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.

Thank Heavens for Rawlucks

Have I mentioned how wonderful and supportive the raw community is in Denver. I attended a rawluck on Saturday and I was at another last night. And I tell you what, Denver is building something special. I haven't had such a stimulating, exciting evening in quite a while. Thank you Loriel, Soleil, Mila, Rachel and CJ for the lively conversation.

Of yeah, the food looked great too. My contribution was Lentil Patties with Coconut Peanut Sauce, but alas, I won't share the recipe until next week. Please forgive.

Today I present my dish from Saturday's rawluck. The tapenade and vegetable dip works perfectly with crudites and flax crackers. There's many a day where I'll whip up the dip and chop some veggies for the littles to eat for lunch.

Olive Tapenade

Yield: 2 cups

1 cup Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
½ cup Green Olives, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon Italian seasonings
1/8 cup Red Wine Vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
1/3 cup Olive Oil

1 Combine olives, garlic and Italian Seasoning in a bowl.

2 Add red wine vinegar and olive oil. Gently toss. Refrigerate at least 4 hours to allow the flavors to marinate. Overnight is best.

Vegetable Dip
Yield: 2 cups

1 celery stalk, finely diced
¼ onion, finely diced
½ carrot, shredded

¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ garlic powder
1 cup cashews, soaked for 2 hours
½ cup water, or more as needed
Juice of one lemon

1 Toss celery, onion and carrots in a bowl. Sprinkle with sea salt and garlic powder.

2 Place cashews, lemon juice and water in a blender. Process until cashews are very creamy, add more water if needed.

3 Combine cashew cream and vegetables. Chill overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.

I would like to pass along my Inspirational Blogger Award to Rediscover Raw Foods. She is a honest, straight forward lady. As for the other four? They will have to wait I'm going to bed.

I Love Nachos Day!

Here's a grown-up version of nachos to celebrate the day. And while you're chowing down on the nachos read the "I Love Nachos Day" ecards you sent to each other.

Chili Lime Flax Crackers

1/2 cup ground brown flaxseeds

1/4 cup soaked golden flaxseeds

1/2 tablespoon chili powder

Juice of one lime

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 Combine ingredients in a large bowl until well mixed.

2 Spread mixture as thin as possible Teflex sheet.

3 Dehydrate at 110 degrees for 5 hours. Flip crackers over, remove teflex sheet and dehydrate an additional 5 hours.

Pepper Flax Crackers

1 cup soaked golden flaxseeds
1/2 tablespoon black pepper

1/2 tablespoon red pepper

Juice of one lime
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 Combine ingredients in a large bowl until well mixed.

2 Spread mixture as thin as possible Teflex sheet.

3 Dehydrate at 110 degrees for 4 hours. Flip crackers over, remove Teflex sheet and dehydrate an additional 4 hours.

“Refried Beans”
2 cups sunflower seeds, soaked for 2 hours
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 1 hour
½ teaspoon miso
3-4 tablespoon Mexican seasonings
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon agave nectar
1 jalapeno, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
2-3 sprigs cilantro leaves only
Sea salt, to taste

1 Process all ingredients; expect jalapeno, onions and cilantro, in a food processor. Add a few tablespoons of water at a time and process until you get a smooth consistency.

2 Add jalapeno, onions and cilantro and pulse a few times to combine.

Pear Salsa

1 pear, finely diced

1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced

1/2 shallot, finely diced

1/2 jalapeno, finely diced

5 sprigs cilantro, leaves only

Juice of one half lime

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Toss ingredients together.

As usual my dear hubbie doesn't work in measurements. I did pin him down (which was kind of fun) to give me the salsa ingredients.

Cory's salsa
tomatoes
garlic
onion
cilantro
jalapeno
lime juice
sea salt

Toss ingredients together.

