Tomato

photo by [OP]

Tomatoes are an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin K, plus the antioxidant benefits of lycopene*. They are a fruit, but they are usually served as a vegetable.

*Lycopene is the pigment that makes tomatoes red. The redder the tomato, the more lycopene it has.

Season: Available year-round but tomatoes are at their peak June-September

How to select: Choose firm tomatoes, richly colored and noticeably fragrant. photo by babybee

How to store: Ripe tomatoes should be stored at room temperature and used within a few days.

photo by Pieter Pieterse

Tip: Don't store tomatoes in the refrigerator, cold temperatures kill the flavor and turns the flesh grainy.

Tomato Salad

6 large ripe tomatoes, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 orange or yellow bell pepper, sliced in strips (de-seed)

1/2 cup basil, cut into strips

Hemp oil (or your favorite oil)
Apple Cider Vinegar
Sea salt, to taste

1. Place tomatoes in large salad bowl, add slice onions on top.

2. Layer with bell pepper and basil.

3. Drizzle hemp oil and vinegar over the top of salad. Sprinkle with sea salt and gently toss.

Fun Facts:

The tomato is in the same family as the potato, pepper, eggplant, and petunia (nightshades).

Tomatoes are also known as the 'apple of love'

There are at least 10,000 varieties of tomatoes

Alfala Sprouts

photo by lorayne

Alfalfa sprouts is a low-cost, green superfood, rich in vitamins A, B, C, E, and K, along with calcium, iron and zinc and chlorophyll.

How to sprout

Need:
1 tablespoon Alfalfa seeds
glass Mason jar with lid (metal ring)
cheesecloth

Place the seeds in the jar and fill at least a quarter full with pure water. Cover the mouth of the jar with the cheesecloth and secure the cloth with the lid. Soak overnight.

Pour out the water and let the seeds sit away from direct sunlight

Rinse the seeds at least twice per day with cool water by running cool water into the jar, swirl the seeds around, then pour the water out. Tilt the jar at a 45 degree angle to remove excess water.

On the fifth or sixth day they should be ready. They will have green leaves.

Spread the sprouts on a paper towel, next the sunlight for a few hours. Let them air-dry thoroughly before refrigeration. Yields 1-2 cups.

photo by momo617
Alfalfa and Spinach salad
(serves 4)

For dressing
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons raw agave nectar
1 teaspoon powdered mustard
sea salt and pepper, to taste

Salad
4 cups Alfalfa Sprouts
2 cups baby spinach
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 red onion, thinly sliced

In a bowl, whisk together vinegar, agave, mustard and salt and pepper. Slowly add oil, whisking until emulsified. Dressing last two days in the refrigerator.

In a large bowl, toss salad ingredients and dressing.

Did You Know?
Alfalfa Sprouts is generally grown for animal feed.
Alfalfa is really a member of the pea family, making it a legume. Juicing for health.com

Resources

Sprout People offers basic tips on sprouting, recipes, sprouting kits and more. photo by Miran Rijavec

A Taste of Thai

Tonight I gave a demo at the Raw Spirit Festival called "A Taste of Thai."  I thought you might like to share in the fun and so I am posting the recipes here for you to enjoy.   And for all who came to the demo tonight, you rawk! 

Thai Slaw (serves 4-6)

DRESSING
½ cup of your favorite raw butter
¼ cup coconut oil, liquid form
1 tablespoon agave nectar
Juice of one lime
1 silver of ginger, peeled and minced
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Combine ingredients in a large bowl. Use a whisk to blend into a smooth, creamy consistency. Add extra coconut oil a teaspoon at a time, if needed.

SLAW
4 cup finely shredded Napa cabbage
2 cup finely shredded red cabbage
1 cup finely shredded carrot
4 sprigs fresh mint, leaves only, shredded

Combine cabbages and carrot in a bowl and toss with dressing. Marinate for two hours before serving. Overnight is best.

Thai Red Curry with Sweet Potato Noodles (serves 4)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Thai chili pepper, finely chopped
2 teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon ground red pepper
Juice of one lime
½ tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 cup coconut milk, recipe follows
½ red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled
Basil, cut into thin strips

In a bowl mix garlic, chili pepper, curry powder and sea salt. Add lime juice, coconut oil and agave nectar. Gradually add coconut milk until curry powder breaks down. The sauce should be a saucy, soup-like consistency. Add onions and bell pepper.
Spiralize the sweet potato to make thin spaghetti noodles.

Pour curry on the sweet potato noodles, gently toss to coat. Garnish with basil.

Honey Mint Ice
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped coarsely
1 cup honey
2 cups water
juice of one lime

In a blender, puree ingredients until mint leaves are small pecks of green.

Transfer mixture to popsicle molds, ice trays or paper cups. If using ice trays or paper cups, add popsicle sticks to the center of the popsicle as soon as its solid enough to hold stick in place (about an hour). Continue to freeze for 4-5 hours.

Welcome back

It's been a few months since I've posted. I've missed you, dearly.

I needed some time away. The energy required to maintain two blogs kind of hit me like a ton of bricks and I needed to back off.

