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Archive for May, 2010

WOW: nettles

May 23rd, 2010

Grab those garden gloves — it’s time for a new feature on crunchybits! Welcome to our first Weed of the Week — Nettles!

We’ve already talked about the health benefits of nettle infusions. This humble herb helps with respiratory troubles, allergic reactions, arthritis, skin problems, kidney stones and bladder infections. but the uses of nettles don’t stop there. You can steep nettle stalks in a bucket of water for a few weeks until fermentation stops (once there are no more bubbles when you stir) and use a dilution of this pungent “tea” as a foliar feed or soil fertilizer for your plants.

In addition to the feeding and healing people and their vegetable patches, nettles have been used for more than 2000 years to make things like rope, paper or cloth. And they can dye the fabric too! The leaves will give a green color, while the roots boiled with salt or alum yield a lovely yellow.

Nettles attract a number of butterflies, who lay their eggs on the plant so their caterpillars have a tasty, nutritious start on life. Once the plants go to seed, the birds will visit your patch to dine. So it has a place in your wildlife garden too!

Here in CT, nettles been out for a few months, and the patches we’ve expanded in the garden are producing nicely. Although today Dante asked me not to do that again because getting around the garden in shorts and with bare feet isn’t as pleasant as before where the nettles were primarily outside the fence and just inside at one corner.

We’ve been using them primarily in our smoothies, but last week I found a nettle soup recipe in a library cookbook Love Soup by Anna Thomas. I adapted it a bit, and am posting the resulting recipe below. It was delicious, and Dante and Luke ate a couple of bowls. Lucia didn’t care for it, but said she will try it again next time.Something about it reminds me of homemade chicken and rice soup from my childhood.

Nettle Soup

2 large onions, diced
4 cloves garlic
4 carrots, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
4 yukon gold potatoes, diced
1 cup lentils
1 cup millet
6-8 leaves kale, chopped
4 cups chopped nettles
water or broth
salt to taste

Saute onions on medium low heat until they start to brown.
Meanwhile chop and measure out everything but the greens.
Once the onions turn translucent, add the carrots, celery and potato and stir occasionally for about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and stir, cooking for one minute.
Add water and/or broth to cover and bring to a boil.
Add lentils and millet, stir and reduce to a simmer.
After about 20 minutes, add chopped greens and remove from heat.

I didn’t want to add any spices so I could taste the subtle flavor of the nettles, but I think next time round I would add some fresh herbs. And possibly more nettles.

Happy harvesting — don’t forget to wear thick gloves or proceed with caution!

Comments ( 10 )

Lunches On The Go

May 21st, 2010

In an effort to eat healthier and save money, my husband has tarted taking his lunch to work with him. Some days we just do soup. I have been buying the Dr. McDougall’s which comes in a paper box. It is my top choice at the moment because it is a BPA free container! They also have many gluten and dairy free soup choices which is important to me.

Most days, I try to send a homemade lunch. I need it to be filling and something he can eat on the run. I am always on the hunt for good to go containers for this reason. Right now we use our tiffins. I am fairly pleased with these. It has 3 sections to fill. The top section has it’s own lid so I can put soup in it or another liquidy option and it will not leak. The bottom two do not have their own lid but use the bottom of the section above it. The bottom section has long clips to hold the whole contraption together. They are bit cumbersome when opened but this is a minor setback.

Todays tiffin included cookies made with leftover almond pulp, flax meal, dates, cinnamon and other yummy stuff that were then dehydrated. I put those in the bottom part. In the middle went some cheezy almonds. On top I put mesclun topped with fantastic fajita marinated veggies with a little extra dressing. Of course he takes a big stainless steel thermos of water as well that he can refill during the day.

The goal for me is to pack in the nutrition and to fill him up. I like to pack things like todays cookis and almonds that give him some power packed nutrition and are filling.

Happy travels!

Comments ( 3 )

PB Granola

May 20th, 2010

Whoo, I have been on a recipe search for new granola recipes and Gone Raw had one that caught my eye. It is titled Peanut Butter granola and I imagined a nice hearty granola bar that had that creamy nut butter yum. Mmm!

