Life of the Party: Raw d'Oeuvres!

The Fourth of July came and went last weekend, fireworks and all. Yippee! Summer is officially here!

Summer is my favorite season, and July my favorite month. (Not just because it’s my birthday month.) For me, summer is like the weekend of the year and that makes July Saturday - the best day of the weekend. Saturday is like the filling of the weekend sandwich, as it were. (And everyone knows the filling is the best part - see Garlic Almond Cheeze recipe below, lol!) Arriving on the heels of a carefree Friday night and with a relaxing Sunday to look forward to, Saturday is the Freedom Day of the week. Based on my analogy, it's hardly a coincidence that Independence Day comes in July!

Here in New England, where cold grey days drive us inside for a good part of the year, summer is the season to be outdoors. That's why, when it comes to summer parties, cookouts rule! Or, in the case of a raw foodist, un-cookouts.

It so happens I went to a great cookout/potluck party just this past weekend, held in the lush garden-yard of my wonderful friend and colleague Dr. Emily Maiella, naturopathic physician at Montague Integrative Health.

The dish I brought to share was this platter of mini “raw d’oeuvres” – tasty little Garlic Cheeze & Crackers canapés. They were fun to assemble and even more fun to eat, with each delightful biteful simply bursting with flavor. Everyone loved these diminutive treats and I am happy to share the recipes with you here (as promised to my fellow party goers).

The Garlic Almond Cheeze Spread is really easy to make (even for Lazy Raw Foodists) and very versatile. Use it as a spread or as a dip. Or, thin with water to make a creamy salad dressing. Or, toss a spoonful or two with fresh mung bean sprouts (omg - I totally recommend this!). You may even want to place a nice dollop atop your favorite steamed veggie dish for some mouth-watering, nut-based protein power.

The Savory Flaxseed Crackers take a wee bit more time and advance planning than the cheeze because they are made slowly in a dehydrator. It's not a great deal of actual work for you, but you must allow about 24 hours of drying time, more or less depending on the ambient humidity and how crispy you want the end result to be. Flax crackers are a great source of inflammation-busting omega-3 fatty acids plus fiber and protein. And they taste great!

Here I am on my front porch, ready for the party:


And here are your recipes. Let me know how you enjoy them!

Garlic Almond Cheeze Spread

Ingredients
1 cup raw almonds, soaked 8 hours or overnight
2 Tablespoons raw coconut oil
1 to 2 Tablespoons lemon juice (1/2 lemon’s worth)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
½ to ¾ cup filtered water
1 handful cilantro, minced

Directions
Soak almonds and pop off the skins. Add peeled almonds to blender along with all other ingredients except cilantro. Use more or less water depending on the consistency you are going for. Blend until very smooth and creamy. Stir in cilantro by hand or pulse in blender to mix.


Savory Flaxseed Crackers

Ingredients
2 cups golden flaxseeds, ground
4 cups filtered water
2 cups carrot and/or beet pulp, leftover from juicing
1 cup roughly chopped red onion (1/4 of a large red onion)
2-4 cloves garlic
4 Tablespoons fresh oregano, minced (or 2 Tablespoons dried)
1 teaspoon dried onion granules or powder
2 teaspoons sea salt, any type
¼ cup nama shoyu or wheat free tamari or Bragg Liquid Aminos

Directions
Soak ground flaxseeds in 3 cups water for one hour or longer. Stir well while you are adding the water to the ground flaxseeds to minimize clumping, and, if possible, stir occasionally while soaking for the same reason.

Add carrot-beet pulp to the soaked ground flaxseeds and combine thoroughly. Blend remaining 1 cup water with onion, garlic, spices, salt and tamari. Stir this into the flax-carrot mix till well combined. Feel free to use a food processor, a Kitchen Aid mixer for this, or if you have a Champion or Omega 8005-style juicer, you can homogenize the dough using the blank. (I try to get away with just hand mixing to reduce clean-up!)

Divide dough onto four dehydrator trays lined with Teflex sheets. Wet your hands and spread out each mound of dough into a large square shape of cracker thickness. Dehydrate for 1 hour at 145 degrees, then reduce heat to 105 degrees and continue dehydrating for another 6 to 9 hours.

Flip crackers onto mesh sheet, dry side down, and peel off Teflex. Use a pizza cutter to score each sheet of dough into 16 squares, or any size shape you like. Dehydrate for another 6 hours and do a taste/crispness test. Continue drying up to 12 hours, or until desired crispness is attained. I average 10 hours drying time per side in this humid summer weather.

Raw Garlic Cheeze and Crackers Assembly

Cut each Savory Flaxseed Cracker into four mini squares. Put a little Garlic Almond Cheeze Spread on each mini cracker and top with a slice of cherry tomato. Easy!

