Yuca and Herb Potatoes

Our new vegetable this month is Yuca. We were at the Farmers' Market with Rosario. She purchased Yuca and gave us one to try. She also sent us recipes to try.
This is her plain recipe for Yuca and this is one of her favorite recipes. We added it to our potatoes for our Resurrection Day lunch.

Ingredients:
1 yuca peeled and diced
2 pounds red potatoes, diced
Boil until soft

1 cup vegetable broth
1 TBS nutritional yeast
2 cloves garlic, minced
a handful of parsley and a handful of chives, minced
2 TBS Earth Balance non-dairy spread
boiled potatoes and yucca

Blend to make mashed potatoes.

Raw spinach, mushroom, and cheeze quiche

We altered a recipe from Rawvolution for a spinach, mushroom, and cheeze quiche.
We used the raw onion bread recipe to make the shells.
We used a raw cashew sour kreme for the cheeze, but any will do.

Ingredients:
Raw onion Crusts premade

3 cups spinach
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 cup cashew sour kreme
1 TBS chickpea miso
1 TBS nutritional yeast
1/3 cup coconut aminos
2 cups shiitake mushrooms

Place in a food processor until smooth. Spoon over the shells. Top with caramelized onions. Warm in the dehydrator.

after dehydrating

Fresh Raw Bouillon

This Fresh Bouillon recipe is from Rawmazing. She uses 1/4 cup per cup raw grain/pseudo grain instead of bouillon when cooking. We plan to use it in sprouted grain/pseudo grain recipes as well.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

• 2 stalks celery
• 1 medium carrot
• 1/2 medium sweet onion
• 1/2 cup celery root
• 1/4 cup chopped shallot
• 1 leek
• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 1-2 tablespoons Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
• 3-4 tablespoons sea salt (use less if desired)

1. Roughly chop all vegetables.
2. Place all veggies in food processor and pulse until puréed.
3. Stir in salt and Braggs. Place in jar or freeze in individual servings.

Raw Vegan Cheese Sticks

We made the recipe for cheese sticks from Rawvolution by Matt Amsden, page 73. The recipe was good but we improved it for our taste buds. We didn't like the marinara sauce recipe, so used another marinara sauce.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups sunflower seeds, split (we used crispie - soaked, rinses and dehydrated)
1/4 lemon juice
1/4 cup coconut aminos
2 cloves garlic
1 TBS nutritional yeast
1 tsp Italian seasoning

Directions:
Sunflower coating
Grind 1 cup of sunflower seeds in a coffee grind to a powder. Add the 1 tsp Italian seasoning. Mix.

Cheese
Place remaining ingredients in a high speed blender and blend. Roll a heaping tablespoon in the palm of one's hand and then roll in the sunflower coating.
Place on a dehydrator sheet. Dry at 105 to desired crispiness. 6-20 hours.

Raw Vegan Carrot Raisin Salad

After looking through many recipes we developed this one for a Carrot Raisin Salad. We wanted no sugar and vegan. We also liked this one from food.com but a little fat helps with the absorption of some of the vitamins so we added a cashew mayo. This is really good, just the right creaminess and sweetness!!!

The cashew mayo is from Raw Foods for Dummies, p 144. There are several online.

Carrot Raisin Salad
ingredients:
1 pound grated carrots
1/2 cup raisins soaked in the juice of 1 orange
2 cups pineapples, crushed in the food processor
1/2 cup cashew mayo

Combine everything in a bowl and refrigerate util ready to serve

Raw Curried Vegetables

We love curry and our son asked for a "raw dinner" tonight.
With the cold weather, we made chicken curry for the hubby and raw curried vegetables for myself and our son.

Ingredients
veggies:
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 carrots, diced
2 cups chopped broccoli
1 zucchini, diced
4 stalks of celery
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Place all the vegetables in a bowl

sauce:
6 dates soaked in 1/2 cup water
2 inch of ginger root
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp thyme
1 TBS coconut aminos
salt and pepper to taste
Place all the sauce ingredients in a high speed blender, including the soaking water.

Fold the sauce over the vegetables and place in the dehydrator for 1-2 hours until warm.

Asian Chopped Salad from the Raw Chef

This recipe for an asian-chopped-salad is is from the Raw Chef.

Ingredients: Serves 2

A few leaves of Chinese Leaf (Napa) Cabbage

Handful of mung beansprouts

Half a red sweet pointed pepper, or bell pepper

1 medium carrot

1/2 medium cucumber

Small handful cashews (1/4 cup = a small handful)

Small handful fresh peppermint leaves

Small handful fresh coriander (cilantro)

Small handful mangetout (snow peas)

A few red cabbage leaves

2 or 3 small broccoli florets

Dressing Ingredients

• 1/2 cup medjool dates
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon Lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt
• 1 tablespoon cold pressed sesame or olive oil
• Optional: 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice mix
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 small piece of ginger

1. Gather all the salad ingredients onto a chopping board and rough chop with a mezzalune knife. If you don’t have a mezzaluna, just use a good size chef knife.
2. Pop all those chopped salad ingredients into a bowl, and mix with the blended dressing ingredients.

