Popcorn-ish (Raw)

I think that the absence of a cafeteria, my curious nature, and cravings for various cooked foods have all encouraged me to experiment a lot more with food lately. And you all are the lucky benefactors, spared of having to try all of my not-so-successful attempts. While having a Pirate marathon this weekend, one of the aforementioned cravings hit me like a ton of bricks: popcorn. Alas there is no popcorn in the raw world, but I have found an alternative that I like. You guys should all give it a try as a healthier alternative to that buttery, salty, calorie-laden gook that is microwave popcorn.

Tools: A large ziplock bag, knife, cutting surface, dehydrator (optional - this stuff is great fresh!)

Ingredients:
One head of cauliflower
Cayenne, to taste
Nutritional yeast, to taste
Salt, to taste

Directions:
1) Cut off the leaves of the cauliflower. Personally, I don't like the trunk part very much, so I usually cut that off too, but you don't have to.
2) Put the whole head down, and cut into slices. cut these slices into pieces. If you imagine the whole head, you should cut it up into small, uniform cube-ish shapes. Or at least attempt to. Leave the pieces fairly large, a little large than real popcorn is fine. If you plan on dehydrating, leave them much larger, as they shrink dramatically when dried.
3) Dump all the pieces into the bag. Sprinkle some salt, cayenne, and nutritional yeast into the bag. Start with tiny amounts; you'd be amazed how far a little of each goes! When you zip it closed, make sure to leave some air in the bag, and then shake! (Kneading the bag works well, too) The cauliflower should turn yellow-orangish.
4) Once the cauliflower seems evenly coated, taste a piece. Add more of anything as desired, and shake some more. Repeat as needed. If you plan on dehydrating, you'll want to be very light with the spices, because the taste will be much more intense after the cauliflower shrinks.

And, a very exciting development is that I bought myself a camera! So from now on, there will be lots of pictures to go with these posts, so you will be able to tell if you are horribly screwing everything up. Here they are:

My "popcorn" in the dehydrator.

Up close. It's orangish!

Sorry I have no "after" pictures. Somehow, none of the pieces made it past a few hours. The downside to dehydrating stuff like this is that it's just so tempting to reach in and grab a bit before they're done. After all, a day is a long time to wait for popcorn! Hope you like the recipe, and wish me luck on continuing this awesome streak of updating.

Strawberry Vinaigrette (Raw)

I'm back! And you should all be proud of me for remembering to post over summer. Horray! I even have a new recipe for you guys. As a raw vegan, salads are a big part of my diet. One of the most important parts of a salad, at least to me, is the dressing. In the interests of having a new recipe to post, along with the desire for some variety in my dressings, I have concocted a spiffy strawberry version of my favorite raw dressing.

Tools: Blender (a normal blender should do fine), container for storage, knife, cutting surface, 1/2 or 1 cup measure.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c agave nectar
1/8 c apple cider vinegar
Pince salt
1/2 green onion (cut off the white part, then use about half of what's left)
Strawberries (I used 4 large ones, but just keep adding until you get the desired taste/color)

Directions:
Blend everything until you don't see any strawberry or onion bits. Store in the refrigerator, and mix well before using, as the oil will separate.

If you want a blander dressing, use less vinegar or onions. Add agave to make it sweeter, olive oil to thin it out a bit, or add vinegar and onions to make it more flavorful. I'll probably tinker with this recipe more, so I might come back and change the ingredients. Also, experiment! Try using apples or raspberries instead of strawberries. Go wild and try whatever veggies or fruits you have on hand. If you find something that works, comment to let me know!

Peace out.

Chocolate Pudding (Raw)

I can't resist giving you all a recipe. This is the only raw vegan recipe that I know isn't like, copyrighted or anything, and has the added benefit that you don't need anything super fancy to prepare it, so all of you VitaMix- and dehydrator-less readers out there can still enjoy.

Ingredients:
2 very ripe avocados
1 cup maple syrup (pure maple syrup - read the ingredients to make sure it's not maple flavored corn syrup)
1 cup raw cocoa powder (or regular cocoa powder, which is much cheaper)

Tools:
Bowl
Fork, blender, or electric hand mixer
Measuring cup
Spoon
Knife
Refrigerator

Directions:
1) Cut open the avocados, discard the nut in the middle, and scoop out the meat (the green inside stuff). Put this into your bowl or blender if using. If using just a bowl, mash the avocado with a fork.
2) Measure the maple syrup and cocoa powder, add them to the bowl or blender.
3) Mix/blend until smooth. Refrigerate what you don't eat.

Just as a note, this is extremely chocolatey. If you're not used to dark chocolate or raw food, you might want to try like 1/2 cup of cocoa powder and then add more to taste. I actually was told this recipe last year, and it might have been 1/2 cup cocoa, or 3/4, but I made it with 1 cup and like it fine that way. Also, if you are not a raw vegan, don't eat too much of this. Avocados have a lot of fat, especially saturated fat, so if you eat a non-raw or non-vegan diet, your saturated fat intake is probably higher than raw foodists or vegans. But this is a delicious, filling, craving-bashing recipe that I highly recommend you try.

Raw

Well, it is summertime again, which for me means going raw! I am totally excited. And this summer, I have my trusty Vita-Mix blender and Excalibur dehydrator to make the whole process that much easier - and fun. I have already made dehydrated chips and pinapple, raw brownies, and blended pudding, my favorite raw salad dressing, and raw "mashed potatoes." How did I ever survive last summer?

Anyways, for any of you who don't know, going raw means that in addition to all of the food that I don't eat, I will now exclude anything cooked or processed (as in store-bought processed, anything I blend, chop, or dehydrate myself is fine). Technically I can't heat things to above like, 115 degrees F or something like that. The theory is that if you don't heat foods above that temperature, you will not damage the vitamins and minerals and blah blah blah so it's healthier. Personally, I think it's more the lack of corn syrup, sugar, gluten, and just general nastiness that is in ALL processed foods, along with the extra vitamins and minerals from eating only fruits, veggies, and nuts that makes you feel better. But last summer when I tried it, I lost a bunch of weight, felt really good, had tons of energy, and it was just generally awesome. Now I don't know how much of this was attributed to the raw diet and how much was because of my regular sleep schedule, but I know that the rawness helped. Perhaps at the end of the summer I'll post before and after pics or something. Until then, I will only providing you all with raw vegan recipes. Until next time, happy summer, and go raw!