Raw Food Dinner Party part 2

11 Aug 2009 4 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We were already a little full from the delicious Cornbread Bruschetta with White Truffle “Sour Cream” and Spiced Tomatoes appetizer but of course I was excited to serve such a fun entree! Spinach and Wild Mushroom Quiche is such a great dish, but be advised it requires a lot of advance prep time 🙂 I also wish I had more of the tart base dough while I was making them, so that they would have come out thicker, but I was still very happy with these and they were great! The Raw Chef Russel James makes the most gorgeous raw food items, I was so excited to finally try one of his recipes. This recipe will require you to make the bases ahead of time so make sure to plan with enough time.

Fresh summer corn is one of my favorite things! I love the fresh sweet taste and pairing it with avocado and red onion is beyond delightful. I have made a variation on this many times and every time my husband and I love it so much. This was a fun dish to share with our friends as well. It is really quick and easy to prepare and then even easier to enjoy!

Spinach & Wild Mushroom Quiche served with Fresh Corn and Avocado Salad

quiche and salad

Spinach & Wild Mushroom Quiche
Recipe from The Raw Chef Russel James
Makes 4, 11cm quiche

For the base
1c cashew
1/4c macadamia nuts
2T flax meal (ground flax seed)
1 clove crushed garlic
1T nutritional yeast
2t olive oil
1/4t salt
3T water
1T lemon juice

• Grind all ingredients in a food processor until thoroughly mixed, leaving some texture to the nuts.
• Press into plastic film lined individual tart cases *so you have a thin crust. You will find that regularly dipping your fingers in a bowl of water helps with this.
• Place bases onto a mesh dehydrator sheet and dehydrate at 115 degrees F for 2 hours. They should now be firm enough to remove from the tart cases so you can continue to dehydrate them for a further 6 hours.

*Tart cases should be approx 11cm wide and no than about 1cm high, to allow the mixture (details to follow) to dehydrate inside.

For the filling
2c wild mushrooms (or substitute for any type of available mushroom)
1/2t salt
1T lemon juice

• Wash and roughly chop the mushrooms, then marinate them in the salt and lemon juice and set aside.

2c  zucchini
1/4c water
1 1/2c cashews
1/4c white miso
2t lemon juice
1/2 medium white onion
3T nutritional yeast
1/2t salt

• Blend all ingredients in a high-powered blender until smooth.

2c tightly-packed spinach
2T olive oil
1/4t salt

• Pulse spinach, olive oil and salt in a food processor for 10 to 20 seconds until broken down.
• Drain the mushrooms from earlier and transfer them to a large bowl, along with the blended courgette (zucchini) mixture, and spinach. Then also mix in the following ingredients:

1/4c finely sliced spring onions
1c diced tomatoes
1T minced basil

• Once thoroughly mixed, pour this mixture into the bases. You’ll need to slightly overfill the bases as the filling will reduce slightly in the dehydrator.
• Dehydrate overnight and during the day, for anything up to 24 hours.
• Remove from the dehydrator and decorate with slices of tomato and fresh basil sprigs. It’s also a good idea to brush the top of the quiche with a small amount of olive oil, to make them more appealing in their appearance.

Fresh Corn and Avocado Salad

4 ears of fresh corn, husked and cut from cob
3/4 cup red onion, diced
1 1/2 avocados, diced
Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons of minced fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Enjoy the fresh taste of summer! 🙂

Raw Food Dinner Party part 1

10 Aug 2009 4 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Raw Vegan Recipes, Superfoods, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I have always loved cooking food and giving to others. It is definitely one of my favorite things to do. But I have not had the chance to have a full blown Raw Dinner Party till now. I am so happy that we were able to this. There is not much better than good company and good food!

Here is our appetizer, which could easily be a meal on its own. It was amazing! While I was making the “sour cream” I had to make sure to put it in the fridge so that I didn’t eat it all before our friends came over! If you love truffles or bruschetta at all, you will go mad for this dish!

