Houmous Gets the Raw Treatment

Raw Houmous.

Houmous is lovely. Well, I think so, anyway! It's been a mainstay of my diet for many years. Mr H and I get through loads of the stuff and I started making our own a couple of years ago, so it was obvious that I needed to figure out a raw version.
The only real change I have made to my original recipe is to use sprouted chick peas, instead of boiled. The preparation takes a little longer, but the results are even more yummy.
Oh, and I use a bit less garlic now since our raw tastes are stronger!

1 cup chick peas, soaked overnight and sprouted until tiny shoots appear (1-2 days, depending on how hot the weather is)
2 dessertspoons raw tahini
1 dessertspoon lemon juice
1 dessertspoon olive or hemp oil
Garlic to taste (I usually use 1 small clove for this amount.)
A drop of water if needed to facilitate blending

Simply blend everything until smooth. This makes quite a lot and you can freeze some if necessary and thaw it later.

I sometimes add one or some of the following for added flavour:

Sea salt, black pepper, soy sauce, chopped olives, chopped tomatoes, chilli, paprika, cayenne pepper, chopped peppers, mustard... but you might think of others!

PS. The other day we were in Infinity Foods in Brighton and bought some raw houmous which had various spices in, including coriander and turmeric. It was to-die-for! =)

Raw Vegan Sushi

I've always loved sushi... the little parcels of deliciousness, dipped in soy sauce and wasabi paste, little flakes of ginger... oooh! Yummy!

So naturally I wanted to make a raw version.

OK, so I had to make a couple of exceptions, owing to the paucity of availability of raw ingredients locally. The Nori sheets had been toasted. I couldn't find raw, but will continue to look. I used mustard powder because I couldn't find the wasabi powder (I know it's somewhere...) and I did use soy sauce, which I don't suppose is raw, but other than that... here's what I made:

Nori sheets cut lengthways into four. I used three sheets for two people.

Avocado paste:

I avocado, mashed

1 quarter of a small onion, finely chopped

1cm red chilli, finely chopped

1 handful mixed raw seeds

a pinch of lentil spreouts

Mix everything together and place a teaspoonful at one end of the nori strip.

Grate 1 carrot, 1 beetroot, 1 apple.

Place a pinch of each (or vary for each wrap) next to the avocado paste.

Chop the tip off asparagus ad add this to the nori strip.

Add a few pieces of a finely sliced chard leaf.

Slice some small pieces of red and green pepper and add a couple of these to the strip.

Roll us the whole strip, carefully keeping everything within and sticking the end with a drop of apple juice if necessary.

To accompany this, I mixed some mustard powder in a little avocado dip (see my recipe here)

I should, of course, have used wasabi powder and I will next time.

(Try to ignore the big crack in my old plate! I can't throw it out - it's too pretty!)

I also soaked some seaweed salad and a chopped sun-dried tomato with a little chopped fresh coriander in a drop of soy sauce and some hemp oil for a few minutes, before spooning it over the sushi and a few extra lentil sprouts.

Next time I make this, I would like to add some grated ginger and devise some alternative fillings, but this was a good first effort. 

Mr H, who had never seen sushi being made before, was particularly impressed, giving me quite a serotonin hit, which always boosts the flavour of anything! =)

You Get Me Through

A very busy and rather stressful couple of days for me, finishing off a sculpture for an exhibition which opens on Monday and getting all the loose ends tied up for the end of my course.
As is often the case when I'm really busy, I forget to eat! However, my body is getting better at telling me it's hungry, so I have made a few quick, tasty and healthy snacks this week, some of which I will share with you here:

Mango Power Juice
Peel and de-pip one small melon
Peel an de-stone one mango
Place in a blender with a bit of apple juice
Blend until smooth and drink
Makes a couple of pints (ish)

Quick Chocolate Fix (for those times when...  well, you know!)
In a tea cup, mix the following:
1 tsp tahini
1 tsp agave nectar (or other liquid sweetener if you prefer)
1 tsp cocoa powder.
Eat it straight out of the cup or spread onto a cracker.

