Month: June 2016

Stir Fried Turnips with Turnip Greens,Spring Onions and Tofu

~ tracyshar ~ 1 Comment

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So, I mentioned that I hadn’t stuck completely raw this past week; here is something delicious that I made. It was quick, easy, healthy and utilized the entire veggie, which I really like. Also the turnip made the dish; the crunchy sweetness really changed it up and made the dish surprising and lovely.

This recipe comes from the NY Times Cooking Section! Get the original here.

Ingredients:

  • 10 ounces firm tofu , drained and cut in chunks
  • 1 bunch baby turnips, with greens (about 1 pound total)
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons soy sauce (to taste)
  • 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking sherry (Shaoxing rice wine) or dry sherry
  • ¼ cup chicken stock, vegetable stock or water
  • 1 teaspoon honey or agave nectar
  • 2 tablespoons peanut, canola, rice bran, sunflower or grape seed oil
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1 bunch spring onions or 2 to 3 bunches scallions, sliced, white and light green parts only, sliced (about 1 1/4 cups)
  • ½ cup coarsely chopped cilantro
  • 1 bunch chopped brassica flowers (optional…I just had them from my csa share)
  • 1 tbls. sriracha (optional but highly recommended)

Preparation:

  1. Drain and dry tofu slices on paper towels. In a small bowl or measuring cup combine soy sauce, rice wine or sherry, stock or water, and honey or agave nectar. Have all ingredients within arm’s length of your wok.
  2. Cut away greens from baby turnips. Scrub turnips and if very small, cut in half; if larger than a Ping-Pong ball, quarter. Stem greens, wash leaves in 2 changes of water and chop coarsely. Set aside near your wok.
  3. Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok over high heat until a drop of water evaporates within a second or two when added to the pan. Swirl in 1 tablespoon of the oil by adding it to the sides of the pan and swirling the pan, then add tofu and stir-fry until lightly colored, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove to a plate.
  4. Swirl in remaining oil, add garlic and ginger and stir-fry for no more than 10 seconds. Add onions and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add turnips and stir-fry for another minute or 2, then add salt and pepper, toss together and add soy sauce mixture. Add greens and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes, until vegetables are crisp-tender.
  5. Return tofu to the wok along with the cilantro and brassica flowers. Stir-fry for 1 minute and remove from heat. Add sriracha and mix. Serve with hot grains or noodles.

Such an interesting and unusual way to use turnips, and they taste terrific in this.

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Kimchi

~ tracyshar ~ 1 Comment

At long last.

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This recipe come directly from Eat Raw, Eat Well, with no changes. Side note: so far this is the best raw food cookbook I have found, and EVERYTHING I’ve made from it has been DELICIOUS.

Kimchi

Ingredients:

  • 8 cups chopped napa cabbage
  • 1 cup coarse sea salt (Douglas McNish suggests grinding the sea salt gently with a mortar and pestle to ensure that it all comes off when you rinse. You can also achieve this same result by, well, rinsing well.)
  • 1/4 cup green onions, white and green parts
  • 3 tbls. Korean chili powder (or if you can’t find it, 2 tsp. paprika and 1 tsp. dried red chili flakes)
  • 2 tbls. wheat free tamari
  • 2 tbls. raw agave nectar
  • 2 tsp. chopped gingerroot
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

Preparation:

  1. In a large bowl, combine cabbage and salt and mix well. Cover, and set aside at room temperature for about 2 hours, until cabbage is wilted. Transfer to a colander and rinse well under cold running water. Squeeze any remaining liquid out with your hands.
  2. Transfer to a bowl and add remaining ingredients. Mix well.
  3. Transfer to a sealable glass container and pack down well, pressing down to remove as much air as possible. Cover with plastic wrap directly on top of the kimchi to prevent contact with air and seal tightly (I used mason jars and vacuum sealed them). Store in a cool, dry place for 4 – 5 days until mixture starts to take on a slightly sour taste. Transfer to the fridge and store for up to a month.

So tonight marks the end of fermentation for me…updates coming shortly on taste and enjoyability!!

Raw Eats, Week 3! Updates

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

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Above: kimchi pre-fermentation.

So, I’m not gonna lie, this has been a rough week for raw food eating. It hasn’t stopped, but there have definitely been more meals that weren’t raw this week. What happened? I had a busy weekend last weekend, and didn’t have time to prepare a bunch of stuff in advance. I think that’s a key step if you really want to keep it fully raw…you need to have a bunch of stuff on hand and readily available.