If you want a sneak peek for the upcoming recipes check out my menu in the picture below 🙂

Cornbread Bruschetta with White Truffle “Sour Cream” and Spiced Tomatoes

bruschetta 3

Cornbread Bruschetta with White Truffle “Sour Cream” and Spiced Tomatoes
Recipe from Entertaining in the Raw by Matthew Kenney
Serves 4-6
Bruschetta
1 cup flax meal
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 cups fresh corn kernels
1 1/3 cups walnuts, soaked 8-10 hours
1 tablespoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 shallot, minced
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 tablespoon raw agave nectar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced jalapeno
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder

“Sour Cream”
1 cup cashews, soaked 1-2hours
1/2 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons white truffle oil

Tomato
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon nama shoyu
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon minced shallots
1 tablespoon chopped chipotle peppers, soaked 1 hour
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons julienned basil

Assembly
1/4 cup basil leaves
fresh black pepper

Bruschetta
Place flax meal in a medium-sized bowl; set aside. Process remaining ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Add the bowl with flax meal and stir until well combined. Spread on Teflex sheets in desired shape to 1/2inch thickness. Dehydrate at 115 degrees F for 24-36 hours until almost completely dry but still a bit pliable

“Sour Cream”
Blend all the ingredients in a Vita-Mix until completely smooth. Refrigerate until firm.

Tomato
Toss all ingredients together and season to taste

Assembly
Spread a think layer of “sour cream” on each piece of bruschetta and top with a generous amount of tomatoes. Garnish with basil and black pepper.

my notes:

For the “Sour Cream” I used black truffle oil instead of white, but if you saw my note above, you would know that I am sure it does not matter. It was absurdly deelish!

For the Tomatoes, I did not use cilantro and I am not a fan and I did not use the peppers. Instead of the cilantro I used more basil. Instead of the peppers, I substituted jalapeno peppers and some chili powder.


bruschetta 4

Raw Teriyaki Almonds

06 Aug 2009 1 Comment

by marisashealthykitchen in Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Raw Teriyaki Almonds

I love all the snacks from Gone Nuts! and from Living Nutz! But as many of you probably know buying raw snacks can really add up in cost! Plus I always like to experiment or am just happy to make things on my own. I am sure I will buy from them again but here is my take on Teriyaki Almonds. I was just eyeing the amount of each ingredient I used, so below are all just estimates. These came out so yummy and gooey with the crunch of nuts inside! Deeelish!

almonds

  • 2 cups Almonds
  • 6 Dried Figs
  • 8 Dried Dates
  • 1/4 cup Nama Shoyu
  • 1/4 cup Maple Syrup
  • 2 cloves of fresh Garlic
  • couple of dashes of Cayenne Pepper
  1. Start off by soaking the almonds for 8+ hours. Rinse and set aside.
  2. Blend all the ingredients (besides the almonds) together.
  3. Pour over and combine well with the almonds and allow to marinate for 1 hour – several days. (I only marinated for a few hours)
  4. Then dehydrate at 115 degrees till desired texture. For me this was around 60 hours.

Almond Butter Cups

04 Aug 2009 2 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Raw Desserts and Treats, Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Almond Butter Cups
Recipe from Everyday Raw by Matthew Kenney
yields about 1 1/2 quarts

This recipe make many delicious, decadent, chocolaty squares. So if you do not want leftovers or do not have a crowd to feed I would suggest you half this. But I like leftovers 🙂 So I am happy with having delicious little bites in the freezer. The great thing about these is that they are so satisfying you don’t need too many.

almond butter cup close up

1 cup almond butter
1 1/2 cup agave, divided
2 cups coconut oil, divided
1/2 tablespoon sea salt
1 cup cacao nibs

  1. Mix almond butter, 1/2 cup agave, 1/2 cup coconut oil, and sea salt in medium bowl; keep in warm place until ready to use.
  2. Blend cacao nibs, remaining 1 cup agave, and remaining 1-1/2 cups coconut oil in the Vita-mix until smooth.
  3. Spread half of this cacao mixture on parchment-lined half sheet pan to create a thin layer. Place in freezer for 15 minutes to firm.
  4. Spread the almond butter mixture over hardened cacao layer. Then spread remainder of cacao mixture over almond butter; place in freezer until firm.
  5. Turn out pan onto cutting board, peel off parchment paper, and cut into small pieces. ENJOY 🙂
  6. Store extra almond butter cups in containers in refrigerator.

