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Archive for the ‘appetizers’ Category

Summer Pizza and Pesto!

August 24th, 2011

I love the bounty of summertime and basil is one of the tops for me. First of all, I think it is such a beautiful plant. The green of the leaves, the delicious aroma and the possibilities in the kitchen that are endless. It is part of the mint family nd in Greek, basil means “King”. It is high in Vitamin A, beta-carotene, magnesium and potassium. It has anti-inflammatory properties and is used for skin ailments as well as cold, headache, reducing fever and digestive aid. Medicinally, not only the leaves but the seed and oil of the plant are used for treating various ailments.

Basil is fairly easy to grow especially in the garden. It will also do well as a potted plant. Since it likes humidity and lots of sunshine, it is easier to grow in the summer than indoors in the colder months but it can be done and is quite worth the efffort. If you pinch back the plant, it will bush out a bit creating more and longer growth. Use the leaves as they are picked. Keep those stems! When mincing up basil for use in sauces or making pesto, use those stems.

Oooooo, speaking of pesto, what a treat it is to have in the summer! It is so fresh and makes you feel incredibly alive. I swear I get a jolt of energy when I eat the stuff. It is so easy to make and I recommend making a lot, I mean a hge batch so you can store the goodness away for the middle of winter as well.

Pesto!

2 cups basil leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
3 medium sized cloves of garlic
salt to taste

Put all the ingredients in the food processor and pulse until well blended.

Now, the great thing about making pesto is it lends itself to a lot of variation. Instead of pine nuts, you can use walnuts or a comination of the two. I like to use a bit less oil while making the pesto when I am going to be storing it. To do this, make the pesto minus a little oil. Fill an ice cube tray wwith eh pesto. Then, here is the little trick, top the pesto cubes with a little more oil. That helps seal in the color and it will brown less. Once the cubes are frozen, pop them out and store in the freezer in a container until you are ready to use it. The otehr reason I like to use less oil is so I have more flexibility withe the cubes. In winter, it is lovely to pull out a pesto cube, add some coconut milk and serve over veggies.

Let’s not rush things though. After all, it is still summer and we have plenty of sunny basil picking days ahead of us. Pesto is a great way to dress up a plate of veggies or add some fresh basil to your homemade salad dressing. A perfect appetizer or main meal for two is summer pizza. Using your favorite raw bread or cracker recipe, make one large or a couple smaller rounds and dehydrate. My new favorite is a cheezy cracker recipe. It is made with cashew and sunflower seeds as the base. Added in are tomatoes and red pepper. It is the loveliest orange color and really tastes like cheezy crackers. It compliments the color of the pesto superbly. Top your pizza with pesto and fresh sliced tomatoes. Rigth now there are a lot of great Heirloom tomatoes available in your garden or at local farmers markets and stands. The pizza takes only five minutes to make if you have preparred pizza flats stored away and is filling, full flavored and a divine treat!

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Free Thanksgiving Ebook

November 21st, 2010

This is amazing!!

Heidi and Justin over at Raw Food Right Now sent a most gracious email with an offering you will truly be Thankful for this Thanksgiving!

I love that Heidi and Justin are truly real people trying to survive eating raw in a not so raw food society. They always have great tips and have the most delish recipes. Definately check out their site.

Now on to the good stuff. Here is the email I recieved and morning free to share!! Thank you Heidi and Justin!!

Please make sure to mention Crunchybits when you email Heidi to get your FREE Thanksgiving book. I already recieved mine and can’t wait to make the Cranberry Relish recipe. Christmas holds no worries either with their Christmas Ebook. I am most excited about drinking the ‘egg’nog and making sugar cookies for Santa with the kids and OOooo, don’t forget the chocolate coins which was always the best to get when I woke on Christmas Morning!!

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Raw Food Right Now
Thanksgiving 2010 Issue

Inside This Issue:
How to Get Your Own F’ree Raw Thanksgiving ebook!

Get More Holiday Recipes with Our RFRN Christmas eBook!

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Hellooo from snowy Minnesota! Justin and I are all curled up near the modern “fireplace” …our computers.

We had over 12 inches of snow…and more is on the way! We are looking forward to having some nice hot tea and warming soups this winter in addition to all our raw favorites.

I just can’t believe how fast this year has been – it will already be Thanksgiving in one week! Amazing!

Justin and I are working hard on a few upcoming “secret raw food projects”. I have been sworn to secrecy so I can’t say anything specific…but all I can say right now is be on the lookout in your inbox – I’ll email you with the news because we are going to tell you first!!!

