Cooked Foods: Hummus

Sprouted Garbanzo Bean Hummus

Sprouting the garbanzo beans increases nutrient content and improves flavor. I have not arrived at a raw hummus that is as satisfying, so I'm keeping this as one of my cooked foods. This is true of most beans. I sprout, then cook them. Raw beans are difficult to digest.

I always eat cooked foods, including hummus, with plenty of fresh vegetables to aid in digestion. Sometimes, I'll eat kraut and/or a digestive enzyme supplement as well.

The important thing is to ENJOY the cooked foods!

Endorphins are Everything: Mood-enhancing, immune supporting and energizing! It's simple to make sure you get enough endorphins:

Step one: ENJOY what you eat, and also what you: do, think, say, have.. be gratitude.

Step two: Repeat step one. Celebrate that you can enjoy foods, cooked and raw, and you can start now. That's it.

Step three: "But what about this, but what about that, but..." says your busy mind. Watch that go past and repeat step one. some coked foods in the diet have proven to increase vitality in most clients I have consulted with. I recommend that you periodically, go 100% raw for a few weeks or days --whatever feels great to YOU.

In the winter months, I choose to eat an average of 5 to 7 cooked foods a week, less often in the spring, summer and fall. You will find your balance by monitoring how you feel as you incorporate fewer, or more cooked foods into your life.

Hummus is an ancient middle-eastern food tradition with a long history of health benefits to peoples who use it as a regular protein source. The traditional recipes usually include sesame seed paste, called tahini. I prefer to leave it out or make fresh tahini and stir it into the hummus prior to serving, as raw sesame seeds go rancid quickly and can spoil the batch. However, I use sesame seeds in the same meal as garbanzo beans in the form of a salad dressing or topping. The combination of sesame and garbanzo makes a "complete protein" with all the detectable amino acids our bodies need. Ancient cultures didn't have laboratory testing. How did they know to combine these two things? My guess is, they were in tune with their natural selves.

I have found that prepared tahini in a jar is bitter and contains sulphates or other preservatives that create free-radical damage in our bodies. However, adding freshly prepared home-made tahini* when serving the hummus is an excellent idea.

*See Raw Tahini Recipe below. I use a small amount of honey in these recipes because Mediterranean lemons are much sweeter than North American ones we buy. The honey is intended to bring balance, but should not be a dominant flavor. Adjust amounts to your taste and to adjust for the sweet or sourness of your lemons. You can also use 1/2 fresh-squeezed lemon and 1/2 fresh squeezed orange to balance.

Hummus Recipe:

You will need a food processor or high-speed blender. (I prefer the food processor to make a thicker consistency.)

Ingredients:

4 cups of dried garbanzo beans

8 cups of clean source water, plus more for rinsing and water changes

3 to 5 bay leaves (optional)

juice of 2 large lemons or 3 small ones

1 to 2 tsp of ground cumin

1 TBs raw honey

1 to 2 tsp Himalayan pink salt or other high quality unprocessed mineral salt

2 -4 cloves or garlic, crushed

1/2 cup raw tahini (if using) - recipe below

Extra virgin, cold-pressed olive oil (1 to 1 1/2 cups)

All ingredients are organically grown and sustainably harvested.

Hummus Instructions:

Step one (optional): Sprouting is optional. You can make hummus by cooking dried garbanzos right out of the container. Sprouting increases the nutrient value and the yield and results in a creamer, dreamier hummus!

There's no one right way to sprout the garbanzos. Do it to your liking. There are plenty of differences in the sprouting guides I have reviewed. Sprout to your liking. Just soaking until they double in size is good enough. I keep some under water in my fridge on the ready. They seem to keep well for at least 4 days, if I change the water each day.

Here's my preferred method:

• Soak them over night in water;
• Change the water the next day;
• Leave them wet at room temp in a ceramic mixing bowl, covered, away from light, all day and overnight the second night;
• Rinse and change to a clean bowl, place in fresh water to cover by 2 inches and put outside in the sun for 4 to 8 hours. ( If it's a hot day, above 70 degrees air temp) change the water at least one time mid-day and place the ceramic bowl in a large stainless bowl filled with ice for the second half of the sunning. Cover with a bug screen or mesh.
• Wash one more time before transferring to the cooking pot with fresh water to cover.

To cook:

• Bring pot to a boil, add bay leaves, reduce to a simmer. Monitor the water level and add more warm water form a tea kettle, as needed. You may also choose to use a pressure-cooker. (Be sure all cooking pots are highest quality stainless steel. Such as SaladMaster or other "waterless cookware" that is NOT bonded to aluminum.)
• When garbanzo beans are softened to your liking, salt the water and allow the cooking water and beans to cool to room temp (or still warm, but not too hot to handle). Reserve liquid.
• Remove bay leaves and discard. Take some beans out for garnishing, wraps and salad toppings. Refrigerate. Store in a glass or ceramic container.

To process:

Add batches of cooked beans to a food processor fitted with an S-blade along with the lemon juice, garlic, honey, cumin and tahini, if using. Add cooking water in 1/4-cup increments as the mixture is blending. Wait until the mixture is smooth, then drizzle the oil in as the processor is turning. Adjust for salt AFTER adding the oil.