I added four layers of canapés to my little Pyrex container, separating each layer with a trimmed sheet of waxed paper.

Rainy Day Crackers

I was very happy when my friend Amanda introduced me to this recipe. Very happy indeed. Based on a raw sprouted buckwheat pizza crust from the Café Gratitude non-cook-book, “I Am Grateful”, this is probably the best raw cracker I have ever made, or tasted. Ever. In my life. No kidding!

Not only is the taste entirely scrumptious but the texture is out of this world. Firm, chewy and naturally sweet from fresh carrot juice and pulp. Imagine something as smooth and creamy in the mouth as a graham cracker, but complex and savory. Mmmm-mmmm.

Here’s the recipe, halved and with just the slightest of variations from the original to suit my palate and pantry. I’m calling them Rainy Day Crackers since it’s barely stopped pouring here all month. Funny how you can make something so nice and dry in the midst of one hundred percent humidity.

Rainy Day Crackers
with Sprouted Buckwheat & Carrot Juice

1 cup raw hulled buckwheat

1-1/2 cups raw sunflower seeds

2 large cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup carrot pulp (left over from making juice)
1 heaping tablespoon Herbs de Provence
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 cup golden flaxseeds, ground
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
1 cup carrot juice

Soak buckwheat and sunflower seeds for 8 hours or overnight, preferably in separate bowls. Drain and rinse thoroughly, then add to food processor and pulse into a meal. Add remaining dry ingredients and process till well combined. Add carrot juice and process till you have a consistent dough with no chunks.

Divide dough into equal portions on three dehydrator trays lined with teflex sheets. Using a spatula or your moistened hands, spread each pile of dough into a 10” square. (I use a chopstick as an edging guide.) Score into rectangular shapes as desired – I made 12 crackers per sheet. Dehydrate for one hour at 145 degrees, reduce heat to 115 degrees and dehydrate another 4 hours. Flip crackers onto mesh trays, peel off teflex and dehydrate 6 hours more or until dry. These crackers should be slightly tender, not crispy when done. Store in airtight container in refrigerator and eat within one week (not a problem, trust me!).

Carrot Pulp & Coconut Flax Crackers

I'm always looking for tasty ways to use carrot pulp leftovers from juicing. I know, I know: juice pulp is great for the compost.... but what about me?! It's tough to just toss away all that bright orange beauty, so often, I save it in the fridge. (I confess, I'm a saver. Some might even venture to say hoarder [how many "bag bags" does one family really need?] but let's not go there.)

Okay, so the fridge is full of carrot pulp. Now what? Well, I have my ways. I feed it to the dog - either mix raw carrot pulp into her food or cook it into the fish scrap and chicken leg stews she loves so well. I feed it to the kids - tucks nicely unnoticed into tuna salad, for instance. I've also tried blending the pulp into raw Cream of Carrot soup and Orange Sunshine salad dressing. (Haven't had great success there yet but am still game for trying. Recipes, anyone?)

By far, my favorite use for the stuff is as a filler for raw flax crackers. Used this way, carrot pulp adds color, texture, flavor and vitamin A nutrition. Plus there's no extra work of grating or chopping, seeing that carrot pulp is pre-pulped, and all. Flax crackers and chia chips were made for carrot pulp. Hence it features prominently in my Spicy Sunflower Chia Chip recipe on this blog, for instance.

Recently, Raw Chef Dan sent out an email with a recipe for "Coconut Toast" which sounded so good, I made a batch straight away. When cracker met tongue, we promptly fell in love at first bite. The richness of the coconut oil paired with the crispy crunch sensation of the tiny flaxseeds creates savory heaven in your mouth, like a macaroon, but not, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, one good recipe deserves another. The following is a mod of RCDs Coconut Toast original using... naturally.... leftover carrot pulp from juicing, as well as sunflower seeds (inexpensive) instead of almonds (expensive). It's really good, really easy and really cheap. With all the fuss about how pricey the raw food diet can be, what could be better? Here's how they look, all scored and ready for drying. Pretty!


CARROT PULP & COCONUT FLAX CRACKERS

1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup golden flax seeds
3 cups water
2 cups carrot pulp, leftover from juicing
2 cups dried coconut flakes
1-2 tsp Himalayan pink salt (I used 1 but will up it next time)
1-2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Food process or grind the sunflower seeds and flax seeds together to make a gritty meal. Soak this in water for one half to one hour. Stir in remaining ingredients. Place equal amounts of dough onto 3 teflex sheets, and use wet hands or a spatula tool to spread dough to edges. (For a thicker, "crispbread" style cracker, divide the dough onto just 2 teflex sheets.) Use a rubber spatula to score into 16 squares per sheet. Dehydrate at 110 degrees for 4 hours; 6 hours for thicker version. Flip crackers onto mesh, peel off teflex and continue to dehydrate 4-6 more hours or until you attain desired dryness. Store in airtight container in fridge.

