Living Rawesome

Day #286 Sesame Ice Cream (unreleased)

May 5, 2010

I know I said that I would finish the Black Sesame and White Coconut Dumplings that I started last night, but I wasn’t able to get chives, so I made this ice cream.  I also have to finish my yellow pasta with Saffron Broth, but I wasn’t able to get to the store today to buy fennel.  I don’t like being in the middle of the two recipes, but I wouldn’t replace this lovely day for anything!  I had a lovely outing with Jason.  We went to Keiser University to talk about the Dietetics program and then we went to Grassroot Restaurant.  The meeting lasted for several hours, needless to say, it was very thorough.  When we finished, Jason and I were starving.  Grassroot wasn’t too far and it’s a RAW restaurant, so of course I wanted to go there.  They also have a vegetarian menu that is cooked.  It’s a great concept.  It is not limited to raw food, but it still stays with the plant based idea. It makes it perfect for friends or family that are not raw or even vegan. The vegetarian meals have always been fantastic. Their restaurant is a cozy little cafe, with orange walls that make one feel warm and welcome.   Our waiter, one of the owners, was fantastic.  He had a pleasant smile and personality, we instantly felt welcome.  I was in my element at this restaurant.  Ahhh I love food and music.  The combo together can’t be beat!  They had delicious food and reggae music on. The lunch was perfect! I ordered the Bachelorrete smoothie.  It is a blend of cashew milk, banana, berries, sunwarrior protein, bee pollen, flax, cacao, agave and plantago fiber (which is known as psyllium).  He was so kind to change my drink a little bit.  I asked for different milk so he substituted it with hemp milk, and they left out the plantago fiber and the agave.  The shake was the best smoothie I have had at a restaurant EVER!!!  I probably could’ve ordered another one, but I ordered the veggie and sprout rice rolls, which were delicious too.  Jason had the BBQ stayke.  I even had to try it, it was spicy, but in his opinion the meal was the best he has had at a restaurant in a looonnng time!  We both gave Grassroot Restauant,  5 stars!

This recipe is not released yet, Meredith Baird sent it to me when she sent the Hazelnut Gelato recipe. Which is pretty much gone. Even my kids liked it. I was surprised because they don’t usually like hazelnut flavor. Jason said it was the one of the best recipes that I have made yet! I liked it, but I haven’t been eating much ice cream lately. I have really been craving green smoothies and more greens. I do still eat sweets, but it’s more in the substance of FRUITS. I still love desserts though!

Sesame Ice Cream Ingredients
Cashews
Young Coconut meat
Agave
Almond milk or other nut milk
Tahini
Vanilla Bean
Vanilla Extract
Coconut oil
Salt
Sesame seeds (glad I picked these up the other day)

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Stir in sesame seeds. Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufactuerer’s instructions.

Jason is working until 10 but I know he will try it tonight. I will let you know what he thinks.

The transition to being a “raw foodist” can be overnight or over the course of many years. There are many types of vegetarians, macro-biotic, strict vegan, fruitarian, raw foodists, lacto-ovo and even breatharians! We see it necessary to cater to all of the above. I am sure some vegetarians can relate. We LOVE feeding people fresh vegan foods, especially those that do not get enough healthy food in their diet. We are not militant activists (more power to you if you are) we are just passionate about our chosen path!~Grassroot Restaurant website. *** Check them out!

Day #285 Coconut Wrappers pg. 60 entertaining in the raw

May 4, 2010

I was counting my recipes that are left in the 2 books and I have about 40 complete recipes, so hopefully I will finish both books in the 365 days. The recipes that I was intimidated with at first seem so easy now. I guess the timing just wasn’t right. I had to build confidence in the kitchen first. Confidence has definitely come over the last year of my life.

I have been waiting to do this recipe for a few days but was out of coconuts. I went to the store and they were on sale today, after seeing the lovely coconuts, there was no question about my recipe of the day. It is similar to the other dumpling recipes. I was reading in the book that this recipe became an instant classic of MK. These dumplings look modern and elegant. I feel like I should be wearing red lipstick and a beautiful black dress when I try these. I will serve these to as many people as I can.

