Squash Gummies

We saw this recipe and thought we would share it from squash-gummy-candy

Ingredients

• 8 cups summer squash or zucchini, peeled, seeded and cut into roughly 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 can fruit juice concentrate (11.5 ounce)
• 1 can water

Directions

Prepare squash.  This is a good use for overgrown garden zucchini – just cut around the seed cavity.

Place cubed zucchini in a large, nonreactive stockpot.  (I use an 8 quart stainless steel stockpot.)  Pour in juice concentrate and water.

Cook gently until translucent and tender, about 30 minutes.  Drain in a colander, spread out on dehydrator sheets so the pieces are not touching.  

Dehydrate at 135 degrees F for 8-12 hours or until tacky but no longer moist.  I usually do mine overnight. 

Suggested flavors: cranberry-raspberry juice concentrate, blueberry juice, and strawberry-kiwi juice concentrate.

I’d suggest storing these in the fridge and eating them within a month, or freezing for longer storage. 

Raw Cashew Brie wheel with rind with a fig spread

Raw Cashew Brie this recipe is from http://www.rawfoodmagazine.com/brie-cashew-cheese-wheel-with-rind/

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw cashews, soaked for 2-4 hours
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp probiotic powder
• 3 tsp nutritional yeast, optional
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions

1. Place the cashews in bowl, adding twice the amount of water.  During the soaking process, the cashews will absorb water and swell.
2. After soaking the cashews, drain and discard the soak water. The process has a two-fold purpose.
   • First, to soften the cashews so they blend perfectly smooth.
   • Secondly, to reduce the phytic acid which is rough on digestion.
3. In a high-powered blender, combine the cashews, water and probiotics. Blend until the mixture is velvety smooth.
   • This can take 2-4 minutes, depending on your machine.
   • Test it occasionally by rubbing the mixture between your forefinger and thumb.  If you feel any grit, continue blending.
   • Be careful that you don’t over-heat the mixture.  If the carafe is feeling warm to the touch, let the mixture rest to cool before proceeding.
   • If you have a low-powdered blender, I would suggest blending the water and the cashews first.  Once smooth, then add the probiotic.  We don’t want to kill the good bacteria by over-heating it.
4. Prepare a stainless steel mesh strainer by placing it in a larger bowl.  Then line it with a double layer of cheesecloth.
5. Pour the “cheese” mixture into the center of the cloth.
6. Gather all the edges of the cloth together, twist tight and fold it over onto itself.
7. Lay a small plate on top of the bundle, followed by a weight.
   • Use a mason jar filled with water, beans, flour or whatever.
   • You want the weight to be heavy enough to put pressure on the “cheese” but not too much that it forces too much to leak through the cheesecloth.
   • We have the bowl under the strainer to catch the “whey” that will slowly drip out.  It won’t be much, just enough to leave a mess if unattended.
8.  Cover the bowl with a towel and set the mixture aside on the counter top for 24-48 hours to culture.
   • The temperature of the house will affect the culturing time.  The warmer the house, the quicker it will start to culture, so keep an eye on it.
   • It will develop a pretty strong cheese-like odor during this time.
9. After it has cultured, scoop the mixture into a clean bowl.
10. Add the salt and nutritional yeast.  Mix well.
11. Transfer the “cheese” to a ring mold or the ring of a Springform pan,  lining the base with plastic.
12. Place the mold in the freezer for several hours so it sets up nice and firm.
13. Carefully remove the cheese from the mold and place on a non-stick sheet and slide into the dehydrator.
    • Dry for 1 hour at 145 degrees (F).  Click (here) to read why.
    • Reduce the heat to 115 degrees (F) and continue to dry for up to 24 hours.
    • Half way through the dry time, remove the teflex sheet and place the “cheese” on the mesh sheet for the remainder of the dry time.  This will speed up the process and allow air to flow around it.
    • This process will cause a rind to develop around the edges.
14. Once done, enjoy!   There should be a nice rind on the outside and creamy “cheese” on the inside.
15. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for approximately 7 days.  The “cheese” will continue to culture but once chilled it slows down considerably.

We add a fig spread. This is not raw

ingredients:
10 oz dried figs cut into 1/4 inch sections
3 TBS sugar
1 1/2 cup water

Boil the above until the water is almost gone. Add to blender and blend.

