Raw Falafel

After trying recipes from two books I can say that this is definitely the best recipe, it tastes like the real thing and it only takes 4 hours to dehydrate instead of overnight, so right there there is a plus.

I also like that this recipe includes veggies and not just nuts and spices.  It is delicious and very nutritious.

I served it with my favorite salad which includes pieces of oranges (now that they are a plenty), tomatoes and cucumbers.

Based on Sarma's book, with my own measurements


Falafel:
1/2 cup pistachios, almonds, sunflower seeds, raw.
1 portobelo mushroom cap, cut in squares
2 carrots shredded
2 lemons
1 bunch of parsley (big bunch)
salt and pepper
olive oil
1/2 cup sesame seeds raw
1/2 cup flax seeds

Place the carrots and mushrooms in a bowl and poor olive oil on them, then dehydrate for one hour.

Separately place all the nuts in a blender and blend till smooth.  Set aside

Blend the carrots and mushrooms with the juice of one lemon, all the parsley and 1/4 cup of olive oil, add salt and pepper.

Then mix the blended vegetables with the nuts, and shape them into falafel balls.

Grind the sesame and flax seeds in a coffee grinder.  Roll the falafel on the grinded seeds to cover them up.

Dehydrate for 3 hours, and serve with raw tahini and salad.

Enjoy!

Raw meatloaf with bbq sauce

This one is for Tony who was in search of some raw "meat" :-)

You see the bite taken out of the meatloaf? well I could not wait! I based the recipe on ideas from the Juliano's book, but I also added my own spices

Meatloaf:
1/3 cup sesame seeds/walnuts/sprouted lentils
1/3 cup olive oil
1 red pepper
1 carrot grated
little garlic and onion
fresh oregano, rosemary and dill to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
one or two big spoons of agave syrup

Blend and dehydrate basically forever... OK, maybe for like a day or two, I let it dry for 26 hours, within a cake container, that is why it came so roundy and pretty.

BBQ sauce
2 tomatoes
1/2  cup sun dried tomatoes
1 head of garlic
1/2 onion
1/2 cup nori sauce
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup olive oil

Blend it and once the meatloaf is ready, on the day you are to eat it, put the sauce on top and dehydrate for a good 3 hours.  It will be slightly warm by serving

Compliment with a salad

Enjoy!

Raw Pasta with tomato and basil sauce - and Nori Sushi

I won't lie to you, it takes patience to make that but it is so worth it!.

The recipes come straight from Sarma and Rod's books respectively.

Delicious raw oregano crackers

The picture shows the crackers as they are going into the dehydrator.  They turned out delicious.  The thinner you make them the more crispy and interesting.

I found that the oregano is what made them really tasty, so make sure to put a bunch of it.

Ingredients

1/2 cup of lentils, sprouted (soak for 6 hours then let them rest for 2 days, washing them twice a day)

1/2 cup wheat (soaked and sprouted)

1/2 cup  almonds 

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

salt

pepper

1/4 cup of flax seeds

1/4 cup of sesame seeds

one bunch of fresh oregano cut thinly

a little rosemary

half a small shallot peeled and cut

half a garlic head peeled and sliced

a touch of agave nectar

Blend the lentils, almonds and wheat adding a little water to get a dough going.  Put in a separate bowl

Grind the sesame seeds and flax seeds, then add all the other ingredients and add to the bowl with the dough. Mix well.

Spread thinly on dehydrator sheets as one sheet or cut into shapes (rounds or squares), and put on the dehydrator.  Turn them around after about 4 hours, and let it continue drying for about 12 more hours (overnight).  

Raw Beet Ravioli

Inspired by the beet ravioli from the Living Raw Foods book today, I tried my own version, and they came out looking pretty.

I had some preconceptions about them, for example, I thought the beets could potentially be hard to digest, but nothing like that happened.  Actually because they are marinated and thinly cut, they were almost unrecognizable.  And even though they are still much crunchier than a ravioli pasta shell, they were manageable and blended well with the filling.

The filling was a pine nut cheese raw attempt.  And the sauce was the same paste, only I added some basil for taste.

I felt very satisfied and enjoyed it very much.  Not sure it is an every day recipe, more for a flashy occasion I would say.

The Shells (beets)

1 large beet (or two if you are serving more than two people)

1 lemon

1/2 cup olive oil

sea salt

use a mandoline to cut the beets very VERY thinly.  Then marinate for 1/2 to 1 hour in the oil with the lemon and salt.

The filling

1 cup of pine nuts soaked for one hour

zest of lemon

1/2 cup olive oil

a quarter of an onion

1/4 cup lemon juice

sea salt

ground pepper

Mix everything, that is your cheese.

The sauce

Separate half the filling and add basil to it, and blend.

To serve

Put four think beet slices on a plate, add a spoon full of the filling and cover with another beet shell.

Serve with a little of the basil sauce on the side.

Tasty.

Raw Burgers with Pesto Sauce... hmm

That is raw...  and it tastes delicious!

The recipe is a combination of what I read in  raw foods for real people and my own experimentation, i.e. I used yellow peppers instead of celery.

You need to plan ahead for this one, the dish takes 2.5 days to make (2 days sprouting 1/2 day dehydrating), which is great as you can plan ahead, way ahead!

I am experimenting with making bread but until I get it right I am using the Ezekiel brand which is organic and sprouted and live, or so they claim.  You can find it everywhere these days, I got it at Whole Foods.

The burgers are VERY easy to make but they require the dehydrator,  making them on the oven at low temperature is just not the same.

Bugers:
1 cup lentils sprouted
1/2 cup raw walnuts
1/2 cup raw hulled sunflower seeds
1 lemon peeled and cut into little pieces
1/2 cup olive oil
1 yellow pepper cut in little pieces
Oregano (I prefer fresh)
sun dried tomatoes (I tend to put a bunch, I like them, about 10)

Mix everything in a blender, dehydrate for a few hours 2, or 3, then turn around and dehydrate for 10 or 12 more hours.

For the pesto sauce:
1 cup basil
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup of those really expensive pine nuts, yes that is why my ratio is low for these guys, besides I found out that the sauce tastes better with not so many of these anyway....
1 lemon peeled and cut in little chunks
1 or 2 depending on how you like it heads of garlic
1 shallot
a little spinach if you want to

Blend everything

To serve
Brush the Ezekiel bread slices with the pesto, then paint the burgers too and put them inside.

Serve with a salad and place some more pesto on the side for added lubrication.

Enjoy!

Raw chocolate pudding

Are we going raw? maybe, maybe not, but this raw chocolate pudding made with avocado is the stuff of the Gods, seriously if you have not tasted it yet you have not had a real life experience! Not only is it delicious, it is also live food, all healthy and good for you.

I know that the container looks as if I bought it in a deli, but I did not, is just that this is the only safe enclosed container I had available for refrigeration... yes THAT is raw.

The recipe comes from reading various blogs, books and then trying it on my own.  This is what I found to work best:



Ingredients:
1 avocado ripped but not too soft, 1/4 cup of raw chocolate powder (good idea to get a good quality one), 1/2 cup agave syrup, pinch of sea salt and a little vanilla extract.

Blend everything making sure the texture is that of pudding (add a little water if necessary), refrigerate and enjoy. I dare you to eat only one portion, may not be possible!