Almond Cinnamon Oatmeal

 

Almond Cinnamon Oatmeal

 

I just finished having almond oatmeal and it was delicious.  I have been vegan for over five years and I notice that I feel the best when I eat mostly raw vegan foods.  I do eat a few steamed veggies at night at times because they are a quick and healthy meal.  I have an old electric wok and I steam veggies like potatoes, cabbage, carrots, onions, and beans.  However, for all of my morning and midday meals, I eat as raw as possible.  This morning I had this wonderful oatmeal with hemp milk. The recipe is from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen. 

 

 

2 cups of oat groats, soaked overnight, and rinsed well

1/2 cup semi-soft pitted dates (I used medjool)

1 TBS ground cinnamon

2 TBS water

1/4 cup almonds

 

Put the soaked oats, dates, cinnamon, and water in a food processor and process until a texture similar to cooked oatmeal.  For a thinner consistency, add another 1/4 cup water.  (I did not do this.)

Then I added the almonds and pulsed a few times until the nuts were chopped a little bit. 

 

Makes four servings.  You can add drizzled maple syrup and any nut milk. The oatmeal should keep in the fridge for up to two days. 

 

Enjoy! 



My Breakfast - Latest Green Smoothie

I continue to make green smoothies from my mom's garden and fresh citrus. I have finally figured out how to make my smoothies so that they are not thick. It isn't rocket science and I should have figured it out before but the secret ingredient is filtered water. Here is my favorite recipe. Remember, if you want your drink sweeter, add more bananas or another raw sweetener.

1 small grapefruit (makes it a little more tart)

2 or 3 oranges

1 organic apple

1 banana

1 large handful of greens (about two cups) - I used radish tops, mustard, turnip, spinach (whatever you have on hand will work)

and the key ingredient: 2 cups of filtered water

Blend in Vitamix for a minute and serve COLD.

This recipe makes almost three quarts. I put two away for later and add ice to one and have for breakfast. Usually, I keep the other two for the next couple of mornings. They are great each morning cold for an early breakfast.

Energy Bars

Energy Bars

(Adapted from Green Energy Bars with Goji and Cacao from “Eating Raw”)

This recipe may be used as bars or rolled into balls. The bars are dehydrated and the balls are not so I decided to go with the balls. Here is my version of the recipe:

¾ cup almonds, soaked for one hour in purified water, then drained

1 cup dates, pitted, soaked for one hour in purified water, then drained

¼ cup sunflower seeds, soaked for one hour in purified water, then drained

¼ cup goji berries

¼ cup raw cacao nibs (or you may use cacao powder)

¼ cup tahini (or raw almond butter)

½ cup raisins, soaked for one hour in purified water, then drained

2 TB flax seeds, soaked for one hour in 1 TB of purified water

1 TB dark cocoa powder (not raw; may also use carob powder)

1 ½ tsp. Maca powder

1 tsp. Cinnamon

pinch cardamom

shredded coconut (unsweetened, raw)

Place almonds and dates in food processor and process with S blade until you have small chunks. Add to a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients except the coconut. Mix until well blended.

Roll into 2 inch balls and roll in coconut, then refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

May be used as a snack for high energy. Recipe makes 12 balls or bars. Approx. 195 calories per bar.   

Live Cashew Hummus

I love hummus and I wanted to make "raw" hummus so I found this recipe in EATING RAW.  I am amazed at the difference in raw cashews when they have been soaked for two hours.  The soaking of the cashews makes the hummus rich and creamy.  Here is the recipe.  I know you will love it!

2 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked at least two hours
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup raw tahini
1/4 cup cold pressed olive oil
1 medium clove garlic
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon (heaping) ground cumin
Pinch cayenne
1/2 cup water
1  1/2 teaspoons nama shoyu

Rinse and drain cashews well and add to the bowl of the food processor.  Add remaining ingredients and blend on high speed for 60 seconds.  If needed, add a little more water.

A listed variation, which I plan to try, is to use macadamia, brasil nuts, or hazelnuts for the cashews.

Focaccia

So far, I've been very pleased with each recipe that I've made from the book EATING RAW. This flat bread  is the live version of Italian flat bread.  I will be making this recipe a lot. The flavor is excellent!  The batter makes nine pieces.  You need a dehydrator for this recipe.  Each piece is 3x4 inches and may be stored in a fridge for up to five days.



1 cup flax seeds, ground fine
1 cup sunflower seeds, ground fine
2 cups of onions
1 1/2 cup tomato, chopped
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons nama shoyu
1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme

Using a food processor and the S Blade, process all ingredients (except only use 3 Tablespoons of the sesame seeds) on high until you have chunky batter.
Spread evenly over Teflex-lined dehydrator tray and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 12 hours, flip over without Teflex-lining and continue dehydrating for another 10 to 12 hours.
EXCELLENT!!!!