I hope that no matter where you are right now in the world that as the end of the year…the end of a decade rolls near…that you are able to find time to take care of yourself!
XOXO,
~ Heidi & JS

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How to Get Your Own F’REE Copy of Our Insanely Popular Raw Thanksgiving eBook!

As much as we love all of our international friends reading this right now (from 37 countries!!!), our American holiday of Thanksgiving is upon us.

We love you Canadians too – hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving this year!

You may be a long time raw foodie, or this may be your first Thanksgiving raw.

But did you know that Justin and I wrote our first book, “Raw Thanksgiving ebook” over 4 years ago?!

We originally offered the ebook for f’ree in November 2006…and the response was so huge I couldn’t leave my computer for a week!!

Nowadays the ebook “Raw Thanksgiving Recipes” sells year-round for 12 dollars. Hundreds of people have purchased our Thanksgiving ebook, and we are thankful for their support to help keep RawFoodRightNow.com alive.

Keep in mind the f’ree ebook promotion expired over four years ago…but we have decided to offer one final special for the Thanksgiving ebook…

…we are offering YOU your own very f’ree copy of the book!

HOW TO GET YOUR F’REE RAW THANKSGIVING EBOOK

All you have to do…. is email us a quick nice little note to me before 11/25/2010 to:

rawfoodrightnow@gmail.com

Make sure to introduce yourself and ask nicely for the Thanksgiving book!

It’s that simple!

Keep in mind that we haven’t set up some crazy delivery system for doing this… so when you email me I will be emailing you personally!

Please be patient if I don’t email you immediately…but I promise if you email me I’ll send you the book for f’ree within 24-48 hours.

I’m so excited for you to try my Goji Berry Cranberry Sauce! And the Raw Stuffing — mmm!!

FYI my most popular recipe EVER is inside the Raw Thanksgiving ebook – for Raw Devilled “Egg-less” Egg Spread!

Get Your Copy Today – Email Heidi now!!

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Get More Recipes with Our Raw Christmas Ebook – ON SALE! One Week Only!!

And if you want extra holiday recipes…our second book, Raw Christmas, is going on sale today for one week only!

Normally we sell copies of this gem for $15 each, but we’ve slashed the price all the way down to less than 10 dollars…you can get 14 more holiday recipes for only 9.97!!

Just look at all the Yummy Christmas recipes:

Spiced Apple Cider
Instant Egg Nog
Christmas Wreath Salad
Red Berry Vinaigrette
Flax seed Crackers
Mango Cranberry Chutney
Macadamia White Cheddar Cheese Ball
Meaty Nut Loaf.
Marinara Sauce
Dark Chocolate Coins
Rich Chocolate Fudge
Creamy Rice Pudding
Raspberry Jam
Sugar Cookies

Just think: Two books filled with holiday recipes for 9.97 is a great deal – especially because hundreds of raw foodies know these recipes actually work!

You can see pictures of all the recipes on the official Christmas ebook web page:

http://www.rawfoodrightnow.com/rawchristmas.html

Grab your copy today and get ready for all the upcoming holiday parties!!

Buy Raw Christmas Right Now!!

And if you already have the books or don’t need them this year and still want to support us, feel free to send over a “donation” by buying a copy. We appreciate it!

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Heidi’s Famous Caramel Apple Dip

You may already have my secret recipe for Raw Carmel Apple Dip…but I have been getting many requests for it from people claiming they can’t find their copy of the recipe.
Raw Carmel Apple Dip is one of the recipes included in the Raw Thanksgiving ebook that I am sending out for F’ree – this week only!!! so if you haven’t already gotten a copy of the Thanksgiving ebook…email Heidi now!!
Raw Carmel Apple Dip
Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

2 cups Medjool dates, chopped and soaked for one hour in a mixture of water with the juice of one small lemon (drain the dates, and leave the soaking water aside)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
juice of one half small lemon
1 teaspoon salt

Blend in a high powered blender, and using the plunger tool, keep moving the mixture as the blender might struggle a bit. Blend until creamy. Serve the dip with apples or pears.

Tips:

1. The dates get a much better “bite” of flavor when soaked in the water/lemon juice mixture
2. Maple syrup gives a better caramel flavor than agave nectar. Or, if you are opposed to maple syrup, you can choose to use the clear agave nectar (the ONLY kind to use) instead.
3. the vanilla extract helps give the mixture the color and the flavor of caramel. Without the vanilla extract the dip has a much lighter brown color and the date flavor comes through.

