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Mexican-Style Slaw and Other Raw Selections

Another long absence, but these things do happen. I have a new recipe to share in a few, but I want to start by showing a raw items I made during a food prep spree I went on last week.

First was a recipe straight off my friend Amber's website, Almost Vegan. I originally was going to make plain coconut butter from her book, but given the sheer number of strawberries this time of year, I instead opted for Strawberry Coconut Butter. I had been saving an empty coconut oil jar for just the occasion, but the pink stuff inside is all sweet, delicious spread that goes with damn near everything. Also in the photo to the left is my own Banana Carrot Bread.

Also from the mind of Amber (and from her fantastic raw cook book, Practically Raw, that came out earlier this year) are the Naked Kale Chips. I substituted coconut oil for the olive oil in the recipe, and also added a couple cloves of garlic. The result was a crispy treat that tastes great on its own or dipped in hummus. Amber has several hummus variations in her book, but I opted to make my own. Here is the massaged kale laid out on a dehydrator tray, ready to get to work:

And here is is all shiny and crisp, post dehydration:

A few select kale chips:

 I also dehydrated some zucchini into chips:

Now onto the recipe. We had tacos for dinner last week, and I wanted a light side dish that didn't involve heating up the stove, as the summer heat makes cooking a little less fun. I came up with this simple Mexican-style slaw using pre-packaged shredded broccoli. For even more Mexican flavor, use cilantro instead of the parsley (which I used to accommodate the aversion to cilantro the oldest spawn has). After dinner, we had about half the slaw leftover, so the next day I added a can of black beans (drained and rinsed) to make it a meal of it's own.

Mexican-Style Slaw

Ingredients:

1/4 small red onion, minced

2 green onions, minced

1 tbs spicy mustard

zest and juice from 1 lime

1/4 c olive oil

hot sauce, to taste

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

1/2 bag broccoli slaw (about 2 cups)

1/4 red bell pepper, diced

kernels from 1 ear of corn

1/4 c parsley, chopped

Directions:

Whisk together onions, mustard, lime juice and zest, oil, hot sauce, cumin, salt, and pepper.

Toss the dressing with the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate for at least half an hour before serving to allow the flavors to meld. 

To the right, you can see the slaw alongside our tacos of Morning Star Chick'n, homemade salsa, and avocado.

Below is the slaw with black beans added.

Veg-uary minipost: Bar Fare

Who says you can't dine in vegetarian style at a bar? Here's my veggie wrap with seasoned fries from Cronin's Bar & Grill. It's stuffed full of mushrooms, green peppers, onion, jalapeño, and cheese. I got salsa and sour cream, as well. Yum! It's the perfect accompaniment for my Boulevard Irish Ale.

Veguary minipost - Raw Tacos

I just found out there's an app to post to this site (how'd I not know?). I'm going to use this to post my eating out Veguary-capades.

Here's a test post to show my meal thus far. Last week I made the fixin's for raw tacos and snapped a photo at work (shown below). I had the rest of my tacos last night.

The "meat" is walnut filling made with walnuts (duh), sun-dried tomato, serrano pepper, and spices. The tortillas are zucchini-avocado based. I topped them with homemade salsa, avocado, and goat cheese. I need to work on the walnut filling, but these were still super-tasty!

Dong Gu Dau-Fu Pan (or Shiitake and Tofu Stir-Fry)

Welcome to Veg-uary (explained here)! I admit to having a certain amount of trepidation eschewing meat (and especially fish) for the next 28 days, but I remain excited and committed to expanding my culinary (anti-) skills. Plus, as the oldest spawn has decided she wants to follow a vegetarian diet, I have a certain amount of obligation to accommodate her nutritive wishes. I will be documenting here our vegetarian exploits, so expect lots of food porn over the next four weeks!

This is the last week for the Door to Door Organics contest, so for my first recipe of Veg-uary I've butchered another one of their recipes. Their "omnivore" option this week is Moo Goo Gai Pan, an Americanized version of a Cantonese stir-fry. I've transformed it into a vegetarian/vegan friendly meal by switching the "gai" (chicken) for "dau-fu" (tofu), and using augmented vegetable stock instead of the poultry-based counterpart. Shiitake mushrooms were on sale, so I went that route instead of the typical button mushrooms.

I'm no Cantonese linguist, but as far as I can determine through limited Google research, here is the break-down of the vocabulary used in the title of this dish:

Mu Gu = button mushrooms, which I opted to switch with shiitake mushrooms (dong gu).

Gai = Chicken, which I've substituted in favor of tofu (dau-fu).

Pan = Slices (well, at least I left one part unadulterated!).

You can visit the link above for the original recipe (which inexplicably neglects to tell when to add the mushrooms....weird). My version is below.

