Summer in March...

Raw lasagna, kale salad and carob truffles.

and I'm eating outside!  BLISS!  Nothing better than dinner in the warm, breezy backyard at 6pm.  Claire and I took full advantage of the warmth yesterday evening and made a gorgeous, Spring-y meal.  Raw lasagna, kale salad and carob truffles.  I'm so busy doing things most of the time that I rarely sit for a consciously-prepared meal.  It's usually a salad thrown together on the fly, or a hastily blended smoothie, so it was a real treat to slow down and prepare something like this!

Oddly enough, this was my first attempt to make raw lasagna.  I think it turned out pretty well, especially considering I wasn't following a recipe.

Raw Lasagna recipe

• 1 zucchini, sliced horizontally into this strips
• 1/2 cup of tomato sauce (recipe below)
• 1/4 cup 'rawcotta' cheese (recipe below)
• a large handful of spinach leaves
• 1/2 avocado, thinly sliced
• chopped fresh dill or basil to garnish (optional)

To begin, make a square layer of zucchini strips.  Cover with a layer of spinach, then a layer of tomato sauce, then a layer of cheese, then another layer of zucchini... etcetera, etcetera.  You can really layer the ingredients in any order you like.  Don't feel oppressed by instructions.  Stick it to the man.  Break free!  :)  When it's all layered up, stick it in the dehydrator for 10 minutes at 145℉, just to warm it up.  Enjoy!

***

Tomato Sauce recipe

• 2 ripe tomatoes
• 1 tbs. olive oil
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3-5 drops liquid stevia
• 2 tsp. dried basil, or about 10 large fresh basil leaves

Combine in blender and blend until smooth.

***

'Rawcotta' recipe
Disclaimer: this is almost nothing like ricotta cheese, but it is delicious!

•  1/2 cup macadamia nuts
• 2 tbs. hemp seeds
• 1 large clove of garlic, pressed
• 1 tbs. olive oil
• 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1-2 tsp. salt
• dash of black pepper

Put macadamia nuts in a food processor and process until crumbly.  Add other ingredients and process to a paste.

***

Carob Truffle recipe

• 1/2 cup carob powder
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 15-25 drops liquid stevia
• 1 tsp. salt

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until doughy, then form into balls.  A note on carob: IT IS DELICIOUS.  I love chocolate/cacao, but it's really hard on my body and drives me completely bonkers, prevents me from sleeping and one time, memorably, caused me to lose consciousness in the shower.  Good times.  I almost never eat chocolate now, and I actually prefer carob!

Claire made the kale salad, and it was beautiful. 

Yummmm.

All in all, a wonderful meal.  I can't wait to have more in the future!

In love and gratitude,
Mada

(Happy Spring!)

Cha cha chiaaaaaaa

So, the Willimantic Food Co-op (here) celebrated their 32nd birthday this month by having a day-long party with 32 cakes!  Claire and I signed up to make one of them, deliberated, and decided to create a super-size version of her In Love cake.  I ended up making most of it because she wasn't home, so I followed and expanded her recipe, swapped maple syrup for some of the stevia, and added a cashew cream/blueberry layer, which was basically 1) cashews, 2) coconut oil, 3) maple syrup, 4) stevia, 5) salt, 6) vanilla 7) water and 8) frozen wild blueberries.  The cake was gorgeous, and so delicious.  I was glad we were sharing it with other co-op-goers, because I could easily have eaten waaaay too much.  Cashews + me = bleh; love 'em, but my body doesn't.  Luckily it got gobbled down about 15 minutes after I delivered it, so I only got a piece and a half!

I know, right?

I also made a little frosting to decorate the top: 1) cashews, 2) maple syrup, 3) coconut oil, 4) macadamia nuts, 5) vanilla and 6) salt.

It was, all in all, an enormous success!  Definitely something I would make again (but ONLY for a special occasion.)

Happy belated love-day!

Smiles-
Mada

Cocofroyo

Just a little something I threw together last night:

I'm calling it cocofroyo!