To serve:

Serve room at temp, or store refrigerated. Garnish with more oil, and spices or herbs of choice: ground paprika, sumac (pictured), cumin, or cardamon; fresh cilantro, scallions, diced red onion, shallots, chives, basil, sage or mint. Traditionally, Egyptian version will include a topping of oil with pine nuts and sprinkle of cayenne or ground chillies, cumin and sumac. Easy on the cayenne or ground chilies. They will increase in heat as they become more saturated with the moisture from the hummus. Also great with diced Sun-dried tomatoes and olives.

We eat this hummus with living seed crackers or savory sun breads or dip slices of: cucumbers, zucchini, broccoli stem, snap peas, pepper strips, celery or carrots Left-overs make a filling for hollyhock-leaf, romaine, cabbage-leaf or chard-leaf wraps with sprouts, marinated or shredded veggies and whole garbanzo beans. Hummus wraps are excellent to serve with Tzatziki sauce (see recipe below)

Beyond Basic:

Be creative. Check ingredients in Middle-Eastern recipes to get ideas for flavored hummus.

• Add sun-dried tomatoes and roasted red peppers to the food processor for a hummus rich in flavanoids, selenium and licopene.
• Increase the garlic and add soaked dried hot peppers for a spicy hummus high in anti-microbial properties.
• Experiment with curries and fresh herbs. (Napoleon Basil & Hand-harvested Mendocino Sea-Palm Fronds were added to this magic hummus, above.)
• Adding an entire hand-full of fresh basil and 1/2 cup of soaked walnuts makes a great sandwich spread!
• Add an half an onion, half a zucchini or 1/2 a cucumber to the processor in place of cooing water to increase the raw content of the food.

Raw Tahini Recipe:

I recommend making this in small batches and using the left-over to make dressing. It has a short shelf-life. But it's not difficult and it is definitely worth making if you want the traditional middle eastern hummus flavor.

• 2 cups of raw sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup RAW sesame oil
• juice of 2 lemons
• 1 tsp clover honey (optional)
• 3-5 cloves of garlic

Soak sesame seeds overnight or up to two days, refrigerated. Drain and rinse well in cheese cloth or fine sieve. Transfer to a bowl of a food processor fitted with an S-blade. Process all ingredients until a smooth paste forms. Add a little clean source water, if needed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and process again.

Transfer to a jar or ceramic dish. Cover with more oil, to store. Or, add to salad dressing or garbanzo bean hummus recipe.

TIP: Make the tahini first, then use the processor to make the humus, saving a wash-up.

Tzatziki sauce

• 1 large cucumber, scrubbed and peeled in stripes to remove about half of the peel.
• Dice or chop in food processor with:
• 1/2 white onion,
• 2 to 5 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• juice of 1/2 or one whole a lemon, to taste (I sometimes use 1/2 lemon 1/2 orange)
• pinch of kelp or sea salt

Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in the "yogurt" and herbs:

• 1/2 to 2/3 cup of goat-milk yogurt, kefer or soured cashew cream.
• Fresh mint, chopped to your preference (optional)
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley

You can make this recipe chunky or smooth to your preference.

Organic Resources:

Garbanzo Beans, Sesame Seeds, Himilayan Pink Salt - Trader St. Joe's at Kovac's 2201 Frederick Ave. St. Joseph, MO

Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Trader St. Joe's at Kovac's 2201 Frederick Ave. St. Joseph, MO 65407 (out of stock)

Lemons, Valencia Oranges, cucumbers, fresh veggies, garlic, Himilayan Pink Salt - freshconnectkc.com

Cucumbers, tomatoes, fresh greens, Napoleon Basil - Goode Acres Organic Farm (Weds and Weekends at the KC River Market or goodeacres.com

Sea Palm Frond and Kelp Powders - Trader St. Joe's at Kovac's 2201 Frederick Ave. St. Joseph, MO or order direct from Mendocino Sea Veggie Co. www.seaweed.net/

Goat Yogurt - need a local source! Please advise.

Raw Honey - A-Z Fresh Air Fair, 114 South 8th Street St. Joseph, MO 64501

Greek Olives - Superfooduniverse.com

Cooked Foods

One Dish Wonder!

Of Course, A High-Raw Life-Style (higher percentage of raw foods) Includes SOME Cooked Foods, Too.

The question comes up, what to choose for cooked foods? If I'm going to the trouble to cook something, I choose delicious, satisfying, healthy foods. There are some things I've tried to make raw or sprouted and have learned that I just prefer them cooked. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Sprouted garbanzo beans (also known as chick peas);
• Fresh pink, green and tan chicken or duck eggs (from birds and their farmers, who I know personally);
• Sprouted quinoa;
• Sprouted barley;
• A variety of lentils (Dried or fermented in goat yogurt);
• sprouted dried beans;
• Artichokes;
• Popcorn;
• Potatoes (I recommend to use small heirloom varieties);
• Occasionally, I enjoy steamed, sweated or wilted: greens, cabbage, onions, squash, broccoli, asparagus;
• Toasted mustard seeds and coconut;
• Or, I'll melt coconut oil inn a stainless steel pan and saute onions, celery, mushrooms, fresh herbs and/or root vegetables as toppings and condiments. These are all great raw too!

