Bread and cracker frustrations!!

[rawnerino]

Hi everyone.

Overall raw is going well--2 months now and holding...feeling much better and more energetic and the only one in my family not sick with the flu, yay!!

I am having difficulty though making Alissa's Corn Tortillas/Chips amongst many other things in my dehydrator. It smells bad like sour cream, even though it dehydrates for less than 15 hours and it is nasty tasting when everyone here raves about it!

Rose Lee Calabro's better than baked bread does not turn out--I think that's because I need to spend big bucks and buy a good juice with a homogenizing plate...yikes!

The only thing I've had success with is Ani Pho's sesame seed bread, Carol Alt's simple flax crackers (a little boring but easy and reliable) and an apple bread--can't remember where I got this one.

I would really like to expand my repetoire of breads/crackers and waste less food in the trialing process!!! Help, and thanks in advance!

[StarFire]

I have used frozen sweet corn on occasion to make tortilla wraps and if you can find the frozen white corn... those make wonderful corn chips. Sometimes - corn that is cut off the cob can give a strange flavor to some of the foods along with an unusual texture....(I don't know why)... but well -- I just cannot afford to throw food away - so I cut corners here and there to make this LIFEstyle work for me -- I figure It's still a much wiser choice and healthier than the way I was eating a year ago!

the following recipe was posted by Time2Bloom4Me... and it's fabulous.... give it a try!!

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Corn Tortillias
By time2bloom4Me - RFT

3 1/2 cups of young coconut flesh
4 cups of corn, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup of agave nectar
dash of Pink Himmalyian salt
1 red onion minced fine in the food processor
1/8 cup of onion powder or to taste
1/8 cup of garlic powder or to taste
Optional 2 Tablespoons of nutrutional yeast. Adds a nice flavor and color.
1-2 cups H2O

Blend the young coconut flesh and frozen corn until mushy and smooth. Gradually add the water and blend until smooth and to make it a thin consistency that is spreadable without many lumps. I add agave nectar to bring out and intensify the corn flavor. Add salt to taste to resemble either tortillias (a lesser amount) (or corn chips, increase the amount slightly) Add the rest of the ingredients except onion. Fold in onion last. Spread thinly on the teflex sheets. Dehydrate about 4 hours or until you can peel and flip the tortillias over. Then dehydrate just a bit longer. Until dry, but not stiff. Makes 5 trays. Cut into wraps or round totillia strips. Serve with raw taco filling, guacamole, salsa, and raw spanish rice.

These keep very well and remain flexable stored in the refrigerator. I have had mine several months and they still taste fresh.

To make corn chips, add a little bit more salt and let it dry out a little bit longer until crisp. Break up into pieces and serve with salsa and guacamole. The chips keep well in tupperware and if become soft, can be made crisp again by placing in the dehydrator for about an hour or so.

If you want them to look like Doritos, then pipe them out with a flat wide cake decorating tip and dehydrate. The look great in a Mexican Salad.

For Authentic Taco Shells, dehydrate until plyable and cut them into a round shape using a small dish and place on a taco shell form and place back into the dehydrator until stiff.

The flavor can be varied by adding chipolte seasoning or cayenne. If you want BBQ chips add into the mix while blending BBQ seasonings.

I took this to a pot luck and everybody was shocked by how delicious, crisp, and the intense corn flavor in the chips.

Enjoy.

[iamacranberry]

From what I've heard, frozen veg are usually not raw, unfortunately. They tend to steam them before packaging them.

[StarFire]

From what I've heard, frozen veg are usually not raw, unfortunately. They tend to steam them before packaging them.

I've heard the same thing --- I do make concessions here and there in my personal journey. There are a couple of recipes in Alissas book that call for frozen corn rather than fresh off the cobb.

Initially - I hesitated - but then as I did some research - I discovered that the use of frozen vegetables seems to be a fairly widely accepted practice among many of the 'top Raw Food Gurus' today.

