Alissa and Annie - NOT Julie and Julia

[joya]

Hi Annie :)

Just wanted to say, I've been following along too. This is a great thread. I might join every now and then, if that's okay. I recently got Alissa's cookbook, and have been working my way through it as well. So far I've made the Fettucini Alfredo, Collard Wraps, Alissa's Dressing, and the Banana Ice Cream. Next on tap is the Spicy Fries, and Broccoli Soup! I love to cook, and now I'm loving to un-cook.

[ReneeH]

Hey Annie!!!

I wanted to do the Pea Soup with you today, but my Peas went bad on me!!! I'll have to do it another time when I can get to the store and buy some more Peas!!! Let me know how you like it, though... I LOVE Alissa's Corn Chowder and here we're just replacing the Corn with Peas, so I'm sure I'll LOVE this one too.

Pop over to the Greenie & Friends thread and take a look at the bread I made!!! It's sooooo good!!!! :)

[anniez]

Renee, your breads look amazing! Why don't you post the link to that thread, so people can find your photos over there? You know, you're the one who got me started on this journey. Thank you!

And, Joya, welcome. Please do join us, and if you make any of the recipes let us know what you think. All opinions are welcomed!

There are lots of you lurking here, and that's great, but if any of you fix any of the food, please let us know what you think, too. This is great fun for me and I hope a lot of you are enjoying what I'm doing.

Yesterday was another good day for me.

Green Smoothie
Grapes
Banana Nut Drink
Creamy Pea Soup

I don't normally do nuts with fruit, but I am committed to fixing every recipe in the book, so I made the Banana Nut Drink. It was quite good, but it felt heavy to me. I have gotten pretty used to lighter food, but I know it's OK on occasion. I had made almond butter (there isn't a recipe in the book) back on Day 1. Also, I will only use 1/2 Tbsp carob next time. I'm not a big fan of carob and chocolate (I know - can you believe it!) and I think the drink needs some of it but I would like less. You might like all of it. The drink has a great flavor and I love Alissa's comment that it was hard to not put this recipe in the dessert section!

I used the last of my almond milk in the Creamy Pea Soup and it was really good! I love raw soups, and when I'm back in the cold weather I will warm them in the dehydrator. I'm in warm weather now, so the cold soups are quite refreshing. Raw soups are so easy, and the two I've fixed so far are really good.

Three recipes for today:

Angel Hair and Marinara Pg 395
Kale Salad Pg 456 to be eaten immediately
Marinated Greens Pg Pg 301 I wil use the rest of my kale for this. It has to set overnite, so I will have it to eat tomorrow.

As I mentioned earlier, I am halving most of the recipes. I am the only one eating this food, and some recipes don't keep well. However, today I will make the full recipe of the Marinara. I have made this before and it is delicious. Alissa uses it in several of her recipes, so I will freze what's left and have it ready to go. I got a big package of tomatoes for 99 cents at the market yesterday, and they need to be used in the next couple of days, so I will be doing some tomato recipes tomorrow, too.

Alissa says that the first time you make a recipe, make it exactly as written. This has been a firm rule for me for all the years I cooked, and now when I un-cook. I think we need to be fair to the author and follow their recipe first. Then, if you don't like something, you can vary it and make it your own. I will not be making any changes to the Marinara. It's awesome as Alissa has written it.

I want to encourage all of you to get Alissa's book. Not only are the recipes amazing and creative, but there is a wealth of information about eating raw. She's really done the work for us!

Have a great day!

Annie

[Green_Woman]

This is such a fun idea, ladies!! Now I need to make some corn chowder.

[smasty]

I think Alissa's marinara is the best I've ever had...cooked or uncooked. Great idea to freeze it!

[anniez]

Good morning! Busy day today so I need to get an early start.

Greenie, let us know what you think about the corn chowder. I love it.

Sue, I agree with you about the marinara. It is delicious and I like it so much better than any cooked sauce I ever had.

Frankly, I would find it hard to go back to SAD because I love raw food so much. For any newbies that are along for the ride, I just want to say to hang in there, because the results are SO worth it.

