About Me

I started this blog to keep track of my kitchen creations. I love cooking and eating. In 2008 I was diagnosed with RA. Food started becoming a huge problem. I needed to find a better way to eat the flavors I love. All the recipes I create are driven by my desire to eat good food that won't create extra pain and inflammation in my internal ecosystem. While the recipes are wholesome, the language is not. I swear. I use the word 'fuck'. A lot! I make no apologies for that. It's just a fair warning. I'm raw and real. Happy cooking! Even happier eating! Cheers! Angie

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Summer Berry Pie

I had lots of berries and tart cherries from my CSA pick-up and we weren't able to eat them fast enough so I decided to make a pie.  I didn't want to have to worry about processed sweetness to off-set the tart was of the cherries and berries so I used turbanado sugar.  I also had to make sure the crust was gluten and dairy free and not full of transfats.


CRUST: 

Makes enough dough for one 9" bottom crust and a floating top.

1 & 1/2 cups of gluten free flour
1/2 cup of solid coconut oil
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 tablespoon of turbanado sugar
5-8 tablespoons of cold water

Mix the flour, sugar, and salt.  Cut in the coconut oil.  When combined. Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time.  Fork stir after each tablespoon until you have a soft ball of dough.  Wrap in Saran Wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.

FILLING:
6 cups of whole fresh berries.  You can use a single type of berry or a mixture.  

1/2 to 1 cup of turbanado sugar, based on your tastes

1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon 

1/4 cup of tapioca starch or arrowroot starch

Mix sugar, cinnamon, and starch.  Add to berries and mix carefully but well.

ASSEMBLY & BAKING:
Lightly oil a 9" glass pie plate with coconut oil.

Remove dough from fridge and roll out to 1/4-1/8 " thick.  Line bottom of pie plate with dough and press in.  Trim off the edges and set aside.

Pour filling into crust.  Roll out the remaining dough and lay it on the top of the pie.  Do not seal it.  It should look like its floating on top of the pie.

Bake at 375 for about an hour.

COCONUT CREME TOPPING:
Several hours prior, place a steel bowl and beaters in the freezer to chill.

1 can of full fat coconut milk refrigerated for several hours.  The longer in the fridge the better.  This will allow the cream to solidify and cone to the top.  You will use the cream for this topping.  Reserve the oil for another use.

1 tablespoon of turbanado sugar.

1 whole vanilla bean or 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract.

Carefully scoop out the white cream from the top of the coconut milk and put it in the chilled bowl. Add the sugar and vanilla.  Beat on high until a smooth creme forms.

CASHEW CREME TOPPING:
In a high-powered blender or food processor place:

1/2 cup of water
2 large handfuls of raw cashews
4 pitted medjool dates
1 tablespoon of pure vanilla

Blend on high until a smooth creme forms, adding more liquid if necessary.  You can use some of the left over coconut oil.


Kale Chips

I've seen these gems in the grocery store for a lot of moolah.  They are super easy to make and way cheaper than buying the fancy schmancy ones!

Fresh kale
Good quality extra virgin olive oil
Seasoning of your choice (cinnamon sugar, sea salt, garam masala, etc)

Cut kale into chunks.  Cost in olive oil.  Add seasonings.  When the flavor is to your liking, pour kale onto a cookie sheet and spread out.  Bake at 350 until crisp.  Stir regularly.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Kimchi or Kimchee

Kimchi/Kimchee is a Korean side dish made from various vegetables and seasonings that are fermented. Traditionally kimchi styles vary by regions across Korea.

Kimchi is rich in vitamins A, B1, B2, C, phosphorous, niacin, calcium, & iron.  It also contains non-dairy lactic acid bacteria, one of which is lactobacillus kimchii.  All that good shit aids your gut in digestion.

This is, by no means, the only way to make kimchi.  I found several recipes and settled on adapting one I found from hungry tigress food blog.

PROCEDURE:

Day 1:  Dissolve 6 tablespoons of finely ground sea salt OR pink salt in 8 cups of water.  Cut 1 head of cabbage (Napa or savoy) into 1-inch pieces.  (I do not recommend using red cabbage for this part. It's too sweet and it will also throw off the color and everything will turn red. I do like the flavor of it, so when the kimchi is completely done, I chop up some of that red deliciousness and throw that shit right on my plate with the kimchi and mix it in. It adds a bit of sweetness to the sour of the kimchi.)  Ok, back to the green cabbage Goddesses.....Make sure that all the pieces separate as you put them in a non-reactive bowl, preferably glass.  Pour that briny shit all over the cabbage so it gets a good bath!  Place a plate inside the bowl over the cabbage to keep all that leafy green goodness submerged. Let this sit at for least 12 hours or over night.