Currently, in the late winter months, I choose to eat 3 to 5 cooked foods a week as: condiments, side dishes, special treats and mid-day meals served with lot's of fresh veggies for optimal nutrient absorption. You may also choose to supplement with a digestive enzyme or eat some fermented kraut with your cooked foods to aide in metabolic processes. Whenever we eat cooked foods, our metabolic enzymes are used to digest them. This interrupts the "healing and vitality" role of our system. A healthy body can compensate with help from mircoorganisms found in fermented foods and enzymes from a reliable source. (Metabolic enzymes are your healing and vitality workers. They must stop what they are "doing" and aide your digestion and obsorption whenever you present your system with a challenge. Cooked foods are a challenge. None-the-less, cooked foods bring us pleasure. Enjoyable meals are key to health and healing! Feeling satisfied increased your endorphins and levels out your hormonal activities. So, if you percieve a raw foods life-style as "rabbit food," or attach other negative connotations to eating this way, your higher self may be telling you to incorporate cooked foods. Using one of the 80/20 "rules," eat cooked foods (20% of your meal) and raw foods (80%) whenever you feeling unsatisfied. To find a enjoyable balance, monitor how you feel after each meal. Eat cooked foods mid-day, exercise regularly and drink clean-source water in abundance.

Here are a few cooked recipes you may want to incorporate into your raw high-raw foods lifestyle!

I will post the recipes separately. Use the search window of the blog to find these and other recipes by name or ingredients. Enjoy!

• Channa Dal Dhoka (Steamed Lentil Cakes)
• Hummus (Garbanzo Bean Dip/Spread)
• Frittata (Cooked Eggs with Fresh Veggie Toppings)
• One Dish Wonder! (pictured above)

Here are foods you should never heat above 105 degrees:

• olive, nut or seed oils
• olives
• seeds and nuts
• fruits (fresh or dried)

The result is carcinogenic!

Eggplant and Flax Veggie Burgers

Make a batch!

You'll be surprised how fast they go!

(If you are uncooking for 1 or 2 eaters, no worries, they freeze and re-heat well.)

You will need a food processor, a spice mill or clean coffee grinder and a dehydrator with temp setting or 105 degrees.

All ingredients are grown using organic practices. This recipe makes 8 to 10 patties.

Prep:
Prepare the eggplant by slicing into 1/4" slabs. Position half the slices in layers in a stainless steel strainer, salting in between each layer liberally with Himalayan pink salt or coarse ground unprocessed salt. Let stand for 15 minutes to 2 hours at room temp or overnight in the fridge.

Wash off the salt with clean source water, drain the eggplant slices to remove excess moisture.

(Use the other half of the eggplant to make marinated dehydrated eggplant slices. Add freshly sliced eggplant to olive oil infused with herbs. Use a garlic press to add the pulp of 3 or 4 garlic cloves. Add a thinly sliced lemon, if you have it. Dehydrate for 2 to 5 hours. Serve as a "topper" for the veggie burgers.) Speaking of "toppers"... While you have the extra virgin olive oil in hand, marinate some mushrooms and onions in the same mix. Add rosemary or basil, if you have it! Oh Yum. In a few hours you will have heaven. Expose to sunlight, if possible. If it's cool out (below 40 degrees, but not freezing), you can set marinating veggies out covered with a parchment paper tent. Otherwise, use a tight fitting "bug screen". (A draw-string, laundry-delicate-bag works well or an unused nylon paint strainer with the over end tucked under the dish will keep most critters out. Check and rescue anything that's still moving!

Remove the eggplant and lemons from the marinade after 1/2 hour or up to 2 hours, and transfer to the dehydrator. Set at 105 degrees. Use the flavored oil to marinate Swiss chard, Rainbow Chard (pictured here) or kale.

Measure 1/4 cup whole flax seeds, freshly grind in a spice mill or or clean coffee grinder with 1/4 tsp of course unprocessed salt.

Shred carrot or parsnip or sweet potato or all three. Use a total of 1/2 cup of shredded root vegetables in the veggie burger recipe. (Add a vinaigrette dressing and celery seed to shredded veggies and refrigerate to use as a topper for the veggie burger or side salad or serve as a slaw)

To make the veggie burger:

(Grind together the ingredients in two phases)
First add to the food processor:

• 1/4 cup whole flax seeds, freshly ground
• 1/2 a spicy chili pepper, seeds and pith removed
• 1 whole mild jalapeno pepper, seeds and pith removed
• 5 to 7 sage leaves (or 1 tsp of rubbed sage)
• 2 TBs fresh rosemary, chopped fine
• 3 coves of garlic, pressed

Pulse and scape down the sides, grind again until chili peppers are small bits. Then, add:

• 2 cups or activated walnuts
• 1/2 a medium eggplant (salted and washed)
• 1 small onion
• 3 to 5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, plus 2 TBs of the oil
• (Substitute 1/4 cup homemade ketsup)
• 1/2 cup shredded carrot or parsnip (optional)
• 1/2 cup fresh mushroom stems (optional)
• 1 TBs grade B maple syrup
• 1 or 2 tsps of maca root or carob powder to color (carob results in a very dark brown patty. Maca, a golden brown)

Scoop out burger-sized blobs of the "meat" mixture onto Teflex sheets. Use wet hands to shape and flatten each into a patty. Dehydrate for 3 to 5 hours at 105 degrees flipping once. When reheating, or just before serving, crank the temp up to 125 degrees for 5 or 8 minutes and transfer to a warm plate to serve.