Another couple of things that went wrong:

  • One of the meals I had planned was too expensive. I bought all the ingredients except 8 young thai coconuts to make wrappers for these raw dumpling things that sounded delicious. I was convinced, living in NYC, that I’d be able to scour the streets and find a good deal on a case of young thai coconuts. I was wrong, and this cost me a big meal that would have lasted a few days and been a big source of raw food.
  • One of the snacky things I made, raw tortilla chips, I found super gross. I’m not sure if I just haven’t mastered how to do it yet (it’s kind of tricky making sure you have an even layer of batter in your dehydrator), or if I just didn’t like it. But whichever it was, when you devote a ton of time to preparing something and can’t eat it, it’s a bummer and leaves you short a part of your planned diet.

I still had plenty of granola, goji-cacau-maca bars and granola bars. But still that left me lacking. It was cool, I just had more meals this week that weren’t raw, and learned a little more about how (not) to do this. So, this week you’ll be getting both my raw recipes and some not raw. I also got a bunch of stir fry-able stuff from my CSA share this week so was happy to bust out the wok and get busy.

 

Anyway, this is not a failure!! And I’m already WAY back on track this week (think: raw Moroccan chickpea stew, plus much more). It’s just a learning experience.

Kimchi recipe coming soon.

Vanilla Avocado Hemp Milk Shake

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

So, I almost never post recipes of shakes, since there are a million and I tend to stick to my regulars (as a side note, I’m a HUGE fan of the, dark leafy green mixed with chunks of watermelon and a chunk of ginger, you don’t need a liquid cause the watermelon is so water based).

But I tried this one this morning and it was SO good. I kept raving about it and finally my boyfriend was like, “Why don’t you blog about it.” Which I’m sure was meant sarcastically but whatever. I am totally blogging about this shit.

I got the recipe from “Eat Raw, Eat Well” by Douglas McNish. It sounded interesting, I had all the ingredients, and I needed some energy this morning. And, it was spectacular.

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While I can’t say it tastes like bacon, I can say it tastes really fing good.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of hemp milk (3 tbls. hemp seed, 4 cups water and 2 dates — makes more than 1 cup)
  • 1/2 an avocado
  • 2 dates, pitted
  • 2 tsp. agave
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preparation:

Blend in a Vitamix until creamy.

Um. Yum! Drink this smoothie. It’s great and will give you lots of energy.

 

Barley Salad with Beets, Beet Greens & Feta

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

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OK, it’s not raw. It’s still healthy. And really delicious. I had a BBQ this past weekend for Father’s Day, and for it, I had to forgo the raw foods and bust out some meat. And cooked stuff.

I love this recipe cause it uses the whole beet — I like to chop the greens with the stems attached, it just makes a crunchiness in the salad which is awesome and utilizes the whole thing. It’s a version of Martha Shulman’s Farro Salad with Beets, Beet Greens and Feta. I only had barley around, so it became a whole new dish. (By the way, the barley is fantastic in this dish, and I think any grain would really be fine with some adjustment on the cooking times.)

Ingredients:

  • 2 medium or 3 small beets (any color) with greens, the beets roasted. (I peeled and chopped them before roasting, which speeds up roasting time and makes them sweet and crispy).
  • 1 cup barley, soaked for one hour in water to cover and drained
  • Salt, preferably kosher salt, to taste
  • 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced or pureed
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil 
  • ½ cup broken walnut pieces
  • 2 ounces feta or goat cheese, crumbled (more if desired for garnish) (ALSO: I like this with ricotta salata, if you can find it)
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, tarragon, marjoram, chives, mint (I just used mint and dill since that’s what we got)

Preparation:

  1. Bring 2 quarts water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, add salt to taste and the greens. Blanch for two minutes, and transfer to the ice water. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then drain and squeeze out excess water. Chop coarsely and set aside.
  2. Bring the water back to a boil, and add the barley. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes, stirring from time to time, or until the barley is tender. Remove from the heat and allow the grains to swell in the cooking water for 10 minutes, then drain.
  3. While the barley is cooking, make the vinaigrette. Whisk together the vinegars, salt, garlic and mustard. Whisk in the oil(s). Add to the barley. Add beets, along with the beet greens, feta or goat cheese, herbs and walnuts. Toss together, and serve warm or room temperature with a little more cheese sprinkled over the top if you wish.

YUM!!!! I promise to get back to the raw. But in the meantime make and eat this.

Super Goji-Cacau-Maca Bars

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

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These are terrific. And also raw!! Whu huh?? Yes, it’s true. These are lifted straight from Matthew Kenney’s Everyday Raw. He has a pretty little perfect photo of them looking all uniform with straight lines of chocolate across them. (He DOES recommend storing the cacau sauce in a squeeze bottle, in which case it would be easier to apply in lines…but I don’t have one).Anyway, straight lines or no, these are really good and packed with protein.

