I’d be totally lying if I said I weren’t a sucker for anything colored pink or purple. Which is why, when I came across these purple hull peas at the market, I couldn’t resist the splurge! The price was high, and I had no clue what I was going to do with them, but that only intrigued me more.
When I got home, I anxiously cracked open a pod, and to my surprise found a bean similar to that of the black eyed pea. ‘Crap’ I thought, I have to cook these! Not because I don’t sometimes eat cooked food, but because my dehydrator’s home is on top of my stove – Basically, cooking (with heat) to me, is so much more work than it’s counterpart. Funny what we get used to…
Any who, I sat in front of my computer, watched two hours of hulu, and shelled all of the beans. Whew, what a job! I knew after all that work, that this would definitely be a one time only purchase!
Beans and greens. Mmmm. One of the simplest, best tasting meals ever. And since I’m currently operating with three, count’em three stictches in my right thumb, my dinners this week have been dishes without a whole lot of chopping involved.
I’ve made lots of similar dishes in the past, but I’ve always used canned beans, since the thought of using dried beans always seemed like so much work to me. Then I came across this cookbook called ‘Super Natural Cooking’ by Heidi Swanson. In it not only is there a fabulous recipes for beans and green, but Heidi also mentions a company called Rancho Gordo that specializes in heirloom beans. I decided to order a few different kind of beans (there are so many amazing varieties) and am now totally obsessed over their giant Cannellini beans. Oh, and they are ‘kitty approved’ as well… :)
Yes, dried beans are a little more work, but with just a little planning ahead, it’s really not that difficult and sooo worth the extra effort. All you have to do is soak them in water before going to bed and then some time the next day, cook them up which takes about an hour to an hour in a half. In fact, you can find out all sorts of helpful tips and recipes at the Rancho Gordo website.
Lately, I’ve had quite a few flops in the kitchen. Which is why, I was super stoked when I came up with this dish and it actually tasted as good as I hoped.
Since I have issues with purchasing more corn than I (or a family of 5) needs, I wanted to find a way, other than corn relish, to make good use of it. For some reason, corn cakes immediately popped into my head and I decided to roll with it. I had most of the ingredients on hand, so to the kitchen I went…
I was in love with all the colors in the corn cakes… Isn’t raw food pretty!? Enjoy!
The other day, we were taking a walk on the beach and recollecting our many summers spent on the Black Sea shore. Sochi (where the 2014 winter Olympics will be held) was where we usually stayed with family, in a charming old house. Whole days were spent on the beach, bathing in the gentle water and soaking up the sun, completely content. Summer in Sochi is truly magical, with warm windless days, chilly evenings, fireflies, and water temperatures that are refreshing yet welcoming. And that is where we got our yearly dose of figs. In our hometown, figs were a rarity – expensive and shipped from afar. But Sochi was a different story. Come the “velvet season”, at the end of August, and the many fig trees in the streets and backyards exhibited the plump fruit. For some unknown reason, the locals did not care for them. So we became fruit thieves in neighbor’s yards, justified by the fact that the figs would go to waste without our rescue. It’s a known fact that the less the time between harvesting and eating, the better the flavour. And freshly picked, those figs tasted like honey, and their sweetness lingered on our lips all season long.
The other true jewel of those times in Sochi was hazelnut. Hazelnut trees were abundant and beautiful with their trios of ready to pick nuts hidden in green cocoons. We would take bags of freshly harvested hazelnuts to the beach and crack the nuts with smooth sea rocks. They made for an unforgettably tasty snack. Folk medicine is rich with tales of the nut’s healing powers. In fact, one such remedy calls for the mixture of figs and hazelnuts to be taken at the end of the meal to aid digestion.
Now that figs have come into season, we decided to build this pizza around them with the addition of hazelnuts, caramelized onion, and basil sauce.
When it comes to healthy living, I’m all or nothing. I love raw food, because it keeps me on track and feeling in control. Right before I even knew what this lifestyle was all about, I was a super junk food eating vegan. Like full on dinners of potato chips because, well, they tasted good and they were fairly natural, meat & dairy free. But healthy? Let’s get real. Overnight I decided raw was the way for me and haven’t looked back. Most importantly, I pushed through the transition and pumped my body full of as many greens as I could handle until I craved them as I once craved chips.
My lifestyle is rooted in pleasure—but not the kind of fleeting pleasure a bag of chips used to give me. This is a flow of pleasure. I love to go to the farmer’s market and hand pick every veggie, sniff the herbs and taste the ripe fruits. I adore creating in my kitchen. A little of this and a little of that = magic. As a life long foodie, you know I love to eat and indulge in all of the pleasures of gourmet raw food. But the most pleasure for me? I feel amazing. I don’t get sick, like ever. I’m completely blissed out. It’s deeply empowering.
