The raw report

So, it's been 3 weeks of pretty much 100% raw food (only?!) and I know some of you feel this blog is turning into a food blog, but bear with me... I am quite a passionate person and when I get into something, well, I get into it! I promise I will post only the best recipes from now on... and that I will talk about other stuff too!

Ça fait 3 semaines que je mange pratiquement 100 % cru (c'est tout?!) et je sais que certains d'entre vous ont l'impression que ce blogue est en train de devenir un blogue de cuisine, mais soyez patients... Je suis une passionnée et quand je m'adonne à quelque chose, je le fais avec intensité! Je promets que je ne publierai que les meilleures recettes dorénavant... et que je parlerai d'autres choses aussi!

All I can say is: Wow! I feel great! I've lost weight (which is always a fun side-effect!), I have much less migraines and much, much easier periods. I actually was surprised to find out my periods had started, I had no PMS, no belly bloating, no back pain, only a slight migraine (the first in 10 days, and the one I had before that was caused by cocoa, remember the Rhapsody cake?). You need to know that I always spend the first day of my period in bed with an aweful migraine (and today, I was gardening, hiking and playing with the girls!). I feel like I can start singing the benefits of raw food!

Tout ce que je peux dire c'est : Wow! Je me sens super bien! J'ai perdu du poids (ce qui est toujours un effet secondaire agréable!), j'ai beaucoup moins de migraines et mes règles sont vraiment, vraiment moins douloureuses. J'ai en fait été surprise de constater le début de mes règles, car je n'avais pas eu de SPM, pas de ventre enflé, pas de douleurs au bas du dos et seulement une légère migraine (la première en 10 jours, et la seule depuis celle qui avait été causée par du cacao, vous vous souvenez du Rhapsody cake?). Vous devez savoir que je passe toujours la première journée de mes règles au lit avec une terrible migraine (et aujourd'hui, j'ai jardiné, fait de la randonnée avec les filles et joué avec elles!). Je sens que je peux commencer à crier les bienfaits de l'alimentation crue!


:: This was one of my best raw meal ever: an Indian feast ::
:: Un de mes meilleurs repas crus: un buffet indien ::

The Indian Feast

Marinated veggies

• 2 large Portobello mushroom, thinly sliced
  
• 1/2 a small eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced (I didn't use any since Mathilde reacts to eggplant)
• 1 cup of sweet peas
  
• 1-2 handfuls of broccoli florets
• 3 medium tomatoes in pieces (I used cherry tomatoes in halves)
  
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
  
• 1 tbsp tamari
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  
• 1 tbsp curry powder
  
• 1 tsp sea salt
  

Mix everything in a bowl, put in the dehydrator for 1-2 hours at 105 F.

Curry sauce

• 1 red pepper
  
• 1 garlic clove
  
• 1 tsp lemon juice
  
• 1 cm of fresh ginger
  
• 1 handful of fresh cilantro
  
• 1 tbsp curry powder
  
• 1/2 c young coconut meat (I used 3 tbsp shredded dry coconut)
  
• 100-200 ml water
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp tamarind (if you have some, I didn't)
  

Mix in Vita-Mix or Blendtec. Add to the soften veggies et pop back in the dehydrator, about 30 min.

Parsnip rice :

• 1/2 a large peeled and cut up parsnip (I didn' have any, so I used cauliflower)
  
• 1 tbsp raw macadamia
• 1 tbsp pine nuts
  
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  
• 1 tsp agave nectar
  
• 1 tsp lemon juice
  
• 1/2 tsp white miso (I used sea salt)
  

Mix in the food processor until you get a rice-like consistency. Do not overmix. Set aside.

Spicy mango chutney

• 2 large mangoes, peeled and cut up
  
• 1 large pinch of salt
  
• 2 tsp lemon juice
  
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  
• 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
  
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder

Put in the Vita-mix on low speed to keep some texture. Add water if necessary.

Enjoy! It was divine!

La recette se trouve ici en français (par contre, j'ai utilisé du chou-fleur et non du panais pour le riz, des pois verts au lieu des haricots et des mangues au lieu des pommes pour le chutney).



:: A delicious breakfast ::
:: Un succulent déjeuner ::

Maple Walnut Porridge
From Raw Goddess

I've always loved oatmeal, but haven't eaten it in years. This is the closest to what I remember enjoying as a child - drowned in maple syrup.