"tomato-roni"

This recipe is for a vegan version of pepperoni from http://news.therawfoodworld.com/raw-vegan-pepperoni/
We plan to use it on our Buckwheat pizza crusts, raw caramelized onions, almond feta, and marinated veggies

Kitchen Tools / Equipment Needed:

• Blender
• Dehydrator

Ingredients / Grocery List:

• 8 (unsalted) sun dried tomatoes , soaked
• 2 Tomatoes
• 1 T Minced Garlic
• 2 T flax seeds , ground to a meal
• 1 T hemp seed oil

Instructions / Directions / Method:

1. Put all ingredients into a blender until smooth.
2. Use a teaspoon to scoop mixture and lay onto dehydrator sheets.
3. Set dehydrator at 115 for 8 to 10 hours checking half way through to flip and flatten with a spoon.
4. Continue drying until crispy.

Alternatives / Replacements:

• Use sea salt if needed/wanted.
• Sprinkle a bit more of the ground flax on top prior to drying and/or while flipping.

Curried Chickpea salad

This is from Roberto's New Vegan Cooking, by Roberto Martin via Mind, Body, Green.

Curried Chickpea Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked then cooked until very tender, or two 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3 celery ribs, diced small
• 1 large organic Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced small
• 1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup currants or raisins
• 1/3 cup vegan mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 2 tablespoons agave syrup
• 2 whole scallions, green parts thinly sliced and white parts minced
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Place half of the chickpeas in a food processor and pulse them once or twice to chop them up a bit. This can also be done in a bowl with a potato masher.

2. Place the chickpeas and the rest of the salad ingredients in a large bowl and mix them with a rubber spatula until well combined.

3. Season the salad with salt and pepper then cover and refrigerate it for 30 minutes minimum before serving.

Salad is good for five days in the refrigerator.

This recipe appears in Roberto's New Vegan Cooking, by Roberto Martin. 

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-18704/insanely-simple-curried-chickpea-salad.html

Sweet Potato Crusted Chicken/Mushroom Shepherd's Pie

When we make this we make two, one with chicken and one vegetarian. Each pie serves 4. The recipe is below is for 8. Peas could be easily added as could corn. We selected the vegetables we had in the refrigerator.
For those thinking what about the protein, there is protein in the eggs and vegetables, especially the green beans, a legume. The nutritional information is at the bottom.

chicken (left) mushroom (right)

Ingredients for 2 Crust:
4 eggs
8 baked sweet potatoes, removed from skin and cooled

directions: Combine the ingredients for the crust

sauteed vegetables

Pie filling for two:
2 cups green beans, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 carrots, diced
1 large red bed pepper, diced
parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, season to taste
2 - 4 TBS gluten free flour to thicken

chicken (left) mushroom (right)

directions: water saute until the vegetables are soft. Divide the ingredients into two pie/quiche pans.

1/2 pound chicken cubed and cooked is added to one.
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced and cooked is added to the second one




Top with sweet potato crust

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes



Nutritional information mushroom                              Nutritional information chicken
calories: 200                                                                 calories: 220
carbs: 37.6 g                                                                 carbs: 34.8 g
fiber: 8.2 g                                                                    fiber: 7.4 g
fat: 3 g                                                                          fat: 3.6 g
protein: 8.6 g                                                                protein: 13.6 g

Pine Nut Parmesan Cheese

We altered Cheri's recipe by adding a clove of garlic.

Pine Nut Parmesan Cheese

 

Print

Author: Cherie Soria

Recipe Type: Cheese

Cuisine: Raw Vegan

Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw pine nuts
• 1 or more cups filtered water
• 1⁄4 teaspoon probiotic powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1 clove of garlic (we added this)

Instructions

1. Blend all ingredients in a high-performance blender, adding water as necessary to achieve a thin creamy texture.
2. Divide batter in half and spread each half, paper thin, on a dehydrator tray lined with a nonstick sheet. Dehydrate for 12 hours or until the cheese is completely dry and crisp.
3. Using a pastry board scraper, scrape cheese shavings off the sheet.

