A Twist on a Classic

I enjoy pesto, it's a classic Italian sauce that tastes great with just about anything.

I'm not quite sure what possessed me to try this classic with pumpkin seeds. It could have been I didn't have pine nuts and the green, sweet and nutty tasting seed was calling. Whatever the reason, this raw food twist is something you should try.

Pumpkin Seed Pesto
1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
2 clove of garlic, minced
3/4 cup basil leaves
1 bunch coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley , leaves only
Juice of one lemon
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt

1 Combine the pumpkin seeds and garlic in a food processor. Pulse on and off, until the seeds are almost ground.

2 Add basil, parsley and lemon juice. Stream in olive oil. Scrap down the sides with a spatula in between pulses), until all the ingredients are combined.

3 Transfer to a bowl and season with sea salt.

Serve with carrot and zucchini noodles.

Pumpkin seeds are a very good source of the minerals magnesium, and phosphorous, and a good source of iron, copper, protein and zinc.

This raw food recipe uses an ingredient from March's The Daily Raw Recipe Challenge.

Wanted: Spring

Because of the snowy weather outside here in Colorado, I am forced to play on my tile floor with my kitchen garden. Kitchen gardening and sprouting are great, don't get me wrong. I enjoy it. Below are some lentils I eventually sprouted. They were super easy. Soak in water overnight, drain in the morning. Rinse and drain until you get tails. For more details visit here.

But, alas, kitchen gardening doesn't replace getting down and dirty in the soil.

The feel of the earth between my fingers, smiling as my son plays with the worms, the anticipation of what's to come. It's very grounding.

Spring please come.

Maybe, just maybe if I share one of my favorite spicy dishes, I can bribe Spring's warm arrival.

Maybe.

Lentil Patties with Coconut Peanut Sauce
LENTIL PATTIES
1 cup almonds, soaked
1½ cups sprouted lentils
¼ cup water
4 tablespoons Nama Shoyu
1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
Juice of one lime
lime zest
¼ cup olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ cup finely chopped cilantro

1 Combine almonds, lentils and water in a food processor. Process until almonds and lentils are a chunky consistency. Add Nama Shoyu, cayenne pepper, lime juice, zest, olive oil, garlic clove and cilantro. Briefly pulse until well combined.

2 Shape the mixture into ping-pong size balls. Flatten into patties.

3 Place on Teflex sheets. Dehydrate at 100 degrees for 4 hours or until top is completely dry. Flip patties over. Dehydrate an additional 4-6 hours or until the patties are dry on the outside and moist on the inside.

COCONUT PEANUT SAUCE
1 cup almonds, unsoaked
½ cup cashews
1 cup water, or more as needed
1 teaspoon ginger powder
2 tablespoons Coconut butter
¼ cup agave nectar
¼ cup Nama Shoyu
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon Red Pepper Flakes
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon Turmeric

1 To make the Coconut Peanut Sauce, mix almonds and cashews in a blender to make a powder. Add ginger, water, coconut butter, agave nectar, Nama Shoyu and lime juice. Blend until you achieve a creamy sauce.

2 Pour into a bowl and sprinkle in sea salt, red pepper flakes and turmeric. Stir well.

3 Serve Lentil Patties and Coconut Peanut Sauce on a bed of Carrot and Zucchini pasta.
(un) Cooking Tip:

If your sauce comes out to watery, place the sauce into a glass container and put in the dehydrator for a couple of hours.

Quarrels and Quinoa

I hate being broke (especially around the holidays, can I get an Amen). More than being broke I hate arguing with my husband about being broke. A national survey released in February of this year stated 37 percent of couples fight about money. No surprise to me.

But it’s not like I’m purchasing the newest juicy jumpsuit or a acquiring the D&G purse, (although it is very pretty).

I am practical in my spending. The bulk of the money goes to food and kitchen gadgets.

Awhile ago we bickered about the amount of money I spend on produce and springform pans (my fetish). Silly, right?

The details of the argument isn’t as important as that fact that it is like detoxing it brings up past issues and hurts and such, totally unrelated to the disagreement at hand.

In our case, the quarrel really was about me not doing the laundry often enough or him not putting the toilet seat down again. I forget which.