Almond Butter Granola
serves 1-4

1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c. raw oats
1/4 c. dried cranberries
1/4 c. goji berries
1/2 c. almonds chopped
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4-1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. almond butter

Mix in a bowl starting with 1/4 c. honey. Taste for sweetness. Dehydrate 8 hours or overnight. Eat warm or cold.

Well, I tasted this little bit that it makes and fell in love so I started dumping a lot more in. I used about 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 1/2 c oats and doubled the cranberries. I didn’t have gojis so I used raisins instead. I hadn’t soaked more almonds so I only used the original 1/2 c. but added chia seeds and hemp seeds, a little more salt and only 1/2 c. honey total. And yes, more lovely almond butter to make it ooey and gooey. I started dehydrating it in the afternoon and Gatlin and I both had it for a snack that evening warm with some almond milk in it. By morning, it was done in the dehydrator. I had some plain in a bowl. It would be fantastic with berries on top as well.

Another option with this great recipe would be to make cookies. Form the batter into balls and freeze for a couple hours. Play around and add your favorite dried fruits to make all sorts of fantastic granola perfect for breakfast, a filling snack or to take on those summer vacations!

Comment ( 1 )

bonbons @ the cinema

May 20th, 2010

A few days ago, we had a family outing to the Parkade Cinemas in Manchester to see Avatar. Luke and I had gone to the Buckland Hills IMAX 3-D to watch this movie in all it’s cinematographic glory. All the other IMAX movies we’ve seen have been at museums with a true IMAX screen — the big, 5 story screen that covers your entire field of vision. The dinky screen at Buckland left us underwhelmed to say the least.

Dante wanted to see it on the big screen, therefore so did Lucia, so we found the plain ole 2-D non-IMAX version playing at the Parkade Cinemas. I went along to cover Lulu’s eyes or give a cuddle during some of the more intense scenes. The kids loved the flora and fauna of Pandora, and are now distraught that they will never fly their own “bird dinosaurs” as the characters do in the film.

We like this theater because the prices are reasonable ($6.75 adults, $4.75 children, seniors, and any show before 4pm every day), and since it’s a second-run theater we get a chance to catch things we missed.

We’ve seen a number of movies there, but haven’t had a chance to check out a small shop nearby that I’d read about online. This time, we arrived with a half hour to spare, so I drove on into the Stop n Shop plaza parking lot on West Middle Turnpike and cruised the strip mall til I found my target. We all piled out of the car and into a treat for the tastebuds — Divine Treasures chocolates. All of their chocolates are made right in the store, using no corn syrup, refined sugars, or trans-fats, while they do use organic Belgian chocolate and offer dairy-free and gluten-free treats.

They have a case of sugar free chocolates that are made with whey, but since we’re avoiding dairy, we turned our gaze to the larger cases of vegan chocolates. We oohed and aahed over the huge selection, and learned that they sell ice cream too. Vegan ice cream. Made with cashews and almonds! It’s rare to find a place that we can get ice cream out and about, so we split a sundae, opting for the chocolate instead of cherry ice cream, and had hot fudge and caramel sauce on top. We also ordered a few pieces of chocolate — Dante picked one that looked like a gift package that was filled with pomegranate jelly. Lucia went for a sea shell shape that was filled with chocolate ganache. I opted for the toffee bits embedded in a bar of chocolate, and Luke picked the Health Bar, which I think is supposed to be a healthier version of a heath bar and seemed like my choice with some finely shredded chocolate on top. I also got a Thai chocolate but can’t recall what it has in it — perhaps coconut, perhaps chilies, I forget and we haven’t eaten it yet.

So next time you’re in Manchester, indulge yourself! Head to the strip mall for some organic chocolate, and then head to Parkade for that movie you missed last month!

Comments ( 7 )

chocolate, movies

Cheezy Almonds

May 18th, 2010

While perusing the recipe sites for raw food in the land of internet time suck, I found a post on Gone Raw that had me curious. So, into the kitchen I went. I am always keeping an eye out for recipes that are good snacks to have on hand for the kids especially since we need easy to travel food with all the homeschool activities we are out doing and outings with friends. Lately the need has expanded. We watched Foodmatters as a family recently and my hubby, Dan was really struck by a few of the facts presented. I declare this a must see for all! Anyhow, I am now on the search not only for the boys and I but for my love to be able to take snacks to work that are high in nutrition, raw, filling and yummy!

