Top:

Tasty Bite!
An edible fall flower, Hollyhock, with stamen removed and filled with: Saffron Risotto, Butternut Squash, topped with Sprouted Black Lentils and Micro Leeks

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Love Beets All!



You have heard of Dinosaur Kale?
I'm calling these Elephant Beets!

The Fresh Connect beets are gorgeous. I want to do a painting of them! But, there are hungry people to be fed and one of the first things to eat in the Fresh Connect Box will be the beet tops! They are most likely to wilt later in the week and become soup stock. So, I try to get to them first. Plus I love sautéed and/or wilted beet tops so-much, I could eat them every day!

Beets, also known as beetroot, are high in potassium, folacin, and fiber, yet low in calories. Their edible leaves offer protein, calcium, fiber, beta-carotene, vitamins A and C, and some B vitamins. They're known in the arena of natural healing for their ability to purify the blood and the liver.

Celebrate beets by eating the beet tops! They are highly nutritious. Add them to green smoothies, save the small ones to mix with other salad greens, slice and add to raw and cooked soups, sauté’s and loafs. Use in fermented chim chees and krauts.

Leave the beets in tact until you are ready to use them. (Another reason to eat them first: Elephants tend to be huge and take up much needed fridge space.)

Val's Favorite Beet Top Recipe

(Not 100% Raw)

Sauté them with Onion & Garlic


Get Ready:

Make a bunch. They are great leftover!

Make a workspace:

Clear sink, cutting board, knife, strainer, large stainless steal skillet or pan with wide surface area, wooden spatula, and camera. Check!

When ready, cut off the tops, leaving at least 1 inch of stem attached to the bulb, place the bulbs in a waxed paper bag or brown paper lunch sack to keep the dirt out of the produce bin in your fridge. Leave the dirt on the bulbs. It's good for them! I'm serious. Beets, carrots, potatoes continue to draw nutrients form the soil while in storage. Celebrate the dirt! (You'll need the bulbs for juicing later in the weekend!) Wash the tops in clean source water and drain.


Separate the stems from the leaves. Chop the stems. You will add the stems with the garlic and onion to the pan first. Then, add the more tender leaves last. Chiffonade the leaves. (Save the small ones to mix with other salad greens

Gather organic ingredients:

  • A grip of beet tops (A "grip" is however many you have an/or however many you can carry. That way, you've always got a grip!)
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 a large white onion (refrigerated for an hour, or more, to avoid onion-gas-tears)
  • 1/2 tsp living sea salt
  • 1 tsp to 1 TBS of clover honey (to taste)
  • Juice of one orange plus 1/2 a lemon (Or substitute a TBS of raw apple-cider vinegar mixed with 1/4 cup clean-source water)
  • Ground Black Pepper
  • Optional Garnish: 1/2 cup sprouted Sicilian almonds, soaked in inland seawater, dehydrated until crunchy (I make them in batches and store them in glass jars to keep on hand.)

Recipe:

1. Chop onion, sprinkle with sea salt

2. Sweat the onion first in a hot pan, on lowest of low heat, covered until clear. Add honey, stir, and a few tablespoons of water if needed. The amount of water will depend on the type of cookware you are using and the temp of your stove. So, don't get stuck on the phone in the middle of this step.

3. Chop the beat stems and garlic, add them to the onions, and continue to sweat on low heat, covered. Stir a few times.

4. Add chiffonade of beet leaves last. They should be slightly damp with clean-source water. Stir them into the onions, stems and garlic. Add fruit juice or vinegar when bottom of pan is sticky or leaves start to get wilted or a little dry, to preference. I know I'm close when the onions have turned bright pink.

5. Adjust seasoning, salt, pepper, and honey. Garnish with almonds very last so they stay white.

5 1/2. Hide it from everyone so you can eat it all! Just kidding. Sort of.

