Raw dinners this week

I’ve been enjoying about a 90% raw diet, with the exception of roasted almond butter as opposed to raw (just using up some that I have), a morning coffee with almond breeze, and the odd bit of tofu. The summery weather (today reaching a sunny, lightly breezy 25C or so) was a blessed welcome, and basking gratefully ensued.

I dehydrated some chard patties again, adding different spices with sage, caraway seeds, chilis, and some mushrooms, too. They were okay – I liked them atop a fresh tomato.

Along with it was a zucchini alfredo. The sauce was garlic, lemon, soaked pinenuts, and salt and pepper. I ended up putting in way too much garlic, so I mellowed it out with a load of fresh mushrooms. It was a great idea! I also added fresh Italian herbs.

Another day was a stirfry, with cauliflower rice. I made a dressing with a tahini, garlic, and fresh ginger. I wanted to keep this quite simple, although it was a few days ago so I don’t remember if I added anything else.

For the cauliflower rice,  I saved some of the dressing, did the cauliflower in the food processor, and then stirred in some of the dressing. This was also topped with black sesame seeds and hemp seeds. Veggies included broccoli sprouts, carrots, sugar snap peas, mushrooms, yellow bell peppers, red bell peppers, and green onions.

These, though, were by far my favourite; every experience I’ve had with dehydrating eggplant has been stellar – it’s one of my top dehydrated foods. After peeling and slicing it, I salted the eggplant and squeeze the life out of it after about 30 minutes, then marinated it in some olive oil and salt for a bit with a heavy dish on top of it.

The filling is pulsed almonds, mushrooms, garlic, red bell pepper, and a load of fresh basil in the processor. I folded them over and dehydrated about 4 hours.

Last night I decided to finally try sprouting  – the only thing I’ve never done – and started with quinoa. A success! For dinner, we enjoyed a salad with sprouted quinoa, kohlrabi, cherry tomatoes, green onions, a load of flat-leaf parsley, leaf lettuce, bell peppers, and hemp oil.

Chard patties (raw) [and the day I almost lost my finger]

I decided to do some more experimenting with dinner tonight and wanted to create something with swiss chard that I had to use up. I was a little wary eating it raw – I thought I could make it more interesting than a salad – but wasn’t sure what to do.

I came up with these patties and loved them! They were reminiscent of the filling in spanakopita, a phyllo covered Greek pastry that I used to enjoy pre-celiac days from one of my favourite restaurants.

And for the finger? Ironically, I had bought my first whole coconut, and carefully shattered it and took it apart. No issues, of course, using a hammer and a paring knife.

Alas, slicing some romaine for a side salad with my dinner resulted in slicing a portion of my finger. With a serrated knife. I laugh at the irony of the danger that ensued, smashing my coconut, but the mundane lettuce slicing is what got me.

Nothing that a delicious dinner couldn’t fix, with a little help from Polysporin and about four layers of Band-Aids.

Chard Patties

This recipe is just a guideline, I just threw it all in the food processor and adjusted seasonings to taste.

1 large bunch of swiss chard
1 cup cremini mushrooms
half a small onion
4 to 5 cloves of garlic (or less if you don’t love it)
juice of a half lemon
5 tablespoons golden flax meal
sea salt to taste
optional seasonings and herbs: I added a handful of fresh dill

Pulse chard, mushrooms, onion, garlic in the  food processor, in batches if need be. Put in a large bowl, and mix together with remaining ingredients. Let it sit for about 1/2 hour. It should be scoopable; if not, add another tablespoon of flax meal.

Spoon large spoonfuls onto dehydrator (using fruit leather trays), then dehydrate at 115F for about four hours. Flip, and continue for another two hours or so.

Mexican Bean Sprouts (raw/dehydrator)

As I mentioned in my last post, I’m heading increasingly in the raw direction again. I had a brief love affair with it last summer, but I’m opting to go a little more head strong this year.

Last night, I made raw fajitas – nut meat, marinated veggies and tomatoes stuffed in collard greens. I had a couple left over to enjoy today.

Raw Fajitas

nut meat:
pecans (I would have used walnuts, but I’m out)
chili powder
cumin
cayenne
salt
juice of half a lime

marinated veggies:
red peppers, thinly sliced
carrots, thinly sliced
red onion, thinly sliced
a few cremini mushrooms
a couple cloves of garlic
chili powder
cayenne
cumin
coriander
salt
juice of a lime
bit of olive oil

collard greens, for wrapping
sliced tomato

Pulse together the nut meat ingredients and toss together the veggies. Let both sit for a few hours. When ready to enjoy, trim the stalky ends of the collards, and distribute the ingredients and a slice of tomato in each. If you have a raw sour “cream”, it’s a perfect topping.

Mexican Bean Sprouts

about 3 handfuls of mung bean sprouts
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
1/2 carrot, grated in long strips with a vegetable peeler
1/2 lime, juiced
chili powder
garlic powder
salt

Toss all ingredients together and distribute in an even layer in your dehydrator. Dehydrate at 115 degrees F for about 1 1/2 hours.