Colcannon

We altered this recipe for Colcannon to fit our non-dairy needs. Everyone loved it!!!

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds unpeeled potatoes, cut into chunks
• 6 small to medium kale leaves
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• Coarse sea salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup earth balance (half a stick)

Instructions:

1. Drop the potatoes into a medium saucepan of boiling water. Lower the heat and simmer them until tender, 15 to 20 minutes, then drain. While the potatoes are cooking, cut or tear the ribs off the kale and discard them. Chop the leaves coarsely. You should have about 2 cups, tightly packed. Steam the kale until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. A firm, curly kale will take a bit longer than a thin-leaved type.

2. Return the potatoes to the saucepan along with the broth. Mash over low heat with a potato masher until smooth and heated through. Stir in the kale, salt and pepper, and then transfer to a serving bowl. Melt the earth balance in a small saucepan and pour it over the colcannon. Add an extra grinding of pepper and serve immediately, while still piping hot.

Here is a sweet potato version

stuffed mushroom

This recipe for stuffed-mushrooms-with-sunflower-seed-sage-and-rosemary-cream is wonderful. We were able to stuff 6 mushrooms with the Sunflower, sage and rosemary cream and veggies.

Stuffed Mushrooms with Sunflower Seed Sage and Rosemary Cream

Serves 4

Mushroom Marinade

Make this first so the mushrooms can marinate while you are preparing the rest of the recipe.

• 1/4 cup coconut aminos *
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup water

1. Whisk all ingredients together. If you want to omit the oil, just replace it with water.
2. Place mushroom caps, stems and gills removed, in a re-sealable container. Toss to coat and let sit while you prepare the rest of the recipe.

*Low sodium soy sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos, coconut aminos, or Tamari can be substituted.

Sunflower Seed Sage and Rosemary Cream

• 2 cups sunflower seeds, soaked until soft, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 lemon, juice from
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 teaspoons dried sage
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt
• 5 grinds or a healthy pinch of fresh ground pepper

1. Place sunflower seeds, water, lemon juice, dijon mustard, maple syrup and garlic in high-speed blender. Blend until smooth.
2. Pulse or stir in sage, rosemary, salt and pepper.

Mushrooms

• 4 portabello mushroom caps, stems and gills removed
• 1 cup finely diced sweet onion
• 1 cup finely diced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup finely diced celery
• 1/2 finely diced carrot
• 1 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Raw Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the diced onion, mushrooms, celery and carrot. Toss with Coconut Aminos.
2. Spread on a non-stick dehydrator sheet and dehydrate 3 hours at 118 degrees.
3. Place mushroom caps on dehydrator sheet and dehydrate for 3 hours at 118 degrees.
4. Remove veggies to a bowl, add the sunflower sage “cream” and parsley. Stir to combine.
5. Spoon filling mixture into mushroom caps. Place back in dehydrator to warm if desired.

Better than Nori wraps

With our son have a sea"everything" allergy, we have had to give up raw vegetable California rolls/sushi. We love this idea!!!

The link is Better than Nori from Raw Advantage

                          "Better Than Nori" Raw Vegan Sushi Sheets

These are the ingredients we will need:

Papaya, 3 cups chopped (aprox. 1 lb)

Zucchini, 3 cups chopped (aprox. 1 lb)

Tomato, 3 cups chopped (aprox. 1 lb)

Purslane, 3-5 big handfuls (aprox. .7 lb) *

Red Chard, 10 big leaves or 2 handfuls (aprox. .4 lb)

Spinach, 2 big handfuls (aprox. .25 lb)

Arugula, 2 handfuls (aprox. .15 lb)

Green Onion, 10 peices (aprox .15 lb)

*we will have to wait a couple of months for this to grow

Strawberry Mango Jicama Salad

Wholefoods had organic strawberries on sale, the jicama was $1 at the farmers market. We had mangos in the freezer, cilantro in the garden and limes from the lime tree. This Strawberry Mango Jicama Salad recipe is a must for our home this week.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups sliced strawberries
1 cup chopped mango
1 cup chopped jicama
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium bowl, stir together the strawberries, mango, and jicama. Add in the cilantro and lime juice. Stir until well combined. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Martha Stewart Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Our farmers market finds this weekend included 6 poblano peppers for $2. After searching for recipes the hubby selected the stuffed poblano recipe from Martha Stewart.  The remaining peppers were used in chili.
We used daiya pepper Jack cheese due to dairy issues in our home.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes in puree
• 1 jalapeno chile (ribs and seeds removed, for less heat), minced
• 2 small onions, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves (2 whole, 1 minced)
• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 can (19 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 large poblano chiles, halved lengthwise (stems left intact), ribs and seeds removed

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425. In a blender, combine tomatoes in puree, jalapeno, half the onions, and 2 whole garlic cloves; puree. Season with salt. Pour sauce into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine beans, cornmeal, 1/2 cup cheese, remaining onions, minced garlic, cumin, and 3/4 cup water; season with salt and pepper.
3. Dividing evenly, stuff poblano halves with bean mixture; place on top of sauce in baking dish. Sprinkle poblanos with remaining 1/2 cup cheese; cover baking dish tightly with aluminum foil.
4. Bake until poblanos are tender, about 45 minutes. Uncover, and continue to cook until sauce is thickened slightly and cheese is browned, 10 to 15 minutes more. Let cool 10 minutes.

