What is Codex Alimentarius?

Shocking information about the pharmaceutical industry

Pecan Cookies

Crumbly sweet pecan cookies - delicious with cold almond milk!

• 2C Pecans
• 1/2C Pitted Dates
• 3T Maple Syrup
• 1t vanilla
• 1/2t cinnamon
• 15-20 Pecan halves for garnish

Soak Pecans in water for a few hours (2 should be enough). Drain and rinse. Soak dates in water for 15-20minutes until soft - drain. In a food processor chop pecans until finely ground. Add dates, maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon - blend until smooth. If not sticky enough add a little of the date soak water.

Use a tablespoon to scoop out mixture roll into ball using your hands. Place balls on non-stick dehydrator sheets press out balls with the palm of your hand to 1/4 inch thickness. Dehydrate at 115 to taste (around 20 hours if you like them quite dry). Flip cookies to dry the underside and return to dehydrator for 2-5 hours. These store really well in baggies in the freezer or refridgerator.

Cream of Miso Soup

Another modified recipe from Living Cuisine...

Cream of Miso Soup

• 3 Medium Plum Tomatoes halved and seeded
• 1 Medium Avocado (remove pit and shell) cubed
• 1C Orange Juice
• 3T Red Miso Paste
• 1t Shredded Ginger
• 2 Cloves garlic
• 1/2 C Water
• 3T Cilantro
• 1/4 Chopped Medium Red Onion
• 1/2t Tamari
• 1/2 C Hemp Seeds

Blend all except Hemp seeds until smooth and creamy in a high speed blender. Stir in hemp seeds - reserve a few tsps of hemp seeds to garnish the top of each bowl. Best served right away but will keep fine overnight in the fridge.

The Meat of the Problem - Climate Change & Hamburgers

"...if we're going to take global warming seriously, if we're going to make crude oil more expensive and tank-size cars less practical, there's no reason to ignore the impact of what we put on our plates."

This quote is from Ezra Klein columnist for the Washington Post who wrote an interesting article back in July about an issue many people are still ignoring. Is it true that switching to a vegan diet could have more impact on slowing down climate change than giving away your car? "A study out of Carnegie Mellon University found that the average American would do less for the planet by switching to a totally local diet than by going vegetarian one day a week. That prompted Rajendra Pachauri, the head of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to recommend that people give up meat one day a week to take pressure off the atmosphere." You can imagine how this suggestion went over. So how about switching to pasta one night a week? Juice and cereal in the morning instead of bacon and eggs. PB&J for lunch... It doesn't have to be an all in or nothing decision - if you aren't ready to give up meat and dairy you can try to find local organic sources. If you choose to eat meat and consume dairy, educate yourself, don't turn a blind eye and make sure your sources for meat and dairy are good ones.

A link to the article...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/28/AR2009072800390.html

Inspiration...Victoria Boutenko

If you need a little inspiration/information about all the good a raw foods diet can do. Check out the Boutenko family. They have been living raw since 1994. Each one of them was suffering with fairly serious health issues before making dietary changes. Do a google search for Boutenko lots of great info shows up. I've posted the 1st part of an interesting video below. The intro of the video drags out a bit - wait it out until Victoria Boutenko starts talking about her family's experiences & her findings - it is worth sitting through the intro.

Or check out their website. http://www.rawfamily.com/

Then get into your kitchen and make a green smoothy!

Salad Rolls with Curried Cashew Sauce

I went to an amazing Raw Foods Prep class a few nights ago. One of the items we learned to make were salad rolls. A little labour intensive but, worth the effort. Fantastic with curry dipping sauce.

Salad Rolls

• 1C Baby Spinach Leaves
• 1 Carrot Julienned
• 4 Large Strawberries Sliced thin and quartered
• 1/4 Cilantro
• 1/4 C Enoki Mushrooms
• 1 Medium Daikon sliced thin into strips with mandoline slicer

Lay out Daikon slices on a cutting board, top with 2 spinach leaves at one end, a few slices of carrot, 1-2 pieces of strawberry, some cilantro and enoki mushroom then roll. The diakon radish will naturally stick together. Roll so you can stand upright on a plate.

