what the hell _does_ a vegan eat anyway?: Raw Food Wednesday

Showing posts with label Raw Food Wednesday. Show all posts

Friday, August 10, 2012

Zucchini and Avocado Tartar with Green Zebra Tomato and Cashew Cheese Stack

Lunch 08/10

Zucchini and Avocado Tartar

Green Zebra Tomato and Cashew Cheese Stack

In an effort to catch-up on the blog, August is now all-picture month ;)

* tartar recipe is here (protip: ease up on the salt).

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Raw Food Wednesday: Parsnip Noodles with Cilantro Walnut Pesto

Raw Food Wednesday 04/25

Parsnip Noodles with Cilantro Walnut Pesto

We broke out the "spiral cutter gadget thingy" again and cranked out some spiralized parsnip noodles (recipe from Matthew Kenney's "Everyday Raw Express") which were exceptionally creamy this time around.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

No-Bean Hummus, Flax Crackers, Cucumbers

Lunch 03/29

No-Bean Hummus

Flax Crackers

Cucumbers

A nice simple lunch of zucchini based hummus from Matt Amsden's RAWvolution...

2 zucchini, peeled/chopped
3/4 cup raw tahini
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 t. fresh ground cumin

Add everything to the vita-mix and puree until smooth.

PROTIP: go easy on the garlic depending on their size -- two or three might be enough. ;)

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Raw Food Wednesday: BBQ Mushroom Pizza

Raw Food Wednesday 03/28

BBQ Mushroom Pizza

We haven't made a raw pizza in ages, but it turned out really well...

(This is another recipe-in-progress -- but here's a rough outline of what we tried.)

In the spice grinder we started out with a 3:1 ratio of flax seeds to sunflower seeds along with oregano, fennel seeds, sun-dried tomato (not the wet kind). That was added to the vita-mix along with minced red onion and a tiny bit of garlic. The wet ingredients -- nama shoyu, olive oil, lemon juice -- were added with enough water to turn it into a fairly thick paste.

The crust was rolled out with a (moist) rolling pin, transferred to a teflex sheet and dehydrated at 105°F for 1 hr, flipped, scored into individual slices before it got too dry, and dehydrated another 5 hours.

The cheese (soaked cashews, quinoa rejuvelac, shallot, miso, lemon juice) was pureed in the vita-mix and spread over the slices with an offset spatula and dehydrated for another hour.

Finally, the BBQ Mushrooms (King Trumpet mushroom stems sliced about 1/4" thick, marinated with nama shoyu, miso, raw agave, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice) were dehydrated for about an hour, then placed on top of the cheese and dehydrated for another hour.

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Radishes and Raw Almond Cheese

Lunch 02/08

Radishes and Raw Almond Cheese

A quick salad today, with some julienned radishes as accompaniment.

One cup of almonds were soaked about 3-4 hours. Protip: this allows the skins to be removed much, much easier, just give them a quick squeeze and they pop right off.

The almonds were added to the Vita-Mix along with 1 tbs. olive oil, 1/4 cup of water*, 1 tbs. nama shoyu, 1 tbs. lemon juice, minced garlic and 1 tbs. white miso. Puree it all together and check for seasoning.

The dressing was a red wine vinaigrette (1 part vinegar, 3 parts olive oil, pinch of salt).

* if the Vita-Mix is struggling add more water in 1 tbs, increments.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Parsnip Noodles with Cilantro Walnut Pesto

Lunch 01/18

Parsnip Noodles with Cilantro Walnut Pesto

A second luncheon helping of the wonderful parsnip noodles from Matthew Kenney's "Everyday Raw Express."

We used our "spiral cutter gadget thingy" (a.k.a. "Cook Help") for turning the parsnips into noodles, here it is from 2006 when we were turning potatoes to be wrapped around tofu.

It's not an easy task given that parsnips can be a little fibrous, but with a little extra elbow grease they turned out nice and long...

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

King Trumpet Mushroom "Scallops" with Barbecue Miso Glaze, Parsnip Noodles with Cilantro Walnut Pesto

Lunch 01/11

King Trumpet Mushroom "Scallops" with Barbecue Miso Glaze

Parsnip Noodles with Cilantro Walnut Pesto

Both recipes came from Matthew Kenney's "Everyday Raw Express"

We love king trumpet mushrooms -- and this recipe uses the mushroom stalks marinated for 30 minutes in a BBQ sauce of miso, nama shoyu, agave, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and sesame seed oil.