Dong Gu Dau-Fu Pan

Ingredients:
1 12oz block of firm tofu, drained and pressed
3 tbs peanut oil
salt and pepper
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 lb shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 lb (about 2 cups) baby bok choy, sliced
1 c vegetable stock*
1 tsp arrowroot powder
2 tablespoons nama shoyu or tamari, if desired (I used this in favor of additional salt)
4 c prepared rice or oriental noodles, as desired

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. Slice the pressed tofu into strips about 1/2" thick. Using about a teaspoon of the oil, coat the tofum sprinkle with salt, and place on a baking sheet. Flipping halfway

through, bake for 30 minutes (or until tofu is golden).

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil over medium-high heat in a large wok. Add onions and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper, and sauté another 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, add bok choy, and stir-fry an additional 5 minutes.

Combine arrowroot with 2 tablespoons of the broth and set aside. Pour the remaining broth into the wok and bring to a boil. Add the tofu and reduce heat. Simmer 5 minutes, then stir in the arrowroot mixture. Allow sauce to thicken over medium-low heat, adding nama shoyu (if desired) and adjusting seasoning to taste. Serve over prepared rice or noodles of choice. As you can see in the photos, we had ours with noodles. Makes 4 2-cup servings.

*Regarding the vegetable stock: To impart more umami flavor to the stock, I simmered the mushroom stems, onion peel, a few peppercorns, and one whole allspice berry in the broth for about 20 minutes, then strained the broth before using. This extra step isn't necessary, but it's an easy way to kick up the mushroom flavor of the finished dish.

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

For some reason, I cannot seem to get enough soup lately. Usually, I'd blame the cold weather, but Kansas City has had an absurdly mild winter so far. This recipe, as the previous, is inspired by a featured recipe on Door to Door Organics for their Good Food Made Simple Contest. As always, I put my own spin on it. First, I opted to make this soup vegan. I've been experimenting with using more whole foods, which lead to the second big change: Eliminating pre-made stock. So far, I've been pleased with my stock/broth-free adaptations. Additional bonus? Less salt in the final product!

The soup is yummy topped with croutons, cheese, or additional basil. We went with a twist on the traditional and had it with basil grilled cheese.

Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

2 large red bell peppers, cored and cut into fourths
1 lb tomatoes, cut into fourths
1 head garlic, cloves separated and peeled
2 medium carrots, cut into 2 inch lengths
1 stalk celery, cut into 2 inch lengths
1 large red onion, peeled and cut into fourths
4 tbs light olive oil
1/2 tbs salt
5 c water
10 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 large bay leaves
1/2 c fresh basil, chopped
1 can lite coconut milk
additional salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450F.

Place peppers, tomatoes, garlic, carrots, celery,and onion in a large baking dish (I used a 10x13x3 lasagna pan). Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and toss to coat. Roast the vegetables in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until the vegetables start to brown.

Transfer the roasted veggies and the liquid in the bottom of the baking pan to a large stock pot. Add the water, thyme, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove the thyme stems (if any leaves remain attached to the stem, strip them off and return to the stock pot). Remove bay leaves. Add chopped basil and coconut milk; purée the until smooth. Return the soup to stock pot over medium-low heat for another 10 minutes and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot. Makes about 8 servings.

Estimated Nutritional Info: 217kcal, 19g fat, no cholesterol, 615mg sodium, 425mg potassium, 12g total carbs, 2.7g fiber, and 3g protein. Bonus: It's really high in vitamins A and C!

Back from Blogging Hiatus with Salmon Broccoli Chowder and Veg-uary!

Dear Recipe Blog:
I'm sorry I left. Please take me back.
sincerely, the Anti-Chef.

I've been away for so long....that was never my intention, but that pesky thing called Life (outside the kitchen) demanded my undivided attention for quite awhile. I've been keeping chicken-scratch notes of my cooking adventures that I hope to share with my corner of the internet, but that will take some time. More immediate is....

Veg-uary.

Let me explain. My oldest spawn mentioned wanting to try a vegetarian diet. I haven't done the vegetarian thing in awhile, so I decided we could do it together. We picked February to be vegetarians (hence "Veg-uary"). Several people expressed an interest in doing this with us, so I made a Facebook group for everyone to join for support and ideas. The group is open to anyone, so if you feel this is something you'd like to partake in, feel free! I'm excited to revisit some of my favorite non-meat recipes, as well as create a few more along the way.

On the not-so-vegetarian side of things, I made salmon chowder today. The weather has turned (finally!), and nothing says winter comfort food like a nice, thick, hearty soup. My original inspiration is a salmon corn chowder from Door to Door Organics (my organic co-op of choice). I've done a considerable amount of editing as I'm not a big corn fan, nor did I have vegetable stock on hand. I hope you enjoy my debut recipe of 2012!

Salmon Broccoli Chowder

Ingredients:
4 tbs light olive oil
1 small head of broccoli
1 lb salmon filets
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbs oil of choice (I use coconut oil)
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp anchovie paste
1 bunch fresh thyme
1 stalk oregano
2 cups milk
6 cups water
3 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 large bay leaves
1 dash hot sauce of choice
parsley to garnish, if desired

Directions:

Coat broccoli and salmon with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place broccoli on one side of a baking sheet and put in the oven. With the broccoli in the oven, preheat oven to 375F. Once the oven is preheated, add the salmon filets to the baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes per inch of the salmon's thickness. Remove from oven and set aside.

