Hot & Healthy Raw Food Demonstration

Raw food in the middle of winter??!!  Who would do something crazy like that??  Me, that's who!  And when it's done right, you won't miss the stove at all.  Plus, you can always cuddle up in front of a fire in the fireplace after dining on these delicious treats.

This past Friday I had the privilege of sharing some gourmet raw vegan recipes with a group of 18 gathered in the back room of Divine Treasures, a vegan chocolatier in Manchester, CT.  Owner, Diane Wagemann, generously offered to be the host for this event, and I think it was the perfect location.

We started the evening in the Mediterranean with a raw falafel done two ways:  fresh from the food processor as a pate, and dehydrated into the traditional looking yet healthier version of falafel balls.  The base of the falafel is pumpkin seeds, which are high in zinc and perfect for anyone who suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) this time of year.

Both were enjoyed, but everyone agreed that the flavors intensified and the firm, slightly crisp, yet chewy texture of the dehydrated version were an unexpected delight.  It's nice getting that same falafel satisfaction without the harmful trans fats from deep frying!

These were served with a raw hummus pureed in my Vita-Mix to smooth perfection with cashews, zucchini, tahini and various seasonings.  Although regular hummus made with chickpeas is pretty healthy, everyone agreed that the raw interpretation was silky smooth and surprisingly decadent.  Cashews will do that!

Next we journeyed to Mexico for Raw Tacos with Walnut "Meat," Jicama "Rice," and Chipotle Cashew Aioli.  All of the nuts and seeds had been soaking the night before, so everything was drained and rinsed for the presentation.

I began with the walnut meat filling which is pulsed together in the food processor with sun-dried tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, and seasonings.  You'd never imagine this much flavor can be contained in raw ingredients, but it's worth experimenting.

Next we moved on to the Jicama Rice, which is made by pulsing together chopped jicama and pine nuts in the food processor until it's the consistency of grains of rice.  Jicama is a root vegetable native to Mexico.  It's slightly sweet and not too starchy with the texture of a water chestnut.  The brownish skin is very fibrous and often coated with wax to help it keep longer.

The skin must be washed, peeled, and removed before eating.  Once it is cut away, the jicama can be diced into chunks, then put into the food processor where it is pulsed together with the soaked pine nuts.

After it is pulsed for a few seconds, this mixture needs to be placed in a nut bag so that the extra liquid can drain out.  I did a little squeezing to hurry the process along and what I was left with was a big bowl of whitish water that reminded me of rice milk.  Out of curiosity, I decided to taste it.  And I made a surprising discovery: WOW!  Jicama water is the sweetest, most refreshing drink EVER!!  Or, at least, after doing a 2-hour demo it was the perfect elixer.  I'm definitely going to experiment with this more often. Somebody should look into bottling it. :-)

We finished the demo with the Chipotle Aioli made with soaked cashews, dried chipotle, lemon, garlic powder, apple cider vinegar, and sea salt.  I topped it all off with a garnish of fresh red pepper diced finely for a little pop of color.  Beautiful and delicious!

 

Raw Butterscotch Pudding with Blueberries

I've been craving sugar a lot lately (chocolate, in particular), which is a sign to me that something's out of balance, and I've been really feeling it.  Lots of stress doesn't help either, and I think I've been overcompensating by reaching for a handful of chocolate chips (vegan, but still...) every two seconds to lift my mood.  All that came crashing down recently, so I decided it was time to do a little eliminating, so to speak.

No more sampling of gluten-free baked goods.  No more chocolate (even in smoothies).  No more gluten-free bread and cereal... for now anyway.  I'm still having fruit though (whole, not juice), and doing my best to manage those cravings.  Last night was a challenge.  I really really really wanted some kind of dessert, so I poked around in my fridge for something that could be transformed into a treat and found some chia seeds, which make a nice gelatinous pudding when soaked in liquid.  I must say, what I came up with was pure genius.