Ingredients:

  • 4 3/4 cups of almond crumbs (unsoaked almonds chopped in a food processor until coarsely ground)
  • 3 cups cashew pieces
  • 1 cup hemp seeds
  • 1/2 cup flax seeds, golden if possible, soaked 2 hours & drained
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 3/4 cup agave
  • 1/4 cup cacau nibs
  • 1 cup goji berries, soaked no more than 15 minutes and drained
  • 1 recipe Sweet Cacau Sauce (recipe to follow)

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until well incorporated. Spread evenly on a parchment lined pan and press firmly. Dehydrate overnight at 105 F. Loosen edges and turn out onto cutting board. Cut into squares. Glaze bars with sweet cacau sauce. Return to dehydrator screens and dehydrate overnight.

I feel like this recipe could use a bit less agave, and next time I’ll try it like that. I’ve stored them individually vacuum sealed in the freezer, so they are ready to go for a quick breakfast/snack before the gym, whatevs.

Sweet Cacau Sauce:

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups cacau nibs
  • 1 1/4 cups agave
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil

Preparation:

Blend all ingredients in Vita-mix until very smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use. To heat, place on, near or in a dehydrator for a few minutes.

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Raw Eats, Week 2! Raw Strawberry Granola

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

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Above: my meals for today while I’m at work. From left to right: Raw peach (yay, peaches!), raw strawberry granola, cold sesame zoodles, almond milk (for granola), and Super Goji-Cacau-Maca Bar.

The rawness continues. Disclaimer: I ate a pizza over the weekend. Yeah, I did.

I feel like my dehydrator has been on for the last week. I think that’s pretty much how it goes if you actually want to eat raw, like, on a regular basis.

Today I thought I’d share the recipe for raw peaches.

Hahaha just kidding!! I’m going on not so much sleep today, so forgive me. How about this raw strawberry granola recipe instead.

I got this recipe primarily from Everyday Raw, by Matthew Kenney. His recipe is called Raspberry Vanilla Almond Granola. It requires some patience, and a weekend is helpful. Mine is essentially exactly the same, but I had these gorgeous little organic perfectly ripe strawberries from my favorite, the Park Slope Food Coop, so I subbed out strawberries, and oh my god am I glad I did.  I used a quart. His recipe called for 4 cups of raspberries, so I think I was probably a little under…but I actually think the granola is PERFECT just the way it is. So!

Ingredients:

  • 1 quart small strawberries, or large cut into pieces
  • 2 cups of sunflower seeds, soaked 8 – 12 hours and drained
  • 3 cups of pecans, soaked 8 – 12 hours and drained
  • 6 cups almonds, soaked 8 – 12 hours and drained
  • 1 1/2 cups maple syrup or agave
  • 1/2 cup of date paste (I couldn’t find any so just made some from fresh dates)
  • 2 pears, peeled, cored, chopped
  • 1 1/2 tbls. vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
  • 2 tbls. lime juice and zest

Preparation:

  • Place strawberries and sunflower seeds in a large bowl and set aside.
  • Process pecans and almonds in a food processor until chunky — DO NOT OVER PROCESS!! Add to bowl with strawberries and sunflower seeds.
  • Process all remaining ingredients in food processor until chunky; again, do not over process. Add to bowl, and mix everything thoroughly.
  • Crumble evenly in dehydrator screens and dehydrate at 105 – 110 degrees for 48 hours.

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The final product. It yielded a LOT of granola. I vacuum sealed two huge bags and popped them in the freezer.

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I don’t know why but this granola tastes PERFECT with almond milk. I’ve been making my own sweetened with a couple of dates. And, holy crap if it’s not a completely delicious breakfast. Also, I’m full! Yes, yes, and yes. Hope you enjoy.

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Cashew Cheese Ravioli

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

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What the yum? Yup, these things are real, are filling, and are delicious. I had some at Juice Generation a while back, so I knew of their existence and knew I wanted them to be a part of my raw experimentation.

I know Juice Generation has a cookbook, but I don’t know if it’s in there. I do know that a quick search turned up this recipe, from none other than Matteo Silverman, Juice Generation’s very own vegan magician. Anyway I did make some very minor changes but otherwise left it alone.

Cashew Cheese Ravioli With Basil Hemp Seed Pesto

I couldn’t find a baseball sized turnip, but I did find this (sorry I forgot to take a picture of it whole):

FullSizeRender 14                  It’s jicama!! And it worked just as well.

So…slice turnip (or jicama, or whatever radish type thing you can find that’s big enough) into paper-thin rounds on mandolin. Set aside.