Guacamole
one avocado
Cory's salsa

Sea salt, to taste

1 Peel and mash the avocado in a bowl.

2 Add one or two tablespoons of Cory's salsa. Combine well. Add sea salt

Other Nacho toppings
Avocado cubes

Black Olives

Green Olives
Jalapenos
Lettuce
Sour Cream
Walnut Taco Meat

Essene the grain....

Cranberry-Raisin Essene Bread

Soft wheat berries were my first.
Hard wheat berries are more for the yeast breads.
Oat groats are not really in the same league.
Rye never entered the picture.
Like my husband, once the Durum wheat’s distant Egyptian relative sprouted into me life, there were no others.

Essene the grain at the end of the tunnel and its name was Kamut.

I’m certain I’m committing a bit of blasphemy.

Casually, chatting on the subject of an ingredient used in the Bible’s Essene Bread. If I am, I beg the powers that be… please forgive.

But really, how can you blame me? It was a close race.

Both grains are economical, easily sprout and work well in Essene Bread. But my Kamut is one high protein, vitamin E, magnesium, zinc-packed grain.

Kamut has a much richer and buttery flavor than the sweet wheat berries, which could explain it’s somewhat higher fatty acid content. Oh well, I ramble.

Not that wheat berry is the re-bound boyfriend. It has qualities that make it appealing in its own right. For instance, sprouting wheat berries increases its vitamin C content by 400 percent- not too shabby. Low in calories – works for me. And wheat berries did grind to flour (in my coffee grinder) a bit better than my dear Kamut, which left me with a grainier texture compared to wheat’s fine quality.

No matter which grain you prefer, it’s all good.

Back in the biblical day the sprouted-grain breads were probably baked on hot rocks under the blazing sun. Now, depending on where you live, the sun could be an option, but I’d try a dehydrator first and see how you like that.

There are many good versions of Essene breads on the internet, with the most basic recipe having only one ingredient, sprouted grain.

Adapted from Mother Earth News

Essene Bread
4 cups sprouted grains, Kamut, wheat berries, rye, etc.

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 sticky dough.

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

3 Dehydrate at 110 degrees for 4 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.

Alternatively, you can form into small loaves, no more than 1 ½ inches thick. The dehydrating time should be increased by a few hours.

I didn’t have much success with making loaves. The outside was perfect but the inside fermented a bit before completely drying but It had a sour dough taste to it.

You would think the dry Colorado air would help a girl out, but I guess you have to live in the deserts of Nevada to get some love.

Once you are comfortable with the basic recipe, you can add ingredients to suit your fancy.

Herb Essene Bread
4 cups sprouted grains, Kamut, wheat berries, rye, etc.
1 cup almond flour
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon Herb Blend*
1 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.

2 Place dough in a large bowl and add almond flour, olive oil, herb blend and sea salt. Combine well.

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

4 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.

* Herb Blend
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 tablespoon caraway seed

Combine seasonings in a coffee grinder and grind until fine.

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.

Raisin Bread
4 cups sprouted grains, Kamut, wheat berries, rye, etc.
1 cup almond flour
½ cup soaked golden raisins
½ cup soaked Thompson raisins
¼ cup agave nectar
¼ 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.

2 Place dough in a large bowl and add almond flour, raisins, agave nectar and sea salt. Combine well.

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

4 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.

5 Serve with honey butter (recipe below).

Cranberry-Raisin Bread
4 cups sprouted grains, Kamut, wheat berries, rye, etc.
1 cup almond flour
½ cup fresh cranberries
½ cup soaked raisins
¼ cup agave nectar
¼ 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.

2 Place dough in a large bowl and add almond flour, cranberries, raisins, agave nectar and sea salt. Combine well.

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

4 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.

5 Serve with honey butter.

Honey Butter
1 tablespoon soft coconut butter
1 tablespoon honey

In small bowl, combine coconut butter and honey.

Final notes: Please keep in mind, the more wet ingredients you add to the basic bread recipe the longer it will take to dehydrate. Also, other factors come into play. The type of dehydrate you have, where you live, your preferences, etc. Use your best judgment on determining the tastes and textures of your bread.

