These are a few of my favorite things

I grew up watching "The Sound of Music" on T.V. every year with my mom, so naturally, I'm a fan of that particular song. I like it even better when Angela Stokes puts her raw spin on it.

Speaking of favorite things, my friend Kristen just posted a list of hers and invited readers to provide theirs, as well. So in the spirit of sharing, here are some of my responses:

Kitchen Appliances: BlendTec Blender and a good knife
Movies: changes all the time, but I prefer Indie films. I've always loved "Before Sunrise."
Music Groups: can't narrow that down either. Lately, I've been listening to whatever is on the radio at the time. Oh yeah, and I still like Madonna after all these years.
Magazines: VegNews and Plenty
Blogs: You know I love all of you :-)
Animals: Elephants
Fruits: figs, peaches, strawberries, cherries; I haven't found a fruit I didn't like, except for durian, but I'm willing to try it again.
Veggies: lots and lots of greens
Nuts/Seeds: hazelnuts and hemp
Beverages: H2O (love it), fresh unpasteurized juice, smoothies, kombucha
Desserts: raw n'ice cream, any flavor will do
TV Shows: "Project Runway," "So You Think You Can Dance," various shows on the Planet Green channel
Books: I just finished "The Secret Life of Bees" and "Comfort Food," and I'm currently listening to "At Home in Mitford" on tape. I've also been known to check in with "Harry Potter," snag something from the Best Seller List or whatever catches my attention at the time.
Spectator Sports: Haven't been into sports lately, but I used watch soccer and hockey
Colors: Pink and Orange
Restaurants: Java Green; I'm going to the GITMR meet-up on Saturday. Hope to see some of you there.
Tech Toys: I'm not that technologically savvy, so I don't have a fave.
Travel Spots: the beach
Non-Raw Foods: I have a soft spot for the rolls at Bertucci's, which is sentimental; luckily, I've only been there once in the past several years
Kitchen Gadgets: Spiral slicer
Makeup: Mascara and lip gloss
Musical Instruments: I used to play piano and flute, but I prefer guitar. I also think it would be cool to learn to play the harp.

So, now you know some of the things I like. You can add some of yours in the comments, or keep the chain going on your site. I can't wait to learn more about you :-)

What am I making?

That is the question. With these three main ingredients, as well as a little bit of this and a little bit of that, what am I about to make?

Now you see, it came to me, while healing from my injury (hey, that rhymes). It's been a tad more difficult to maneuver around my kitchen, so I've been taking it easy with simpler recipes. (Well, actually I typed this one up a couple weeks ago. Now that I'm back to work, thus having less time to post, I thought I'd share it with you today. I just hope you guys still have access to some good quality local tomatoes).

This recipe was inspired by a package of Lydia's Organics Sunflower Seed Bread, although you could use your favorite raw "bread" recipe or one of these: Mild Olive Rosemary Bread, Zoe's Bread, Better Than Sliced Bread or Sun Bread (all featured on the Gone Raw website). I just happened to have some of this pre-made product on hand, which made this meal so easy; I decided to call it, "Easy Peasy Raw Panzanella."

What is panzanella? Well, it's a basic Italian bread salad, made out of day-old bread, vine-ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. It doesn't get any easier than that. And, with the help of a convenience product (we could all use a helping hand every once and a while), I can make it as fast or faster than this 30-minute meal (hey, that's my bowl).

To make it even easier, I didn't measure anything. So, be brave; you can do it, too. Make as much or as little as you want, and season it to suit your tastes. I've pretty much given you all the guidance you need, but if you still need a recipe, here you go:


Easy Peasy Raw Panzanella
Prepared raw "bread," broken into bite-size pieces
Fresh tomatoes, sliced into chunks
Handfuls of fresh basil leaves
Drizzle of red wine vinegar
Heavier drizzle of olive oil
Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Place the tomatoes and basil leaves in a bowl. Drizzle with some red wine vinegar, and a heavier drizzle of EVOO. Then, season with sea salt and pepper.

Add the "bread" pieces, and toss to coat. Taste, and adjust the flavors to your liking. The "bread" should absorb some of the liquid and soften. Now, it's ready to serve.

