Mid-afternoon snack: Maca mylkshake

I love a mid-afternoon snack during the workday. Today my kitchen is a bit bare, so I made a yummy shake by combining a few basic staples. It was my first time using walnuts in a mylkshake, definitely adds a different flavor!

My trusty owl of wisdom from Lyon, Athena
watching over the maca mylkshake

Maca mylkshake
1/3 cup walnuts
1 cup water
1 ripe banana
2 tsp maca
1 tsp cinnamon
1 T raw honey
6 small ice cubes

Blend!

Enjoy... and get back to work!

Raw Creativity, thank you Ani Phyo

I recently went on a new recipe rampage... sometimes I am enamored with simple salads, sprouts, smoothies and juices... and then other times, I will have the creative urge to make a smorgasbord of raw gourmet meals. Isn't it great to be able to hear what your body wants, and then to have the means and ability to satisfy that craving? I count this as a true blessing!

Raw Inventor at work with her cat

I love the creative energy inspired by with food preparation. One of the reasons I enjoy exploring raw food so much is that many culinary adventures can be taken in largely unchartered territories. For example, the other day I was wondering if there was a raw recipe for bread pudding. As I have not been able to find one online, I have started brainstorming what ingredients and processing techniques would be required to create a similar texture and taste to the cooked version. (Stay tuned!) I feel like a mad scientist in the laboratory concocting yummy dishes with a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

My camera and photography skills are not satisfactory at capturing the true beauty and deliciousness of recent concoctions, but I thought I would  share anyway. Reviews and links to recipes provided. A special thanks to Ani Phyo for her delicious creations and the creativity they inspire in us food lovers!

Ani Phyo Cauliflower Mash and Miso Gravy from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen: Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes

Ani Phyo's Cauliflower Mash and Miso Gravy

I have been obsessed with Ani Phyo's miso gravy since last November. The combination of miso + orange creates a deliciously unique flavor. This was my first time making her cauliflower mash, and I will definitely be making it again. It looks just like mashed potatoes (does it not?), and has a beautifully creamy texture coupled with a light cauliflower flavor. Plus, the added bonus of psyllium powder really helps your intestines clean themselves out over the next few days...

Miso gravy recipe online here.

Variation of the cauliflower mash recipe available here.

Strawberry white chocolate cheezecake posted by Vanessa Sherwood on GLiving Community Forum

Strawberry White Chocolate Cheezecake
First,  I am a huge fan of heavy, creamy-textured food - for example, raw chocolate mousse made with avocado is one of my all-time favorite meals. So the fact that I made this cheezecake 4 times in the past month is not surprising. It's that good. I brought one cheezecake to Easter dinner at a friend's house, and it was well received. Sharing raw desserts is such a great way to turn people onto raw food!

Strawberry white chocolate cheezecake recipe and discussion online at Raw Freedom Community here.

Raw veggie burger!

Raw Veggie Burger
There is something about a yummy burger in the summertime that puts a smile on my face. And Ani Phyo has a good raw veggie burger recipe. It is very tasty, not nut-based, and super simple to make - no dehydrator required meaning you can be eating a veggie burger within 20 minutes of craving one. I would like to find a recipe for a slightly thicker burger, next I would like to try Café Gratitude's veggie burger recipe.

I double layered this raw veggie burger on top of a celeriac/carrot pulp flax bread, with pineapple, homemade ketchup, tomatoes, cucumber, capsicum, lettuce, and sprouts. I was introduced to burgers with pineapple and beet root while in Australia many years ago, and was hooked. These two additions take any burger to the next level - whether that burger is raw, veggie or cooked meat!

Raw Ketchup recipe
Blend 1 tomato together with 1 date, 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, 1 T apple cider vinegar, 1 T olive oil, and a pinch of salt. If too runny, add more sun-dried tomatoes. If too thick, add some water. Blend again.

Ani Phyo Sun Burgers recipe online at Raw Freedom Community

Ani Phyo Donut Holes from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen: Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes

 

Donut Holes
Don't they look so cute? These donut holes are a great option to take to a raw food potluck or a friend's house for tea and coffee. They are easy to make and use simple ingredients. I ate them with a raw strawberry compote, as suggested by Ani Phyo, which nicely complemented the texture and flavor of the donut holes. 
  
Ani Phyo Donut Holes recipe online at Raw Freedom Community here.

Zucchini-ccini with sun-dried tomato pesto and cherry tomatoes

 

Pesto Tguch Style
There are so many varieties of pesto to make. This is my own recipe:
 
* In a food processor, process 1 clove garlic, 1/4 tsp sea salt, 2/3 cup basil and 1/2 cup spinach until leaves are well torn and mixed. 
* Add 1/3 cup shelled pistachio nuts and 8 sun-dried tomatoes. Process until well mixed, then slowly begin to add in olive oil as the mixture continues to process. 
* Drizzle oil slowly and stop when desired moisture level has been reached (I estimate about 1 T).

I make my zucchini-ccini using a peeler from Williams Sonoma. I think the "pasta" looks like real linguine in this photo!

What recent creations have inspired you? Share the creative energy!