To resolve the issues, I promised to do laundry once in awhile; he guaranteed the lid will descend after his potty sessions. The making up was very nice and I received a gift to get over the hurt feelings.

“It’s quinoa”

“Keen-who,” I asked?

“Q-U-I-N-O-A. It’s a grain,” he explained.

And not just any grain. Once considered "the gold of the Incas," quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is an amino acid-rich seed that has a slightly crunchy texture and a somewhat nutty flavor when sprouted.

Speaking of sprouting. It takes these tiny guys 6-8 hours to sprout, sometimes less. You can’t beat that.

Sprouting quinoa:
1. Wash 1 cup quinoa with water very thoroughly to get rid of an unpleasant-tasting saponin on the seed coat.

2. Soak 2-4 hours in a jar.

3. Drain. Rinse well with water before sprouting 6-8 hours.*

The strong flavor of the quinoa can be unpleasant. To counteract this I soak mine in a mixture of 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar and 1/4 cup Nama Shoyu.

yields approximately 1 -1/2-2 cups sprouted quinoa

*This time can vary. I sprouted quinoa on four separate occasions and they all sprouted at different times. Once a batch sprouted while it was still soaking.

They remind me of a bulgur or rice. Once rice came to mind an Asian creation wasn’t far behind.

After scanning the frig and silently praying to the GE appliance for some usable ingredients, it delivered: mushrooms, broccoli, red onion and walnuts. Score!

Searching the refrigerator is a huge step for me, usually I just write a list and go to the store, but, we just argued about being broke so that wasn’t an option.

I decided to marinate the ingredients separately in their own special sauces to create more of a vegetable bowl, but this dish also lends itself well to a stir-fry.

So from being broke, to fighting about it, to detoxing, to laundry, to making up, to a grain worth its weight in gold, to scanning the frig, to a vegetable bowl gift for my husband to say I’m sorry. Here we are. Enjoy!

Vegetable Bowl with Quinoa

BROCCOLI MIXTURE
3 cups broccoli
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon raw agave nectar

MUSHROOM MIXTURE

4 cups sliced mushrooms

¼ cup Nama Shoyu

½ cup apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoon olive oil

RED ONION MIXTURE
½ red onion, sliced into thin strips
½ lime, juiced
1 teaspoon sea salt

WALNUT MIXTURE
1 cup soaked walnuts
2 tablespoons raw agave nectar
¼ teaspoon sea salt

4 cups sprouted quinoa
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
½ tablespoon Nama Shoyu

1 BROCCOLI MIXTURE: Marinate the broccoli in the apple cider vinegar, raw agave nectar, sea salt and red pepper flakes for 2-3 hours or until broccoli breaks down a bit.

2 MUSHROOM MIXTURE: Place ingredients in bowl and marinate in for 2 hours.

3 RED ONION MIXTURE: Marinate the onions in the lime juice and sea salt for an hour.

4 WALNUT MIXTURE: Marinate the walnuts in the raw agave nectar and sea salt for an hour.

5 Toss quinoa with apple cider vinegar, Nama Shoyu and sea salt until well coated.


Servings: 4

National Guacamole Day

I love platter dining. I'm not sure if it's an official term, maybe now it will be. I guess the closest thing to it would be tapas. Platter dining is a bit different.

Spreading your ingredients out and deciding which ones to eat in whatever combination you choose. And you have to eat with your hands. I think raw food tastes better eating with your fingers.

Guacamole Platter
4 avocados, peeled and diced
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeño, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
juice of one lime

1 In a bowl, mash the avocados with a potato masher.

2 Add the tomatoes, red onion and jalapenos to the bowl. Squeeze the lime juice and sprinkle sea salt over the guacamole.

Platter ingredients

carrot slices

broccoli

spinach leaves

cucumber

collard green leaves

Yield: 3 cups

National Pizza with the Works Day

My husband and I were in the kitchen together making this pizza. It's been awhile. Welcome back, baby!

Pizza Bread
4 cups sprouted grains, Kamut, wheat berries, rye, etc.
1 cup almond flour
½ cup soaked Sun-dried tomatoes
½ cup sliced Kalamata olives
½ garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt

1 In a food processor, grind the grains well. If your processor doesn’t have a powerful motor, use ¼ cup of water to get things going. Stop every so often to scrape the sides of the food processor. Blend the mixture until it forms a sticky dough. Remove from processor and place in a large bowl.

