Hot Raw Chef Contest!

Hey, all!

I've entered the 2014 Hot Raw Chef Video Recipe Contest for raw vegan holiday recipes, and I need People's Choice votes!!! If you're interested in getting a healthy recipe idea, or know someone who would, check out my video - I'm Lucky #13, Sara Carmella - Savory Holiday Stuffing - and vote for me!

Go to www.hotrawchef.com to cast your vote.

Voters get a free recipe e-book and are entered to win a Vitamix 7500 high speed blender. Voting ends on the 14th.

Thanks everyone! 
www.hotrawchef.com

Raw Vegan Cheesy Kale Chips

Hi All!

This is my favorite recipe for Kale Chips. These chips have a cheesy flavor, but have no dairy in them at all! These are so tasty, and a great way to get more greens into your diet.

Raw Vegan Cheesy Kale Chips

Ingredients:
1 large bunch curly kale
1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup water
2 dates, pitted
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 rounded teaspoon sea salt

Directions:
Rinse and de-stem the kale - check out the video for an easy way to remove the stems!

In high-speed blender, combine all other ingredients. Blend on high for about 30 to 45 seconds.

Pour sauce over bowl of rinsed kale leaves and massage together until well mixed.

Arrange evenly across two dehydrator trays (without teflex sheets - just mesh) and dehydrate at 115 degrees for 6 to 7 hours, or until chips are dry.

Store any leftovers in airtight tupperware or plastic bag. (If you have any left - they're so good!)
Enjoy!

Creamy Lemon Tahini Salad Dressing - Dairy- and Gluten-Free!

Hi All,

I wanted to share this recipe with you - it's a creamy dressing that is dairy-free!

There are only 3 ingredients: tahini (which are ground sesame seeds), lemon, and water. You can use equal parts of each, and adjust to make it a thinner or thicker consistency by using more or less water, and more or less lemony. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

I like this dressing over greens, with something a bit sweet to balance the flavor. Here I used shredded carrots and golden raisins with a sprinkle of hemp seeds for extra protein and omegas.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

Easy Gluten Free Vinaigrette Salad Dressing Recipe

Happy New Year! I have lots of exciting plans for this year, and I am excited for 2014 to be here!

I wanted to start the year off with this salad dressing recipe. It is super easy and simple, but there is so much flavor, it makes a salad delicious! So many pre-made salad dressings can have unpronounceable ingredients, full of nasty things. This dressing is so easy, AND you'll know what's in it!

Ingredients include:
Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar (I like Bragg's version)
Bragg's Liquid Aminos (gluten free soy sauce)
Lime Juice
Olive Oil

Enjoy and Happy New Year!

Mango Pear Green Smoothie

Hi, All!

When Kurt started a whole foods cleanse to lose weight a little over a year ago, one of the main things he ate were 3 to 5 vegetable and fruit smoothies per day. This mango and pear green smoothie was his own invention, and it is delicious! It's a great one for smoothie beginners, since you cannot taste any of the spinach and it's sweet and fruity.

You can play around with the ratios of the ingredients to suit your taste. Feel free to add a protein powder or chia seeds if you like! Ingredients list is listed after the video below. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 banana, quartered
3 large handfuls spinach
2 pears, chopped
1 cup mango, frozen cubes
1 knob ginger, peeled
1.5 cups water (add more for a thinner consistency)
1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds) (optional - for iron!)

Blend all ingredients for about 45 seconds, or until smooth. Makes at least 2 servings.

How to Make Almond Milk - Unsweetened and Vanilla

In this video, I show you how to make plain, unsweetened almond milk, and a vanilla almond milk that is sweetened with dates. Almond milk will keep for about 2 or 3 days in the refrigerator. Just shake it, and enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 cup almonds, soaked 8-12 hours
3 cups water

To make Vanilla, add:
6 dates, soaked 10 minutes
splash of vanilla

Tools:
Blender
Nut Milk Bag
Bowl

PS, I think that this is really tasty. I hope you like it as much as I do!

I know this is random...but maybe you'll like it!

So, I made a very short film for a contest, went to upload it to their page, and they shut down the contest 6 hours earlier than they advertised! It was for crucial.com and Lou Ferrigno endorses their computer products - for computer memory and things.