Still working on the "bun." Let me know if you have a recipe for a soft raw sandwich sunbread. In the mean time, I serve the burgers with a large salad and top with marinated mushrooms, kale and onions, root vegetable slaw with optional BBQ sauce, mustard, kraut and ketsup. Didn't get a "finished" shot. Both times I have made these, it was for a group and we were too hungry to wait for pictures! Amazingly, this recipe makes 10 patties! They were so good! I'll make more and add a picture soon.

Lucky Living Green and Gold Seed Crackers: Magically Delicious!

What makes them green?

Special Spirulina!

What so special about spirulina? It's great for vegans and vegetarians and everybody because it is a natural organic whole food that is high in the very nutrients that are hard to come by in modern cement-land, including: potassium, all of the B vitamins, magnesium, zinc and iron, 18 vital amino acids, beta carotene and lutein. It's has a rich "meaty" flavor.

Limited quantities can be purchased from Val for $1.50 per ounce (4 oz. minimum). First-come-first serve. I'm taking orders for "Magically Delicious Lucky Green and Gold Crackers" to be delivered the week of St. Patrick's Day. Call 816-364-6922.

Or

See the "basic cracker recipe" posted to make your own! Just add spirulina to 1/2 the batch prior to dehydrating. You will need to be a "seed sprouter" and have a dehydrater with a temp setting at 105 degrees.

We will have organic spirulina available for purchase at our next Trader St. Joe's distribution nite. I'l keep you posted!

Lucky Green Crackers - Magically Delicious!

Layered Aronia Berry Parfait

Ultra-Healthy, Super Antioxidant Packed Delicious Desserts

What's so special about Aronia berries? Aronia Melanocarpa, the black version of aronia berries, is PACKED with antioxidants, and best of all for those of us living in the United States, they're very plentiful... In fact, the aronia berries I used to make this parfait were grown less than 20 miles from here by Steve Blazer on his 12-organic-acres near St. Joseph. Aronia's extremely high antioxidant levels make it one of the eight “true” superfruits in the world, and it's the only one of the eight that is native to the United States. Why go to Brazil or China to get your fill of antioxidants when you can buy them fresh or frozen from local organic farmers in the US?

Recipe:

You will need a Vitamix or high speed blender.

Ingredients: For each serving, add the following:

• 1 frozen banana, peeled
• 1/2 fresh or frozen pear, cubed and cored
• 1/2 cup frozen or thawed whole aronia berries (plus a few extra for garnish)
• 1 TBS of raw clover honey

Use the auger to push fruit into the blade to create an ice-cream consistency. (If your blender will not smooth out the frozen fruit without liquid, add a little coconut water until it starts turning freely.) Blend until smooth, pour into glass dishes, place in the freezer for 15 minutes to an hour. Do not wash out the blender. You will be making the topping in the same pitcher. The "left-over" dark purple sorbet that is still in the blender will create a beautiful violet hue for the topping.

Topping:

• 1/2 cup soaked, hulled, raw sunflower seeds
• 1/2 whole vanilla bean
• 1/2 cup frozen coconut mylk
• 1 to 2 TBS of Raw White Honey or Clear Agave Nectar (to taste)

Blend until smooth, pour over the aronia berry sorbet, return to the freezer until firm. Top with thawed aronia berries.

(I created a marble effect in the topping using some of the juice from the frozen berries)

This will be amazing with fresh mint when it starts to peek through the snow any day now!

We will be featuring Steve's local aronia berries at our next distribution night. I'll keep you posted.

They are also great salad toppers! A teaspoon of these lovely dark tart berries is the antioxidant nutritional equivalent to a shot of Monovie (which retails for $35 a bottle!) Yikes.

If you like, sign up to "be a follower" of this blog and you will be automatically up-dated when I post more recipes about aronia berries. I'm having a blast experimenting with them. Here are a few tips I can share: If you are using in smoothies, add a little raw honey to bring out the rich tannins! Mixed well with pears, apricots, apples, bananas, cherries, and blueberries. Goat yogurt, if you partake, is a wonderful base for frozen aronia custard. Just mix a whole vanilla bean, 1/2 cup of aronia berries, (frozen or thawed ) a little clean-source water and ice in the Vitamix. Blend until smooth. Add plain organic goat yogurt to taste. I like it tart, so I add lemon. If you like it sweet, add honey or agave. You can "drink" it or set it in the freezer until it firms into a spoon-able ice-mylk consistency. YUM! [Photos TK. My family woofed it down before I could get picture! I love them!]

Frugal Raw Gourmet

Quick and Easy

Time-saving Recipes

Taco "Meat" Used as a Salad-Topping, Served with Sun-Breads.

(All ingredients are organic, non-corporate and local as much as possible.)

Here are Q & E ideas:

Use Taco Left-overs to make Taco Salad

I always make extra of the super yummy Taco "Meat" and squirrel it away. It freezes well and can be "reheated" in the dehydrator. Also, you can dehydrate it to a crunchy state, which is an awesome salad topper, as is. Or, reconstitute it with water or tomato juice for an easy moist filling for wraps.

Add Olives, chopped onion, or not-cho-cheeze as a garnish. Or if you are ready to change favors from "tex-mex" to KC BBQ top your salad or wrap with raw BBQ sauce. Careful, it's addictive!