I pureed a handful of cashews and 3 dried figs in the Vita-Mix with enough water to make a thick cream.  Then I poured this into a bowl and stirred in about 1/4 cup of chia seeds.  I let this sit in the fridge for about an hour, and what resulted was a thick, creamy pudding with a taste reminiscent of butterscotch.  Seriously.  BUTTERscotch. And just as thick and creamy as instant Jell-O pudding.  mmmmm...

I topped this luscious mixture with some frozen blueberries and enjoyed my sweet treat while watching Jake Gyllenhaal chase down the Zodiac.  Afterward, Zinny licked the bowl clean.  Dewclaws up!

Raw Butterscotch Pudding (serves 1-2)
1/4 cup raw cashews
3 dried figs
1 1/4 cups water
1 Tbl coconut oil
1/4 tsp vanilla
pinch of sea salt
2 Tbl chia seeds

Place cashews, figs and about 1/2 cup of water in a high-speed blender, and puree on low to chop into small pieces.  Gradually add remaining water, coconut oil, vanilla and salt and puree until smooth.  Pour into a bowl and mix with chia seeds.  Refrigerate 1hour, stirring every 10-15 minutes to be sure chia seeds are evenly distributed.

Raw Food Lesson

This week's raw request was for another savory nut pate. I did some research and discovered several recipes for mock salmon pate as well as crab cakes, both of which looked delicious. I combined some elements, tweaked the measurements, and ultimately came up with a version that worked really well without garlic, onion or peppery spices for my client. The mock salmon patties are topped with a raw Gomasio made from white and black sesame seeds, Dulse flakes, and sea salt, which gives them a crunch reminiscent of that deep-fried coating of crab cakes.

And of course, you have to have tartar sauce when it comes to fried seafood patties, right? So I did a little more research and found an excellent recipe for creamy dill sauce by Cherie Soria that's made with soaked cashews and lemon juice. I also tweaked it a bit to suit the needs of my client, but we were both pleased with the results. Nothing beats the aroma of fresh dill!

For dessert, we needed to prepare something for a few "regular" people who are new to raw food. I decided that my fresh fruit tart with date nut crust would be the perfect solution. It's something everyone loves, and it looks so beautiful. In the center are some lovely little wild blueberries, and blackberries garnish the perimeter.

I hope dinner was a success!

Raw Food Lessons

This week I gave a couple of raw food lessons, timed perfectly to coincide with the hazy, hot & humid summer weather we've finally been having. It was great preparing entire meals without the use of the stove or oven.

The first menu was Italian themed: Mediterranean Wilted Kale Salad with Kalamata Olives and Pine Nuts; Spiralized Zucchini "Spaghetti" with Cashew "Cheese" Sauce and Red Pepper Marinara; and a lovely Fresh Fruit Tart with Date Nut Crust (my favorite summer treat!).

The second menu was Mexican themed: Shaved Jicama and Fennel Salad with Avocado Lime Vinaigrette; Sunflower Seed "Tacos" with Mexican Cacao Mole Sauce; Strawberry Salsa and Cilantro.
Delish!

Nasturtium Cannolis with Macadamia Cheese

I was in production mode today preparing food for the Fresh from the Garden Raw Picnic tomorrow, which will be part of Foodbuzz.com's 24, 24, 24 this month.

Earlier in the day I picked some tender nasturtium leaves from my garden plot at ChapelSeed Community Garden. They're kinda like grape leaves, only not as tough and slightly peppery in flavor. I suspected they would complement the savory richness of a raw nut cheese, so I decided to make some stuffed rolls for the picnic (recipe below)

I started by soaking the macadamia nuts in water overnight to soften them up and remove the enzyme inhibitor. After draining and rinsing them, I put them in a food processor with mellow white miso, nutritional yeast, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and sea salt.

I pulsed the mixture together just until crumbly, then gradually added more water to get a semismooth paste. I then added some dried and fresh herbs, black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. The result is an Italian inspired creamy ricotta-like filling that tastes rich, but is not heavy.

Onto the cannolis. . . First, I spread about 1 heaping tablespoon of the cheese along the bottom end of the leaf.

Then I rolled it up like a burrito (or in this case, little cannolis).

Tomorrow, I will be laying them on a platter and garnishing with lovely orange and yellow nasturtium blossoms. Can't wait!!

