Rawifying Recipes

Many regular recipes are almost raw already. Has Rachael Ray gone RAW????(Rachael Raw hehe) Well, not quite! Yesterday on the Rachael Ray show, she had a lovely cucumber salad that only required a few tweaks to make it all raw. Check out the original recipe.

Now here it is with the simple modifications:

Pickle-Dilly Salad

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon agave
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon pink salt
1 clove garlic, peeled and cracked
2 tablespoons dill, chopped
1 fresh bay leaf
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cucumbers, sliced thin

I used the food processor to slice the cucumber very thin.
Mix all the other ingredients together and pour over the cucumber.
Let stand at least 1 hour.
I keep it in a jar until serving















This show also featured a pasta dish. Simply leave out the cheese in this recipe, don't toast the nuts:), and of course use your favorite "pasta", like spirialized squash. Recipe easily rawified!












note: I added some sliced black olives and chopped pistachios to garnish and tossed a spoonful of nutritional yeast into the pesto. The "pasta" is yellow summer squash spiralized using the large hole plate, and chopped slightly to resemble elbow macaroni:)

Sorry, I couldn't help but notice a related recipe on the Rachael Ray cucumber recipe for Asian cucumber, spinach salad...so here it is!














The rawified recipe is:
The dressing
1/3 cup water (I like a little less)
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon agave, or a big juicy date
1/2 clove garlic
small knob fresh ginger, approx. tip of pinky size:)
2 teaspoons nama shoyu
pinch of salt and pepper, optional

Combine all dressing ingredients in magic bullet until well blended and pour over salad.

The salad:
3-4 cups spinach
1 good slice red onion, slivered
1 large cucumber, cut in half and sliced thin in food processor
1/2 teaspoon approx. crushed red pepper flakes.

I have to thank Rachael Ray for the recipes above, and also for the inspiration for me to go raw! She had several shows in 2007 featuring Dr. Timothy Brantley, author of the book The Cure. After watching the first show he was on, I read his book, and it was so inspiring, I went raw as soon as I finished it.
Many heartfelt thanks to Dr. Brantley...you changed my life!


Some great recipes are already raw, such as most salads, salsa, guacamole, and gazpacho.

Here is a recipe for taco filling that uses mushrooms in place of meat...thank you, have_mersey!













As you become used to eating raw, you will see how easy it is to rawify recipes.
You can usually substitute dates or agave for sugar, flax seed will thicken dishes in place of eggs, raw apple cider vinegar for any other vinegar, nuts or mushrooms are often used for meat, nutmilks for dairy milk and so on.

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.