Raw crackers, tapenade and sundried tomato cheeze

Okay, so these don't look all that appetising but I blame my phone! My battery charger has packed up so can't use my camera til I get some new batteries. And these crackers are also very messy looking and free-form because I just snapped the big sheets of dehydrated cracker into random bits to make the crackers! But they taste so good, and are very addictive.


So first things first, the crackers. I based these on Kate Magic's recipe for Crackables, which you can find on her website, with a few additions. Basically, soak 250g of flaxseeds in a litre of water for 12 hours until you get a gloopy mixture. To this add the juice of 2 lemons, a couple of spoons of green powder, and a chopped red onion. Then I also added 1/2 red and 1/2 green pepper, chopped, 1 red chilli, a few grinds of black pepper and a pinch of salt. You can vary this recipe and add what you like really, fresh herbs are especially good. Mix this all up well, spread over 3 dehydrator trays with teflex sheets on, and dehydrate at 105 degrees for 12 hours. Then flip them over and dehydrate for another 6 hours or until crispy. Then break them up into bits like me- or try and make nicer proper square cracker shapes if you can!


Tapenade
This is scrumptious! I got this recipe from a girl called Natasha at a raw food meetup, and she got it from Cafe Gratitude (San Francisco), it's official name is 'I Am Opulent' Olive Tapenade and is my new addiction. It's totally delicious. Although, she put a bunch of fresh coriander in hers, and I didn't have any so missed that out. All you do is blend together a jar of raw olives- I used these Raw Health organic kalamata olives which are divine- with a red chilli, a clove of garlic and enough of the olive oil from the jar to create a smooth mixture- but not too smooth, I like it with a few little olive chunks in. Simple but beautiful, really fresh and succulent tasting, with a spicy chilli kick. It's also really good spread on romaine lettuce leaves with mashed avocado and rolled up.
The sundried tomato cheeze is my old favourite from Ani Phyo's recipe in Ani's Raw Food Kitchen: Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes and is made with brazil nuts, lemon juice, garlic, water, sea salt and sundried tomatoes. Another really easy one but very flavoursome and moreish.

I'm back... with cheezy kale chips!



Kale chips coming out of the dehydrator



Hello! Well I haven't updated this blog in a while for a few reasons. Been debating whether or not to go into it all here, but I've decided not to bore you too much for now! One reason was because of being in a play- rehearsing evenings and weekends as well as doing the day job didn't leave me with much time to make anything exciting. And some other stuff going on. But that's all over now and I am back on track! Last night I made Cheddar Kale chips from Ani's Raw Food Essentials: Recipes and Techniques for Mastering the Art of Live Food. I LOVE kale chips, they're so addictive. I have just eaten the whole lot this morning, an entire bunch of organic curly kale! They had red pepper, cashew nuts, olive oil, agave and water in... I think that's it. Hmmm, maybe something else too but I can't remember what... I'll check later.



Ani Phyo's cheddar-kale chips



They were good, but I have to say, my favourite kale chips recipe is one I made from the Renegade Health Show a while ago. They were so tasty, just thinking about them makes me want them again. So I'm going to buy more kale later and maybe do those tonight or tomorrow. Check out the link above and give them a go, there's a video too. They're less sweet than Ani's ones- that's what I liked least about her's- they have agave in which made them sweeter than I'd like. I like it savoury! Anyway, just a quick post to let you know I'm still here, I haven't forgotten about this blog! I'm fully back into creating raw food recipes now and will be making a lot more and putting them up here soon.

The next thing I really want to make is a raw version of scones with jam and clotted cream from Ani Phyo's book. Sounds amazing right?! Can't wait to see how they turn out. So bye for now, but I promise to be back soon with more raw food dishes.