Cocoa Comfort
Blend the following:
1 banana
about half a litre nut milk (I used pistachio milk and it was lovely, but almond, cashew or any other will do)
1 dsp cocoa powder
Drink it out of a mug and pretend it's cocoa like Granny made (it's better!)
Use warm milk if you want extra comfort.

Avocado Dip (spread, mayonaise substitute, whatever...)
Blend the following:
1 avocado
1 banana (Use one that is not too ripe - learn from my mistake!)
a few flakes of dehydrated garlic
a splash of soy sauce or similar seasoning
juice of half a lemon.
Spread onto slices of cucumber for a delicious quick snack

And finally...
Multi-Berry Orgy Snack
1 punnet blueberrues
1 punnet raspberries
1 packet dried goji berries (you won't need all of them)

Stuff a dried goji berry inside a blueberry
Stuff the blueberry inside a raspberry
Do this to the entire punnet
And eat!

Now that School's Out and I can relax, I'm going to get back in the kitchen and start creating again... watch this space. =)

A Note About Measurements

You may notice, from looking at my recipes, that I mix up my measurements (US cups, Euro grams, Imperial teaspoons and dessertspoons...) This is deliberate and something I've developed over many years of making food.
The reason is because I don't like to be too accurate. You may read that I suggest a handful of one ingredient, a cup of another, a couple of dessertspoons of something else.
I believe that food should be cooked by taste and as such, my measurements are guidelines only. I strongly recommend that you purchase a simple cup measure, if you don't have one. It's a nice measurement, which is quite precise enough. An espresso coffee cup is about the same size or you might find an old fashioned teacup (I often use a teacup!) And I use dessertspoons rather than tablespoons simply because I don't own a tablespoon. I'd only use it for measuring anyway, so I just use a dessertspoon and then eat with it afterwards - saves unnecessary washing-up!
When I quote grams or (occasionally) ounces, this is because something comes in a package of that weight. The coconut cream I use comes in handy 2oz/50g pouches, but with practice, you could easily work out your own measurement for that.

A simple recipe for today has no measurements at all. It is completely to taste. And it tastes wonderful:

Raw "Stuffed" Mushrooms

Take 2 large Portobello mushrooms for each person (or more if you're extra hungry!) and brush with Olive Oil.

Combine the following to taste:

Fresh Broad Beans

Sundried Tomatoes

Olives

Beansprouts

Hemp Seed Oil

Soya Sauce (or another seasoning, if preferred)

Dried Seaweed

Other ingredients to taste

After marinading your ingredients for a few minutes, spoon on top of the mushrooms and enjoy. =)

A Dash of Ginger with That...

The quest for the perfect Raw Curry goes on, but I did manage to make a sort-of curry sauce today. It's not good enough to post yet, but I'll work on it.

I had a busy and stressful day today (my sculpture exploded in the kiln yesterday, so I had some extensive repairs to do!) and I had an energy slump mid-afternoon. Fortunately, a punnet of cherries and a bar of raw chocolate soon sorted that out. How decadent this diet is, where Chocolate and Cherries a healthy meal!
I found a lovely shop in Chichester (my nearest city) which sells all sorts of wholefoods including lovely raw stuff! I can highly recommend it. The shop is called Manuka Wholefoods and it's tucked away in Little London Walk (which used to be called Sadler's Walk but now for some reason isn't.)
They have a website: www.manukawholefoods.co.uk.
Check it out if you're in the area, or look them up online. I bought some gorgeous raw chocolate coated mulberries... mmmmmm. =)

Today's recipe is very simple, but delicious. It's a really top juice with a bit of a kick:

Manjingo Juice
1 melon (flesh only - the worms got the seeds and rind!)
1 carton squeezed orange juice (because I was lazy!)
1 tsp ground ginger.
Juice the melon. Pour into a tall jug and add the ginger. Top up with orange juice.
This was enough to keep two of us going all evening while we got on with some work.

