Living Rawesome

Day #27 Sweet Tomato Jam pg. 158 entertaining in the raw

I made the best meal yet tonight. I served it to Jason on the couch. He was surprised, I made the jam so quick. I soaked the sun-dried tomatoes for about 3 hours. It says in the recipe to reconstitute them. I wanted to have dinner with everyone but I was feeling a bit down tonight, so I ate earlier and studied. Rhonda actually came over tonight. I haven’t seen her in many months. She has been my best friend for many years. Sad how time gets away from us and we lose sight of people that really matter to us. It was great to catch up with her and hear her funny stories. I miss her. I let her and her daughter Dominique try my citrus granola. I think they liked it. They finished the amount that I gave them, so I am assuming they like it at least a little. Dominique is vegetarian and Rhonda is a cereal and ice cream junkie:) I try to get her to eat more veggies, I understand her love for ice cream, I used to be the same way. I always went to Baskin Robbins or Marble Slab. Ya know, I don’t really crave ice cream anymore. There are so many other yummy desserts to make and eat. Maybe one day I will make her a delicious raw ice cream or smoothie. This is what I served to Jason….

As you can see on his face he loves it! Actually, he was posing with the food and trying to be funny, I am always posing with my food. Ya gotta love him. He’s so good to me!
Sweet Tomato Jam ingredients are:
1 cup sun-dried tomato, reconstituted
1/4 shallot
1/2 Roma tomato
1 T Fresh Lemon Juice
2 T olive oil
2 1/4 t raw agave
1/4 sea salt
1/4 chili powder
I added this recipe today, I think if you try this you will want to get his book. He really is the most talented. These recipes look so intimidating when you look at the ingredients on the pages, but it literally takes 5-10 minutes to prepare these meals. I mean it. The longest amount of time put into the recipes are the dehydration, and soaking. After these steps are done it literally takes about 5 minutes for any of these recipes. I met a customer today that said, “I think Raw food would get boring.” Oh man, I think there is no limit to the meals you can make with God’s Food. I have been inspired to change some of these recipes in his book to include spices or ingredients I like. I am not playing around with any new recipes at home, but at work I have been inspired to make some new meals.
I have also been inspired to start a quote of the day at work. Today’s quote was, “The only thing that stays the same in life is Change itself” I thought this was fitting for me. I have had many changes over the last year. I know that it is certain. Change is occurring all the time and we should all embrace it. I am learning to accept the way things are that I can not change and love every thing that IS! I absolutely love all the blessings that the Creator has granted me:)
What are your blessings? Instead of counting sheep tonight, count those things that are dear to you and the many blessings you are given.
Goodnight, my beautiful friends and family.

Day #26 Macadamia Puree and Summer Squash Pancakes pg. 158 entertaining

David Wolfe was in Orlando Florida back in April for a seminar at the Winter Park library. I was blessed to have eaten this meal made by the lovely Chef Olive from Orlando. The day was the BEST EVER and the meal was splendid, and so was her chocolate mint tea. David Wolfe is one of my favorite gurus:)

