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.

If You're Going To Be in NYC for Thanksgiving.....

Thanksgiving Takeaway Dinner (photo credit Tara Donne)

One Lucky Duck is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and we are offering a special Thanksgiving Takeaway Menu featuring our raw, vegan, and organic Thanksgiving classics. Now you can enjoy a healthy and festive raw holiday meal in the comfort of your own home without having to lift a finger (we’ll even deliver it to you!) To ensure you don’t miss out on these holiday treats, order ahead of time – dates, deadlines, and details below. To pre-order your Thanksgiving feast just visit One Lucky Duck and place your order in person or call 212-477-7151 to place your order over the phone.

THANKSGIVING TAKEAWAY MENU

SIDES

Marinated Portabella and Wild Mushrooms (pint) $16

Pecan and Herb Stuffing (pint) $12

Cranberry Sauce (half pint) $10

Sauteed Brussel Sprouts (pint) $12

Celariac Mash (pint) $15

DESSERTS

Whole Pumpkin Pie (9 inch) $95

Apple Crisp (9 inch) $95

Vanilla Cream (pint) $20

Vanilla Ice Cream (pint) $16

How delicious does this menu sound? Their restaurant, Pure Food And Wine, is also having a 4 course Thanksgiving Dinner. I go to Pure at least twice per month and each experience is more satisfying than the last. I can't imagine this special dinner will be any different.

Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Butter (NOT high raw)

Let me just start by introducing my favorite raw food product ever - Artisana's Coconut Butter. This is not to be confused with Coconut Oil. Coconut butter is a mixture of the oil and meat from coconuts. The result is a delicious and creamy treat that tastes like the tropics. It's wonderful to blend into smoothies or to spread onto Manna Bread. Yesterday, I spread it on baked sweet potatoes.

My craving for sweet potatoes started on Wednesday. I was strolling through the greenmarket at Union Square and came across beautiful sweet potatoes. Usually I prepare baked sweet potatoes by slathering them with butter and brown sugar. While the flavor of this preparation method is heavenly, the nutritional content is disastrous. Then I remembered stumbling across a blog that was created by a student of the lovely and talented Gena (of Choosing Raw fame). Apparently, Gena taught her student how to top baked sweet potatoes with coconut butter instead of dairy butter - and that's exactly what I did.

Recipe:

First scrub the skin of sweet potatoes. Allow to dry for a few minutes.

Gently rub some olive oil into the skin and place on a baking sheet.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes, turning half way through cooking time. Potatoes should be completely tender when pierced with a knife.

Allow to cool for a few minutes.

Cut potatoes in half.

Lightly salt potatoes.

Dollop 2 heaping teaspoons of Artisana coconut butter on each half.

Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon on each half.

Drizzle 1 tablespoon of maple syrup on each half.

Devour and feel no regrets!

Green Smoothie Update

As many of you know, I have been desperately trying to incorporate green smoothies into my daily life. I have really struggled to accomplish this, often finding the smoothies to be unpalatable. This is so surprising to me, given that I love salads, sauteed greens, and even green juices. I was frustrated for a long time. Then I came across Sarma's cilantro pineapple shake (see previous post). It consists of a huge bunch of cilantro, cucumbers and pineapple. I thought it must be the cilantro that made the smoothie so delicious. Turns out, it is the pineapple!!!! Seriously, I have experimented with dozens of combinations of green smoothies and, if I add pineapple, ANY of them are tasty. I use fresh pineapple, because it's cheaper and tastes better, but frozen works too.
Here's my latest favorite:
1/2 fresh pineapple
1 0r 2 bananas
4 cups baby spinach leaves
3/4 cup coconut water
1/2 vanilla bean
pinch of salt
1 tsp agave (you really don't need it with the pineapple, but if you're just getting used to green smoothies, add a bit).

For further reading about why greens are so important, I highly recommend Victoria Boutenko's Green For Life, which I am currently in the middle of reading right now. It's really illuminating. She and her family are inspirational.

Coconut Goji Tarts

Antony Heaven never ceases to inspire me. The food he prepares is simple, elegant, and delicious. Whenever he presents one of his creations on his blog, I immediately have to try it. I used to be this way with Ina Garten (of Barefoot Contessa fame) before I went raw. Antony is my raw Ina.

His latest creation is a "Chocolate-Coconut-Goji Tart" which I adapted to be less chocolatey and more coconutty, since i'm not a huge chocolate fan. Here's what I did:
Crust:
3/4 cup of walnuts
3/4 cup of cashews
3/4 cup of dates
1/4 tsp powdered stevia
1/4 tsp salt
Process all the ingredients until crumbly.
Scoop a heaping tablespoon of into a paper-lined muffin tin. Use your fingers to press the filling down into the bottom of muffin cup.
Sprinkle a few goji berries on top of the crust.









Filling:
1/2 cup of shredded coconut
1 banana
1 avocado
3 tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp cocount butter (I like Artisana brand)
2 tbsp cacao powder
1/2 cup agave
seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean
1/4 tsp salt
Process all ingredients until smooth. Divide equally among the 12 muffin liners. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours so that coconut oil can solidify.


I'm having mine for breakfast!

Movie Recommendation

Just watched Food Matters last night. It is a documentary that examines the current food system and its impact on our health. The filmmakers interview several scientists and health practitioners who discuss empirical validation of using food and vitamins as medicine. They also expose the deleterious role the pharmaceutical industry (and capitalism, really) has played in our nation's abysmal state of health.

It's honestly not a cinematic masterpiece, but the information it contains is priceless and, quite possibly, lifesaving.

It's not currently playing in theaters, but is available on Netflix and Amazon.