Besto Pesto

My Favorite Besto Pesto by Karen Ranzi

Image Blocked

(From Raw Vegan Recipe Fun for Families- Page 44)
1/3 cup pine nuts, soaked 20 minutes
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 cup basil, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 clove garlic (optional)

The pesto can be made in the food processor or blender. In the blender, blend all until desired consistency.

In the food processor, grind the pine nuts, then add the garlic and fresh herbs and process until finely chopped. Use as a topping to Zucchini Spaghetti or create appetizers by spreading pesto on mushroom caps, pepper slices and/or zucchini rounds and dehydrate at 105 degrees for 3 to 4 hours. (I always find myself preparing the pesto appetizers for the holidays!).

The Shift by Wayne Dyer

A friend of ours, Jyl, sent us this link. It is a video by Wayne Dyer. Jyl introduced us to Wayne in the 90's. It is a wonderful reminder of priorities, especially as one shifts to the afternoon of one's life, the meaning or purpose of one's life.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=K5O1CTlSwg4

Lime Vinaigrette

This is a take off from Clean Eating, p 55, "Spicy Lime Vinaigrette", June 2015 altering to meet our needs and taste.

Ingredients:
12 TBS lime juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 balsamic vinegar
4 tsp raw sugar
2/3 cup chopped mint leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin

whisk together. We put it in a mason jar with a pour cap.

Our Garden Salad Bowl

After Tropical Storm Ana drizzled through over the weekend, the garden seems happy. We harvested enough kale, chard and strawberries for smoothies, however, the kale is coming to an end for this season. Some of the kale we will let go to seed. Sadly, we saw our first insect sack on the back on a leaf. The chickens will love eating it.
We have an assortment of lettuces for lunch, but we still need to supplement from the store or farmers market for our large daily salads.

homemade body wash

We made this homemade body wash and used it today. The link is from http://draxe.com/homemade-body-wash/

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/4 cup honey
2/3 cup liquid castille soap
30 drops essential oils, we used lavender
2 tsp jojoba oil
1 tsp vitamin E

Mix ingredients and store in glass bottle with dispenser

Raw Almond Ice Cream Sundae Bar

We are dairy free and just found out one of our sisters has a dairy allergy. For our Mother's Day celebration we included an "Ice Cream" Sundae Bar

Ice Cream Ingredients:
Almond cream:
3 cups of almonds soaked ~8 hours and drained
6 cups of water
6 dates

Blend in a high speed blender and drained through a nut milk bag. The leftover nut pulp can be saved for other recipes, such as croutons, bagels, pretzels...

Ice Cream:
Almond cream from above
16 pitted dates
3 inches vanilla bean
pinch of salt

Blend in a high speed blender. Add to ice cream maker container and refrigerate overnight or 8 hours. The next day follow the ice cream maker instructions for soft serve ice cream

To use the Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker, half the above recipe.

Bar ingredients:
fresh strawberries
mint leaves pureed after being soaked in vodka (peppermint extract)
coconut flakes
dairy free (Enjoy Life) mini chocolate chips
cacao nibs
Crispie nuts (walnuts and pecans)
dried  mulberries
coconut whipped cream
cacao sauce (4 TBS cacao butter, 3 TBS cacao powder, 2 TBS maple syrup, 1 tsp vanilla)
caramel sauce (1 cup pitted dates, 1/2 inch vanilla bean, pinch of salt, water as needed to thin)

Salad Greens

spring kale

spring lettuce

We live on greens and grow some of our lettuce, our kale, and our chard. Our spring kale is almost finished for this season. Our chard is ready to harvest as are our spring lettuces. 

We use the kale and Swiss chard in a salad, smoothie, or cooked in place of spinach. The lettuce we never have enough. Between the three of us, we easily eat four to six heads a day. We have planted summer lettuces under our tomatoes, peppers, corn, and even some of our flowers this year. Maybe it will be shaded enough to not be bitter this summer.

Swiss chard

summer lettuce

summer kale

 

Our homegrown strawberries are turning red

Our strawberries are turning red!!! As our strawberry harvest begins we need to think about recipes. Tomorrow we will be adding them to our 'ice cream" sundae bar. We also use them with yogurt or in smoothies.