Plus -- the recommendation to freeze onion bread - or wraps or other items, even bananas and other fruit is also acceptable.

There are several opinions on this topic ... just like -- is maple syrup raw --- is honey raw -- is it an animal product cuz it's from bees... is agave raw...

???

A person can get really caught up in all of that -- and for me personally - I choose not to. What I am doing for my health now -- is so much better than what and how I was eating a year ago.... so --- (for me....) it's all good....

I do find it strange though -- how some people previously -- could eat a large pizza or MacDonalds and not blink an eye -- but when they go raw -- they get concerned about - are they eating too many nuts or avos ... or is it reallly raw???

I personally have had to shape this LIFEstyle to work with me ... or I would've fallen away a loooong time ago. So -- for me... if that means I use frozen corn and that will help me to make a much healthier choice overall.... then - I'll use the frozen corn....

the other concession I make - and have spoken openly about is that -- I cannot always afford to buy organic. I am on a very limited budget -- so -- I would rather buy something from the grocery store, wash it really well -- pray over it and eat healthy and raw to the best of my ability....
rather than have to make a choice of eating what might be a more affordable SAD meal.

That's the beauty of this journey.... our paths are as individual as each of us.

RAWk on!!!

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[Theogirl]

I am having difficulty though making Alissa's Corn Tortillas/Chips amongst many other things in my dehydrator. It smells bad like sour cream, even though it dehydrates for less than 15 hours and it is nasty tasting when everyone here raves about it!


I don't yet have a dehydrator and I have trouble with making crackery things in my oven. I try very hard not to have the temperature too hot, but below 200* the oven doesn't register, so I turn it on and off a lot. But then it takes several days for the stuff to "make" and by that time, it smells fermented! What a waste! I made some awesome flax with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, shredded celery and carrot crackers. The first batch was so tasty but the other pan was a little thicker and it took over a day longer, and had that sour taste, so I threw it out. I can't afford a dehydrator yet, but I do miss bread=like things once in awhile.

[SuzyQ]

Well said, Starfire! I completely agree. Besides, I have read that frozen food is harvested at the peak of freshness and then frozen, so nutritionally it can be good. Like she said, better than the garbage we used to eat! (I know that isn't what the thread started out as, but thought it was a good point.)

[StarFire]

Theogirl.... have you tried setting the oven on it's lowest setting -- and propping the door open slightly -- that's supposed to be very close to the temperature of the dehydrator.... that way you won't have to keep turning your oven on and off... it will have a consistant flow of heat and the open door will cause some air movement in the oven -- again -- (not exactly the same) but mildly similar to a dehydrator!....

hope that helps!

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[iamacranberry]

Well said, Starfire! I completely agree. Besides, I have read that frozen food is harvested at the peak of freshness and then frozen, so nutritionally it can be good. Like she said, better than the garbage we used to eat! (I know that isn't what the thread started out as, but thought it was a good point.)

All this is very true, and I agree with what you said. It's just some people don't know that frozen veg are often cooked before packaging, and as such some purists prefer to only use fresh. The frozen stuff is usually cheaper though! :)

[rawnerino]

Thanks Starfire.

You are so right! We are eating so much better than we used to so the last thing we need to focus on is exact temperatures and rules re: freezing. Let's focus on how great we feel!

Thanks for the recipe. I will try it, get back up on my horse and ride! I'm determined to get this dehydrator thing!

[iamacranberry]

I don't have necessarily a recipe that I use for crackers, but what I usually end up doing is drying out a mix of soaked flax seeds, sesame seeds, and buckwheat, with whatever spices (usually garlic, shoyu, etc) I have on hand.

[Betsy]

I remedied this problem by drying at 145 for 3 hours, then at 115 till done. The seeds still sprout!

[iamacranberry]

Awesome! I am guilty of the same, except I own no dehydrator and instead use my oven on the lowest setting with the door open...and same here, the seeds still sprout.