Have an un-baking day each week. Sun breads and zucchini wrappers are super easy to make. You can make un-cookies at the same time. (Come to my un-cookies and mylk workshop for a fun secret recipe!) When ready to serve, sun breads and zucchini wraps can be re-heated at the same time as the Taco "Meat" in the dehydrator at 105 degrees.

I served the breads with humus and a big salad for proper food combining! And it's delicious!

Keep Humus On-hand in the fridge AND the freezer. Use it as a spread, dip, base for salad dressing, easily "up-darted" with a dash of curry or garlic or fresh herbs like cilantro, dill or basil. A I make a big batch of humus (not raw) and save some of the sprouted garbanzos for salad toppings. They keep in the fridge for about 4 or 5 days.

Raw BBQ Sauce for 2:

• 1/2 cup grade B maple syrup
• 2 to 3 TBS of homemade ketchup
• 1/8 tsp of smokey paprika
• 1/2 tsp (or more to taste) ground dehydrated citrus rind*
• ground black pepper and or cumin to taste

Whisk ingredients together, adjust seasoning. Dip or pour onto taco "meat". Great to "paint" onto eggplant bacon or dehydrated pears.

*Place orange, lemon and line peel in the dehydrator and just leave it there throughout the week as you make other things. soon it will be dried to a crisp. Put a small amount of course ground sea salt in the spice mill with the citrus rind and grind to a powder. If there are a few "chunks" remaining, sift them out. Or, not. I like the chunks, myself. Citrus rind with dehydrated coconut is a good seasoning to have on hand too. Dehydrated orange peel retains much of the vitamin C and beneficial acids. YEA! We need those this time of year --and it makes for award-winning BBQ sauce!

Naked Wraps

or with Taco "Meat" Crumbles

Use what's in the box from Fresh Connect

Having avocados on hand makes my life simple. Great source of plant protein and essential fatty acids. They have lost much of their mineral content in transport. However, combining fresh winter crops with dehydrated food helps balance the mineral content of the meal. Dehydrated foods have a higher concentration of minerals. You can munch on some dehydrated sea veggies or include them in the salad dressing to balance out the missing minerals in salad greens due to soil depletion. This is true year-round. Even organically produced veggies have 40% less vitamin and mineral content than food grown 40 years ago. Sad. The good news is, we can assimilate a combination of dehydrated and fresh foods to make meals that taste great and make us feel great!

Make your own cereal with sun-bread ingredients.

I save some of the sprouted buckwheat grouts from the sun-bread recipe and make dehydrated granola cereal with it. Add some maple syrup or honey and a pinch of pink salt to the wet buckwheat, spread on a teflex sheet and dry at 105 degrees until crispy. Mix with fresh fruit, sprouted almonds and mylk of choice.

Green drinks are a no-brainer and you can find an unlimited supply of raw green drink suggestions on line.

See "Raw Soups" for other quick and easy recipes.

"High-Raw" Means A High Percentage of Raw Foods

So, What Do We Eat as Cooked Foods? Potatoes!

These LOVELY fingerling potatoes are dug out of the Missouri soil only a few miles from me. Thank you Fred and Hellen Mesner for having a root celar extrodinair! (You can get these lovely fingerlng potatoes in the KC metro area through Freshconnect.kc. Use "Trader St. Joe's" as the discount code and recieve $5 off your first order.)

I like to bake them at 375 degrees, in a covered stainless steel dish lined with organic rock salt and bay leaves. I also tuck the bay leaves in between each little darling. If you can't find one of these awesome high-quality 1970's Dansk Design stainless dish-and- lid sets, use a glass dish with a parchment-paper and foil lid. Use the parchemnt paper to protect the potatoes from coming into contact with the aluminum foil. (Not to scare you, but I advise you to stop using foil and anodized cookware to cook your food. Alumninum + high heat = dementia and Alshiemers disease.)

After they are baked, I remove the bay leaves, open each sexy little node with a fork

and pour a rice mylk into each opening. Use the fork to "stir" the rice mylk into the potato flesh. Then, slather the tops with Earth Balance Soy-free Buttery Spread or Goat Butter or and pop the dish back into the oven for a few minutes to melt and stay warm for a dinner. Toppings of sunflower- seed-sour 'cream', eggplant bacon and vegan 'parmesiano', chopped green onions or chives, herbs and cracked pepper or nutmeg can be added. Serve with a large salad and a raw soup, seed crackers and sun breads. It doesn't get much better than this!

Live Vibe: Rainbow Salad

Eat the Rainbow!

Cut up the beat greens, chard or spinach into "noodles" using the French chiffonade-method. (Wash, then roll leaves together and slice on the bias with a Chef's knife.)

Cut celery, carrots, onions, beats and anything else colorful, raw and edible you have on hand, at an angle and slightly thiner than you would for soup. Top with sprouted dehydrated Almonds and Beet Vinaigrette.