The author wrote that this is her version of the Living Nutz Vegan Cheezy Nutz. There were quite a few good comments following the recipe so we are giving it a try.

Ingredients:

2 c. raw almonds soaked 6-8 hours
1 lemon juiced
1 TBS wheat free tamari
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 TBS olive oil
1/2 c. pumpkin seeds ground fine

Rinse and drain the almonds. Set aside in a bowl. Grind pumpkin seeds in a coffee grinder and put in a small bowl. Add other ingredients to pumpkin seeds and mix. Pour over the almonds and mix until they are coated. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. If the mixture is too runny, add more ground pumpkin seed. Otherwise, place on teflex sheet and dehydrate at 115 for 8 hours. Transfer to screen and finish dehydrating until crisp.

These take a while to dehydrate! I lowered the heat to 105 so they will take a little longer. I have been snacking on them out of the dehydrator and they are yummy. As always, after soaking the nuts, feel free to add spices and seasonings you like for more variety. Happy travels!

Comment ( 1 )

Almond Pulp part 2

May 16th, 2010

More almond milk made and more recipes needed for the leftover almond pulp. Back to Segi and Valya’s Eating Without Heating, I made Vrinda’s So-Raw-Dough Crackers.

3 C. almond milk pulp
1 c. golden flax seed
1 c. water
1/2 tsp. caraway
1/2 tsp. sea salt

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Spread one-half inch thick with a spatula on dehydrator sheets. Dehydrate for about 12 hours or until crisp.

Ok, I made quite a few adaptions to experiment with this one. I only had 2 cups of almond pulp so I adjusted the recipe as such. I also love caraway so I added almost double of that. I also tripled the water. I am always challenged when it comes to spreading dough thin enough. I end up with bread even for cracker recipes. Adding more water (as Sioux suggested) worked perfectly! I spread half the dough on a teflex sheet and then went back to the food processor where the rest of the dough was. I added garlic, oregano, basil, parsley and onion to it. I pulsed it in the processor and then spread that on another teflex sheet. I still had some dough left, so I spread that in a round to start the makings of a raw pizza.

Since I had spread it so thin, it only took about 4 hours to dehydrate. They are super thi, crispy and not overpowering. These crackers could have taken on a bit more seasoning but are still yummy. They would be great spread a little thicker to make bread as well. Enjoy!

Comment ( 1 )

Almond Pulp part 1

May 15th, 2010

We have been going through quite a bit of almond milk lately and so I have been looking for recipes to use the pulp. I will sometimes dehydrate it and store it in the fridge for later use but I notice, there it is, still in the back of the fridge and I don’t often find a use for it.

After making pulp today, I made a couple different recipes with the fresh pulp. The pulp was unflavored to start with. If I make cookies, I falvor the milk before blending and straining so they base of pulp already has a yummy flavor perfect for cookies. Since I was making cheese and crackers with this pulp, I wanted no flavor to start with. I blended my almonds and water, strained the pulp out and then added the milk back into the blender to add my honey, sea salt and vanilla just the way we like it.

Both of the recipes come from Sergi and Valya’s Eating Without Heating book.

Valya’s Spicy Almond Cheese:

Mix the following in a bowl
2 c. almond milk pulp
1/2 c. olive oil
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/2. tsp salt
1/2 bunch fresh or dried dill
1/2 c. diced onion
1/2 c. diced red pepper
Serves 4

This was a last minute endeavour so I had no fresh dill on hand. I also had no red pepper and didn’t feel like chopping onion. So, I used dried dill, dried onion, threw in some garlic powder, oregano and basil and mixed it up. It is yummy. I would like the addition of some diced red pepper or other veggies cut in would be tasty.

