Raw Food Made Easy

Many years ago, My husband, youngest son and I spent 10 fabulous days in Barcelona, where my husband gave a talk at a conference. Barcelona was our base, and there was so much to see in the city we had no trouble filling our time, but we made a spur of the moment decision to take the train to Costa Brava for a little adventure. I made a list of hotel possibilities, and we set about calling each one, only to be told there were no rooms. Finally, we found a reasonably priced hotel with space, and we were off. The long, complicated hotel name was in Spanish, of course, but there was something so familiar about it; I just couldn't put my finger on what it was.

While we were on the train, it suddenly hit me where we were going, and at the moment of my recognition, my husband said, "I wonder if we'll find anything to eat." "I don't think that will be a problem," I answered. "We're staying at a Hippocrates Institute." If you don't know what that is (my husband didn't) it's a raw foods healing center. (Founded in 1956 by Ann Wigmore, the Hippocrates Institute has its main center in West Palm Beach, Florida, and I don't know if the one in Costa Brava was associated with the one in Florida, or not, but it sounded similar.) The hotel — large, old and slightly eerie — was perched high on a hill overlooking the city. The rooms were comfortable but vaguely hospital-like, and we may have been the only guests not walking around in thick, white terrycloth robes and receiving treatments, but we did attend all the meals. The food was a spectacular array of raw, vegan dishes — everything from massive displays of gorgeous fresh fruits, veggies and salads, to gourmet preparations of intricate raw food dishes. We were in heaven.

I like raw food, and would like to add more into my diet, but raw food cuisine beyond the basics of whole raw fruits, veggies and smoothies, can seem complicated and time consuming, which is why I was excited to receive a copy of "Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People," by Jennifer Cornbleet.

The author has chosen easy and delicious recipes "that can be made in minutes, that work every time, and that can be eaten every day." She's divided the book into sections for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert, and has provided a list of equipment and pantry staples as well as a weekly shopping list, to make food preparation easier. There were so many recipes I wanted to try it was hard to pick just one, but I chose the Not Salmon Paté variation of Not Tuna Paté, partly because it sounded interesting, and partly because I had the ingredients. At least I thought I did. I didn't have celery so used parsley instead. The finished paté looked good and tasted great.

Not Salmon Paté (reprinted with permission) makes 1/2 cup, 2 servings

• 1/2 cup soaked raw sunflower seeds (soaked 6 to 8 hours)
• 1/4 cup soaked raw almonds (soaked 8 to 12 hours)
• 1/4 cup shredded carrot
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 tablespoons minced celery
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill weed or 1 teaspoon dried dill weed

1. Place the seeds, almonds, water, lemon juice and salt in a food processor fitted with the S blade and process into a paste. Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
2. Transfer to a small mixing bowl and stir in the celery,onion and dill. Mix well.
3. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to five days.

So what did I do with the paté? There are several suggested ways to use the paté in the recipe sidebar, and ironically, I decided to make sushi, which was one of the suggestions, though I didn't realize it. Ms. Cornbleet calls the dish Not Tuna Rolls, and I didn't look at the recipe. I wish I had. My nori rolls were filled with only paté, shredded carrots and baby greens, and were gorgeous and quite delicious, but hers also contained avocado, which would have made them even better.

My version of the rolls, using baby greens and carrots

Here is Jennifer Cornbleet's recipe:
Not tuna rolls (reprinted with permission) makes 2 rolls, 1 serving

• 2 nori sheets
• 2 teaspoons mellow white miso
• 2 cups alfalfa or clover sprouts
• 1/2 ripe avocado, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup not tuna paté
• 1/4 cup grated carrot
• 1/4 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• tamari for dipping (optional)

1. Lay one sheet of nori, shiny side down, on a bamboo sushi mat
2. Spread 1 teaspoon of miso in a single horizontal line anywhere along the the bottom third of the nori.
3. Along the edge of the nori closest to you, layer the sprouts, avocado, paté, carrot and pepper.
4. To roll, grip the edge of the nori sheet and the mat with your thumbs and forefingers, and press the filling back toward you with your other fingers. Using the mat to help you, roll the front edge of the nori over the filling. Squeeze it with the mat, then lift the mat away and continue rolling.
5. Just before completing the roll, dip your finger in water and run it along the far edge of the nori to help seal the seam.
6. Cut the roll into 6 pieces with a serrated knife. Make the second roll.
7. Serve with tamari for dipping if desired.

note: For more detailed directions (with photos) on how to roll sushi, click here. The directions are for traditional sushi with rice but could be helpful if you've never made sushi before.

