Raw Zuchini Crust Pizza Experiment

http://rawfullytempting.blogspot.com/2010/01/raw-zuchini-crust-pizza-experiment.html

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Warning: THIS TASTES MUCH BETTER THAN IT LOOKS! Zucchini contains so much water and needs to be dehydrated in order to form a stable pizza crust. Although it looks dry, it's actually quite moist in the center and packed full of flavor.

Someone posted a photo of Cherie Soria's raw pizza, using a zucchini crust. It looked really interesting, but I couldn't find the recipe anywhere, and decided to experiment with my own version.  It came out really tasty!!!

Note: If you want to use the "cheese" then you will need to prepare it a couple of days in advance. Shari's veggie mac cheese  is so awesome, I usually have some leftover in the fridge, and use it in many recipes.  I am sure you could do a version without it, but the cheese made the filling more creamy.

This recipe yields 4 mini pizzas  ...YOU MIGHT WANT TO DOUBLE  or  TRIPLE THIS RECIPE.

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Roasted Fennel - Super Quick and Easy

 

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This is a great meal when you don't have a lot of time to prepare. Also, I am trying to incorporate the jasmine rice and nama shoyu into my meals for my program this week. It's challenging and I'm finding it hard to eat raw all the time with the rice requirement. For lunch I simply cut up some raw celery and carrots and serve with rice and raw sesame seeds, but when dinner rolls around, I tend to lean towards cooked, but crunchy veggies. 

I had some fennel that I needed to use and this is what I came up with. It was really easy and surprisingly delicious. We were both totally satisfied and full.

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Raw Corn Chips/Taco Shells

I have been craving raw taco shells or corn chips since I got my dehydrator and finally made them last night. They are just about ready...

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Raw Macadamia Nut Cheese and Bruschetta

http://rawfullytempting.blogspot.com/2010/01/raw-macadamia-nut-cheese-and-bruschetta.html  We have moved.

(Cheese before and after)                                   
W and I have a party to go to this weekend, and several of the folks attending are raw foodies. YAY!

The Veggie Mac Cheese was such a hit, that I decided to make another batch to go with the Almond Bread. I followed the original recipe, but adjusted the seasoning, adding more basil, and using some chopped chives, scallions, parsley and red onion. It is seasoned with miso and a touch of Ume de Plumb vinegar. SPECIAL! All of this cheesy, rich goodness from luscious macadamia nuts. Don't ya just love it?

W's suggestion was to create a bruschetta-like appetizer, spreading the cheese onto bite sized pieces of  Herb Almond Bread, and topping with chopped fresh tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil and vinegar. I'll try to take some pics of the finished product.

For dessert, I made a mango and banana cream pie - but you have to wait until I decorate it for the pics.

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Stuffed Portobella Mushrooms

This is one of my favorite cooked meals..although when I prepared it this evening, I left the veggies pretty crunchy and the mushroom was still pretty firm. I usually make this with  spinach, but I didn't have any available, so I used kale leaves and some bok choy leaves instead. It came out great. Coupled with some jasmine rice cooked in mushroom broth, this was a very pleasing meal.

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Zippy Black Bean Burgers on Mediterranean Almond Bread

Last night some frozen "leftovers" came in very handy. I removed both the Mediterranean Almond Bread and Zippy Black Bean Burgers from the freezer and placed them in the D for a few hours. I made W a scrumptious "cheeseburger" on the bread with lettuce, avocado mayonnaise, veggie mac cheese spread, sliced tomato and red onion. He loved it.

The Zippy Black Bean Burgers are tasty and from my experience freeze very nicely. Here is the recipe:

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Raw Mediterranean Almond Bread - My First Raw Sandwich!

YUmmmm! Using Mediterranean Almond Bread,  I created a scrumptious sandwich. Try Shari Viger's Veggie Mac Cheese Spread topped  with  Boston bibb lettuce, red onion, "Unroasted" eggplant, and tomatoes. On a bed of romaine, I placed some additional "UnRoasted" eggplant, marinated mushrooms, olives, and artichoke hearts. For guests I cut these into bite sized treats and served them as appetizers. I didn't tell my guests they were raw until they said.."Yumm, these are great, what's in them?"

Unroasted Eggplant  (I used Indian eggplant which is very tender).  Slice eggplant lengthwise in thin pieces and  massage each slice in seasoned olive oil. Let sit or place in dehydrator for 30 - 60 minutes.Garnish eggplant with a small dollop of Veggie Mac Cheese, diced red onion and chopped tomatoes.

The bread is delicious, full-bodied with a great texture. You really feel like you are biting into a healthy piece of bread. The cheese is very creamy and fluffy,  and somewhere in between cream cheese and ricotta cheese. You can adjust the seasonings for both the bread and the cheese depending upon your preferences.

My mind is already wandering about the different variations that can be applied to this bread recipe. Maybe eliminate the spices and add some dates and coarsely chopped nuts....a little raw honey? I wonder if I could make a sweet version of the mac cheese and create a date and nut bread with cream cheese affect? Hmmmmm! Getting hungry thinking about that one!

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Black-Eyed Pea (Not Quite) Fritters and Dipping Sauce

After our busy day yesterday, I was really too tired to fuss and was happy to find this fairly simple recipe from "Cooking the Whole Foods Way."I made some changes to suit my requirements and combined these little fritters with the leftover kelp and soba noodles, and added a small salad. I try to avoid fried foods, but managed to use very little oil, just enough to brown the outer layer. It was yummy with a spicy dipping sauce.

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"Peanut" Sauce With Veggies with Noodles

I am fighting a wicked cold today, but determined to be okay for tomorrow night. I have used the Neti pot several times today, and hoping for some big improvement.





 I wasn't in the mood to prepare anything intricate tonight and ended up throwing together a pretty tasty dinner, thanks to The Sunny Raw Kitchen. I was lazy wasn't about to clean the food processor yet again, so I made a few adjustments and came up with this dish.

In place of Medjool dates, I used agave nectar. (Yes, it isn't 100% raw).  I didn't have kelp noodles available, so I boiled up bean thread noodles. (Okay, so definitely not raw). But damn, those noodles are soooo delicious, and W really enjoys them and the sauce and veggies are all raw. I have also had this sauce on soba mugwart noodles, which is another tasty, but un-raw alternative. It's all about choice and tonight it was easier to make some alterations and still end up with a delicious meal.

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