Avocado Soup with Blood Orange and Mango Salsa

I've been having a major case of the winter doldrums (probably why I haven't posted in a while). I'm sick of kale, sweet potatoes, turnips, and celeriac - ditto for cold wind, slush, and air that has been robbed of any moisture by my heater. My body has been craving foods that are more vibrant, if that makes sense. I was, therefore, SO excited to see that blood oranges are in season. When I saw them at the market I knew I had to buy some, as I was confident they would cure my winter ills.

I remembered seeing a recipe in Sarma's newest, Living Raw Food, for Avocado Soup with Blood Orange and Mango Salsa. The fact that it incorporates some tropical fruits really sold me (sorry locavores). I honestly don't make soup too often because my sweetheart doesn't really understand the point of soup as an entity, and because they're often too cumbersome to make only for myself. But, this one is actually quite simple. It's just like making a smoothie and a fruit salad at the same time.



This recipe made a lot of soup. Luckily, my sweetheart devoured a bowl - afterward he looked at me with concern and asked "is this all we're having?", but I digress. I asked Sarma if it can be stored in the fridge, and she thinks it can for up to 2 days. This makes sense because the recipe calls for some lemon juice, which should stave off oxidization for a bit. I'll be having some for lunch tomorrow.

Raw Crackers - HELP

I have been making a lot of flax crackers recently in an effort to save $$$$ (see previous post). They're really not too challenging. My only problem is getting them spread out smoothly on the dehydrator pan. The "dough" is just too sticky and resists flattening out like a pancake. Instead, my crackers look like a rocky road.



The only trick that has remotely helped me is to first just get them into the dehydrator, even if they're not smooth yet. Once the tops have dehydrated for an hour or so it becomes easier to use an offset spatula (or clean fingertips) to spread out all the lumps and bumps. I tried this today when making the Pinot Noir Crisps for the Black Trumpet Mushroom Napoleon in Sarma's new book. Yes, I'm going ultra gourmet in my raw kitchen today. Although, I'm frustrated that I can't get the crackers nice and smooth like they do at Pure.

Any help would be appreciated....

Leftovers...

I'll admit that leftovers have me really confused when it comes to raw foods - they obviously can't remain in the refrigerator for days on end, just to be warmed up again in the microwave. After years of preparing conventional food, I had nearly mastered the art of using up leftovers. As a matter of fact, I often planned my meals with leftovers in mind. But, raw foods have me a bit more perplexed....

You'll recall that on Saturday I made the Thanksgiving dinner from Sarma's book Living Raw Food. It was delicious and I LOVE coming up with leftovers the day after Thanksgiving. Well, as usual, I had a ton of stuffing left over from our meal. As I scooped it into a storage bowl and tucked it neatly into the refrigerator, I honestly had no clue what I was going to do with it...that is until I started making Kale Chips on Sunday morning.

As you might remember from a previous post, I top my kale chips with a nut cheese sauce. Well, I happened to have a good deal of sauce left over once the chips were already in the dehydrator. Coincidentally, I had two avocados that were at their peak. The stuffing is very meaty (think ground beef), so I had the idea to turn them into tacos. To do this I simply topped romaine leaves with stuffing, cheese sauce and guacamole (that I made with my 2 avocadoes). I folded up the romaine leaves like a taco and savored every bite.

Who knew that raw food leftovers could be so good?

Autumn Vegetables

For the past 3 years I have focused on eating as seasonally as possible. After some time cooking this way I quickly began to relish the changes in seasons for the unique gastronomical pleasures that each time of year supplied. When I transitioned to a more raw diet this summer, I worried about how seasonal eating would play out. In particular, I wondered whether root vegetables, which become so sweet and delicious when roasted at high temperatures, would be at all palatable in the raw.

I noticed that Sarma's Thanksgiving menu has a Celeriac Mash. Of course everything she makes is delicious, so I was confident that this would be no different, even without being roasted at a high temperature. I just had to try it.

As a matter of fact, I've been so disappointed about missing One Lucky Duck's Thanksgiving dinner, that I got inspired to make every menu item myself for dinner last night. All the recipes are featured in Living Raw Food, Sarma's latest book. Fun fact: it's actually easier to make the entire Thanksgiving dinner than it is many other recipes in this book.

The recipes were created to serve 10 to 12, so I halved most of them. Here's what I did for the Celeriac Mash - titled Mashed Root Vegetables in Living Raw Food:

2 cups pine nuts (soaked for at least an hour)

Puree the pine nuts in high-speed blender with 1 cup filtered water until smooth. Pour into large bowl.

Then dice (cube):

2 cups celery root

2.5 cups jicama

3/4 cup parsnips

Add all vegetables to the bowl of pine nut puree. Then add to the bowl:

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp truffle oil

1/2 cup chopped scallions

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp sea salt

Stir all ingredients to combine. Add to a food processor to process in batches. Let sit for at least 2 hours to allow excess liquid to pool at the top. Pour off excess liquid before serving.

Everything was scrumptious (as my grandmother says). The brussels sprouts coated in olive oil, maple syrup, salt & pepper were particularly outstanding. I also added cranberry sauce to my stuffing, just like I've done since I was 8 years old.

Of course I always forget to snap a picture until I'm already mid-way through my meal. My apologies in advance for my future postings.