Tomorrow... who knows? I may have figured out that curry sauce recipe! =)

What to do with Beansprouts

Today I ate beansprouts and I didn't get E-coli and I didn't die.

Not surprising, you'd think, but recently some beansprouts in Germany have been responsible for spreading the bacteria and caused several deaths and a lot of sickness. Basically, as far as I understand, it was due to poor farming methods, bad hygiene, etc. That sort of thing shouldn't happen if you grow your own, or buy from a reputable source. I'd run out at home, so I bought some from Aconbury Sprouts because I know they're good. I've bought them before.

I had quite a few for lunch, with a box of olives and that sustained me through a stressful kiln firing (which went on forever!)

Mr H had to go into work this evening, so I made this for his return:

Tricolore Bolognese

1 large courgette

1 large carrot

1 large beetroot

300g multicoloured baby tomatoes

1 generous handful beansprouts

½ red Romano pepper

about 9 olives

1 cm red chilli

1 tsp raw cacao powder

drop olive oil

slice lemon – flesh & juice.

Grate the courgette, carrot and beetroot over a bowl

Squeeze the juice out of the grated veg and place half on the plates. Spread it around the edge with a hole in the middle.

Chop everything else into small pieces (chop the chilli very fine,) and mix together.

Place a large dolop of “Bolognese” in the middle of your plates and add a bit of green salad.

Serves 2 greedy pigs or 3-4 sensible eaters.

Plus a glass of delicious vegetable juice to fight over!

Spicing It Up

I made two Smoothies today, one fruity, one veggy. Here they are:

Sweet Fruity

1 melon (peeled and seeds removed)

1 large handful strawberries.

Juice and drink – easy!

I call this one "Pink Champagne"

Savoury Vegetable

8 carrots

1 beetroot (small, peeled)

4 sticks celery

2 tomatoes

Juice all the above and transfer to blender.

Add 2 handfuls spinach

Blend until smooth.

Mr H enjoying his "Fake Guinness"

I was craving cooked food today. None of the snacks were satisfying me, so I knew I needed to prepare a “proper” meal. What I really fancied was curry... ooohhh....

Ok, so I haven't worked out how to make a raw curry yet (Brain Cogs turning..) but I did find a lovely Chilli recipe in Naked Chocolate. I've had this book for years and to my shame I've never made anything out of it.

Here's the recipe, slightly adjusted for the ingredients I had available (I've halved the quantities for 2 people!)

Chilli con Cacao

1 clove garlic

1 large sprig rosemary

1 ripe tomato

1 large sprig basil

3 sun-dried tomatoes

Squeeze of lemon

Half teaspoon cayenne pepper (I'll use fresh next time.)

2 Olives

1 tablespoon raw cacao powder

Half a red Romano pepper

3 mushrooms

Half a cup of hemp seed oil (or olive oil)

2 Courgettes.

Chop the garlic and herbs.

Dice the tomatoes, pepper and mushrooms.

Chop the olives into quarters.

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and chop roughly (I used a hand-held blender and it worked fine.) Mix in the oil.

Leave to stand while you peel the courgettes (I used a potato peeler to get some nice thin strips of skin) and grate the flesh.

Place the sliced peel on the plates, pile some grated courgette on top and add a generous dolop of Chilli con Cacao onto the top.

It was so delicious. Mr H said he found it "energising" - result! =)

I don't Need a Dehydrator - I Just Want One!

For my lunch today I fancied making a Mushroom Dip, so here it is:

Mushroom Dip

6 mushrooms

2 tomatoes

2 handfuls spinach

I slice lemon – pith & flesh

1 red pepper

1 pear

1 small onion

olive oil and hemp seed oil to enable blending

Blend everything together until smooth.

Makes a good dip or spread. Looks a bit like guacamole but has no avocado in (although it could have!)

I craved something starchy to go with these and set myself the challenge of creating a “cracker”-type thing without a dehydrator (because I don't have one – yet!)

