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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Raw - Soba and Kelp Noodles With Roasted Eggplant

W and I visited with my daughter "L" and her boyfriend today. They recently moved into their new condo, and we had not seen the little love nest yet. L wanted to make us dinner, but due to my dietary restrictions, I suggested that I bring the ingredients and she and I prepare the meal together. We agreed upon Soba Noodles with Roasted Eggplant.  (Note: I have not tried it, but this dish could be converted to raw if you eliminate the soba noodles, use only kelp and/or spiralized zucchini, and dehydrate the eggplant for an hour or more instead of roasting). 

We had such an enjoyable afternoon cooking together. They both loved the meal, but especially loved the Chocolate Lucanilla Ice Cream from the "Just Desserts" e-book for dessert. Without a high speed blender or ice cream maker, it was a tad challenging, but L grabbed her hand mixer, and after freezing the mixture in ice cube trays, we managed to whip it into a delicious, rich chocolate mousse. We topped the dessert with sliced bananas and some crumbled Chocolate Fruit and Nut Bar from yesterday . L and P devoured the Chocolate Fruit and Nut Bar, so I now know what I have to make more of when we visit the next time!

The Soba Noodles with Roasted Eggplant was refreshing! Here is my variation:

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Chocolate Fruit and Nut Bar - Still in Love...

...with and drooling over more chocolate recipes.I came across one for a fruit and nut bar. I haven't really cared for the results of chocolate made with only coconut butter, so I made a few changes and used some cacao butter. I also used hazlenut extract, because I love hazelnut and chocolate. This is a WINNER! Here is my version:

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Celery Root Soup With Granny Smith Apples

We have moved to a new location:

http://rawfullytempting.blogspot.com/2010/01/celery-root-soup-with-granny-smith.html


The author of "The Conscious Cook Book" was on Oprah the other day, cooking this soup. It looked simple and elegant, so I gave it a try and I am so glad I did. This is a FIVE STAR soup!! It is spectacular! A great soup to make when you want to impress your guests! It looks pretty, it tastes great and it's fairly easy to make. I was so full after 2 bowls that I could not eat anything else for dinner.

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Almond Raisin Bark With Hazelnut Kreme

Another "RAW"nchy treat that I could easily get addicted to.

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I'm Having a "RAW"nchy Love Affair...With Chocolate!!!

God bless you Carmella from The Sunny Raw Kitchen! I recently purchased a bunch of supplies to make raw cacao treats and had no idea where to start. Her recipes and descriptions of each of the items helped so much, and gave me some great ideas to start with.

You really have to play with these products and get a feel for them. Here is my raw foodie experiment.

WARNING: It is messy as hell and I learned a valuable lesson in PATIENCE with allowing enough time for one item to chill thoroughly, before attempting to melt cacao paste or butter. What a trip! I felt like a kindergartner with paste all over my fingers...only this was totally lickable! It would have made a great Kodak moment if I could have picked up the camera.

Here is my attempt and changes to  those wonderful Hazlenut Truffles, aka, "Ferrero Rawcher"
Note: I am not totally sure of all of the measurements, since I was adjusting the recipe as I went along, so have fun, experiment, lick (I mean taste), and experiment some more.

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RAWSOME Product - Raw Candy in a Jar!!

Fresh, Raw, Organic Halvah

Ingredients: "Raw", Organic, Mechanically-Hulled Sesame Seeds*, fresh, raw, honey.

This stuff is sooooo good!!! Sesame seeds are freshly ground two or three times to keep the temperature low enough to retain enzymes and life energy. It is then immediately refrigerated and is guaranteed to taste and feel better than roasted and/or ground nut and seed butters. This sweet and delicious raw, organic, Halvah is available through AE Vincent.

This is great in smoothies, on sliced apples, recipes that call for tahini, or just licked right off the spoon! You can also chop raw nuts and roll them into nut balls with the Halvah for an energy packed breakfast. I am on a very strict diet that focuses on eliminating mold, which is present on most packaged foods that sit on store shelves. This is on my Doctor's list of things to eat. It may be a little pricey, but worth it for the quality product you get.  Arlie has some  other super fresh, high quality items as well, especially if you want fresh, raw nuts - they are shelled and immediately vacuum packed to keep them fresh. Don't forget to tell Arlie that Barbara sent you!

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Chocolate Heaven!

I am so excited. My ingredients came in the mail yesterday: Cacao powder, cacao paste, cacao butter, mesquite powder, lacuma powder, yacon syrup and bourbon vanilla bean powder and some candy molds. OOooh, I cannot wait to experiment!!!

Okay - here is the first batch. I need to perfect the chocolate a bit. I mixed carob and cacao powder, and used cacao butter with a little coconut oil. It was very good, but not as creamy as I had expected. I haven't tried the cacao paste yet, which is supposed to be superior to the other two products. Still tasty and certainly satisfying when there is a craving for a little sweet treat.

I wasn't very careful  when spooning chocolate into the molds, and the tops came out a bit sloppy. The chocolate also started to harden faster than I realized. Not bad for the first try.

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Zippy Veggie Fajitas With Taco Nut "Meat"

I love being able to take an SAD (Standard American Diet) meal that W enjoys and turn it into a RAW recipe that he absolutely loves! Woohoo! Success tonight! We both feel soooo much more energized after eating live food than we ever felt with cooked food. No more heavy, full feeling after meals. I used variations from 3 different recipes for this delicious dish. You have to let the veggies marinate ahead of time, but the recipes are all super quick and easy to prepare!

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Raw Cheesy Lasagna Roll

Yesterday I experimented with a small batch of Shari Viger's Award Winning Veggie Mac Cheese Spread. You have to prepare the Macadamia Nut Cheese the day before, and from that you create the Veggie Mac Spread. I did not have any Ume plum vingear, so I used sea salt. I also added some oregano  and chives to her recipe.

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