I have been looking forward to eating this meal again. I have never made it before, I am hoping it will be as good as Chef Olive’s and I hope the presentation will look similar to the photo in M.K.’s book entertaining in the raw. Tonight I made the Macadamia Puree and Summer Squash Pancakes for tomorrow night’s meal. Jason is working tonight so I am just preparing food for tomorrow. This meal is great for a brunch, but we will have it for dinner tomorrow night. Hopefully the kids will try it.
It’s so great, tonight, Sabby asked for the chocolate cookie crumbs that I made a few days ago. It’s great, they are getting used to having yummy raw treats around the house. Unfortunately the cookie crumbs are gone. I ate them today with some granola and almond milk:) while I studied Anatomy.
The Macadamia Puree calls for macadamia nuts (we purchased them on our Anniversary in St. Augustine from Blue Planet), lemon zest, water, shallot, garlic, nutritional yeast, salt and cayenne. I soaked the mac nuts for about 2 hours. Then everything was thrown into the vita-mix and blended until smooth. This is such a great puree, it tastes like a smooth cheese with a hint of smoke flavor. It is delicious!
The Pancakes call for yellow squash, green squash, salt, flax meal, olive oil, water, green onions, dill, parsley, dry tarragon, sea salt, black pepper and Macadamia puree. The recipe calls for grated squash, I used the food processor’s grater’s blade. This only takes about 1 minute. I put the 1 lb. of squash in a bowl and poured the salt on it. A chinois is supposed to be used but unfortunately my kitchen is not equipped for gourmet “un”cooking. Although it will be one day. I used a mesh screen instead. The reason for the salt and the chinois is to dry out the squash so the pancakes will dehydrate to a more crisp consistency. The water from the squash was straining and at least 3/4 cup of water came from the total 1 pound. I also squeezed the zucchini dry and placed it in a bowl. I mixed flax meal, olive oil, and water with the squash. The spices and mac puree were added after I mixed the pancakes.
I love fresh dill and parsley, like M.K. says this meal is perfect for summer. Tomorrow I will make the sun-dried tomato jam. It will make a marvelous presentation. I will also make a salad:)

Day #25 Blueberry Almond Granola Bar pg. 39 everyday raw

Anatomy and Physiology was fun! I am surprised that I actually understood what the teacher was talking about tonight. Science has never been my best subject and before I went tonight, honestly I was a bit worred, but I must not fear anything this semester. I know that helping others is part of my life’s mission. I love to help others prepare food and teach them about eating better. I know it will take many hours of studying but the reward of helping others will be well worth it. Tomorrow I have my first Chemistry class. I have never taken Chemistry before so it will be quite an experience for sure. I just need to remember to keep my mind open and clear.
I made blueberry almond granola bars tonight. It calls for dehydrated blueberries. This morning I dehydrated the blueberries that the recipe called for.


I let them stay in the dehydrator until this evening before I went to school. I couldn’t believe how much they shrank. I waited until tonight after school to finish the recipe. Jason soaked the flax seeds for me for 2 hours. I couldn’t wait to get home to do tonight’s recipe. I know Sabby will like this, he LOVES blueberries. I’m sure everyone I know will love them. I thought that a vanilla cream would go great on the top of these. I will have to wait and see.
The recipe calls for blueberries, almond meal, walnut flour, cashew flour, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, flax seeds, vanilla extract, almond extract, lemon rind, and sea salt. I used the food processor to grind the almonds, walnuts and cashews. I used whole sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, and flax seeds. I placed all ingredients in a bowl and added the blueberries after adding all other ingredients. The colors turned out beautiful together. The color is a shade of purple but it still looks appetizing. I have made raw food dishes before that turned me off to look at and I couldn’t possibly enjoy the flavor because of the way they looked.
The batter for this is absolutely so incredible. Matthew Kenney is truly the best chef, of the raw food world. I love how simple these ingredients are and yet flavors melt your taste buds and leaves you craving more. The desserts are my favorite of course. I am thinking tomorrow I should really make something other than sweet stuff. I just enjoy all of the pies and granolas. The popsicles did turn out good but I personally don’t care for the little pieces of zest. Christian and Jason enjoyed them, but Sabby and I will pass on them. I was hoping to have the same memories of the yummy orange sherbert from Disney but nope:( That’s okay. I am sure I can find another recipe or make my own. Maybe I should start experimenting with orange ice cream and vanilla ice cream. I am sure I will get to that one day, but right now I’m having so much fun just doing M.K.’s recipes.