March 2016 Raw/vegan Potluck

This month's theme is a Mediterranean feast.

We had falafels, dolmas, Harissa vegetables, hemp and cauliflower tabbouleh, hummus with carrots and gluten free crackers, and a cashew based tzatziki. We had a wonderful raw Kiwi Cheesecake with a blueberry sauce. April's theme will be a pizza bar.

Falafel

Make time: 15 minutes + component recipe |

Dehydrator time: 4– 6 hours |

Equipment required: dehydrator, food processor

2 cups sunflower seeds (soaked 4– 6 hours)

4 cups sprouted chickpeas (see page 27) or 2 cans drained chickpeas

1 crushed and chopped garlic clove

1 cup diced onion

1/ 4 cup chopped parsley

1/ 4 cup chopped cilantro

3 tbsp cold-pressed olive oil

1 1/ 2 tbsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1/ 3 cup lemon juice

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

2 tbsp tamari

Drain the soaked sunflower seeds and rinse thoroughly. Place the sprouted chickpeas and sunflower seeds in a food processor and blend until chunky; the mixture should hold together when you roll them into balls. Add all other ingredients and pulse until combined. Roll into approximately 1-inch wide balls (this mixture will make around 30– 35 falafel). Place in a dehydrator at 115 ° F for 4– 6 hours. Alternatively you can dry these in a low temperature oven.

May, Megan (2015-08-10). Raw Organic Goodness (Kindle Locations 3297-3305). Fair Winds Press. Kindle Edition.

Harissa Spiced Vegetables 
Make time: 15 minutes
Dehydrator time: 1 1/ 2 hours
Equipment required: dehydrator

Ingredients:
1 1/ 2 cups cauliflower florets
2 cups diced zucchini
1/ 2 bunch baby carrots or 3 regular carrots, peeled and cut into halves
2 red peppers
2 tbsp lemon juice
1tbsp cold-pressed olive oil
1 tsp harissa spice
1/ 3 cup almond meal
1/ 2 tsp sea salt
1/ 4 tsp freshly cracked pepper
Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until all the vegetables are coated in the spice and almond flour. Spread onto a dehydrator sheet and dry at 115 ° F for 1 1/ 2 hours.

May, Megan (2015-08-10). Raw Organic Goodness (Kindle Locations 3297-3305). Fair Winds Press. Kindle Edition.

Cashew Yogurt Tzatziki Sauce

Makes: 1 1/ 2 cups

1 cup cashews (soaked 2– 4 hours)

1/ 4 cup filtered water (add more as needed)

1/ 3 cup lemon juice

1/ 2 tsp sea salt

1 crushed garlic clove

2 tbsp chopped dill

1/ 2 cup finely diced cucumber

Drain the soaked cashews and rinse thoroughly. Place all the ingredients except the dill and the cucumber in a blender – blend until creamy and smooth. Now fold through the dill and cucumber. Leave to rest for 1/ 2 hour before serving for the flavors of the cucumber and dill to develop in the sauce. Add more salt to taste. Keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up 4-5 days.

May, Megan (2015-08-10). Raw Organic Goodness (Kindle Locations 3161-3164). Fair Winds Press. Kindle Edition.



Lemon Hummus
Ingredients:
tahini
chickpeas
lemon zest and juice
cumin
olive oil
salt




hemp and cauliflower tabbouleh

Ingredients:
1/2 cup hemp seeds
1 1/2 cup shredded cauliflower
1/2 cup cucumber, diced
1/2 cup parsley, minced
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS green onion, sliced
2 tsp mint leaves minced
1 TBS lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup chickpeas, canned, drained
salt and pepper to taste

The Dolmas were from Costco. They were not raw but were vegan and delicious.

Kiwi cheesecake used the peach cheesecake recipe from HA replacing the peaches with kiwi

simple fudge

The simple fudge recipe is from Raw Food Magazine. Even the hubby liked this!

Ingredients:
1 cup cacao powder
1 cup cacao butter melted
2 inches vanilla bean
1/2 cup maple syrup
a pinch or 2 of salt

Directions:
Pour ingredients into a high speed blender. Pour into a parchment paper lined 8x8 pan. Allow to set in the freezer for 2 hours.