BBQ squares

[Auntie L]

I have enjoyed reading this forum for so many months and have gotten some fabulous, tasty recipes from you folks. To thank, you here is one of my own constructions. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

For barbecue fanatics: this recipe will bring back everything you love about barbecue. It did for me. It's great for traveling, as you can dry the squares hard, but they still stay together pretty well. With a few of these in your bag, you need never be tempted by fast food joints.

BBQ Squares

1 C fresh tomatoes, chopped
1/4 C chopped onion
1/2 C dried tomatoes, soaked 15-30 min.
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1-2 tsp minced jalapeno
juice of 1 lemon or lime
2-4 Tblspoon agave nectar or honey
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 beet and/or 1/2 red bell pepper
1 tsp nama shoyu (soy sauce)

1.5 C raw walnuts
1.5 C raw cashews

Blend all but the nuts in a high-speed blender and pour into a mixing bowl. Chop the nuts in a food processor by pulsing the motor; leave them pretty chunky. Stir in the chopped nuts and adjust the seasonings, remembering that flavors intensify when the mix is dehydrated. Spread on teflex on dehydrator tray. Dehydrate until firm, slicing into squares and turning over onto screen, then dry until crunchy. Eat as a snack or as the main dish for a meal.

Notes: This recipe makes a very mild BBQ square a child can eat. Add more spices if you like it hot! The beet or bell pepper can be omitted, but I recommend either and usually use both for the rich red color they give the squares. I use home-dehydrated tomatoes, but you can use the storebought ones too. The recipe may look complicated because it has a lot of ingredients, but they go together fast and, man, is it good! You should be able to do the whole thing in the food processor, adding the nuts last. If you try that, let me know how it works. I served BBQ squares as the main dish (with a salad, raw corn on the cob, and dessert) to non-raw friends and they loved them so much I had to give them more to take home.

Bon appetit!
Auntie L

[Rawkinlocs]

Hi Auntie L!

This sounds like a delicious recipe and great for transitioners getting off of cooked, SAD food.

I'll be sure to try it and soon...sounds like it would be great with the KFC coleslaw recipe posted here and some fresh corn at a summer picnic!! Thanks!

[Auntie L]

Thanks, Rawkinlocs! Yes, the KFC coleslaw recipe would be just perfect!

[ktkat]

Thanks Auntie L,

This sounds sooo delicious, and perfect timing. I can't wait to try it

kate

[light&happy]

Hi, thanks for the recipe, I am going to try it tomorrow! Question, do you have to soak the nuts first?

Melissa

[TP]

sounds tastey.. thanks!

[mypinkbow]

How long did you dehydrate these for? Did anyone else try these? They sound yummy!

[Auntie L]

I thought that you should always soak walnuts, if you have the time (but see later note...). If you don't, I think that you can go ahead, they just might not be quite as nutritious. I'm not sure about cashews, but it doesn't hurt. I didn't time the dehydrating, but it took quite a while, because I make them a little thicker than crackers, so maybe about a day.

[mypinkbow]

How long do I need to soak the nuts?

[Auntie L]

I've been checking and found that it has been said in this forum that walnuts do not need soaking. I don't know yet how to imbed a link to another note, alas, but it was a reply by Rawpriestess, and this is what she said:

"PLEASE do NOT soak mac nuts, it ruins the beautiful flavor,same with pine nuts, walnuts and pecans, if you MUSt soak them, only do it for about 10 minutes.

but there is no need to soak these nuts, they don't have hardly any enzyme inhibitors."

If this is so (and I would like to think it so!), it will save oodles of time, plus give your food more flavor.

[Nini]

These taste fabulous!! It's just what I needed.

Thanks, Aunti L, for sharing this recipe.

[rawpriestess]

Auntie L, this sounds delicious.

and yes the nut soaking thingy is true.

I learned all about this in Victoria Boutenkos class years ago when I first went raw.

please soak cashews and almonds though.

[light&happy]

OK, these are SOOOOOOOOOOOOO good! My kids love them too, and my baby is only 11 months old! (he had them when they were 1/2 dehydrated and still warm and chewy). Thank you for the recipe!!

Melissa

[VibraTechJulie]

Thank you Auntie L for such a delicious recipe! I was licking the bowl and nibbling as they dehydrated :p I love, love, love this! It is now on my list of my standard recipes I will make again and again! :D

Raw Blessings,
Julie

[Rawkinlocs]

Mmmmm! I just made these last night (was eating it out of the bowl) and I had it twice today...once for breakfast and again at lunch.

I got up this morning and made the KFC coleslaw (recipe on this forum) to go with the barbeque and it was SO good!

I did end up adding a little more seasonings to the mix for my tastes...didn't have jalapeno so I just used cayenne.

But they're really good, esp. with the coleslaw!

I think next time I make them, I'll make a little extra of the "sauce" and either spread it on the done squares or dip it or something and maybe I'll grind the nuts a wee bit more. But the flavor is perfect!

Thanks again Auntie L! :D (I took a picture...will post it later)

[vegggeeemom]

Alright. I havek to get these ingriedents to make for my little trip on Friday. I can't wait to try this.

Pam

[mypinkbow]

I made these and they turned out good but I wish I had put more spiciness to them to give them a lot more zip. Next time though I will.

[shelah]

auntie l,
definitely gotta try this!
question -- is the chili powder that spice blend with oregano, etc. in it or just plain chili/cayenne?
many blessings!
shelah

[vegggeeemom]

Rawk, where is your picture?! :)

Making these today!

Pam

[vegggeeemom]

OH WOW! These are not even done yet and they are oh so good. The batter is just so yummy. I ate a few spoonfuls and the rest is in the dehydrator.

