Raw Hummus

 

Hummus is always a pleasant addition to a nibble or a meal. This raw version based on a recipe from the book “12 Steps to Raw Foods” by Victoria Boutenko can make a nice side dish or stand as a meal on its own. It is deceptively simple to make and perfect as summer takes hold.

My first attempts to sprout chick peas always ended in failure. But then I was set straight at a demonstration by  Roar Food. Instead of rinsing twice a day as I have always done for other legumes, I needed to rinse at least 3 or 4 times a day. Just to be on the safe side, I rinse whenever I notice the jar on my sink.

Making the hummus is easy once the chick peas have been sprouted. Here is a Thermomix version of the recipe.

Recipe ingredients:
Chick peas sprouted for 1 to 2 days
Tomato
Basil and other available greens
Condiments to taste - garlic, salt, lemon juice

Instructions:

Blend all ingredients in the Thermomix on speed 4 for 15 to 30 seconds.

Kale Pesto

I scored a huge bunch of kale in my Food Connect box today. Rather than risk not getting to it quickly enough and thus wasting it, I made some kale pesto from a recipe on the internet which I basically followed.

Recipe ingredients:
Clove of garlic chopped
2 cups of kale
½ cup of macadamia nuts
½ teaspoon of Himalayan Salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Instructions:
Process all ingredients in the Thermomix on speed 6 for 10 seconds. 

Half of this mix will supplement my lunch over the next couple of days while I have placed the other half into the freezer.

With half of the kale still waiting to be used, I will buy some pine nuts tomorrow and then make some more pesto. This time I will freeze the pesto in an ice cube tray as I have done in the past with lemon juice. Then I can pull one or two pesto cubes out at a time which will make things much easier.

If I am really on the ball tomorrow night, I’ll remember to make the pesto first and then make my dinner in the Thermomix so that my dinner will get some pesto flavour. I love getting multiple meals out of my Thermomix. It makes washing it afterwards so much more worthwhile!

Basil Pesto

I really enjoy getting my Food Connect box. With the vagaries of weather and other conditions on the farms, one can never be sure that the items in the box will match up with the list published on their web site. But even when it does, I still get surprised as I pull the goodies out.

Basil was on the list today and I was delighted when I saw the lovely big bunch even though I’ve been growing it on my patio over summer. You see, I’ve become so used to the cut-and-come-again approach that I’m always just cutting off leaves.

A few years back I planted basil and tomato in the same pot and then completely forgot that the basil was there. One day I noticed how prolifically it had grown but when I tried to make pesto in the Vita Mix that I had at the time, it just didn’t work. So I haven’t really bothered trying again until now.

This time around the Thermomix has helped me to produce a credible basil pesto based on a recipe from a brand new raw book I received today called “Raw Food Made Easy – for 1 or 2 people” by Jennifer Cornbleet. I didn’t have any pine nuts so I replaced it with sunflower seeds which didn’t break down as easily as the pine nuts would have. But I really enjoyed this pesto and was still licking my lips after I had washed the dishes.

I also received the book “The 80/10/10 Diet” by Dr. Douglas N. Graham and have checked to confirm my recollection that his book recommends a low-fat diet and weaning oneself off salt amongst other things including garlic. He very kindly includes an FAQ section on his website that explains his reasoning.

So three of the five ingredients of this pesto are not recommended which is really sad because it tastes so nice. I think that’s a big part of why we eat the way we do, as items like salt, garlic and oil merge together so well into an almost addictive taste. It will be interesting to see where I head as I read through the 80/10/10 book – or as some people call it, the 811 diet.

I believe I need to change what I’m doing as I have sore knuckles on my fingers and a ring that used to fit onto the middle finger has now been relegated to the index finger. This could be considered a precursor to arthritis which won’t happen to me as I’m quite happy to change what I’m doing if I need to.

I’ve decided that I’ll move towards the recommendation in the book “The China Study” to follow a whole food, low-fat, plant-based diet as a stepping stone to the 811 diet. A whole food diet excludes meat, poultry, dairy and eggs, so I am now having cappuccinos made from soy, rice or oat milk instead of cows’ milk. I still have some eggs in my fridge so once I’ve used them up then I won’t buy any more. This will only be difficult when I want to make muffins or bread but I have read about egg substitutes and will experiment with incorporating them.

In the meantime, I’ll take my time to read and consider what I’ll do about the 811 diet. The good part about all of this is that there is no timeline for change which means that I can feel my way along this path and enjoy the journey.

Raw Broccoli Salad with Beetroot Dip

Sometimes I feel like I’m in an episode of Ready Steady Cook. I had some broccoli, a beetroot, a tomato and some lemongrass along with other ingredients that I keep in my fridge and pantry.

Fortunately I found a Raw Broccoli Salad recipe that would fit the bill along with some raw beetroot dip made along the same lines as the beetroot hummus from earlier this month.