1/2 cup raw oat groats
water for soaking
3/4 cup walnuts
2-3 tbs maple syrup
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Sea salt, to taste

Soak the oats in enough water to cover, for 6-12 hours. Drain and rinse well.
In a blender, combine the oats and hot water, keeping a bit of texture. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse to desired consistency. Garnish with fruit/nuts of choice.



Vietnamese Spring Rolls with spicy citrus dipping sauce
By Vanessa Sherwood
Posted on GLiving's GreenChefs

If you don’t feel like making the coconut ‘rice’ wrappers, you can either use the lettuce as a wrapper, or just use regular store bought rice wrappers that you’ll find in the Asian section of most grocery stores.

Coconut ‘rice’ Wrappers
1 Cup Young Coconut Meat
1/2 Cup Coconut Water
1/4 Cup Flax Meal (Optional)
Pinch of Salt

**I used rice paper, even if it's not raw, it's a compromise that many raw foodist make!**

Filling:
Butter Lettuce
Cucumber, thinly sliced
Scallions, thinly sliced lengthwise
Bean Sprouts
Star Fruit, thinly sliced
Basil
Cilantro
Mint Leaves

**I used mung sprouts, julienned carrots and cucumbers, red pepper sticks, raw cashew, fresh basil and cilantro **

Nuoc Cham (spicy citrus dipping sauce):
Lime, Juiced
1 1/2 Tablespoon Nama Shoyu
3 Tablespoons Water
1 Serrano Chili, minced
1-2 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 Teaspoons Agave
1/4 Teaspoon Salt

For the Coconut ‘rice’ Wrappers:
In a Vita Mix or high speed blender, blend everything until completely smooth. Now comes the tricky bit. You should be able to make four wrappers on each teflex lined tray of your dehydrator, unless you want to make one huge wrapper on each tray- it’s your choice. Pour out 2-4 tablespoons of the coconut custard and spread out thin with a spoon or spreader/spatula. Dehydrate at 105- 110 degrees until completely dry, 6-12 hours. When they are done, you will be able to peel them off of the teflex sheet.

For the Filling:
There are no rules here. You can put whatever you want in the wrappers.

Fill the coconut wrappers with the veggies. If you are using the coconut wrappers, be warned that they will get soggy quite quickly. It’s best to roll them as you are eating them. If you are using the lettuce as your wrapper, it won’t be an issue.

For the Nuoc Cham (spicy citrus dipping sauce):
Whisk all the ingredients together. This is your dipping sauce.




:: Mushroom paté sandwiches ::
:: Mini-sandwiches au pâté de champignons ::

I discovered something interesting this week. The hummus recipe I posted last week is much tastier (and much more intestine friendly) in falafel (roll into balls, stick in the dehydrator for a couple of hours). The girls loved them. However, I found a great falafel recipe that we much prefer in hummus (I just added a little bit of water)!

Falafel (actually, hummus!)
From Ani on the raw freedom community forum

2c sprouted chicpeas
1 lemon (juice or, in a vitamix, just peeled)
1c sesame seeds (or 1/2 c tahini, 1/2 c sesame seeds...i figured my seeds would turn to tahini in the vitamix, so i skipped making them into tahini first )
(dash of sesame oil, optional)
1 c parsley (this is a guess...probably adjust to your own preference)
1/2 onion
3 T tamari or equivalent saltiness from another source
1 T crushed cumin seeds (i think i maybe put in a bit more than that...)

put all ingredients in a vitamix or high powered blender with the masher and blend and mash away (MASH)

**So this photo was that falafel recipe that I dehydrated in cookie shapes with some of Carine's mushroom pâté inside and sprouts. We actually did not enjoy that recipe dehydrated, but loved it as hummus as I said!**

Carine's mushroom pâté

3/4 cup of sunflower seeds, soaked overnight
200 g of mushrooms
1 tsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove
1/2 an onion
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp seaweed flakes
2 tsp Bragg
a pinch sea salt

Delicious on cucumbers, celery sticks, lettuce leaves...

Recette du pâté de champignons de Carine (j'ai ajouté du Bragg et du sel de mer).





Mediterranean Almond Bread
By Russell James

Makes 18 'slices'

1/2 c olive oil
1 c sun dried tomatoes, loosely packed
3 c almond flour*
1 c flax meal
3 medium courgettes (zucchinis), peeled & roughly chopped
2 apples, cored and roughly chopped
3 T lemon juice
1 t salt
3 T Herbs De Provence or herbs of your choice (or less!)
2 T marjoram or herbs of your choice (or less!)