Beet Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup of fresh Lemon juice of Apple-cider Vinegar
• 1/2 cup of oil of choice (I like first press extra virgin olive oil or raw almond oil)
• 1/4 cup of diced beets
• 2 TBS of diced onion or shallot
• 2 cloves of garlic, pressed or diced
• 2 TBS of clover honey or grade B maple syrup
• 2 or 3 pieces of dried California Sea Palm Frond, diced (optional)
• 1/2 tsp of Himalayan pink salt (or less, if using olive oil and/or sea veggies)
• 1 tsp of mild curry powder
• Fresh ground nutmeg or peppercorns, to taste
• Fresh herbs, when you’ve got um” (rosemary, thyme and sage are all wonderful with this dressing)

Mix ingredients together in a glass jar with a lid. Shake. Marinate overnight for best results. Keeps at room temperature for a day or so, indefinitely when refrigerated.

Sprouted Dehydrated Almonds

Soak raw (Sicilian or Spanish) almonds over night in clean source water with a 2 to 3 inch piece of sea vegetable of choice until plump and looking like they want to burst out of their skins.

Drain and wash almonds and sea veggie 2 times each day. Return to a clean bowel, covered, at room temperature, away from light for 8 to 24 hours.

Wash again and soak for 1 to 2 hours in clean-source water. When skins are loose, “pop” almonds out of skin. Not all will want to come out. It’s oky, you can give them a rub later when they are dry to remove stubborn skins. Discard the skins and any discolored almonds to the compost pile.

Soak the skinned almonds in a salt-water bath for at least 2 hours at room temp. Refrigerate, if it will be longer than that.

Drain the salt water. Do not wash this time. Shake the strainer to remove excess water. Place the wet almonds and sea veggie on a screen in dehydrator at 105 degrees until crisp and dry. Store in a glass jar refrigerated or frozen until ready to use.

Green Banana Salads

Celebrate Green Bananas!

The Bananas are Green because they have not been gassed! This is a very good thing. Bananas will ripen on a sunny windowsill or in a paper bag. Allowing the bananas to have sun exposure increased the nutrient value.

We use the firm flesh of green bananas as often as we do the ripe ones. Green bananas have a lower glycemic index because many of the sugars have not yet formed. They also have more tannin that promote digestion and have anti-microbial properties. Slightly tart, they make a great topping for green salad or filling for wraps with orange pumpkinseed vinaigrette or as a snack with Greek or goat yogurt and honey. (Vegans can substitute cashew cream cheese and Agavi.)

Green Banana Snack

Peel and slice bananas

Add Cashew cream or yogurt

Add fresh herbs (Choose one or mix: fresh cilantro, sorrel, mint, fennel tops, or lemon balm)

Drizzle with Clover Honey

Add blueberries when you’ve got um!

Green Banana Salad Topping or Filling for Wrap

Peel and slice green bananas

Sprinkle very sparingly with Himalayan pink salt and a squeeze of lemon juice

Toss to coat. (Keeps refrigerated for several hours.)

Serve in a lettuce leaf with choice for fresh herbs or pea sprouts or place on top of a bed of mixed greens. Add dressing with whole seeds.

Orange-Pumpkin Seed Vinaigrette

• Juice of one orange
• Zest of ½ an orange
• 1 clove of garlic (crushed or minced)
• ½ a small onion or large shallot, diced
• 1 TBS live apple cider vinegar
• 1TBS of Namu Soyu (raw soy sauce)
• 2 TBS of raw pumpkin seed oil (substitute raw sunflower oil)
• 1 TBS of grade B maple syrup (optional)
• 2-3 TBS of raw pumpkin seeds

Marinate overnight for best results

Live Vibe: Desserts & Treats

Secret Stash

Vanilla Peanut-butter Fudge

A tribute to My Dad, Earl Stephan Jacobson, a “Black Norwegian” from Duluth, MN who made KILLER FUDGE on Christmas and whenever we asked him to …all winter long. He always made a ton of chocolate fudge with black walnuts for all of us AND a small amount Vanilla with Peanut butter, for himself. His recipes were buried with the cane sugar long ago.

Here is my raw-modern-version. You can make a larger quantity. But, you might eat it all and make yourself sick. It's so good; you'll be fighting over who gets to lick the spatula!

Secret Stash Vanilla Peanut-butter Fudge Recipe

Ingredients:

for the : Base"Add equal amounts of the following to the food processor:

• Raw honey
• Coconut oil
• Coconut butter

Blend in the flavoring(I use 3/4 cup each with seasonings as follows):

• Scrapings from one whole split vanilla bean
• 1/4 tsp of liquid almond extract
• 2 TBS of peanut butter from New Mexico
• Very scant 1/2 of a pinch of Himalayan sea salt (optional)

Instructions:

Blend until smooth. Pour into a glass dish. Refrigerate until firm.
If you can keep yourself from "tasting it" with a spoon every 20 minutes, you will have fudge in about an hour.
Slice with a warm knife. Serve on chilled plates.

For a full Batch of the Dark Rich Chocolate Version:
Add equal amounts of:

• Raw honey
• Coconut oil
• Coconut butter

to the food processor
(For a full “batch” to fill a 9 X 13 glass dish, you will need 2 cups of each)

Season as follows:

• Scrapings from 4 whole split vanilla bean
• 1 tsp of liquid almond extract
• 3 TBS of carob powder
• 1 tsp of raw cacao powder
• 1 cup of black walnut pieces (divided)
• 2 tsp of grade B maple syrup (optional)
• A pinch of Himalayan sea salt (optional)
• Home-made Chocolate Chips (optional)

Blend until smooth. Stir in a little over half of black walnuts. Pour into a glass dish. Refrigerate until almost firm, sprinkle with more black walnuts and homemade chocolate chips.* Press down with a spatula, if needed to stick to the top. Refrigerate until firm. Slice with a warm knife serve on chilled plates.