The contest was to make a 30 seconds or less video of you making your best ROAR at the computer like you were frustrated at it. Here's what I was going to submit. I hope you like it! :)

UPDATE: I was able to submit this video to the contest! Their website's glitch was fixed! Yay! Wish me luck! ;)

Car Ride for Saba, Police Chase, and a Tour of Nearby Parks!

Kurt and I were recently given an actual video camera by my generous sister and brother-in-law! Thanks Aim and BW! So now we can film things without having to lug around our lap top. We're so high tech now!

So we decided to take our new camera on an outing. Some exciting things happened during the drive - and some stretches of chatting.  Cute views of Saba and the nice scenery is a bonus too! Enjoy!

Red Lentil Soup

Hi All!

This recipe is a family favorite. I think my mom invented it, I just added the kale! It's a great way to have a kind of creamy soup since the lentils break up and lose form, and all the veggies make it super tasty and healthy too!

Last night, I read that gram-for-gram, cooked kale has more calcium than milk. So get your greens in for healthy bones, people! :)

Ingredients:

1 cup of split red lentils, sorted for imperfect lentils and small stones
Water
3 carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium zucchini, chopped
3-6 leaves of kale, depending on size, de-stemmed and chopped into thin ribbons
olive oil
salt, pepper, garlic powder

Directions:

In a saute pan, add about a tablespoon of olive oil, and heat to medium. Add chopped carrots, onions and celery. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Saute over medium heat for about 10 to 15 minutes - until onions are translucent and veggies are soft.

Meanwhile, place sorted lentils into a sieve and rinse under running cold water. Bubbles will appear among the lentils as you rinse them. Rinse until no more bubbles appear! I think this helps them become more digestible...

Fill a soup pot about half way with water. Place lentils, a teaspoon of salt, and some pepper into the water and stir. Heat to boiling. Turn down to a simmer. Skim off any foam that the lentils produce. This will also help with digestion! Let simmer 15 minutes.

Stir in sauteed veggies into the pot. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Add zucchini and simmer for another 15 minutes.

Add kale and simmer, once again, for another 15 minutes.

Test the soup for seasoning, and adjust for taste. Serve soup over some brown rice if you want to make a more filling meal.

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Home Fries

In attempt to make home fries a tad healthier, we swapped sweet potatoes for regular white potatoes. Funnily enough, we had orange bell peppers that matched the potatoes, too! These home fries were actually better than regular ones! They are really flavorful and the addition of spinach lets you get some greens in!

This is my portion. Kurt had some too!

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 small orange bell pepper, chopped
1 large handful of baby spinach
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste


Directions:

Peel and chop sweet potato. Boil or steam potatoes until just fork tender. Don't overcook. Drain or remove potatoes from steam.

Heat large saute pan to medium heat. Add sweet potatoes, onion, bell pepper, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cover to let cook, occasionally removing lid to stir, about 5 minutes.

When onion and bell pepper is soft, add spinach and garlic. Saute for another minuted or two.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

Video! Broccoli in Garlic Sauce Made Gluten Free

Hi All,

I wanted to try to make a video of my Broccoli in Garlic Sauce recipe. The audio is not so good, but I used my laptop to film. This is my first attempt at editing and on-camera stuff, and though I'm a bit green, I'm excited to do more and get better!

I hope that you enjoy seeing how this recipe is made!

PS, I cut out the part where I can't stop laughing - but maybe I should include it in a bloopers reel!

xo

Broccoli in Garlic Sauce - Made Gluten-Free!

Hey all!

Being gluten-free can be tricky, since gluten is found in so many products where you wouldn't expect to find it. One of those is regular soy sauce. One of my favorite Chinese food take-out meals is Broccoli in Garlic Sauce (shout out to Oriental Pearl and China Chef!). Alas, any of the brown sauces is usually an indication of the wheat-containing soy sauce. I needed to create my own recipe so I could once again have that delicious sweet/salty/slightly-spicy taste again!

Ingredients:

For the Sauce:
3 tbsp Bragg's Liquid Aminos (delish wheat-free soy sauce substitute)
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp water
2 tbsp rice vinegar
3-4 dates (instead of sugar!)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (adjust for taste)

For the Saute:
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
3 large heads of broccoli, chopped into florets

Directions:

In a blender, blend together the Liquid Aminos, rice vinegar, olive oil, water and dates. In small sauce pan, saute the garlic and tsp of olive oil for one minute over medium heat. Pour the blended mixture into the sauce pan. Turn to low. Add red pepper flakes and stir.