6. Actually, I shared and served the beet tops three ways:

  • (Not pictured) As a warm topping over white Quinoa with a large side salad, New Year's Eve.
  • (Pictured below left) Cold as a salad topping. They "jell" in the ridge overnight and the colors intensify. The almonds turn bright pink! I topped it with more white almonds, too.)
  • (Pictured below right) Warm, as a base for the Vegan Hopin' John on New Years Day. I topped it with chopped white onion.

Store left-overs refrigerated, if you have any! The almonds will turn pink too. It's pretty. But, you can also garnish with more white almonds, if you prefer.


Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The China Study (results incapsulated by Kevin Gianni)

Here is an excerpt from Kevin Gianni's new book, High Raw. I recommend Kevin's new book for new-bes and experienced raw-foodies alike. He is referring to an important over-looked often misquoted study.
On pages 34-36:

One of the best studies that I’ve seen to date is The China

Study, by T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. The China Study is the

largest epidemiological study ever, with surveys from 6,500

adults in more than 2,500 counties across China and Taiwan.

Using hundreds of health and nutrition variables, The China

Study draws links between diet and heart disease, cancer

and diabetes.


The China Study began with an investigation into the

unusually high incidence of liver cancer in children in the

Philippines due to what they thought was high consump-

tion of a mold toxin, called aflatoxins, in peanuts and corn.

According to T. Colin Campbell, his findings in the Phillipines

revealed something that flew in the face of science: “children

who ate the highest protein diets were the most likely to get

liver cancer!”2 This discovery led to an in-depth scientific

investigation into the affects nutrition on health.

The findings in The China Study were quite revealing

about the link between nutrition and health:

• People eating diets high in animal protein experienced

more Western diseases, like cancer, heart attacks, hyper-

tension and diabetes.

• People eating plant-based diets and plant-based protein

were not suffering from Western diseases.

• Casein, which makes up 87% of cow’s milk protein was

the biggest promoter of cancer.

• Plant protein was the “safe” protein, which did not pro-

mote cancer.

• People who ate the most animal-based foods suffered

most from chronic disease.

• People who ate the most plant-based foods were healthi-

est and did not tend to suffer from chronic disease.

• Healthy diet can reverse heart disease, diabetes and obe-

sity and can benefit cancer, autoimmune disease, brain

disorders, kidney health and bone health.

• A plant-based, whole foods diet has consistently shown

to provide the most health benefits.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Live Vibe: Easy Persimon Freezey


Nature Knows How to Make Dessert!
I asked for extra persimmons in my Fresh Connect Box this week, so I would have an extra-easy, extra-special dessert for friends and family. Yum!

Organic Ingredients:
One persimmon per person (plus a few extras for those repeat "desserters")

Instructions:
Wash gently, pat dry, pop into the freezer. Forget about it until later.
Bring out the frozen persimmons 1/2 hour to 40 minutes before serving for a frosty sorbet. (Or give it 1 1/2 to 2 hours thaw-time for a bright pudding.) Pop the stems off, slice an "X" in the top of each fruit and eat them right out of the skins with a sharp-edged spoon.

PS
For proper food combining, we actually eat dessert first!
Eating fruit, by itself, 20 minutes to an hour before consuming other foods is cleansing and aids in proper digestion.

For more information, take Val's nutrition/un-cooking class:
Demo & Dine
Most Weds. and Thurs. eve's starting Jan. 6
Call 816-364-6922 for reservations.

Unbelievable Natural Yumminess!


Frugal Raw Gourmet--Use Juicer Pulp to Make Doggie Treats


Doggie Biscuits for Jena

Good Girl!
I tried to get a photo of the biscuit in my hand with the dog coming to get it. However the dog-powered vacuum hole was too much for mere shutter speed time!


Okay, I'm serious. She LOVEs these! Her favorite is Pumpkin Apple with Celery and Burdock Root. But, any veggie-based juice-pulp will do. If you have a centrifuge juicer, you will need to run the pulp through the food processor first. Then, add in the other ingredients.