In a large soup pot, heat oil of choice over medium-high heat. Saute onions and carrots until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add celery, garlic, anchovie paste, thyme, and oregano; saute another minute.

Add milk, water, potatoes, bay leaves, a teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and lightly boil until potatoes are very soft--about 20 minutes.

Once the potatoes are tender, remove the bay leaves and herb stems (if not previously removed). Blend soup until smooth, then return to pot over medium-low heat.

Flake the salmon, discarding the skin. Cut the broccoli into florets. Stir salmon, broccoli, and hot sauce into the soup and heat another 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste, garnish with parsley (if desired), and serve.

Makes 8 1-1/2 cup servings, Roughly 290kcal, 12.5g fat (half of which is monounsaturated), 1100mg potassium, 24g total carbs, 5g fiber, and 20g protein.

Pork Spring Rolls with Chili-Hoisin Sauce and Spicy Cucumbers

Here I have a couple of Chinese-inspired recipes for you. The first is a spring roll stuffed with pork and cabbage and served with a chili-hoisin dipping sauce. The second is my answer to an overwhelming number of cucumbers thanks to my organic produce deliveries the past few weeks. I do love cucumbers, but I swear if I see one more slice in a salad I'm going to go on a mad rampage.

Or not. I mean, cucumbers are pretty tasty.

Anyway, the spicy cucumbers get a near-pickled treatment from being sautéed in the tamari "brine." I like to eat them on their own, but they would also be a nice change of pace as a salad topping.

The spring rolls are fairly traditional, save for not being deep fried. Obviously if you prefer the crunchy wrapper to the fresh, you can fry them. For the vegetarians out there, soy crumbles can be used instead of the pork with similar results. For an even more authentic flavor, add 1/4 cup of fresh chopped cilantro to the cabbage mixture when preparing the spring rolls. I skipped it, since the oldest spawn can't stand it.

Pork Spring Rolls with Chili-Hoisin Sauce

Ingredients:
1/4 c hoisin sauce
1/4 c tamari
2 tbs garlic-chili sauce
1 tbs honey
1/4 c water
1/2 head green cabbage, shredded
4 stalks green onion, thinly sliced
1 tbs peanut oil
1 lb ground pork
1 1/2" piece of ginger root, peeled and grated
12 rice paper wrappers

Directions:
Whisk together the hoisin, tamari, garlic-chili sauce, honey, and water in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss together the cabbage and green onion. Set aside.

In a large skillet or wok, heat the peanut oil over medium-high heat. Brown the pork until no pink remains. Add the ginger and sauté for one minute. Pour about half the chili-hoisin sauce over the pork and sauté another three to five minutes, or until most the moisture has evaporated out. Transfer the pork to the bowl with the cabbage and toss to combine.

Soak the spring roll wrappers according to package directions. One at a time, lay a soaked spring roll wrapper on a flat surface and arrange one-half cup of the pork filling on the rice paper, about two inches from the edge closest to you. Roll the wrapper tightly around the filling, tucking the ends on the left and right toward the center as you go. Repeat until each wrapper has been filled.
Serve the rolls with remaining chili-hoisin sauce for dipping.


Spicy Cucumbers

Ingredients:
1 tbs tamari
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tbs peanut oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2" piece of ginger root, peeled and grated
2 tsp garlic-chili sauce
2 cucumbers, halved, seeded, and sliced into 1" pieces

Directions:
Whisk together tamari, salt, and sugar. Set aside.

In a large skillet or wok, heat the peanut oil over med-high heat. Sauté garlic and ginger for about 30 seconds, then quickly whisk in the garlic-chili sauce. Add the cucumbers, tossing to coat, and sauté for three minutes. Add tamari mixture sauté another 3-5 minutes, or until cucumbers just start to soften. Remove from heat. Can be served immediately, at room temperature, or after chilling in the fridge (the latter is my favorite!).

Fudgy Brownies with Chocolate Peanut Butter Icing

Happy Mother's Day! Just in time, what does every mother need once in awhile? Chocolate, of course! These brownies take some muscle to mix, but that just decreases the guilt factor--surely burning extra calories making them justifies a slip from the diet?

If you are into cake brownies, then you won't like this recipe. This is for those of you who love thick, fudgy brownies. Make them with or without the frosting; either way I recommend a tall glass of milk to help wash down the gooey goodness.

Another benefit of these brownies is you can make them on the cheap. By using cocoa powder, you get the dark chocolate flavor without shelling out for the irresistible fine-milled 60% cacao chocolate. Make sure to follow the directions exactly. Not stirring completely or warming the batter long enough will result in a grainy dessert at best; chocolate scrambled eggs at worst. Just trust in my own experimentation, and enjoy! If you have a double boiler, go ahead and use it. I wrote out the directions for those of us who have to go the old-school route.