Full disclosure: The cookbook described in this post was sent to me free of charge by the publisher. No attempt was made by the publisher to influence my review, nor was I paid to write a review.

Raw portobello mushroom larb salad / veganmofo 2009

We took a raw cooking class recently, and I promised to post a recipe for one of the dishes. I prefer to post recipes after I've made them myself to see how they turn out in my kitchen; that's why you had to wait for this recipe. We ended up getting home last night much later than we planned, and no one felt like making dinner. I had marinated mushrooms for the salad earlier in the day, and although it was supposed to be a starter for our dinner, it ended up being the whole meal, except for some peanut butter on crackers. The recipe is supposed to serve two as an entree or four as a starter, and I'd say that's accurate.

Larb is actually a spicy Lao meat salad. In this recipe, it's been transformed by Chefs Heather and Lois of Chaco Canyon Cafe, into a raw, vegan dish.

I started with two large (about 4" in diameter) portobello mushrooms. Chef Heather said she removes the stems when she prepares the salad at the restaurant, and uses them in other dishes. She doesn't use the stems in the salad so as to preserve the optimal visual appearance necessary at restaurants. At home, she said, she removes the stems, slices and uses them in the dish. I followed her advice, and after trimming the ends, sliced up those stems. The taste and texture of the stems was so close to the caps that I could see no reason not to do this again. The more mushroom the better.

© 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking

The most exotic ingredient in the marinade was kaffir lime leaves, which I have eaten before but have never personally purchased. You can find these at Asian markets or, maybe, natural foods stores. In Seattle, all the PCC Coop stores carry them in little plastic packs in the fresh herbs case. Kaffir lime leaves grow as double leaves, and you just separate the two leaves to use them. These leaves are pretty tough so cutting them small is important. You just roll 'em up and slice thinly, then continue to a small mince. (The lime perfume as you cut them is incredible.) How small you cut them depends on how powerful your blender is. If you have only VitaMix-envy and a regular blender, you might want to mince pretty small. I used a Kitchenaid blender and it blended everything perfectly even though I got tired of mincing before I should have. Only you can judge what's best for the kitchen equipment you have.

© 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking

The other ingredient that required mincing effort was the dulse. If you can find dulse flakes, you just have to measure, but if you use actual dulse, as I did, mince away. Half a cup of lime juice sounds like a lot but it only took two limes to get that much.

If you want the dish to be truly raw, you should use Nama Shoyu, which is organic, raw, unpasteurized soy sauce. If you want the dish to be gluten-free, you'll need to use Tamari, which is not raw but is wheat-free. I used Tamari because that's what I usually have in the house. I reduced the tamari to 1/3 cup and replaced the rest with water because I wanted the mushrooms to be a little less salty than I remembered from class. This worked well for me. Although not on the ingredient list, you can add dried ground chili if you want a spicy result.

I didn't think my mushrooms were soft enough after only an hour of marinating, and I think they ended up marinating about about four hours on the counter. You can marinate them in a shallow dish, or, as I did, in a plastic zip-close bag. I put the bag in a large dish (just in case anything should leak) and flipped it every so often. After the mushrooms were removed from the marinade, I jarred the rest of the liquid in the refrigerator to use as a marinade for something else, like tempeh. Or, you could start another batch of mushrooms.

As I was writing out the recipe I saw I made a mistake when making the marinade. The shallot was added to the blender instead of to the mushrooms. Oops. It tasted great to us but next time I'll try to do it right!

Portobello mushroom larb salad

• 2 portobello mushrooms, washed and sliced 1/4 inch think
• 1 small shallot, peeled and shaved paper thin
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dulse flakes
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 2 tablespoons raw agave nectar
• 1/2 cup Nama Shoyu (I used 1/3 cup tamari plus water to equal 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 green onions, sliced thinly on the diagonal
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, washed and minced
• 6 leaves fresh basil
• 1 quart mixed salad greens, washed
• peeled grated carrots

1. Clean and prepare mushrooms and shallots. Place in a sealable container
2. Place kaffir lime leaves, dulse flakes, lime juice, agave nectar, Nama shoyu and water in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour over mushroom and shallot mix.
3. Cover and allow to marinate on the counter for one hour or in the refrigerator overnight.
4. Prepare the green onions, cilantro and basil. Place in a large salad bowl with the salad greens and toss. Use some of the marinade (to taste) as a dressing and toss to mix.
5. Place salad on plates or bowls and top with mushrooms and shallots. Garnish with a mound of shredded carrot.

