Simple Gourmet recipes..anyone?

[crazygirlmcc]

I don't have many ingredients, just want to try something new instead of plain salads and fruit. Just wondering how to get started on some new things that aren't too complicated. I still don't have a dehydrator, juicer, and i know nothing about soaking and sprouting. I am raw vegan.

[Eva]

Let us know what ingredients you have -- that will be a good start. :)

[crazygirlmcc]

grapes, apples, kiwi, banana, raisins
shredded cabbage and carrots, 1/2 head of lettuce
almonds sliced, walnuts, some pine nuts
sunflower kernels
sea salt

i used my last cucumber for breakfast making my "fancy" smoothie of cucumber apple and lettuce. i was planning on going out to get some romaine, more bananas, dried bananas, and some celery. maybe some strawberries. i would like to figure out how to make peanut butter to.

[Eva]

You can make a pate with the walnuts or sunseeds. If you have a blender or FP, you can pulse it. Just use about 2 parts nuts/seeds to 1 part carrots or other wet, moderately sweet veggie (like a bell pepper). The celery would be great too. Then add sea salt to taste, some apple cider vinegar to taste, and voila, once it's all blended up, you have a lovely pate. Just add whatever herbs that would work well if you have them around. :)

And you can dip veggies in that or scoop it on top of a salad to make it more filling and interesting...

[Eva]

If you have cinnamon, it's great on sliced apples. You could dice them and make a small sort of fruit salad with raisins, chopped apples, and cinnamon. Throw that on some green leaves with walnuts, and you'll have a lovely California salad.

[crazygirlmcc]

thank you eva, you're great. it will be nice to have a little variety. i didn't know there were so many fruits and veggies i never heard of. i'm nervous to make something and then not like it and waste. the SAD was expensive enough, healthy foods are unfairly over priced. i never heard the word pate before, this is all very new. i appreciate the help :)

[Eva]

You should be fine with what I suggested. Just make a small amount and taste test, adding more of one of the ingredients as needed.

Traditionally, a pate is just a sort of pureed meat with some herbs and other stuff in it. In the raw foodie's world, it's not quite a puree but instead has some texture. You just need to mix: some sort of nut or seed, something acidic like ACV or lemon/lime juice, some salt to taste, some sort of wet veggie that has a touch of sweetness to it (in my opinion, something like zucchini's not as good unless there are herbs like rosemary, thyme, basil, etc), and whatever herbs/spices you like. It works like a charm, just toss it all in the food processor or pulse in the blender and throw stuff in that seems it might be good.

The key is to have FUN and be BOLD... but with SMALL PORTIONS (just in case! haha).

You're in for a fun ride. Raw food is fun, as it should be, if you let it be. :)

[rayofsunshine]

There is a walnut taco meat recipe that is fantastic. It is very easy to make. You can search for it on this site. I don't have it written down as I just do a search when I need it. It would be great on your lettuce.

[crazygirlmcc]

Tonight I tried a meal i saw on youtube. I peeled apart a zuchinni for "fettuccini" then made a marinara with one tomato, 3 oz dried tomatoes, dried pitted date, olive oil, sea salt, oregano, and garlic. It was no good... way too much garlic, slimy veggies didn't imitate noodles like i hoped. I've got some figureing out to do. I imagine it's normal to screw it up the first time. I spent an hour getting the ingredients, fifteen minutes prep, and gagged down what i could b/c i couldnt flush the money down the drain. Maybe i'm better off simple and not gourmet. The one thing that's cool is i feel like a chef spending more time in the kitchen than ever before, never used a blender before, hardly peeled anything, and chopping is kinda fun. i'm just a bad chef :)

[Gittel]

You're not a bad chef, crazygirlmcc. It just takes a bit of time to adjust your palate to fresh, pure, raw food and to learn to adjust the seasonings. They don't "cook out" as in SAD food.

Hang in there. And RAWk on.
Gittel

[2 husky girl]

Also in regards to your 'slimy' vegetables, zucchini has a very high water content. Try blotting/squeezing out as much water with a paper towel before you add the sauce. Or, place the noodles between a few paper towels and put something heavy on top. This will really help get the water out, even if you only let it soak up for a few minutes. Don't give up, this meal is a staple for me! :-)

[crazygirlmcc]

Wow, I played in the kitchen for about an hour... not cuz it would take that long, but I'm so slow and picky. I made a salad and smoothie for dinner and am proud, feel so accomplished to be eating such great tasting food.

My salad dressing creation was a blend of 1.5cup Mac nuts, stalk of celery, 2 leaves romaine, water, evoo, sea salt, dash of garlic powder, handful almonds, 1/2 tsp honey, pine nuts, and sunflower seeds. Made a delicious flavor poured over lettuce with chopped cucumber and almond slices sprinkled on top. To drink it down I blended half a pineapple with 2 kiwi and some ice. YUM

So satisfying and gratifying. It is such a great feeling to raise your eyebrows and say mmm, i like it.

[jacsam]

You've got to watch Alissa's DVD.....you'll be amazed at how simple and quick the raw food dishes are that she demonstrates making.

[Eva]

Wow, I played in the kitchen for about an hour... not cuz it would take that long, but I'm so slow and picky. I made a salad and smoothie for dinner and am proud, feel so accomplished to be eating such great tasting food.

So satisfying and gratifying. It is such a great feeling to raise your eyebrows and say mmm, i like it.

Yay!! Good for you! :)

[crazygirlmcc]

You've got to watch Alissa's DVD.....you'll be amazed at how simple and quick the raw food dishes are that she demonstrates making.

I would love to but it is not in my budget right now to spend 30 on a book. I have been using the internet as my resource for recipes and ides so far. This site has been very helpful.

[rawstrength]

Have you tried banana ice cream? It is so simple - just one ingredient. If you have a food processor, take chopped frozen bananas and throw them in the food processor. Pulse, scrape down the sides, pulse some more, and you'll have banana soft serve ice cream. If you only have a blender, throw the bananas in the blender with a little water to make a more watery ice cream type drink.

[crazygirlmcc]

take chopped frozen bananas If you only have a blender, throw the bananas in the blender with a little water to make a more watery ice cream type drink.

mmm so i only have a blender but it does sound delish and doable, just wondering how to freeze the fruit correctly...peeled\unpeeled, sealed in container or freezer bag? I haven't frozen anything yet

[gritsnla]

crazy - I peel my bananas and put them in a ziploc in the freezer. Grab and blend. Good luck!

[rawstrength]

I peel and chop the bananas before freezing. They are rock hard when frozen, and impossible to peal and chop.