It would make a lovely addition to a raw sandwich or to add to top a salad. I also set some aside for a raw pizza in the making. The cheese with the red pepper and diced tomato can accompany crackers or make a nice pate. The way I made it makes a nice spread or to layer with other dips or as a cheese for a raw dish with tomato sauce.

It was super easy to make requiring no appliances and will last several days in the fridge. Adding some nutritional yeast would change the flavor slightly and make another great cheese topping. This is a versatile recipe and can take on any seasonings you are in the mood for!

Comments ( 0 )

favorite fresh rolls

May 14th, 2010

I have been attempting to up the percentage of fresh fruits and veggies that our family, but especially the kids, consume. Luke and I tend to eat a variety, but the kids tend to get sticky-stuck in their starchy rut. So the other night for dinner, I made what I thought were two of their favorites — cucumber arame salad and bok choy salad.

As it turns out, they both loved the arame salad as usual, but weren’t fans of the sprouted mung beans I put into the bok choy mix. They did eat a bowl each, as well as significant portions of the cuke-aame salad, so I’m not complaining.

Since I’ve also been brainstorming about good foods I can make ahead for days we’re on the road, I wanted to test out fresh roll leftovers. With cheers ringing in my ears, I set out all the stuff to make the rolls. I made 12, thinking everyone could have 2, and we’d have some left for lunch the next day. However my little gobblers gobbled the entire batch up at dinner, so my leftover experiment will have to wait for another day. I was able to form another hypothesis tho — my kids will eat loads of veggies if they’re wrapped in a delicate rice wrapper! I’ll report back on the test results soon.

We get these at places like Pho Mai in Middletown or Pho Boston in the same plaza as the pungent wonderful Asian grocery store A Dong in West Hartford, off New Britain Ave. The first time I went there, I was transported back to Chinatown in Boston, thanks to the stunningly similar, er, aromatic ambience.

Usually the rolls have rice vermicelli, sliced fried tofu, thai basil and/or cilantro and maybe some lettuce. I had the noodles out on the counter, but spying the vibrant green sprouts in the playroom, I decided to swap starchy noodles for some buckwheat lettuce. I would like to try sunflower shoots next time but didn’t have any that were ready to cut yet.

Fresh Rolls with Hoisin Sauce

rice wrappers
avocado
tomato
shredded carrots
buckwheat lettuce
thai basil

I used a Hoisin Sauce recipe I found at high on health, but would tweak the recipe the next time using less tamari and more sweetener. And maybe molasses. I’d have to play with it and didn’t have time as everyone was sitting before I got to the sauce. The kids didn’t care for this really salty sauce, and ate them plain. I drizzled it over the bok choy salad and that was pretty good, but I ended up rinsing out the leftovers since it wasn’t a big hit.

The fresh rolls took me a few tries before I got the knack, but they end up being pretty easy to make. I had heard that you were supposed to dip the stuff, flat wrappers in a bowl until they softened, but when I did this, i ended up tearing them. What has worked best for me is to dip them or run them under water, and put them on my rolling surface (usually a plate) while very wet but still stiff. They soften as I add the veggies and by the time I’m done, I can wrap them up, much as I do a burrito — bottom up over the veggies, then each side, then roll up until the top flap is wrapped up.

These used to seem like such an effort for me, so I don’t make them very often. But this time, the sprouts took just a second to cut, the carrots just a minute to shred in the food processor, and once the avocado and tomato are sliced I was good to go. I didn’t have any more cukes on hand, but we have also added julienned cucumber or really thin round slices (which look pretty if used as the bottom layer so that they end up pressed against the wrapper once it’s done), and finely shredded cabbage also brings a nice sweetness to the rolls. If you wanted to make them completely raw or didn’t have a chance to pick up rice wrappers, you can use the outer cabbage leaves, swish chard or collards. You can blanch the latter to make it more pliable.

Do you make fresh rolls? What do you put inside? And what do you use to dip them in?

Comments ( 5 )

avocado, carrot, fresh rolls, rice wrappers, sprouts, tomato

festive fajitas

May 12th, 2010

For this weekend’s raw potluck, I decided to try something I’ve been wanting to attempt for a while now but thought would be too much work. Boy was I wrong! Especially when you have an adorable, clever helper!

