Lemon-Caper Pasta and...

...A surprise road trip!!!!

My hubby knows I have been missing my family in Florida. Yesterday, he said we could visit them, and we are leaving tomorrow!!! It should be a 'long weekend' trip.

I do love surprises, and this was a major surprise:) To prepare for the trip, I made a checklist of things to bring, and printed out some online recipes, since I will not have internet access there.

The list helped a lot when it came time to pack. Here is a pic of my tiffins and other stainless containers. Some already had some goodies in them:) I will also be making some goodies to enjoy during the 20-something hours we will be driving.


There is a slight chance I will stay for a longer visit, so I also packed some appliances and things like my knife set, nutmilk bag, and of course my favorite gadgets.

Here is one of my favorite recipes I plan on making while I am away.

ETA~I have switched out the original old pic for a heart shaped* pasta for Valentine's Day:) You can still see the original pic on gone raw.

Lemon Caper Pasta

Ingredients:

1 yellow summer squash, organic, or other veggie pasta
1 lemon, organic
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon capers, organic but not raw, drained
1 medium tomato, 1/4 inch dice

gremolata topping:
1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley
1 clove garlic
Preparation:

1. Process squash as desired for 'pasta', squeeze dry.

2. Zest lemon(reserve zest) and juice it, should be about 2 tablespoons juice.

3. Combine oil with lemon juice, capers, and only 1/2 of the lemon zest.

4. Pour over squash and mix well.

5. Top with tomato.

* For the heart shape, I used a small heart shaped pan. I placed the tomato in first, topped it with the lemon-caper pasta, put the plate on top and flipped it over. After removing the heart pan, I sprinkled it with the gremolata:)

6. For gremolata, chop remaining zest with parsley and garlic and sprinkle over pasta.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will see you soon!!!

Not 100% Raw

I have been eating a mostly raw, or high raw diet for several years now. In the beginning, I thought of myself as transitioning to an all, 100%, raw food diet. After noticing my transition period was a little longer than expected, I came to the realization that I was probably never going to be 100% raw.

One reason for this is the fact that we eat out twice on the weekends.

The other reason is that I really enjoy some non-raw ingredients like dark sesame oil and seasoned rice vinegar:)

At first I felt guilty having these ingredients. Now I realize they are such a small percentage of my food intake, why worry!

Also, I don't have these non-raw ingredients on a daily basis, and when I do, I use them sparingly.

Today I had all intentions of trying Gena's Turnip Pasta with Creamy Brazil Nut Sauce. It looks so good, and I always love Gena's recipes:)

I soaked a small handful of Brazil nuts before going to bed last night. The sauce recipe was so easy, with just a few ingredients. Click here to check it out.

I assembled all the 'proper' ingredients for the sauce, but had noticed my beloved toasted sesame oil and seasoned rice vinegar next to the ACV and regular sesame oil(evil grin).

So, to my handful of soaked and drained Brazil nuts in the blender, I added 6 tablespoons of water, 1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon nama shoyu. This tasted so good just the way it was, but I may play around with it at some point by adding some ginger, citrus juice, and pepper flakes:)

For the pasta, I used one spiralized turnip.

I am always excited to see how the turnip...

...becomes long, thin strands, like angel hair pasta!

One turnip almost filled the bowl of the spiralizer.

I followed the recipe by adding purple cabbage and carrot, but did not have any spinach, so I tossed in a little chopped red bell pepper and broccoli.

After topping the veggies with the sauce, I sprinkled on a few sesame seeds.

This was so good, I had to put down my chopsticks and grab a fork:)

Thanks to Gena for the inspiration!

Oh, just one more thing...
YAY YANKEES!!

Parsnip Pasta with Sage-Lemon Cream

This is another recipe from 'Living Raw Food' by Sarma Melngailis. Just reading the ingredient list told me this would be wonderful! I also liked it because it did not require very much effort to create.

The parsnip pasta only needs a few hours to soften in a little wine and salt. I also sprialized a turnip (pictured) at the same time to try the recipe using that as the pasta. They looked identical, but there was a difference in taste between the two. I liked the parsnip just a tiny bit more than the turnip:)

After making the noodles I soaked the pine nuts for the sauce, as they only need about an hour or so. I used my bullet to blend the pine nuts, wine, shallot, sage, (lemon)thyme, lemon juice and zest, oil, nutmeg, and salt. This made a lovely, unique cream sauce.

I served it with a salad of mixed baby lettuce, oil, lemon juice, pinch of salt and pepper, and thinly sliced dried apricot. Sarma paired the pasta with this salad using arugula for the greens. I let the apricots plump in the dressing for about a half hour before mixing it with the salad. I did not have the optional black truffle that looks so pretty in Sarma's picture, so I used my lemon peel rosebud with a sage leaf and a sprinkle of thyme leaves.

