Raw Thanksgiving Recipes

Raw on $10 a Day (or Less!): November 22, 2009: Okay, here is a menu of holiday recipes from another Blogger vegan chef, but she is a raw vegan. Not the heartiest of Thanksgiving fares, but the cranberry sauce and mushroom loaf look intriguing. You can even serve them with your cooked Thanksgiving meal as appetizers to give them a test run.

Community Garden: Welcome To My .004 Acres

This summer, I had the opportunity to lease my own little 5' by 7' plot of land for $10 from a non-profit that my city started for community gardening. I have been gardening in my mostly shady yard for many years, but have been limited to pots and a fig tree on my curbside garden. I have tried in vain to grow more edibles directly in the ground but with limited success, though I discovered that many of my perennial plantings are edible, much to my delight. I've always wanted to grow my own food, so I was delighted to start cultivating this summer. After many hours invested in reading my collection of gardening books and magazines, I purchased some tiny plants of kale, collards, tomatoes, zucchini, herbs and peppers. I also got some sunflower seeds as I lust after sunflowers, which I discovered love the sun, despise the shade. We are blessed in that our garden has a water hose, a shed stocked with tools and seed packets (none of my seeds grew) and a compost bin. It is very beautiful and has an arbor, fruit trees and roses. Oh yeah! We just have to do our part in keeping the area weeded and watering the common areas. Extra produce can be donated to the hunger center by placing in a drop off basket in the shed. The site was formerly a home that went down with the economy in 2008. Our city doesn't play when it comes to blighted buildings - it's going down. As the plants started to take off, I wasn't always sure of when or how to harvest the vegetables, but I figured it out and regularly use the kale, peppers and tomatoes in salads and stews. The master gardener assigned to our garden will have to tell me when it's time to harvest the onions. The city will host a harvest party for all of the area gardens. There will be music, cooking demonstrations and lots of stories to tell about surviving the drought and deer attacks. This fall we will be building a children's learning garden in our city's newest garden. As far as I'm concerned, all of the gardens are children's gardens as they bring out the sense of wonder, discovery and happiness that one feels witnessing a seed or tiny planting grow into something delicious! Now what to plant for fall and winter.....?

Being in my garden makes me happy and gives me a great sense of peace.

Front Entrance

Beautiful drought tolerant perennials line the front bed. The lady in the house next door is the unofficial sergeant of arms for the garden. Lol! I appreciate her diligence.

Apple trees inside of the garden add a nice touch.

A brickway and arbor welcome you to the garden.

Native flowers.

Garden beds are surrounded by stones and the soil is of EXCELLENT quality. This makes a HUGE difference.

Collards, grape tomatoes, dinosaur kale featured here.

Kale, the beautiful power food.

Collards and tomatoes. Collards taste sweeter after they have been hit by that first frost!

Indie Rose. Purchased these at the farmers market. Black and red when ripe. Smoky flavor.

Finally! Sunflowers!

If you haven't tasted a zebra tomato, you are missing out on some amazing flavor, baby!

Wow, I can't believe that I'm growing my own onions! Now what?

I got greedy and leased an adjacent plot to experiment with permaculture techniques. This is a zucchini plant. This plot will feature many perennial food plantings, strawberries, blueberries, herbs, rhubarb and asparagus.

Amazing Vegan Recipes: Pistachio Butter

I subscribe to a blog called "A Profound Hatred of Meat" by Carly Crisisx and it really should be labeled "A Profound Love of Vegetables and Grains", because you will go broke wanting to try all of her delicious and relatively recipes! Her pics of the goods are so enticing and the food takes vegan cuisine up a few notches. I am sharing a pistachio butter recipe, that also happens to be raw, that she posted recently here.

Chicago: Green Jewel of the Midwest

Green Chicago: Green Restaurants Hey Black and Into Green People! I'm in the amazing city of Chicago for a few days and loving it! I'm pretty proud of myself, because I took the Megabus here for a really green and cheap transportation option.You could not ask for 60 degree weather and sunny days in March in ChiCity and expect to get, but I got it! Spending time hanging out with my wonderful son, who is just maturing so nicely into the young man that I prayed for. He just finished finals for winter quarter at DePaul U. (one of the greenest colleges in the country) and we are going to hang out for a bit. On the agenda so far (very fluid):

• Dine at some of the restaurants on the Green Chicago list
• Enjoy some raw food at Karyn's
• Vintage clothing shopping (more for him as I can only get so much back on the Megabus)
• A trip to the Field Museum of Natural History
• Go for a run to the lake

Have you been to Chicago? What suggestions do you have for cool and green activities?

