Blog Archives

Garden blessed

January 27, 2011
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Chard from our garden

Chard from our garden

I’ve mentioned before how blessed I feel that M. is an avid gardener.  She’s planted a patch of chard which acts perennial.  No matter how many leaves I cut off of it, it continues to grow more.  This morning I made an awesome green smoothie with freshly picked red chard.  It had soymilk, strawberries, banana, maca, DHA, Irish moss gel probiotics, bee pollen, and a wee touch of stevia.   It was about time that one of my concoctions tasted fabulous. Lately my smoothie combos have all been “plug & chug” (meaning you hold your nose just to get it down).

KindKreme comes to Pasadena

January 20, 2011
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KindKreme is opening up a Pasadena location on Feb. 5.   Right between my work and my home.  I’ve been wanting to try the Studio City location for awhile.  Los Angeles traffic usually keeps me closer to home, however.  I realize vegan ice cream isn’t health supporting but…they also make green juices and green smoothies!  And parking there is easier than parking at Whole Foods Arroyo, where I normally get my green juice when away from home.  And I can get a latte made with fresh almond milk if I’m in a coffee drinking phase.   I’ve always said to M. that the dearth of raw vegan places in Northeast L.A. and Pasadena/Glendale was a business opportunity.   I’m glad to be proven right.

German Chocolate Cake

January 15, 2011
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German Chocolate Cake

German Chocolate Cake

Turns out I did take a picture of the German Chocolate Cake I made for my birthday in 2009.  It was yummy.  I adapted a recipe from I Am Grateful.  Unfortunately, I didn’t write down what I did so I can’t write out the recipe. As usual, I ended up freezing this because it’s too much cake for our little family of three.  It lasted about a year in the freezer at the rate we could eat it.  It’s so rich one can only take a teeny tiny slice.  Too many nuts at once plus sweeteners aren’t health supporting.  We need some deliciousness every now and again.

Belated birthday

October 30, 2010
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Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake

It’s been (over!) a year since I started writing RawHabit.  Time flies no? I missed writing on the anniversary because I was getting ready for my two week stint at Optimum Health Institute of San Diego.  That was an awesome experience which I’ll detail in another post. I haven’t had a lot of time for blogging lately (many apologies), but rest assured, this blog isn’t going away.  It just might be incredibly intermittent for awhile.

In honor of my late observance, I’ll show you a picture of the raw birthday cake I made for myself.  I heart the raw carrot cake.  Many (ok most) raw-versions of traditional recipes are not analogous. You can’t expect raw bread to taste like bread.  Calling it bread, is a big.fat.lie.

Raw carrot cake, however, isn’t very far removed from the cooked version.  All of the ingredients are the same.  The cooked version just has the flour and eggs.  I’ve actually come to prefer the raw.

I tend to go overboard when I make raw cakes.  I like to make them pretty.  And that means making them full scale. Since raw cakes are practically 100% nuts, one can only eat the tiniest sliver.  And since I’m the only one in my family that eats any raw vegan, well, it’s overkill.   Thankfully, raw cakes tend to freeze well.   I can make one cake and eat off of it for 1/2 a year.

Unfortunately, I tend to forget to eat it and it ends up going into the compost.  C’est la vie. The fun is in the making.   I did the same thing last year.   It was a beautiful German chocolate cake.  And I didn’t even remember to take a picture. It’s the thought that counts eh?

Blessings

August 6, 2010
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House before

Before planting

I’m a very lucky gal.  My wife may not be much into the raw eating thing, bless her heart.  But she consumes a lot of what I make and she supports me for the most part.  Best of all, she’s an avid gardener.  She’s into being a locavore.   She has planted an abundance of food in our yard over the years.  Now she’s taking it to the next level.  We are finally getting rid of the grass in the front yard so we can have our mini-farm.

There’s nothing better than walking out my door, picking ingredients for my creations, and eating the freshest and most flavorful food possible.

I feel very loved when I behold the results of  my wife’s  hard work.

