Posts Tagged ‘ prep ’

Pizza

November 4, 2009
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Tonight I ate pizza.  OMG, it was sooo tasty.  My wife and daughter looked almost jealous as they chowed down on their cooked  beef’n'cheese ravioli.  This is really quick to prepare if you have some of the ingredients on hand.  This is one of those must-prep-ahead recipes. It’s also another recipe that has endless variations.  It’s a good way to use up any veggies you may have before they spoil.

Pizzapizza

pizza flax crackers
nut cheese
marinara sauce
diced red pepper
diced red onion
sliced black olives
minced basil
pine nut parmesan

When I make a batch of crackers I set aside one or two dehydrator trays to make larger crusts instead of bite-sized nibblers.  Spread nut cheese and marinara on a large flax cracker.  Put veggies toppings on top. Serve with love.

Pine nut parmesan a la Laura

October 22, 2009
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rawmasanThis is a raw staple.  I’ve seen recipes for this in quite a few books.  The basic jist is to make a nut butter from a creamy nut — like pine nut, cashew, or macadamia –, add some seasoning, and/or culture the batter, spread it thinly on a teflex sheet and dehydrate until crispy.  Break the resulting cheeze into shards or crumble.

My version is a combination of Cherie Soria’s Pine nut parmesan and Renee Loux Underkoffler’s parmesan.

Pine nut parmesan

1.5 cups pine nuts
1/4 tsp probiotic powder (optional)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon good quality salt

Blend all ingredients in food processor until smooth and creamy.  If using a probiotic powder you can leave the batter out (be sure it’s covered) to let it culture for a few hours.  Spread thinly onto teflex sheets and dehydrate until crispy. Break apart or crumble.  Stored in glass jars in the refrigerator parmesan will keep for 3 months.

Sprinkle on soups, salads, pasta, pizza — wherever you would use dairy parmesan.

Mock Salmon Pate – Alissa Cohen

October 21, 2009
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This was the very 1st raw foods recipe I ever made, from the 1st recipe book on living foods that I ever bought, Alissa Cohen’s “Living on Live Foods.”  I couldn’t have made a better introduction to the deliciousness of raw foods.  This is so yummy.  My wife M., a confirmed carnivore, absolutely adores it and actually eats it — without being coaxed!  She loves my raw chef-y creations but on a case-by-case basis. This is her favorite.   Obviously, this recipe is a good one for sharing with non-raw friends and family.

This makes a huge amount of pate.   It lasts about a week in the fridge.  It’s a great make-ahead to have on hand for quick snacks and meals.  I use it on it’s own on top of salads, in lunch time sammiches, wraps, rolls etc.  It’s especially wonderful in raw sushi-maki.

Of course, I had to have some for my lunch today.

mock.salmon Allisa Cohen’s Mock Salmon Pate
Yield: 3 cups Servings: 12

2 cups walnuts
1 red pepper
1 scallion
4 cloves garlic
2 stalks celery
1 tsp salt (I use 1/2 tsp)

Mix it up in a food processor to combine until smooth (optional, I like mine a little chunky since I’m a texture fiend).

Serve with love.

Pizza flax crackers – Cherie Soria

September 27, 2009
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This is a basic staple that I learned at raw chef school.  It’s  indispensable to have on hand.  I make huge batches and score the crackers in different sizes for different purposes.  I make big squares for pizzas and sandwich “bread.” I make medium squares for dips and spreads.  And I make cracker sizes for snacks.  I go easy on the salt in this one.  Dehydrating makes flavors stronger.

