New Camera and Kitchen

It’s massaged dino kale, red leaf lettuce, spinach, cilantro, cherry tomatoes, lemon juice, and a few sundried olives I still have from a long time ago.  Delicious. 

The new camera works great.  I just haven’t had many noteworthy meals as of late.  And the lighting in my kitchen in the new place is awesome for photos (except with white bowls, note to self).  Thanks again for the early birthday gift, Tracy!

 

I groan when I see some of my older photos, or photos I chose to put up, but I’m not a professional here.  The point of my search being  Urban Vegan’s cookbook is out in case you missed it. 

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Urban-Vegan-Sumptuous-Recipes-Favorites/dp/0762752815/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255544906&sr=8-1

And pics of some of the recipes I tested (although other people tested FAR, far more):  http://utopiankitchen.wordpress.com/?s=urban%2Bvegan

Chopped Salad

Well, just as I got out the camera and turned it on to take a pic of my salad, I realized the camera’s done.  The screen doesn’t function anymore, and while I can take photos, I can’t SEE what I’m taking a photo of.  I don’t know if I dropped it or someone stepped on it.  Doesn’t matter.  It’s good to know before something important came up, like a trip to see family!

My post was simply going to be a recommendation on a way to prepare a salad differently, to chop it up finely.  I use plum tomatoes, jalapeno, minced by hand, add some garlic and lemon juice; then I let the food processor do some magic!  I throw in spinach, basil, cilantro, parsley, collards, red leaf lettuce, chives.  Put in a little at a time and pulse it until it’s finely chopped.  VERY easy and fast!  I believe the flavors can incorporate well this way, too, after you mix everything together.  Your salad will look like tabouli, and you may “trick” (oh, what a negative connotation for giving a person some amino acids!) someone you love into eating collard greens raw.

This, of course, is ONLY if I’m taking a break from my Champagne mango feast.

Green & Red Cabbage with Kale Slaw

Kale, red & green cabbage, and carrots in a creamy nut-based dressing and topped with basil.

Mustard-Chive-Date Dressing

I feel as if I made the best no-fat-added dressing I’ve ever had….so I measured tonight to post the recipe!  This dressing is sweet and tangy, mostly raw except for the prepared mustard (which has negligible calories).  I made a dressing with whole mustard seeds and didn’t like it as much; I don’t find any ill effects on my health from consuming prepared organic mustard.  This keeps well when blended in a Vita-Mix; mine didn’t even separate after 2 days in the refrigerator!

Makes about 1.25 to 1.5 cups.

1.25 c. water

8 pitted dates (I used Medjool)

1 c. fresh chives

3 cloves garlic (or to taste)

1.5 T. mustard (Dijon or regular, whatever you prefer; I used Dijon)

1/2 tsp. Himalayan pink salt, or to taste

(Note:  I’m also not a huge vinegar fan, and it’s actually a skin irritant for me when the vinegar contacts my skin, so ingestion may not be ideal, either…..another reason I probably love this dressing!)

Blend in your blender or Vita-Mix until smooth.  That’s it!

I am LOVING these organic microgreens from Trader Joe’s.

 

A tip I thought I’d post on raw eating:  It’s important to have food available for when hunger strikes, because if you are addicted to the cooked food and have no raw food around, well, you know what will probably happen.   

I almost always have at least these items in my kitchen:  fresh collards, kale, spinach, apples, pears, oranges, sprouts, carrots, celery, cucumber, parsley, cilantro, and romaine; frozen bananas.  I keep the vegetables stored in a way that I can open the fridge and see what I have, grab it quickly, rinse it, and eat or juice/blend it.  I also like to have some type of berry within my reach.  If it helps you to rinse vegetables and fruits prior to storing, do that.  Do whatever it takes to have fresh food around…..and no excuses on going to the grocer!  Find one nearby, on your way to or from work, and visit the produce section only, picking up the above items. Spend 5-10 min.  5-10 min. if you do it fast!    Pretend you’re a vegan ninja.

Salads

A microgreen salad with Russian kale, collards, red cabbage, purple kohlrabi, purple radish, and beet greens; spinach salad; and also a spring mix.  Topped with cucumber, jalapeno, and a black mustard seed-chive dressing.

Mmm!

Dr. Cow Cheese Wraps

Many people seem to not like soy-based vegan cheeses as much as they had liked cow-milk or goat-milk dairy products, but Dr. Cow Cheese is really getting some attention.  Some of the greatest things about it is it’s raw, has a short list of identifiable ingredients, the fat comes from whole nuts and seeds, and it’s not too salty/dehydrating.  Besides that, there’s the taste – incredible!  I have been fond of my own cooked vegan cheeses in the past, and still continue to make a cashew-red pepper one for my boyfriend.  While I rarely eat raw vegan cheese, I think this one is the best choice for store-bought.  www.dr-cow.com  You can get Dr. Cow online or in some places in New York City and New Jersey; see their Website for more information.  No dirty sock smell here! 

Wraps with Dr. Cow hempseed cheese, kale, red bell pepper, tomato, basil (I love the smell of fresh basil), and spinach:

I haven’t been posting a lot lately, but I do plan on making a raw lemon meringue pie later this week from Sweet Gratitude.

Urban’s Back! Fat Free Papaya Salad

Admittedly, I’m mad about most fresh foods, but this salad just hits the spot and is perfect – better than any papaya salad I’ve had in a restaurant!  I’m really excited and would like to thank Urban Vegan for creating this.  I’m going to make it more often; this was the first time I had worked with green papaya.

Shown here with radish (including a heart one I made for my boyfriend but figured I’d eat it myself ), snap peas, carrots, tangerine, lime, Thai basil, purple kale, and cilantro, along with the ingredients for the salad.

Juice with Sprouts

I’m obsessed with this drink right now, so much so that I’m washing my Vita-Mix and juicer TWICE a day to have it. 

4 plum tomatoes

4 carrots

3 leaves & stalks of kale

5-6 celery stalks

1.5-2 c. sprouts (your choice what kind)

Pinch cayenne and salt

Juice the tomatoes, carrots, kale, and celery, leaving one celery stalk out for a stirrer if you’d like.  Add the rest of the ingredients and juice to your blender and process about 30 seconds, until smooth.  Delicious!

(Disclaimer:  If vegetables don’t sound good to you, don’t make this.  Try to make things you enjoy.  And eat your vegetables so your body (and tastebuds) can get used to a healthy diet!

Urban Vegan’s Creamy Avocado Dressing

Before I knew it, I ate a whole avocado in one sitting like it was nothing!  But it was easy with this dressing, the raw nori, sprouts, carrots, and kale.  I sealed the handrolls shut with lime juice. 

I’ll have you know I took about 35 photographs and felt none did the concoction justice, but you CAN see how creamy and smooth the dressing is, at least.  It does have one non-raw ingredient.  100% rawness aside, it was definitely worth it and I enjoyed this snack.

Two Raw Pizzas

Crusts made with golden and dark flaxseed, hempseed, and one with basil, olives, and kale; the other with kale, cilantro, and green onion.

For the Mexican-style pizza, I topped it with tomatoes, green onions, and cilantro.  The regular pizza is topped with tomatoes, fennel, and basil.  The sauce is made from sun-dried tomatoes.