John wrote me last month and asked if I could work on a bread for his family. Essence breads had been in the back of my mind for awhile, but his request jump-started the process. Many thanks to John.

Essene you later!

Terilynn

It's Greek to Me

Falafel Balls with Tzatziki
2 cups sprouted chickpeas
1 cup soaked almonds
1 garlic clove, minced
1/8 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup chopped red onions
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin seed
2 teaspoons sea salt

1 In a food processor, combine chickpeas, almonds, garlic, olive oil, water and cilantro until you achieve a thick paste. Add onions and lemon juice, seasonings and sea salt, process briefly.

2 Form the mixture into ping pong-sized balls.

3 Place on Teflex sheets. Dehydrate at 110 degrees for 2 hours.

4 Roll falafel balls over and dehydrate an additional 2 hours. The balls should be slightly hard on the outside and soft on the inside.

Yield: 20 balls

Tzatziki
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded
1/2 cup cashews
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
½ garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 In a blender, combine cucumber, cashews, water vinegar, garlic and mint. Mix well.

2 Season with salt and pepper. Cover and chill.

3 Serve with cucumber slices, zucchini, carrots and celery.

Yield: 1 cup

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

National School Lunch Week, October 15-19

NOT RAW

I'm sure you have heard of Lunchables. But did you know there is Lunchable Jr.? My husband dared bring one home for our 10-month old. So I did what any self-respecting raw food mom/blogger would do, I fed it to Cody the dog (Sorry, Cody) and created my own raw food lunchable.

RAW
Mango Salsa
1 diced mango
1/2 cup diced pineapple
1/4 cup diced red pepper
1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
juice of one half lime
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Toss mango, pineapple, red pepper, cilantro, lime juice and jalapeno in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

For an adult version add 1 minced garlic clove, 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion and 1 seeded and minced jalapeno pepper.

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.

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

Peach Jam with almond bars

A friend of mine suggested that I post the recipes gone "wrong" along with the ones that hit the mark. Here is one of those that went so wrong but didn't turn out half bad.

My first idea was to create a Peach Pie to celebrate National Peach Month, but that would be too easy. So I thought to create an almond biscotti with peach jam. Sounds tasty. And what you see is actually very tasty but an almond biscotti it ain't and the peach jam is more of a compote.

I used the recipe for a basic almond crust to make the biscotti and I rolled out the crust as thin as possible (but still keep some thickness for a biscotti) in hopes of it drying crispy in the dehydrator. Well 24 hours later at 110 degrees, I still have a chewy almond crust. I decided not to go past the 24 hour mark in the dehydrator, I figured if it wasn't happening in a day then for this recipe it wasn't happening.

So that is the tale how a crisp almond biscotti remained a chewy almond bar.

As far as the Peach Jam goes. It started out thick like a jam but the longer the fruit sits in a bit of sea salt and lemon juice the more peach juice it creates. It still tasted very good and I had no problem enjoying this recipe gone awry.

Almond Bars

2 c almonds, soaked for 6-8 hours
1 c dates, pitted and soaked for an hour, reserve soaking water
4 T reserved date water
1 T organic vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt

In a food processor, process almonds, dates, date water, vanilla extract and sea salt until well combined. Remove and with a rolling pin spread mixture onto a teflex sheet. Dehydrate at 100 degrees overnight or 6-8 hours. Flip over and score into bars about 4 hours into the dehydrating time.

Peach Compote

5 c diced fresh peaches

Juice of one half lemon

1/4 c agave nectar

1/2 t cinnamon

1 pinch sea salt

In a bowl, toss ingredients together.

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.

His Mexican Feast

My husband created a yummie Mexican feast last night and he decided to share MOST of his recipes. He made really creamy guacamole, Pico de Gallo, refried beans and a sour cream mousse with a cabbage leaf "chip".