Curried Cashew Sauce

• 1/4C Orange Juice
• 1/2C Cashews (soaked 1hr then drained)
• 2T Tamari
• 2T Basalmic Vinegar
• 1tsp Maple Syrup
• 1/2 clove Garlic
• 1T Curry Powder (to taste)
• 1 Pinch Sea Salt
• 2.5T Olive Oil

Should be thick but pourable. Drizzle on a plate around wraps or pour into a small dipping dish.

Another variation with the same ingredients (minus the mushrooms) + 1/2 a yellow pepper. I added a little more OJ to the dipping sauce to make a dressing and sprinkled the a few hemp hearts over the top and voila - a salad!

Cauliflower "fried" Rice

For Rice

• 1 Medium Head Cauliflower

Chop well and pulse in food processor until rice like texture is achieved - don't over process or your rice will turn into a sticky ball!

For "Fried" Flavour

• 2T Chopped Onion
• 1 Clove Garlic
• 1/4 Cup Parsley
• 1/2 Inch Lemon Grass
• 1/2t Ginger Grated

Pulse all "fried" ingredients in food processor until finely chopped after you have removed your cauliflower rice to a medium sized bowl.

Mix Rice and Fried together. Stir In 2C of fresh shelled peas, 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (I marinated my mushrooms in a little tamari and sesame oil first), Add 1T of Tamari, and 1t of sesame oil to your fried rice - toss all together until well mixed.

Mushroom Alfredo with Zucchini Linguini

A bit colder today so I decided to make a heavier meal. This recipe is adapted from one by Renee Loux Underkoffler's book "Living Cuisine" (my favourite raw food prep book).

A creamy alfredo sauce over marinated mushrooms and zucchini cut linguini noodles - yum...

Marinated Mushrooms

• 2C of sliced mushrooms (for this recipe I used crimini)
• 3T Olive oil
• 2.5T Nama shoyu
• 2.5T Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 Cloves of Garlic minced

Mix Mushrooms with marinade and let sit while you make Alfredo sauce and and Zucchini Noodles. Can be made up to a day in advance (let mushrooms sit over night if you have time).

Alfredo Sauce

• 1C Raw Cashews (soak first for up to an hour in fresh water then drain)
• 1/2C Macademia Nuts
• 4T Olive Oil
• 1/2C Lime Juice
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• 4T Nutritional Yeast
• 1C Water
• 1/4 Parsley chopped
• Pinch of sea salt

Put all in a high speed blender and whip until smooth and creamy. Should be thick and creamy but pourable. MIx with marinated mushrooms (drain off marinade first) and pour over zucchini linguini.

Cucumber Summer Soup with Relish

A creamy, refreshing summer soup with dill and relish.

Spicy Relish

• half cucumber
• 3T apple cider vinegar
• 2.5T maple syrup
• 1T ground black mustard seeds
• 1 pinch sea salt
• 1/4 cup sliced white onion
• 1/4 cup fresh corn
• 4 medium radish chopped

Mix Apple Cider Vinegar, Maple Syrup, Mustard Seeds & Salt in a bowl. Chop Cucumber, Onion, Radish, mix with Corn and toss with dressing. Let sit while you make the soup.

Soup

• 2 large cucumbers peeled/seeded and chopped
• 2T of raw tahini
• 4T sesame seeds
• 1/2C Lemon Juice
• 1.5T maple syrup
• 4T dill (fresh or dried)

In a food processor or high speed blender mix all soup ingredients until smooth and creamy. Pour into small bowls and top with a tablespoon of relish.

Doesn't everyone know what a spirooli is?