Ani Phyo's Korean 'stir-fried' kelp noodles with vegetables (Jap Chae)

I just made the most deee-licious dinner! Jap Chae kelp noodles, from Ani Phyo's new book
Ani's Raw Food Essentials: Recipes and Techniques for Mastering the Art of Live Food
It was utterly gorgeous. This link shows her making a version of it on a TV appearance but it's a bit different to the one in the book- I think she's simplified it a bit for live TV ease! The one in the book (that I made) also has spinach, garlic and agave in it and the shiitake mushrooms and onions are marinated in tamari (or nama shoyu or braggs) for at least 20 minutes first. Oh it was amazing. Just like a 'regular' stir-fried rice noodle dish, only better!
I found a great way of making the noodles really soft too. When they first come out of the pack they're quite crunchy, and thin. I put them in a bowl of pure water with the juice of 2 lemons and a crushed clove of garlic and left them to soak and soften for 2 hours, which helps breaks them down. Then I rinsed them and left them in a bowl of warm water for another few hours (or do it overnight) and they ended up soft, fat and plump, mmmmm!
This dish is so quick and easy to make too, no equipment needed except a bowl, a chopping board and a knife! If you're new to raw foods, I really recommend you try it. Kelp noodles are not that easy to get in the shops over here but you can easily order them online, here's one place, Kate Magic's lovely site Raw Living and for this recipe one package serves 4. Go on, give it a whirl, you won't regret it!

Buckwheat crispies, almond milk, jalapeno burgers, spicy mayo

Delicious lunchbox salad with olives,
caperberries, carrot, tomatoes, mixed sprouts,
peppers & other lovely things that I can't remember...

Haven't written for a while as I've been mad busy with rehearsals, as well as being back at the day job so I've been pretty much been sticking to eating some old staples that are quick and easy to make. At my colonic last week, the therapist told me that there was too much sugar in me, which was causing me to be bloated, so advised me not to have too many smoothies. I think this was probably also down to starting drinking wine again which is full of sugar and very bad for fermenting inside you! There is quite a lot of debate in the raw food world around smoothies, largely due to the high sugar content. Victoria Boutenko was pretty much the first to start the "green smoothie revolution" and a lot of people follow this and feel great, but others, including some at the Hippocrates Health Institute, are not into blending at all, and think juicing is much better. So although I do love starting the day with a green smoothie packed with superfoods, I've been alternating them with raw cereals.

Buckwheat crispies with almond milk

I made a big batch of buckwheat crispies, which are really easy to make and they stay fresh for months, in an airtight container. All you do is soak raw buckwheat groats in pure water overnight, rinse them really thoroughly, then dry them in the dehydrator for about 6 hours. I first got this recipe from Ani Phyo's books, and she recommends dehydrating for 3-5 hours, but it think it takes less time in LA as it's so flippin hot there all the time, whereas we can't rely on such good weather here in London! They are quite plain tasting, kind of like Rice Krispies, but much more nutritious! I have these with almond milk, which is delicious and also really easy to make. Soak half a cup of almonds overnight, then drain and rinse them, and blend them up for a minute or 2 with a couple of dates (depending on how sweet you like it, you can add more if you wish), a litre of water and a capful of natural vanilla extract (optional). Then you strain it through a nutmilk bag, or muslin, or a sieve would probably work. It keeps for 4 or 5 days in the fridge- it will separate, don't worry about that, it's normal, just shake it back together again! You can also add raw cacao powder to this to make chocolate milk, then it's kind of like Coco Pops!

I've been eating jalapeno burgers a lot too- I realise I keep going on about them but have never given the recipe. The recipe I use is based on the recipe here: http://www.rawfreedomcommunity.info/forum/showthread.php?t=3467 but I make a lot more and slightly alter the amounts, and made the preparation a bit easier as I'm a lazy cow so just bung it all in the food processor basically, instead of having to do lots of fine chopping! And dehydrate longer too. So here's the recipe I use:

Jalapeno burger, mixed sprout salad, marinated mushrooms,
cherry tomatoes with coriander. Lovely lunch.