*This is just a basic recipe, but feel free to make your own adjustments. Red onion, cucumbers and bell peppers are common additions, and you can even make a dessert version, similar to this cooked one (I just wouldn't advise using a savory "bread).

Strawberries & zucchini

Sounds like that Chocolate & Zucchini blog (I wonder if that was part of my inspiration?) Talk about a crazy combination. I have some weird taste buds.

Now before I go any further, I just want to warn you that not everyone will find this recipe as scrumptious as I did. I guess that's because we are all individuals; it's our personal likes and dislikes that make us who we are (In other words, I'll understand if you comment with "yuck," "huh," etc.).

With that in mind, here's what I had for dinner tonight: a pile of zucchetti (my term for zucchini spiralized into spaghetti. Is "spiralized" a real word or did I just make that up, too?) topped with a strawberry marinara (yes, I did type "strawberry" rather than the traditional "tomato"), thinly sliced zucchini rounds and more strawberry hearts (I adore their shape when cut this way; how romantic).

I don't know why, but I sometimes like to substitute strawberries for tomatoes in this everyday Italian dish. Maybe it's because of my fondness for strawberries and basil (I had originally planned on a strawberry cream sauce, like the strawberry basil cream cheese I used to love, but I never got around to soaking any cashews or mac nuts. Oops; my bad), or perhaps it's due to their similar red hue. Whatever the reasoning, here's how to make it:

Zucchetti with Strawberries
Large zucchini, cut or spiralized into noodles
1/2 a much smaller zucchini, sliced into thin rounds
Couple handfuls of strawberries, thinly sliced to look like "hearts"
About 1 cup strawberries
Drizzle of EVOO
Splash of balsamic vinegar
Touch of agave
Basil to taste (I wish I had some fresh on hand, but dry will do)
Dash of sea salt
Few grinds of fresh black pepper
1 Tbsp. chia seeds

Prep zucchini noodles, rounds and strawberry slices, and set to the side.

In a mini food processor or blender (I used a food processor), add the cup of berries, EVOO, balsamic, agave, basil, sea salt, pepper and chia seeds. Process/blend until combined, but still slightly chunky. Let stand for a couple minutes to thicken (the chia seeds add some density to the sauce and help it stick to the "noodles").

Pour the sauce on top of "noodles," and sprinkle with zucchini rounds and strawberry hearts. Toss to coat, twirl the saucy zucchetti around your fork and savor every last bite :-)

"Eat Drink and Be ..."

... Mary. So, I changed the line up a bit. Usually, one would say, "merry," but in honor of my mom today, I decided to use her name instead.

On a day filled with sorrow for many (my heart goes out to anyone who lost a loved one), I have found a reason to be merry. You see, today is my mom's birthday, and if she had not been born on this day, I wouldn't be here either; not to mention the fact that I would've been lost without one of my best friends.

Yes, I'm still talking about my mom, who has been there for me from the start and still is during this time off my feet. She has come to visit me more than anyone else, and although I should be the one showering her with gifts, she has not stepped foot in this house empty handed in these past two weeks.

She has stopped by with a good selection of books to keep me occupied (she also is great company to have around), fresh produce from a local farm stand, supplemented with more organic (she knows me so well) fruits and veggies from the nearby grocery store, and even a lantern complete with extra batteries in case the power went out - oh yeah, tropical storm Hanna came through our way, too.

Speaking of Hanna, there's a Hannah (which reminds me of myself cooped up in this house) in the latest book I've finished, another one recommended by my mom. The funny thing is that she has yet to read it herself.

"Comfort Food" by Kate Jacobs just had me written all over it, both because it had "food" in the title and because it is centered around a woman who has a show on a cooking channel. Now that's really up my alley. Just check out the first paragraph:

"Gus Simpson adored birthday cake. Chocolate, coconut, lemon, strawberry, vanilla - she had a particular fondness for the classics (sounds like me; I'm always whipping up my take on a traditional family recipe). Even though she experimented with new flavors and frostings, drizzling with syrups and artfully arranging hibicus petals, Gus more often took the retro (yup, me again) route with piped-on flowers or a flash of candy sprinkles across the iced top. Because birthday cake was really about nostalgia, she knew, about reaching in and using the senses to remember one perfect childhood memory."