Macadamia Cheese "Rawcotta”

2 tsp mellow white miso

2 cups macadamia nuts (soaked, drained and rinsed)

3 Tbl lemon juice

1 tsp olive oil

½ tsp sea salt

1-2 cloves garlic

1 Tbl onion powder

½ tsp dried basil

½ tsp dried oregano

Fresh black pepper

2 Tbl fresh parsley

Enough water to chop

In a food processor, pulse together miso, macadamia nuts, lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt, garlic and onion powder into a thick paste. Empty into a bowl and add remaining ingredients.

Raw Rican Vegan

I recently had the pleasure of giving a raw food lesson to two lovely women who are beginning their raw journey. Both are happy to report that they've lost over 15 lbs. since the start of the New Year, and are enjoying an amazing increase energy (despite the frigid temps and stormy weather!). Bravo!

We made a "Sea"sar Salad with Romaine Lettuce, Pear, Avocado and Tahini Dulse Dressing, Zucchini "Spaghetti" with Cashew "Cheese" Sauce and Red Pepper Marinara, and an Apple Pear Crumble for dessert. By all reports, it was delicious!

You can read about their raw journey at Rawformation.

Favorite recipe: Chocolate Ambrosia Tart

I've been making this recipe for some time now, and it has become one of my favorites for the following reasons: it works any time of the year, is easy to make, tastes delicious, looks impressive and everyone likes it, even non-vegans. Whenever I have a party to go to, I bring this along because it looks so pretty and festive. And no one would ever guess the secret ingredient is avocados. Yes, that's right, 2 or 3 ripe and creamy avocados.

For a raw recipe, it's really quite simple. Simply pulse everything for the crust in your food processor and press it into a tart pan, making sure to get plenty of the crumbly stuff into the fluted edges so it will look pretty when it's taken out of the form. Or, if you don't have one of those fancy pans (but really, you should buy one just for this purpose... they're only $9), you can use a regular pie pan or even a spring-form cake pan.

While the crust is firming up in the refrigerator, puree all the filling ingredients in your handy Vita-Mix high-speed blender. If you don't have one of those, you can just use the food processor again. Then spread the creamy pudding into your prepared tart and refrigerate a couple of hours to firm it up. Garnish it with fresh cut berries (sure, summer is best for those perfectly ripe strawberries, but even frozen will work), and you're good to go. I think I'm gonna do this for Thanksgiving!

Nearly Raw Chocolate Ambrosia Tart with Nut Crust
(from Raw Food Made Easy by Jennifer Cornbleet)

Crust:
1 cup walnuts (soaked, rinsed and drained)
1 cup pecans (soaked, rinsed and drained)
1/2 cup Medjool dates
1 Tbl raw agave syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt

Finely chop walnuts and pecans in a food processor, then add dates, agave syrup, cinnamon and sea salt and puree until it begins to stick together. Press into pie pan and refrigerate while preparing filling.

Filling:
1 cup Medjool dates
½ cup agave syrup
1 tsp vanilla
3 avocados, mashed
¾ cup cocoa powder
½ cup water (approx.)

In a food processor, puree dates, agave and vanilla together until smooth. Add avocado and cocoa and puree until creamy. Pour into prepared tart shell and garnish with fresh berries.

Superfoods, Healing Foods

Last week I had the priviledge to teach a workshop at the Mercy Center for staff members from the Yale Children's Medical Center. The location is gorgeous - right on the ocean in Madison with a sprawling campus landscaped with lush greenery and blooming shrubs and perennials. Even with the rain, it was a pleasure to be there. And what a great group of women! They were there for their staff retreat and wanted to do something special to de-stress from a hectic work environment. I was happy to help by providing a customized lecture and cooking demonstration about foods that heal. The menu for the morning included Gingered Vegetable Saute with Baked Tofu, Curried Chickpea and Quinoa Pilaf and an amazingly decadent nearly raw Chocolate Mousse with Nut Crust and Fresh Strawberries (you'd never guess that the secret ingredient was avocados!). I hope they had as much fun as I did.