ingredients, catfish, kale chips and mental stimulation

Hello Longevity Seekers!

I am hoping you are well this wonderful week in April! Southern California has been absolutely BEAUTIFUL this week! Warm and Breezy ~ Palm Trees dancing!

Ingredients

I acquired a DVD called “INGREDIENTS”. I am unsure if anyone has seen this DVD, but it is a wonderful film made to explore the SLOW FOOD MOVEMENT and Support of the LOCAL CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in your area.

The DVD informs us of some rather shocking facts upon it’s opening and features some really wonderful community efforts in Oregon, NY and and few other stops along the way.

There is a wonderful quote I wrote down from the beginning of the documentary…

“I started growing vegetables with my husband…to recreate what we think is our duty. Our taste buds are there for a reason. They are there to guide us to BETTER NUTRITION. It isn’t greed or gluttony to like the taste of food. It is a natural drive to nourish ourselves.” Carol Boutard, Ayers Creek Farm

Did you know…

• 17,000+ foods are introduced to the American Public each year.
• Most Children born during the year 2000
• will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents
• An overabundance of processed foods has put our children at risk for Type 2 Diabetes
• There is no culture in the world that spends less money on their food that the US.

How do we change this? With our Forks!

Local Food systems are available and need to be intergrated into your life! Biodynamic Farms, CSA Farmers Markets and growing our own vegetables is really the best way to change things!

Fresh Food is ABSOLUTLY out there!

The Veg888 Kitchen will begin attending local Farmers Markets and BEGIN growing it’s own lettuce/greens! I am part of the fossil fuel consumption. We all are! As a society we really have to Reduce ~ Reuse ~ Recycle!

It’s like I always tell myself – “BE ABOUT IT – DON’T JUST TALK ABOUT IT!

Catfish

I will only cover this documentary very briefly.

I had wanted to see this DOCUMENTARY for a VERY LONG TIME! It is difficult to find certain movies at various times and I was finally able to “seize the moment” and buy this Documentary.

The story begins with communication between an 8 year old artist and a young film maker name Yul Shulmen. The story begins to spiral from there and the end will have you absolutly astonished and the path everything follows. Even to THIS DAY.

In case you see this movie, I will not go into detail. However I will say this. The places our minds can take us the moment someone reaches out to us is amazing and very clear in this Documentary.(?) I place this question mark there since it left me feeling like it was all a planned/staged setting. If you see it, I would love to see what you think!

And finally…KALE CHIPS!

When I went completely Raw for the Parasite Cleanse I kept seeing recipes for KALE CHIPS!

Although I wanted to try them, something always happened and I just never did.

Last week, I decided I would like to try adding them into my diet. Why? RAW Lacinto KALE has protein, calcium and if you add nutritional yeast to your mix – you get B12! Very important for us as Vegans/Vegetarians!

So here we go!

KALE CHIPS

For 1 Bunch of Kale…

1 C Sunflower Seeds (Soaked)

1/4 C Nutritional Yeast

1/3 C Water

2 T Olive Oil

2 Cloves Garlic

1/2 tsp Paprika

1/4 tsp Chipotle

1 pinch salt

Place all ingredients into a Food Processor or Blender until it is a thick paste.

Once the paste is made, place over the kale and massage the paste onto the kale.  Once all of the kale is covered it is ready to place onto a teflex sheet and place in the dehydrator.

These will be in the dehydrator for 5-6 hours.  I made 4 trays worth! They were delicious!

Here they are all in a jar ready to be eaten!  I enjoyed them quite a bit! In fact my taste tester ate the ENTIRE JAR in one sitting!  I will make more this weekend.  I will try another flavor of course! Something spicy maybe.

Thanks for reading!

Love and Light!

Namaste

Thursday’s Kitchen Report

Things have been moving along nicely in the Veg888 Kitchen lately.

Last night I jarred the THIRD BATCH/LAST BATCH of Rejuvelac.  This is the last and final batch before it will turn into a “bread”.

The wheat berries have tails that are about 2.5 cm.  They are happy little things!  They have turned a really interesting color.  Much like a cream color? or an eggshell color?  not white, but almost there???  The tails have tiny little fuzzy roots!  They also smell very “green” and VERY FRESH!

I placed the “spent” wheat berries into a glass container and popped them into the refrigerator.  This is supposed to slow down the sprouting process and since I have made ALL THE REJUVELAC I can…I am awaiting to RECYCLE & REUSE!