Yes, dogs need vegetables too! Jena is old and has arthritis. We use ground flax and pumpkin or sweet potato as anti-inflammatory agents in these biscuits. You can leave them out and it will be just as successful as a daily treat. You can also purchase joint support formulas for dogs and add the powders to this mix. (E-3 Live has a couple of good ones. ) The sea veggie provide important mineralization (for people too!)

Organic Ingredients:
  • 1 to 2 cups of left-over pulp from making veggie juice for "people-consumption" (pumpkin, apple, kale, celery, lettuce cores, cabbage, pears, sweet potatoes, burdock root, lemon grass, carrots, beats, or you name it -- just NOT peanuts, grapes or melons.)
  • 1/2 cup of sprouted buckwheat grouts or teff meal
  • 1 cup of ground brown flax seeds
  • 1/4 cup of kelp flakes or crumbled sea veggies of choice
  • optional: 1 TBS raw honey or maple syrup
  • optional: splash of namu shoyu or pinch of living sea salt
  • optional: 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast flakes
  • clean-source water, as needed
Instructions:
Place ingredients in a large food processor, make a mushy globby sticky mess, adding small amounts of water as needed. Pulse at first then let it run until it's pretty much consistent all the way through. (It can have some chunks too. She seems to enjoy celery strings. Go figure!)

Use a spoon to transfer dog-bite-sized globs to a dehydrator sheet. Don't worry about the shape or outer texture of the glob at this point. You can mold them into shapes after dehydrating for a few hours, if you like. Otherwise, Jena doesn't mind a biscuit shaped like a dried glob. She thinks it's extra special!

Dehydrate until crunchy. They keep longer that way. Transfer to you favorite doggie's cookie jar. If your favorite doggie does not have a cookie jar, get on it! What else are you going to do with all that veggie pulp?

The more we juice, the more doggie treats there are! It's a win-win!

Live Vibe: Sprouted Seed & Coconut Crackers

Super Easy Basic Living Seed Crackers

Organic Ingredients:
  • 4 cup golden flax seed (dry measure), soaked and sprouted over-night to two days.
  • 1 TBS Himalayan pink salt or other high-quality unprocessed salt
  • 4 cups of macaroon coconut (soaked for an hour in 2 cups of clean source water)
  • 3 TBS raw honey or organic clover honey
  • 1/2 cup sprouted pumpkin seeds, soaked overnight in Namu Shoyu, Optional
  • Add pretty and tasty herbs or dried flowers if you have them! (I like Safflower petals. they keep their bright color and add a slight saffron flavor)
Instructions: Wash, then soak flax seeds overnight or up to 3 days in cool location, adding water to cover as needed. Do not rinse after soaking. You need the gelatinous goo to hold the crackers together.

When ready to make the crackers, get a REALLY BIG BOWL. It helps if you soak the coconut in a really big bowel and then you can add all the other ingredients to it.

add pumpkin seeds and herbs, if using.

Mix everything up. Pour onto teflex sheets, dehydrate at 105 degrees overnight. Flip once, if needed.

Cyndi's Crackers!


Cyndi James requested these custom crackers for her Juice Plus distributor's holiday gathering. I hope you got to keep a few crumbs! They sure went fast!

Sunny Coconut Crackers

Organic Ingredients:

  • 1 cup golden flax seed (dry measure)
  • 4-inch piece of dried seaweed of choice
  • 1 TBS coarse ground salt or other high-quality unprocessed salt
  • 4 cups large coconut flakes
  • or 2 1/2 cups of macaroon coconut
  • 3 TBS raw honey
  • 1/2 cup sprouted pumpkin seeds (soaked overnight in Namu Shoyu)
  • Fresh ground nut meg to taste
  • Juice of two Valencia oranges
  • Additional clean-source water (4 to 5 cups)
  • Herbs and seasonings : rosemerry, safflowers, pressed garlic, chopped Katabala olives, pits removed, and red onions to taste.

