Prep Questions...

[RWB]

I bought what I could from the store just now, to make some of that chilli, but I don't know how to cool really and want to be sure I do it right.

It says to chop up some leek, so I chop up the entire thing? White and green parts? Do I soak it in water? Or just clean it? Any special way of cleaning?

For chopping in general... just tiny peices or is there a general size?

Ohh and I see mentioned "soaking" alot. Does that just mean soaking in room temp water, or boiling water?

No, I am no big time cook. I've pretty much done things by ear, if it doesn't make me sick I did it well enough :D Chicken, eggs, hot dogs, etc... NEVER veggies or anything before, so I am a bit stumped ;)

[RWB]

Also, I am lost on the avacadoes, they are green with some sort of hard center right? Do I chop up the whole thing, just the center, or just the outsides?

[sweetgoddess]

Hi RWB.

I wondered too when I made this about the leeks, as I had never used them before. I just ended up using the green part and a teeny bitof the white ( after chopping a bit of the top and bottom off and discarding, like a green onion) I washed it under running water.

I chopped up the pieces of veggies into bite-sized pieces..like maybe the size of my fingernail.

Soaking is in room-temp water--NOt boiling!
Maybe someone will enlighten us about leeks!
So wonderful you are making this change. Hope this helped a little bit and the chili turns out yummy for you. Let us know how you make out!

Best wishes!
Carmel

[sweetgoddess]

oh-the avacado....I either slice it in half. remove the pit and scoop out the green flesh..or I peel off the skin and cut off all the green flesh.

[Mieke Benton]

I do not know what recepie you are talking about, but I am used to eat a lot of leeks when I was living in Beligum.
You just cut off the roots and cut up all the white, the white is much softer.
You can also eat the green of course but you will notice that it is tougher.
What recepie are you talking about?

[RWB]

Thanks for the help! :D
What about the red pepper, anything I need to leave out? The stem for example?

[RWB]

I do not know what recepie you are talking about, but I am used to eat a lot of leeks when I was living in Beligum.
You just cut off the roots and cut up all the white, the white is much softer.
You can also eat the green of course but you will notice that it is tougher.
What recepie are you talking about?


This one...
http://rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1231

[RWB]

oh-the avacado....I either slice it in half. remove the pit and scoop out the green flesh..or I peel off the skin and cut off all the green flesh.

So neither the think outside flesh, nor the inside hard peice is what you use? Just the soft green middle area?

[Mieke Benton]

Yes, just the soft green middle area.

Thanks for the recepie, I will try it later.
Today I will try out the butternut squash soup from the new book I just bought in Powells bookstore in Portland this weekend.
The book "RAW". I think it is the most interesting recepie book I have seen.
I am all excited. When I tried out some recepies, I will share some.

[Sharon in Colorado]

The best thing to do with the leek, is to snip off the root end (just where the roots come out) and snip off the green part, which is tough. Then chop up the white part. Then place it in a large bowl of cool water and swish it around a lot because there will be dirt in there from where it grew up. Then remove the leek from the bowl of water with a slotted spoon or your hands. You will see all the dirt has settled to the bottom of the bowl. That is the best way to clean things like lettuces and green veggies that grow up out of the ground and collect a lot of soil.

The red pepper - the best way to cut this is in half lengthwise right through the stem. Then grab the stems out with your hand. Just pull it right off. Most of the seeds should come out along with it. The seeds won't harm you, but you can brush them off if you want to.

The avocado is ripe when the skin yields to slight pressure. You definately don't want it if it's hard as a rock or really squishy. It should feel like a ripe peach - just a little pressure. Run the knife all around it lenthwise and twist it open. Use the knife to score lines thorugh the flesh without cutting though the other side of the skin, make a tic-tac-toe type of pattern repeatedly and then scoop out your cubes with a large spoon, going along the skin's inside to make sure you remove all the flesh. Whack your knife into the pit until it catches and then twist your knife to remove the pit. Score the other side just like the first one.

Hope that helps.

[sweetgoddess]

ah perfect description Sharon!

[RWB]

ah perfect description Sharon!

Yes it is... and is exactly what I wound up doing too!!! haha Thanks everyone...

Ohh, BTW is this supposed to get cooked? I don't see any directions for cooking, except for a dehydration period, which I have no dehydrator or anything.

[sweetgoddess]

nope-no cooked. it is raw,living, uncooked chili! You could warm it a bit in a dehydrator.but it is not at all necessary.

Bon appetite and way to go!!

[RWB]

I'm a bit lost, I've been slicing and dicing, yet I cannot see how this will be a chilli. It looks like a pot of vegetibles, and that's all. What am I doing wrong? I read somewhere that it's supposed to turn out a wierd brownish color or something.

[RWB]

I blended it all up and it's really soupy! It's actually more like a spicy nacho dip type food. Wish I had some chips right about now. Or a dehydrator so I could make some of my own.

[Sharon in Colorado]

What about the sauce? Did you make the sauce in the blender? You're supposed to chop up all the veggies and mix it up with the sauce.

[RWB]

What about the sauce? Did you make the sauce in the blender? You're supposed to chop up all the veggies and mix it up with the sauce.

Umm... what sauce?

[JustMe]

The first list of ingredients were to be just chopped and the second list of ingredients were to be blended up in a food processor or blender. That is the sauce. and then you took the sauce and mixed it with the chopped veggies.

[RWB]

The first list of ingredients were to be just chopped and the second list of ingredients were to be blended up in a food processor or blender. That is the sauce. and then you took the sauce and mixed it with the chopped veggies.

Ahh well, I blended it all together. It's no chilli, but it's pretty good. Next time I make some, I'll have to have some tortilla chips handy :D

[JustMe]

:D See learning and getting creativity for raw at the same time