OK, for yesterday

Green Smoothie

Dr. Doug's Shake Pg 537 (Recipe #11) I didn't have this in my plan, but I realized I had some bananas that needed to be used or frozen, so I used 3 of them with 1/2 cup water and 1/2 stalk celery to make the shake. It was really good, very filling, and very refreshing.

Kale Salad (Recipe # 12) Alissa says everyone raves about this salad, and even kale non-lovers like it. I saw this as a real challenge because I am not a kale lover. The only way I have found that I like it is as chips. But, true to her word, this recipe turned me around. I really liked it. It will be a staple. I know kale is really good for us and have struggled to eat it.

Marinated Greens (Recipe #13) I used the other half of my kale for this. I haven't tried it yet, because it needs to marinate overnight. It is waiting in the fridge for lunch. I will report on this tomorrow.

Angel Hair Pasta and Marinara (Recipe #14, and #15) The marinara recipe is given by itself and with the pasta so I got two for one here. This recipe is not new to me, so I made the full recipe. I used some for the pasta yesterday, saved some to use today, and froze the rest. Yay, I'm getting a freezer stash going!

For Today:

Recipe #16 Gnocchi Pg 385 This recipe calls for the marinara, which I made yesterday. The filling needs to sit for 6-8 hours. It may not need that long, because it's pretty warm here, but I'll make it early and keep an eye on it. This recipe sounds really good to me, because I love avo and the marinara, so I'm betting it'll be another keeper.

Recipe #17 Nori Rolls I have some nori left from the rolled nori crackers, and will use some of it here.

Off to the kitchen............

Annie

[smasty]

Annie...you say you don't like kale but you like the kale chips. I tried making them once and they stunk up the house terrible!! They smelled and tasted like poo to me. But everyone raves about them so much. Maybe I should try it again...but a much smaller amount. What is your method for chips? Thanks!
Sue

[anniez]

Here I am with one week down. Don’t know how many it will take me to finish, but I do think I’ll be sorry when I’m done because I’m having so much fun!

Sue, I use a cheese (try Alissa’s nacho cheese) and squish it all together really well. Then I dehyd. I haven’t tried Alissa’s nacho cheese yet, but when I do I will do this with some of it. Try it and let us know. I keep snacking on it all day as it dehydrates, so there isn’t much left when it’s done! But what is left I keep refrigerated.

On to yesterday. First, I forgot to mention that the Kale Salad says to shred the kale. I wasn’t real sure if that meant food processor or what , so here is what I did: I stacked the leaves on top of each other, rolled them as tightly as I could, and cut them into thin strips. Worked beautifully. (I learned this on the Food Network, it’s called a chiffonade. My husband thinks it’s hysterical that I, who eat only raw, living food, watch the Food Network. But I learn lots of good stuff about knife skills on there. ) Made for a pretty-looking salad.

The Marinated Greens made with kale are really good! I didn’t finish them, so I’ll let you know if they’re still good tomorrow. After only one week, I have found two new ways to eat kale, something that I wasn’t real crazy about. Yay! And with the kale chips, that gives me three great kale recipes. I made kale recipes two days in a row because I only used half of the bunch for each recipe.

The Gnocchi: Wow was this good. Kinda hard to go wrong if you like avo and the marinara. I was a little unsure about the Cream Cheese because it’s only macadamias and water. Freshly made, it didn’t have much flavor. Even half a recipe made a lot, so I kept out some for the Gnocchi, then I added some leek to the remainder and refrigerated it. I really wish I had some dehydrated bread or crackers (Renee, where are you when I need you?) Also, Alissa says the Cream Cheese is good with the Banana Bread, so I froze some and will let you know if it works. Hope so, so I’ll have it for the Banana Bread when I make it again. Anyway, it developed some flavor as it sat. This dish felt really heavy to me and I wasn’t able to eat a lot of it. I anticipated that, so I didn’t make a lot. I don’t know if this would keep or not. Normally avo doesn’t keep, but if it’s completely covered with the marinara, it might. You want the biggest avos you can find, because it will be easier to make the balls. These go together pretty quickly once you get going. You will want to make the marinara and cream cheese ahead, and then prepare your avo once you are ready to eat. And they are GOOD! Another keeper recipe! If any of you try this, will you keep at least one for a day, totally covered with the marinara and see if the avo keeps. It would be great for a raw potluck, but I don’t know if it would keep long enough. I ate it right away!