This is what I came up with:

Tomato Almond and Flax Crackers.

leftover pulp from almond goji mylk (dried out a bit in oven (fan only - no heat) or dehydrator)

2 dsp milled flax seed (linseed)

2 tomatoes

mixed seeds

herbs and spices to taste

Chop tomatoes then blend with hand-held blender

Add flax seed and almond pulp.

Mix thoroughly and spread onto a baking tray (or dehydrator sheet)

Press mixed seeds onto the top and dry out in oven on fan only for 4-5 hours (check regularly to see if they are dry, cut into squares before turning over half way through.) Times for dehydrator will vary.

Can make batches and keep in fridge, each time you make almond goji mylk.

As these took so long to “bake” they weren't ready for lunch, but I put them in the fridge ready for the future and had the Dip with crudites.

I usually like to get two smoothies in each day – a fruit one in the morning and a vegetable “green” smoothie in the afternoon. Today I have been really busy because I have an exhibition coming up and I have work to finish. When I get very focussed on something, my hunger button switches off. Unfortunately, so does my energy button, so to keep myself going, mid afternoon, I made this:

Polly's Perfect Power Punch

1 pear

1 nectarine

1carrot

½ cucumber

handful leaves (spinach, etc.)

Juice everything except the spinach.

Transfer juice to a blender, add spinach and whizz until smooth.

Makes a large tumbler full.

Getting My Oats!

Today I made Oat Mylch - Here's how:

I took a pyrex jug and put 1 litre of water inside (you could easily use a bowl instead)
I then laid a piece of muslin over the top.
I dropped 1 cup of oats into the muslin, so that they all fell under the water.

I also added 1 tsp honey, but this is optional
Then I placed a plate over the top and left them soaking for 1/2 hour.

After half an hour I removed the plate, gathered up the edges of the muslin and squeezed out the Oat Mylch. It comes out thick and creamy and is wonderful for the skin too!

After I'd squeezed out as much Mylch as I could, I put the oats aside (for later!) and poured some of the Oat Mylch out for our lunchtime smoothie!

Here's the Oat Mylch. I made just under 1 1/2 litres this way. It needs stirring before use, but it is quite a versatile milk - not brilliant in tea though!

Lunchtime was upon us, so I made a delicious smoothie with:

1/2 pint Oat Mylch

1 mango (just the flesh!)

a handful of strawberries.

Blended together, they made the most gorgeous, rich, creamy, sunshiney drink!

Shown here with Chocolate Love Buckets!

Chocolate Love Buckets

I chopped the remaining strawberries into quarters and layered them in sundae dishes with a couple of Chocolate Love Bombs, (from a batch that turned out a bit soft, due to too much liquid and I'd kept in the freezer. Even mistakes can be utilised!)

Here is a delicious Chocolate Love Bucket!

Our delicious lunch. Imagine - eating chocolate for lunch, the healthy way. This is heavenly!

Mr H enjoying his chocolate Love Bucket. Mmmmmm. =)

Later in the day I was a bit naughty when we visited Mr H's parents, because it is impossible to resist Mrs H's delicious Okra Curry! It did get me wondering whether okra can be eaten raw, and whether I could create a raw curry? Hmmm... best get my thinking cap on.

Anyway, those soaked oats (you thought I'd forgotten about them, didn't you?)

Baccus Gets His Oats

1 cup oats (soaked and Mylch squeezed out)

1 desertspoon (dsp) raw cacao powder

1 dsp carob powder

1 cup dried vine fruits (pre-soaked)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

2oz (50g) coconut cream (you could use coconut oil if you prefer. I use the cream because it is cheaper!)

Mix it up, press into silicone moulds and leave to dry under a tea towel overnight.

In the morning (hopefully!) there will be some oaty chocoaltey cakes!

Night night... =)

PS... next day... here's a pic:

... and they are yummy!