Lucia and I worked in the kitchen together — I read the recipe, and she carried out all the tasks to make the corn chowder from The Raw Transformation. We added a few personal touches — after blending the soup and adding the corn, we also put in some chopped red pepper, chunks of the other half of the avocado, and chives she picked in the garden. We used frozen corn, and the next time around I would probably add more raw garlic (surprise surprise) and maybe some more spices, but I really can’t wait to try making corn chowder with fresh corn. I liked the soup, but something was missing, and since there’s no comparison between fresh and frozen corn, I’m hoping that using corn just cut from the cob will do the trick.

Then we made the fajitas, based on a recipe posted by Joz on Raw Freedom Community. I changed it up a little bit, and have posted my recipe below. While she was waiting for me to rinse out the blender carafe and tidy the counter, Lucia grabbed the washed veggies and made Fajita man. Poor Fajita man. She snacked on some of the skin off his mushroom face. Maybe he’s sad due to his lack of arms. Who knows? Without a mouth, he’ll never be able to tell us.

Festive Fajitas

4 portobello mushrooms
2 red peppers
1 sweet onion
2 zucchini

Marinade

juice of 2 lemons
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup tamari
1/3 cup olive oil
4 Tbs chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup onion
Tbsp umeboshi plum vinegar

Thinly slice vegetables, place in bowl, set aside.
Blend all marinade ingredients together until smooth. Pour over veggies and toss to coat evenly.
Let sit at least 4 hours. Serve with collard, romaine, kale or cabbage leaves as a wrapper. Top with fresh salsa, cashew cream sauce, guacamole, etc.

The limes were a bit dry this week, otherwise I probably would have used more. But I have to say, this came out to be really tasty. Oh, and I would also add fresh cilantro in heavy doses if you have it. I used the leftovers on top of mesclun mix, and used the marinade to dress the salad. Delish! I served it cold, but would also try dehydrating it a bit for the warmth and to see the effect on the texture. This is a lovely party dish since it can be made ahead of time, as much as a day or two, leaving you free for more important day of party tasks that always seem to rear their ugly heads at the last minute.

Sorry for the soft focus on the pics — I touched the lens with an oily finger and need to get some lens cleaner paper but haven’t had the chance.

Happy dining!

Comment ( 1 )

cinco de mayo spanish rice

May 10th, 2010

At this weekend’s raw potluck, the theme was Cinco de Mayo and delicious dishes were everywhere, including (at the time I took the picture — a salad with sprouts and some desserts appeared later, but I was too busy eating and forgot to snap a picture):

* gazpacho — a creamy, blended version, with chopped tomato, cuke and cilantro for garnish

* corn chowder

* Ani Phy’s walnut cranberry butternut squash rice

* Spanish rice with mockamole

* chunky chili

* almond pulp cheese with crackers

* fajitas

* green salad with sprouts, pecans and mesclun mix

* mango pie

* chocolate coconut macaroons

One of the guests, who has a severe allergy to avocados, found a delicious alternative — peas! She recommends fresh if you can get them, but says you can use frozen. Measure the frozen peas out and let them sit in cold water until they’ve begun to thaw but are still slightly frozen. Drain and “blend the heck out of them” until they have a smooth, even consistency. She used about 1 cup of peas to replace 1 avocado in the Spanish rice recipe, and said that her avocado-loving husband was devouring the avocado mixture, surprised that it wasn’t made with avocados.

Spanish Rice

1 head shredded cauliflower
1 red peppers, chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped finely
5 green onions, sliced thinly
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 recipe of Spanish Avo Mix

Spanish Avo Mix

1 avocado, mashed
juice of 1 lime
1 Tbs basil
1 Tbs paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 Tbs sweetener
crushed red pepper, finely chopped, to taste
sea salt, to taste
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin

Mix Avo mixture in a separate bowl, the add it to bowl with veggies and stir to coat.

This was tasty and light, and I will definitely give the avo mix recipe a try with the peas as a dip, or try replacing avocados in a recipe when I don’t have a ripe one on hand. Thanks for the recipe and the idea for an avocado replacement!