I added 1/2 a jalapeno instead and ommitted the cloves. I got the measurement wrong for the nuts, so had to replace the nuts with what I had here at the house.

I just got them in the dehydrator at 6:10 pm and I am praying so hard that they will be ready to go by tomorrow morning so I can take them along with me.

These are a hit already and they aren't even done yet! :)

Yum

Pam

[Rawkinlocs]

Hey Pam,

They're good huh? A word of caution...because these taste so good you can easily overdo it with these and that's just what I did and had a tummy ache! So just be sure to listen to your body signals and when it starts saying, "Okaaayy, that's about enough for now", put 'em away! :p

I'm pretty sure they will be done in time...I put mine in during the evening, turned them over a few hours later and by morning they were done.

I finally got the picture uploaded. It's the bars and coleslaw...

[Cinnamon]

Wow these look great! I've got to make some now too... we can never run out of ideas with all these creative people here! Thanks for the pic Rawkinlocs... yum!

[bootzey]

are these like jerky?

[shelah]

giving this another try -- anyone?


:confused:
"auntie l,
definitely gotta try this!
question -- is the chili powder that spice blend with oregano, etc. in it or just plain chili/cayenne?
many blessings!
shelah"

[samadhisoul]

i saw that but thought someone would answer you...chili powder is a single spice (i believe...
neither a mix nor cayenne pepper

if u dont have it, i would use maybe cumin and cayenne? or whatever suits your tastes...I may not be the best person to help you with this as I usually use what I have on hand and tweak to my liking, lol

[Rawkinlocs]

I'm sorry about that Shelah!

I just use Frontier brand chili powder and let's see....yep, on the bottle the spices in it are: chili peppers, cumin, dehydrated garlic, cumin, oregano, coriander, cloves and allspice.

But I DID also use a pinch of cayenne in addition to because I didn't have any jalapeno (as the recipe indicates to use)

[Kris]

Woohoo! Can't wait to try this tonight! And I have some cabbage for cole slaw too...yum yum.

[Auntie L]

Shelah,

I checked the jar of chili powder that I used and it contains chili, cumin, oregano, and garlic, so it's the same mixture Rawkinlocs used. However, I like Samadhisoul's suggestion to be creative and use what you have. This is not a recipe that needs to be made exactly a certain way. For example, instead of cashews, which not everyone eats, you could use other nuts or even try sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

Hey, Rawkinlocs, that's an awesome picture you posted!

[shelah]

thanks, rawkinlocs & auntie l!!
many blessings,
shelah

[sigtau66]

I made these over the weekend and I realize I need to work on my BBQ making abilities! They didn't taste anything like BBQ, mainly because there was no spice to it. They were more sweet than anything. But, even after all of that, they were DELICIOUS. I pretty much ate the whole thing on Saturday. :)

I will be making these again, but this time the spice will be kicked up a notch.

Thanks for the wonderful recipe.

[harmonypeacerose]

I made these on the weekend and they were lovely, but like alot of others here i didn't put quite enough spice in them. I'll certainly be giving them another go

[Dandelion Girl]

I made these and they were great! I overcompensated and added a little too much spice, but they were still great. This came at a good time too because they had a BBQ lunch for us for Teacher Appreciation Week. The smell wasn't even tempting because I had these and they were much better than what everyone else was having. Thanks Auntie L!

Pam

[tvillemom]

I'm gonna make these to take on a weekend camping trip! Now I gotta do a search for that KFC coleslaw! Thanks for the recipe!
Wendi

[janicejourney]

Mine were tastey, but they were crumbly... my first recipe in the Dehydrator so most likely operator error... any advice on not having them crumble?

[Spectatrix]

Mine were tastey, but they were crumbly... my first recipe in the Dehydrator so most likely operator error... any advice on not having them crumble?
Perhaps you just dehydrated them too long? Was the mixture falling apart even before dehydrating it?

[janicejourney]

No, it was moist. It crumbles during many stages of the dehydration. I guess maybe I will make it thicker next time with some ground flax.

[RawFoodieMom]

This recipe sounds great. Have to try it after all these great reviews!!

For others who will want to search for the "KFC coleslaw" recipe, here's a link:

kfc coleslaw (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10490&highlight=coleslaw)

I'm going to make both, sounds like a great combo!

:)

[barbluv]

Hey Pam,

They're good huh? A word of caution...because these taste so good you can easily overdo it with these and that's just what I did and had a tummy ache! So just be sure to listen to your body signals and when it starts saying, "Okaaayy, that's about enough for now", put 'em away! :p

I'm pretty sure they will be done in time...I put mine in during the evening, turned them over a few hours later and by morning they were done.

I finally got the picture uploaded. It's the bars and coleslaw...

WHAT IS THE KFC COLDSLAW???

[Rawkinlocs]

No need to yell darlin' :) (all caps usually indicates yelling on the 'net)

Here it is...KFC coleslaw - http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1836&highlight=coleslaw

[rawpriestess]

Kentucy Fried Chicken coleslaw

[VibraTechJulie]

This will be my main course for the 4th of July. Wanted to bump it back up for some of the new folks to get this wonderful recipe!

Raw Blessings,
Julie

[rkbush]

Well, its only taken me two years to find this recipe, but OMG was it worth it! This has become my favorite snack! (Now I've just got to get my wife to visit her mother's so I can steal hers!) Absolutely wonderful!

Thank you!

[garden granny]

This sounds great, I can't wait to try it. ... I can't get the link to the kfc coleslaw to work, could someone post it, please?

[garden granny]

I ran to my kitchen and whipped this up, half is in the dehydrator, the other half I'm eating out of a bowl - it reminds me of Brunswick stew (I bet a little corn thrown in would be good for the stew) - it's got a great flavor very much like barbeque.