Black Sesame Dumpling Ingredients
young coconut meat
black sesame tahini (I soaked black sesame seeds, strained then added oil and placed in blender)
salt

White Coconut Dumplings Ingredients
young coconut meat
salt

Blend ingredients in Vita-mix until smooth.  Spread very thin on dehydrator Teflex sheets and dehydrate 3-4 hours.  Remove from Teflex and invert onto a cutting board.  Trim edges evenly.  Cut into 9 squares.  Repeat for white dumplings.

I know just where to get the chives for these.  Skoors has them, and they are so flexible.  Yippy!  Thanks Stephanie for noticing that I messed up the “chives” last time

Be like the flower, turn your face to the sun.– Kahlil Gibran

Day #284 Hazelnut Gelato (not yet released)

May 3, 2010

How lucky am I? I just received this recipe today in my email. It’s been a super crazy busy day, I studied all day, and went bonkers! Tomorrow is my final exam for Anatomy and Physiology 2!!!! I needed to get out of my dungeon, so I burned off energy at the gym. I was there for an hour then went to Walmart.

I really shouldn’t go into it, but, I vowed to make Christian a new recipe for bacon. He loves the veggie bacon and I can’t stand to see that stuff go into my son. So of course I had to make a scene at Walmart. Ooops. I don’t mean to, it’s just, well, I care about my kids more than anything and what I feel matters. I just want them to understand what is actually in the food. I know, I know, it’s vegetarian, but have you looked at the ingredients lately of Morning Star products? Well, I can’t pronounce the paragraph of ingredinets. I feel like if it has more then 10 ingredients (and that is stretching it), that it is not good, oops, meant food, and if you can’t pronounce it, well, it’s definitely a “no, no”. So, we put the bacon and chicken patties back and I told them I will make substitutes for their favorite meals.

I know, it’s baby steps.

Sorry, I just had to vent…

Here it is, the divinely delicious Hazelnut Gelato……

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s instructions.

Yields about 1 quart.

Thank you Meredith Baird for sending these lovely recipes to me. This project is so much fun! Everyday is something new and they are seriously the best recipes.

Excuse me, my gelato is melting..

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be”~George Sheehan

Day #283 Squash Blossoms with Pistachio Puree, Green Zebra Fondue, and Pine nuts pg. 32 entertaining in the raw

May 2, 2010

This is the most beautiful meal yet!! I love the Spring time colors. I was fortunate to get these beautiful squash blossoms. I was gifted them last night. Skoors ordered them for the Taste of Inverness and had extra left, so Stephanie knew I needed them so here it is…

Those of you that have the book know that I am supposed to have purple basil, but I couldn’t get that. I am blessed to get these.

The recipe is simple, but the flowers were a bit tricky to fill with the puree, but I managed. They are pretty small, so maybe that is why?? I have never dealt with eating or preparing flowers. I was intrigued to look up recipes and see if these are actually edible. Yes, they are. Some websites show that you can fry them, or put them in tortillas. I talked to a few friends yesterday and they said that Emeril and Giatta prepared them on the Food Network and they really want to make the recipes they saw. Well, I am lucky, I got to make a RAW recipe with them. I looked up pics to see what they look like on the plant itself. I had the flowers with stems, so according to several websites I have male flowers. OOoohh la la! Male blossoms grow on stems and female squash blossoms appear at the end of the squash. I enjoyed reading this blog, it gives a good description and a great comparison of both zucchini genders:)
After reading through the recipes, I think that I could make a “fried” version, but dehydrate it. I love changing recipes. Maybe that will be one recipe I can do.

Puree Ingredients
pistachios
lemon juice
water
olive oil
salt
nutritional yeast
agave

Fondue Ingredients
olive oil
zebra tomatoes
salt and pepper
basil

Garnish
pine nuts (I used the pine nut cheese from MK’s book)
I used more open unfilled zucchini flowers

Puree was processed in a food processor. Fondue’s tomatoes and olive oil were dehydrated for 1 hour. I blended all ingredients in Vita-mix until smooth, but stirred in basil. I filled the squash blossoms with puree until I couldn’t fit anymore. I put fondue on plate then layed the blossoms on the plate. Ahh so beautiful!! I love God’s food. Meals like this remind me of the Garden.