Sometimes I forget that at one point I didn't have any idea what a spirooli was. Now I often wonder if I could live without one.
A spiral slicer cuts veg into long thin noodle shaped strips. There are many different kinds of spiral slicers and debates about which ones are better. Mine is a spirooli like the one pictured on the right and I love it. Some people will tell you to buy a Joyce Chen Spiral Slicer or a Benriner I guess it comes down to personal preference.

In addition to my beloved spirooli a few other essential items I now have in my kitchen are.

• Mandoline (makes quick work of slicing sweet potatoes for chips or other veg for salad wraps).
• Excalibur Dehydrator (they are pricey but, much better than the cheaper round version we all remember from the 80-90s) - buy the teflex sheets - non stick sheets for making fruit leathers or anything goopy on - I tried using wax paper when I first got mine. The teflex is worth the extra cost. Some things will dry right into wax paper or cling film.
  
• Vitamix (high powered blender - as a colleague said "you could blend a stick of wood in those things - again they are pricey but won't let you down - better to buy one good blender than dozens of cheaper models I think).
• Food Processor
• Juicer (I have a Jack Lalanne Pro Juicer for my fruit - I use my blender and a nut mylk bag for my green juices - I may upgrade to a green star juicer at some point)
• Coffee Grinder - I use this almost everyday to blend small seeds (ie mustard) and dried herbs
• Good quality knives
  
• Sprouting plates and jars (any wide mouthed mason jar will work - I use terracotta plates to sprout smaller seeds like flax - I'll post photos of my sprouts later)

Sieves/Nut Mylk Bags/Good Quality Knives/Wood Cutting Board and if you enjoy ice cream and sherbets a good quality ice cream maker comes in handy as well (mine is cuisinart).... I buy most of my kitchen stuff from Upayana Naturals (there is a link at the bottom of my page). They ship across Canada. I've been really impressed with their service and most things have come in less than 2 weeks.

Twitter

I just realized my Twitter feed hasn't been working for ages. I think I have it fixed but it doesn't want to post older stuff that was missed. If you are following from twitter check out my page for past postings...

Basil Aioli (Mayonnaise)

A creamy salty/sweet whipped oil sauce. Serve on a sandwich, as a dressing with a romaine salad or over chopped root veggies.

• 1/2 Cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 2.5T Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2.5tsp of honey
• 1/4 tsp of sea salt (to taste)
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1/4 Cup fresh chopped Basil
• 1/4 Cup fresh chopped cilantro

Whip together in a blender until thickened. Store in a glass jar with lid.

David Wolf On Raw Foods

A little about the Full Moon In Aquarius 5-6

The Sturgeon Moon.

This lunar eclipse is the last in a series of 3 which began in February of this year. Be aware of the urge to rationalize or detach to the point of numbness. Lunar eclipses stimulate change which means the breakdown of old circumstances. Think of a flood washing away the old and making way for the new. Things may continue to be uncomfortable for awhile as we are triggered to let go of anything we've been holding on to. Be open to change and creative new ideas. Be yourself, let your light shine and all that... Be inspired by the hippies in Hair as they explain it all better than me (don't worry it isn't the naked part)...

Shredded Broccoli Salad

Shredded Broccoli Salad

• 1 Medium Head of Broccoli Chopped Fine (florets and stem)
• 1/2 Red Onion Chopped
• 1/2 Small Head Purple Cabbage Shredded
• 1C fresh corn
• 1/2 Raisins
• 1C Sunflower Seeds
• 3T Lime Juice

Toss together all dry ingredients in a bowl add lime juice and toss again. Let sit while you make the dressing.

Dressing

• 2C Walnuts
• 3T Maple Syrup
• 4-5T Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/4T Pink Sea Salt
• 1/4 C Water
• 1 crushed Clove Garlic

Mix all in blender until smooth pour over salad and mix in well (if not pourable add more water. Dressing should be thick but, pour easily out of the blender) - let chill for 1/2 before serving to let flavours marinate.