A taste for raw - Living food recipes by Diana Store

Raw cuisine takes vegan food into the realms of the sacred. Choosing ingredients of the highest organic quality we can create delicious uncooked and dairy- free milks, cheeses, pates, soups, pies, even pizzas and ice cream. A raw food meal can be as simple as a bowl of fresh organic fruit or more sophisticated like the recipes described below. Often the best recipes come as a result of experimentation, and for this reason I have included some extra explanation about basic rawfood preparation techniques.

The recipes below comprise a meal including starter, main and dessert. The main recipes represent a 'middle eastern platter' inspired by my experiences eating in Quintessence - a raw food restaurant in New York . I have reinvented these dishes using skills learned whilst working in the kitchen of The Tree of Life Rejuvenation Centre in Arizona. Prepared with love these simple dishes will nourish every aspect of your being! All quantities will serve 2-3 people.

Tbsp _= tablespoon
Tsp = teaspoon

Hemp milk

The hemp can quite easily be substituted for sesame seeds or almonds. Try also walnut, hazelnut and combination milks. Hemp is my favourite flavour and a rich source of perfectly balanced ratios of omega 3 and omega 6 essential fatty acids. The type of hemp seed available for eating will not make you high but it is exceptionally good for you!

1 cup soaked raw whole hemp seeds
1/4 cup almonds soaked
5 cups spring or filtered water
1 tsp cinnamon

Blend nuts / seeds with 1 cup of water until a smooth paste. Add the rest of the water and blend on high speed for 2 minutes. Strain out the pulp with a metal sieve or cloth bag. Nut milks combines well with fruit juice (try pomegranite, it becomes a beautiful pink colour!) or with a green juice. Other flavourings might include blended banana, figs, carob powder (gives a chocolate flavour) or vanilla.

1 cup almonds soaked 8-12 hours in spring/filtered water
1 cup walnuts soaked 1 hour in spring/filtered water
1/2 cup sesame seeds ground fine
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 tbsp raisens soaked 1-2 hours
1 cup mixed finely chopped fresh herbs: coriander, oregano,
basil, parsley
1 tsp ground cumin spice
1 tbsp crushed garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
Juice 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp dulse flakes / 1 tsp celtic sea salt

Drain off the water and homogenise almonds, walnuts, sesame, pine nuts and raisens in a food processor or juicer which has a homogenising function. For best results peel the brown skins from the almonds, which can be done quite easily when they have been soaked. Add in remaining ingredients and thoroughly mix by hand. It is the cumin spice which creates the distinct falafel flavour. Form into balls and serve with sunflower dip.

Supergreensoup

7-10 stalks celery
1 avocado
Juice 1 lemon
2 tbsp olive/hemp oil
1 tbsp green superfood powder such as wheatgrass or spirulina
1 tbsp dulse flakes
1 bunch parsley
1/2 cup bottled /filtered water

Rougly chop celery and place in blender. Blend all ingredients together adding water until the right consistancy is achieved. The celery forms a watery base and can be substituted for cucumber. The avocado gives a creamy smooth texture. The superfood is a way of intensifying the green content of the soup. Chlorophyll, the green protein in plants is very similar in structure to our blood - green foods help to mineralise our bodies and oxygenate our blood stream. An exotic version of this soup might include the addition of coconut butter, ginger, curry, lemon grass and garlic.

Houmous

2 cups fresh sprouted chickpeas
1/2 cup tahini or sesame seeds finely ground
Juice 1 lemon
2 tbsp raisens
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp crushed garlic
1 tbsp dulse

To sprout the chickpeas: cover the dried chickpeas in a generous quantity of room temperature water for 12 hours. A wide mouthed jar is suitable for this. Drain and leave in a dark place, rinsing twice per day until they germinate. When the sprout is as long as the pea or a little longer, then they are ready to use. Blend all the ingredients until smooth. Tahini is in fact ground sesame seeds, although many shop bought brands are roasted or heat treated. Variations can include adding herbs such as marjoram or thyme instead of the garlic or exchanging the tahini/sesame seeds for ground pumpkin seeds.

