Green Cabbage Steaks with Black Olive Tapenade
Lately I seem to be having a love affair with cabbage. I’ve already made these green cabbage steaks three times; twice before I ate them so fast I completely neglected taking pictures of them, never mind sharing any with anyone else. I don’t think Melissa actually believes that I made them at all because there’s never anything left when she comes ’round and no one else knows anything about them either. It’s like a covert operation. This time around I only had enough cabbage to make two steaks but I remembered to take pictures as evidence. I really am doing the work! Unfortunately, once again I ate both of those…
Rye Bread
Oh boy! I don’t think there’s anything more difficult in raw preparation than coming up with a raw-vegan bread. So when I asked Marie if we could eat rye raw (say that 10 times fast). I was thrilled when she said yes. And our rye bread pursuit began. Rye bread is very aromatic. The scent comes from caraway seeds and not the rye bread itself. So be generous when adding it if you want it to taste like the rye bread you’re used to. If it was up to Marie it would be called Caraway Bread instead, she wanted me to use twice as much. Warning to those that are…
Going Vegan with Baby Steps
I know from experience that going vegan – let alone raw vegan – is not always the easiest road. Whatever our motivation, we are often up against a lifetime of mind and body conditioning that certainly hampers the path. And it’s never made easier by the fact that many of our friends… and even, in some cases, our families put up obstacles to our forward movement just by being so incredulous. “When are you going to start eating real food again?”, they’re asking us. We thought we were. This is obviously some gaslighting technique to convince us we’re insane. And don’t you just love those folks who magically spew all…
Avocado Chocolate-Coffee Mousse
The trials and tribulations of ripening a perfect avocado in the desert. The struggle is real. One minute it’s almost ready and an hour later it’s overripe. The trick is to be so hyper aware that you look like you’re waiting for an egg to hatch. I love avocados and I eat them a couple of times a week. In my world they go with everything. For 26 years, I was able to get them from local farmers in California or pick them from a neighbors tree. On occasion a friend would call and beg me to take them off their hands. A mature avocado tree can produce up to…
Very Vegetable Nut Loaf
The best things about this vegetable nut loaf is its sheer simplicity and the fact that it can also be ‘messed with’ to create a bunch of other things. I like that. Form into balls and dehydrate for 3 or 4 hours and you’ve got meatballs that are just looking for some veggie noodles and a simple sauce to make a hearty raw meal. Alternately crumble into salads. Or serve on raw bread for a filling sandwich or in lettuce with a sprinkle of other veggies as a lettuce wrap. There are so many possibilities, the mind reels. It’s a playful little loaf, for sure. You may also substitute one…
Jerk Watermelon “Steak” on Sesame “Fried” Rice
Watermelon “steak”? Okay, I know it sounds weird. I can’t begin to tell you how absolutely delicious this is. For those of you who haven’t tried any type of dehydrated or cooked watermelon, make a point to try this ridiculously easy and tasty dish. When I first saw this on a British cooking show I was quick to look it up. I couldn’t find a raw recipe so like everything else, I adapted it. At first I tried making it in the oven. I wanted to see how the heat changed the structure of the watermelon. At different stages, the texture changed and I realized that doing this as a…
Fennel Lemon Spring Rolls
I don’t know about you but when summer comes, I lose all desire for heavy food. Being new to the raw food diet, I have found myself eating the same portion sizes and still being hungry after. This is common. So my challenge has been to make myself meals that are filling, but don’t leave me feeling like I swallowed a hunk of granite. I love eating spring rolls in the summer and always have, but lately, without fish, they just haven’t been as filling. Until now! I filled these gorgeous raw spring rolls with fennel and carrot and micro-greens. Mixed with the sauce, just two of these rolls had…
Dates and Ume Vinegar Sauce
I can hardly consider myself any sort of expert in food experimentation, or even a novice in it. But every once in a blue moon I am struck so powerfully by my own food genius, that it’s like lightning! That being said, this particular occasion was awfully strange. You see, it all started with a thought, “I want salt… and dates! Yep, salty dates sound good right now.” I mean honestly, where did that come from? The thought crossed my mind and I immediately started thinking back to the last time I had my period. You know, just to make sure! Of course, then my rational self kicked in to…
Jicama Crunch ‘French Fries’
My boyfriend’s a bit of a spice fiend and, as a great cook himself, his credo has always been,”More spice, more sauce!”. No matter what I make, I’m waiting for those words that will announce the final decree, “Not spicy enough!” Followed by the children inevitably chiming in like the Von Trapp family in complete agreement and unusual harmony. I think he bribes them to do this but, no matter… When it comes to the jicama fries everyone is in agreement. No more spice is needed. It’s perfect. I didn’t think it needed sauce either-until Melissa said she ate it with some spicy ketchup and it was great! Well, of…
Carrots and Onions and Peppers, Oh My! Salad
I’ve learned that my absolute favorite part of eating raw is not having to cook. I have a deep dislike for the time that cooking takes. Besides the heat of the oven, there’s the absurd amount of times I’ve burned myself with bacon grease. And the red-hot burner of the oven has done me no favors. I have the scars on my hands to prove it! But I love to chop vegetables and to garnish food. The raw lifestyle has essentially created the ideal food prep environment for me: everything I like to do, with no hot stoves. This salad is no exception. Plus, it was a wonderful symphony of…