Day #24 Creamsicles pg. 135 and Citrus Maple Granola pg. 38 everyday raw

I just got back from the Raw Food Potluck in Gainesville. It was such a fantastic time and I am recharged with vibrant energy from all the lovely people that were there. I learned so much tonight. I am always amazed by my friends that come to our potlucks here. Theresa, Marsha and Joanne. They all inspire me in so many ways. They always encourage me with positive energy. Joanne is almost cancer free. She is hoping to be cancer free by next month. She will begin teaching others how to cure themselves from cancer. I’m so excited about this awesome news.
We will be going to Raw Spirit next weekend. There are 9 of us going that I know of. It will be a great time of friendship and learning so much more about healthy living. We talked made plans and how we will meet eachother. We are all going on different flights and some are driving. Theresa and Steve are going to camp on sight there at Raw Spirit. The rest of us are flying. I can’t wait.
It was really such a blessing to listen to the people tonight and learn about their successes and struggles and what drives them to live a life with healthy foods. It was very inspiring. I am fortunate to have met all of the people that have come into my life and will come into my life.
Because it is so late I am going to cut this short. I have my first class tomorrow night, Anatomy and Physiology. I am looking forward to it. Jason also has his first day back of nursing school. It’s already 11:30pm. I am very fortunate that I got a nap today.
I woke up at 5 this morning to do my citrus maple granola. It only took 5 minutes. I strained the nuts and ran water over them in the strainer. I like to run water over them for at least 1 minute. After rinsing them, I placed them in the food processor, pulsed them about 30 times. I poured the nuts into the mixture that I made last night and mixed it all together. I placed it on one dehydrator sheet ( I made only 1/2 the recipe) and placed it in the dehydrator and it is still dehydrating. I can’t wait to let others try it. It is one of my favorites now. It does remind me of my Grandma Wilkinson’s citrus nuts that she makes at Christmas time. My mother tried some tonight and like it.
When Christian got home from school, I made the Creamsicles. He likes hanging with me in the kitchen. I love it that he is excited. He made his own orange slushy with stevia, orange juice and ice. I love that he is inventing things for himself. I am always proud of him. The creamsicles were easy to make too. I threw all ingredients in the blender and mixed it. I always add all ingredients except the oil (coconut or cacao). If I combine all ingredients first, excluding oil, I know they are guaranteed to combine better. After the ingredients are thoroughly mixed I add the oil. I only had 8 popsicle containers, so I used small mason jars for the rest. We will have to spoon the creamsicles out of the jars. I haven’t tried the popsicles yet, but the mixture was yummy. It will be fun to eat it outside in the hot Florida sun catching rays of vitamin D.
The brownies were a hit tonight at the potluck. I am always so excited when people enjoy my food. I love to make it for others:)
I am off to bed with my gorgeous husband of 10 years! Goodnight!

Review of some recipes that I’ve done over the past few weeks

I wanted to give a brief synopsis of the recipes. I have missed some pictures and wanted to report on the final recipes. I was dedicated on my vacation to my project. I made a really refreshing salsa. I made it on Saturday night, and it marinated in the refrigerator overnight. I ate it for breakfast the next morning with my sprouted lentils.

Most of the recipes I make I try to let at least 4 people try them. Usually it is Jason and I, I try to include my kids but if they don’t want to try it I take the recipes to work and Rich and Sarah try them. Destiny, Donna, and Celynn, have tried some of the recipes. If I’m lucky customers will try the recipes and let me know what they think. I want to do a count down of the top 5 recipes that I feel are the best and also what others have claimed to like the best.
# 5 is raspberry vanilla-almond granola
I remember D’Adjoa and Joanne and Destiny really enjoying this granola. I remember going to the dehydrator and saying “okay, this is the last handful” several times. It was delicious. Not too sweet and very filling. Jason enjoyed it very much. I will put in more raspberries next time I make it, but this was very memorable.

#4 is the vanilla-almond macaroon
These are dehydrated. I loved them out of the dehydrator but after I put them in the refrigerator they became very chewy and again, they are not too sweet. Very Delicious. I even calculated the calories for them using Sparksrecipes. They are approx. 147 calories, but well worth it.

#3 are BBQ crisps
After my children decided they were going to fight over the last 2 I declared that they are well worth the top 5. They are divine. I remember eating them for lunch several days in a row.