Sprouting is exceptionally simple and gives us the most concentrated natural source of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and amino acids. The process for all seeds, nuts, grains or legumes is the same as described above for the chickpeas, but the soak time depends on the size of the seed. Small seeds auch as alfalfa, radish, and cress can be soaked from 4-6 hours. Larger seeds like wheat, buckwheat, mung, lentil and fenugreek should be soaked 8 hours. A further possibility is to grow sprouted wheat, sunflower or buckwheat on soil to make baby plants. These make an excellent source of green nutrition but there is not enough room to explain
here!

Tabouleh

1 small head cauliflower
1 red bellpepper
1 cup shelled fresh peas
2 yellow tomatos
1/2 small cucumber
1/2 cup finely chopped mint and parsley

Separate the cauliflower into pieces and chop in food processor with the 'S' blade. The secret of this recipe is that when cauliflower is very finely chopped it transforms into something very similar to cous cous. To prepare the red pepper cut in half lengthways and pull out stalk and seeds. Cut into small square pieces. Dice the tomato and cucumber and combine all the vegetables. Serve with a simple olive oil and lemon dressing.

Super Spinach Salad

Large bunch of spinach with stems removed
1 bulb fennel
2-3 ripe red tomatoes
1 avocado
1/2 cup arame seaweed soaked
1/4 cup hulled hemp seeds

Roughly tear the spinach into pieces. Discard the outer leaves of the fennel and finely slice. Dice the tomatos . To prepare the avocado flesh, cut lengthways, remove the stone and then cut each half into cubes with knife (to the skin but not through it). Scoop out the flesh with a large spoon. Soak arame for 10 minutes, drain and rinse. To make this salad even more incredible why not add afew wild dandelion (paardebloem) leaves. Combine all the ingredients together and serve with hemp dressing (below).

The vibrant colours and crisp textures in natural foods are always appealing. A daily fresh salad of seasonal organic ingredients is a fundamental part of raw eating and the possiblities for making new combinations are endless. When eating a salad together with a cooked meal it is best to eat the salad first to get the most of the nutrients. Seaweeds are one of the most mineral rich and tasty foods on the planet. Wakame is another easy to use one, nori comes in dark purple sheets suitable for making roll- ups with a pate or avocado, and dulse is dark red flakes, which is very useful as salt in any dish.

Hemp dressing

1/2 cup hemp oil
Juice of 1 lemon/orange
1 tbsp chopped fresh herbs
1 tsp dulse

Combine ingredients and blend or stir well. A dressing is really a taste enhancer comprising of the three tastemakers. These are an acid (citrus fruits, tomato, apple cider vinegar) and a fat (cold pressed olive oil, hemp oil, avocado, nuts) and a salt (seaweed, miso, celery, tamari, celtic sea salt). It is the successful balancing of these three basic components which make a great tasting dish. Sweet flavours(dried fruit, carrot, coconut water) are an optional but not vital basic component.

Banana Ice cream

3 ripe bananas

Peel and chop the bananas. Place in the freezer. Remove about 1 hour before serving so that they defrost enough to blend. Blend until light and creamy. This can be blended with other fruits like peaches or strawberrys however is quite perfect on its own. People always ask what else is in it! This is one of the most incredible raw recipes and the most simple I know!

It is possible and fun to make some energy enhancing raw recipes using simple equipment and easy to find ingredients.

Thai Almond pate

3 cups almonds soaked 8-12hours
1 cup pine nuts
4T lemon juice
4T olive oil
3 cloves garlic crushed
1t celtic sea salt
5 soaked apricots roughly chopped
1cm piece ginger crushed
2cm lemongrass crushed
½ cup fresh Basil finely chopped
½ cup water

Finely chop almonds and pine nuts in food processor using 'S' blade. Slowly add the water and then all the other ingredients. Blend until smooth. This makes a delicious dip or salad dressing. A thicker pate can be made (with less water) to stuff vegetables such as peppers or mushrooms.

Best herb salad dressing

1 cup olive oil
Juice 2 lemons
½ cup Fresh herbs basil, parsley, oregano and coriander
1/2t honey
½ t paprika
2T dulse seaweed

If the herbs are chopped fine enough this can be mixed by hand. If not, combine all ingredients and blend with food processor or hand held staff mixer.