almond butter cup

almond butter cups

Thai Coconut Bliss Soup

03 Aug 2009 4 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thai Coconut Bliss Soup
Recipe from The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose
makes 2-4 servings

It is one of Natalia’s favorite soups and now I know why. It is beyond divine!! Such creamy deliciousness! I love all things coconut so was excited by a soup that used 3 young coconuts! It was so creamy and full of flavor. I know that anyone would love this soup, as long as they don’t mind coconuts of course! Plus I love that you have coconut water left over after the recipe. I love love love coconut water, it is totally magical. And of course, as with most raw soups this is super easy to make (once the coconuts are open!).

soup top

 1 cup sliced thinly shiitake mushrooms
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
Meat of 3 young coconuts
1 1/2 cups coconut water
1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger
1/4 cup olive oil
4 dates, pitted
1 tablespoon Nama Shoyu soy sauce
1 clove garlic

  1. Place the mushrooms, basil, 1/4 cup of lime juice, and the sea salt in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside.
  2. Blend the coconut meat, coconut water, ginger, olive oil, dates, soy sauce, the remaining 1/4 of lime juice, and garlic in a blender until smooth.
  3. Pour the blended mixture into bowls. Garnish with the marinate mushrooms and basil mixture.

soup close up side

soup close up

Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

30 Jul 2009 2 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Raw Desserts and Treats, Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
servings 2

Who does not love raw cookie dough!! Well here is the ‘raw’ version!! This recipe is beyond decadent and super fast to make! Whenever you get a sweet craving you can whip this up in 2 minutes, literally! We made this the other night and Michael has been asking for it ever since, I think it is addictive!!! If you do not eat honey you could substitute agave, but it would not be as thick.

cookie dough

2 tablespoon raw tahini
2 tablespoon raw cacao nibs
2 tablespoon raw honey
5 teaspoon coconut oil (I used Artisana brand because it is thicker, made with coconut and its oil!! the best)
a couple drops organic vanilla extract

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Eat with a spoon. ENJOY!!!

Raw Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

29 Jul 2009 Leave a comment

by marisashealthykitchen in Raw Desserts and Treats, Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

These raw cookies tasted like regular amazing oatmeal raisin cookies!! So deeeelish!!  I would suggest that you double or triple this recipe as these went so fast! The oats softened up in the dehydrator and the cookies were soft and sweet. I am so amazed and highly recommend these! Plus they are so cute 🙂

oatmeal cookies

Raw Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
makes around 12 cookies

2 raw rolled oats (you can use oat groats as well)
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup cashews

1. Grind 1/2 the oats, 1/2 the almonds and cashews in food processor until fine.
2. Pour into a large bowl
3. Pulse the rest of the almonds until chunky
4. Transfer almonds to bowl
5. Add raisins and agave nectar to bowl and combine
6. With your hands or a ice cream scoop make rounds of dough and flatten onto mesh dehydrator sheet
7. Dehydrate for about 12 hours at 110 degrees.

Note: If you are using your hands to form the dough it will be very very sticky, but so worth it! They will fall apart a little while making, but the dehydrator sorts that out.

 oatmeal cookies close up

Super Fast Veggie Stir-fry

28 Jul 2009 1 Comment

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

I am sure everyone has those nights where they need to throw dinner together quickly or you have an abundance of gorgeous veggies in the fridge you have to use up soon. Here is a great go to stir-fry recipe that I throw together when I need something like that. Super fast, tons of nutrition and really deelish! Of course you can substitute any veggies you have in the fridge for what I have used. The same goes with the seasonings. Also I tend to just pour on the ingredients so the measurements are not exact and you should season to taste.

stir-fry side

Super Fast Veggie Stir-fry

1 tablespoon canola
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 red pepper, sliced
1/2 lb snap peas, cleaned
1/4 head of red cabbage, chopped
8 ounces of mini portobello mushrooms, sliced
1 package of seitan or soy chicken (I used Morningstar meal starters chicken)
3 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons agave
2 tablespoons tamari
1 teaspoon ginger powder (or fresh ginger)
1 teaspoon Sriracha