As an experiment, we took a few extra mushrooms and dehydrated them for an hour at 105°F -- which turned out exceptionally well!

Pairing up with the BBQ, we peeled and spirialized a parsnip into noodles and combined them with a pesto of walnuts, cilantro, lemon juice, salt, jalapeno and olive oil.

Thursday, January 05, 2012

Zucchini and Avocado Tartar, Spinach Salad

Raw Food Wednesday 01/05

Zucchini and Avocado Tartar

Spinach Salad

The recipe is from Matthew Kenney's "Everyday Raw Express" -- diced zucchini, avocado, lemon juice, olive oil, basil, chives combined in a ring mold. Served with a spinach side salad (lemon juice/olive oil vinaigrette).

Thursday, October 06, 2011

Raw Food Thursday: Papaya Soup

Raw Food Thursday 10/6

Papaya Soup

...a refreshing cup of soup at the end of a long day -- pureed papaya, water, lime juice, nama shoyu and a wee bit of garlic topped with cilantro.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Raw Food Wednesday: Teriyaki

Raw Food Wednesday 9/28

Teriyaki

This dish has been sitting in my notebook of ideas for quite a while now -- and it was well worth the wait!

The zucchini was cut using the thickest blade on the spiral cutter to mimic the noodles in the cooked version. These noodles would be ideal for Lunar New Year as they are really long. ;)

But the sauce is where the action is...

Teriyaki

sauce

1 orange, juiced
1 tbs. nama shoyu
1 tbs. cold-pressed olive oil
3 dates, pits removed
1/2 tsp. dried red pepper, ground
1/2 tsp. garlic, zested
1/2 tsp. ginger, zested

Add all of the ingredients to the vita-mix, and puree until smooth. Pour into a small glass bowl that will fit in your dehydrator. Taste and adjust seasoning -- it's going to get condensed in the dehydrator which will concentrate the salt/heat so resist the urge to kick it up at this point ;)

vegetables

2-3 bunches of broccoli

Trim the broccoli and save the heads for another dish. Peel the stems to remove the outer layer. Cut the stems into rough 1/2" cubes and drop into the sauce, submerging them completely.

Dehydrate for 3-4 hours at 105° F -- this thickens and concentrates the sauce and infuses the broccoli stems. Remove the cubes from the sauce and place on a teflex sheet and dehydrate for an additional 3-4 hours.

2 medium zucchini, cut on a spiral cutter on the thickest blade

Add the thick zucchini noodles to the glass bowl and toss with the remainder of the sauce, place on another teflex sheet and dehydrate 20-30 minutes.

1 medium carrot, julienned (w/kinpira peeler)
1 yellow bell pepper, julienned
3 napa cabbage leaves (stems and leaves separated and julienned)
1 scallion, sliced thinly

toss the veggies with a wee bit of olive oil and nama shoyu and place on a teflex sheet for 20-30 minutes along with the noodles.

assembly

In a bowl, add the noodles, then the veggies and top with the broccoli cubes and whatever sauce is left from the noodles on the teflex sheet.

We picked up the kinpira peeler a couple of years ago for sushi making -- it's sort of a cross between a regular hand-held peeler and a benriner or mandoline with a cutting blade attached -- it comes in handy when you just want to julienne a single carrot.

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Raw Food Wednesday: Sushi

Raw Food Wednesday 9/07

Sushi

Tonight's RFW takes a trip in the wayback machine to that distant year of 2008 when raw nigiri-zushi ruled the land...

The Oracle thus spake:

The watermelon was vacuum-sealed and then frozen. After 24 hours in the freezer, it's defrosted in the fridge. This compacts the fruit, extracts almost all of the liquid and gives it a completely different texture, taste and appearance.

The watermelon was dipped briefly in a nama shoyu & lemon juice mix. The apple base was rubbed with a cut lemon. Then the watermelon was placed on top of the cut apple and was quickly wrapped with a strip of untoasted nori, and topped with a mix of horseradish and apple cider vinegar with a pinch of sea salt.

and then... it was gone, never to be heard from again.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Raw Food Wednesday: Calabacines Rellenos con Queso, Grape and Tarragon Salad

Raw Food Wednesday 8/31

Calabacines Rellenos con Queso

Grape and Tarragon Salad

Something new for RFW, a riff on last week's cooked version of Calabacines Rellenos -- stuffed zucchini topped with cheese. In this version we used the squee inducing baby zucchini and stuffed them with a cumin and walnut filling.