Pizza Flax Crackers

Pizza Flax Crackers

Pizza Flax Crackers by Cherie Soria
Yields 5 trays of 32 crackers = 160 crackers
20 servings of 8 cracker sized crackers

1.5 cups sun-dried tomato powder
1 cup purified water plus additional water to thin as needed
3 cups carrot pulp or chopped red pepper or zucchini (or a mixture, or use whatever leftover veggie bits you’ve got on hand)
.5 cup chopped onion
2.5 teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
4 cloves garlic crushed
.5 cup minced fresh herbs (basil, parsley, dill weed, or oregano)
2 cups flaxseed ground
2 cups flaxseed soaked 8-12 hours in 4 cups purified water (do not rinse or drain)

1. Combine the sun-dried tomato powder and the water, and stir to form a paste.

2. Combine the veggie pulp, onion, salt, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, and garlic in a high powered blender or food processor outfitted with an S blade.

3. Blend or process the vegetable mixture to a large mixing bowl, add the flaxseeds and flax meal, and stir well to combine.

4. Transfer the vegetable mixture to a large bowl, add the flaxseeds ad flax meal, and stir well to combine.

5. Spread about 3 cups of the batter evenly on a dehydrator tray lined with a nonstick sheet.

6. Score the crackers into squares.  Dehydrate at 105 degrees for 12 hours, until they are completely dry and crisp.

7. Flip the crackers onto mesh dehydrator screens, and continue to dehydrate for 24 hours, or until they are completely dry and crisp.

8. Allow the crackers to cool completely, then store them in sealed glass jars for up to three months at room temperature.  The crckers may also be stored in the refrigerator or freezer for up to six months.

Sun dried tomato powder

September 18, 2009
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This is a pantry staple that allows you to quickly add the flavor of sun dried tomatoes to a recipe without having to spend time soaking tomato pieces.   Caution: it only works with extremely dry sun dried tomatoes. If there is any moisture in the fruit it will not turn into powder in the grinder and you’ll be left with big ‘ol chunks of tomato in your mix.  Stored in glass jars, away from heat and light, this keeps for months.  I use it in flax crackers, soups, salad dressings.

Sun dried tomato powder

Very dry sun dried tomatoes.

Grind sun dried tomatoes in a coffee or spice grinder or a high speed blender such as a Vitamix or Blendtec.

30 day challenge – 2nd week slump

September 13, 2009
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I’m still raw-king the 30 day challenge! I’ve had a few bumps along the way, however.  I think I’ll call it “the 2nd week slump.”  I rode through the 1st week of the challenge on getting-started-enthusiasm.  Plus, I lost 3.6 lbs during my first 5 days.  That’s a very strong motivator. I’m a bit sorry that’s the case.  I am focusing more on health than weight ’cause weight is just the force of gravity on my body.  That force does cause some of my aches and pains though, so I’ll give myself a get-out-of-jail-free card on that count.  I’m all about being kind to myself.

2nd week

2nd week

I lost an additional pound during the second week.  That makes a total of 4.6 lbs so far.  Not shabby.  It is a significant slow down but not unexpected.  One pound per week is a very healthy loss.  I’ll be very happy indeed if I keep this rate for the rest of the month.

My aches and pains are doing quite well.  Not completely gone, but much less noticeable.  Yay! Pain sucks and it can kiss my you-know-what.

My energy levels have gone through the roof.  I’m finding it difficult to go to sleep at my usual 9:30pm bed time (it’s not that early, I do need to get out of bed at 5:00am for work-out and cycling to work).  I’m still way less groggy in the morning as well. I’m finding it easier to exercise and that’s fabulous.  Exercise is a critical component of self-care for my medical conditions.

All in all, I’d have to say the progress is still there if slowed.  I think it’s my own fault that the momentum hasn’t sustained itself.  I mentioned that I indulged in a few beers at the end of week one.  During week two, I had a few handfuls of non-raw blue corn tortilla chips and (true confession time here) I had a cup of cooked brown rice with butter on it when I was feeling nauseous from having fresh fruit juice on an empty stomach.  It’s not an excuse, but an explanation.   Finally, I had coffee rather than teechino both this morning and yesterday morning.  My almond-milk lattes are more than caffeine to me.  It’s a weekend ritual that I share with my spouse.  We have our coffee in bed and read the news and treat ourselves to a slower than weekday start to our day.   All of these indulgences came at a cost.