I will make the “bread” this evening and place it in the dehydrator over night.  I am planning on making RAW BAGELS with this batch.  My favorite non-raw bagel is an EVERYTHING BAGEL so that is what I am going for tonight!  Since my schedule it usually chaotic – I wasn’t able to make my Bagels/Essene bread.  I will update the process and the taste!

On Sunday (Dec 19, 2010) I began soaking more wheat berries and sprouted them over the next 2 days.  This allowed me to begin a new batch of Rejuvelac immediately after the final batch.

I was also able to wash the large container and refill it with “NEW” REJUVELAC within a 10 minute frame.  Of course this was going on at about 1:30 am.

Most of my kitchen experiments go on between the hours of 9:30pm – 3:00 am.  ESPECIALLY since running became part of my schedule in the evening.  When you go to bed at like 3 or even 4 am it is quite difficult to wake up at 6 or even 8 am. I am hoping to change my schedule a bit this next year.  My goal will be to get a good portion of my workouts done in the morning before I open the store.  In order to do this, I will have to have dinner AT THE STORE and get to bed by 11pm – Midnight.  Fingers Crossed I will meet this goal! (Along with all of my other goals on my list for 2011! )

Overall Rejuvelac Review

Although time consuming the rewards I feel from the Rejuvelac seem well worth the wait.  My tummy feels really good, I am very clear in my mind.  I don’t forget things AS MUCH!  I am able to execute tasks on my list for the day.  I am also able to keep a very good energy level sustained throughout the day.  No word on gray hair/dark hair – yet.  But a very good addition to my diet.

If I stay on a good rotation, I think everything will work out fine.  Last night as I began sprouting more Sunflower Seeds and Radish Sprouts, I began to think of what I was REALLY doing.  I knew I also needed to begin sprouting NEW wheat berries Thursday evening, this way I would be ready with proper wheat berry sprouts once the next THIRD batch is ready.

I also want to add more “Sprouted Greens”  to my diet.  While reading the “Thrive” book by Brendan Brazier I came across some helpful information on Sprouted Greens.

“RAW enzyme rich sprouts are plentiful in all three food components: simple carbohydrates, amino acids and fatty acids.  They are predigested so the body does not need to produce it’s own enzymes, plus the nutrients are in a usable form-a considerable net gain of total energy suppled by the food.” Brendan Brazier, Thrive

It also went on to say “The sprout occupies a transitional phase in the plant life cycle.  Having yet to form roots, the sprout, a new growth from the germinating seed.  Once activated by moisture, enzymes begin to utilize nutrients supplied in the seed as a rapid growth fuel.  The plant equivalent to mother’s milk, densely packed nutrients in the seed quickly convert the sprout into a plant with leaves…throughout the sprout’s rapid growth phase, digestive enzyme inhibitors are expelled; proteins are converted to amino acids, and fats to essential fatty acids, making a very efficient food.  Power packed with vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll and enzymes, since sprouting enhances the efficiency and nutrient value of the seed.  Sprouts, because of their HIGH pH level, will also help alkalize the body ” Brendan Brazier, Thrive

I have to kick training up a notch if I am going to finish the 10k which will be January 29, 2011. (Not that far away mind you!) So there will be more recipes to come!

There doesn’t seem to be the usual excitement for Christmas this year.  I don’t even hear people say they are going to buy gifts -or- that they are celebrating Christmas!?  I wonder if it’s the rain or the finances???

No Christmas Tree in my shop or at home.  Just lots of Sprouts!  Life!

The rain seems to have subsided -for now-.  I woke up to the Sun this morning but it seems to have disappeared since!

Love and Light!

Namaste!

A.B.L.T. ~ Raw Stylie

If you go to my facebook page (which you can link to on the right) you will see a link for a FREE RAW E BOOK. (April 6 – 9:11 pm posting)

I downloaded this e-book and made a few of the recipes so far.

Here is my experience and what I did with the Sunflower Rye Bread Recipe!

First I put the flax, sunflower seeds, caraway, lemon juice, etc. in the Food Processor.  You can see that some of the Sunflower seeds have little sprout tails!

Here is the “dough” after being processed…

After it was all mixed up I placed it on a Dehydrator Tray…

Then I spread it into a 1/4″ sheet…

I put it in the Dehydrator for 1 hr at 105 degrees.  After 1 hr, I scored the bread and continued to Dehydrate for 5 more hours.

Here is the bread scored ready to put it back in the Dehydrator.

Here is the bread ready out of the Dehydrator.  I made two trays of this bread!!!

After I finished with the Sunflower Rye Bread, I began making the Eggplant Bacon.

Here is the Eggplant with my Cai Bao before I cut it into strips…

I washed the Eggplant and began cutting it into strips with the Cai Bao.  After I finished that I placed the strips in a bowl and began marinating them in olive oil, nama shoyu and garlic.