*Homemade Chocolate Chips

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup coconut or cocoa butter
• 1 TBS of Grade B maple syrup
• 2 TBS raw carob powder
• 2 tsp of raw cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp of Himalayan pink salt
• 1/4 tsp green stevia powder
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1 TBS of warm water

Instructions:
(This makes a very dark rich bitter chocolate chip. For a semi-sweet, only use 1 tsp of raw carob; increase the raw cocoa powder to 1 TBS and add 1 TBS of white agavi nectar. You might not need the water.)

Process until smooth. Transfer to a plastic bag with the tip cut or a pastry bag with a small tip. Squeeze out “chip shapes” onto parchment paper. They don’t have to be perfect. (To get around this step, simply spread the chocolate batter like frosting on a sheet of parchment and then crumble into chips after it freezes.) Put in freezer until firm. Remove from parchment. Store in a glass container in the freezer until ready to use.

How is THIS Healthy?

Here is an excerpt from Jim Fly's newsletter that answers many questions about coconuts:

Our emphasis this week is on coconut products, which have proliferated in recent years as more and more research validates the healthfulness and unique properties of this tropical tree fruit.

I recall going to a seminar in Las Vegas several years ago given by Dr. Bruce Fife, N.D., the individual who has written the most about the often-misaligned coconut--(it's high in saturated fat, for example).

At that time, coconut oil and various other products were just being introduced to the health food industry. Previous to this, coconut, due to its high content of saturated fat, was being partially blamed for the high rate of heart disease. Remember the movie popcorn scare? But, as Dr. Fife pointed out it was precisely partially or fully hydrogentated coconut oil that was the real culprit, just as other healthy oils become dangerous when subjected to the hydrogenation process, which produces transfats, or plastic fats, that oxidize LDL cholesterol and set the stage for hardening of the arteries...

South Sea Islanders and other people living in the tropics, when eating a traditional diet that relies heavily on coconuts, have one of the lowest rates of heart disease in the world. And, here's why, according to Dr. Fife:

Coconut's saturated fat is a unique type of fat composed of Medium Chain Triglycerides, which the body mainly burns as fuel instead of storing as fat! Coconut also contains lauric acid which the human body turns into monolaurin, an antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial substance. Another MCT in coconut is capric acid, which converts into monocaprin, another antiviral. So, the theory goes, Coconut can possibly function as a metabolizer and immune system booster. At any rate, it is not the skull-and-crossbones fat of culinary paranoia. Oh, and by the way, pure coconut and coconut oil is one of the most hypoallergenic foods there is--most people with food allergies do not react negatively to coconut.

Cool Coconut Soup and Sun Breads

Super Simple Super Soup!

(Serve with Sun Bread or Un-cookies)

In raw-foodie world, anything you can obliterate to a liquid is considered a "soup." I have many "soup" recipes up my sleeve. This is the all-time favorite. Beautiful first course; elegantly refreshing any time of year; and a crowd pleaser that takes seconds to make! It is fresh and delicious without any seasoning at all, or you can make it into a raw version of an Indian curried soup. (The golden-beat version definitely shines better with the spices.) All ingredients are organic.

Inspired by Heidie Van Pelt's recipe for Sunny Coconut Chi, this soup is slightly sweet with subtle exotic seasonings

You will need a Vitamix or other high-speed blender.

Ingredients:

1 Fresh fennel bulb and tops

16 ounces of frozen coconut mylk* (or more, if you have a crowd)

2 TBS raw honey

A pinch of sea salt

1/2-inch piece of peeled fresh ginger (optional)

1 cup of clean-source water

Stop there or make an Indian curried soup by adding exotic blend of any or all of fresh ground seeds listed below (I recommend keeping it light!)

Fresh Grind the following seeds in a spice grinder or clean coffee mill with 1/4 tsp of course ground sea salt. It helps powder the seeds:

• A pinch of Cumin
• A pinch of Cardamon
• A pinch of Clove
• A pinch of Star Annis

Instructions:

Wash fennel. Place all ingredients in Vitamix, blend on high until smooth. Adjust for seasoning. Pour into glasses or bowls and serve immediately. (Reserve left-overs, add extra honey, process again and place in the freezer and serve as sorbet later.)

*You can open two 8 oz cans of organic coconut mylk and pour the contents into a plastic zip-lock, then, freeze overnight. Or you can purchase frozen coconut mylk in 1 pound bags from most Asian and Indian grocery stores.

Variation: Super Sunny Super Soup!

Substitute golden beats and the beat stems, leaves removed, for the fennel. Add a pinch of cayenne with the spice blend listed above. (Inspired by beautiful organic golden beats brought to a "stump the chef" session by Cynthia Wilson of Topeka, a fine foods aficionado who also inspired my Chocolaty Cheeze Cake recipe with her lovely mouse!)

Sun Breads with Honey "Butter"

You will need a food processor and a dehydrator, or 8 hours of direct sunlight and a bug screen.

You've had sprouted grain breads. However, in the raw food world, breads made with grains and their gluttons are a drag on the system. What to do instead! Make sprouted SEED breads! Seeds are not mucus-forming. the breads are dense, like cookies, but they are glutton-free raw bread substitutes. I make them sweet, sour-dough, savory and plain. We love them all!