Recipe Ingredients:
30g pumpkin seeds
Lemon grass stalks
Small piece of ginger
Clove of garlic peeled
Sprigs of parsley and basil
2 cups broccoli florets
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp olive oil
2 lemon ice cubes from freezer 
1/2 tsp salt (optional as the salad ended up tasting too salty)
65g peeled beetroot
60g tomato
 
Instructions:
Cover pumpkin seeds with water in a sprouting jar and set it aside.

To make the broccoli salad:-
Mill the lemon grass, ginger and garlic for 15 seconds on speed 9.
Add parsley and basil and chop for 2 seconds on speed 6.

Add broccoli florets, cumin seeds, olive oil, 1 lemon ice cube and 1/2 tsp salt and chop for 4 seconds on speed 4.
Place the mix in the fridge to allow the combined ingredients to soften the broccoli.

After an hour - to make the beetroot dip:-
Rinse the pumpkin seeds and place them along with 65g peeled beetroot, 60g tomato and the second lemon juice ice cube into the Thermomix bowl and process on speed 4 for 5 to 10 seconds. 
Blend again at speed 5 or 6 if it is too chunky.

I noticed the difference between chick peas and pumpkin seeds as the pumpkin seeds kept their shape while previously the chick peas had gracefully merged into the hummus. Perhaps I need to soak the pumpkin seeds overnight rather than just for 1 hour… After tasting the dip I knew that I was quite happy with the taste of it but blending again at speed 5 and then 6 gave me what I thought was a better looking dip.

When I tasted the broccoli salad I decided that it was too salty so I combined the salad and dip together very nicely for my lunch which didn’t end up being entirely raw as I added some cooked chick peas.

I think I could safely say I’m having difficulties in letting cooked grains, beans and chick peas go. I’d like to say I’m working on it, but in the meantime would you believe I have weighed what I eat over an average day which comes in roughly at 1 kg of food, and have worked out that I can safely call myself a raw foodist – who is someone that eats 75% or more raw food - if the only cooked items in my day are the cooked grain (100g) with my breakfast, 2 mini muffins (35g) for morning tea, some cooked beans or chick peas (50g) with my lunch, and some more of the cooked beans or chick peas (50g) with my dinner. I can’t see myself managing this when I’m out for lunch or dinner, or visiting family or friends, but this is certainly do-able for the much of the time. I suppose time will tell…

Snake Beans; Raw Beetroot and Chocolate Pudding; Beetroot Hummus

You know, I’ve been growing beans for the past few years and while I’ve heard of snake beans, I had never seen a photo of them. So when they appeared in my Food Connect box this week I was completely bamboozled. These things looked like beans but were unlike any beans I’d ever grown or seen. So I rang Food Connect and they quickly filled me in. Now that I know what I’m working with, some sliced snake beans have contributed very nicely to my lunch-time salads.

Another item in my box this week has been a beetroot. Considering my interest in becoming more raw, I just couldn’t see my way clear to cook it. So I googled beetroot and found a recipe for raw beetroot dip that looked really nice but had a long list of ingredients. Perhaps there really is something to the popularity of the “4 Ingredients” books.

Then I remembered that I had soaked some chick peas overnight with the thought of enjoying them on my salads. Perhaps a beetroot hummus would work. I knew I had already made a raw hummus some time back and figured that it would be easy to add some beetroot to it.

But dessert was tugging at my brain cells and I kept thinking of the beetroot and chocolate puddings that I had made. So I decided to experiment but not with all of the beetroot so I sliced off a small section of the beetroot for later inclusion in the hummus. It probably goes without saying that a little bit of beetroot goes a long way.

It had been a while since I had bought chocolate, but I just happened to this morning. Even better it was Rawganic chocolate so my experiment would be completely raw.

I also knew that I needed some sort of binding agent as the beetroot and chocolate on their own would probably be too crumbly. Banana or avocado seemed like possibilities and I decided to go with banana. 

Raw Beetroot and Chocolate Pudding Recipe Ingredients:
100g peeled beetroot
30g raw chocolate
Half a banana

Instructions:
Grate beetroot in the Thermomix on speed 8 for 5 seconds, scrape down the sides and then repeat the step. 

Add raw chocolate and grate the mix on speed 8 for about 10 seconds.

Add the banana and blend it on speed 7 for 20 seconds. 
Use the remaining banana to decorate the dish.

I really enjoyed this. The texture of the beetroot and chocolate mix wasn’t smooth but quickly melted in the mouth. This will be a quick way to satisfy dessert cravings in the future and certainly goes into my list of how I can use beetroot when I receive it in the box.

So I still had the small piece of beetroot to use up in the hummus.

Beetroot Hummus Recipe Ingredients:
65g chick peas sprouted for 1 day
35g peeled beetroot
75g tomato
1 lemon juice ice cube 

Instructions:


Place the chick peas, beetroot, tomato and lemon juice ice cube into the Thermomix bowl and process on speed 4 for 5 to 10 seconds.