Meanwhile, heat large saute pan to medium-high. Add tsp of olive oil and coat the bottom of pan. Add broccoli florets and saute for about 3 minutes. Once the broccoli turn bright green, pour the garlic sauce over top and saute for 30 more seconds. Take off heat.

Plate the broccoli and serve with steamed brown rice. Pour extra garlic sauce over the rice. Enjoy!

This serves two really hungry people, or four medium-hungry people.

If you want lower sodium, use 1 tbsp less Liquid Aminos and 1 tbsp more water, or use a reduced sodium gluten free Tamari. Here's info on Bragg's Liquid Aminos and San-J Tamari.

Note that this is not a thick sauce - I did not use any thickener. You can if you want, but I have a fear of corn starch. For reals.

xo!

Black Bean and Avocado Salsa

My future brother and sister-in-law, Jen and Vince, make a version of this recipe often, and it is so good that I had to make it today! I didn't have all of the ingredients that they usually put into the mix, but it still turned out great! In fact, it turned out so good, that these pictures show literally the last bit of salsa left from the bowl!

Tasty!

Black Bean and Avocado Salsa

1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 ear of fresh corn kernels
1 medium tomato, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1 avocado, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 cup, or less, of red onion, diced
 juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp cumin (don't be afraid of this spice - it makes this salsa awesome)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy with tortilla chips. It is also a great salad-topper or taco-topper too! 

I'm so glad that Jen and Vince brought this delicious salsa into my life!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Look how much I love it - I have crazy eyes!  Also, don't you love my wood-veneer cabinets? So chic!

Gluten-Free Vegan Oatmeal Craisin Walnut Cookies

Ain't no gluten in here!

The last few months I've been trying to eat gluten free to see if it would help me with some tummy issues I've had for years. It's worked remarkably well, and I feel like a normal person now! My only issue is that my favorite foods are wheat-based (bread, mostly...and pizza). I've found some great substitutes, such as Udi's Bread for sandwiches, or using corn tortillas instead of flour ones, etc, but any store-bought GF cookies are super expensive. Like 6 cookies for $8.00.

So I had a hankering for "a little something sweet" as my grandma used to say, and I decided to check out some recipes online. I didn't have all of the ingredients that many of them listed, so I decided to use a few recipes as a guide and make up my own recipe. I had no clue if they would turn out ok or not, so I made a smallish batch.

Well, they turned out great! Kurt really liked them too. I'm happy with my creation, and hope that if you try this recipe out too, you'll let me know how you like them. I've added a few unusual ingredients that not everyone has in their kitchen. Feel free to omit or replace. I've listed possible replacements in parentheses.

Gluten-Free Vegan Oatmeal Craisin Walnut Cookies

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F, and line a cookie tray with parchment paper.

In large bowl, mix together wet ingredients:
1/3 cup olive oil (or coconut oil might be tasty too!)
3/4 cup coconut sugar (or other sugar)
1/4 cup plain, unsweetened apple sauce
1 tbsp ground flax seeds, soaked in 3 tbsp water (or replace with 1 egg)
1 tbsp chia seeds, plus 1 tbsp water (can omit if you do not have)
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla

In smaller 2nd bowl, stir together dry ingredients:
3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten free flour
1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten free rolled oats, ground up into a flour (I used my blender)
1 tbsp ground flax seeds (can omit if you do not have)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Pour dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Stir together. Add to the mixture:

1 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten free rolled oats
1/4 cup craisins (or raisins)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (can omit)

If the mixture seems very wet, add a bit more oats or flour. The mixture should be able to be spooned out, but seem too sticky to handle.

Drop large tablespoon-sized cookie dough onto the parchment-lined cookie sheet, leaving about an inch of space between cookies. Bake about 12 minutes. Cookies are done when they are golden brown on the bottom and are a bit springy when you touch the tops. Makes about 20 cookies.

Enjoy! 
We did :)

photo taken by Saba

From Garden to Plate

That's right, our first taste of the fruits of our labor.