2 Add sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and olive to processor. Briefly process to make a thick paste.**
3 Place dough in a large bowl and add almond flour, sun-dried tomato paste, olives and sea salt. Combine well.

4 Divide the mixture in half and spread each half on a two Teflex sheets, forming 8 x 8 squares.

5 Dehydrate at 110 degrees for 6 hours, flip over and with a pizza cutter, score into nine slices. Dehydrate an additional 6-8 hours or until the bread is crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.

**You may also add the ingredients to the dough without processing into a paste. The paste option produces a tomato-red colored bread.

Cashew Pepper Cheese Spread
1 cup cashew nuts
Juice of one half lemon
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1/4 cup water

Combine ingredients in a blender until well mixed.

Chunky Marinara Sauce
2 ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 1 hour to soften, reserve soaking water
4 Roma tomatoes, seeded, roughly chopped
4 Medjool dates, pitted and soaked for 1 hour to soften
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ onion, roughly chopped
2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Combine dates Roma tomatoes, garlic, onion, Italian seasonings and olive oil in a blender. Add sun-dried tomatoes, using soaking water to get the blender going. Puree until you reach a chunky consistency. Add sea salt and pepper.

Marinated Mushrooms

2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil
juice of one half lemon
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
½ teaspoon sea salt

Toss mushrooms with olive oil, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, Italian seasonings and sea salt. Let marinate for 2 hours

Toppings
1/2 bunch of Spinach, washed and chopped
1 cup marinated Mushrooms, sliced
1 small Red onion, sliced
tomato, sliced

Spread the cashew cheese on the pizza bread add the marinara. Top with spinach, mushrooms, onion and tomato.

If you don't like these toppings try these:
Sweet bell peppers
Green onions
Jalapenos
Chili peppers
Broccoli
Carrots
Alfalfa Sprouts
Asparagus
Bean Sprouts
Chives
Cilantro
Lettuce
Pineapple
Shallots
Snow Peas
Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Walnuts
Yellow Squash
Zucchini

National Meatloaf Appreciation Day

It's all about the challenges. Last month, I submitted a raw food recipe for Spinach-Stuffed Meatloaf to Serious Eats in celebration of "National Meatloaf Appreciation Day." Well, fast forward to today and The Daily Raw Cafe's meatloaf is getting a shout-out on the Serious Eats site.

Viva Raw Foods!

Terilynn

National Pasta Day

Did you Know? Oct. 17th is National Pasta Day, October 25th is World Pasta Day and October is National Pasta Month.

This raw recipe for alfredo sauce is very creamy and full-bodied. The longer it sits, the richer the flavors become. Try it with one of the pastas below.

Zucchini Noodles with Alfredo Sauce
2 cups cashews, soaked
1½ cups water
1 garlic clove, minced
juice of one lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon white pepper
red pepper flakes (optional)

Process cashews, garlic, lemon juice, one cup of water, olive oil, sea salt and pepper in a blender. Stream in remaining half cup of water until you achieve a creamy sauce.

Serve with zucchini noodles on a bed of spinach. Garnish with red pepper flakes.

Servings: 4

1 zucchini

Use a spiralizer to make the zucchini noodles. No spiralizer? No worries, use a vegetable peeler to create pasta noodles.



From left to right: sweet potato angel hair, zucchini noodles, yellow squash angel hair, sweet potato cones and yellow squash noodles.

Other pasta recipes on the Daily Raw Cafe
Lasagna with Chunky Marinara
Szechuan Vegetables with Noodles
Basil Pesto with Zucchini Angel Hair Pasta

thedailyrawcafe.com

It's official! The Daily Raw Cafe's new URL is now thedailyrawcafe.com. Feel free to update your lists and post the new URL.

Viva Raw Food!

Creamy tomato basil soup

6 tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 cups loosely packed basil leaves, plus extra for garnish
2 cups cashews, soaked
1 cup water
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Place cashews and water in a blender and blend until creamy. Add basil, tomatoes and shallot. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with basil.