*You can make almond flour a number of ways. My favorite is to save the pulp from any almond milk I make and dehydrate it so I can keep it in a glass jar until needed. You could also use the almond pulp wet. Another way would be just to grind some almonds into flour in a high powered blender or coffee mill.

- Process the olive oil, sun dried toms, courgettes, apples, lemon juice, salt and dried herbs until thoroughly mixed.

- Add the almond flour and process again until a batter is formed.

- In a bowl mix the batter with the flax meal by hand. The reason you do this separately (not in the processor) is that you are likely to have too much mixture for the size if the processor at this point, and when you add the flax meal it will become quite heavy and sticky and overwork your machine.

- When mixed, process the whole batter in the machine again in small batches to achieve a light fluffy texture.

- Divide the mixture in 2 and place on Paraflexx sheets, on dehydrator trays.

- Use an offset spatula (aka offset palette knife or cranked palette knife) to spread the mixture evenly to all 4 sides and corners of the Paraflexx sheet. If mixture is too sticky you can wet the spatula to make things easier. With a knife score the whole thing into 9 squares.

- Dehydrate for 2 hours and then remove the Paraflexx sheets by placing another dehydrator tray and mesh on top and invert so that your original sheet of bread is upside down. That will allow you to peel the Paraflexx sheet off and continue to dehydrate the underside of the bread.

- Dehydrate for approx 8 hours more (do this overnight so you're not tempted to eat it before it's ready) or until bread feels light in your hand. If the pieces don't fully come apart where you scored, use a knife to cut them.

Carmella's Notes:
You may want to cut down a little on the herbs as the bread has a strong flavor. You can also make a plain version, without any herbs at all, just to give you the option.

As Russell suggests on his blog, try the Almond Bread with some avocado, lettuce, tomato, cashew mayonnaise and a few slices of marinated Portobello mushrooms. Yummo!

** This is too strong tasting for me. I'll play around with that recipes and other recipes and will post something when I come up with a satisfying recipe**

Cashew Mayonnaise
By Cherie Soria, the founder of the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute

Serves 12 (makes 12 ounces)
Special equipment: Blender

• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2-3 soft dates, pitted
• 1 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• dash white pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil

1. Puree all ingredients, except oil, in food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
2. While continuing to blend, add oil in a steady stream, until emulsified.
3. Store in a tightly sealed container the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

This recipe made enough to nearly fill a small 16 fl oz Vegenaise jar. It firms up nicely in the fridge. Mine was slightly thicker than real mayo.

Here are some tips for making this:

- Put the cashews in a bowl, cover them with purified water, and let them soak for 3-4 hours or overnight. This will make the cashews softer, easier to puree, and will reduce their phytate content (phytates can inhibit mineral absorption).

- Soak the dates in warm water for a few hours or overnight so they soften up and puree more easily. Even if you have a Vita-Mix blender, soaking will help them incorporate more smoothly.

**Too sweet for me, use less dates next time**


Kale Patties (no photos)
Posted in RawGuru's latest newsletter

2-3 cups dino or curly kale (chopped) (I didn't have kale so I used collard and spinach instead)
1/2 cup fresh herbs (parsley, dill, or cilantro)
1/2 clove fresh garlic
2 tbs. almond butter
3 tbs. almond powder (I used left-over pulp, from making almond milk)
1 fresh tomato
1/2 teaspoon Himalayan Crystal Salt

Place the almond butter and tomato in a food processor. Process until mixed. Add in the rest of the ingredients. Add more almond powder if it needs to be firmer. (I ended up using about 5 tbs total)

Taste the patty mixture and form into medium sized balls. Place these balls on a dehydrator sheet and press down on them to form a flat round with a fork. Dehydrate for 6-10 hrs at 110 degrees F. Place in fridge once finished.

Carmella's Notes:
I strongly recommend doubling the recipe, as it didn't yield much at all (about 1 cup or 4 patties). For a fantastic spread, just skip the dehydration altogether and enjoy on crackers or breads. Alternatively, you can also use it as filling for quiche (see recipe below.) Yummo!

**We prefered this non dehydrated, off the spoon! It was delicious! **


And finally, a cooked recipe that the girls enjoyed quite a bit: Soulemama's parmesan crackers with organic cream cheese and homemade violet jelly (jelly because I had no pectin, but organic gelatin!).