We haven’t decided yet what we’re planting but you can bet it will be a colorful addition to my raw chef-ery.  We’ve already got apricot, avocado, grape vines, laurel (bay leaf), lemon, lavender, loquat, orange (Seville and Valencia), 3 pomegranate trees, rosemary, sage (pineapple & regular) in our perennial arsenal.    Plus we have plots where we plant basil, chard, cilantro, dill, mint, spinach, and tomatoes (heirloom & grape).

We have a good friend who is a permaculturist that runs a consulting business helping people do green landscaping and she does a lot of work creating edible lawns.  She’s helping us out because it’s what she does for fun.  She tells us that we have areas where berries will do well.  OMG.  Heaven.  We’ll be adding berries to the mini-farm for sure.   Since we’re a small family we do plan on joining a local produce swapping co-operative to share any excess and get a wider variety of home grown food into our diet.

I get a bit teary-eyed when I consider my good fortune.  My home is my Eden.  I am humble and grateful for my blessings.  Fresh ingredients are a chef’s dream come true.

Going to OHI San Diego!

July 26, 2010
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I’m so excited! I’ve booked myself for 2 weeks at the Optimum Health Institute in San Diego.  I’ve been wanting to go for years and finally saved enough money to make the trip.  I’m sure I’ll learn a lot.  I’m really interested in the wheatgrass sprouting classes.  I’ve never had much success sprouting my own.  It’s just too hot in L.A most of the year.  Hope to get some tips to overcome that.  I’m also stoked about the 3 day juice feast during the first week.  It will be sooooooo nice to have somebody else fixing the juices!

The program really emphasizes goal setting and life-balance. The provide lots of tips on how to organize one’s life to incorporate this eating style as a permanent habit.  Plus, it’s a spiritual mission.  I’m planing to renew my long-stagnant meditation practice and spend lots of time cycling (moving meditation).  You can bet I’ll be in the hot tub a great deal too. Knowing I get to do two weeks worth of extremely cleansing eating is a big motivator for me.  I’ve been doing the 11 week initiatives at Raw Food Rehab since April.  Consistently! So far I’ve lost a few pounds and I’ve made biking to work a daily habit and I’ve increased the number of days I spend 100% vegan per week.   I’m more psyched about sticking to it now that I’m going to OHI.  I’ll experience less detox reaction if my diet before the trip is clean.

My long term goal is to reduce (or eliminate!) my use of prescription medications.  The program will be an excellent launching point for that. Only 6 weeks until vacation time! I’m counting the days.

Happy D day!

July 25, 2010
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I’m in the midst of a dehydrator day a.k.a “D-day.”  D-day is for making treats & staples.  These are the things which make staying raw easier and more pleasurable.   On the agenda today: macaroons (chocolate & blond) and almond flour.

I use the macaroon recipe from “Raw Food, Real World” by Matthew Kenney & Sarma Melngailis.  I love their books.  When it comes to food porn, they rule.  All of their recipes are tres gourmet and the photography only increases the drool-worthy quality of their recipes.   Everything I’ve made from their books tastes awesome.   It’s not everyday fare because their recipes take time and effort.  Not surprising.  They did open Pure Food and Wine in NYC which Sarma Melngailis still owns and runs — along with One Lucky Duck, a take-out and on-line raw foods store.

These macaroons remind me of my favorite flavor of Timbits and take me back to my childhood in Canada.   They are mouthful of happiness.

Wet Almond Pulp

Wet Almond Pulp

Almond flour is a basic staple and an easy item to incorporate into one’s raw routine. It’s a great way to use up pulp from making almond milk.  I keep a gallon zip lock bag in my freezer and throw my leftovers into it every time I whip up a batch of milk.  When I’ve accumulated  about 4-6 cups, I defrost the pulp, spread it on teflex covered dehydrator trays, and pop it in the “D” until it’s bone dry.   From there, I throw it into my BlendTec and grind it to a very fine consistency.    I store it in the freezer when it’s done.

Dry Almond Flour

Finished Almond Flour

It keeps for months.  They dehydrating helps keep the nuts from going rancid.  It’s especially gorgeous when you’ve removed the skins from the almonds.   The flour is versatile: use it for cookies, cakes, breads, crackers. It’s simple and takes virtually no time to make – spend 30 extra seconds throwing it in the freezer when you make nut milk.