Basil Pesto

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 garlic clove, minced
sea salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste

1 Place basil leaves in small batches in food processor and process until well chopped.

2 Add the nuts and garlic, process again until if forms a thick smooth paste. Slowly stream in olive oil. Stopping the food processor to scrape down sides of container.

3 Process until fully incorporated and smooth. Season with salt and pepper

4 Serve pesto over zucchini pasta.

A saladacco (aka Spiralizer) transforms yams, sweet potatoes, daikon and other root vegetables into angel hair pasta noodles.

Food Prep Tip: The noodles will be wet after you spiralize. Place them in a strainer with a pan underneath. Sit on the counter overnight to let it "dry out" a bit. Or you can put it in the dehydrator for an hour at 100 degrees.

Pesto-stuffed Butternut Squash with White Sauce

The flavor of the basil pesto adds zip to the mildness of the butternut squash and the creamy white sauce ties the dish together.

1 butternut squash
1 teaspoon sea salt
black pepper, to taste
1 cup Pesto (recipe below)
1 cup White Sauce (recipe below)

1 Cut the "neck" from the bottom of butternut squash. Reserve the bottom portion for another recipe. Cut the neck in half

2 With a vegetable peeler, peel the neck.

3 Use a knife or mandolin to slice butternut squash in paper thin rounds (1/8-inch or less). Make a least 20 slices.

4 Place squash in a bowl of sea salt water and let set for an hour to soften. Under running water, rinse the squash thoroughly to remove salt.

5 Add one teaspoon of the pesto to the center of rinsed squash round. Place another slice of squash on top. Pinch the ends to close.

6 Serve with white sauce. Top off with black pepper.

Basil Pesto
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 garlic clove, minced
sea salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste

1 Place basil leaves in small batches in food processor and process until well chopped.

2 Add the nuts and garlic, process again until if forms a thick smooth paste. Slowly stream in olive oil. Stopping the food processor to scrape down sides of container.

3 Process until fully incorporated and smooth. Season with salt and pepper


White Sauce
1 cup cashews, soaked for an hour
¾ cup water
juice of one lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper

In a blender, puree cashew and olive oil, until cashews break down. Add water, blend until you achieve a thin white sauce.

Raw food recipe tip:
Want to take the sauce further? Add 1/2 onion 1/2 garlic clove, minced dash dried leaf thyme, crumbled, salt and white pepper, to taste nutmeg, to taste

Sushi Rolls with Spicy Pecan Dipping Sauce

The sushi and dipping sauce are my husband's creations. He brought home the pecan butter and his imagination went from there.

We make and eat sushi once every few months. It's one of my favorite foods.

It's a big deal when we make sushi because the work involved (food prep, rolling, sauce-making, etc.). We use a variation of the "Raw Food Real World" recipe with the jicama rice. Yummy!

We save sushi night for when the kids are at a sitter and we can open a bottle of wine and crank up the music.

Oddly enough, this wasn't one of THOSE nights.

Note to self: Hungry husband generally doesn't like to have his sushi kidnapped to take a photograph for blog.

SUSHI ROLLS

4 nori sheets

3 green scallions, thinly sliced

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and julienned

1 red bell pepper, julienned

1 ripe avocado, sliced

1 small bunch sprouts

1. Place a nori sheet on a rolling mat.

2. Arrange small portions of the scallion, bell pepper, sprouts, cucumber and avocado on the bottom third of the nori sheet.

3. Roll up the sushi tightly with the sushi mat to form a neatly packed cylinder. Think fat cigar.

4. Cut each sushi roll into 1½-inch rounds using a sharp, damp knife. Plate and serve with Spicy Pecan Dipping Sauce.

SPICY PECAN DIPPING SAUCE

1/2 cup Artisana Organic Raw Pecan Butter
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoon agave nectar
2 tablespoon Nama Shoyu
2 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes,

1. In a blender puree together pecan butter, garlic, agave nectar, Nama Shoyu, water, red pepper flakes and sea salt until mixture is smooth.

2. If needed add more water one tablespoon at a time to reach a desired consistency.

NATIONAL MEATLOAF DAY

The folks at Serious Eats has declared October 18TH "National Meatloaf Appreciation Day" and to celebrate they have invited all to submit their favorite meatloaf recipe. I love a challenge. So, I created this delicious nut-based meatloaf with spinach and tangy sun-dried tomato ketchup to show, you can have comfort food and still eat raw.