#2 is the lemon macaroon cheesecake tartlet
This is absolutely unforgettable. I have never had a raw dehydrated pie crust. After having the crust in this fashion I really never want to have the crust any other way. It is so much like a flower crust but so much better. I love to chew and this is chewy. Everyone who tried this recipe loved it.

There is a tie for #1 Warm Brownie and Chocolate Truffles
My kids liked the warm brownie but still are asking me to make the chocolate truffles. Sabby asked if I would make them for his lunch for school. Even tonight he asked if I could make them tonight. He really wants them again, so I will make them this week.
The warm brownie was loved by the adults. Corliss tried them today and loved them. Rich asked for more after I gave him some the other day. The girls at work loved them too.
Of course everyone loves chocolate. Wish David Wolfe could try each and give me his opinion, after all he is the cacao king. I would love to serve him yummy cacao yummies:) AAhhh I can dream.

It is quite obvious that all of us love the desserts. I can’t wait for Matthew Kenney’s new book to come out. All desserts. That will be the best ever!

Day #23 Creamsicles (Prep) pg. 135 and Citrus Maple Granola (prep) pg. 38 everyday raw

Tonight was prep. Soaking nuts, chopping, zesting, juicing, measuring, and processing. I should really take a picture of my kitchen on a night like this. It’s incredible how many things I can fit on my small counter top. I am used to working in small quarters, but tonight was a bit ridiculous. I had dishes and food from dinner still on my counter and I began making my 3 recipes. I say 3 because I made a frosting for my heart shape brownie. I am bringing it to the potluck tomorrow night in Gainesville. I was going to bring it on my vacation but I forgot it when I went to St. Augustine, so I am sure raw food friends in Gainesville will love them.
I started with zesting the 6 oranges. Zesting takes time! Especially with my cheesy little zester that I got from Walmart.


I added 1/4 cup of agave to the zest. This is supposed to “candy” the zest.

I was going to do this last night so I could complete the recipe tonight. My head was extremely tight and I was in so much pain last night, I am surprised I even finished my daily recipe. Needless to say I wasn’t able to do it last night, I actually forgot about it. I normally don’t get headaches. I was worn out from the weekend and probably stress from all the upcoming events. School starting, switching schedules and deadlines. So tonight I had to candy the zest, but I also prepared the rest of the ingredients for the creamsicles and put them into a glass bottle.


Tomorrow the only thing I have to do is put the ingredients into the Vitamix and stir in candied zest. I am not going to stir in the candied zest into the entire recipe. I am making these for my kids and I’m afraid they will not like the zest pieces. I will do some with the candied zest but most will have the zest blended in. I can’t wait to try them. I used to get vanilla ice cream and orange sherbet when I would go to Disney World with my family. Gosh that was a long time ago. I still remember going to the stand with my Dad and ordering the twist cone of yummy creamsicle. I know this will taste even better:) I will have to save 2 for my Dad and I so we can compare flavors and reminisce.
Ingredients for Creamsicles
zest of 6 oranges, 1/4 cup agave, young thai coconut meat, water, more agave, fresh orange juice, vanilla extract, sea salt, *coconut oil ( I am adding this tomorrow). All other ingredients are in glass bottle. Thai coconut is in container.
Next I made the preparation arrangements for my citrus maple granola. I saved some orange juice and 1 T orange zest from my creamsicle recipe. The pecans, almonds, and walnuts are soaking until tomorrow morning. All other ingredients that needed to be processed in food processor were prepared. This included apple, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, sea salt, fresh orange juice, lemon zest and orange zest. This smell reminded me of Christmas time. It was pleasant. My grandmother makes baked nuts that are sugared and flavored with citrus flavors. She gives the nuts as gifts. I always liked them. Now I will have a new version that maybe she will like better:) The recipe calls for raisins, pumpkin seeds, and dried cranberries to add to the mixture. I went ahead and added them to the mixture. Tomorrow, I will complete the recipe by processing the nuts and mixing all ingredients together and put it in the dehydrator on unbleached parchment paper. I used white raisins, and pumpkin seeds. I don’t really like cranberries, so I left them out. He suggests other options for the fruit that can be added. The Himalayan raisins are sweet and chewy. I love them, so much more than Thompson raisins.