Soak 3 cups walnuts for 6 hours and then put them in the food processor with 3/4 cup soaked sundried tomatoes and 1/4 cup soaking water. Grind it up until you get a kind of mince texture and put in a big bowl. Then put 2-6 chillies in the food processor, depending on how spicy you like your burgers! I usually add 2 scotch bonnets or 4-6 jalapenos, but for me, the spicier the better. And I love the rich, earthy flavour that jalapenos add to food, not just the heat, so these are my favourite chili. Then also put in 2 small onions, 2-3 tablespoons tamari, a few twists of salt and black pepper, and some cayenne pepper if you want it spicier! You only need to chop these ingredients roughly before putting in the food processor. Blitz it all up until it's finely chopped, then mix it all in with the nut mixture. Form the mixture into burgers- this makes about 18 when I do it, but it depends how big you want them! I roll a spoonful into a ball, then flatten it and put it on the dehydrator tray. I usually dehydrate them for about 6 hours, 3 on each side. They are sooooooo good!

I also made this spicy mayo/dip to go with the burgers and salad, which came out really good:

Rubbish picture of spicy mayo

1 cup cashews, soaked 2 hours

Juice of 1 lemon (approx 2-3 tbsp)

1/2 tsp cayenne

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 large clove of garlic

1/2 cup water

1 dash salt

Put it all in the food processor and blend until smooth. That's it!

I have finally got new batteries for my camera, so you won't have to put up with rubbish mobile phone pictures after today's entry! I promise to use my actual camera and take better pictures from now on!

Homemade chocolate tart

My chocolate tart

Well, I got a bit experimental in the kitchen this afternoon and came up with this chocolate tart which I am quite proud of! It's quite decadent but it's very rich so you only need a small slice! The crust is sweet and coconutty and the filling is a velvety, moussey, chocolatey mouthful of deliciousness! (If I say so myself!) Here's the recipe:

Crust:
1 1/2 cups hazelnuts
1/ cup shredded coconut
Dash salt
1/ 4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup agave nectar

Grind the hazelnuts, coconut and a small pinch of salt in the food processor to a crumb-like texture.
Then add the coconut oil (melted over a bowl of warm water first) and agave and mix in til it comes together.
Then press the mixture down in a pie dish to form a crust.
Then put it in the freezer to set while you do the next bit.

Filling:
1 1/2 avocados (I know, sounds weird, but just go with it- you would never know there is avocado in this when you taste it! It gives it a lovely velevety, rich texture, just believe me and try it!)
1/2 cup raw cacao powder
1/4 cup agave
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 capful natural vanilla extract
2 tbsps water

Basically, bung it all in the food processor and blend it all up. Add the water last- just enough until you get the right kind of silky texture.

Then get, the crust from the freezer, and spread the chocolate filling over the top. Then I sprinkled some more shredded coconut over the top, more for decoration than anything else. And that's it done, easy peasy!

Natalia Rose's guacamole salad

Thought I'd also share with you a couple of salads I've made recently. Last night I made the guacamole salad from The Raw Food Detox Diet which is possibly my favourite ever salad. It's just avocado, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, coriander, garlic, agave, lime juice (well, I used lemon juice as I didn't have any limes) and salt and pepper, but something about the combination is so delicious. It's really quick and easy too, you just bung it all in a bowl and mix it together. The picture is a bit rubbish as the batteries have gone in my camera so today's pics are all taken with my phone!

Packed lunch salad and black pepper cheeze

I'm also in rehearsals for a play at the moment so I've been making packed lunches to take with me again, and on the left is what I had today. The salad has a mix of different stuff in it- alfafa sprouts, mixed bean and lentil sprouts, sweetcorn, yellow pepper, grated carrot, celery and cress (blast from the past- forgot how good it is!) I've a feeling I've forgotten something else I put in it but can't remember what... but anyway, it was lovely. I also brought some more of that liquid gold elixir dressing to go with it that I've talked about before,  also from Natalia Rose's book. The little tub next to the salad is black pepper cheeze from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen. I know I'm always banging on about this book but it is my favourite, I've had it for ages but it's got so many good recipes in it I use it a lot. However, I've just ordered her new book Ani's Raw Food Essentials so I'm really looking forward to that arriving and trying out some of her new recipes. But anyway, the black pepper cheeze from her old one is really tasty. It's made with cashew nuts, and it's so much better than I imagined it would be. Not sure why but I wasn't expecting too much from it, but it's great, quite addictive.