I’d have to say that my second week was about 99% raw.  I’m very pleased with myself even with the indulgences.  The slow down has left me more motivated to do better during week three.  There are a few more things that I’m doing to ensure that I sustain this motivation.

  1. I’m preparing my menu plan for the week and making some items ahead of time.  On the agenda today: pine nut parmesan, carrot & currant salad,  almond cheese, and my juices and green leafy salad for tomorrow’s breakfast & lunch.  These items should see me through Wednesday.  And, I’m left with a grocery list for my mid-week food prep.  I won’t need to think about it too much during my busy work week. Flipping through my raw recipes books always gets me stoked about eating yummy nutritious food.
  2. I’m planning my raw birthday cake.  I will complete my 38th revolution around the sun this Thursday.  I’m going to have me some German Chocolate cake!  Making kick-ass raw recipes always excites me.  I’m making this baby up in my own head, inspired by the recipe in I am grateful: recipes & lifestyle of Cafe Gratitude.
  3. I’m remembering that I’m going up to Ft. Bragg in October to do a few more classes for my raw chef certification.  I feel a need to be truly raw until I get there.  The folks at Living Light are not hard-nosed evangelical raw types.  They are truly accepting of everybody whatever their place on the raw food spectrum.  It’s my own emotions that draw me into a higher percentage of eating raw.  It’s about integrity.  I want to be a truly raw raw chef.
  4. Our boyfriend is visiting for a week starting at the beginning of week 4.  I haven’t seen him in 6 weeks and I’m curious to find out how much of a difference in me that he will notice (or not).
  5. I feel great! And I know that I feel great ’cause I’m truly nourishing myself.  When I remember that, it’s easy to say no to traditional cooked vegan fare.
  6. I’m keeping my end of the bargain when it comes to all the other things I committed to doing this month.  I’ve been cycling to work.  I have already done it 3 times, which was all I said I would do. Of course I’m so excited about it that I’m going to keep it up.   I’ve been exercising at least 30 minutes a day 5 days a week.  I do count the cycling to work.  I’ve also been roller blading and walking and stretching.

Lot’s of reasons to stay on track right there.  My intentions are set.  It will be a fabulous week, the best week ever.

Apple Cinnamon Granola – Cherie Soria

September 2, 2009
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A variation of Cheri Soria’s Buckwheat Granola.  I love this for breakfast with fruit and almond milk.  It’s especially decadent with coconut yogurt.  I don’t eat this often because I find it  a bit difficult to digest. Letting it soak in the milk or yogurt to soften a bit before eating helps.   So does making sure to really chew chew chew.  It’s extremely filling and great for those times when you want to get that full belly feeling.

It’s also useful for quick desserts.  You can break it up and use it as a crumble toppings for fruit crisps or pies.

Buckwheat GranolaApple Cinnamon Granola

3/4-1 lb pitted dates (1-1 1/2 cups packed)
1/2 cup purified water (approximately)
1 lb (2 1/2 cups) raw buckwheat groats, soaked and sprouted
1/8 lb (3/4 cup) currants or raisins
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded or shaved coconut
1/4 cup sunflower seeds, soaked 4-6 hours, rinsed, drained
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, soaked 4-6 hours, rinsed, drained
1/4 cup sesame seeds, soaked 4-6 hours, rinsed, drained
1/4 cup flax seeds, soaked 8-12 hours in 1/2 cup purified water (do not rinse or drain)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

  1. Loosely separate the dates and put them in a high speed blender.  Add the water and blend to form a smooth paste, adding more water if necessary.
  2. Combine the buckwheat groats, currants or raisins, shredded coconut, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, flaxseeds, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl and stir well or mix with your hands.
  3. Spread 1/4 inch of bater (4-6 cups) evenly on a dehydrator tray lined with a nonstick sheet.  Repeat until all of hte batter is used.
  4. Dehydrate for 8 hours at 105 degrees, flip the granola onto a mesh dehydrator screen, and continue dehydrating another 24 hours until completely dry.
  5. Break the granola aparat or crumble it into chunks.
  6. Store in a sealed glass jars in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

Note: use the larger amount of dates for a sweeter granola.