    1. Heat the oil in a wok or large pan and add onions and garlic and sauté for about 2-3 minutes
    2. Add the red pepper, snap peas, cabbage, mushrooms and soy chicken and combine well
    3. Add the mirin, agave, tamari, ginger powder and sritacha and mix well
    4. Continue to sauté for another 4 minutes or until the veggies reach your desired texture
    5. Taste and adjust seasonings, Enjoy 🙂

stir-fry top

Mini Chile Relleno Casseroles

27 Jul 2009 Leave a comment

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking, Vegetarian Recipes Tags: , , ,

eggs vertical

I love dishes where you can go from cooking, baking, or preparing right to the table. Plus how adorable are individual portioned meals! I think they make such a gorgeous and elegant presentation. Since this was just for my husband I used two 12-ounce dishes and one 20-ounce dish making two great meals for him. For smaller portions I would recommend using four 10-ounce ramekins/dishes, as this recipe should make 4 portions. This was such a super easy and quick recipe to put together and sometimes I really appreciate that!

Mini Chile Relleno Casseroles
Adapted From EatingWell Magazine

2 4-ounce cans diced green chiles, drained and patted dry
3/4 cup frozen corn, thawed and patted dry
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups plain soymilk (or skim milk)
6 large egg whites
4 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat ramekins with cooking spray and place on a baking sheet
2. Equally divide green chiles, corn and scallions among the ramekins. Top each with cheese. Whisk milk, egg whites, eggs and salt in a medium bowl until combined. Divide the egg mixture evenly among the ramekins
3. Bake the mini casseroles until the tops begin to brown and the eggs are set, about 35 minutes for 10-ounce ramekins, 40 minutes for 12-ounce dishes and 1 hour for 20-ounce dish

eggs close up

eggs horizon

Grilled Lemon Chicken and Moroccan Couscous Salad

21 Jul 2009 6 Comments

by marisashealthykitchen in Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , ,

The couscous came out so gorgeous! So colorful and delightful. This could easily be a vegetarian recipe by substituting the chicken broth with vegetable broth. I also loved that the veggies were not cooked, they only get a light steaming due to the hot couscous when you combine them. The smell was incredible! Lemon chicken in any form is popular in our house, especially when grilled. This is just a classic, simple way to prepare chicken. Great meal!

 cous cous and chicken

Grilled Lemon Chicken and Moroccan Couscous Salad
Recipe adapted from Bon Appétit August 2008

Couscous:

2 cups low-salt chicken broth (use veggie broth to make this vegetarian)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 10-ounce box plain couscous
1/2 cup raisins
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
1 large carrot, peeled, quartered lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
1 cup trimmed sugar snap peas, cut in half
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Chicken:

2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for drizzling
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
5 large skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds (optional)
1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges

  1. Marinate the chicken
  2. Prepare the CousCous
  3. Grill the chicken
  4. Serve

For couscous:
Bring chicken broth, 1 tablespoon oil, ginger, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, turmeric, cinnamon, and cumin to boil in heavy large saucepan. Stir in couscous and remove from heat. Scatter raisins over, cover, and let stand until couscous softens, about 10 minutes. Fluff couscous with fork, breaking up any lumps with fingertips. Transfer couscous to large bowl. Add cucumber, red bell pepper, carrot, green beans, and lemon peel. Whisk remaining 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and lemon juice in small bowl. Add to couscous; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For chicken:
Place 2 1/2 tablespoons oil, lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in large resealable plastic bag. Add chicken and seal bag, releasing any excess air; turn several times to coat. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Alternatively, chill 1 to 3 hours and bring to room temperature before continuing.

Prepare barbecue (high heat). (or Griddler in our NYC Apartment’s case) Brush grill rack with oil. Transfer chicken from bag to barbecue with some marinade still clinging and grill until slightly charred and just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to platter and let rest 10 minutes. Sprinkle almonds over, if desired and garnish with lemon wedges.

cous cous

I love these colors!!

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