Good news! If you store the dip in an airtight container, this caramel apple dip will last for approximately three days.

If you want more awesome recipes like this for the Holiday season, make sure to check out our Raw Christmas ebook!

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What is Raw Food Right Now?

Raw Food Right Now is a raw food company dedicated to helping you go raw in your world. We are here to help you learn about raw food and make the raw food diet work for you.

Raw Food Right Now is the creation of Heidi and JS Ohlander; a happy loving couple who went raw together back in 2004. Since that time they have studied every aspect of raw food, and are here to share their extensive knowledge with others.

Their popular blog, rawfoodrightnow.blogspot.com is revered as one of the best raw food blogs on the Internet. It’s frequent content is full of raw food news, articles, tips, tricks, recipes and inspiration on how to make raw food quick and easy and fun.

Raw Food Right Now means eating food that feels right to you, feels right for your body, and makes you feel good. Raw Food Right Now means making raw food preparation as quick and easy as possible so you can eat raw food and get on with the other important things in your life. And Raw Food Right Now means the latest news and information to keep you up to date in the raw food world!

For more information, check out the blog:
http://rawfoodrightnow.blogspot.com

To make sure you stay up to date on all the news and information we bring you on RFRN, make sure you are signed up to our RSS Feed and get our posts in your inbox using Feedburner!

Get RFRN blog posts in your inbox today!

That’s it for this issue!
Talk to you soon!

~ Heidi and JS

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Want to Share the Fun that we call Raw Food Right Now?

Go for it!! Feel free to forward any parts of this newsletter to whoever you think would benefit from our information…even someone who isn’t raw! Here’s how you can spread the word:

Heidi & JS Ohlander are the creators of Raw Food, Right Now!, a website dedicated to making the raw food diet fun and easy for everyone. Heidi & JS help bring raw food to your world by offering tips, news, and information on integrating raw foods into your daily life.

Visit their site athttp://www.RawFoodRightNow.com

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Soup, It’s What’s For Lunch

June 5th, 2010

I really love Gatlin’s interpretation of my lunch today. He called it a plate of sunshine. I made River and Gatlin veggie soup (cooked) and myself another one of Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen recipes called Tomato Basil Bisque. I had actually made the soup the evening before and was having the leftovers.

Raw foods are interesting in that as time goes by, the flavors of dishes change and meld together. I have had some dishes that I didn’t care for after making them but a day or even two later they are smashing. The same seems to hold true for Ani’s Bisque. I liked it better day two. The kids didn’t really care for it day one but Gatlin said, “Not bad” this next day at lunch. Neither of them still ate a bowl.

Instead, Gatlin devoured my rays of sunshine! I sliced red pepper and stuffed it with a simple homemade guacomole. He loves these as do I. River is my simple kind of man. He likes just straight up red pepper and lots of it. He does like guacomole but not tampering with his red pepper.

Tomato Basil Bisque

bisque base

3 tomatoes, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 c. olive oil
2 tsp sea salt
2 c. water

bisque toppings

1 tomato, diced
1 c. basil chiffonade

blend bisque base ingredients until smooth
pour into four bowls and top with tomatoes and basil

Did your eyes pop when you read 1 1/2 c. oil? Mine did, but I followed the recipe. Whoooo, too much oil. I would at least half the oil next time. It had mellowed by the next day but still way too heavy for me. I also didn’t have another tomato to dice for the top so I made and ate only the base. It would be really good with the basil and diced tomatoes on top but would lend itself well to other toppings as well.

A new cut: chiffonade, for those that are unfamiliar, is a way of cutting the basil. It will create long, thin strips. I like to take a few basil leaves and lay them on top of one another. Roll them up together and then cut thinly from the short end to the longer end. This looks decorative as all the strips will be of equal width. Basil is a tender herb so cutting it chiffonade also helps not to bruise the basil.

Enjoy!

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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!

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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!

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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

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!

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dinner, potluck, salad, soup

our class raw potluck

May 6th, 2010

Hi everyone!

Yesterday was the last day of the raw class we taught at Greenspring. It was a fantastic 12 weeks and we received lots of positive feedback which we are ever so grateful for!!

For the last class, we had a raw potluck to share a couple of our favorite dishes and give the students a chance to spread their wings and bring in a raw recipe and dish to share with the class. What a beautiful display!! We were so happy to see how everyone really took on the challenge and made some remarkable dishes. We’ve left the pictures really big, so if you click on them, you can see the dishes better.

There was so much variety:

* a beautiful garden salad with homegrown sprouts with a citrus dill vinaigrette – nice and light and the dressing had a fabulous tang.