He used my sour cream recipe (with a half the amount of water), so it had the consistency of a mousse instead of a traditional sour cream, which works just fine and it sure was tasty.


He wouldn't give up the recipe for the refried beans, though. Because of a secret ingredient that he chose not to share, yes folks, even with me. But I'll work on that one.

Good thing I have a recipe for the beans.

For the cabbage "chips", soak cabbage leaves in olive oil and sea salt for an hour or so to soften the leaves and rinse the oil and salt off. It may not have the crunch of a conventional chip but it is very crispy and it marries well with the fresh ingredients.












PICO de GALLO
1 tomato, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1/4 red onion, chopped
1/2 c cilantro, chopped
Juice of one lime
Sea salt, to taste

Lightly toss ingredients together.





KID SAFE GUACAMOLE
2 avocados, chopped
1/2 tomato, chopped
1/4 c chopped onion
Juice of one lime
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Sea salt, to taste

Mash ingredients with a potato masher.

To assemble, spread the ingredients on top of the cabbage "chip".

Sweet potato fries with Cherry Jam

SWEET POTATO FRIES

1 sweet potato, cut 1/2 inch strips

1 T agave nectar

1/2 T olive oil

1/2 t nutmeg

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t sea salt

Combine ingredients in a plastic bag and shake until well blended. Set aside.

CHERRY JAM

1 c cherries, pitted

1/8 t sea salt

Puree ingredients in a mini processor until chunky. Serve with sweet potato fries.

Taco Salad (serves 4)

Whip this up when you get a hankering to run for the border.

WALNUT TACO MEAT
1 c walnut, soaked 2 hours
½ c sun-dried tomatoes, soaked 30 minutes, save water
¼ c finely chopped yellow onion
½ t taco seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ sun-dried tomato water
½ t sea salt

Combine ingredients in food processor until mixed well. For a less moist texture, put in dehydrator for 1 hour.

TAKE IT FURTHER
Make taco burgers: Form meat into patties and dehydrate for 2-3 hours.

SOUR CREAM
½ c macadamia nuts
juice of one lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ t sea salt
6-7 T water

Blend macadamia nuts, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Add 1 tablespoon water at a time to create a smooth consistency.

TOPPINGS
2 tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped
Avocado, chopped
4 cups shredded lettuce

Place 1 cup lettuce, a portion of the walnut taco meat, tomatoes, avocado and sour cream on a plate.

Tamalitos (small tamales)

I went to The Denver Living and Raw Food Cafe rawluck yesterday and I prepared this appetizers.

Tamalitos (small tamales)

15 corn husks

Soak the corn husks in warm water for 2 hours to make them pliable.

Corn filling:
5 cups fresh corn, cut from ears
2 cups cashews
2 tsp. cayenne
Sea salt, to taste

Process 4 cups of the corn with the cashews, cayenne and salt until smooth. Add 1 cup corn and cilantro, don’t overprocess.

“Refried Beans” filling
2 cups sunflower seeds, soaked for 2 hours
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 1 hour
½ tsp. miso
3-4 tbsp. Mexican seasonings
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. agave nectar
1 jalapeno, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
2-3 sprigs cilantro leaves only
Sea salt, to taste

Process all ingredients; expect jalapeno, onions and cilantro, in a food processor. Add a few tablespoons of water at a time and process until you get a smooth consistency.

Add jalapeno, onions and cilantro and pulse a few times to combine.

Separate and dry the corn husks.

Place about 2 tablespoons of corn filling on the center of the husk then add the bean filling.

Fold the bottoms over the filling and then fold the sides over. Use husks strips to tie the top of tamalito. Serve with chili sauce.

Chili sauce
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked 2 cups of water for 1 hour (save water after soak)
2 medium tomatoes
½ jalapeno
2 green onion, white part only
1 tbsp lemon juice
1tbsp agave nectar
4 tbsp. chili powder
Sea salt, to taste

Blend all ingredients in blender. Use the sun-dried tomato water to make create a liquid consistency.