I was going to tell you a bit about the colonic I had yesterday (my first one!) but I've written too much already, but I will just tell you it was great and I thoroughly recommend that everyone gets it done! If you live in London there's a half price deal on at the moment at a brilliant place with great therapists if you go here: http://www.wahanda.com/product/2701-39-for-1-hour-colonic-hydrotherapy-session-facial-or-massage-at-hydrohealing-value-85-save-54/ so it's only £39. I think you have to book the deal by tomorrow night though (Sunday night). And if you go here first: www.wahanda.com/love/kaybee you get another £5 off so it's only £34, bargain. It's through a free beauty newsletter thing called wahanda which has loads of cheap deals and offers. But I definitely recommend it!

Ok, I have written much more than I intended to so I must go now, but might go into more colonic info at a later date if anyone wants to know any more! See ya x

Strawberry shortcake- YUM! Also, marinated mushrooms with broccoli & brazil nut mash and mushroom gravy for dinner.

This picture is not doing it justice!

Last night I made one of my favourite raw dinners, that I hadn't had for a while- marinated mushrooms with broccoli & brazil nut mash and mushroom gravy. It is delicious! It's another one from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen and it's so good, but the mash is very filling and I ate way too much of it! I couldn't get organic portabello mushrooms again though so did it with small organic mushrooms- it still tasted delicious, but you don't get that lovely rich deep texture you get from the portabello ones. The photo is rubbish, it doesn't look that good- I don't think I have a talent in making my food look appetising in pictures! But I swear it's really tasty. So here's the recipe (makes 4 servings):

Steak
4 portabello mushrooms, stems removed
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1/3 c Nama Shoyu (It's a soy sauce but I've never seen it over here. I use Tamari instead, or you could use Bragg's Liquid Aminos though there is some controversy around the rawness of this)
1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary or 1 tsp dried.

In a large bowl, coat mushrooms in oil, tamari, and rosemary. Set aside for an hour or two to marinate and soften.

Brazil-Broccoli Mash
1 clove garlic
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 tsp sea salt ( I use a lot less than this, or it tastes way too salty. I think you only need a dash)
1 c brazil nuts
2 c broccoli, chopped

Process the garlic, pepper, and salt into tiny pieces. Add brazil nuts and process into a powder. Empty this powder into a bowl and set aside. Next, process the broccoli while slowly adding the brazil nut powder back in.

Mushroom Gravy
1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
3/4 c mushrooms, any kind
1/3 c water
1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt

Blend olive oil, mushrooms, water, vinegar, garlic, and salt until smooth.

To serve, slice each mushroom into 4 or 5 thick strips and serve on top of a scoop of brazil-broccoli Mash. Drizzle with mushroom gravy, garnish with a sprig of rosemary before serving.

Strawberry shortcake

Then, this afternoon I made raw strawberry shortcake. The last time I made it, I put a photo of it up on facebook and was told it looked like alien sick! So this time I have attempted to make it look a bit prettier! It's based on this recipe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC_r4m6oAzk and if you watch the video you'll see his looks a bit of a mess too! But it really doesn't matter, it tastes fantastic.
 
I made some little changes to the amounts and ingredients in his recipe but it's basically the same. I also don't have a vitamix so I did everything in the food processor which worked just fine. Here's what I used:
 
About 25 strawberries
1 1/2 c nuts (I used hazelnuts and brazils- the hazelnuts gave it a lovely flavour)
1/2 c medjool dates
2 tbsp raw honey (or agave if you don't do honey, or more dates if you don't do agave!)
2 dashes salt
1 dash olive oil
 
Process the nuts and a dash of salt, then add the dates and 1 tbsp raw honey and process until soft and will come together when you pinch the mix, into a kind of dough. Press this down in the bottom of a flan dish or similar.
 