Fudgy Cocoa Brownies

Ingredients:
cooking spray
1 stick plus 2 tbs unsalted butter
1 c packed brown sugar
3/4 c plus 2 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temperature, beaten
1/2 c unbleached flour
2/3 c walnuts, chopped (optional)
Chocolate Peanut Butter Icing (optional)

Directions:
Place the oven rack on the second position from the bottom and preheat the oven to 325F. Line an 8x8 baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.

Fill a large, deep skillet with 2 inches of water. Bring water to a low simmer, and place a medium heat-safe bowl in the water bath. Place the butter in the bowl and allow to melt. Once melted, add sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. While the bowl is in the water bath, stir until the mixture is well-combined. Stirring occasionally, continue to heat for an additional 5 minutes, or until no grains of sugar can be felt when a drop of batter is rubbed between the fingers (batter should be tolerably hot to touch--not scalding!). Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside to cool for about 10 minutes, or until mixture is warm (about 80 degrees F, if you have a thermometer handy).

Mix in the vanilla. Add the eggs and stir until completely incorporated (this will take some upper body strength!); the batter will be shiny. Add the flour 2 tbs at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition (more arm muscle). Stir in walnuts, if desired. Spread the batter evenly in the baking pan.

Bake 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes in the pan, then pull the brownies out by the foil and place on a rack (still on the foil) to finish cooling. Once cooled, if desired, ice brownies with Chocolate Peanut Butter Icing (recipe below). Cut into 20 portions, and enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Icing

Ingredients:
1/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c smooth peanut butter
2 tbs butter
1 tbs cocoa powder
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
In a small saucepan, heat all the ingredients over medium-low until melted, stirring thoroughly. Once combined, reduce heat to lowest setting and allow to warm an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Use to top brownies, cupcakes, or ice cream. Makes about 1 cup of icing.

Dandelion Pesto and Roasted Beets

I love receiving boxes from Door to Door Organics, but sometimes the substitute feature can get the best of me. Some items will never be allowed to deliver (like raspberries....ick), but other times I waffle between the items I know and items I've never tried. Imagine my dilemma when my Friday morning email announced that there would be dandelion greens in my box.

"Weeds?" I thought, rather taken aback. What on earth was I supposed to do with weeds?

I could've easily substituted the item out for an innocuous lime, or maybe a few bananas; instead, I chose to boldly go where no--well, me--had gone before. I was going to anti-chef the hell out of these weeds.

First, let's go over how they taste. They taste like bitter grass, of all things. Pretty much how I had figured weeds would taste. The bitterness was a little more nuanced, though, with an almost almond finish. Very unique. I opted to go the easy route and turn the dandelion greens into pesto. So I did.

The thing about dandelion leaves is the bitterness increases exponentially as they are chopped and processed. In the batch I came up with, the pesto bordered on too bitter for human consumption alone. Paired with a four-cheese ravioli, however, it was perfect. It also made an excellent smear for bagels, as well as the perfect compliment to an over-easy egg.

I think for more general use, I'd prefer to use half dandelion greens and half basil. For a first attempt, though, I'm pretty happy with the outcome.

For my second feat, I had also received a batch of beets in my organic box. These were much easier to prepare, as you'll see below. Roasted beets have a flavor somewhere between potatoes and carrots, which makes them very easy on the palate. Plus, they are pretty!

Dandelion Pesto:

Ingredients:
2 c dandelion leaves, washed and cut into 1" pieces
1/4 c lemon thyme
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 c olive oil, additional to achieve smooth texture if needed
1/2 c macademia nuts
2 tsp light agave nectar
1 tsp lemon zest
juice from 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 c Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

Place about of the dandelion greens, thyme, garlic, and the 1/2 c olive oil into the food processor. Pulse chop for about a minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the remaining greens and continue to pulse until finely chopped up.

Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth, drizzling in additional olive oil if necessary. Makes about 1 1/2 cups pesto. Store tightly covered in the fridge for up to a week.

Roasted Beets with Herbs

Ingredients:
4 large beets, tops removed
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 springs fresh rosemary, stems discarded and leaves minced
2 tbs fresh lemon thyme leaves
2 tbs light olive oil
juice from half a lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F. Peel beets and cut into 1 1/2" cubes. In an 8x8 glass dish, toss beets with garlic, herbs, and oil until thoroughly coated. Cover with foil and roaste in oven for 45 minutes. Uncover, stir, and roast (uncovered) an additional 15 minutes, or until fork tender. Just before serving, toss with lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 4 side dish servings. Can be served hot or cold!

Raw Chocolate and/or Mango Pudding

I think it's time for a dessert post, don't you? How about a dessert that you'd feel comfortable having for breakfast? Well, here it is! These two puddings are very similar, and a great way to use up extra produce (I know, I know, "extra avocados" are scarce around my house, too!).