Instructions: Wash, then soak flax seeds overnight. Do not rinse after soaking. You need the gelatinous goo to hold the crackers together. (For crisper crackers, soak seeds 2 nights. Then, sun sprout 15 minutes to 3 hours on the 3rd day.) Add water to the flax seeds daily to cover.

Grind coconut and seaweed in a coffee grinder or spice mill, one cup at a time. Add to the flax goo.

If needed soften honey. Stir raw honey, salt, fresh squeezed juice and nutmeg into the coconut flax mixture. (See, it’s not a “goo” any more! Now, it’s “a mixture.”)

Let stand 10 minutes or overnight. Add more clean-source water as needed.

Pour onto teflex sheets, dehydrate at 105 degrees overnight. Flip once, if needed.

Variations and additions: For fun, add a cup or two of soaked pumpkin seeds and/ or sunflower seeds to the mix. Make a batch with mint, oregano, rosemary or other winter herbs. Use orange zest or grated ginger in one tray of crackers to see what you think. Add 4 saffron threads and soaking water on special occasions. Adding a cup of nutritional yeast flakes and 1 TBs of turmeric make “cheddar” flavored crackers. Add peppery things or oniony things! Add chopped olives! Add chopped or dried fruits! Yum! Add nuts and nut oils. Have fun. Make crackers!







Adding local black walnuts and fennel

Give Zinny Butter!!!


Zinny, the queen of the universe (who we ALL serve), is quite refined. Except when she requires butter. This is when she jumps on the counter. Not to worry. The universe is safe. I've got it covered. I know where the butter is kept in the queen's palace and I will give her only the finest organic local butter. If I can't find that, she will have unsalted Irish butter. She approves.

Domestic cats have co-evolved with dairy animals. Unlike humans, who are generally intolerant of un-fermented dairy, cats require fatty whole milk products for optimal health. (Goat milk is superior.) I give her about a teaspoon a day and occasionally a saucer of un-pasteurized goats milk or kefir. She also eats organic cat kibble and fresh fish daily.

I might be prejudiced, but I noticed immediate health and behavioral improvements in my cats after discovering this nutritional need. Also the lush coat of a butter-eatin' queen is something to behold! (Hey, if you ate nothing but processed canned food and kibble, your coat would look like heck too!)


Live Vibe: Blended Soups!


The Sultan's Soup


Cool Pumpkin-Apple-Ginger Soup with Exotic Sprouted Black Lentils
Forget what food is "supposed to" taste like and enjoy the rich, sweet, savory, mildly spiced exotic flavor. It is reminiscent of pumpkin pie - but forget that part. Just enjoy it like a the sultan king or queen that you are, experiencing pumpkin for the first time!


In addition to warming, beautiful and unique, this simple elegant soup is great medicine! Raw foods contain enzymatic activity that our bodies need to grow, rebuild and heal. Cooking foods destroys these important enzymes.

Do not try this with an ordinary blender. You will need a high-powered Vitamix or other work-horse industrial machine of choice.

Start with frozen pumpkin.(Not difficult this time of year.) I recommend leaving the pumpkin whole in a clean area of a porch or garage where you can carve chunks away, leaving the core in tact until the last wedge is used. A pumpkin will continue to "live" as long as it has it's seeds. You can also cube it up and put it into "stasis" in the freezer for use later.

Pumpkin, apples and celery are all cleansing foods. Grade B Maple syrup and Ginger are anti-microbial, anti-bacterial and immune-boosting.

