Alissa and Annie - NOT Julie and Julia

[anniez]

I've been really inspired by Renee and her 60 Days commitment, and now by Greenie and her 90 Days (on the Diet area of Raw Food Talk). So, I've decided to un-cook my way through Alissa's book! I intend to try at least one recipe a day. I know there will be days when I won't be able to do it (life has a way of interfering with my plans sometimes), but that's the intention.

I won't be starting with the first recipe and working through, because I want to be sure I don't have too many nut recipes in a row. I'm used to eating pretty simply, and don't want to sabotage my weight loss. Also, I like to use chia and hemp because they are such "super" foods, and Alissa doesn't use either of those - or at least not that I've seen.

I will post the recipe I intend to make for the day, and then will give my evaluation of it the next day. Unfortunately, I can't post photos. (At age 66 I can't bear the thought of trying to master a digital camera.....I have enough trouble making my way around this forum!) Anybody with camera skills who will join me and post photos?

I am certainly open to suggestions for a recipe of the day, so if there's something you've been wanting to try, speak up.

OK, for today:

Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms - Pg 289
Almond Milk - Pg 535 (need this for the next recipe)
Waldorf Salad - Pg 449

Well, if I'm going to do this, I better get myself to the supermarket and get busy!

Hope you'll join me!

Annie

[Aleesha Sattva]

great idea Annie... I look forward to reading about your journey!

[revdrcyn]

Awesome idea! Btw, do you have children or grandchildren who might help with the photos?

[Moretta]

So excited and can't wait to follow your journey.

[soulstar]

Hi Annie,

I also think this is a great idea. There was something so special and amazingly inspiring about Renee's 60 Day shared journey of uncooking from ALissa's Living on Live Foods book. It brought so many of the recipes to life. Now when I look through her book, the recipes jump off of the page, because I have heard so much more about them from Renee. Her photos were fabulous, too.;)

It's funny how easy it is to get stuck in a rut and make the same handful of recipes over and over and over....

I have already made several recipes from ALissa's book, thanks to Renee's inspiration, that I had always thought would be way too complex for my simple uncooking style. I can't wait to be inspired by your experience as well.

Have a great time, I know you will!
Elena

[ReneeH]

Thanks you guys so much for the compliments!!!

Annie, I'm gonna hop on your wagon too!!! The recipes that you make that I HAVEN'T made, I'll make and post a photo for you!!! I'll let you lead, though... I'll just follow behind you!!! :)

I've made the Pesto Mushrooms and Almond Milk before. But, I haven't made the Waldorf Salad!!! So, I'll plan to make that today!!!

[anniez]

First, no, the kids and grands are too far away to help with photos.

OK, yesterday was an amazing success. BTW: I am halving all of the recipes.

I made the Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms, pg 289 first because they had to spend some time in the dehyd. Quick and easy and really good. Didn't look so great, but tasted good. I had some left and will pop them in dehyd to warm up. Also, I will use less oil next time because the stuffing was pretty oily and a lot of it pooled in the bottom of the bowl and I left it there.

Waldorf Salad Pg 449, Almond Milk, Pg 535, Mayo Pg 323
Renee mentioned in one of her posts that she made several recipes without washing the blender, and I decided to plan ahead for this recipe.

Because I was going to be processing a lot of almonds, I started off making almond butter in the blender. I will need the almond butter for some recipes later. Then I made the almond milk. (I dehydrated the almond meal to use later.) I left enough almond milk in the blender to make the mayo, then left enough mayo in the blender to make the dressing. Whew! By the time I got to this point, the blender was a whiz to clean!

I chopped up the salad ingredients, added the dressing, and wow, this is seriously good stuff!

I have mushrooms and salad left, so today I am only making the Rolled Nori Crackers on Pg 349.

I have some almond milk, and mayo left, so today I will find ways to use them and will let you know what I've done.

I'm having a lots of fun planning, prepping and eating! Anybody along for the ride?

Thanks, Renee and Greenie, for the inspiration.

Annie

[anniez]

Thanks you guys so much for the compliments!!!

Annie, I'm gonna hop on your wagon too!!! The recipes that you make that I HAVEN'T made, I'll make and post a photo for you!!! I'll let you lead, though... I'll just follow behind you!!! :)

I've made the Pesto Mushrooms and Almond Milk before. But, I haven't made the Waldorf Salad!!! So, I'll plan to make that today!!!

Hey, Renee! We were both posting at the same time, so I just saw your post. Hooray! Photos. A collaborative effort!

You will love the Waldorf Salad! So will your kids.

Thanks for coming along with me!

Annie

[ReneeH]

Well, here's my Waldorf Salad! It's good...o.k... Not one of my favorites, but good. My kids didn't like it, so not sure I'll make it again, though...

[anniez]

I'm on to Day 3 and Recipe 6 from Alissa's Book.

Renee, thanks for the photo of the Waldorf Salad. I'm sorry you weren't as crazy about it as I am! I really love it, but maybe it's because I grew up on Waldorf Salad. My mom made it year round, and it will be a staple recipe for me! It was also quite good on the 2nd day.

Yesterday I made the Rolled Nori Crackers and they are still dehydrating, but I can tell that this is a recipe I won't be making again. First, they are kind of labor intensive, what with rolling each one individually. Frankly, I don't want to go to all that work for just me. I'm not sure I made them correctly. The recipe says to cut the nori sheet in half, and I cut them in half horizontally, but maybe they were meant to be cut vertically. But if they were cut vertically, that would make them really thin. Also, the recipe says to use 2 Tbsp of filling per nori sheet, but that was way too much for the size of my nori - I wound up using about 3/4 Tbsp. I've tasted a couple of them, and I'm not loving them! There is so much food that I do really love, that I don't want to waste appetite on something I'm not so crazy about!