For show I layered the chocolate and the mango pudding, then tossed a few chocolate chips on top as garnish. The kids loved these! The tangy mango is the perfect compliment to the rich dark chocolate.

After the recipes, continue reading for an idea on using leftover mango pudding for breakfast!

Raw Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados
1/8 cup raw cocoa
2-3 tsp honey, to taste
1-2 tbs pineapple juice, to achieve desired thickness (if necessary)


Directions:
Place all the ingredients into a food processor/blender and purée until well combined. If needed, add juice 1/2 tablespoon at a time until pudding is the desired texture. Spoon into serving dishes and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving. Makes 3-4 half cup servings.


Raw Mango Pudding

Ingredients:
2 ripe yellow mangoes, peeled, pitted, and diced
1 ripe banana, peeled
1/4 c raw macademia nuts, soaked and drained
1-2 tsp honey, to taste
1-2 tbs pineapple juice, to achieve desired thickness (if necessary)


Directions:
Place all the ingredients into a food processor/blender and purée until well combined. If needed, add juice 1/2 tablespoon at a time until pudding is the desired texture. Spoon into serving dishes and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving. Makes 3-4 half cup servings.

An additional use for the mango pudding is to use as a dessert topping or to place it in crêpes. The following morning, I made the crêpes pictured here for breakfast. I used my basic recipe for crêpes, substituting pineapple juice for the orange since it's what I had on hand. For the filling, I combined about a quarter cup of mango pudding with a quarter cup of Greek yogurt. I also grilled some pineapple to add to the breakfast and topped the crêpes with slivered almonds. Very tasty, and very filling!

Garlic-Ginger Chicken Lo Mein with Bok Choy

Craving Chinese, but hate the grease of take-out? Or love the grease, but hate your thighs? This is an absurdly easy noodle dish that packs a punch without ruining the diet. The majority of the flavor comes from tossing the cooked chicken in the simple Asian dressing. Stir-fried bok choy adds color and extra flavor to the noodles, which only take 3-5 minutes to boil. Enjoy this dish hot or cold, or skip the noodles and serve the chicken over salad.

Garlic-Ginger Chicken Lo Mein

Ingredients:
1 tbs peanut oil
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
3 tbs tamari
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs minced gingerroot
1 tbs rice vinegar
1 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs chili-infused oil (olive oil, if you are sensitive to heat)
1/2 tbs sesame oil
1/4 tsp cumin
12oz box lo main noodles
fresh cilantro to garnish

Directions:
Heat peanut oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Cook the chicken breasts for 5 minutes on each side, then reduce heat to med-low and cover. Allow chicken to cook, covered, for 20 minutes or until internal temperature is 165 degrees F.

Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining ingredients except noodles and cilantro. When chicken is done cooking, remove from heat and allow to rest 5 minutes. Slice chicken into strips and toss with the dressing. While the chicken strips rest in the dressing, prepare noodles according to package directions.

If desired, combine the noodles with stir-fried bok choy (recipe below). Serve chicken over a bed of noodles and topped with additional dressing. Garnish with cilantro. Makes 4 servings.

Garlic Bok Choy

Ingredients:
2 tbs peanut oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 head bok choy, washed, stems cut into 1/2" slices and leaves sliced to 1"
1/2 c chicken or vegetable stock, or water
1/4 tsp sea salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper

Directions:
Heat the peanut oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Sauté the garlic for one minute, then add the bok choy and stock. Stir-fry until the box choy is wilted and bright green. Season with salt and pepper and serve. Makes 4 side dish servings.

Has it Really Been Three Months?

Hello, all. It is I, your friendly neighborhood anti-chef. I did not die or enter the Witness Protection Program. Rather, I've been incredibly busy doing everything but cook. February was a heavy work month, March was spent packing and visiting my sister and brand-new nephew in San Diego, and April has consisted of futile attempts to unpack. If nothing else, the kitchen is usable, so recipes will be forthcoming.

When I last left you fine folks, I had just finished my January of raw food-ness. It was a very interesting month, and I learned some very interesting food prep techniques that I hadn't considered. While 100% raw is definitely not for me (even though I'd love to eat sushi multiple times a day!), I have been and will continue to incorporate more raw items into my every day diet.

My trip to San Diego in March was originally to spend a week with my sister and nephew who was supposed to be born a couple of weeks prior. The little guy had a streak of stubbornness (I hear it runs in the family), though and hadn't shown up by the time I landed. Instead, my sis, Jenn, and I drove around San Diego and ended up at a little fish taco stand that was literally right on the fishing docks. The image above was taken from the seating area outside the stand. Talk about fresh! Each day's menu depends on what the fishermen bring in. My sister and I each ordered some fish tacos. I had the striped sea bass, and this was the most amazing fish I have ever had. Perfectly cooked, moist fish, topped with cabbage, pico de gallo, and avocado. I could eat like this every day.