Making other recipes is quicker if you’ve got the flour on hand.

Menu planning – Asian Week

June 19, 2010
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I’ve been quite remiss about sharing my weekly food prep. Quite shameful of me really, since this blog is about getting organized to make eating raw vegan as easy as possible. My goal is to someday get my food prep time down to less than 4 hours per week. It may be a bit ambitious. I think I sometimes make too much stuff and my life would be simpler if I repeated more meals. Fortunately, things like sprouts and dehydrates are low on the “hands-on” time even though they take a fair long while to get ready. I decided to go Asian this week. Here’s the plan (note: the re-use of items from day to day). The pate will keep for 2 weeks, so it may end up being Asian fortnight instead of Asian week.

Weekend prep

  • Sprouting  (I’m going with lentil)
  • Dehydrate kale chips for snacks
  • Dehydrate some gingered almonds
  • Make pates
  • Make salad dressing
  • Wash greens
  • Cut up sturdier vegetables (carrots, bell pepper, etc.)
  • Marinate some veggies (mushrooms, bell pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Breakfasts

  • Miso soup
  • Veggie scramble
  • Green juice or smoothie

Lunches

Dinners

  • Sushi
  • Pad Thai
  • Stir un-fry on parsnip rice
  • Spring rolls

Snacks

  • fruit
  • kale chips
  • veggies with asian pate dip

Three Seaweed Salad

May 31, 2010
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Three Seaweed Salad

Three Seaweed Salad

I’ve got a new favorite salad.  I’ve been making it at least once per week.  I was inspired by the seaweed salads at my favorite local Japanese restaurant and the one I had in Baltimore at Liquid Earth.

Seaweed has a host of health benefits. It’s great for thyroid balance since it’s a natural source of iodine.  It’s chock full of B vitamins and minerals including including calcium, magnesium, potassium, iodine, iron, and zinc.  Seaweed is a great way to get salty flavor into food without eating too much sodium — it’s way lower than typical sea salt.

This is simple, quick to make, and very satisfying. The kid will actually eat it, which amazes me.  Then again, she is a sushi hound so she’s accustomed to seaweed.

Three Seaweed Salad
Makes 6-8 hearty servings

2 cucumbers, diced
2 carrots, shredded or ribbon-ed
3 scallions, diced
1/2 cup arame
1/2 cup wakame
1/4 cup dulse or to taste (I use more, I like it salty)
1 recipe Asian vinaigrette

Asian Vinaigrette
Yields 1/2 cup

1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon umeboshi plum vinegar
2 Tablespoons mild oil of choice (olive, sesame, — I add a touch of flax oil for good omega fatty acids)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon tamari or nama shoyu (optional, omit if using lots of dulse)

Toss ingredients together.  Allow to sit 30-45 minutes to get flavors to blend, tossing occasionally.   Serve with love.

Keeps a couple of days in the fridge.  I recommend draining the marinade prior to storing  to avoid a soggy salad.

Chocolate Cherry Buzz

May 18, 2010
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Cherry Extract

Cherry Extract

I made SUCH the kick-ass smoothie this morning. I was feeling sad about the scale. I’ve had so many slip-ups lately that there are virtual skid marks on my shoes. I couldn’t face another green smoothie so I treated myself to some super food: raw cacao! (my favorite is Navitas Naturals) . I threw in some frozen cherries and to intensify the cherry buzz I added some cherry extract. It was so fabulous I drank the whole thing even though it could have fed two people. It kept me full through a busy morning.   I’m picking up some more frozen cherries on the way home.  This one is a keeper.

Chocolate Cherry Buzz Smoothie
serves 2 (or 1 very hungry person)

2 cups almond milk
2 frozen bananas, medium sized
1 cup frozen cherries
5 Tbsp raw cacao powder (I like a LOT of chocolate, you can adjust to taste)
1 tsp cherry extract

Blend.  Serve with love!

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