The Nori Rolls: I was surprised at how good these were. But I had trouble eating them because the cauliflower kept falling out. I used carrot and cuke strips along with the avo. I wonder if it would be better to mash the avo into the cauli and spread that on the nori as a filling, then put the veggie strips. If you’ve made these, please clue me in! This recipe will be a keeper, but I need to figure out something to do with the cauli, since it doesn’t stick together like rice does. I used Nama Shoyu for a dipping sauce as suggested. (I really love Nama Shoyu!)

For today:
Recipe 18 : Pear, Beet, Jicima Salad Pg 453 with
Recipe 19: Honey Mustard Salad Dressing Pg 479
I’m very much looking forward to trying this, since all three of these are ingredients that I really like, so I can’t imagine that I won’t just love it.
Are any of you trying some of these recipes? If you are, please give us an evaluation. I am surely finding a lot of keepers!

Happy un-cooking!

Annie

[ReneeH]

Hi Annie!!! My computer's been tempermental today!!! It wouldn't sign in to this site!!! I thought the site was "down" and I was gonna LOSE IT!!!! :)

Hey, which Kale did you not like? I use 2 different kinds...the Green Kale (looks "flowerly") for Kale Chips, and Dino Kale (Long and slim...looks like Dinosaur "scales") for the Marinated Kale. When I made it with the Green Kale, I didn't like it. When I used Dino Kale, you couldn't get the fork out of my hands!!!!

It's been a busy work week for me...haven't made much... I do have some Eggplant Bacon in the Dehydrator, though. I'm loaded up on RAW goodies, so just gonna "chill" for a while and eat what I have. I bought some Shittake Mushrooms, so I'll probably make something with those later so that they don't go bad on me. Not really in the mood to "un-cook" anything today. I still have 4 Calzones in the Freezer...(I ate one for lunch today with a Salad).

Annie, did you make Alissa's Jicama Potato Salad? It's WONDERFUL!!! I have photos of it on my other thread (the 30 day thread)...

I'm not too crazy about the Califlower in the Nori... I like the Jicama/Pine Nut "Rice" mixture better in Raw Food Real World. There's a thread on Suchi that you should take a look at. Someone suggested taking Alissa's Not Tuna Pate and putting it inside the Nori!!! It looks GREAT and I'm Gonna Try that!!! She put photos on the thread, too!!! My photos are there, also...

Annie, you're doing so well!!! I'm so proud of you!!! Keep up the GREAT UNCOOKING!!!!

Hugs,
Nee'

[gingincal]

Keep up the great work, Annie! Alissa's book is one of my faves. I'm enjoying your journey through it.

[smasty]

I like the Food Network too! And Top Chef is one of my favorite shows (on Bravo)!! Hey...if you watch Top Chef, the teaser for next week (Wed) seems to imply a RAW challenge!!? Did anyone else pick up on that? Natalie Portman is the guest judge...is she raw? If so, then yep...it's a raw challenge. One of the contestants on the show has had cancer and eats a lot of raw, so she mentioned that the challenge was right up her ally.

[anniez]

Renee, I think the site WAS down, because I couldn’t get on either. Thanks for the info on kale. I’m not sure which kind I have been using, but everything I have made has been with the same kind of kale. I had not eaten kale in my entire life until I went raw! Grew up in the Midwest and it wasn’t a green we ate. I haven’t made Alissa’s Potato Salad yet, but, of course it is somewhere there in the future! I like the idea of Not Tuna Pate in the nori. I have made that before and like it!

Gingincal, thanks for posting and let me know you’re there.

Sue, yes, I watch Top Chef and am excited to know there may be a raw challenge coming up! The contestant who had cancer (Robin) intimated she healed with raw food, but I may be reading that into what she said.
OK, on with business: I have an idea about the nori rolls: I wish I had thought to use some of the leek flavored cream cheese. If the cauli was mixed into that, I think it would be perfect!