Note: I plan try this another time using leftover ALMOND pulp (from making almond milk) instead of the sunflower seeds. That cracker will be a waste-not-want-not dream come true!

BONUS: Remember all that prior posting about Properly Combined Sandwiches, and how bread and nuts don't mix? Well, if you use flaxseed crackers, which are already a seed/nut to begin with, for the bread, you can spread on the tahini, pumpkin seed cheese or raw almond butter to your heart's delight! Enjoy!

Practice Update: Montague Integrative Health – Grand Opening!

Dear Friends,

I am excited to announce that I have moved my practice from Greenfield to the lovely, centrally located village of Montague Center, where I am joining three other holistic practitioners to form Montague Integrative Health. Together, we look forward to providing high quality, comprehensive natural healthcare to the greater Pioneer Valley community. You can learn more about our group by visiting the "about me" page on my website, www.eat2evolve.com.

All local readers are warmly invited to attend our Open House tomorrow, Sunday November 9th from 2 to 5 PM at the offices of Montague Integrative Health, 432 Greenfield Road, Montague (adjacent to the Book Mill). Of course, we will be serving yummy raw, local and organic treats including my famous Raw Pumpkin Pie with Coconut-Date Pecan Crust, mulled cider from New Salem Preserves, Pierce Brothers coffee, assorted raw cheeses, Spicy Sunflower Chia Chips, Emily's fresh Eggplant Caponata, Nancy's Olive Oil Cookies and more!

Here's the recipe for my Chia Chips, which I developed as a way to use the pulp left over from juicing carrots. You probably could make this with any kind of juice pulp, provided it isn't too stringy (i.e. zucchini or cucumber as opposed to celery or kale). Feel free to substitue ground flax for chia, and mix up the seasonings as the spirit moves you – curry, pesto, jalapeno, whatever! I make this in a 9-tray Excalibur dehydrator. My beautiful, cobalt blue Kitchen Aid mixer does a super job of turning all the ingredients into a uniform dough. A big batch like this usually lasts a couple of weeks (unless it is being served at a grand opening celebration!)... Bon appetit!


SPICY SUNFLOWER CHIA CHIPS

INGREDIENTS

½ cup whole flaxseeds
1 ½ cups ground chia seed

½ large onion, minced
4 lg cloves garlic, minced
4 dried red chili peppers, minced
2 Tbs chipotle chili powder
2 Tbs dried basil
2 Tbs dried oregano
1 Tbs dried thyme
1 Tbs kelp powder
1 tsp sea salt

1 cup sunflower seeds
4 cups carrot pulp
4 Tbs wheat free tamari or nama shoyu (contains gluten)
1 cup minced fresh cilantro leaf and stem

DIRECTIONS

Combine flax and chia seeds in a large bowl. Cover with water and stir until as smooth as possible – it will clump up. Add more water to reach consistency of very thick paste. (Add more water if you want thinner chips, as the wetter dough will be easier to spread thin.) Stir well and allow to soak at least 15 minutes while you prepare other ingredients.

Combine minced onions, garlic and hot peppers. Add chili powder, basil, oregano, thyme, kelp powder and sea salt. Stir this mixture into the flax/chia seed paste and combine thoroughly. Add sunflower seeds, carrot pulp, tamari and cilantro, and combine thoroughly again. You can use a mixer if you like to help fully blend ingredients into a thick dough. Feel free to taste and adjust seasonings, but remember that all flavors–especially saltiness–will intensify as the crackers lose moisture and dry.

Line seven dehydrator trays with Paraflexx sheets or waxed paper. Divide dough evenly between the seven trays. One by one, spread each clump of dough into a flat square about 10 X 10 inches. Dampen your palms with water to facilitate spreading if needed. Once flat, I hold a chopstick against the sides and spread dough into edge to make a straight line. If you like, pre-score dough into chip shapes by lightly pressing a knife straight down into the flattened dough – for instance, 9 squares or 18 rectangles.

Put trays in dehydrator and dry at 105 degrees for 10-12 hours. Remove trays from dehydrator and one by one, place a mesh-lined tray on top of dry side of chip, flip trays upside down together, then peel off Paraflexx sheet to expose wet side. Return trays to dehydrator for another 10-12 hours or until chips are dry. Break along scores and store in airtight container; will keep for several weeks.