........................................................................................

Don't forget to enter the cookbook giveaway!
© 2009 Andrea's easy vegan cooking

Raw food cooking class / VeganMofo

Veggies on the counter

We took a raw foods cooking class at PCC Natural Markets, our local food coop. It was taught by the head chefs at Chaco Canyon Café, a great organic, half-raw, vegan restaurant in Seattle. I've been there twice and have eaten raw both times, but my husband chose cooked foods on our two visits. I eat a lot of raw food - fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds - but other than salads, don't usually prepare special raw dishes. I eat more cooked foods than raw, especially during the cold months, but was really interested in learning more about preparing raw foods. The subject of the class was Thai food, with an introduction to using young Thai coconuts.

Raw Thai tom kha soup

The first dish our chef-teachers prepared was a raw tom kha soup, using the water and meat of a young coconut as well as traditional Thai ingredients like lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, cilantro and ginger. To simulate the flavor usually obtained from fish sauce they used dulse and Nama Shoyu. The soup was raw and cold, and served with sweet red pepper and mung bean sprouts. This was not my favorite part of the meal. To be perfectly honest, I prefer hot, cooked tom kha, but if I were following a raw foods diet, hey, this would be a good recipe to have.

Marinating mushrooms and other things

The next dish prepared was Portobello mushroom larb salad. I don't have a photo of this so you'll have to take my word for it that it was attractive as well as tasty. After marinating the mushrooms for an hour, they became soft and pliable, as if gently cooked, and they were served atop a beautiful plate of mixed salad greens augmented with green onions, basil and cilantro.

Raw Thai green curry

Raw Thai green curry, a dish recently developed for the restaurant, was the entrée. A wonderful, creamy sauce was served over a plate of mixed raw veggies. This was my favorite dish. I really loved it.

Coconut mango parfait

The dessert was coconut mango parfait, except it was made with pineapple. One thing the teachers stressed was the need to be flexible when preparing food. You need to adjust ingredients to suit the nature of the fruits and veggies you are using. Is the lime especially sour? Are the carrots unusually sweet? Are the mangoes looking unripe and funky? Are there no parfait glasses in the kitchen? You get the picture. The parfait was another example of how to use young Thai coconuts and consisted of cardamom-scented young Thai coconut pudding topped with fruit.

I have permission to share a recipe from this dinner on my blog, and I think it will be the portobello mushroom larb salad. As soon as I get it together to gather the ingredients and make some, you'll be the first to know.

Zukay Live Foods review

Yesterday I arrived home from work to find that Scott, Cathy and Jacob Grzybek, from Zukay Live Foods, had sent me a complimentary shipment of six jars of their raw, naturally fermented salsas and relishes. These are fresh, whole foods that have been fermented with friendly lactobacillis bacteria, preserving the food and giving it the same healthful benefits as yogurt. I received mild and hot salsa, garlic relish and horseradish relish. These products are supposed to be good for digestion and general health, literally bursting, as they are, with life. Scott, Cathy and Jacob use no chemicals or preservatives—just a small bit of raw apple cider vinegar in the relishes. The jars came with a warning that because the contents are a live food, they may exhibit activity as the jar is opened. We experienced this with the hot salsa as it became a mini-volcano and rose up an inch out of the jar and over the edge! I was prepared with a spoon and bowl to quickly corral the runaway salsa. My son assisted me with tasting these products, drawing on his vast experience with chips and salsa. He thinks chips and salsa are the main ingredients of a healthy diet, so I was eager to get his opinion.

I don't think you can fairly compare these products to the more commonly available salsas and relishes on the market. They are kind of different. They have a slight fizz, for one thing, and they are lacking the strong vinegary and salty taste of commercial products. When you sample these foods, you can absolutely taste the fresh veggies and herbs that went into them. The relish tastes clearly of fresh cucumber and the other ingredients in the mix. It's like a little burst of summer.

I'd have to agree with other reviewers that the hot salsa is lacking the heat you might expect from a hot salsa. Both the mild and hot varieties tasted very mild to me. They were pleasing, but not at all spicy, so if you are looking for heat, this may not be your best choice. The flavor grew on me as I sampled it, and I particularly enjoyed the "hot" salsa. It was more textural and interesting than the mild. The two relishes (garlic and horseradish) were yummy, with all of the flavors in good balance. I had garlic relish on my tempeh at dinner tonight and it really added sparkle. My son loves hot and spicy foods and these were a bit too subdued for his taste.

Thanks to Scott, Cathy and Jacob Grzybek for including me in their sampling program.