Raw January Day 1 -- Cucumber Cilantro Soup

I started my raw food experiment yesterday, the second of January. As I had some very tasty Indian leftovers from New Year's, I couldn't very well start on the first ;).

Yesterday and today have been filled with prep work. I made a half-gallon batch of almond milk, juiced a ton of oranges, and started some cashew cheese (we'll see how that turns out in a few days). I also gutted a few young coconuts. Today I'm going to use the almond pulp from the milk to attempt to make some raw bread (again, we'll see how that works out!), marinate and dehydrate some veggies for future use, and attempt to make an Ethiopian inspired dish for dinner tonight. More will be forth-coming on that endeavor! I'm also going to play with a batch of raw sun-dried olives and see what I can come up with.

My meals yesterday consisted of:

• Breakfast: A smoothie made from almond milk, pineapple, and hemp seed
• Lunch: Asian kelp salad and cucumber soup (recipe below!)
• Dinner: A very tasty meal at Sushi Gin of sashemi and seaweed salad (see photos)

Not too bad, if you ask me! Snacking through the day consisted of flax crackers and my first attempt at raw hummus (which needs some tweaking), tomato slices, and a pear.

So far, I'm finding that planning is absurdly essential when it comes to raw fooding. Also, I need a bigger kitchen. I see some rearranging in my very near future....but for now, my latest recipe--

raw, vegan, super-quick, and very refreshing!

Cucumber Cilantro Soup

Ingredients:

2 cucumbers, cut into 1" pieces

2 tbs lemon juice

1" peel of lemon (or 1 tsp of zest)

1 tbs fresh ginger, grated

1 tsp salt, to taste

2 tbs tahini

2 tbs coconut milk

2 green onion, chopped

jalapeno, to taste (I used a 1" piece)

water, if necessary to thin soup (add a tablespoon at a time)

4 tbs fresh cilantro

Directions:

Blend together all ingredients except the cilantro until smooth. Add cilantro and pulse until well combined. If desired, garnish with extra pepper slices and cilantro. I also splashed a little Chipotle Tabasco on my bowl (not raw, but it's damn tasty!). Serves 2.