Starting with the baby zucchini, we first cut them in half and then dipped them in a olive oil & nama shoyu marinade for five minutes. From there they went into the dehydrator for 1 hour.

The next step was to remove the center seed section, so I pulled out my trusty #20 Parisian scoop (a.k.a. tiny melon baller) and got to work.

The filling was roughly 1/4 cup of raw walnuts which were tossed into the same bowl as the leftover zucchini marinade with the addition of some cumin seeds that were freshly ground along with a pinch of Mexican oregano. Normally at this point, I'd get out the Vitamix and pulse down the walnuts, but because it was such a small amount, I crushed them with the mortar and pestle.

After adding the stuffing to the zucchini, they were put into the dehydrator for six hours at 105F.

The finishing touch was a squirt of cashew cheese piped on top of each piece. Yes, I need to work on my piping. ;)

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Raw Food Wednesday: Mini-Peppers stuffed with Cashew Cheese, Salad with Carrot Croutons

Raw Food Wednesday 8/24

Mini-Peppers stuffed with Cashew Cheese

Salad with Carrot Croutons

Another in the greatest hits package -- mini-peppers stuffed with a cashew cheese and a salad with carrot croutons.

The cashew cheese (soaked cashews, rejuvelac from quinoa, salt) were added to the peppers and dehydrated for 8 hours at 105F, which made the peppers incredibly sweet (almost cherry tomato-like, as our daughter pointed out).

The salad incorporated a riff from the Trotter/Klein "Raw" book -- take a carrot, peel it into strips, dehydrate for a couple of hours and turn it into a powder, which is then used to coat the cashew cheese, and is then further dehydrated. It adds a gentle sweetness and crunch, much like a crouton.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Raw Food Wednesday: Zucchini Pasta with Pesto and Wild Asparagus, Corn Cakes with Tomato, Fennel Salad

Raw Food Wednesday 8/17

Zucchini Pasta with Pesto and Wild Asparagus

Corn Cakes with Tomato

Fennel Salad

A "greatest hits of summer" meal tonight -- we're overloaded with basil, zucchini & tomatoes, plus additions from the farmers market (corn, wild asparagus).

The pesto, as always, rocks -- olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, pine nuts and salt all blended in the vita-mix, served over spiral cut zucchini noodles. Tonight we served it along with the wild asparagus. The tips were trimmed off and the body sliced very thinly on the bias, tossed with olive oil and nama shoyu and dehydrated for 1 hr at 105F.

The corn cakes are a perennial favorite (recipe), with the right balance of heat and sweetness, paired with a very ripe heirloom tomato.

We started off with a fennel salad, a riff from Juliano's "Raw" cookbook.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Raw Food Thursday: Meatloaf with Prune Ketchup, Mashed Cauliflower with Miso Gravy

Raw Food Thursday 3/18

Meatloaf with Prune Ketchup

Mashed Cauliflower with Miso Gravy
(from Juliano's "Raw")

We brought back one of our favorite raw meals -- the meatloaf (mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, nuts) topped with prune ketchup. The recipe for both are here.

The other half of the plate was Juliano's creamy mashed cauliflower topped with a miso gravy that should be its own food group. ;)

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Raw Food Wednesday: Papaya, Fennel and Spinach Salad

Raw Food Wednesday 3/10

Papaya, Fennel and Spinach Salad

We had a big-ass papaya (that's a technical term), so we decided to treat it like we did when we made the raw sushi a couple of years ago... It totally changes the texture of the papaya, making it tender, chewy and full of awesomeness. ;)

The base was spinach and fennel (sliced thinly on the mandoline), both tossed with an orange vinaigrette, with the addition of lemon slices (to rub on top of the papaya) and minced dill.

We started by slicing the papaya on a mandoline about 3/8" thick, and then scored it with a knife in a crosshatch pattern to allow for better marinade penetration.

Kinda looks like big orange clown shoes, doesn't it?