This all went down very well. Well, to be really honest, it wasn’t as good as the beetroot and chocolate dessert from earlier in the day but for a dinner option it certainly presented well. I tossed up adding some basil but thought that the beetroot would overshadow anything I tried to add so stayed with these basic ingredients.

I sampled the beetroot hummus on bread and with zucchini sticks, and then finished it off with some tinned fish and avocado from the fridge, enjoying it right up to the last bite.

Tasty herb and cashew dip

I like cashews. They blend up with water into a very nice milk substitute. Plus they contribute easily to a dairy free icing. That’s even before considering how nice they taste just on their own.

So this dip recipe from the Rawlicious booklet was a pleasure to make and consume. Unfortunately the crackers are not raw which is an issue that I'm working on. The dip would suit almost any preferred addition to the cashews and herbs, and is a perfect treat for afternoon tea.

Dehydrating

Finally I’m playing with dehydrating food and have started with flax crackers. I found two recipes for the crackers, one from the book “Rawsome” by Brigitte Mars which is also available on the web, and the other supplied through a Youtube video from Karen Knowler, “The Raw Food Coach”. I ended up making crackers that combined ideas from both recipes.

I generally halve the quantities mentioned in recipes, particularly with the first attempt since I might not like it but also to avoid a glut. I liked Brigitte Mars’ idea of soaking the flax seeds, and then draining the excess water. Then I proceeded with Karen Knowlers’ ideas and my own and blended the flax mix with half cups of tomatoes, capsicums and alfalfa sprouts with the juice of half a lemon. I tasted the mix a couple of times just to make sure I liked it, and then spread it into a greased oven dish.

I don’t have a dehydrator so I dried the crackers in the oven. My oven has settings of Low, then increments starting at 100, so I can’t be sure what the temperature is if I set the oven below 100 (unless, of course, I use an oven thermometer which I know I have in a drawer somewhere – note to self to use it next time…). Since I had decided to trial the crackers late in the day, I set the oven at 100 degrees Celsius as I didn’t want to dry the crackers in the oven overnight. I knew this temperature would be too high for the resulting crackers to be considered raw but at least I could see how the crackers turn out.

I’m not keen on using either the oven or a dehydrator to dry food as both use a lot of electricity over an extended time – sometimes up to 24 hours. After reducing my electricity usage in my home and taking on solar panels, I’m not thrilled by anything that increases the number of kilowatts on my bill.

After 75 minutes, I flipped the cracker mix onto a plate and back into the oven and flipped it a few more times before taking it out and separating the individual crackers. Even having set the temperature at 100 degrees Celsius, the flax crackers were in the oven for 4 hours total. I couldn’t leave them in any longer as it was getting too late. They were a little moist on the inside, but that didn’t worry me.

The next day, I tried honey on a flax cracker and it was good – crunchy and chewy at the same time and not at all moist. I ate another cracker with my lunch.

I think the crackers finished drying in the fridge. An article in a recent Sunday Mail mentioned that beef can be dry aged in the refrigerator, so I googled it and found a web page that described the process. I do wonder whether foods can be dried in the fridge rather than the oven or dehydrator. However, after a few days in the fridge, these crackers were no longer crunchy which answers my question.

I was out at a local market this morning and sampled a flax seed cracker that seemed to me to be similar to Brigitte Mars’ cracker – and was dry and crunchy - so now I know what I’m aiming for.

Since I don’t like the idea of drying food in the oven or dehydrator, my next best alternative is solar drying. This is the first time that I’ve called it “solar drying” even to myself after having googled “solar dehydrator” a number of times in the past. And having just googled “solar drying”, I’ve realized there is a wealth of information out there about drying food that I’ve only just found, so I’ll be back shortly on drying/dehydrating…

Fig Puree and Sunflower Herb Pate

My breakfast generally consists of a cooked grain such as brown rice or quinoa, with some LSAP mix (pumpkin seeds ground in the Thermomix with the standard LSA ingredients of linseeds, sunflower seeds and almonds), some soaked chia seeds and some fruit sliced on top. This is an adaption of the recipe "Breakfast Pudding" in the book "The Yeast Connection Cookbook".

I made some Fig Puree which has been a lovely addition to my breakfast. The puree includes dried figs soaked overnight in more liquid than I needed for the recipe. So I’ve ended up with a nice fruit drink as well.

The Sunflower Herb Pate was a real winner for me last night with its simple ingredients of soaked sunflower seeds, herbs and condiments. I was really impressed at how nice it tasted on some brown rice crackers – unfortunately not raw... As soon as I finished these, I promptly made another plateful that didn’t last long.

I’ve found that whenever I’ve attended a cooking class, I generally walk away with a few recipes that I continue to use into the future along with the many others that have been shown to us. And the same will be true for me with these recipes in the Rawlicious booklet. I can already see more than just a few that are keepers, which these two certainly are.