Today was my first day completely, 100% raw! And I feel terrible! Tee hee... let me explain...

I have been suspicious about the amount of soya I consume for a while and after watching a very interesting seminar lecture by David Wolfe last night, I understand the phyto-oestrogen properties a bit better.
I have suffered with hormone imbalances all my life. As a child, I couldn't control my body temperature, swinging from too hot to too cold all the time. I rarely slept and had fluctuating energy levels. Puberty hit and my periods started (eventually!) Stopped, started again, stopped and finally settled into the most irregular cycle I have ever encountered in my life (including all those years as a nurse.) Then at the age of 30 they stopped. My hormones were out of whack even more than usual and the oestrogen dominance had pushed my progesterone and testosterone levels down to practically nought. At the time, I was advised (incorrectly, I now realise) that soya would help to balance my hormone levels.
It has not. Soya is a phyto-oestrogen, which means it binds to receptors in the body in the same way oestrogen does (I think - correct me if I'm wrong...) and subsequently I have suffered all the symptoms of oestrogen dominance for the past decade.

So, I thought it would be a good idea to knock the soya on the head for a while and see how I got on.

Migraine is how I got on! But this was not unexpected. When I worked as an holistic therapist I had a lot of clients who underwent a "healing balance" in the form of a headache, nausea, pain, tearfulness or some other symptom, (it depends on where your trigger point is, for me it's the head,) but this was always temporary and part of the whole "feeling worse before you feel better" thing. I usually get a headache if I change my diet, give something up or do any kind of "cleanse." Just the body's way of saying "thanks!"

So today... a day without soya and a day completely raw.
Here's what I ate:

For breakfast I started the day with Shazzie's Almond Goji Sunshine Mylk, which I gave the recipe for yesterday.
Then I made a smoothie for Mr H and I to take out for lunch:
(for 2 people, generously)
1 pint water
2 bananas
1 handful of frozen berries
1 (small) handful goji berries
1 teaspoon coconut oil
Whizz together and drink.

We had this with some mixed olives (some of them had chilli in, which went very well with the delicious sweet smoothie!)

This afternoon I had an apple, which was all I could manage with my embryonic migraine.
I came home early and, after a rest, made this delicious "green" smoothie. Raw foodies go on about "Green Smoothies" ad nauseum, but they have a point - copious amounts of green leaves are the business, nutrition-wise.
Here is my "green" smoothie: (it's not green, it's red, but hey!)
4 carrots
1 beetroot
1 apple
a slice of lemon, pith and all
I juiced these and then placed them in the blender with:
2 handfuls of spinach leaves
1 teaspoon flax seed oil
I gave them a good blending and then spent the evening drinking it.

Now, this doesn't seem much for a day and were it not for the migraine, I would probably have had a nice big salad this evening and a superfood treat, but this has been enough for my body to manage today.

My headache, I have to say, has diminished. How much of this is due to the diet I can't say, but I did eschew my usual radox bath for a soak with 4 green tea bags and I swear I could feel the detoxifying action. Coupled with one of Mr H's aromatherapy back massages, I feel pretty blissed-out right now!

I am hoping tomorrow will be better. Mr H came home from work with another fridge-load of fruit and veg, so I'll be creating more yummies tomorrow...

Vive La Revolution

There has indeed been something of a revolution in Polly's Kitchen!
During the past month, I have been conducting some experiments in Raw Food.
I have always been a bit sceptical of raw vegan diets, wondering whether they would provide all the nutrients required.
But, having done a huge amount of research, both online and in books, talked to people and watched videos, I am convinced that it is worth a try.
I was getting a bit bored and (yes I will admit it) complacent in my cookery and really need a challenge. This, I thought, could be it!
And "It" it has proven to be. I have been gradually introducing more and more raw foods into my diet over the past 5 weeks and I feel pretty good. Aches and pains dramatically diminished, migraines lessened, energy up, positivity up and now, when I eat something processed and cooked, I can taste the salt and grease and too-much sugar - yuck! give me an apple, someone!
My favourite part of this recipe experimentation so far has been in creating raw chocolate treats!