Then process the strawberries (reserving some to slice and put on top for decoration) with a dash of olive oil, dash of salt and 1 tbsp raw honey until it turns into a creamy sauce.
 
Pour the strawberry mix over the base and decorate with remaining strawberries.
 
I thought I'd just taste a little bit while running the washing up water, and ended up having 3 portions! I couldn't stop. I had to cover the rest and put it in the fridge to stop myself. I really recommend this dessert!

Oh wow Chili!!!

Tomato chili with walnut taco meat and sour kream

Well, I ended up staying in tonight after checking my bank balance and discovering I'd spent way more than I meant to this month! So, I got busy in the kitchen and finally made Ani Phyo's chili... oh WOW it was incredible! Utterly delicious, I am definitely going to make this again and again. I made half the recipe, which is supposed to serve 2, and I ended up eating it all, because it was so unbelievably tasty I couldn't stop! Ok, so it doesn't look quite as pretty as the picture on Ani's page but it was truly gorgeous to eat.

There's a weekly farmer's market outside work every Wednesday, with an amazing organic veg stall. They sell a great range of local produce, I always get kale, chard, mixed salad, tomatoes, peppers, strawberries... well loads of things! Anyway, last week he gave me a bag of organic mixed chilies so I added a couple of these to the recipe for an extra kick! I put in 1 (small!) scotch bonnet (oh yes, I'm proper hard, me) and a birds eye one, and they gave it a really lovely flavour as well as some extra heat. I put taco meat on top and made sour kream from soaked cashews, lemon juice, a pinch of salt and just enough water to make the right consistency.

Ani Phyo is fabulous, her books are such a delight- all the recipes are simple, without millions of ingredients and everything tastes great. I love her. And I'm so glad I finally got round to making this chili. It's so easy to do, only takes a few minutes and doesn't need a dehydrator or any complicated equipment. Really fresh and delicious.

I'm going to make some of the liquid gold elixir that Sherry recommended next and bring it work with a big salad for lunch tomorrow. I got some of those enoki mushrooms too, so they will definitely be in it. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Apple pie, chocolate mousse, sunny dill cheeze, taco nut meat, sour kream, jalapeno burgers and possibly wasabi peas!

Well, I've been busy uncooking today, getting loads of things made up for the week so I've got no excuse to be getting unhealthy snacks! My crisp fetish is over and I am fully back on track with the raw. I had to go out for a few drinks after we wrapped the film on Friday night and followed that with some not so healthy food and I definitely don't want to do that any more... so all that unhealthy snacking is out of my system now and I'm back in the zone!

I was going to make Ani Phyo's Tomato Chili for my dinner tonight but because I've been tasting everything else I've been making all day I had no appetite left for dinner! Still I've got the taco meat and sour kream that go with it made up now, and they'll keep a few days in the fridge, so I'll make the chili fresh tomorrow night and have it for my dinner then... looking forward to it, I've never made it before and it sounds delicious.

Apple pie- it tastes better than it looks here!

I made All-American Apple Pie today too, from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen which is one of my favourite ever desserts. It was one of the first raw dishes I made, about a year and a half ago, and at the time it convinced me that a raw lifestyle was possible, after much umming and ahhing and my first few not so successful attempts at making raw recipes. It's so good, I really recommend it- even my dad loves it (who usually stays away from my raw stuff on principle!) and ate about half of a pie when I made some last time I was staying with him. I only made half of the recipe this time as it makes a lot, but doesn't keep too long. It's really delicious, you'd never believe it was raw. I think that you should definitely make this- I promise you will love it.

I also made chocolate mousse from Raw Food Made Easy... ok, so this photo makes it look a bit like poo, but believe me, you would never think this was a raw, vegan dessert. It tastes just like a regular, rich, chocolatey mousse. The secret ingredient is avocado! But I swear you can't taste it in the mousse at all! It's also got raw cacao powder, dates, agave and a bit of water in. Its such a nice treat to have a chocolatey dessert like this and it tastes way better than the non-raw version with dairy etc in. It's gorgeous!