I'm really proud of this dish because it helped me conquer a fear of mine. I can be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to just about everything I do. Often I try to reach for the stars, falling short alot, but I keep reaching. I'm not perfect. I know shocker, huh?

I want my recipes to look good but more importantly, I want them to taste off the hook. I was fearful that this dish would make me fall short and it wouldn't turn out the way I like. Yes, I realize if it turns out wrong, start over and do it again. Which I have, BUT THIS dish is special. :)

Anywho, I snapped out of that perfectionist mind-set real quick when I remembered this recipe isn't any different than my others.

Although it's not listed, but my love of raw food is the first ingredient in every single one of my recipes. My heart has a hand in the preparation of every raw meal I create and so I'm guaranteed a tasty dish.

I was right, this dish taste darn good, if I say so myself. And like the cooked version, it was delish the next morning.

On today's menu:

Spinach-Stuffed Meatloaf

Lemon Green Beans

Honey-Glazed Carrots

SPINACH-STUFFED MEATLOAF
*

2 cup walnuts, soaked for 4-6 hours
1 cup almonds, soaked for 4-6 hours
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked until soft, reserved 1 cup water
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 cups fresh spinach, washed and stemmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of one half lemon
2 teaspoon sea salt, divided
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup SUN-DRIED TOMATO KETCHUP (recipe follows)

1 Place spinach, olive oil, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon sea salt Ziploc bag and marinate for 1 hour.
2 In a food processor, combine walnuts, almonds, sun-dried tomatoes, 1/2 cup reserved tomato water, parsley, onion, garlic and celery. Add the remaining 1/2 cup water one tablespoon at a time to moisten the meat loaf. Be careful not to over moisten.
3 Place meatloaf mixture in a large bowl. Add poultry seasoning, pepper and 1 teaspoon sea salt. Mix well.
4 Spread meatloaf mixture on a Teflex sheet into a shape into a rectangle 3x9-inches . Place spinach mixture on top. Roll up the rectangle carefully, beginning at the short side and using the sheet to lift.

5 Transfer loaf to a second Teflex sheet. You should have enough meat to create three mini loaves.

6 Cover with sun-dried tomato ketchup. Place in dehydrator at 115 degrees for an hour.
7 Make 1 inch slices of meat and arrange on the Teflex.
8 Dehydrate at 115 degrees for an hour. Turn over slices, spread sun-dried tomato ketchup and dehydrate an additional hour.

*Please Note: In the bottom left corner of the ingredient photo is ground brown flax flour. In the preparation of the recipe I found I didn't need it.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO KETCHUP
1 cup sun-dried tomato, soaked, 1/4 c reserved water
1/4 cup raisins, soaked
1 T Italian Seasonings
1/4 tablespoon chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced

Combine ingredients in a blender until mixture is slightly smooth, yet chunky.

HONEY-GLAZED CARROTS
4 cups baby carrots
2 tablespoons honey
Juice of one half lemon
Dash of sea salt

1 In a small bowl, put honey and salt. Squeeze in lime juice. Whisk ingredients together.
2 Slice the carrots very thin, put them in the honey mixture. Let marinate at least an hour.

Servings: 4

LEMON GREEN BEANS
2 cups green beans, cleaned
Juice of one half small lemon
Lemon zest
1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

Dash crushed red pepper

1 Cut green beans in bite-size pieces.

2 Place the beans in a plastic container or Ziploc bag. Put lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt, zest and red pepper flakes in the bag. Let marinate for at least an hour or longer.

Servings: 4

To take nostalgia to the max, serve the meatloaf with Smashed "Potatoes" and Chives.

COLLARD ROLLS

Collard greens provide an excellent source of calcium, zinc, folate, manganese, vitamins C, A and K.

4 collard large leaves, cleaned
1 avocado, cored and sliced
6 baby carrots, sliced into matchsticks
1/2 cucumber, sliced into matchsticks
1 cup sun-dried tomato paste (recipe follows)
1/2 cup clover sprouts
1/2 cup wasabi dipping sauce (recipe follows)

1 Fold the collard green in half lengthwise and with a knife, remove the center stem from each leaf. You should have 8 leaf-halves total.
2 Spread 1-2 teaspoons of sun-dried tomato paste on each leaf. Top with cucumber, carrots, avocado slice and sprouts. Roll the leaf.
3 Serve with wasabi dipping sauce.

