

All-in-all, one of the most enticing aspects of “Ani’s Raw Food Essentials” is Phyo’s flair of providing “recipe” road maps to the gentle encouragement of creating your own culinary journeys in the kitchen. Which is how it should be.

My journey started with crepes.

Apple Crepes
Makes 4 wrappers
From Ani’s Raw Food Essentials page 69
1 cup cored and diced apple
½ cup flax meal
2 tablespoons agave syrup
½ cup water, or as needed

Place the apples in the bottom of a high-speed blender. Add the flax meal, agave, and water. Blend until smooth.

Spread the mixture evenly onto one lined 14-inch square Excalibur Dehydrator tray.

Dehydrate for 4 to 6 hours at 104 °F, or until completely dry. You can also flip the crepes, peel off the liner, and dehydrate for another couple of hours until dry.

Crepes with Herb Cream and Red Pepper Sauce
by The Daily Raw Café

1 Crepe recipe, making 8 small rounds

RED PEPPER SAUCE
Make 1 pint of sauce

2 red peppers, seeded, coarsely chopped
¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked, reserve ½ cup soaking water
¼ cup reserved sun-dried tomato water, or more as needed
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Combine ingredients in a blender until smooth, silky sauce. Adding enough of the soaking water to reach desired consistency.

FILLING
1 cup soaked cashews
¼ cup reserved sun-dried tomato water, or filtered water
2 tablespoons golden balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped red onion
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Combine cashews, water, vinegar, onion and garlic in a blender; process until cashews break down into a creamy, yet slightly chunky crème. You want the consistency of a ricotta. Transfer to a mixing bowl.

Fold in parsley and basil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Assemble crepes
On a clean work surface, place 1-2 rounded tablespoons of filling in the center of each crepe, shiny side down. Roll up crepe.

Spoon red pepper sauce on a serving plate, arrange crepe on top. Serve immediately, crepes will become soggy if left on sauce too long.

Chocolate Crepes with Chocolate Cream
by The Daily Raw Blog
CHOCOLATE CREPE WRAPPERS
Add 2 tablespoons organic cocoa powder to the ingredients of the crepe wrapper recipe. Continue to make crepes as instructed.

CHOCOLATE CREAM
1 cup soaked cashews
½ cup water
½ cup raw agave nectar*
20 drops Cocoa Bean Extract**
2 tablespoons coconut oil (liquid)

Blend ingredients until you have a smooth, creamy texture.

CHOCOLATE SAUCE
½ cup cocoa powder
¼ cup raw agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup coconut oil (liquid)

Blend ingredients.

Note: If the sauce becomes cold, it will solidify, just place it in the dehydrator for an hour at 115 degrees to melt.

Assemble crepes
Place the crepe with the shiny side up. Put the cream in a line down the center of the crepe. Fold the right side just past the middle and then do the same with the left.

Drizzle chocolate sauce on top of the crepe and sprinkle with coconut “powder”

ANI’S SERVING SUGGESTION: Grind dried coconut into powder, and sprinkle over your crepes through a sieve to give a powdered sugar look. (p. 71)

* I used Xagave Raw Agave Nectar (review next week)
**I used NuNaturals (review next week)

IN THE LATE yet still note-worthy department. The Daily Raw Café was mentioned in last Wednesday’s Denver Post (June 9, 2010). You can read the write-up here.

My book is in the final, final, final stages of coming out. Self-publishing is a b*****! You are in charge of so ALL the aspects of development (editing, layout, design, cover art, author bio, yada yada, ya, ) on top of writing the little creature.
The buck stops with you all the way. So much pressure! I want the best book possible for the resources available to me. It’s a lot of hard, tedious work. Which makes me wonder why on earth am I doing it again very soon (yes, there will be another book out before the year is out!). Well, we all know the answer, I am a bit wacky in the brain and I loved the experience so much, I wanted to do it again right away. Don’t laugh, I’m serious ;).

WOW, now that’s a beet! This colossal-sized beet emerged from our garden. Man on the Raw and our daughter Avery planted it in mid-March. This root vegetable has an interesting backstory. Man on the Raw was working the compost when he spied a sliced beet top with dead stems and leaves attached.

Nothing out of the ordinary, until he notices one leaf thriving amongst the deceased foliage.
On a whim, he decided to plant it and see what happens. Several months later, on a rainy June weekend in Denver, the jolly red giant emerged with an amazing amount of greens. All of which made many quarts of beet and carrot juice.