Organic Ingredients:
  • Chunks of peeled, frozen or fresh pumpkin to fill 3/4 of the blender pitcher
  • 1 celery stalk, strings removed
  • 1/2 of a large apple (or more, to taste)
  • 1/2 inch of peeled fresh ginger root
  • 1 to 2 TBS of Grade B Maple syrup
  • 1 tsp (or less) of living sea salt
  • 1 tsp of Garham Marsala seasoning (Usually a mix of dried ginger, ground cloves, nutmeg, cardamon, fenugreek, cinnamon, cumin or coriander) Five Chinese Spice or Allspice can be substituted. Go light on the seasonings! These are powerful flavors. You will love the taste of the pumpkin, so do not cover it up!
Instructions:
Place all the ingredients in the Vitamix and let it run until smooth but still cool. Pour into goblets or soup bowels. Serve immediately.

Optional Garnish: Sprouted or cooked exotic black lentils mixed with sea salt.

Sprouted Black Lentils:
Soak in water overnight, wash and drain the next day, let rest damp and covered for 8 to 24 hours. Wash lentils under clean-source water in a sieve before plunging into a warm salt-water bath. Let cool to room temp or serve warm.

For a warm salt water bath:
Boil water, use a candy thermometer or a momma's wrist to be sure the water cools to between 105 and 115 degrees before adding lentils and salt. Dissolve salt (about 1/2 tsp per cup of water). Plunge the sprouted lentils into the pot. Cover for 10 minutes as the lentils continue to soften and cool slightly. Use a slotted spoon to serve. Reserve extra lentils for use as lentil salad with chopped veggies and vinaigrette dressing or to add to miso soups.

Hippy Health Tip: Use stainless steel pots and pans. Look into it. Your pots and pans may be poisoning you. Surgical stainless, waterless cookware, like Salad-master brand, is superior.




Saturday, December 26, 2009

Live Vibe: Salads



Cucumbers, Mushrooms, Greens & Fenugreek Sprouts with
Live "Creamy" Dill, Sunflower-seed Dressing.
Top with BBQ Tempeh & Live Seed Crackers


Frugal Raw Gourmet: I purchase fresh organic produce from Freshconnectkc.com. It costs less than corporate organic supermarket food. It's mostly local, always seasonal, always exquisite and I do not have to drive anywhere to get it! No Brainer!

Lunch or Dinner Salad
with Easy Dill Dressing

Organic ingredients:
  • Mixed Greens
  • Sliced Mushrooms
  • Sliced cucumbers
  • Sprouted Sunflower Seeds
  • Toppings: Fenugreek Sprouts, BBQ Tempeh, Live Seed Crackers

Easy Oil-free Dill Dressing:
  • Fresh Dill
  • 1/2 a cucumber, peeled
  • 1/4 an onion, peeled
  • juice of one large lemon or orange
  • 1/3 cup of sprouted rinsed sunflower seeds
  • 1 TBs of raw honey
  • Live sea alt and fresh ground pepper corns to taste
  • Optional: 1 to 2 cloves of garlic
Instructions:
Place ingredients in the Vitamix or blender. Pulse at first, then blend until creamy. the cucumber makes "liquid" for you! Reserve a few dill fronds for garnish. (Reserve extra dressing to ferment into seed cheese.)

Pour dressing over salad garnish with BBQ Tempeh and Live Seed & Coconut Crackers


BBQ Tempeh

Organic Ingredients:
  • 6 to 8 oz of Tempeh
  • 1/2 cup Organic Catsup
  • 1/4 cup Tamarind Paste
  • 1 to 2 TBs of Nama Shoyu
  • 1/4 cup Raw Honey
  • Juice of one orange plus the zest
You can add fresh ground black pepper, cayenne and sage to this mix, if you like spicy sauces.

Instructions:
Slice tempeh cake into "ribs", place in glass or stainless steel dish.
Whisk together ingredients for the sauce. Pour over tempeh, coating each slice on both sides. Marinate for an hour (or a day) in the fridge.
Dehydrate for 1/2 hour to 40 minutes on a teflex sheet at 115 degrees prior to serving. Flip once.