Wow! Yesterday was truly awesome rawsome food! The Pear Beet Jicima Salad and Honey Mustard Dressing were amazing! The salad dressing is really, really good, and I will not be halving the recipe next time! I wish I had thought of this ahead of time, but I would have liked to try and marinate some beet and jicima in the dressing. I bet it would be super the next day. As I was making the salad, Ina Garten was on Food Network and she said the prettiest salads have ingredients all the same size, so instead of chopping the jicima and pear, I julienned them. It was really pretty, and delicious. And I have some candied walnuts that I had dehydrated previously, so I used them. Really good. I need to add that I didn’t have dried mustard powder, so I used some of the “Yellow stuff.” I know, I know…….

OK, for today:
Recipe # 20 Mashed Potatoes and Mushroom Gravy Pg 289 I still have some cauliflower, so will finish up this head today.

That’s all I will make today, since I have some leftovers that won’t freeze. Plus, I need a day without nuts or avo. And, I have a very busy day and not much kitchen time.

Thanks for going on this ride with me!

Annie

[anniez]

Day 10
Is anybody there? Have you all abandoned me?

Well, after yesterday I have the first dishes for my Raw Thanksgiving menu: Mashed Potatoes and Mushrom Gravy. Used portobellos and this dish is amazing! I thought the cauliflower would taste like cauliflower, but it has just a hint of a cauliflower taste, and the gravy looks deep and rich and tastes as rich as it looks!

I’m very tired and I really have no appetite today – I think it’s from all these days of fixing lots of recipes, some of which are pretty rich. So, I am doing a fruit fast today. My body is telling me something, because nothing but fruit sounds good to me. But I can do a fruit fast and make:

Recipe #21 Apple Sauce

I’ll still only make a half recipe, but if I want more I’ll make another half.

I hope somebody is out there!

Annie

[ReneeH]

Day 10
Is anybody there? Have you all abandoned me?

I hope somebody is out there!

Annie....BREATHE!!!!! We're still here!!! I had a busy day, with Service and all...

Here's my pix of Alissa's Apple Sauce:



This really is GREAT!!! And, so simple to make!!! I wish that I had this recipe when my kids were little!!! I wish that I had never given them cooked food!!! But, alas...gotta work with what I'm given! I'm just glad I found RAW NOW...!!!

Don't worry Annie!!! I'm still here for you... But, on days that I work, I will have to post later in the day...

[anniez]

Thanks for checking in, Renee, and thanks for the photo. I, too, wish I had discovered living food long ago. But probably the time wasn’t right then, and now it is. It sounds like you are doing a great job of getting your kids into more raw food. By the time they’re teen-agers I bet they’ll be high raw, if not 100%. You are setting an excellent example for them. My family is a bummer for me, though, because in spite of all my progress health-wise and weight-wise, no one is at all interested! So, I continue to cook SAD for hubby, but am making sure he gets some fresh fruit every day and a salad every evening! Baby steps!

I’m feeling better today. I did only have fruit yesterday, and loved the applesauce. But I was feeling really lazy, so I just ate some more apples instead of making more sauce. My problem with fruit recipes is that I just love fresh fruit – unadulterated!

Today I need to be using some leftovers – portobellos and jicima. So I am making:

Recipe 22 Marinated Portobellos in Ginger Vinaigrette P 295

Recipe 23 Spicy Fries Pg 302

Recipe 24 Tomato Mushroom Basil Salad Pg 450 (I still have some basil in the garden!)

I’m going start some buckwheat sprouting so I can make a buckwheat recipe. Any suggestions as to which one to do first? C’mon, let me have some input.

Also, I’m going to dehydrate some tomatoes and maybe make some more marinara to freeze – if I don’t run out of time! I am getting beautiful tomatoes for really cheap right now, so I want to take advantage of them. One of my favorite things with tomato is to slice a couple and slice an avo and sprinkle with a little Pink Himalayan salt. Yum! Quick, easy, and satisfying. The avo makes it stick with me!

Well, off to make my smoothie.

Annie