I am going to bring this dish to my sister and father. Maybe my mom will even try it. She loves flowers, but probably not to eat. She is a retired florist.

I posted pics of the raviolos and cantaloupe gelato, check it out.

“And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”~Bible quotes

Day # 282 Bread Crumbs pg. 107 entertaining in the raw

May 1, 2010

I just got home from the BEST TIME EVER!! I was at the Taste of Inverness. Gosh, I am so excited. I got to help with the preparation of the food at Skoors Market. We made Zucchini Rolls, with Cashew Thyme Cheese, Sun-dried and Fresh Tomatoes Marinara and Strawberry Cheesecake. I haven’t had that much fun in so long. I hope all the people that tried the food tonight felt great, and maybe some will delve into Natural and Fresh foods:).

I made the Bread Crumbs today for the yellow squash pasta. I have made bread just like this recipe. It is delicious.

Ingredients
flax meal
dried basil
dried oregano
yellow squash
walnuts
salt
black pepper
olive oil
shallot
nutritional yeast
agave
lemon juice

Flax meal, basil, and oregano were put into a bowl and all other ingredients were processed in food processor, then added to bowl. Spread on Teflex sheet. Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 24-36 hours until almost completely dry but still a bit pliable. Crumble onto screens and dehydrate until crisp.

Stay tuned for the entire recipe. I still have to post my pics of the raviolis. I will post tomorrow, hopefully:).

I have a final I need to study for and I am hoping that I do well on it. I have been so busy that I haven’t been putting pics up. I still need to put the potluck pics and recipes up and other pics. I will get it together soon.

Goodnight!

High-tech tomatoes. Mysterious milk. Supersquash. Are we supposed to eat this stuff? Or is it going to eat us? ~Annita Manning

Day #281 Jackson Pollock Raviolo with Arugula Pesto pg. 66 entertaining in the raw

April 30, 2010

This is the last recipe for April. It’s hard to believe how fast time passes. I am studying for my final exam in Anatomy and Physiology 2, which is on Tuesday. Last class, the professor showed us where we were in the book last semester and flipped through all the pages that are left. I have read so many pages over the last 8 months, and learned some basics of Anatomy and Physiology. I have to say I am grateful for the time I spent in and out of class. I have learned so much, and I know it is getting me closer to my goal.

As for the recipe, it is the last recipe of the month. This month flew by!! I only have about 3 months left of this project. I am really hoping to finish all the recipes in the 2 books. I am really enjoying making all the lovely recipes with coconuts. I really love the flavor of coconut instead of cashews in desserts. I will make more recipes with coconuts as time goes on. I am quite sick of cashews, honestly, I never thought I would say that but, YEP I did!

For those of you that don’t know who Jackson Pollock is, I decided to tell you a bit about him. I never heard of him before this project. I am ashamed to say that but I do speak the truth. Pollock was nicknamed “Jack the Dripper” by Time magazine in the 1950s for his famous, dripping paintings on flat canvasses to form abstract expressions of “unconscious imagery.” Some artists say this was an expression of his “manic behavior”. Many have questioned if his work was really “art.”,I say if you put your heart and soul into creating anything, that creation is art.

No.5, 1948

The wrappers are always amazing. I love how I had to splatter the “paint” on to the coconut wraps. Thank God for Jason, he opened my coconuts. He cuts them in half so the meat is easier to get out of the shell. Florida coconuts should be available around here soon, if I remember correctly. I do love the water of the Thai coconuts, but of course the Florida coconuts are local.

Wrappers Ingredients
Thai coconuts
salt
frozen mango
red pepper
spinach

I blended up coconuts meat and salt in a Vita-mix until very smooth. I spread it on a Teflex sheet and dehydrated it for 1 hour. Then I splattered the spinach and juices, then dehydrated it longer.

What a beautiful meal. I am going to bring it to a chef that was surprised that I could make cheesecake out of natural, non dairy ingredients and no fire to it. I hope he is impressed with it.

I love coconut more than ever!