Note: toasted buckwheat groats, known as kasha, is a very popular Middle Eastern grain and can easily be confused with raw groats.  Make sure to buy raw, hulled, buckwheat groats.

Note: for a pretty presentation, you can score the batter into 1″ squares after you put them onto the nonstick dehydrator sheets.

Note: to sprout groats, first soak them in water to cover for 8 hours or overnight.  Drain and rinse them, and put them in a colander over a plate, to catch any water.  Allow them to sprout for 12-24 hours, rinsing them every 12 hours.

Variations

Apple cinnamon granola – add 4 cored and shredded apples.

Berry granola – eliminate the cinnamon and add 1 lb of fresh or frozen berries.  Be sure to fold those in last.

Granola bars – spread the granola batter 1/2 inch thick on nonstick dehydrator sheets, then score into squares before dehydrating.

Serve with love

Weekends are relaxing?

August 23, 2009
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JuliusOy! It’s been a busy day. I have washed, dried, folded AND put-away seven (yes seven!!) loads of laundry. I have washed Julius Seizure, our half-blind epileptic little doggie.  I have swept floors.  I have tidied.  I have cleaned and organized.  I started some alfalfa sprouts.  I made carrot, cauliflower and tarragon soup.  I shredded and marinated some collard greens.

M. and I have been eating a lot of recipes from Donna Gates’ Body Ecology book, including the carrot/cauliflower/tarragon concoction mentioned above. I’m still feeling utterly wretched in the digestive realm so I’m sticking to vegan-ism this week.    The best way to do that is to make sure I have good yummy food handy.  Keeping it anti-candida a la Body Ecology help the tummy troubles.  Fortunately the soup recipe yields an abundant amount of food.  M., Z., and I will be eating this all week.  Add a few salads or steamed veggie sides and it’s a full meal.  No need to think or do much when it comes to the food I’m eating this week.

That leaves me time to focus on some longer term prep.  It’s easier to stay raw when I have some staples stashed away in the pantry.  I try to make  a big batch of this type of food each quarter.  On tap this week: “Golden tortilla chips” , “Pizza flax crackers” , and  some “Grawnola.  These recipes are time intensive, although little of that is hands-on.  There’s soaking and sprouting to do.  And I need to consider the amount of space available in my dehydrator plus how long each recipe is going to be taking up space inside. It’s a little tricky to have things ready-sprouted in time for the dehydrator opening.

This is the food prep schedule I’ve planned on top of everything else I’ve accomplished today.

Tonight :  raw chocolate macadamia ice cream, peach cobbler, and my green smoothies for tomorrow’s breakfast & lunch.

Monday a.m.: rinse sprouts, rotate fruit, soak 2.5 cups of hulled buckwheat groats

Monday p.m.: drain and rinse buckwheat, start sprouting it, rinse alfalfa sprouts, make golden tortilla chips and put them in dehydrator for 24 hours.

Tuesday a.m.: rinse alfalfa sprouts, rotate fruit, rinse buckwheat sprouts, soak 1/4 cup each of sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, and flax seeds.

Tuesday p.m.: take tortilla chips out of the dehydrator, cool, and put into ziplock freezer bags, store in the fridge.  Make grawnola, put into dehydrator for 24 hours.

Wednesday a.m.: rinse sprouts, soak 2 cups of flax seed.

Wednesday p.m.: make pizza flax crackers, put into dehydrator for 24 hours.

I’ll decide what other staples to make on Wednesday.  By that time I’ll need a night or two off from food prepping.