“Cheese”

1-1/2 cups cashew cheese **

1 tbsp. minced thyme

1/4 tsp. sea salt

**(To make cashew cheese, soak 1 cup (or more) of cashews for at least an hour. Then drain blend in vitamix with 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, 1 big garlic clove and some lemon juice. Then salt to taste. Keeps in fridge for a week or two)**

 

Thoroughly fold thyme and salt into cheese. Set aside. Lay out half of turnip slices on large table. Place 1/2 tbsp. cheese in center of each slice. Place remaining radish slices on top of cheese and gently seal like a ravioli. Serve immediately, or store covered in fridge until ready to use.

Pesto

2 cups packed basil leaves

3 tbsp. hemp seeds

1/4 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tbsp. lemon juice

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. sea salt

Blend basil, olive oil, hemp seeds, garlic, lemon juice, black pepper, and sea salt. Set aside.

 

Arrange ravioli on plate. Drizzle with basil pesto and black sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

The basil pesto is better served fresh. But I did drizzle some onto my lunch and took it to work, and it was still pretty delicious. Enjoy!

 

Raw Eating Updates

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

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Spiralized!!! OK, so I’ve been doing really, really well with the raw eating this week, and here’s how:

  1. I already had down the raw granola bars, so the first thing I did was whip up a batch of that.
  2. I bought a f**k ton of fruits, veggies and nuts, and immediately made juice and a few salads to have laying around.
  3. Last week, I made up a batch of cashew cheese. So, this week, when I wanted to make Cashew Cheese Ravioli, it was super simple.
  4. I also whipped up some cold sesame zoodles, since it takes about 20 minutes, is delicious, and feels substantial when you’re eating them. Also, they last a few days in the fridge.
  5. I bought ingredients for mango guacamole, and then got cracking with some raw tortilla chips in the dehydrator. I knew it would take about 24 hours, and that I wanted to make granola bars as well, so I bought the mango and avocados a little hard so they’d be ready for the chips.
  6. I pre-made my morning green smoothie each day so when I wake up at the break of dawn they’re ready to go. I prefer them fresh but the night before a’int so bad.
  7. I have 2 more meals planned and ready to go. One is mainly dry ingredients and will take a couple of days with the dehydrator, so I’m planning on starting that Saturday morning when I can have some time at home. The other is ready to go with the ingredients just a little heartier than some others.

So, all in all, I have literally eaten nothing but raw foods since Monday! It is possible!

I think it’s also really helped that I’m not worrying about eating ONLY raw food…so if I have to, I’ll eat something not raw. That way I’m not stressing about it, but it seems I’ve been more able to then actually eat raw. Does this make sense? Maybe not, but the permission to eat other things has helped my state of mind with this.

Anyway, don’t give up heart! I’ve tried this before and failed, so this is my way of finding a way to make this work. A project food, indeed. All recipes I mentioned will be posted.

Tomato Blueberry Salad

~ tracyshar ~ Leave a comment

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OK, this is lovely and also delicious. Look how pretty that is!!! So, to continue my raw theme, (which I basically stumbled into cause it’s been so hot), here is my take on this great recipe from Sam Sifton.

It’s very nice the way it is, but I did find pomegranates (despite it NOT being pomegranate season) and make it with those the first time, and I found that the pomegranates were a little overwhelmed in the salad — I didn’t really taste them or notice them, they only looked pretty. But the big tastes of the red onion and cherry tomatoes took over, so I was hoping to find a fruit that would offset that a bit the second time around.

I chose blueberry, which was great, and was completely what I was looking for…but to be honest there are limitless possibilities with this salad!! Use your imagination and have fun. But basically, this is the perfect summer salad. Also would be good to show up at a BBQ with this salad — you would be a hit. (Yes, I know this from experience!)

Ingredients:

  • 2 pints mixed cherry tomatoes
  • 2 teaspoons za’atar (optional, works fine with and without)
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 pint blueberries
  • ½ yellow bell pepper, very thinly sliced
  • ½ small red onion, very thinly sliced, almost shredded
  • ⅓ cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
  • ⅓ cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves, torn into pieces
  • 1 ½ teaspoons freshly squeezedlemon juice
  • Flaky sea salt
  • 3 ½ ounces manouri or feta cheese, broken into small chunks (also optional)

Preparation:

  1. Halve or quarter the tomatoes and place them in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Add the blueberries, sliced pepper and onion, the herbs, za’atar (if using), lemon juice, olive oil and 1 teaspoon of salt.  Gently mix the salad, then transfer it to a large shallow bowl or serving platter, and dot it with the cheese (if using). Serve and eat.

I’ve made it with and without cheese. What can I say, cheese is always magic. But just in case you want to go full raw, drop it. Here’s a shot with cheese:

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