 
Day 2:  Strain cabbage from brine BUT set the brine aside.  You'll need it later!  Put the cabbage back into the non-reactive bowl.  Add to the cabbage 2 tablespoons of Turkish or Hungarian paprika,  2 tablespoons of finely minced fresh ginger, 2 tablespoons of finely minced fresh garlic, and 6 sliced scallions OR 1 sweet onion quartered and sliced OR hell!  Add both!  This is your party!.  You can add other savory spices as well.   I throw in some cayenne pepper.   

At this point you can also choose to add other veggies.  I added 2 shredded carrots, 1 rib of celery thinly sliced, 1 kohlrabi root quartered and thinly sliced, 1 fresh jalapeño thinly sliced, and 1 Jimmy Nardello sweet Italian frying pepper thinly sliced.  You can also add daikon radishes and cucumbers.  Hell!  Add whatever the fuck you want!  Except tomatoes. They don’t belong in here.  You can put that shit on top when you fill your plate! 

Once you have everything in there that you want, ix everything together really well.  It's best to just dive right in with your hands.


 





























Split all that delicious veg between 2 wide-mouth, quart-sized canning jars or if you have a half-gallon jar you can put them all in there.  Make sure you pack everything down really well.  Don’t let any of that shit sneak out!  use your hands if you can.  Pour the brine into the jars just to cover the veg. This is very important so pay attention! You will have brine left over!  SAVE THAT SHIT!!!

 

Now.....Here comes the tricky part.  You have to weight down the veg inside the jar.   This will make one hell of a mess if you aren’t careful. (Ask me how I know.) You're going to do this with sandwich baggies and the rest of that sexy brine.  Very carefully, put a baggie in the opening of each of the jars.  Fill the bags with brine.  Carefully squeeze out the air and seal the baggie.  Do this for all of your jars.  Put any extra brine in a glass jar and save it. You may need it later.  Throw NOTHING away when you make this!  Place the jars into a glass bowl incase they drip.  You will not be putting the lids on at this time so put that shit in a safe place for now!  Put the whole bowl in a cool dark area. If you can’t find an area that stays dark, just put it in a corner of your kitchen and throw a towel over the whole shebang. 

 

Make sure to check it daily to be sure that the veg is still submerged.  You may have to release air from baggies or you may have to add more brine to them.  (See?  Save that shit!)  After 3 days check to see if it has soured enough for your taste.  It could take up to 6 days to get the best flavor.  It could take longer for you.  Depends on your preference.  

Once it's how you like it, carefully remove the baggies and dump all that sext brine into the jars, cap, and refrigerate.  If you need more, add some from the extra jar you have tucked away in the back of your fridge.  This will last quite a while. The vinegar has pickled and preserved everything. Make sure you eat this shit every single day for a happy gut!





 

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Instant Breakfast

I'm not huge on instant meal- type mixes, however, I have found that in a pinch, Vega brand isn't too bad.  The mixes are not cheap.  I usually only have 2 or 3 around just in case.  As much ad I love chocolate, in this case I do prefer the vanilla almond.  I blend it per the package directions but I also add 1 banana, 1 heaping teaspoon of mesquite powder, and 1 teaspoon of lucuma powder.  The flavor and smell of the shake reminds me of almond paste cookies!

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Swamp Cubes

My juicer has not been performing as it should when it comes to juicing leafy greens.  I was beginning to feel like I was wasting more than I was juicing.  I decided to use a different tactic to get the most out of my leaves!

1 large bunch of parsley
1 large bunch of cilantro
1 large handful of spinach
water

Roughly chop the spinach, parsley, and cilantro and put all of it in the blender.

Start the blender and add water a little at a time to keep everything mixing.

Blend until liquified, adding water in small amounts (1/8 cup at a time) as necessary.

Pour juice into ice cube trays and freeze solid.  Once frozen, pop them out and put them into freezer bags.

If you are making Swamp Water use 2-4 Swamp Cubes in place of juicing any greens.