Servings: 2
Yield: 8 rolls

SUN-DRIED TOMATO SPREAD
1/2 c sun-dried tomatoes, soaked, reserve water
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small tomato, remove seeds, diced
1 date, pitted and soaked
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 T olive oil
1 T Italian seasoning

Combine all ingredients, except sun-dried tomatoes in a food processor. Add sun-dried tomatoes last, along with reserved water to create a thick mixture.

Yield: 1-1/2 cups

WASABI SAUCE #2
1 avocado
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Combine avocado, apple cider vinegar, ground mustard, salt and water in a blender until smooth.

Serves 2
Yields: 1/2 cup

Tuscan Mushrooms

I love mushrooms just about as much as I love desserts. So whenever I can create a savory dish using mushrooms, I do.

This recipe first appeared on Raw Test Kitchen in August and I finally made it about a few weeks ago. My husband and the kids loved it, as did I.

Speaking of RTK, I want to thank Bob of Legally Raw for submitting his photos and comments for my Oatmeal Shortcakes with Spiced Plums recipe. Also, if you get a chance, check out Bob's recipe for Spicy Lemongrass "Tofu Zucchini". If you like it hot and spicy, give it a try!

Tuscan Mushrooms

1 pound white button mushrooms, cleaned and stemmed, reserve mushroom stems

2 scallions, diced

1/2 c diced red bell peppers

1/2 c diced pitted green olives

4 T extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 t sea salt

1/4 t black pepper

1/4 c finely chopped fresh basil leaves

Massage mushroom caps with 2 tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon sea salt.

Put mushrooms in the dehydrator for one-half hour.

Dice mushroom stems, toss with red bell peppers and 2 tablespoon olive oil. Set aside.

In a bowl, mix together the scallions, red bell peppers mixture, olives, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and

pepper.

Transfer the mushrooms caps to a serving platter, spoon the filling into the cavity of the mushrooms, sprinkle with chopped basil and serve.

Transfer the mushrooms to a serving platter, sprinkle with chopped basil, and serve.

(1)

A Hearty Meal

On today's menu:
Portobello Steaks
Smashed "Potatoes" and Chives
"Roasted" Peppers

Portobello Steaks

4 large portobello mushrooms, sliced into 1/2 inch

1/4 c Nama Shoyu

1/4 t black pepper

1/8 t red pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

1/8 t ground nutmeg

Place all ingredients in 1-gallon Ziploc bag. Shake the bag to combine. Marinate for two hours.

Occasionally shake the bag to ensure the mushrooms stay coated evenly.

Remove mushrooms from the bag and spread on Teflex sheets.

Optional: Place in dehydrator for an additional two hours (or until slightly soft) at 110 degrees.

Smashed "Potatoes" and Chives

1 c chopped cauliflower

1/2 c cashews, soaked

1/4 c water

1/4 c chopped chives, reserve 1 teaspoon for garnish

1/2 garlic clove, minced

Juice of one half lemon

1 t sea salt

1 t black pepper

Place cashews and cauliflower in a blender, add lemon juice and water 1 tablespoon at a time to create a creamy consistency.

Remove mixture from blender jar and place in a large bowl.

Fold in garlic, chives and sea salt. Garnish with 1 teaspoon of chives and pepper.

"Roasted" Peppers

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced

1/4 c chopped fresh parsley

1/4 c olive oil

1 t sea salt

Place ingredients in a 1-gallon Ziploc bag, marinate for an hour in the refrigerator.

Remove peppers from the bag and spread on Teflex sheets.

Place in dehydrator for an additional hour at 110 degrees.

Author's Note: The kids are in school, it's getting darker earlier, the weather is getting colder....Fall is upon us and now it's time for a heartier meal to fill our bellies.

