Celiac Disease?

There are so many people out there with Celiac disease, and it's just stunning the damage it can do to people. My "Bonus Mom" has it so bad that she can't have one speck of it or it wreaks havoc on her.  We have many customers at Pier 46 Seafood who have it, and I am always so glad to be extra cautious for them, because it only takes once to eff that up for them- and if you do, guess what? They don't trust you enough to come back.

Going the raw food route eliminates that fear.  When you make everything yourself, and don't have to worry about reading the side of a box, it brings a sigh of relief to many.

Anyway, I'm not sure why I wanted to mention Celiac here, but it was just on my mind.  I just made a Facebook post on our Pier 46 page about it, and I guess I also wanted to post here in case anyone has Celiac Disease or knows someone who does.  I was a personal chef for seven months and loved it- and I'd love to do it again.  I love helping people get past health issues and teaching them about raw fooding.  It is obviously VERY different;  a different way of NOT cooking, a creative challenge for most, a change to the palate,  and the palate adjusts quickly & the body recovers from more issues than you probably know you even had.   Anyway....  I could go on.

But I won't.

www.centralcoastceliacs.com

Individual lasagnas. Doesn't get any fresher than this!


Mexican Taco Soup with marinated portabella and sweet corn chips below.

Guilt -free chocolate pudding tarts!

 

I have to tell you;  I made these little tarts, and keep in mind my husband and two kids have not warmed up to the raw food idea.  I encouraged my daughter to try one bite;  I handed her a clean spoon and walked away.  I could hear her in the kitchen, reluctantly puttering around and taking her sweet time about it.  About five minutes later, here comes a sweet voice over my shoulder saying "Mom?"  I replied 'Yes?"   ....  "Can I have one of those chocolate thingie-doos?"  

:-)

Raw Cheffing & Teaching at a retreat next month

I think I've made more raw food in the last three days than I have in the last three months. Reason being;

June 5-10th I'll be heading up a raw retreat-  I've been gearing up for it and I'm definitely looking forward to it.
I've once dreamed of opening a raw restaurant here in SLO County, and whether or not it becomes a reality, I still have the love of sharing with others about raw fooding and the benefits of doing so.  That being said, I have gathered my scattered recipe cards and scribblings on napkins and printouts of recipes, and I feel like I've come to a place in time where they gather in one place, the finest of them all rise to the top, and my fuzzy, faraway dream becomes a little more visible.

At least for June 5 thru the 10th.  Ha!

I've made the recent dishes you see photographed and more; I've made Sunflower Pate' today, put it in some sushi rolls, have several things soaking & sprouting; going to make Cashew Herb cheese tomorrow,  and I hope to make some kale chips (they sound terrible but I've had them before- addictive little suckers!) and I do believe that my kale seasoning will be even better than the purchased raw food kale chips I had.  So there!

Finished my night with an Almond milk smoothie of Blueberries, spinach and half a banana. My go-to smoothie; it hit the spot.

Corn Chips rock!!

MEXICAN CORN CHIPS

1 lb (3.5 cups) Fresh Corn
2 T ground flax
2 T Red onion, minced
2 T Red Bell, minced
1 T Cilantro, chopped
Mexican seasoning to taste- i used cumin, cumin seeds
Salt to taste, less is best- it’s easy to over season dehydrated items.

In blender, liquefy corn. Add other ingredients and blend, leaving some consistency.
Spread on dehydrator mats, score into chip size and Dehydrate.

That's Italian! Lasagna and Zucchini Pasta with Alfredo Sauce

Two recipes to share with you today- This is pretty easy Lasagna, I was pretty stoked on this one! (the bottom photo and recipe is Zucchini Pasta with Alfredo Sauce: see below)  I will add a little more salt or soy next time, looks fantastic but it could use more flavor; I went easy on things as to not overpower, so I'll post a slightly amended recipe here:  The recipe seems lengthy, but it is not if you have your ducks in a row.  It requires pre-soaked almonds, and if there's one thing I can recommend that I've learned from working in professional kitchens;  Work Fast...  and then BAM you're done!

Magazine Zucchini and Portabella Lasagnas with Almond Ricotta

Serves maybe 8ish; but you can amend and make just one like I did!

Mandolin is a MUST on this recipe.