As a side note, I have also purchased a new camera. It has 14mp resolution, 26x zoom, and tons of customizations. Basically, it's the closest I could get to a DSLR without forking out the big bucks. See those fish tacos? I could have never taken such a clear picture with my old point-and-shoot. Yay for new toys!

That night, we had Greek food as we sat around thinking up ways to convince my sister to go into labor. My sis and I both got the vegetarian plate, which included a Greek salad, dolmades (yum!), falafal, phyllo filled with spinach, pita, and (of course) hummus. We also ordered baklava, but we didn't get to it that night. The next day I was determined to get my sister out of the pregnant way. We walked all over the park near her house, and around the grocery store and Wal-Mart several times. That night we had Indian food that was amazing. I had picked up some fresh oregano during our errands earlier, and I was shredding it over my sister's food to hopefully get the labor started. Feeling very full, we chilled out on the couch for a couple hours. Just as we were talking about going to bed, my sister's water broke.

Long labor story short, I finally became an aunt on Sunday, March 13, 2011! Ian Alexander, 8lb 2oz, rockin' the KU gear below:

I returned home to a sea of packing/moving/working. Oh yes, and baseball season started. Things gradually have settled down, however, and I managed to relocate most of my kitchen toys. My first home-prepared meal in the new place was my Black Bean Burgers. I topped these with a mango salsa and gave my first attempt at homemade parmesan potato chips. The chips turned out OK, but the recipe will need a bit more tweaking before I deem it blog-worthy. The burger and chips are pictured below.

I do have a few new recipes to post, but I wanted to get everyone caught up on the going-ons during my absence. I look forward to getting back in the mix! (bad joke, I know)

Raw January Day 25 /26: Spicy Winter Veggie Soup

Mmmm....soup. I have to say, steamy soups and slow-stewed veggies are what I've missed the most during this experimental month. I mean, what was I thinking going raw in the month of January?

The good news is this has sparked my creativity more and forced me to come up with alternate ways to get that warm feeling in my belly. This soup is one of them. I had decided after butchering a kabocha square that came in my organic box that the silly thing wasn't worth it. There was a lot of hacking and chopping and at the end all I had was barely a cup of usable flesh. Originally this was going to be a squash/mango soup; however, I was discouraged. My eyes turned to the half a head of cauliflower, and I thought, "Why the hell not?" Into my dear, sweet Cuisinart it went with the rest of the ingredients I had assembled. A few taste-tests later, and

here you have it.

I imagine any winter squash would do....butternut comes to mind, of course. The heat from the serrano does a nice job of giving the feeling of warmth without over-powering the soup. I think this would also make a nice take on bruschetta (but hey, I think everything is better on bread!).

In other news, my new toy arrived today. I have two more nights at the job (and a desperate need to rearrange the kitchen) before I can use it, but needless to say I am very excited to set it up (right angles, people....right angles!).

Winter Veggie Soup

Ingredients:

1/2 kabocha squash, seeds removed, peeled, cut into 1" cubes (or about 1 cup of your favorite, easier to butcher squash)

1/2 cauliflower, cored, cut into 1" cubes

1 mango, peeled, core removed, cut into 1" cubes

1 serrano pepper, stem removed, seeds intact

8 fresh basil leaves

juice of 1/2 a lime

1/2 tbs dried lemongrass

1/4 tsp salt (adjust to taste)

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 tbs almond milk

Directions:

In a food processor, pulse the squash and cauliflower until the ingredients are finely chopped. Add remaining ingredients and process until puréed. The soup will have the consistency of cream of wheat cereal; if necessary add a tablespoon or so of water to achieve this texture (I didn't need it). Chill for at least two hours, then serve. Makes about eight 1-cup servings.

Raw January Day 15-24: Greek Broccoli and Raw Blondies

OK, OK, so I haven't been eating only broccoli and blondies for the past nine days. I had misplaced my camera, and I have an aversion to posting recipes without accompanying photos. As it turns out, my camera was simply hiding out in the box of foodstuffs I had taken over to Amber's for our night of raw fooding. I made gazpacho with tomatoes, squash, yellow bells, red onion, and some other ingredients while she tackled some absolutely delicious chocolate pudding made from banana, Irish moss, and--I'm assuming--cocoa powder. Add a couple of glasses of wine and there really was no way to not have a good time!

This past weekend, I made sure the "mostly" status of "mostly raw" was intact, as I made bison burgers for dinner. Hey, they were on-sale. Plus, I was craving some free-range protein. Don't even try to tell me that almonds are free-range!

Anyway, even though I had (cooked) bison for dinner, I made sure the accoutrement were raw. I'm going to start by bragging on Amber's raw, vegan, 5-minute blondie. Super-simple, super-tasty, and super-quick are just a few of the superlatives I can lavish on this dessert. Her recipe makes a single, normal-sized muffin cup full of goodness. I doubled it and got nine mini-muffins (probably would've been ten had the offspring and I not taste-tested it so much). Go check out Amber's site for the blondie recipe. I made a couple of easy garnishes for the blondie. On top is a simple vanilla/banana/basil ice cream, below is a blackberry coulis (recipes below).