Cream of Tomato Soup

This afternoon I made this Cream of Tomato Soup from Raw Food Made Easy.
I really enjoyed the recipe, however, I will add more spices to it next time, for example, white pepper.  It was very good but I felt it needed a little "kick".

3 ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp crushed garlic (1 glove)
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 ripe avocado, chopped
1 TBS extra-virgin olive oil (cold pressed)
2 tsp minced fresh basil or 1/2 tsp dried

Place the tomatoes, water, garlic, onion powder, and salt in a blender and or food processor until smooth.  Add avocado and olive oil and blend again until smooth.  Add basil briefly, just to mix.  Serve immediately.  For a chilled soup, refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. 

Marinara Sauce over Zucchini Pasta

The lunch I made today is going to be one of my all time favorites. I was very excited to dive into one of my new non-cookbooks and so I started with "Raw Food Made Easy for one or two people" by Jennifer Cornbleet. This book appealed to me right away because you are able to experiment with recipes and see if you like them before making enough to feed an army. I can tell that I'm going to enjoy her recipes. The ingredients are familiar and most of the cooking directions are quick and easy. When I first looked at this recipe, however, I was not convinced that I would enjoy zucchini in the place of traditional pasta, but I was surprised to find that the zucchini absorbs the flavors of the marinara sauce and it was delicious. So, here is the new recipe that I made for a quick lunch. It was wonderful!

Marinara Sauce

In a food processor, combine the following ingredients and pulse until well blended:

1 ripe tomato
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
2 TBS extra-virgin olive oil (cold pressed)
1 TBS minced fresh basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp grushed garlic (1 clove)
1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp salt
Dash black pepper and cayenne

Makes two servings.

 This basil was from my garden.  I can still smell the basil in the kitchen.













This is the Marinara Sauce.  If you want more liquid, soak the sun dried tomatoes prior to blending for at least twenty minutes.

Zucchini Pasta

Peel the zucchini with a potato peeler removing all of the skin.  Then, hold the zucchini and create long ribbons or fettuccine by drawing the peel down all the sides until you reach the seeds and core.  Place in a bowl and serve with Marinara Sauce.

Thrive's Almond Flaxseed Burgers

Tonight, I made Thrive's Almond Flaxseed Burgers.

The photo to the left is the burgers after being cooked at 300 degrees for 35 minutes.  The option was to eat them raw or cook them at a low temperature.  For me, eating raw garlic bothers my stomach so I preferred to cook the burgers.  I thought they were very good raw, except for the overwhelming garlic taste.  When I make them again, I'll leave out the garlic and eat them raw.  I did enjoy them cooked and they reminded me of the crust on the Sun-dried Tomato Pizza that I made last night.  I read on another blog that a couple made the burgers and commented on how good they were but said they were VERY filling.  The recipe was to make two burgers; I made the ingredients into three burgers to decrease the size per serving. 
Here is the recipe:

Almond Flaxseed Burgers

2 cloves garlic (I used one)
1 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup ground flaxseed (I ground the whole flaxseed in a coffee grinder.)
2 TBS balsamic vinegar
2 TBS coconut oil
Sea salt to taste (I added 1/8 of a tsp)

Here is the photo of the burgers prior to cooking:

Brazier suggests topping with Black Bean Salsa and putting them in hamburger buns.  I ate them without any toppings since this was my first experience at this recipe. 

I personally liked them.  I just would not call them a burger; just burger shaped.  :-)

Dinner: Thrive Diet Style

Tonight, we made a few new items from the Thrive Diet.  The first item was Sweet Potato Oven Fries, using the recipe from the book entitled: Garlic Oregano Yam Oven Fries.  I wanted to try these fries without the added spices first, using only the coconut oil.  All of Brendan Brazier's recipes are either raw or cooked at 300 degrees or less.  For that reason, if you are cooking, you must allow extended time for cooking as lower temperatures take a bit longer than you may be used to.  Our variation was to shred the sweet potatoes then spread a little coconut oil into the bottom of the baking pan. Oven was preheated to 300 degrees.  We sprinkled the shredded sweet potatoes into the pan and cooked them for 35 minutes.  They were delicious. 

The reason I decided to make the oven fries was because I first wanted to make the Sweet Potato Sesame Pizza for dinner.  It was also cooked at the same time in the 300 degree oven.  The pizza has a crust which you make in the food processor. 

Crust:
1 cup of ground sesame seeds
1 cup of grated sweet potato
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1/4 cup coconut or hemp oil
1 TBS garlic
1 tsp dried basil
and sea salt to taste

Topping:

The topping was excellent.  It was his Spicy Sun-Dried Tomato Marinara Sauce.  1 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 cup water
1/2 cup grated cucumber
(I added 1/2 cup nutritional yeast for the cream-textured sauce)
3 TBS hemp oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp thyme
Sea salt to taste

Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in the water for 20 minutes.  Retain the water.  In the food processor press all of the ingredients, including the sun-dried tomatoes water, until desired consistency is reached.  Simmer for ten minutes. Add to top of pizza crust.
(In my photo of the pizza, you will see that I did not blend the toppings.  I thought it was great!)