I made more jalapeno burgers too, the same ones I mentioned before, which I think might be my favourite raw thing. Definitely the best raw burger I've had. I make them slightly differently though- I don't put in any hamburger seasoning (what is that??) and I made twice the recipe, which makes about 10 good size burgers for me, and I dehydrate them for about 6 hours instead of 1. Oh, and I only put the temperature at 105 degrees as that's generally felt to be the max temperature for the food to remain raw. They are SO good that I already ate 4 of them which wasn't supposed to happen... just a good job I made double the recipe. They are really tasty and full of flavour, I love them.

I also made sunny dill cheeze from Ani Phyo's book (the same one I linked to above) which turned out ok, but not amazingly delicious. It'll be nice on my crackers with salad and burgers for lunch. But I have say, to not packed with flavour- quite mild but it's not bad.

And finally, I am attempting to make a raw version of wasabi peas! I'm not sure if it's going to work as I just made up the recipe, but they're in the dehydrator at the moment, I'll let you know how they turn out tomorrow. I coated the peas in a mixture of raw wasabi, ground sesame seeds, apple cider vinegar, olive oil and a little water... I'm hoping if they work they'll be a good alternative to my inexplicable cravings for crisps and bombay mix! We'll see... watch this space!

Saturday is cake day!

Pretty pink juice

It was so nice to get a good night's sleep last night and woke up feeling much better today. I started the day with a juice instead of a smoothie this morning- beetroot, carrots, celery and apple. Hopefully I'll remember that I had beetroot juice when I get up tomorrow so I don't think I am dying when I go to the loo...

I went shopping in Brixton Wholefoods today, I love that place, and got some really good rose and lavender raw chocolate truffles. Needless to say I scoffed them before I'd got home so no photos of them to put up! Got some other bits and bobs too to make some staples for the week. I forgot to soak nuts overnight last night though so couldn't make my crackers today, so I'll soak them tonight instead. Going to make the spicy flax and herb crackers from the Raw Food, Real World book.

Bit of a rubbish dark picture but this is
Ani Phyo's sundried tomato cheeze- a kind of
pâté made with brazil nuts, lemon juice, garlic
and sundried tomatoes.

Tomorrow I'm rehearsing all day for a short film I'm going to be in, so I'm going have to force myself to make them and get them in the dehydrator when I get back before I go to bed! Thinking about what to bring for a packed lunch tomorrow. I've got some Provençale flax crackers which were a bit of a rip off when its so cheap to make your own, but for convenience's sake, they're good. I made some sun-dried tomato cheeze today too, from Ani Phyo's book, which is delicious, really moreish, so I'll bring some of that too and some salad. I've still got salsa and guacamole left too cos I made WAY to much!

I've just made a tasty raw cake! Ani Phyo's basic flourless cake with "nutella" hazelnut chocolate spread. It's gorgeous, but very rich and filling so you only need a little bit. Which is just as well as there are a lot of nuts in it so it's quite calorific, but worth it for the taste! And with raw foods you digest them a lot easier so don't tend to put weight on when eating raw anyway. You should always soak nuts before eating them or putting them in things because this breaks down and gets rid of the enzyme inhibitors in them, so they're much easier to digest. Brazil nuts and hazelnuts are the exception though as I've read that they don't need to be soaked, but I don't suppose it can do any harm. Different nuts and seeds have different soak times which I'm sure are online somewhere, I use the chart at the start of Raw Food Made Easy, lots of useful stuff in there and good basic recipes that you don't need a dehydrator for.

Well, I've had a very civilised day today, didn't go down to Brighton Pride for debauched times and instead been doing practical stuff around the house, and I'm staying in tonight! But I do have to get up early and get up to North London by half 10 and I'm meant to be familiar with my lines and cues, which I'm not, so better get on and have a look at them! See ya.