Couscous Stuffed Peppers

This is one of those recipes that came about by trying to make a meal out of what was already in the house.   I

4 large bell peppers, any color (you can also use long Italian green or other large banana peppers)
1 box of organic couscous, rice, farro, quinoa, or any other small grain.  Any flavor is fine.
Fresh shelling peas-as amny as you like (you can use frozen if fresh are not available)
1 large carrot diced
1/2 of a large red onion
5 garlic scapes diced
1/2 of a small green zucchini diced
1/2 of a small yellow summer squash diced
1 fresh ear of corn on the cob (you can use frozen if fresh are not available)
1/8 cup red or yellow lentils

Prepare the couscous according to the package directions.

Cook the lentils in 1/2 cup of water until tender but not mushy.  Drain any remaining water.

Shell the peas, stip the corn off the cob, and dice the rest of the veggies.  ***Do not precook the corn!

Sautee' the veggies in good quality olive oil on medium high heat for 5-10 minutes.  Stir constantly to prevent burning.

When the couscous is done, add it to the veggies and mix well.  Turn off heat.

Cut off the tops of the peppers and scoop out the seeds.  You can keep the tops for little covers while they bake if you like.

Evenly distribute the couscous/veggie mixture between the peppers.  Put the tops back on and bake at 350 in a open pan for 20-30 minutes. 

 
 
###Please note that couscous is made from semolina, which is made from wheat. If you are intolerant to gluten, you can use a hardy red or brown rice.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Mackenzie's Fruit Parade

Every morning I come downstairs to find that my daughter has left a line-up of fruit by the juicer. This recipe is her favorite combination.


1 apple
1 orange-peel the zest but leave the white pith
1-2 inches of ginger

Put them all in the juicer!

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Cashew Chipotle Spread

I have found that cashews are one of the best staples that you can have in your vegan/raw arsenal. When using them to make nut milk, there is virtually no pulp. They make a great alternative to whipped cream. They make great ice cream. Their texture is so creamy and smooth that really any condiment you make with them is texturally pleasing! I love this spread. It makes a great partner for fresh veggies and raw breads and crackers. It will stay for a week but you'll eat it before then!

2 cups of raw cashews
1& 1/2 cups of cold water
1-2 Roma tomatoes
2 large cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of Himalayan sea salt
1 large or 3-4 small dried chipotles
1 tablespoon of chipotle chili powder
1 lime juiced
1 bunch of cilantro leaves

Put half of the water and everything else in the blender and process, adding the rest of the water as necessary until you have the smooth and creamy consistency that you want. Taste and add more of any ingredient as per your taste. Store in a glass jar in the fridge.



Thursday, February 21, 2013

Swamp Water

I have green juices every day. I usually am drinking them at work too. One of my good friends and fellow teacher, Amy, gets quite grossed out by them. She says it looks like something that was dredged from the bottom of a pond. I do love that girl!

PUT IN THE JUICER:
2 apples
5 stalks of celery
1/2 a lime (including zest)
1" slab of pineapple
1 cucumber, unpeeled
1 large handful of parsley
1 large handful of cilantro
1 large handful of spinach
*you can also choose to make a batch of swamp cubes rather than juice the parsley, cilantro, and spinach 
5-6 romaine leaves
5-6 kale leaves 
1/2 bulb of fennel

PUT IN THE BLENDER:
The juice you just made
1 banana
1/2 of a Haas avocado
2 oz of wheatgrass juice, fresh or frozen
2 teaspoons of Sun Is Shining
Chlorella
Blend quickly

*If you are using Swamp Cubes, put 4 of those in the blender instead of juicing the cilantro, parsley, and spinach.

If it seems too thick for you, gently blend in some water.

Store in glass mason jars. It will fit in a quart jar or 2 pint jars.
This makes enough for 2 1-pint servings.



Sunday, January 6, 2013

Strawberry Spice

This morning I was chatting with a couple of High School friends on FB.  Dairy Free Diva was mentioned and it inspired me to create something new this morning.
 
I've been arguing profusly with bronchitis for the past week and frankly it's making me miserable.  Forget about the fact that it's cold and snowy.  I looked through the produce in my fridge, feezer, and counter to find something that would give me some "summer comfort".  I have certain summer comfort fruits that I always try to keep in the freezer.  I found 3 and added some ginger.

The fruits are chock full of Vitamin C and fresh ginger is great for knocking out a cold.
 
 
Put in the Vitamix the following:
 
2 whole oranges minus the zest (Use the white pithy part.  It has a lot of good nutrients!)
1/4 of a pineapple, peeled
1 big handful of strawberries
2 inches of ginger, peeled.  You can use more if you like it really spicy!
 
Blend them until smooth.  You may have to add a small amount of water of your fruit is frozen.