Last week we discovered GreenChef Chloe on VegNews and we posted her 4th of July dessert video. This week, we bring you her Vegan Avocado Pesto Pasta video (recipe link). This is a pretty simple and quick recipe, even I could imagine whipping this one up for dinner or lunch. Which means, I will be making this for sure in the next few days. If the recipes are too complicated, I tend to wait for a visiting greenchef to make them for me. I know, I am a very spoiled dark monkie.
Enjoy the video… and go checkout VegNews Magazine, they gave us an award a few years back. Best site to read at night, or something like that. No, I don’t know what that means either. Maybe we are too dark to be read during the day. Also, take a few minutes to see more recipes by Chef Chloe on her site, chefchloeblog.weebly.com
I have never been one for sushi. I mean the l kind with white rice and raw fish. I won’t go into all the reasons why. To me, a real nori roll is one that is filled with veggies, kept raw and full of colour. It is one of my favourite things to eat. It is so simple to prepare and makes an amazing snack, lunch or dinner. I don’t know about you, but I like things full – by that I mean complete. I love my food bursting with flavour, colour and texture and there has to be more than one ingredient in my rolls – no matter what. How boring is “kappa maki” – just cucumber all alone in that roll. So sad. There are an abundance of other amazing veggies that would give anything to be inside a luscious roll of nori goodness.
So the key to raw nori making is to use raw nori sheets. It doesn’t work if you buy the toasted kind. So make sure to buy it raw. Then for the filling, you can go crazy with anything from sprouted quinoa, to chopped jicama (an incredible root veggie from Mexico), to shredded cauliflower. But I went on a totally new tangent. I soaked and sprouted some sunflower seeds and almonds– which are loaded with healthy fats and nutty texture. Then I blended them into my version of a mock tuna salad. I threw in some fresh herbs from my garden like dill, oregano and sage, added some dulse (a sea veggie – to give it that true vegan “sea” taste) and other condiments to just make it burst with unique flavour.
Once you spread that on your raw nori sheet, you are good to go and add loads of veggies. I would start with carrots, beets, cucumber, spinach, mango sprouts, avocado. This is a pretty good start and will fill your rolls rather nicely. I promise you will be pleasantly surprised how delicious and filling these are. Take them to your next party or just enjoy them on your own – they don’t even need to be dipped! Continue Reading / See Additional Photos
Golden and Green Cannelloni with Sun-Dried Tomato–Ginger Marinara, Mint-Basil Pistachio Pesto, Green Zebra Tomatoes, and Pine Nut and Black Truffle “Ricotta” (raw, vegan) Recipe by GreenChef Matthew Kenney
The first raw food dish (or at least, the first successful raw food dish) that I ever created was a green zebra tomato lasagna that I designed for my first raw food menu. There was never a single evening that it wasn’t the best-selling dish on the menu, which lies in the fact that it offers familiar flavors in a unique form. Raw food can often be intimidating, especially for those who have never tried it, and the components of this dish resemble a welcoming gesture—tomato sauce, pesto, ricotta, tomatoes. They work together, we’ve all tried them, and the dish is full flavored.
In caveman days, I think I actually would have done pretty well. While my un-evolved cohorts were off worrying about getting stampeded by woolly mammoths in their quest for a meaty entree, I would have stayed at home feasting on berries and nuts and nutritious greens, and feeling – yes – totally fabulous. I probably would have looked hot in my cavelady dress too.
Ironically, it’s some of the modern social settings that can, at times, be a wee bit problematic. Like barbecues. Oh yeah – the smokey grills full of animal-bits, bowls of greasy chips, and ubiquitous offerings of “mystery ingredient” coleslaw have me basically locked into the one thing I can share with everyone: beer. And while beer is great and all it’s not exactly my idea of a well-rounded meal . . . which is why I always BYOB.
G / Design It’s amazing how easy it is to now go completely leather free, with amazing leather like fabrics by Joseph Noble. They make a range of fabrics with feel better than leather and last longer
G / Food The Ultimate Sausage and Pepper Pizza – RAW It’s Rawfully Tempting!
G / Food Chocolate Fruit and Almond Bark – D E C A D E N T and H E A L T H Y! Sooo Rawfully Tempting!
G / Food The edible cups are made entirely out of agar agar (a gelatin substitute).
G / Design a solar-powered collapsible lamp lights up when unfolded.
G / Food The Ultimate Sausage & Pepper Pizza by Rawfully Tempting
G / Food Creamy Mocha Mousse Cake
G / Video A visual poem by Tanya Davis. How To Be Alone
G / Food Killer Chocolate Fudge Mousse & Banana Parfait.
This is one DECADENT dessert and not for the feint of heart.
G / Style Well, this o so stylish hat called Double Crown O’Thorns, is definitely a bold look, especially if you wear the entire black head to toe suggestive accompanying outfit.
Photography Callie England
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