I hope you are doing something fun to enjoy spring this week.

Au revoir, mes amies!

Green Your Diet with this Raw Sweet Treat: Pistachio Balls

Three simple, raw ingredients for Pistachio Balls

It's that time of year again, when we start to seriously think about our diets and health. If you are an aspiring raw foodist, you may have fallen off of the wagon ane are trying to get back on. I have a sweet, nutty and green way for you to kick-off your efforts. Pistachio Balls. This wonderful and simple recipe was discovered on a website I learned about today on NPR's "Travel with Rick Steves" show. Sasha Martin created the blog, Global Table Adventure with a wonderful goal, travel the world to appreciate other cultures, without leaving your own dinner table. How is this possible? Follow the blog to learn more. Now, back to the Pistachio Balls. This wonderful, green nut (red back in the day) has always been my favorite nut treat. I used to derive such pleasure in picking open the pryable shells and popping its contents into my mouth - red fingers and all. I recently discovered the amazing taste and aroma of pistachio oil, which tastes as great on salads as it does on organic Yukon Gold potatoes. Ground pistachios, pistachio oil, lime juice, salt and chopped parsley, makes an amazing and super healthy and green raw treat. Now through this wonderful blog, I have discovered a raw treat which uses only three ingredients, pistachios, dates and coconut (optional). Now for the piece de resistance - pistachios are really good and healthy for you aaaannnd they actually block the absorption of bad fats in other foods you may consume...you know like those leftover treats. Pistachios contain phytonutrients, which are substances which help to fight cancer. So here is the recipe for your enjoyment...love the pics. I'm going to make these this weekend. Can't wait to pop some of these green goodies in my mouth!

Finally, A Raw Food Holiday Recipe Book!

I love this website, "Raw Food on $10 a Day" for so many reasons, great pics of delicious and easy to prepare raw food, budget friendly and fun to read. One more reason....I discovered that there is a cookbook for raw food holiday recipes. Check it out.

Banana Based Raw Smoothies

Wanted to share my latest raw smoothie innovations with you. Check it:

Banana Maple - 1 banana, handful frozen pineapple chunks, dollop cashew butter, splash of maple syrup, almond milk to cover half the ingredients. Blend. Say "Ahh!"

Banana Avocado - 1 banana, handful frozen pineapple chunks, 1/2 cup avocado, raw honey, 2TBL raw shredded coconut, almond milk to cover half the ingredients. Blend. Feel the power!

Banana Peach - 1 banana, 4 frozen pineapple chunks, 3/4 cup frozen peaches, dollop of cashew butter, splash of maple syrup, almond milk to cover half the ingredients.  Blend. Refreshing.

Banana Avocado Smoothie - G is for Great!

Healthy, Hungry-Free Kids Act, Pinch Yourself

Michele Obama is the star of this video (check out her chic flower pin), which highlights the signing of the Healthy, Hungry-Free Kids Act. Allows more funding for healthier lunches, better nutritional information for parents on lunch foods, better quality ingredients, more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. local food options and will encourage school gardens. Is this really happening? It's happening - the Greening of America! Good ole common sense is ruling the day again. Perhaps now, with healthier food, our kids can move up to 24th place in academic performance among our 30 industrialized nation peers. Ya yuh!

Raw Food Picnic Hit: Peach Pie

Check out the peach pie with almond crust that I made for a raw food picnic this weekend. Of course, I was late and got there just in time to share my dessert. The last few folks were packing up, but when I told them I had some peach pie, they sat back down and pulled out their eating supplies. I actually made two, one with raw honey and another with agave. They tore it up people! Major grubbin was going on with this pie! Seconds were had by all. The sponsor of the picnic, Good N Raw Cafe, wants to include my recipe in the online cookbook. I will have to get back to you on the recipe. It is actually a modification of two recipes from different uncookbooks, one of which is "Raw Food Made Easy" by Jennifer Cornbleet. I used her almond pie crust recipe, but added a splash of almond oil. The filling was from a book called "Raw Food" by Erica Palmcranz and Irmela Lilja, but a reduced the cinnamon and added some lemon juice.