The papaya slices were brushed with a marinade consisting of 1 tbs. each of olive oil, nama shoyu, and an unfiltered/unfined red wine (Coturri Zinfandel), with 1 tsp. of minced shallot, 1/2 tsp. of minced garlic, 1 tsp. of minced thyme and then seasoned with a pinch of herbes de provence and pepper.

Kinda looks like a pair of wacky orange ties, doesn't it?

The papaya slices were then vacuum-sealed and put in the freezer for 24 hours. The next day, they were taken out and defrosted in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, then removed from the bag and put in the dehydrator for 2 hours at 105F. Flip them about halfway through, and keep an eye on them so the edges don't start to curl up.

Kind of looks like big orange snowshoes, doesn't it?

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Raw Food Wednesday: Mushroom, Red Bell Pepper and Jicama Fajitas in Red Leaf Lettuce Wraps, Corn Chips, Guacamole

Raw Food Wednesday 2/24

Mushroom, Red Bell Pepper and Jicama Fajitas in Red Leaf Lettuce Wraps

Corn Chips

Guacamole

We decide to make a couple of Mexican style dishes tonight -- fajitas with corn chips and guacamole...

We've made corn chips before but these were the best batch we made so far -- from Matthew Kenney's "Everyday Raw" -- and Liz made a quick guacamole to go along with it. The kids inhaled their portion of the same size.

The fajita filling was simply thinly sliced portobello mushrooms, red bell pepper, red onion, jalapeno, garlic, Mexican oregano, olive oil and nama shoyu tossed together and dehydrated for 1 hr. at 105F. The jicama was cut into matchsticks and sprinkled with a little sea salt and provide a nice textural crunch. The red leaf lettuce looked like sails on the plate, and were the perfect size to fold in half to eat.

...and a bonus pic from lunch, No-Bean Hummus from RAWvolution with a crudite platter.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Raw Food Wednesday: Lion's Head Soup

Raw Food Wednesday 2/17

Lion's Head Soup

We decided to pull this recipe out again for Lunar New Year...

Last April I wrote...

"A raw riff on a Chinese classic, this dish emphasizes the harmony of the bok choy, the earthy flavor of carrots in the broth and the luxurious mouthfeel of the cashew and zucchini meatballs."

Yes, I was really channeling my inner Fukui-san on that description! ;)

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Raw Food Wednesday: Cauliflower Tagine

Raw Food Wednesday 2/10

Cauliflower Tagine

We haven't made this in over a year -- I'm not sure why we waited so long. ;)

We tweaked our recipe based on what we had this time around -- adding sliced radish greens in place of the kale and diced fennel subbing for the turnips.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Raw Food Wednesday: Taco Salad with Blood Oranges, Stuffed Mini-Peppers

Raw Food Wednesday 2/03

Taco Salad with Blood Oranges

Stuffed Mini-Peppers

We made the taco salad again, slightly changing a couple of things around. The shells used fresh and sun-dried tomatoes in place of the red bell peppers, and the filling included supremed blood oranges pieces as well as using the juice for the salad dressing base -- 1 tsp. blood orange juice, pinch of salt, with 1 tbs. olive oil whisked together until emulsified.

Liz made the stuffed mini-pepper with a pine nut and hemp seed filling which made for a nice one-bite appetizer.

Tomato Tortillas
(makes approximately 6 large tortillas)

1/2 cup flax seeds
1/2 cup water
1 cup grape tomatoes, chopped in half
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in water for 20 minutes
1 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. nama shoyu
1 jalapeño, diced
1 tsp. Mexican oregano
1 tsp. fresh ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Put the flax seeds in a spice grinder and process, then add to the vita-mix along with the water and let sit for 15 minutes. Put the tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients into the Vita-Mix and process on high until smooth.

Spread out the mixture into 10" rounds with an offset spatula and dehydrate around an hour on 105F. Carefully flip the tortillas and dehydrate for an additional 30-40 minutes or so. Take a peak at this point to make sure they're not too dry -- you want them flexible enough so you can mold them later. You can make these a day in advance and store in the fridge if needed.

Place the tortillas inside the taco shell mold and dehydrate for 2 hours which will set the shape. Gently remove the tortilla from the mold, flip the mold over, and drape the tortilla over the inverted mold and dehydrate for another 2 hours. This allows the other side and base to dry evenly, as well making for a crispy bowl.