Raw Ratatouille

Our son, Joe, tells us often we are about five years ahead of the "norm". Mother Earth News has an article on the "Benefits of Eating Raw Foods". It can be rad here  http://www.motherearthliving.com/cooking-methods/benefits-of-eating-raw-food-ze0z1206zsch.aspx?newsletter=1&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=FR%20eNews&utm_campaign=05.08.15%20FR

They also posted this recipe for a raw ratatouille. Don't you just love when you have all the ingredients on hand??? We added the pinenuts and sprouted lentils when serving it tonight,

http://www.motherearthliving.com/food-and-recipes/recipes/raw-ratatouille-recipe-zerz1501znut.aspx?newsletter=1&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=FR%20eNews&utm_campaign=05.08.15%20FR

Food testing

Many people ask us what to do first when changing one's diet with a goal of health improvements. We recommend blood work, a complete battery using the IgE and IgG tests. Most people have leaky gut and become sensitive to environmental allergens as well as foods.
IgE is immunoglobulin E allergies. These are allergies that cause responses such as sinus congestion, hives, rashes, itchy skin, inflammation... If the allergy isn't too severe an anti-histamine can be used to recover.

IgG is immunoglobulin G sensitivities. It is a long-term resistance causing a subtle reaction. Most people do not know they have food sensitivities. Symptoms could be an upset stomach, headache, mood change, hyperactivity, fatigue, dark circles under one's eyes, ...
Food sensitivities often cause leaky gut, which allows large size food particles into the blood stream.

Another issue we have experienced is candida.  This gastro yeast infection can create leaky gut and food sensitivities.
We have had good experience with this lab testing. It includes a candida test. Your physician can order this test for you.
http://www.greatplainslaboratory.com/home/eng/food_allergy_igg.asp

Sunny Bean Burgers from Dr Fuhrman

Our goal was to have 365 posts by June 7th when the blog began almost two years ago, today is our 365th post, one month ahead of schedule.

These are from Dr Fuhrman's recipe archive and just in time for summer grilling. We would use black beans or even lentils. Our son is allergic to kidney beans, so we try to stay away from the larger beans. We also would use tomato paste instead of ketchup.

Sunny Bean Burgers

No excuses! These bean burgers are so easy, who needs to go through the drive-through? Serve them with with sliced tomato, red onion and avocado.

view recipe

Serves: 2

• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 2 cups cooked kidney or pinto beans or canned no-salt-added or low- sodium kidney beans, drained
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium ketchup
• 1 tablespoon old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet with a little olive oil on a paper towel.

Chop the sunflower seeds in a food processor or with a hand chopper. Mash the beans in the food processor or with a potato masher and mix with the sunflower seeds. Mix in the remaining ingredients and form into six patties.

Place the patties on the baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly, until you can pick up each patty and compress it firmly in your hands to re-form the burger. Return the patties to the baking sheet, bottom side up, and bake for another 10 minutes.

If desired, these may also be done on the grill. Place on a hot, lightly oiled grill over medium-low heat and cook for 6-8 minutes per side until heated through and lightly browned.

https://www.drfuhrman.com/library/recipes.aspx

Curry Kofta Balls with Cashew Tomato Curry Sauce

We are making a raw version of Kofta Balls. This recipe is from The Complete Book of Raw Foods, p 244

Ingredients
Kofta
3 cups sprouted sunflower seeds
1 cup soaked and peeled almonds
handful of parsley
handful of cilantro
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 zucchini
4 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coriander
1 inch piece of ginger
pinch nutmeg
1 tsp honey

Directions:
Proces Kofta ball ingredients in a food processor with an "S" blade. Form into medium size balls and dehydrate for 2-3 hours on each side at 110

Ingredients for sauce:
1 cup sundried tomatoes, soaked for 2 hours, drain and reserve the soak water
2-3 plum tomatoes
1/2 zucchini
1 cup cashews, (soak 1-2 hours)
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cayenne
3 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp paprika
handful cilantro
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS honey
2 TBS lime juice

Directions:
Combine sauce ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth, adding just enough tomato soak water for a thick creamy sauce

Serve as a soup with the Kofta balls or serve over spiralized zoodles. We served it over "bloomed" wild rice.