* an Italian salad of simply cut oranges with red pepper flakes, onions and oil and vinegar was a flavorful and colorful dish

* guacamole beautifully dressed up with red pepper left nice and chunky

* one student got so excited she just couldn’t stop the creative juices from flowing and brought three dishes in! One was a balsamic dressing served over tomato and avocado. The lemon bars were superb with strawberries and chocolate sauce. Her last dish, black bean brownies, demonstrated nutritious cooked options. They were rich, fudgy and all gone!

* dehydrated pear and peaches looked pretty and were a light, sweet chip.

*crudites were served with a pumpkin seed pate which was a lovely light green color that really felt like spring. This same student brought in a dessert – chocolate coconut balls.

* another student who is obviously an artist in the kitchen brought in a version of the coconut white cake in the form of cupcakes with filling in the middle, cashew cream frosting and elegant decor of slivered almond atop. She made a chocolate version, and an alternative made with almond butter instead of tahini as well. They looked stunning.

* a big bowl bursting with nutrient packed homegrown sunflower sprouts with velvety white cream sauce was a hit among the little ones as they went back for seconds and thirds. I heard Lucia say, “I could eat these every night for dinner if I wanted to ya know!” I loved it!!

* fruit salad was also gobbled up by the littles with big smiles on their faces

* Pad Thai seemed to be a hit and I happily recited the ingredients to many who said, ” I must have that recipe.”

One of the best parts of getting together with others in this way is everyone brings such a unique quality to the experience. I love sharing my favorite dishes and trying others creations. It is a wonderful way to sample recipes you may have not come across yet or ones that include flavors you do not typically use in your kitchen. You go with one recipe and come away with so many more and you now know how they taste. Potlucks are a great way to quickly expand your repertoire.

It is also important to have community. Going to a raw potluck or hosting one does just that. It is a good way to connect with others and discuss successes and challenges, get feedback and share experiences.

So, here’s to you, our raw class participants and friends!! We so enjoyed the experience and hope you did as well!

In gratitude!!

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Herbin’ Ranch Dip

March 29th, 2010

I picked a couple great books by Kristen Suzanne and am very pleased with them. Her recipes are easy to make and taste great. Her blog is also interesting right now because she is tracking her pregnancy and raw diet.

I have tried a lot of ranch dressing recipes as that was one of my kids favorite dressings before we cut dairy and I wanted them to be able to enjoy a healthy nutritious version. This is the only one for us!

This will make about 1 1/2 cups of dressing. I also find it to be very thick. I leave it that way to have as a dip and just whisk in some water if I want it thinner for topping my salad.

Herbin’ Ranch Dip

1/2 c. raw cashews, unsoaked
1/2 c. raw pine nuts, unsoaked
1 zuchinni, peeled and roughly chopped
1 TBS extra virgin coconut oil
3 TBS fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. tarragon
1/8 tsp. white pepper
1/4 c. fresh basil, not packed
1/4 c. fresh dill, not packed

Blend all the ingredients except the dill and basil until creamy and smooth. Pulse in the basil and dill. This dip also freezes well.

When I do not have fresh herbs on hand I add dried basil and dill. I also like to throw in some oregano. You can really play around with the herbs to vary the dressing. Try adding a fresh chunk of onion instead of onion powder. It will add a little liquid to make a nice consistency. Enjoy!

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Tomato Tahini Dressing

March 28th, 2010

Start those tomato seeds! You won’t want to miss out making one of the most de- licious dips/dressings ever!

I used to enjoy this dip at our very good friend Brigid’s house. Finally, we had her make it in front of us and another foodie friend and I made educated estimates on the amounts she was putting in of the ingredients. After a couple taste tests and additions, we had it! This recipe makes a whopping 7 cups. Sometimes I cut it in half and other times I make the whole batch since it is the perfect dip or salad dressing.

Brigid’s Tomato Tahini Dressing

1 1/2 c. cold pressed extra vigin olive oil
1 1/4 c. water
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1/3 c. wheat- free tamari
2/3 c. nutritional yeast
2 tomatos
1/3 c. tahini (homemade, of course!)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. raw sesame seeds
2 1/2 tsp psyllium husk powder

Blend all ingredients. That’s it!

This is pretty thick and holds up fantastic as a dip but is light enough to be a dressing as is. If you would like it thicker or thinner, adjust the psyllium husk powder to your liking.

The color of this dressing is a beautiful red. It is a sure sign that warm weather is here!