Some Amazing Snacking

My favorite candy bar is Endangered Species Dark Chocolate with Cranberries and Almonds, throw in a handful of dried strawberries and raw almonds. Heaven! For a totally raw treat replace the chocolate bar with cacao nibs. Yea Mon!

Locavore 365 - Find & trade locally grown food, vegetables, fruit

Locavore 365 - Find & trade locally grown food, vegetables, fruit You may know about localharvest.org, the site which helps you find farmers markets and farmers in your area, but what about Locavore365? This site is like a Craigslist or Freecycle for local food. Transalation - you may be able to get fresh local produce for free! One less excuse to eat more fruits and veggies.Try it out and let me know how it works for you in your area. I didn't meet with much success in my area, as it appears my vendors are not aware of the service, so I will have to pass it on to the merchants that I deal with. You can also, just add a vendor. The concept is great, let's make it a success!

Happy Mother's Day! I'm off to a Raw Start!

Happy Mothers Day my friends! How fitting is it that Mother's Day commences the beginning of National Women's Health Week. It all starts with us, so I think it is so fitting that I was treated to a surprise raw food breakfast this morning of Apple Cereal and Mango Banana Smoothie. I heard my teen rattling around in the kitchen, but though that he was going to whip up a conventional breakfast for me....until I heard the blender. I thought that it was sweet of him to consider a smoothie in his plans, even though I was somewhat concerned over the loud noise eminating from the blender. To my astonishment, he came upstairs with a bowl of homemade Apple Cereal and a big ole mug of Mango Banana Smoothie. Turns out that he got up early and researched raw breakfast food recipes on the internet, after much searching, he found the website http://www.fromsadtoraw.com/, and made my breakfast! Everthing was good, he actually grated the apples himself and swiped some of the nuts I had soaking for my raw tuna. The one snag that he ran into was that he had no experience cutting a mango. The loooong seed in the mango caught him offguard, he assumed the hard part of seed at the ends of the fruit, were just frozen sections of the mango, so he sliced through them (so manly!) and tossed the chunk into the blender (hence the loud noise heard earlier, at which point he realized it was a seed), so I did have to contend with a few seed fibers, but it was all good. I feel blessed to have such a thoughtful son.

The last photo is a snapshot of a raw starters kit that I put together for my mom. It can be expensive, especially if you are on a fixed income, to get everything you need to get started on a raw diet and she is always game for anything positive that will improve her health, so I put together this ensemble to keep her moving in the raw food way.

On that note, lets all this week try to incorporate one raw meal per day into our diets or at least more fruits and veggies, so we can flip the script on the unhealthy narrative that has been playing out in our lifestyles these last few decades. Check out the blog Chocolate Orchid , for some great ideas on how to get started! Or pick up a copy of the new book by Tracye Lynn McQuirter.By Any Greens Necessary: A Revolutionary Guide for Black Women Who Want to Eat Great, Get Healthy, Lose Weight, and Look Phat.

Happy Mothers Day to all, including Mother Earth!

Raw Food Tacos

Okay I'm back into the groove of eating lots of raw food after a fun time in our nation's capital. My latest recipe is from the book "Raw Food A Complete Guide for Every Meal of the Day". I really enjoy these recipes. So I am trying out tonight, tacos made with pistachios, walnuts, a chunk of leek, carrot and nama shoyu. I made my own taco spices using coriander, cumin, garlic powder and cayenne. Then I whipped up some guacomole, to which I added some leftover mango. Super food kale, will replace the traditional taco shell. There is also a very simple recipe for sour cream made out of cashews, but I'm out of cashews.

Easy Raw Food Dish: Tabbouleh With a Twist

I found this recipe in a new raw food uncookbook that I purchased last night, "Raw Food: A Complete Guide for Every Meal of the Day", by Erica Palmcranz and Irmela Lilja. I was a little concerned once I realized that the authors were Swedish (weird food?), but I discovered that while some of the recipes are different, they are so in a good way. Like this one!