“I have a wild bunch of coconuts!” ~Benny Hill

Day #280 Brazil Nut Filling pg. 66 entertaining in the raw

April 29, 2010

I went to make raw yummies for Taste of Inverness. I went to Skoors and helped them make cashew cheese, marinara and strawberry cheesecake. Stephanie made the marinara, but I made the first batch then I had to pick up the kids. I had so much fun being in a kitchen again! I miss working, sometimes, but I have been loving the gym again, and really just want to spend some time taking care of me.

After making the pesto last night, I decided to do the brazil nut filling, today, and tomorrow I will do the coconut wraps.

I am looking forward to serving this meal to my sister. She came over this morning and got some of the the desserts I have been making. It was nice to hear her remarks about how much she enjoyed the desserts. I know Marsha loved the cantaloupe gelato at the potluck the other night too.

Filling Ingredients
Brazil nuts
lemon juice
water
olive oil
salt
nutritional yeast flakes

Process all ingredients in a food processor 3-5 minutes until smooth.

The photo in the book is so eye catching, it makes you want to reach for the raviolos. Absolutely beautiful.

I am going to ask Jason to open the thai coconuts for tomorrow, then after we will watch a movie. Boy I have been watching a lot of movies today, but it’s been a joy to be with him. He is getting ready to go back to school from a short break. He will go through the summer, and fall then GRADUATION!!! We are so anxious for that!

Goodnight!

“If people are truly, madly, deeply in love with each other, they will find a way.”~unknown

Day #279 Arugula Pesto pg. 66 entertaining in the raw

April 28, 2010

I made this recipe real quick, we are going out to eat when Sabby gets home, so I whipped up this recipe. I will make the wraps tomorrow or the next day.

Arugula Pesto Ingredients
arugula
mint
parsley
pine nuts
salt
black pepper
olive oil

All ingredients were processed until well combined and chunky.

The flavor is delicious!

Looking forward to this meal.

“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.”~Ryunosuke Satoro

Day #278 Ginger Cantaloupe “Gelato” and Watermelon Granite with Muscat Honeydew Puree pg. 34 entertaining in the raw

April 27, 2010

I just got back from the potluck. I am wiped out. I was up super late last night and woke up early this morning. I have been going going going all day and I finally just sat down to relax, gosh it feels good to sit down and sit at my computer, I feel so relieved to have my computer back! It didn’t take long to fix.

The potluck tonight was relaxing and fun! Marsha played Victoria Boutenko’s “friend”, Natasha and taught everyone about Green Smoothies. It was a great performance and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think everyone else did too.

Puree Ingredients
1/2 cup semisweet white wine, preferably Riesling (I omitted for the sake of the guests at the potluck)
1 honeydew melon, seeded and blended
1/4 cup raw agave
1 vanilla bean, scraped
1/4 teaspoon salt

Blend all ingredients in Vita-Mix until very smooth.

I will post pics tomorrow, I don’t even know where the camera is.
I am grateful for all who came out tonight! I was fortunate to see my friend d’Adjoa. I haven’t see her in months! I feel a sense of healing after visiting with her. I missed her more than words can say. Thanks D’ for just being you!

Goodnight!

Here it is. This is a quick pic from the potluck.

One who looks for a friend without faults will have none. — Hasidic Saying

Day #277 Watermelon Granite pg. 34 entertaining in the raw

April 26, 2010

My computer is messed up now:( I am on Christian’s computer, so I will make this entry quick.

I made watermelon granite for tomorrow’s potluck. This was simple to make but I didn’t have a chinois so I used the Vita-Mix. I know, I know, I didn’t do it the way I was supposed to but I still haven’t bought one, even after I said I would. So Jason gave me the idea to put it in the blender and then strain it thought the nut milk bag. It came out juicy, with about 2 cups of pulp. I was surprised, I expected it all pulp and liquid to come out, like cashew milk does. There was more fiber than I thought there was in watermelon.

Granite Ingredients
1 medium-size ripe watermelon
1/4 cup agave

Mash watermelon through a medium chinois. Add agave and freeze in a shallow pan. Allow the top to begin to freeze, about 2 hours, then lightly mash with a fork. Continue this every couple of hours until the mixture is frozen and flaky.

The watermelon was so sweet smelling.

Wish me luck tomorrow.

Goodnight!
“Follow your heart, but be quiet for a while first. Ask questions, then feel the answer. Learn to trust your heart.”~unknown