We brought our lettuce, cucumber, kale and beet home and made a delicious salad:

Pup wanted a couple of cucumber snacks:

 

When we tasted the cucumbers, they were so fresh and still warm from growing outdoors. The beets were sweet like carrots, not as earthy as store-bought ones. I thought they looked like they were tie dyed. The lettuce was crisp and tender. I can't wait until the tomatoes come in.

The final product:

So tasty.

I'm lucky to be able to tend this beautiful land...

...with this awesome guy.

Plus, I'm gettin' jacked! All that little-house-on-the-prairie water-pumping and carrying water buckets are putting some meat on my pipe cleaners! Check me out!

Garden Visitors!

Our garden has seen four visitors recently! We were very excited to have my sister, Sixty Four Love Notes, come by with her hubby, Mr. W, and  have a look (don't you just love the photography and artwork on her site?!):

And then tonight, Kurt's parents came by to drop off a couch that we were fortunate to inherit from Kurt's sister and brother in law (thanks Jenny and Vince, it's so cozy!), so they came by:

Here's me and Kurt posing with Ulfgar - who happens to be very photogenic:

Look how happy we look! We love our garden! And we love our garden visitors! And we'd love for YOU to come by too!

So we've been seeing a lot of progress in growth lately. I swear you could watch the plants grow, it's that fast.


Look at these cukie cuties:

And the zucchinis are getting huge:

And watch out! The tomatoes are taking over!

The kale is nearly harvest size:

Oh here's a sleeping pup!

The beet tops are looking lovely:

And the lettuce is gorgeous:

We're actually starting to see some fruit - check it out and see if you can spot them. Sorry if some pictures are a bit blurry - I should bring my tripod.

We went on a trip to Asheville, North Carolina last week and had a great time. We toured the mountains and the city and ate lots of good food. Early Girl Eatery was my favorite. We stayed here, which was the perfect location - in the exact center of the city.

Here's Kurt communing with the mountains:

And here I am at a lookout on the way to Mount Mitchell, the highest mountain peak east of the Mississippi

We took the Blue Ridge Parkway, which I would highly recommend for great views. The mountains are amazing.

My photos don't do the mountains justice. It was gorgeous.

Garden Update!

It's like when we first got Saba and she was so tiny, and little by little she grew - and now I can't really remember what she looked like when she was a baby unless I look at pictures. Well, I feel like the same goes for gardening. Especially for the tomato plants. When they arrived in the mail, they were small - 6 tomato plants and 6 pepper plants fit into a small box.

Now check them out:

I think we need to stake them up soon. 

Our beans have sprouted!

I was surprised to see them popping up out of the ground so soon, but here they are! This picture shows them 2 days later. They grow very quickly!

The lettuce is currently hiding among a thick crop of weeds. Kurt and I are scared to pull any weeds out for fear that we're plucking out lettuce.

We aren't experienced enough to really know the sprouts that we planted from the natural field growth. I've pointed out two spots where I think lettuce is growing. It doesn't help matters that the lettuce we planted is a mixture of several types - some varieties I think will look very much like weeds even when they are one day on our plates!

First, if you can see it, I'm pointing to a green leaf with reddish speckles.

Here I'm pointing to the bright green little guy in front, and directly behind him is a darker spiney looking sprout.

For now, they'll have to compete with the weeds.

The zucchini has also begun to grow well. It's crazy, though - the instructions on the seed bag said to plant 6-8 seeds in one hole, which I did, but only one plant has emerged from each mound! Each one looks great, though, so I'm happy with it. Here's the best looking one.

The cucumbers are doing well, except for one casualty - one of the 4 seedlings died - and the fact that the seeds I sowed directly into the land haven't sprouted yet, which seems strange.

He's still smallish, but so much greener than before.

Kurt and I like going to the garden because it really is peaceful. Check out the field behind Kurt. If we don't weed, that's what our plot would look like!

Yikes! You can check out some of our other neighbors' plots too.

I almost forgot to mention that we have a new addition to the garden. A protector of sorts...

Meet Ulfgar the Garden Gnome. We feel safer with him watching over our plant babies.

Sunday we hung out at Kurt's parent's house and had a cookout with Jenny and Vince, which was a lot of fun. We decided that Saba's not too keen on swimming, but she does like to walk around freely on the deck. Here she is swimming towards me.

A mommy knows the look of desperation on a pup's face. And here it is:

Maybe no more swimming for awhile.