Brazier explains that the term "pizza" is a loose one but it looks similar.  I thought it was very good.  I forgot the sea salt but will remember it next time.  I made half the recipe and I cut it into four quarters.

Hummus with Roasted Red Peppers

I am on a hummus kick, it seems, but I made another hummus recipe this afternoon and I loved it. It was completely different from the previous ones I've made. It is from "125 best Vegan Recipes" by Maxine Effenson Chuck and Beth Gurney.  The original recipe includes:

• 1 (14 to 19 oz) can chickpeas:  rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic
• half of a red roasted pepper, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt

My version of the above recipe: I used lemon squeezed from the plastic yellow lemon, 1/2 small jar of garlic seasoned Italian red peppers, the can of chickpeas, 1/4 cup tahini, 1 tsp of ground cumin, and 1/8 tsp of white pepper.  I left off the salt and the garlic was in the red roasted peppers.  I blended everything together in the food processor and let it blend until creamy.

Serve chilled.  Great on carrot and celery sticks.   

Potato Burritos

Last night, we made a great dinner of Potato Burritos.

Many years ago, I bought a cookbook by John and Mary McDougall.  It is called the New McDougall Cookbook. I've had it in my kitchen for well over 15 years.  Whenever I make a recipe for the first time, I always write the date that I made it and any modifications that I used.  I had written "Great" by the recipe and I made it in 1994.  Wow... time flies.  I decided to try it again because I happened to have all of the ingredients.  This recipe book cooks with no fats or oils, which is perfect for me after gallbladder surgery.  If you want to make it, I know you won't be disappointed.

PS.  No photo is included because this recipe did not stick around long enough. :-)

Potato Burritos

6 cups Chunky Enchilada Sauce (recipe below)
12 whole wheat tortillas or 12 to 14 soft corn tortillas
3 cups of mashed potatoes (recipe below)
1 cup chopped scallion (I did not use scallions)
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed (I used canned corn, rinsed)
One 4 oz can chopped green chilies

Preheat over to 350 degrees.
Spread one cup of the sauce over the bottom of a casserole dish.  Spread a line of potatoes down the center of each tortilla and sprinkle on some corn and/or green chilies.  Roll up and place, seam-side down, in the casserole.  Repeat until all of the ingredients are used.  Pour the remaining sauce over the tortillas.  Cover and bake for 30 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly.

Mashed Potatoes

12 medium potatoes peeled (I used red potatoes, unpeeled)
1/4 to 1/2 cup salsa

Chop the potatoes coarsely and place them in a saucepan with water to cover.  Cook until the potatoes are tender, 20 to 30 minutes.  Drain off the water, reserving at least two cups.  Mash the potatoes with a small amount of water until they are creamy.  (We used a food processor and they were perfect with one cup of the potato water.) Stir in 1/2 cup salsa, if desired.  (We did.)

Chunky Enchilada Sauce

Use this sauce to make bean or vegetable enchiladas.  Use as a topping for any Mexican-style rice or potato dishes.

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup water (we used potato water)
One 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
One 4 ounce can chopped green chilies
3 Tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 cups potato water (or regular if you are not cooking potatoes)
1 Tablespoon soy sauce (we used Bragg's)
3 Tablespoons cornstarch

Place the onion, garlic, and water in a large saucepan.  Cook, stirring for five minutes, until onions soften.  Add the tomatoes, chilies, and the spices.  Stir.  Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes.  Add one cup of the water and the soy sauce.  Mix the cornstarch in 1/2 cup cold water.  Add to the sauce while stirring.  Cook, stirring, until thickened.

A Hummus Recipe from Veganomicon

This is my hummus that I made last night from a recipe in Veganomicon, which is one of my main recipe books. I use it all the time.  I ordered the food processor, mentioned in an earlier post, and was very excited to use it.  Having just had gallbladder surgery, I was slow in getting started, however I wanted to try something new and my son enjoys hummus.  

Here is the recipe I used, which is cut in half in size from the original, with a few little additions:

1 15 ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup olive oil

1/8 cup fresh lemon juice

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1/8 cup water - adjust to your preferred thickness

1/4 cup chopped black olives

The following ingredients are to be adjusted by your taste:

Cumin

Salt

Pepper

Paprika (Hungarian Smoked) preferred

(Isa's original recipe is found on pg. 67 of Veganomicon)

Place half of the chickpeas in the food processor with the olive oil and pulse several times.  Then pulse until smooth.  Add all of the remaining ingredients, remembering to scrape the sides with a spatula.  

Since I did not want to eat any oil after my surgery, I only sampled it for seasonings.  It was great.  I did add more cumin than I did originally, and a little white pepper.  My son, who had two helpings, enjoyed it.  

The photo above shows the finished Hummus in a storage bowl.  Refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.