Rawventures: Strawberry Smoothie

Hello, I'm back again with a little spring offer (I've been busy, still am but heck this one's too good to keep to myself), an easy super delicious Strawberry smoothie. Its so easy and simple your brain can just sit out and bask in the sun. Ok maybe a few steps do require thinking (like button pressing) but anyway, here it goes:

Anguria with Mint

This is it. The last of the melons, for now. I have to thank Stacey for the brilliant idea of adding in chopped mint. The combination defined a new kind of fresh - plus it tasted like a million bucks! Gourmet on a budget - bang for your buck, whatever you want to call it. This tops gelato - and I love gelato. ok, enough praise and worship. Just some few guidelines (you cant really call it recipe when theres only 2 ingredients involved without having to cook anything right?).

1.) Good fresh ingredients. Get the good juicy ripe red, not the greyish pinkish dull melon that tastes like some kind of bitterish eh. Fresh mint plucked straight from the plant if you can or place a stalk of leaves on a glass of water to keep it fresh for a day or two. If you can't, melon alone is a winner.

2.) Chop your melon whichever shape or form you like. I find that bite-sized chunks work best - keeps those tiny air globules intact for that slight crunch. But if you like it slushy, slash and slush away. Or bite straight into it like a wild man-woman she-wolf. er

3.) Chill. Chillllll in the fridge... It makes all the difference on a hot sweaty day. Cocomero means watermelon in Italy, so does Anguria but I think Anguria fits better. It sounds a bit erotic and having a good helping of this stuff is almost too pleasurable, even more eating it with your bare hands. ;)

Cycle of Almonds

I've grown increasingly fond of eating and experimenting with raw food that I've recently invested in a dehydrator to broaden the possibilities. I decided to do a whole cycle of almonds starting with almond nut mylk, an easy enough to do project. Just soak 1-2 cups of almond nuts in water overnight. Next morning, drain soak water and rinse nuts (they'll double in size).

Put in blender. Add water a bit above the level of almonds (or more if you want the mylk to be less dense).

Blend and then squeeze mylk through a sieve or cheesecloth or nut milk bag. Store in the fridge or enjoy it straight away with some honey. I made "chocolate milkshake" by blending some mylk with banana, some carob, maca, lucuma and a dash of cinnamon.

The pulp left from the bag I then used to make dehydrated cookies! (even Fra got excited)

The recipe for this was based on raw nut bread but I omitted and added different things (raisins, dried grated coconut, flax seeds, etc) and didnt even bother to write anything down so I'll just have to try it again next time and then repost the recipe. :) Anyway, I made 2 kinds: one huge monster cookie and a batch of smaller regular cookies. The bigger denser one was more chewy. =D And boy was it a full breakfast!

Rawventures: Veggie Sushi with Lemon Tahini dressing

More recipes? Did I just do all this in one go? Answer: No. I happen to take pictures of most of my experiments and come back to them looong after (more like a month or so until the camera's memory card goes full). Then I have to get rid of it by releasing it into the World Wild Web (fly free my little ducklings, fly freee).  ok, here it goes.



Veggie Sushi Wushu! What better way to make use of whats left of your vegetables than to roll it up with Nori and dip into something YUM. If its getting really hot where you are, as it is here, this'll cool you down without sacrificing spice and flavor. Also, when was the last time you enjoyed freshly grated carrots? Its surprisingly refreshing, crunchy and sweet. Its easy to make magic with these things, seriously.

Ingredients:
- 2 or 3 medium-sized carrrots grated (the amount will have to depend on how much sushi you want to make)
- 2 stalks of celery with leaves, finely chopped
- half cup chopped spring onions
- 2-3 nori/seaweed sheets
*note: obviously you can mix in other vegetables too like grated radish or beets or greens - experiment!



For the Lemon Tahini dressing, mix:
- juice of half a lemon (about 2-3 tbsps of it)
- 2 tbsps tahini (its sesame seed paste/butter. go get a bottle now, you'll love it. :)
- 2 tbsps nama shoyu or soy sauce
- dash of paprika
- dash of chilli powder OR wasabi
- light drizzle of agave syrup or honey (optional)

Process:
1. Ready your sushi assembly line. Lay out your nori sheet, long side up. Fill and layer your veggies.



2. Top with your Lemon Tahini dressing and start rolling. I'm no master of this so its normal to have irregular bumps and spaces. Seal with a bit of water or oil on the edges of your nori sheet.



3. Chop, serve, enjoy.

Our dedicated tester finishing his melon quickly before I eat all the sushi 

Rawventures: Brasil nut paté

Heres something for anyone with a need for something nutty, sour, and spicy. Goes perfectly well with celery and carrot sticks or as a filler for veg sushi (or bread and breadsticks, whatever you fancy). The key is to soak the nuts overnight for a creamier texture. oh, and pickled sundried tomatoes. :)

Ingredients:
- half cup of Brasil nuts (soaked overnight)
- 1/4 cup mix of cashew nuts and/or sunflower seeds (soaked overnight)
- 1/4 cup pickled sundried tomatoes (if not available, soak 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes with the juice of half a lemon, mix in a bit of chopped parsely and oregano and drizzle with olive oil. let sit overnight)

- 3-4 tbsps of olive oil

- 1 tbsp lemon juice

- 1-2 cloves of garlic
- 1 small sized red bell pepper chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- dash of paprika
- dash of chilli powder (or more if your HOT)

Process:
1. Mix everything in your food processor or mortar then pulse or grind to a paste.
2. Serve in a bowl. Enjoy.

Guacamole Remix

Summer recipe thats yummy anytime. :)