Juicing Prep

August 13, 2009
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I decided to juice feast tomorrow.  I’ve indulged a lot this week and need to clear my head.  It’s not a good day to do it.  It’s never a good day.  I’m headed out to a birthday party in the evening.  There’s always something which will lead to temptation on a day I’ve decided to stick to juices.  I figure I might as well accept it and carry on.  Otherwise, it would be too easy to say, “I’ll do it the day after.”

Empty Quart Jars

Empty Quart Jars

The folks over at juicefeasting.com recommend drinking 4-5 quart jars of juice per day when fasting.   It’s a lot of mo-fo’ing juice.  It’s to keep yourself full and nourished.

Any other time I’ve juice fasted, I’ve only managed to drink a bit more than 3 jars .  Despite making my own yummy juice,  I just get tired of it by day’s end.

The quart Ball jars (a.k.a. Mason jars) aren’t even a full quart.  I measured.  They hold about 3.5 cups.  A full quart = 4 cups.   I guess the recession is hitting everything.  Full quart or not, it’s still enough liquid to keep me hydrated (read: peeing) all day long.

I had a lot of produce in the fridge which was a bit soft for eating.  Perfect for juicing!

Abundant Produce

Abundant Produce

I got quite the cornucopia once I emptied out the vegetable crisper slimer.

I intended to make Green Giant Juice and some watermelon/lemon juice.  I had about 2 lbs of carrots and a whole bunch of oranges about to go so I decided to juice those with a bit of ginger.

It’s takes a fair amount of time to juice a pile of produce this big.  I love my Omega juicer, but it does require that I chop things into bits that can fit into its chute.  I washed all the lovely live food and started slicing.

It took up most of my counter space. And that was just the green stuff.  I didn’t have the room to start dealing with the oranges and carrots so I set those aside for awhile.

I like to juice my greens before my fruits.  I find that putting the juicier stuff in afterwards helps get the tougher fibrous bulk pushed through the hopper.   I alternated kale, celery, and cucumber.

Veggies Prepped

Veggies Prepped

It took about half an hour to do the greens.  I added the apples in afterward.  I think I had about 6 of them.  Typically I’d use 2 apples for each quart of Green Giant.  I’ve not been liking the greenish taste of that recipe lately. I find I’ve been adding even more apples than usual.  Guess I’ve just got a sweet tooth.

The point of the juice fast is to give your digestive system a break from the work of digesting.  Fiber is good for you.  You want that going through your pipes most of the time.

Just not when you want to clean out what’s already there.

Juiced Greens Yield

Juiced Greens Yield

All of those greens yield a small amount of juice.  All of that bulk is indeed fiber.

Compost

Compost

And all that fiber got returned to the Mother. My wife loves a nice pile of compost.

I got a higher yield when I added the apples.  By this point I was getting mighty tired of juicing.  I think I’d spent about 45 minutes on it at at that point.

Greens with Apples

Greens with Apples

I was getting close to having enough juice to do the fast tomorrow.

The greens with the apples gave me two “quart” jars.  That’s enough greens.

I juiced up all of my extra carrots and oranges.  It didn’t quite get me a “quart.”  I briefly entertained the notion of cutting up a pineapple I have on the counter.   But I was really really sick of juicing and I still had to clean everything up.

Fortunately, the Omega juicer as a snap to clean.  It’s even got a handy-dandy brush for getting the fibrous bits out of the gears.

Green and Orange Juices

Green and Orange Juices

So I’ve got 2 and 3/4 quarts prepared for tomorrow.  I probably will add some pineapple juice to the carrot – orange – ginger combo.

I’ll also make a jar or two of watermelon lemon.  I love watermelon and lemon juice.  It’s better than soda.

The real trick will be getting up early enough to make the juice.   I’ve stayed up so late juicing that I know I’m going to want to sleep in. If I sleep in, I’ll end up more groggy, and getting out of bed will be difficult.

I’ll want coffee at that point.  I’ll be setting out some green tea before I get into bed.  That way, I’ll be less tempted by the java.   The jars sure look pretty on my kitchen windowsill.  I’m looking forward to that first glass in the morning.

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