Only a few catastrophes happened to me tonight. I had my recipe book on top of the nuts I am soaking and I picked up my juicer and dumped the nuts and water everywhere. My book is ok. No damage:)
The second was my zesting experience with the lemon, I pulled on it too hard and cut my self. That little zester is pretty sharp. Now I have a sponge bob band aid on my hand. So glad my nurse was here to assist. The further I get into this project, Jason is obtaining greater responsibilites. Dishwasher, Coconut Opener and now Nurse (He is almost one anyway). I am fortunate to have him:)
I wonder if this will taste better than vanilla granola I made several weeks ago. I’ll let you know.

Day #22 Za’atar Flatbread pg. 51 everyday raw

Just got home tonight from my most enjoyable vacation with my loving hubby. We had a great time! I am so tired right now, and have a splitting headache, he is rubbing it right now. I really would love to go to sleep. I made the za’atar flatbread tonight. Za’atar is generally prepared using ground dried thyme, oregano, marjoram, mixed with toasted sesame seeds, and salt. Some varieties may add savory, cumin, coriander or fennel seed. A Lebanese variety of Za’atar usually contains sumac berries, and has a distinct dark red color. Matthew Kenney’s version is Lebanese. He explains that he really loves it on plain pizza or flatbread. The recipe calls for roma tomatoes, garam masala, za’atar spice, cumin, sea salt, flax meal, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, and flax seeds. I soaked the sunflower seeds for 4 hours and the flax seeds for 20 minutes. After my trip I went to work to make some yummy raw pies and prepare some other foods for tomorrow. I am going in later than usual because Sebastian’s first day of 3rd grade is tomorrow. I always walk him to his class on his first day. While I was at work I bought tomatoes. We only had regular tomatoes, so I bought 4, the recipe called for 6 roma tomatoes. I think 4 was too many. The batter became very liquidy. The tomatoes I bought were very juicy. Roma tomatoes are also drier than regular tomatoes. According to the directions, the recipe was only supposed to make 2 trays, but mine made 4. It was exceptionally easy to spread out on the sheets. I was happy the way it turned out. I don’t know if they are too runny for the end result, but they smelled delicious. Jason loves garam masala, he tried the batter and said he knows he will like them. I have never had za’atar flavoring before. I have never tried sumac, which is in this version of za’atar. If they are really good, my mom said she would love to have some.

Day #21 Salsa Fresca pg. 74 everyday raw

It is 10:30 pm. I am in St. Augustine in my nice cozy bed in a beautiful hotel called Castillo Real. I am here for my 10th Anniversary with my wonderful husband. We are having a blast!! Last night I went to The Traveling Circus and Medicine Show. The show was at the St. Augustine Amphitheater. Counting Crows, Michael Franti and Spearhead, and Augustana were in the show. What a fantastic show!! I really have never seen a show like the show last night. Most concerts I have been to have an opening act or several, then the main act is last. Well last night was so different. There was not an opening act, they all came out together and sang with all of their bands. It was really an incredible show. Michael Franti was the star of the show, in my opinion. I love his music, it is always positive and heartwarming. He is very high energy! Counting Crows and Augustana were more mellow. They would take turns singing on the stage. One band would perform by themselves then they would exit the stage then the next band would come on. Sometimes they would sing together, then the one band would perform and the others would leave for a while. The amphitheater was outside with most seats covered by a tent. It was a rainy night on the way to the show, but it turned out to be breezy and beautiful. Michael Franti played a song that he wrote for his son, when his son moved from San Francisco to New York City. I had never heard it, but I definitely would love to purchase that song from itunes. Many songs stood for the idea of sticking together as a country and supporting family and friends and others that are in need. The message was clear last night, community and love is really going to keep our country together. Michael Franti told a story about the Sequioa Trees in California. They are the tallest trees in the world but they have very short root systems that are shallow in the earth. But the roots of the trees join together under the ground and they grow as high as they do because they rely on each others root systems. He compared these Red Woods to people. If we are going to grow to our full ability we must join together and start relying on one another. He is such a beautiful poet!
The concert was so much fun!
I decided to make salsa fresca tonight since it is easy to make on the vacation. We went to the farmers market today but I only bought red and purple peppers. I have never seen purple peppers before. They really are beautiful, but they are not really tasty to me. It tasted like a green pepper but not as strong. I ate the peppers or lunch with a salad I got downtown in St. Augustine. The red pepper was good but I actually left the purple pepper on my salad plate. I don’t like wasting but I truly didn’t like it. I decided to wait to go to the Blue Planet co-op for the organic veggies for this recipe. What a cute little store. It has a small deli, and they sell veggies, fruits, some frozen groceries and canned and jarred goods. They had raw crackers and raw desserts. I bought tomatoes, onion, and fresh cilantro. I forgot to buy limes, so Jason had to buy them at Publix. I didn’t try it tonight. I will try it in the morning. I am going to eat it with my lentils in the morning.
Salsa Fresca
tomatoes
onions
cilantro
sea salt
lime juice
I can’t wait to have this salsa, I’ve been wanting to make a recipe of salsa for so long. I’m sure Jason will want some with his chips and beer. I will post pics later.