My mom always made my birthday cakes. I have fond memories of the doll cakes with the fancy iced dresses; Strawberry Shortcake even had strawberry cake inside.

Today, I decided to make my mom a slice of cake out of the ingredients she brought me and infused with my raw personality. Inspired by the "chocolate, coconut, lemon, strawberry, vanilla" line in the book, I decided to make a multi-flavored layer cake out of fresh fruit.

As you can see, the bottom is watermelon, topped with a thin layer of kiwi, a thick slab of pink lady apple (my fave; I wonder if my mom still has my old Pink Lady jacket she let me decorate when I was little), a ribbon of strawberry slices and a mango wedge. The "cake" is iced in a coco-banana pudding (check the bottom of this post for the recipe), sprinkled with coconut flakes (mom's favorite cake is German chocolate, which I rawified one year) and decorated with ripe raspberries. Yum-O (my mom likes Rachael Ray, too; we even braved a snow storm together to see her at a book signing more than an hour away).

During my recovery, I also made her a gift, since she's always appreciated my handmade creations. I strung together a necklace out of beads and black ribbon, which I'll be presenting to her in a small drawstring pouch I sewed together by hand (she taught me how to sew and has made me many Halloween costumes over the years). I even attached a purse cut from the fabric onto some card stock to create a personalized matching note for her. "Happy Birthday Mom!," it says.

In celebration of my mom's birthday, here's a recipe to share. Eat it as a pudding, use it as a fruit dip or ice a "cake" for your special someone. And, as Gus Simpson would say as part of her cooking show, "Eat Drink and Be ... Merry," or in my case, Mary (love you, mom).

Coco-banana Pudding
1 peeled banana
1 soft pitted date
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 Tbsp. coconut butter
a dash of vanilla
a pinch of sea salt

Blend all the ingredients in a high-powered blender until smooth. Chill to set. Makes one serving of pudding, a small bowl of dip or enough icing to frost a small raw cake. The recipe can be doubled to suit your needs.

Soup for the sole

No, that's not a typo. I meant "sole," as in my foot, not "Chicken Soup for the Soul," the books.

Now, I've been reading a lot lately, but not that particular title. I have, however, perused through various cook and uncookbooks, dreaming of whipping up some scrumptious raw/rawified meals. (I'm really missing the ability to do my own food shopping and more complex food preparation).

On a good note, it's nice to have time to see what recipes I have and actually try some of the more basic ones (the ones that usually get overlooked due to their simplicity; I mostly consult my books for the recipes that have more of a "wow" factor. Otherwise, I toss something together myself). It's been fun trying to find one that suits my tastes/cravings at the moment, contains ingredients I have on hand (I can't get too picky when others are shopping for me; I'm so grateful to have anything fresh and raw right now) and/or can be modified based on what's currently in my kitchen.

Wanting to nurse my foot back to health (any ideas to speed up the healing process?), I opted for an old-fashioned homemade remedy, but this time in the raw: Natalia Rose's Raw Old-Fashioned Homemade Soup from her "The Raw Food Detox Diet" book. Out of the ingredient list, I had the avocado, corn, red bell pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, shallot, garlic, Bragg's Liquid Aminos (although hers called for Nama Shoyu), curry powder, sea salt, pepper and dates. All I was missing was the okra, which I substituted with fresh mini zucchini rounds from my mom's garden (thanks mom).

It's funny; I never really cared for okra before going raw. I hated the way it would make gooey mucus-like gel in my mom's stew (which was pretty tasty before this addition; sometimes I would sneak a bowl before the okra made it into the pot).

But to my surprise, I actually liked it at the NaturalZing potluck I went to last month. If I remember correctly, it was picked fresh from Jeff and Helen's backyard, where they grow various other tasty vittles (check out their dome; as you can see in my pics, my friends had been sneaking a bite here and there). And, since it was not cooked, it didn't have its usual unappealing booger effect.