A vegan Kofta recipe can be seen here  http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/vegan-malai-kofta-potato-dumplings-in-spiced-tomato-sauce/

A lamb Kofta recipe can be seen here http://www.food.com/recipe/turkish-meatballs-kofta-83793

May Potluck 2015

This month''s theme is grab and go type snacks. The easiest Grab and Go snacks are fruits and vegetables.  The next potluck will be July 11th.

Vegetable platter with two different dips

Pine Nut Pepper “Cheese”

• 1 cup pine nuts, soaked until soft, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup cashews, soaked until soft, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 lemon, juice from
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• coarse ground pepper to taste
• dill to taste

1. Process pine nuts, cashews, water, garlic, nutritional yeast and lemon juice in blender until smooth.

2. Pulse in ground pepper and dill until just blended.  

http://www.rawmazing.com/raw-tea-sandwiches/

CHEESY KALE CHIPS topping

• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1/3 cup unsweetened soymilk, almond milk or rice milk, or water
• 1 cup chopped roasted red peppers
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon onion granules
• Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 tablespoon juice)
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Method: 

Soak cashews in enough water to cover for a couple of hours. Drain.

In a blender, purée soaked cashews, soymilk, peppers, nutritional yeast, garlic, onion granules, lemon juice and salt. 

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/cheezy-kale-chips

Fruit and vegetable platter

Apples slices

Carrots with guacamole

Grab and Go Energy Balls http://heal-thy-self-cb.blogspot.com/2015/02/grab-and-go-balls.html

Raw Sushi Rolls http://heal-thy-self-cb.blogspot.com/2015/05/raw-sushi-rolls.html

Mexican Stuffed Vegetables

This is a take off from our stuffed pepper recipe without the tomatoes. Our son isn't much of a tomato fan.

Ingredients for stuffed vegetables
2 large peppers, cored and seed removed
2 large portobello mushrooms caps
3 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise, seeds removed

Ingredients for stuffing
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup low sodium vegetable broth
1/2 cup lentils, rinsed, drained (black beans could be used instead)
1 cup low sodium vegetable broth

1 small red pepper, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, chopped
4 cloves of garlic minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
cayenne to taste

Daiya cheddar cheese

Directions:
Cook the quinoa in the broth
Cook the lentils in the broth
Saute the small pepper, green onions, garlic, mushrooms, herbs and spices
Once these are cooked, combine to make the stuffing

Fill the vegetables with the stuffing. Top with Daiya Cheese. Bake for 30 minutes at 350

The vegetables are not mushy. If one would like them softer, prebake the vegetables for 15 minutes and then stuff.

For those of you who eat dairy, shredded cheddar would work as well. One 14 oz can/jar of stewed tomatoes, drained could be easily added to this. The tomato juice from the can/jar could be used in place of some of the broth in the quinoa. A 1/2 cup of corn could also be added as well. You may need another pepper to stuff though.

Raw Sushi Rolls

This recipe is from http://www.rawguru.com/raw-food-recipes/raw-sushi-rolls-with-jicama-rice-and-shitake-mushrooms.html.html

Ingredients

At a glance

Entrées & Main Dishes

Makes

3 rolls

1 medium jicama, peeled,roughly chopped
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, cut into strips
1½ Tbsp sesame oil
1½ Tbsp tamari
3 raw (untoasted) nori
2 cucumbers, julienned
1 avocado, sliced
⅛ red cabbage, sliced
sunflower sprouts (we didn't have any sprouts)

Methods/steps

Place the jicama in a blender and pulse until there are small pieces about the size of rice.
Place your jicama rice in a nut bag and strain out all the excess water.
Place the jicama in a mixing bowl and add the remaining ingredients.
Combine mushrooms, sesame oil and tamari in a bowl and allow to marinate for at least 10 minutes.
Place a sheet of nori on a bamboo mat with the shiny side down.
Spread a thing layer of "rice" over the bottom half of the sheet.
Assemble filling ingredients in the roll.
Use the rolling mat to get a nice tight roll.
Seal the nori with the liquid sauce from your mushrooms.
Use a sharp knife to cut the roll into 8 pieces.
Repeat 2 times.

The jicama juice that you squeeze out of your “rice” is very mild and sweet. So tasty!  You can drink this juice by itself or add it to your juices.