Day #20 Sweet Chile-Lime Sauce pg. 73 everyday raw

I am getting ready to leave to St. Augustine. I figured I would make an easy sauce and one that is not too high in fat. I am going to bring it for my sprouted lentils. I love this sweet chile-lime sauce. The recipe calls for nama shoyu (I used Braggs Liquid Aminos), agave, lime juice, sesame oil, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. I placed it in a bowl and mixed it up real quick. This a nice sauce that is not too high in fat. It only calls for a 1 tablespoon of sesame oil for the whole recipe. Many of the sauces tend to be higher in fat. I like to get my fats from sweet things like the yummy brownies:) instead of salad dressings.
Well, I am off to my wonderful vacation.

Day #19 Chocolate Cookie Crumbs pg. 122 everyday raw

Yummy!! I have been in the mood for chocolate everyday of this week. I can’t get enough. I decided to make this chocolate treat for Sabby, so he could put these crumbs on his vanilla rice dream. I know it’s not raw, but I think it’s a step above Breyers Ice Cream. I don’t know if he will use them but if he doesn’t I am sure they will get eaten. I am going to plan raw ice cream party, possibly for late August or early September. If they don’t get eaten I will use them then. This recipe was very easy to make. The recipe calls for cacao powder, oat flour, sea salt, maple syrup, agave, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. Many of the chocolate desserts seem to frequently have these ingredients . I used the vitamix tonight for the oat groat flour. I guess I will be using the vitamix for the flour recipes from now on. I don’t want to experience what I did last night with the brownie flour. By the way, last night’s brownies actually look perfect. I took them out easily from the pans and they are flipped over and dehydrating right now. I am going to take some to everyone at work tomorrow. I will save the heart shape for my man:) We are leaving tomorrow on our Anniversary. We finally get to celebrate our 10 years together. Should be out of this world!!
As for the recipe, it only took about 5 minutes. I ground the flour and put it into a bowl with the cacao powder, and sea salt. I added agave and vanilla and coconut oil and mixed it with my hands. I love using my hands when I make food. I love getting my hands dirty. I would rather chop with a knife than use a food processor. Sarah knows this more than anyone. She loves the food processor because it is quick, but me, well, I love to CHOP!! After the batter was combined, I crumbled the batter and let it fall onto the parchment paper. It will dehydrate the whole weekend when I am gone. By Sunday they should be done.
I am not sure how or what I am going to make on Saturday and Sunday when I am gone. I need to figure it out soon I am leaving tomorrow afternoon. It’s going to be great. Michael Franti, and Counting Crows tomorrow night in St. Augustine. AAhhh can’t wait. I will take pics of my weekend and post them.