Spicy Spinach and Pepper Taquitos

CORN TORTILLAS

NACHO CHEESE

SPINACH/PEPPER MIXTURE
1 c fresh spinach

1/2 sweet red bell pepper, diced

1/2 sweet yellow bell pepper, diced

1/4 yellow onion, diced

Juice of one lime

1 T olive oil

1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced

1 t chili powder

1 t sea salt

Place ingredients in a Ziploc bag and marinate for 1 hour.

NACHO CHEESE

1 c cashews, soaked
1/4 c water
1/2 sweet red bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

Juice of half a lemon

1 T Nutritional yeast

1 t turmeric

1/2 t sea salt

Blend ingredients until thick and creamy.

CORN TORTILLAS

4 c fresh corn kernels, from sweet corn on the cob

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 c golden flax seeds, finely ground

1 t sea salt

Chop corn and bell pepper in a food processor. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth.

Take a spoon and spread the corn mixture on the teflex-lined dehydrator trays. You should have enough mixture for two or three trays.

Dehydrate at 110 degrees for about 5 hours.

Flip the teflex sheet over onto the tray and carefully pull away from tortillas.

Using a pizza cutter, score the tortilla in 3-inch strips (approximately 3 long strips) length-wise, then score every four inches across. You should have approximately 9 strips of rectangles.

Dehydrate for another 2 hours until tortilla is completely dry on both sides but still pliable.

To assemble taquitos, spread cheese on the end of one tortilla strip, spoon spinach/pepper mixture on top of cheese and roll tortilla tightly to prevent it from opening.

Secure with a toothpick, if necessary.

Put taquitos in dehydrator at 110 degrees for 8-12 hours or until they are crisp on the outside.

Author's note:

I have waited forever to make these. I put the recipe on rawtestkitchen in July and I'm just getting around to making it. Whip up some sour cream , chopped avocado and enjoy!

HELP: Can someone tell me how to type my blog without the words gathering together, please, please, let me know. Because I type it the way I want it, then it changes. Thanks!

Have a great week!

Lasagna with Chunky Marinara

Like the cooked version, this lasagna is all about the layers.

Lasagna noodles
2 large zucchini, peeled
Pinch of sea salt

Cut the zucchini crosswise in half. Use a vegetable peeler and thinly slice each half of zucchini lengthwise. Place zucchini noodles on a plate lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with sea salt. Set aside.

Marinated Mushroom and Yellow Peppers
3 cups sliced mushrooms
1 yellow pepper, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon raw agave nectar
½ teaspoon Italian seasonings
½ teaspoon sea salt

Toss mushrooms and yellow pepper with olive oil, agave nectar, Italian seasonings and sea salt. Let marinate for 2 hours.

Chunky Marinara Sauce
2 ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 1 hour to soften, reserve soaking water
4 Roma tomatoes, seeded, roughly chopped
4 Medjool dates, pitted and soaked for 1 hour to soften
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ onion, roughly chopped
2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Combine dates Roma tomatoes, garlic, onion, Italian seasonings and olive oil in a blender. Add sun-dried tomatoes, using soaking water to get the blender going. Puree until you reach a chunky consistency. Add sea salt and pepper.

Creamy Spinach Ricotta
2 cups fresh spinach
1 cup pine nuts, soaked for 1 hour
Juice of one lemon
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon sea salt

In a blender, grate the spinach until it’s reduced to small pieces. Add pine nuts, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and sea salt. If needed, gradually add 1 tablespoon of water at a time to create a slightly creamy texture.

To assemble:
In a 9 x 13-inch baking dish, layer 1/3 of the zucchini noodles, 1/3 of the marinara sauce, 1/3 of the marinated mushroom and yellow peppers and 1/3 of the creamy spinach ricotta. Repeat layers until noodles are gone. Top with marinara sauce. Serves 6.

Almond Stuffed Peppers

Almond Stuffed Peppers

1 c almonds, soaked 6-8 hours

1 c mushrooms

1/2 c sundried tomatoes, soaked, reserve water

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 c diced onion

4 T reserved sundried tomato water

2 T olive oil

1 T poultry seasoning

1/4 t sea salt

2 sweet bell peppers, cut in halves.

Combine almonds, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and reserved water in a food processor until well mixture is a ground meat texture. Place in a large bowl and fold in garlic, onion, olive oil, seasoning and sea salt.

Place mixture in bell pepper halves.

Option: Top with rosemary.