Fennugreek Sprouts
Soak Fenugreek seeds overnight in clean source water. Rinse and drain. Return to a clean glass dish, cover with a plate or loose-fitting lid. Leave at room temp for a minimum of two days. Rinse well before serving. Fenugreek can also be planted to sprout into spicy mircogreens!






Live Vibe: Treats! Banana Date Smoothie (or Ice "Cream")


Live Vibe: Treats!
For Your Bohemian Holiday of Choice

Banana Date Smoothie (or Soft-serve Ice "Cream")


Add to Vitamix or blender:
  • 1 organic banana
  • 2 soaked organic dates (plus 1/4 cup soaking water from dates)
  • 8 oz of frozen organic coconut mylk*
  • 1 TBS of raw organic honey or organic maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp of organic pure vanilla extract or organic vanilla bean seeds (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp of organic almond extract (optional)
Note: (double for 2 or more servings)

*Buy frozen bags of coconut mylk or pour a can of organic coconut mylk into a zip-lock bag and freeze flat on a tray, so that it can be easily broke into pieces.

Soak dates for a couple of hours or overnight.

Peel the banana.

Add everything to the Vitamix and blend until smooth. Add extra clean source water for a smoothie.

Optional: Pour 1/2 the banana ice "cream" into chilled bowels, tip to keep it on one side of the dish. Add 1/2 tsp of carob powder and extra honey to remaining banana ice "cream" in the blender. (Do not over-flavor. Carob is quite strong. The color should be light mocha. ) Pour carob ice "cream" into other side of the dish. Make a yin-yan. Serve immediately or freeze for up to 20 minutes.

Please use organic foods to enjoy the full benefits of whole living food that is expressing love!

Friday, December 25, 2009


Live Vibe: Blended Soups!
This simple elegant "soup" may become your favorite way to celebrate fennel!

Cool Fennel, Honey, Coconut Soup with Fennel Sun-Breads


Do not try this with a normal blender. You will need a high-powered Vitamix or other work-horse industrial machine of choice.

In addition to romantic, beautiful and unique, this simple elegant soup is great medicine! Anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and isotonic, it is a great choice for combating flu symptoms or recovery from surgery or injury resulting in bruising or inflammation.

Start with frozen coconut mylk (The frostier the coconut mylk, the more refreshing the soup becomes. I like it sorbet-like-consistency so I can eat it with a spoon! Jamie likes his drinkable right out of the glass! (Let the coconut mylk defrost a bit or run the Vitamix longer for soupier soup)

Organic Ingredients:
  • Frozen organic coconut mylk*
  • 3 small or one large frond and bulb of organic fennel
  • 1/4 cup raw organic honey
Place all three ingredients in the Vitamix and let it run until smooth but still cool. Pour into goblets or soup bowels. Serve immediately. No need to worry about left-overs. There won't be any!

Optional Garnish: fresh ground nutmeg and coriander seed.
Variations: Use 1/2 the amount of fennel and add a frozen persimmon or ripe pear for a cool fruit soup. Serve with coconut crackers. (See: "What's in the Dehydrator at Val's")

*Buy frozen bags of coconut mylk or pour a can of organic coconut mylk into a zip-lock bag and freeze flat on a tray, so that it can be easily broke into pieces.

Below is a recipe for sun-breads I adapted from Katrina Blair's Savory Pumpkin Seed Bread. Check out her stuff at www.turtlelakerefuge.org. She is an inspiration!

Live Vibe: Sun Bread!

Organic Ingredients:
  • 2 cups of sprouted buckwheat grouts
  • 2 cups of sprouted pumpkin (or sunflower) seeds
  • 1 tsp living sea salt
  • 1/2 a large onion (or 1 cup of cubed zucchini or pumpkin flesh or shredded carrot)
  • one 4-inch piece of hand-harvested sea vegetable of choice (I used Kombu)
  • 1/2 to 1 cup of clover honey, to taste
  • 1/2 organic onion
  • Freshly harvested herb of choice: I used fennel for this one
  • Natural sparkling water (for bread making only, not for seed sprouting)*
  • Raw organic sunflower or walnut oil
  • Have organic psyhilym husk powder, powdered oat grouts or rolled oats** on hand for thickening, if needed.