The other side dish that I'm quite proud of is a raw Greek-inspired broccoli with macademia cheese crumbles. The broccoli is marinated in a vinaigrette with Greek spices. Bitterness from the sun-dried olives (which I've spent three weeks reconstituting in white vinegar) add a nice contrast with the acid and salt in the marinade, and the "cheese" has a flavor somewhere between Parmesan and feta that helps reinforce the vinegar. This makes for great finger-food!

Before I get to the recipes, I have to share my new purchase (photo courtesy of Amazon.com):

It's a TSM Harvest Food Dehydrator! Eeee! Ten trays, adjustable thermostat from 84º - 155ºF, and square. Yay! I can't wait to make some raw bread or crackers with nice right angles. Can you tell I'm excited?

Enough squealing for now....recipe time!

Raw Banana Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas, frozen (peel on to preserve color)

4 tbs almond milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp fresh basil, minced (optional--about 1 small leaf)

Directions:

Remove peel from banana. Combine all ingredients in a small food processor. Blend until smooth. Freeze half an hour before serving. Makes two half-cup servings. To highlight the blondies, I just added a mini scoop.

Raw Blackberry Coulis

Ingredients:

1/2 c blackberries

1/2 tbs chia seeds

2 tsp agave nectar, or to taste

1/4 c water

Directions:

Purée all ingredients. Allow to rest 30 minutes to thicken. Makes about 1/2 cup.

Raw Greek-Infused Broccoli

Ingredients:

1 tsp red wine vinegar

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 c olive oil

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp coriander seeds, ground

1/2 tsp mustard seeds, ground

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

4 raw olives, pitted* and diced

dash sesame oil

1 head broccoli, cut into bite-size florets

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients except the broccoli. Add broccoli and toss to coat. Let marinate for at least 1 hour at room temperature (if marinating longer than overnight, refrigerate). If desired, add additional salt and pepper and top with macadamia feta (recipe below); serve. Makes 8 half-cup servings.

Macadamia Cheese Crumbles

Ingredients:

1 c raw macadamia nuts, soaked

1 tbs lemon juice

1/2 tbs nutritional yeast

1 tbs shallot, minced

1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions:

Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until crumbly. Place in single layer on a dehydrator tray and dehydrate for about 4 hours. Makes 1.5 cups of macadamia cheese crumbles. Use as you would Parmesan cheese.

*Note: To easily pit olives (or cherries!), place on a cutting board and smash with the flat side of a knive (similar to how you'd loosen garlic peel). The pits are a cinch to remove post-smash.

Raw January Day 12 - 14: Butternut Squash Tacos with Cilantro Cilantro Cheese

Since I'm almost the only one partaking of the raw food-ness in my house, I've been living off of leftovers quite a bit. I plan to do a fair amount of raw experimentation this weekend, so hopefully I will have more recipes soon! Until then, you'll have to settle for a taco recipe I played with tonight....more on that later.

Tonight's raw prep included making almond milk and juicing oranges. I changed out the vinegar I'm using to reconstitute some raw sun-dried olives (I received a case for free, and the darn things are entirely too bitter to eat as is).

I also cataloged the leftovers I had in the fridge to make sure I wasn't wasting anything. Happily, there wasn't much to worry about. Speaking of leftovers, remember my Marinara Sauce from earlier this week? I enjoyed that at work over kelp noodles and dehydrated baby bellas. It was quite tasty. This pic--taken on my phone--doesn't do it justice, so just trust me.

Without further adieu, I give you squash tacos! My friend Amie sent me a recipe to try out. Her version used walnut taco meat, but frankly I'm scared of anything that uses the words "nut" and "meat" in the same sentence. Childish? Most likely, but it still squicks me out. I'm working on changing my opinions on that....

Butternut Squash Tacos

Ingredients:

Cilantro Cashew Cheese (shown right):

2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp nutritional yeast
1 c raw cashews, soaked and rinsedjuice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 tsp lemon zest

1/4 c packed fresh cilantro leaves

1 green onion stalk, sliced
water sufficient for processing (I used about 3 tbs)

Southwest Butternut Squash:
1/2 butternut squash, sliced into thin ribbons
1/2 tbs ground cumin1/2 tbs ground coriander

1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp Nama Shoyu

juice from 1/2 lime

1/2 chipotle pepper, minced (optional)
sea salt to taste

Other Ingredients:
8 small-to-medium romaine leaves
1/2 c pico de gallo
additional toppings, as desired (avocado, cilantro, etc)

Directions:

Southwest Butternut Squash:

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, massaging the spices into the squash. Allow to rest 15 minutes before serving.

Cashew Cheese:

Place garlic and salt in a food processor and chop into small pieces. Add cashews and process into paste. Add lemon juice, cilantro and water; purée until smooth. (see close up photo, right)

To Make Tacos:

Spread each lettuce leaf with 2 tablespoons of the cashew cheese. Add 1/4 cup of the squash and top as desired. Serves 4.