•  Meat of 3 young coconuts
• 1 tbs. coconut butter
• 1 tbs. cacao butter
• 1/2 cup coconut water (cocoH20, if you're feeling cool; I know I am)
• 1 tbs. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tbs. chopped vanilla bean (this gives it the lovely vanilla bean flecks!)
• 15ish drops liquid stevia OR 1/4 cup maple syrup OR a combination of the two
• 1 tsp. Celtic sea salt
• Ice, as needed
• Frozen wild blueberries

First, open the coconuts, set aside 1/2 cup of the cocoH20 and pour what's leftover into a jar and keep for other recipes (or drink!).  Scoop all the meat out and place it in the blender with the cocoH20.

Coconut carnage.

Then add all the other ingredients (except the blueberries) and blend, blend, blend away!  Add the ice a little at a time until it's nice and thick.  Then pour into a mug/bowl:

And top with blueberries!

So, so yummy.  Not the wisest choice for a January treat, but it's been so warm lately... excuses, excuses.  :) 

In love-
Mada

Sunshine cookies + salad report

Sunshine cookies!  I've had a huge, beautiful butternut squash sitting on my counter for weeks and I finally decided how to use it.  Recipe as follows:

•  1/2 butternut squash, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup coconut butter (not oil)
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cardamom
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• few drops almond extract
• 8-10 drops liquid stevia
• maple syrup (or extract) to taste

Peel, chop and food process the squash until it makes a soft mash.

Then add the rest of the ingredients and process until well combined.  Form into little patties and place on a dehydrator tray covered by a piece of parchment paper (or Teflex sheet).

Let them dehydrate overnight (or until they feel crisp on the outside- keep in mind that once they cool off they will harden more because of the coconut butter). 

Sunshine cookies with a zucchini/carrot latke in the middle- recipe forthcoming.

They're delicious warmed up with coconut oil and a sprinkle of salt.

Now for the salad report.  Here are two recent creations:

Massaged red kale, alfalfa sprouts, avocado, black olives, tomato, cucumber, hard-boiled egg*, hemp seeds, olive oil vinaigrette.

Mixed baby greens, tomato, alfalfa sprouts, cucumber, avocado, olive oil vinaigrette.

SO DELICIOUS!

Now I'm off into the big wide world of today.  Our Italian group gathers this afternoon!  To help fund our ground transportation while in Italy, click here.  Thank you so much!

In gratitude,

Mada

*A note about eggs: I don't, as a general rule, eat animal products (except honey), but you will see me occasionally eat an egg or two (even though, to be honest, eggs make me a little congested).  This is partially because I think they're very nutritious and partially because they're so crazy yummy.  The other day I was craving an egg like nobody's business, so I made this salad.  Whenever I eat eggs, I make sure they're local and free-range with the reddest yolks I can find (happy hens!).

Cooking with kids! (Calzones, curry and cookies)

I spent Monday cooking and cooking and cooking with my brother Declan and sister Deidre.  It was a ton of fun.  They're awesome chefs; both full of great ideas and in possession of a capacity for food bliss that I very much relate to.

Deidre started it off with mini chocolate-chip cookies which my mother dubbed 'Bellybuttons.'  Deidre had originally wanted to make Hershey kiss cookies, but, since we had none, she downsized and came up with these adorable munchies!

Aren't they the cutest?

Then Declan wanted to make dinner for the family, so we talked it out and he decided on calzones and coconut milk curry.  I ended up making most of the curry, but he did an excellent job chopping the potatoes and carrots.   I made up the recipe, and (foolishly) didn't write it down, but it was a pretty basic creamy curry with coconut milk, carrots, potatoes, eggplant, cilantro, onion, garlic, peas, corn, coriander seeds and a couple different curry powders.  

Now for the calzones.  Declan used a basic pizza dough recipe out of a Moosewood cookbook, and did all the rolling, stuffing, folding and baking himself!  Deidre also made a mini-calzone of her own with a spare bit of dough.

Beautifully rolled.

Diligent grating.

Thumbs way up!

It was a complete success!  I can't wait to do more cooking with both of them.

In love,
Mada

Cookie dough + MORE SALAD!