National Zucchini Day

Almond nutballs covered in chunky marinara with zucchini slices

Almond nutball before dehydrating

Almond nutballs after dehydrating

Chunky Marinara Sauce
2 ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 1 hour to soften, reserve soaking water
4 Roma tomatoes, seeded, roughly chopped
4 Medjool dates, pitted and soaked for 1 hour to soften
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ onion, roughly chopped
2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Combine dates Roma tomatoes, garlic, onion, Italian seasonings and olive oil in a blender. Add sun-dried tomatoes, using soaking water to get the blender going. Puree until you reach a chunky consistency. Add sea salt and pepper.

Almond Nutballs

2 c almonds, soaked for 6-8 hours

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 green sweet bell pepper, diced

1/2 yellow sweet bell pepper, diced

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

1/4 c sundried tomato paste (recipe below)

In a food processor, grind almonds into pulp. Place in a large bowl and add remaining ingredients. Form into meatballs. Dehydrate for 4-6 hours until dry and firm.

Sundried tomato paste

1/4 c sundried tomato, soaked until soft, reserve water

1 clove garlic

3 T sundried tomato water

In a blender combine ingredients until it forms a smooth paste. Add more water as needed.

Zucchini slices

Cut 1/2 zucchini into 1-inch slices, sprinkle with olive oil, sea salt and pepper.

Author Notes:

In conjunction with National Zucchini Day it is also Put a Zucchini on your Neighbor's Porch Day.

Asian Wraps

I made this spread for a dear friend who was visiting from Texas. The majortiy of the meal is raw, but there are some cooked items peppered in. I prepared fixings for a basic wrap using two type of wraps - collard greens and Napa cabbage. I created two dipping sauces to go with the wraps, a "peanut" sauce and a sweet and savory dipping sauce. I made marinated baby Portobello mushrooms.

My friend and I love Kimchee. I didn't prepare it so I don't know for sure the ingredients that was used, but the fermented cabbage dish is considered a living food. I have never tried to create the dish from scratch, nor will I. What I buy at the Asian markets is darn near perfect and I don't choose to mess with that, whether they use totally raw ingredients or not.

I also threw some cooked dumplings and pancakes in the mix. I do have a raw recipe for Korean pancakes that I'm still playing around with. When I feel that's ready I'll post it in the future. The pancakes taste good with Sriracha, a hot chili sauce.

And of course there's the seaweed. My kids and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE seaweed! You can purchase raw seaweed, but this one's not it. My kids and I are known for eating six packages of these babies on a 15 minute car ride home from the store. I'm surprised this package made it to the table.

WRAPS

1 bunch collard greens, washed

1 head Napa cabbage, washed

Fold a collard green leaf in half and cut the vein out, creating two pieces. Place on a paper towel to dry.

Pull the cabbage leaves from the cabbage and place on a paper towel to dry.

FILLINGS

5 celery, julienned*

5 carrots, julienned

1 zucchini, julienned

1 cucumber, julienned

1/2 head of purple cabbage, shredded into strips

2 avocados, sliced (NOT SHOWN)

3 cups sprouts (NOT SHOWN)

Place all the vegetables, sliced avocados and sprouts on a platter.

*NOTE: I julienned the celery the night before and put them in water. That is why that are curled.

MARINATED MUSHROOMS

2 c Baby Portobellos, washed with a damp cloth

1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil

2 T agave nectar
2 T Nama Shoyu

Put ingredients in quart bag and marinate on the counter for 2 hours.

SWEET SESAME SEED DIPPING SAUCE
1/4 c agave nectar

1/2 c rice wine vinegar

1 small bunch of cilantro, leaves only

2 T Nama Shoyu

2 T Black Sesame Seeds

In a bowl, whisk ingredients together.

PEANUT DIPPING SAUCE

1/2 c almond butter

1 garlic clove, minced

juice of 1 lime

3 T agave nectar

2 T Nama Shoyu

2 T water

2 T grated ginger

1/8 t red pepper flakes

1/4 t sea salt

In a blender puree together almond butter, garlic, lime juice, agave nectar, Nama Shoyu, water, ginger, red pepper flakes and sea salt until mixture is smooth. If needed add more water one tablespoon at a time to reach a desired consistency. (02)