I took the time to hang with the kids, play in the garden, avoid the internet, take a family vacation, do an intensive hot yoga teacher training, watch movies, get a tattoe....yada, yada, ya. The list goes on and on.

Truth be known, I hadn't had anything new to offer to you regarding raw foods, until now and even now, I'm not going to go into a recipe right away.

This has been my summer of slowing the heck down, not being in such a rush. It's been nice.

Bishop and zucchini from our garden

I'm taking things a bit slow, there's really no hurry to get started with anything really.

Summer isn't quite over, although, my oldest daughter starts her senior year of high school this Wednesday, but the other kids don't start until later this month.

Avery watering the spinach and lettuce.

Anywho. There are several recipes that I would like to experiment with but I'm not in a hurry to master.

In the next coming days (weeks, months) I invite you to come along with me while I venture into the raw culinary unknown.

Kale from the garden

Gardening and yoga has taught me that the journey is more important than the destination.

The first recipe I am going to focus on is Dr. Ann Wigmore's Energy Soup.

I'll read information about, experiment and share what I've learned.

Again my personal lesson could take one post or several. No rush.

Above is a quickie version of the soup made from kale and tomatoes from our garden, I'll share the recipe and process in the next few posts.

In the mean time, let's catch up a bit. Drop me a line in the comment box and tell me what you have been doing this summer.

Recipe of the Day

photo by fotosearch

Renee at The Gluten-Free Vegan blog posted Raw Buckwheat & Flax Flatbread.

Buckwheat can be a good substitute for wheat, oats, rye and barley since it is gluten-free. It is also a good source of manganese, magnesium and dietary fiber.

The protein in buckwheat contains all eight essential amino acids.

Raw Test Kitchen

photo by Well-Seasoned Cook

This is a great snack to have on hand in case you get the munchies. You can use whatever nut floats your boat, cashews are my favorite. It has a rich buttery flavor that would off-set the spiciness.

Pecans, crisp up nicely. If you use pecans, try it with maple syrup (not raw product), to add a different flavor.

Just don't eat all the nuts in one sitting, they are high in fat.

Sweet Chile Nuts

makes 4 cups

Juice of one lime

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon agave nectar

1 tablespoon paprika

2 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon sea salt

4 cups raw soaked nuts of your choice

1 Whisk together lime juice, oil, agave and seasonings. Add nuts to coat evenly.

2 Spread nuts on a Teflex sheet and dehydrate at 100 degrees for 8-12 hours or until dry, crisp and crunchy.

Raw and Living Foods classes

photo by perplexia

Learn how to make flaxseed crackers, nut pate, zucchini pasta with marinara sauce, cakes and pies, 6:30-9 p.m. May 9. Civic Park Community Center, 1375 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek, CA. $33 plus $25 lab fee. 925-943-5858, http://www.walnutcreekrec.org/.


The Natural Gourmet hosts a Raw Comfort Foods class featuring Party Tacos with Spiced Nut Meat, Sour "Cream", and Guacamole; Zucchini Mac & "Cheese" Casserole with Crunchy Multigrain Topping; and Coconut-Pineapple-Carrot Layer Cake with Cashew Cheese Icing. $95. 1-4 p.m. May 17. 48 West 21st St., NY, NY, 212-645-5170

Introduction to Raw Foods covers how to shop for raw foods, recipe demos, Q&A session and more, May 17. Soho, London

Can't travel, no worries, Gourmet Raw Vegan Chef Dina Knight offers online raw food classes and demos. ALSO Raw Chef Dan hosts an online Raw Food Prep Class.

Raw Test Kitchen

photo by lucafotogne

Earlier today I posted that I wasn't creating raw food dishes of late. That doesn't mean that I don't have my share of recipes to well...share.

I haven't prepared this dish but I invite you to create it and let me know what you think. Send in a photo, comments, revises, whatever you feel would make it off the hook.

Peace and love,
Terilynn

Avocado Salad with Creamy Lime Dressing

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup cashews
juice of 2 limes
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
1 head Romaine lettuce, roughly chopped
1 small bunch cilantro, leaves only
2 ripe avocados, cut into small cubes

1 Combine oil, cashews, lime juice, agave nectar and cumin in a blender. Process until cashews are smooth and creamy. If needed, use water a 1/2 tablespoon at a time to reach desired consistency.

2 Combine the lettuce and cilantro with the dressing in a large bowl. Top with the avocado pieces.

Recipe of the Day

photo by artchick2002

As you might have noticed, I haven't posted new original recipes on the Daily Raw Cafe for awhile. To be truthful, I don't know what to make or to eat, other than salads with hemp powder and green smoothies. My eating seems to be in a transitional stage and I tend to prepare recipes on how I would like to eat.

I ask that you be a bit patient with me while I find my way. I will continue to share information about raw foods. I still love the culinary art of raw foods, I'm just not indulging at the moment.

Having said that, while I am finding my way in the recipe department and hopefully gaining back some of my mojo, I have found interesting recipes from other sources that I thought I would share.

Heidi at 101 Cookbooks posted a A Simple Spring Salad that looks absolutely tasty. She also offers tips on shopping for the right salad ingredients, washing and storing lettuce and dressing a salad.