Raw Nori Wraps

Raw nori wraps with leaf lettuce, grated celery root, alfalfa sprouts, mint, carrots, and red bell pepper. 

Raw Scramble

From The Raw Transformation

Corn is one of my favorite grains to eat raw.  I enjoyed this scramble in leaf lettuce with hot sauce.  It has corn, grated cauliflower, turmeric, cumin, red bell pepper, scallions, parsley (I subbed basil), garlic, and lemon juice.  I left out the oil called for in the recipe and added some black salt.  This does not taste like an omnivorous scramble, but I wouldn’t want it to, anyway.  I think it was tasty with the hot sauce and the lettuce but plain on its own, despite having many flavoring and garnishes added.

Raw Cauliflower Tacos

A lower-fat version than the usual raw nut taco base, this has grated cauliflower with Bragg’s, coriander, and cumin, along with an appropriately-spiced mango and tomato salsa.  Delicious!

Raw Nori Barley Wraps

Raw nori barley wraps with soaked barley (2 days), celery, red bell pepper, carrot, green onion, and a puree of broccoli (which I cooked, but you don’t have to), cilantro, lime juice, ginger, and barley miso.

These were really good; I love the ginger in the pureed part!

Raw Nori Rolls

Nori rolls (raw nori) with barley miso, alfalfa sprouts, cucumber, carrots, red bell pepper, avocado, green onion, served with nama shoyu.  If you’re used to eating rice with nori, I think the sprouts are a great way to make them differently.  Note:  nama shoyu is not wheat-free

Cashew-Coconut Pasta with Bok Choy

As some of you already know, my vacation was purely pleasure, a much-needed break from work, and an exciting visit with someone who is becoming a closer friend of mine, Erik Marcus.  I did eat cooked food while on vacation (and don’t worry, I haven’t become a raw foodist!).  Cooking with Mrrrrrrrrrrrr. Marcus was a joy…..it was refreshing to skip the cookbooks and just make what sounded delicious to both of us, with ingredients already on hand, adding garlic here and a few serranos there when Skimpola wasn’t around.  :D  (I did get to meet her, too!)

The above dish has sauteed garlic and ginger with a cashew-macadamia coconut milk sauce, serrano chilies, cilantro, toasted cashews, a bit of tamari for saltiness, and lemon juice.  It was fantastic!  I believe I caught sight of Mr. Vegan.com scraping the pan with a spoon before placing it in the sink to wash.

Raw Food Recipes, No Meat/No Heat Book

A sampling of a few of the recipes from this book:

Pistachio, Celery, and Cucumber Salad with Dates and Orange-Lemon Dressing

Celery & Red Apple Salad with Creamy Pine Nut Dressing (with lemon and parsley)

Recipe for Belgian Endive with Gremolata and Vegetables using Radicchio and Additional Vegetables, bell peppers, cucumber, carrots, Belgian endive, radicchio, and mixed sprouts.  Gremolata has lemon juice, garlic, parsley, and oil (see note below).

 

I was very intrigued by this one.  It’s Swiss Chard, Pine Nuts, and Currants Stuffed in Vine Leaves.  Of course the vine leaves, being jarred, are not raw, but the filling is completely raw.

In the pistachio salad, apple salad, and “dolmas,” I did not add any oil, due to there already being fat content and plenty of flavor from the nuts, herbs, and citrus juices.  The gremolata has merely a tablespoon of oil, much less than called for.  My favorite of these four is a toss-up between the apple salad (the dressing is amazing) and the dolmas with the perfect filling mixture.  Where’s Mr. Marcus when you need him to swoop in and eat some dolmas?  These are better than Costco.

Kale Salad & Cucumber Boats (raw)

Kale salad has red and green bell pepper, carrots, and a creamy raw cashew-cilantro-orange dressing with garlic.

The cucumber boats are stuffed with an avocado, onion, garlic, tomato, lime, cilantro, and celery mixture.

Both are excellent!  The cashew dressing with some sweetness from the fresh orange juice pairs well with the kale.

Spaghetti Squash w/ Sun-dried Tomatoes, Roasted Red Pepper, & Spinach

 

Imagine my excitement to find THE BEST brand of organic sun-dried tomatoes at the grocery store, after months of seeing only the two brands I think are mediocre!

Shown here is baked spaghetti squash with spinach, the sun-drieds, and roasted red peppers.  I didn’t add any oil, since the tomatoes are packed in an oil marinade.  Topped with chipotle cayenne Parma.

(Mediterranean Organic sun-dried tomatoes)

Chili w/ Tamale Dumplings

 

Chili - 150 Vegan Favorites

Tamale Dumplings - Lighten Up!

Anticipating this chili all day has been very burdensome to my stomach!  It’s been in the crockpot since 9:00 a.m.

The recipe called for merely kidney beans; I chose to use black beans, pinto beans, and kidney beans and also roasted the bell peppers prior to adding them.  This is a deeply-flavored chili, with little bits of tomatoes, celery, and onion.

I think the dumplings could more descriptively be called “masa harina dumplings”; I’d hate for someone to be excited about a surprise inside of the ball of dough, when really, it’s just a hunk of corn flour deliciousness.  As the name of the book suggests, these are low-fat dumplings!  And the chili is low in fat, too - these two guys were meant to bond.

The dumplings didn’t stay together perfectly, but the taste was phenomenal!  Picture shown with the chili garnished with green onions and sun-dried tomatoes.