Raw chocolate is amazing. I thought the processed stuff was pretty good, but the raw variety really is the business! Try it and you won't want to go back.

The following recipes are all very simple – just mix everything together and squish into a silicone mould, or roll into a ball (if possible.) No cooking – result! They are a bit vague on the measurements at times because it has been a bit "trial and error" (lots of error - all delicious though!) But don't be put off. In each case you need a stiff, rollable mixture, so add more liquid or dry ingredients as needed.

Pascal's Chocolate Triangles

Wet Ingredients:
2oz/50g coconut cream, melted

Dry ingredients:
1 handful dates, chopped small

2 teaspoons (tsp) cacao powder

2 tsp carob powder

2 tsp ground almonds (or any other ground raw nuts)

1 tsp cacao nibs

Mix everything together and press into a silicone ice-cube mould.

We call these Pascal's Chocolate Triangles because we have triangular moulds. Make up your own name if you like.

Sometime we use a heart shaped ice-cube moulds and call them Chocolate Hearts – aahh!

Chocolate Love Bombs.

Wet Ingredients:
2oz/50g coconut cream – melted in a bain marie

1 dessertspoon (dsp) coconut oil – melt with above

DryIngredients:

2 dsp ground almonds

1 dsp raw cacao powder

1 dsp carob powder

1 dsp cacao nibs

1 dsp mixed raw seeds

Fruits:

1 handful dates

1 handful figs

1 dsp dried mulberries or any other dried fruit.

Soak these fruits in water for about 10 minutes, then take them out and chop them very finely.


Add to the dry ingredients and stir together.

When the coconut is melted, add this to the mixture and mix in.

Add 1 dsp agave nectar or raw honey if required.

If the mixture is a bit dry, add a bit of the fruit soak water, 1 dsp at a time until it sticks together.

Press into silicone muffin moulds and place in the freezer until firm. Keep in the fridge and munch one when a love hit is required.

Chocolate 'Nana Cake.

Melt:

2oz/50g coconut cream & 1 dsp coconut oil

Meanwhile soak:

1 handful each of dates & figs

1 handful mixed seeds

1 tsp dried mulberries

in just enough water to cover them.

Place the following in a bowl:

1 dsp each of: cacao powder, carob powder, cacao nibs

3 dsp ground almonds (or other nuts)

Blend the soaked fruit and seeds in the soak water with a banana until smooth.

Pour into the dry mixture.

Add the coconut when melted and stir everything together into a creamy mixture.

Pour into silicone muffin moulds and freeze until firm.

Keep in the fridge.

Fire on Babylon – a chilli chocolate treat.

Using the pulp from Shazzie's Almond Goji Mylk, (below) add the following:

1 dsp cacao powder

1 dsp carob powder

1 tsp ground chilli (or very finely chopped fresh!) More if you're brave!

1 dsp coconut oil, melted with 2oz/50g coconut cream.

Mix everything into a stiff paste and roll into balls.

Chill and serve. Blows the top of your head off, if you get it right!

Shazzie's Almond Goji Mylk.

This recipe came from Shazzie, from Detox Your World. I have gleaned some very useful info from this site, so I urge you to take a look. Shazzie is great, about as bonkers as I am, but very wise! And boy! She knows her raw food!

I have adjusted the quantities a bit, but my version works well too and you can use the pulp to make Fire on Babylon!

1 cup almonds

½ cup goji berries

about 4 dates.

Soak all these in 1 pint (½ litre) of water (soak the almonds overnight if you want it really good, then add the fruit for 10 minutes!)

Blend the whole lot until it is really homogenous, then pour into a bowl lined with muslin.

Gather up the muslin and squeeze as much of the liquid out as you can. You should get about a pint of gorgeous golden sunshine – yummy! Save the pulp for Fire on Babylon.

So there you have it, folks. Raw heaven! Enjoy! =)