* Gourmet tip: You can do this with clean source water that is not sparkling. However, I have discovered that the carbonation gives the "bread" a nice yeasty-soda flavor and a pull-apart-bread-texture not obtained with flat water.
**Allergen alert: Be aware, oats are not glutton free.

Instructions:
1. Soak and sprout sunflower seeds and grouts separately, 1 to 3 days.
(If you have a method you like, do it.)

Here's my method: Soak covered with clean source water overnight or sometimes a full 24 hours. I change the water half-way through. After that, rinse and drain twice daily, returning wet seeds and grouts to a clean bowel, covered until plump. the seeds may split open and develop "tails". That's good! Treat them gently. (Both grouts and seeds can be refrigerated to slow the process if needed.) On the final day, I add the sea veggie and extra water. I also expose the grouts and seeds to indirect sunlight on the final day before making bread.

2. Rinse and drain the seeds and sprouts one last time. They should be wet, but not watery, when you pulse them.

3. Optional: Take out 1/2 cup of seeds for garnish. Place in a jar with Nama Shoyu or Raw Tamarind Paste. Shake it. Let rest.

4. Place all the ingredients including the sea veggie (now plump and wiggly-fun from soaking) into the food processor. Pulse, then grind into a paste.

5. Add sparkling water and oil at the end while the mix is turning. Consistency can be mold-able bread-dough-like substance or a batter. It works either way.
More liquid = thin "slices" of bread or pliable "wraps."
Less liquid =dense, moldable, sticky dough = loaves with chewy centers.

6. Adjust thickness by adding in small amounts of powdered oat grouts or rolled oats or psyhilym husk powder, only if needed.

7. Adjust seasoning. Note: Dehydrating will intensify flavors, so be spare with the salt! Add more honey and some mustard, if it strikes you!

8. Pour batter (or use wet hands to form loaves) on dehydrator sheets. (In the summer, I put these outside under screens. This works great too! My lovely friend, Gretchen, in !Costa Rica! can sun her breads in December! Go for it! Report back, please. )

9. For garnish: Press reserved seeds into the top of loaves or sprinkle them onto your batter. You can also use sprigs of fresh herbs, soaked fruits (raisins, yum!) or sprouted grains and nuts of your choosing.

10. Dehydrate at 105 degrees to desired "doneness." (I like loaves with chewy middles and firm but not crunchy on the outside. For thinner breads, I like pliable "wraps." Make both types from one batch by adding more water to remaining batter once you have formed enough loaves to satisfy.)

11. Flip once. Dehydrate the bottoms just long enough to oxidize a "crust." You will see what I mean.

12. Let cool to room temp. Store loosely in brown paper or paper-lined plastic bags in the fridge. Also keep indefinitely, frozen. Thaw in dehydrator as needed.

13. Eat plain or fancy. Make wraps, spread with honey "butter." This is a living food made of seeds. It combines with starches or proteins, oils or herbs and with all veggies. Yummier than you might think!

Live Sun-Bread Workshops!
Call to arrange a sun-bread workshop for you and your friends.

A one-hour workshop in you home for 10 people or more is $18 each
(A minimum of 5 people is $35 each.)
Includes: a big salad, bread & cracker-tastings and spreads.
(You keep the bread we make in your dehydrator!)
Makes a great lunch program!
OR
Attend a Demo & Dine on a Wednesday evening. I will demo bread and cracker making after the meal portion of the evening. We will eat the bread at Thurday eve's class. You can come to both sessions for a free-will love offering, sliding scale $10 to $25. You will learn everything you need to know to get you started in one class!
For more information call:
Val at 816-364-6922