Thanks to Sarma for another great recipe! This was a very refreshing lunch on a warm Adirondack day!

Salsa Finta and Almond Polpetta over Angel Hair Pasta

....or, spaghetti and meatballs!

Last night, I made my family regular spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. Usually I am not tempted to eat what I make for everyone else, but I love angel hair pasta:) To ease my craving, I did have a tiny bowl of the pasta, but for lunch today, I made Russell James' Salsa Finta & Almond Polpetta. This really satisfied my craving, and it was nice to know I could enjoy as much as I wanted:) Please visit the link for the recipe from his blog:)

What can I say...the man is a genius :)

Salsa Finta & Almond Polpetta


First, you make the Salsa Finta, as you need a small amount to put into the Polpetta (meatballs). It blends up in a flash, the perfect mix of dried and fresh tomato, oil, basil, garlic, lemon juice and a touch of sweetener. I omitted the small amount of water, because my tomatoes were very juicy and I usually prefer a thicker sauce.

The Polpetta are prepared in the food processor. Sprouted almonds mixed with 1/4 cup of the Salsa Finta, nutritional yeast, salt, lemon juice, parsley, Italian herbs and onion (I used chives). The moist mixture is formed into small balls and dehydrated to perfection for several hours. The outside was crisp, while the inside remained soft and moist. When ready, you mix the Polpetta with the remaining Salsa Finta.

Russell serves this over greens and zucchini ribbon pasta, but since I wanted the more traditional spaghetti and meatballs, I spiralized a medium sized turnip. I am always amazed when I see the long strands of my "pasta" come out of that little spiralizer:) I mix them with a drizzle of olive oil, and a few grinds of pink salt to soften, like you do with rawvioli:)

Once again, I want to thank The Raw Chef Russell James for the recipe.

The well-equipped raw kitchen

There are some additions to your own happy raw kitchen you may like to make. Although you can eat entirely raw without these gizmos and gadgets, they are lots of fun, and you will never get bored with the endless possibility of things you can create!
The well equipped raw kitchen can include a dehydrator, an ice cream maker, a spiral veggie cutter, or julienne peeler, a mandoline or electric food slicer, and the magic bullet. Three must have appliances, in my humble opinion:), are a juicer, a good blender and food processor. Sprouting jars , a small spice (coffee) grinder, and nut milk bags are nice to have. One last gadget that I use several times weekly, the Vidalia chop wizard! This little veggie chopper makes perfectly diced fruit and veggies in two different sizes. So far, these appliances have served me well, however, I am likely to get a better juicer when mine breaks:)

Today I enjoyed a pesto "pasta". In the picture, I used a hand held julienne peeler. These gadgets are wonderful for single servings, and can be found at regular department stores and supermarkets.

Here is the recipe:
Pesto pasta

Ingredients:

2 cups daikon, cut with julienne peeler
½ cup fresh basil leaves, packed
½ cup fresh mint leaves, packed
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon pine nuts, and a sprinkle for garnish
3 tablespoon olive oil, approx.
½ teaspoon salt, more or less,to taste
¼ cup 1/4" diced tomato, i used red,orange and yellow
Preparation:

1.process basil,mint,lime juice,garlic,and pine nuts in small processor bowl till fine.

2.with machine running,drizzle in oil until creamy.

3.add salt as desired.

4.mix with daikon.

5.top with diced tomato and a sprinkle of pine nuts.

of course any “pasta” would work ,yellow or green squash is my favorite!

Here is a picture of the spirooli in action!













Don't worry if you don't have all the 'right stuff' right away. I was raw for over a year with just the juicer, food processor, and an old cuisinart blender.I purchased paint strainer bags for making nut milks. Here is a picture of those:











Also pictured are a cotton bag used for stuffing and a jelly straining bag (found with canning supplies). All of these have worked well for making nut milks, but my favorite, and most frugal, is the nylon paint strainer, found at large chain home improvement centers.
Most of the above links are for the actual appliances I now have. There are less expensive, perfectly wonderful choices available if you are just starting out. The good4u dehydrator is a very popular alternative to the excalibur. This blender looks good for anyone just starting out, as it has a metal to metal drive and a glass carafe. Here are several other options for spiralizers, but remember the julienne peeler is the least expensive. I love my magic bullet and still use it every day in addition to my big blender. The cups can be used for sprouting, and it is great for salad dressings and single servings of soups or smoothies. I am waiting for my current one to wear out so I can get the new one!

Here is a great price on the spirooli and many other items.

Any glass jar can be used for sprouting! Simply use a piece of cheesecloth and a rubber band for the top. I came across these lids that fit any wide mouth mason jar.
In addition, you will still need the usual kitchen utensils such as good knives, cutting boards,parchment paper, measuring cups and spoons, etc.
Together with all the foodstuffs in my fridge and pantry, I can usually create anything I crave:)
Click here for a site with great information.