 

Straight from the Olive Grove

My very own olive oil, straight from the olive grove

This past Christmas my lovely sister adopted me my very own olive tree, from a grove in the Italian Apennines. This excellent marketing initiative (check it out: http://www.nudo-italia.com/) helps small artisanal olive oil producers stay in business. In addition  to knowing that I am contributing to sustainable development for an oil that I love and use daily, I also receive two deliveries a year of fresh, cold-pressed olive oil from my grove. My first delivery arrived last week! 

I recommend only eating fresh, cold-pressed oils that are not cooked or broken down by heat. Oils that are extracted using heat and then sit in plastic bottles under fluorescent lights in the supermarket have gone rancid. Think how your car would react to dirty, sluggish oil being run through the motor - it may still run, but its performance would be reduced and it wouldn't look too pretty in there. Oil is so good for your skin, your brain, your hair, your flexibility, your nails, etc., and if you are eating clean oil, you will look and feel all clean and shiny. Pay attention to the quality of the oil you consume, it is worth the price to your health! And don't cook with oil, as heat makes the oil rancid (yes, even olive oil!). Suggest to steam, broil, grill etc. and then drizzle oil on top.

Raw pizza with olive oil drizzled on top.
Base of celeriac/carrot pulp + flax seeds, layered with macadamia nut cheeze, pistachio pesto, basil, marinated onions, tomatoes, and capsicum.

Sian's Maca-Powered Birthday SuperCake!

 

Happy Birthday Sian!

Sian made a supercake for her birthday--crust of almonds and raisins, cashew filling with tons of maca and honey, and a cacao honey goji berry frosting. After 2 gigantic pieces of this heavenly dessert, I was up til late in the early morning inspired to work on different projects. Ahhh the power of maca... and cacao... goji berries... and time with girlfriends!

Thank you Sian a great birthday tea party and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Raw Recipe: Pineapple Crumble

Just Another Day in Paradise Raw Pineapple Crumble

I created this delicious dessert yesterday and it turned out fabulously. Plus it took less than 30 minutes to make from start to finish. Enjoy!

Makes 1 8x8 inch pan

Crumble (base + topping)
3/4 c. almonds
3/4 c. walnuts
1/2 c. coconut
pinch of salt
6 medjool dates

Process nuts + coconut + salt in the food processor until they are smaller pieces - but not quite crumbs. Add the dates in slowly and process until the  mixture has the consistency of crumble topping. If you overprocess, it will become doughy, which is better for pie crust, not crumble.

Filling
1 fresh pineapple (skin and core removed)
3 dates
1 T coconut oil
dash or two of cinnamon
Optional: 1/2 T lucuma + 1/2 T psyllium husk (If you have neither, increase coconut oil to 1 1/2 T).

- Process 1/4 of pineapple together with dates, cinnamon, and coconut oil in the food processor until consistency is like apple sauce.
- Chop remaining 3/4 of pineapple into small cubes.
- In a medium sized bowl mix chopped pineapple with processed pineapple mixture and stir until coated evenly. If you have lucuma and psyllium powder, stir it in at the end.

Assembly
Place 1/2 crumble mixture on bottom of pan, and pat loosely down so it sticks together. Spoon finished pineapple mixture evenly on top. Sprinkle remaining crumble mixture on top. Let sit in refrigerator for 2-3 hours before serving to let it set.

Eat with a smile!

Happy Halloween! Raw Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

For the first time in at least a decade, I went trick o' treating this Halloween in rural Woodbury, CT with an old friend. We had a blast, and of course in true Halloween spirit, after coming in from the cold, I dumped my booty out on the floor and counted how many candy bars I had scored in each flavor. My favorite candy bar has always been Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and I could not resist unwrapping that shiny orange paper and biting into its saccharin sweetness. It tasted good because it brought back childhood memories, but let's face it, the Reese Cup is pretty low on the quality scale for chocolate and peanut butter.

So today I decided to make a raw version! I researched a few recipes, and finally decided on the one from Gone Raw. This was my first attempt at raw candy, so I would definitely do a few things differently next time. For example, melt the coconut oil before processing it with other ingredients. And I definitely made the chocolate layers way too thick- the recipe was enough to make 16 and I only produced 9 so the ratio of peanut butter to chocolate was low. Overall, however, I produced a much tastier Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, as confirmed by my father during an official taste test. His official comment: "I like the chocolate better." Raw cacao baby!

And perhaps one could argue this version of the Reese Cup is healthier, but raw or not, it's still candy. Yes, there is such a thing as raw junk food!

Raw Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
From Gone Raw 
Servings: 16 candies

Ingredients: 

½ cup cocoa powder
¾ cup coconut butter (Ed. note: I thought this was a bit high, would reduce next time to 2/3)
½ cup agave
1 tablespoon vanilla
½ teaspoon sea salt
5 tablespoon raw peanut butter

Preparation: 

Blend all ingredients except the peanut butter in a food processor until smooth. Then put half of the batter into a 16 cup mini muffin tin that has been lightly greesed with a little oil. Put in the freezer for two minutes. Then put about one tsp of peanut butter into each cup and then cover with the rest of the chocolate sauce. Freeze (about five minutes-but I keep them in all the time and just take them out when I want one) and enjoy.