One of my favorite raw snacks is 'cookie dough,' an easy and customizable treat which, for me, totally satisfies cravings for things like peanut butter cups and chocolate chip cookies.

Today's cookie dough.

My usual recipe (though, like I said, it's very customizable) goes something like this:

• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup hemp seeds
• 2 tbs. coconut oil
• 1 tbs. cacao butter
• 1 tbs. vanilla extract (as you may have guessed, I LOVE vanilla)
• 2-3 tbs. carob powder (you may also have noticed my carob fetish)
• 6-10 drops liquid stevia, to taste
• few drops of almond extract
  
• dash of Celtic sea salt

Then you just toss it all in the food processor, let it rock, and voila!  Delish and nutrish.  AND not a food-combining nightmare.  So an all-around winner!

Now for the salad report.  You may be thinking something along the lines of, "Jeee-zuss, does this chick have taste buds?  So much lettuce!  So much carob!"  Let me assure you, not only do I have taste buds, I have very discerning taste buds, and I promise you all these salads and strange doughy concoctions are scrumptious.*

Here are a couple recent salads:

Mixed baby greens, cuke, tomato, alfalfa sprouts, chickpea sprouts, avocado, black olives, hemp seeds, olive oil vinaigrette.

Mixed baby greens, cuke, carrot, alfalfa sprouts, chickpea sprouts, garlic kraut, black olives, olive oil vinaigrette.

Speaking of chickpea sprouts, I recently came to the important decision to refer to chickpeas as chickpeas exclusively.  I've spent much of my life torn between 'garbanzo beans' and 'chickpeas,' and I have come to the decision, after long moments of deliberation, that chickpeas is the superior term.  Mostly because it sounds cuter.

On another note, I recently attended a lovely raw potluck with my mother and Claire!  I hadn't been in over a year, and I had a great time.  It inspired me and reminded me how much I love being part of a community of loving people and families that share my ideals about food and living and school (or lack thereof).  Claire has a post about it (with lots of yummy pictures!) over on her blog.

In gratitude-
Mada


*I will concede that my palate is probably a little health-warped at this point.  My mother often enters the kitchen to find me moaning in food ecstasy over a mixture of sauerkraut and almond butter, or, on one memorable occasion, soaked prunes with cinnamon.  She finds these encounters hilarious.

Salads galore + chia pudding

I've been eating 2ish salads a day, and wow have they been delicious.  Lettuce is my favorite salad green in the winter- In the summer I use a lot of local kale and mixed salad greens, and in the fall I absolutely live off local spinach.

Lettuce, various veggies, sprouted chickpeas, avocado, ginger/garlic/sesame seed/nama shoyu/apple cider vinegar/salt/pepper/hemp oil dressing.

Lettuce, veggies, hemp seeds, olive oil vinaigrette. 

Lettuce, veggies, garlic sauerkraut, hemp oil vinaigrette.

SUPER delish.  Today, after yoga class and going for a run, I wanted something full of good fats and sweet without being a sugar-bomb.  So I made chia pudding!  The recipe goes (something) like this:

• 1 young coconut, meat and water
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tbs. chia seeds
• 1 tbs. vanilla extract
• 9 drops stevia
• 1/4-1/2 cup carob powder, according to taste
• 2 tbs. cacao butter, melted
• frozen pitted sweet cherries (opt)

First, open the coconut (instructions) and pour the coconut water and water into the blender:

 
Then scoop out the meat and add it to the blender:

Then blend the meat and water, and add the chia seeds.  Let sit for 5-7 minutes.  Add vanilla and stevia and blend again:

Add the carob and cacao butter and blend it until completely combined.  Pour out into a bowl and top with cherries (optional).  Enjoy BLISS OUT!

I was clearly very happy with this creation.  (Credit: Camille)

Tonight I'm getting all dressed up to go see live comedy at the Bushnell in Hartford with Claire, Grace (Claire's sister), Camille (my sister) and my mother.  It was a Christmas present from my mother to the four of us.  I'm very excited!  Life is so, so great.  Simple pleasures are all OVER the place!

In gratitude-
Mada