Today I need to use some of my leftovers, so I'm making Corn Chowder on Pg. 356. This will use some almond milk and some avo left from Day 1. I'll have it with some of the Rolled Nori Crackers. I have some leftover Mayo and I'll use that as a dip for some raw veggies - celery, carrots and bell peppers.

I'm having fun on this ride!

Annie

[ReneeH]

WOW!!! What a DIFFERENCE a DAY makes!!! I let my Waldorf Salad marinate overnite and BAM!!!! The flavors came together and it's DELICIOUS!!!! SOOOO much better today!!!! O.k., NOW I see what you're talking about!!!!

Yea, I wasn't crazy about the Nori crackers either... the funny thing is, after a while, they kinda "grew" on me and I started to "crave" them!!!! I haven't made them again, but I STILL remember the taste of them! That Nori is SOMETHIN' ELSE!!! It REALLY stays with you!!!

Alissa's Corn Chowder is one of my Favorites!!! My kids ASK for it!!! You'll probably LOVE that!!! I like to put it in the dehydrator and warm it up...or you could microwave the bowl for 30 seconds or so, then AFTER the bowl is warm, pour the Corn Chowder in it...it warms FAST!!!



That's a good idea with the Mayo Dip!!! I'll take some with me to work with some Carrots/Celery and try that!!! Thanks for the tip!!!

[anniez]

A big thanks, Renee, for the photo. Yes, the Corn Chowder was amazing! I would say it's a definite warmer weather dish, though, so those of you in the colder weather might want to wait until next summer. Since the fresh corn season is about finished, I might try it with frozen organic corn. Any opinions on using frozen veggies. I know it's not optimal, since they've been blanched, but I'm wondering if you think it's acceptable on occasion. I know there's at least one recipe in the book that calls for frozen corn.

And I'm glad you wound up liking the Waldorf Salad. I thought it was really good on the 2nd day, too. I left some for the 2nd day on purpose to see if it would be good, and now that I know it keeps, I will make a larger quantity.

OK, for today:

Oranges

Skin Repair Juice P 543

I still have some mayo left and think it probably needs to be used today, so I will be making "Eggless Salad." This has become one of my staples. I got the recipe on this board and I really like it. So, since it's not in the book, I am using the mayo as the base, and I will add lots of chopped cauliflower and celery, and eat it rolled in romaine leaves. When I started this process of un-cooking every recipe in Alissa's book, I thought a lot of my favorites would be on hiatus for the duration, so I'm really glad I thought of this way to use the last of the mayo.

I love the challenge I've set for myself because telling all of you what I'm doing is keeping me accountable. Also, I'm having to get more creative than I usually do, since I need to be using leftovers and telling you how I'm doing it.

Also, the recipe for the filling for Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms is also given in the book as Gus's Pesto, so I'm on recipe 8 with the Skin Repair Juice.

Have a great day!

Annie

[ReneeH]

Hey Annie!!!

I made 3 of Alissa's Breads today: Zucchini, Carrot/Raisin, and Banana Nut!!! I haven't made the Skin Repair Juice, so I'll see if I have the ingredients and if I do I'll make it before I go to work tonight and post a photo for you!

I've only had fruit today so far...Gonna have a smoothie on the way to work and take something with me for my trip!

You're doing GREAT!!! I'm so Proud of you!!! Keep making the more simplier recipes the way that you're doing so that you can ease into making the more complicated ones!!!

GO ON Girl!!!!

Hugs,
Nee'

[smasty]

It's awesome you guys are doing this! I'm following along every day. I have a bajillion raw cookbooks, so I've only made a few of Alissa's items.
Sue

[anniez]

Thanks for the encouragement, Renee. I'm really having fun and I appreciate your help with photos.

Sue, why don't you join us? Alissa's recipes are so good! I, too, have a lot of raw food books, but I am having a lot of fun working from just one. I have 2 copies of Alissa's book because I have 2 homes, and when I came to the winter home and was following Renee's thread, I realized I had to have Alissa's book for this home, too.

I am staying with the simple recipes because I am opening this home for the winter and pretty preoccupied with that. Probably in another week I'll have more time for food prep.

OK, yesterday:

Oranges
Green Smoothie
Skin Repair Juice
Eggless Egg Salad made with leftover mayo

My post from yesterday details the Eggless Egg Salad, which isn't in the book but I used leftover mayo. Yesterday was really the last day to use the mayo - it was close to being done for. 4 days is really the outside limits for it - it was still really good on Day 3, though. I also added the other half of the red pepper left from the Skin Repair Juice.

Skin Repair Juice - this was OK, I didn't really love it like I do most juices. I juiced the cuke with the peel on and wonder if I should have peeled it. I will definitely try it again, though. Does anybody have an opinion about cuke peel when juicing?

Today I still have some almond milk that I need to use up, so I have chosen the Recipes for today with that in mind.

Recipe 9 Creamy Pea Soup Pg 357

Recipe 10 Banana Nut Drink Pg 539

I am a real fan of soups, and will be sorry when I've worked my way through all of those recipes.

I'd really like to hear from someone about cuke peel.

Till tomorrow,

Annie