Basically you take the following:

Bunch of parsley (great for digestion and alertness)
Thick slice of red onion (cancer fighter)
Large roma tomato
1/3 of a just ripe avocado (superfood)
Chop each item and mix together. Add about 1/4 cup of finely chopped raw almonds (I used almond meal). Mix again. Squeeze a nice amount of lemon on top, add about a tablespoon or two of extra virgin olive oil, season with salt and pepper to taste. This will make one serving for a meal, two for a side dish. Eat with pleasure and swipe the bowl with your finger to get every last delectable drop!

My New Raw Food Staple: Live Un-Stir- Fry With Cauliflower "Rice"

This is the most delicious and satisfying raw entree recipe I have tried to date. It combines your typical stir fry veggies - cabbages, green onions, snow peas, red peppers and onions - with a few unconventional ingredients - cilantro and cashews. It is then topped with a Thai inspired sauce that is made with lemongrass, ginger, apple cider or plum vinegar,peppers, lime peel, agave, nama shoyu, garlic and tamarind paste. The full recipe can be found in the March issue of Vegetarian Times or online in its healthy recipe index in about another month. It is one of many delish recipes by Mark Reinfeld and Jennifer Murray, authors of "The 30 Minute Vegan" and "The Complete Idiots Guide to Eating Raw".

The "rice" that you see in the photo is made by pulsing 2 cups of cauliflower florets, 1/4 cup of macadamia or pine nuts, 1/2 tablespoon dehydrated onion flakes, 1/4 tsp sea salt and 1/4 tsp garlic powder in the food processor.

It lasts for about 3 days in the fridge, store the rice in a separate container. I like to eat this at room temperature.You can even pass it off as a salad at a potluck, but still enjoy the satisfaction of thinking of it as a stir fry when you are enjoying it!

Welcome GreenSoul Movement - "EatRight" Blog

Welcome GreenSoul Movement - "EatRight" Blog A wonderful reader shared this grassroots, soulful, green and raw blog. The website is authored by Crystal Riles and Azalea Blacock McCoy, two passionate and energetic Oakland sisters with a love of all things green, raw and earthy. Currently they are in the midst of documenting a journey of how to feed a family on good green unprocessed, unpackaged food instead of on the dollar menu at fast food restaurants, which unfortunately too many of our families are forced to do out of lack of ends and information. Michelle Obama should be all over this. I love their idea of buying a Vita-Mix (the ultimate raw food machine) for $10 on Craigslist, finding free fruit and veggies on Freecycle and Craigslist sites and organic veggies for $1 at the dollar store. The lovely ladies even provide great smoothie recipes to try out on your kids and other loved ones. This is truly keeping it real and accessible for all of us. I love it!

Keep up the great work Crystal and Azalea!

More Vegan and Vegetarian Dating Sites For Singles

Everyone seemed to like the raw food singles site I posted, so here are some more options for green, raw, vegan, vegetarian or getting there singles, compliments of VegNews Magazine. A couple of commenters also recommended Greensingles and Veggieconnection. Enjoy and let me know if you meet any cool people with these sites.

GreenChef Russell James | Valentines Chocolate Torte

GreenChef Russell James Valentines Chocolate Torte This is a more complicated, but decadent raw dessert to try.

Chocolate Raw Food Brownies - Just In Time For Valentines Day!

Okay, so perhaps you found a soul mate through the raw food hookup sites referenced yesterday. Yes! Now you want to impress him or her with your raw food unbaking skills. These chocolatey, good for you brownies are sooo quick and easy to make that you will have plenty of time to spend with your sweetie! Basic ingredients were almonds, cacao nibs, dried cherries and dates. Equipment needed - food processor and heart shaped cookie cutters. I topped them with chocolate frosting (raw of course). Recipe from Ani Phyo's Raw Desserts book. Teen taste test result - "These are good, but give me the real thing." Not bad coming from a kid who can down a package of double stuffed Oreos in two days! One day he will see the light my friends.

Raw Food Singles

Looking for someone that doesn't think about raw meat when you tell them that you enjoy raw food? Raw Food Repair, a great blog for raw food lovers, has posted a few ideas and websites for meeting like minded raw food singles. Check it out. Right in time for Valentines Day.