Inspired by Katrina Blair's recipe for Savory Pumpkin Seed Bread (made with oats), these palm-sized, grab-and-go snacks have become a staple recipe for people on the go and a great accompaniment to any meal. Saundra Debella offers to crawl across cut glass for my Chocolate Almond Bagels! (recipe listed as "variation" below)

Basic ingredients:

• 2 cups of sprouted buckwheat grouts
• 2 cups of sprouted pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 a large onion or 1/2 a small zucchini or 1/2 cup of pumpkin flesh
• a pinch of sea salt
• clean source water (for "soda bread" use bottled naturally sparkling water. It also makes it fluffier)
• 1 TBS of sunflower oil (optional)

Flavors of choice:

• garlic and fresh herbs
• honey, cinnamon and shredded carrots or apples
• honey mustard curry
• carob maple ginger
• date, raisin, yucan syrup
• raw cacao maple walnut

Experiment! It's fun.

Instructions:

Wash and drain sprouted seeds and grouts 2 times daily until ready to use.

If using garlic or whole ginger, add to the food processor first with salt and other seasonings. Add the wet seeds and grouts process until smooth, adding a bit of water at a time to form a dough. Use wet hand to form small loaves or use a large spoon to dolop a cookie-sized blobs onto tefex sheets. Dehydrate at 105 degrees, flipping once. Store refrigerated. Re-warm at 115 degrees prior to serving.

Variations:

For Chocolate Almond Bagels, use the basic recipe with the pumpkin or zucchini flesh, add 3/4 cup ground almond pulp, 1 tsp of almond extract, seeds scraped from a vanilla bean pod, 1/2 cup of soaked flame raisins, 2 to 3 soaked dates and enough raw cacao to turn the mix black-brown. Sweeten with raw honey AND maple syrup to your liking. Stir in whole sprouted almonds, skins removed. Spoon onto teflex sheets, form bagel shapes with wet hands. To really spoil yourself, serve with Almond butter or Peanut-butter frosting! (Nut butter mixed with equal parts basic honey butter) YUM! Have a warm tea near by.

For Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, use the basic recipe with the pumpkin or zucchini flesh, add 3/4 cup ground raw rolled oats, 1/2 cup of soaked flame raisins, 2 to 3 soaked dates, tsp of almond extract, seeds scraped from a vanilla bean pod, nutmeg and cinnamon to taste. Stir in whole home-made chocolate chips. (Melt cocoa butter in a double boiler, stir in raw cacao or carob powder and grade B maple syrup, with a pinch of live sea salt. Pour onto parchment paper, chill, break into chips.) This recipe can be dehydrated, or chilled!

Tip: Put "toppings" on the bottom by placing a small amount of pumpkin seeds, almonds or other toppings of choice on the teflex sheet first, then plopping a serving of the dough on top. It makes it easier to flip the breads over later. Flipping the breads allows for a more even "crust." Some breads are wonderful with a gooey center (especially the sweet ones). But, you defiantly want to flip them to avoid a soggy bottom!

Honey "Butter"

You will need a food processor or Cuisinart Smart Stick hand-blender. Make at least 3 hours in advance to allow time to set into a spread.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup raw honey (room temp)
• 1 cup of raw sunflower oil
• 1/2 tsp fine ground living sea salt
• a pinch of turmeric (optional)
• herbs of choice or ground cinnamon (optional)

Instructions

Blend ingredients until smooth transfer to a small stainless steel or glass container. Place in the refrigerator to set.

How can all that coconut oil be healthy?

Here is an excerpt from Jim Fly's newsletter that answers many questions about coconuts:

Our emphasis this week is on coconut products, which have proliferated in recent years as more and more research validates the healthfulness and unique properties of this tropical tree fruit.

I recall going to a seminar in Las Vegas several years ago given by Dr. Bruce Fife, N.D., the individual who has written the most about the often-misaligned coconut--(it's high in saturated fat, for example).

At that time, coconut oil and various other products were just being introduced to the health food industry. Previous to this, coconut, due to its high content of saturated fat, was being partially blamed for the high rate of heart disease. Remember the movie popcorn scare? But, as Dr. Fife pointed out it was precisely partially or fully hydrogentated coconut oil that was the real culprit, just as other healthy oils become dangerous when subjected to the hydrogenation process, which produces transfats, or plastic fats, that oxidize LDL cholesterol and set the stage for hardening of the arteries...

South Sea Islanders and other people living in the tropics, when eating a traditional diet that relies heavily on coconuts, have one of the lowest rates of heart disease in the world. And, here's why, according to Dr. Fife:

Coconut's saturated fat is a unique type of fat composed of Medium Chain Triglycerides, which the body mainly burns as fuel instead of storing as fat! Coconut also contains lauric acid which the human body turns into monolaurin, an antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial substance. Another MCT in coconut is capric acid, which converts into monocaprin, another antiviral. So, the theory goes, Coconut can possibly function as a metabolizer and immune system booster. At any rate, it is not the skull-and-crossbones fat of culinary paranoia. Oh, and by the way, pure coconut and coconut oil is one of the most hypoallergenic foods there is--most people with food allergies do not react negatively to coconut.