3 large zucchinis, sliced from ends into perfect very thin rounds

2 lg carrots, sliced very thin

marinate the above at least an hour in:

Olive oil, Nama Shoyu and a splash of lemon.

16 Portabella mushroom slices, or diced, soaked in olive oil and nama shoyu. They will soak it up like a sponge.

1.5 cups almonds, soaked 8 hours, skinned if possible for a white result

3 cloves garlic

1 bunches kale, ribs removed, chopped fine

1 c  basil leaves, julienned

2 T nutritional yeast

3 c baby spinach, julienned

3 med tomates, sliced thin into rounds, remainder cored & chopped. Reserve liquids for plating.

Optional:1 med beet, candy striped or yellow, sliced paper thin

In food processor or blender, puree soaked almonds, garlic, and 2 T oil until smooth. Use some almond milk if necessary to facilitate blending. Set aside.

Chop by hand, or In the same unwashed processor, pulse kale, basil, and transfer to almond mixture. Add yeast, salt and pepper.  

Toss spinach in with reserved zucchini marinade, squeezing with hands to wilt it; wring dry and discard liquid.

Puree tomatoes in blender til smooth, season with s & p and set aside.

Individual plate assembly:  Tomato liquid, 3 Zucchini rounds to create one large platform, carrot, kale almond mixture, spinach, tomato, and repeat, ending with almond mixture and garnish of  chopped tomato.  Black truffle oil if you want to get really fancy  ;-) and Pier 46 Seafood happens to carry black truffle salt if you get the urge!

SECOND PHOTO:

Zucchini pasta with Alfredo sauce, served with  Marinated portabella mushroom

This is an easy recipe:

Alfredo Sauce with Zucchini Pasta and Mushrooms

Serves Four

sorry for the change in text; Ive cut it from my google docs!

Zucchini (2 small per person), shaved on mandolin in very thin strips;  Think Pasta!

For the Alfredo Sauce: 
3/4 c Pine Nuts, unsoaked

3/4 c Cashews soaked an hour or less

1 c coconut water

1 clove garlic, chopped

dash paprika

1/4 cup lemon, meyer is nice

Salt and white pepper

Mushrooms, preferably Portabella, as your side of "meat"

olive oil & Nama Shoyu

Directions:

Using mandoin, slice zucchinis very thin. Lightly  Salt and set aside.

Slice and chop mushrooms and place in nama shoyu and olive oil. Set aside.

In blender, blend nuts, garlic and spices, adding liquids slowly until smooth.

To serve:

Toss pasta with desired amount of sauce, serving with mushrooms on the side and a garnish of diced red pepper, carrot or microgreens, whatever garnish is in the fridge! Be creative :-)

This is fabulous sauce and keeps well in the fridge for days!

Corn chips in formation, ready to crisp up!

Chia!

Chia seeds!  Yes, the Chia Pet stuff.  No, I'm not crazy.
The Aztec Indians apparently ate the stuff and it gave them insane endurance- like running all day long kind of endurance.  I will have to agree, as I had this for breakfast with Buckwheat groats, almond milk and the two fruits you see here-   and I swear I was up until 2:15am when I realized what the frickin time it was.  Holy Schmoley.


Marathon Breakfast

 3 1/2 tablespoons Chia seeds
1/2 cup Buckwheat groats (soaked 8 hrs, rinsed like mad, and dehydrated.  Great crunch. Keeps forever.)
Fruit of choice (mine, of course, looked and tasted amAAAAzing)
Agave and Cinnamon if desired.   I didn't bother.

Chia also is reportedly great for those with diabetes, as is Cinnamon.  Chia is so old that it's become new to doctors who have discovered it.  Or re-discovered it.   Whatever.  ;-)

Raw food classes

I'm on the road to setting a date for my first raw food class. I am surprised at the feedback and excitement of those responding and I'm hopeful for a new road to forage for myself. I have three classes in mind; entry level raw, intermediate and advanced.

My qualifications stem from a testimony of being diagnosed about ten years ago with SLE, then discovering and fully immersing myself in the world of eating all raw in search of healing, and later becoming a raw food personal chef for seven months, and in doing so, being healed of all symptoms of my systemic lupus eurythmetosis. And the icing on the cake was being healed of annoying allergies. Woo hoo! I slept like a baby, woke up happy and even managed to cook for my non-raw family while i was at it. Can you say CHALLENGING? It can be done!