Here they are in the bowl ready to marinate…

I covered these strips with the core of the Eggplant…

After this I placed a bunch of bowls on top of the Eggplant.  This way it weighed the Eggplant down into the bowl and it marinated like this for 1 hr.  Here it is marinating with the dishes on top…

Here is the Eggplant after it marinated for 1 hr+

This would dehydrate with the Sunflower bread at 105 degrees for 5 hours.

Now I was ready for my A.B.L.T (Avocado, Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato)! Here are the ingredients for the sandwich!!! The only thing missing is the spinach pesto I used as a spread for the sandwhich.

Here were are.  Each half had a different ingredient, but in this picture you can see the pesto spread used.

Then it was time to cut it and enjoy!!!  I have to admit that I was going crazy with all of the smells from the Dehydrator!!!  I was excited to see what this was going to taste like!!!

Final Plating!!!

Here is a nice juicy view!!!

This was one dish I know I will make over and over!!! It also seemed like a really good introductory dish to RAW FOOD!

Thanks for visiting!!!

Namaste!

P.S. The Raffle winner was picked and the new Raffle will begin on Monday!!! I will post the winner and the new Raffle Prize tomorrow!!

Day 7 of 30 – 23 to go!

So I am happily at Day 7.  Technically day 8 but I am always a day behind in documenting my journey to wellness.

I will begin with yesterday’s smoothie.  I didn’t take a picture of it since it was really not that good.  Well, I take that back.  If you would like a smoothie that tastes like Grapefruit Juice and is as filling as any meal, then the recipe is below!

1 peeled lemon

1 peeled orange

10 Almonds

10 Cashews

1/4 cup coconut meat

4 Dinosaur Kales Leave

1 Handful of Blueberries

Water

Mix and get ready to pucker!

Needless to say I didn’t even take a picture of it!  It was okay, just not the treat to have when you are ready for a sweet smoothie.  But I guess such as life.  Sweet & Sour!  Somewhere there is a reggae song called Sweet & Sour…I’m digressing!

PIZZA

This was a fun one indeed!  Can I just tell you that I like pizza in any form.  (Meatless of course!) Anyway, I can safely say that RAW Pizza is now on the list of GREAT PIZZA Experiences!

I began soaking buckwheat the other day to make it sprout!

The Buckwheat is the bowl at the left corner.  The others were Macadamia Nuts,  Sundried Tomatoes, Pine Nuts and then the buckwheat.  Soaking seems to be an imperative step to this cuisine.  It is also something that helps the body intake the nurtients.  They say “Soaking nuts and seeds before consuming them helps with digestion and softens the texture .”

I made a buckwheat crust according to a recipe I got off of Gone Raw.  You can find the link on the Blog Roll to the right. —>

I altered the recipe a bit to my liking.  This is what I did.

This was the crust before it went into the Dehydrator.

Buckwheat Crust

2 1/2 cups soaked buckwheat

2 peeled zucchinis

1/3 + 1 handful flax seeds

2 1/2 cups sunflower seeds

4 cloves of garlic

1 T Basil

1 T Oregano

1/3 cup olive oil

Water to smooth the batter up.

Preparation:  I put the buckwheat in the food processor and began to process.  Meanwhile, I peeled the zucchini and then added the zucchinis into the paste that began to form.  I allowed this to process while I grinded up the flax seeds.  I stopped the processor and then added the flax seeds and 4 garlic cloves.  When I turned on the processor again I allowed it to breakdown the garlic and mix in the flax for a moment.  When it appeared that the mixture was ready I added olive oil and water until smooth.  I added all of the rest of the ingredients last.  I waited until it was the consistency of cake batter.  I spread this onto the teleflex.  (I was able to make 2 large pizza crust out of it.  One big rectangle and another circular.  I also pre scored the batter with a ravioli cutter.)

Dehydrated at 125 degrees for 2 hours and then set it at 100 degree for another 3 hrs.

Sunflower Seed Hummus

2 1/2 cups sunflower seeds, soaked

2 Heaping T Raw Tahini

Juice of 1 Lemon

1/4 cup olive oil

1 garlic clove

1 T Spike

Preparation: Put sunflower seeds into food processor and process.  While the sunflower seeds are processing, juice lemon.  Add lemon juice, olive oil, and tahini through the chute.  Stop and add garlic clove and spike. Process again.  If it is still thick, add a bit of water a little at a time.

The Sunflower Seeds in the processor…

Here are all the toppings for the pizza…

And here is the final plating…