misplaced mama

not revealing the inner most fibers of my soul today (hallelujah! says the reader). raw as in Raw Food or Living Vegan Cuisine.

I think I mentioned Ani Phyo and her fabulous living food recipes, her SmartMonkey Bars and her beautiful philosophy about uncooking food and it truly being the most sensitive to our planet’s needs.   She used to attend yoga here, the space where I trained to be a teacher long ago, and I was blessed to have placed my hand at the bottom of her spine in a foreward fold, or at the nap of her neck in a triangle pose, or the side of her body as she stretched.  When I stumbled upon her cookbook recently, I was overjoyed to see she has been able create simple raw food recipes with an eco-soul successfully; her beautiful face on a book in my local market.  Applause.

After being sort of nazi about raw food for about 1 month, I let go a a bit but continued eating mostly raw at breakfast and lunch and snacks; saving dinner time to cook with heat.

Eating living foods really helped in my post partum depression journey.  I am the kind of person that needs to hyper-focus on diet in my shadow times to actually EAT period, and when I began experimenting in the kitchen and swallowing down the vibrancy of uncooked meals, my energy levels soared.  My face glowed.  My waist wittled.  My spirit expanded.  My core opened up.  Even B was excited every morning and began preparing raw lunches or just eating leftovers from the day before.  If you are interested in raw/living food I highly recommend her book, Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen.  After a few weeks of experimenting, you’ll figure out how it works for you, how to encorporate it into your life as little or as much as you like.  It really is satisfying having no garbage; no packages (i buy all nuts and any other ingredient she uses in bulk) practically no recycling either, which really feels nice not to waste energy in that direction, either.  The only waste is compost for the most part and that I just threw out my kitchen window (I am way too lazy to walk across the property and dump it in the "proper" place) and my Girl Dog gobbled it up (she’s one of the rare vegan Husky, would rather have carrots that steak fat).

My standard raw smoothie that I make a huge batch of every morning and drink for the first few hours of the day is not from her book, but I was totally inspired by her to start making it.

I use whatever berry is growing in my ‘hood.  Right now it’s blueberries and blackberries, but any berry works well.

1 cup berries

1  banana

3 tablespoons hemp seed

1 cup coconut water (not milk, not juice, but the water).

1 tablespoon either raw cacoa powder or spiralina or maca powder  (depends on whether I am feeling ‘green’ or "chocolaty")

3 pitted dates

Blend.  Throw in a big ball jar and take it on the road.

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This is also a recipe that was inspired by Ani, I took her Mango Cobbler recipe and substitued mangos with wild berries:

Cobbler Crust:

2 cups pitted dated

2 cups raw pecans

3/4 cup sea salt

1 vanilla bean, scrapped, or just throw the whole thing in.

Process in a food processor, throwing the pecans in first, then adding the dates, then the rest.  

Put in a bowl and set aside.

Filling:

1 cup cup pitted dates

1/2 vanilla bean scrapped

1/4-1/2 cup raw virgin coconut oil 

maybe a tiny bit of raw agave.

water as needed

Berries, as many as you see fit, a few cups work.  (i don’t measure anything really and also, i don’t have the recipe in front of me so take these measurements with a grain of salt; use your food intuition.)

 Process (no need to clean out proccessor from the crust) the first 3 ingredients.  Then slowly add water, start with 1/4 cup of water.  It needs to be thicker than syrup but not thick like a paste.  Mushy thick.

 The toss the filling in a new bowl with your berries.  Take 1/2 your crust and scatter on the bottom of a pie dish.  spoon in your berries mix and then scatter the 1/2 of your crust on the top.  Pop in the ‘fridge for like an hour.  Oh. My. Goodness.  Eat it for breakfast.  Lunch.  And dinner.  Will keep for a few days in the fridge.

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The next two favorite recipes comes directly from her book:

Chocolate Mylk (my hard to please eldest drinks this up, it’s nurishing, hydrating and yummy.)

1/2 cup almonds (soak the almonds for a few hours, pat them dry.  You can always soak them the night before you are making a batch as well if you can plan ahead like that.)

1/2 cup pitted dates

3 tablespoons raw cocoa powder or cacoa nibs

pinch o sea salt

5 cups water.

Blend it all up.  Yum.

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Sun Dried Tomato Hummus (bean free)

2 cups zucchini, chopped

2 cloves garlic

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup tahini

1 tsp. sea salt

2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves

1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

pinch of paprika.

Process first 6 ingredients together until smooth.  Then add the parsley and sun dried tomatoes.  Set aside and allow the sun dried tomatoes soak up the moisture for 10 minutes or so.  Stir.  Eat with everything under the sun, I like just a spoon.   My kids love to dip all veggies in it.  It will keep for 2 days in the fridge.  

The next recipe, Crazy About Donut Holes…ohmydonutgods.  I’ll just let her give you that recipe herself.

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Anyway.  If you are into raw cuisine, she has some really rad ideas.  Plus she is totally adorable.  Love her. Wanna be her.  Will continue to post more recipes, but I do hope you check out her book.  She deserves the support.

She has a recipe for All American Apple Pie and my SEVEN apple trees in my yard are almost ready. Will let you know how that goes.

Enjoy.