This "cheese" is, quite frankly, amazing. The zesty garlic, hints of acid, and cilantro give it the perfect balance to go with the earthy flavors of the marinated squash. While I listed the servings at four in the recipe, I think you'd be hard-pressed to feed more than two. I scarfed down 4 tacos on my own without a second thought.

One last look....

Raw January Day 6 - 11: Marinara Sauce and Orange Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

It's been a whirlwind of a week. No, I didn't fall off the raw wagon, but I did spend a couple of days not eating at all. I received news of the passing of a good friend on Saturday, and my appetite has been in the negative realm.

This blog is about food, though, and I have food topost! I've been embracing the lettuce wraps lately--mainly because I've been getting a TON of

lettuce from the organic co-op.

Shown here is a wrap with pickled herring (my local grocer let me watch it being made, so I know its rawness is intact), tomato, avocado, and red onion. Super tasty and super filling. This was a great meal to have at work.

Next on the list was to perfect the raw marinara

sauce. I've tried several recipes, and ended up

with this hybrid. I found it to be closest to how I

think marinara should taste. Plenty of herbs and garlic give it the Italian kick needed to meet my approval. We had it over a bed of zucchini, yellow squash, and red bell pepper noodles (shown right). Two zucchini, one yellow squash, and one red bell fed three of us with no leftovers, so adjust according to your family size.

In my meals I've also had a variety of salads, and for breakfast it's been almost exclusively smoothies. Today was an exception, however, as I (after 3 tries) have perfected the raw cinnamon to suit our tastes. The recipe originally came from The 30 Minute Vegan and is shown here. I appreciate the jumping off point, but I couldn't get their recipe to really taste like much more than a mouthful of sugar and cinnamon. I know, I know, what else is a cinnamon roll supposed to taste like? Well, my palate demands a little more challenge than sweet on sweet....on sweet.

So, below you will find my take on the raw cinnamon roll, as well as my marinara recipe. Enjoy!

Raw Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

3 c fresh tomatoes, diced

1/2 c sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in water until

soft, liquid reserved

1/2 c fresh mango, diced

2 tsp fresh ginger, grated

1/4-1/2 fresh jalapeño, deseeded and diced

1/3 c fresh basil, packed

1/4 c fresh oregano, destemmed

1/4 c fresh thyme, destemmed

1 red bell pepper, deseeded and deribbed

2 sun-dried black olives, deseeded

1 large shallot, peeled

4 cloves garlic, peeled

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 c olive oil

1/4 c liquid reserved from the sun-dried tomatoes.

Directions:

Set aside one cup of diced tomatoes for later. Place remaining ingredients except liquid from sun-dried tomatoes in a food processor and purée. Add sun-dried tomato liquid as needed to smooth out the sauce. Adjust salt and pepper as necessary. Pour purée into bowl and stir in remaining tomatoes. Serve over pasta, marinated veggies, or as a dip for raw garlic bread. Makes about 7 cups of sauce.

Orange Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

1 c raw buckwheat groats (unsoaked, or soaked and dehydrated until dry)

1 1/2 c raw pecans, finely chopped

2 1/2 c Medjool dates, pitted, packed

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbs + 1 tsp honey

1/4 c orange juice

1 tbs apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 tbs ground cinnamon

pinch of sea salt

1/4 c golden raisins

Directions:

Process the buckwheat groats for 40 seconds in a food processor, or until finely ground. Add ONE cup of the pecans and process an additional 30 seconds. Add TWO cups of the dates and continue to process about 30 seconds. Add ONE teaspoon of the honey and all the vanilla. Process for 30 seconds more, or until a sticky dough forms. If necessary, add an additional teaspoon of honey to achieve a dough that will form a tight ball and hold its shape.

Transfer the dough to a flat work surface covered with wax paper. Using your hands, press the dough into a rectangle 9" x 11" and 1/4" thick.

Process the remaining 1/2 cup of dates, honey, juice, vinegar, cinnamon, and salt in the food processor until smooth. Spread the mixture over the dough, leaving about 1" along the far long edge. Sprinkle raisins and pecans evenly over the cinnamon layer.

Roll up the dough by making a small fold along

the long edge closest to you, pressing it down, peeling back the wax paper, and continuing to roll in the same way, making as tight a roll as possible (similar to rolling sushi, if you've ever had the pleasure). When completely rolled, wrap entire log in wax paper and refrigerate at least 15 minutes.

Cut the log into twelve even slices. Makes 12 rolls. Top with icing if desired.

Orange Zest Icing

Ingredients:

1 c cashews

3 tbs almond milk

3 tbs agave

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp orange zest

Directions:

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Makes about a

cup of icing, enough to drizzle over 12 cinnamon rolls.

You can see my youngest spawn enjoying one of these breakfast rolls here. That's icing on her lip, not a snaggle tooth!