On the sweeter side, we also enjoyed some of Jeff's desserts, which I've mentioned in previous posts. The last I heard, he was planning on serving up some raw pie at the Raw Spirit Festival, so I recommend heading over to the NaturalZing booth to give it a try. If for some reason he does not end up having slices for sale, you can always purchase some of his raw ingredients and pick his brain a bit as to how to make one yourself (oh yeah, and tell him shannonmarie, a.k.a. Rawdorable, says, "hi").

Speaking of sweet, I did end up putting some of my Gone Nuts maple walnuts (along with some goji berries) in a glass of kombucha, like I talked about in my last post. The bubbles caused the nuts and berries to rise to the top and the sweetness to permeate throughout the drink. Yum!

I served it in a small glass that once belonged to my late grandmother. She used to pour my sisters and I "tickle my nose" in this fancy mini stemware, which made us feel so grown up.

So, what's "tickle my nose," you might ask? Well, it was what we called ginger ale, because the bubbles did just that; they would tickle our noses (just like in the kombucha).

My mom would have me drink it, whenever I had an upset stomach, and like magic, it helped. Could it have been the ginger?

Maybe. There was a man featured on Food Network yesterday who makes sauces and chutneys, all containing ginger. He swears by its health benefits, revealing that he gave it to his wife all throughout her pregnancy and she never once got sick to her stomach. Now, that's powerful stuff.

Kombucha, which can be purchased in a Gingerade flavor, is also known for its digestive properties, as well as a whole bunch of other claims, including improving both metabolic and immune functions. I joked with Matthew yesterday about possibly soaking my foot in a small tub of kombucha to aid in the healing process. Ha ha, I laughed, although part of me wonders if it would work :-)

A look into my book

Now I know I mentioned not wanting my injury to get me down, but in the end, it did. Not in spirit, but rather down off my feet.

For the first couple days, I thought I was invincible, doing everything I could to try and get everything done as usual. Unfortunately, I discovered that I needed to take it easier, if I ever hoped to get better.

It has now been a week since my spill, and I am only just starting to see some improvement. For instance, my foot no longer resembles one belonging to a Cabbage Patch Kid, probably due to the fact that I've taken up residence on my couch.

Everything happens for a reason, so I guess I was supposed to take a break. I just didn't mean literally.

During my downtime, I've been flipping through magazines, visiting with my mom, who has been nice enough to stop by on three separate occasions (she brought me this card today, which sums things up perfectly with, "Bummer! Feel better soon"), and reading the books she left for me (on the bright side, I now have time to read again). Today, I finished Sue Monk Kidd's "The Secret Life of Bees," which was the inspiration for today's post.

I always love when books mention what the characters are eating, even if it isn't raw (so does my mom, who made a cake talked about frequently in another book). Who am I kidding? I wouldn't mind if a whole book was about food; maybe that's why I adore cookbooks so much.

But back to today's post. Although the book I just read didn't center around food, I still found myself craving what was written in the text. So, I decided to have peaches for breakfast (the main character starts off living on a peach orchard), followed by a lunch featured within its pages.

Often times, the characters would have pimento cheese sandwiches for their midday meal. I thought, "oh, I can make it out of cashews like this one." I guess I could've done that, but then I'd have to soak the cashews and blend all those ingredients, when I'm supposed to be taking it easy.

On to plan B, I did have some tahini in the house, as well as a red bell pepper (makes for a good pimento substitute) and these raw olives (pimentos always make me think of olives). I put all these ingredients on top of a Lydia's Organics Green Cracker, and began searching for more toppings to complete my plate (now this is turning into something like, "Everything tastes better when it's sitting on a Ritz." So, what do you put of your crackers?).

Keeping with the "pimentos" (or in this case, red bell pepper), I topped another cracker with a "pickled" cucumber slice (I like to marinate cucumber slices in a mixture of apple cider vinegar, agave, sea salt, pepper and dill; something my mother has done for years) and sprinkled on some color with finely diced red pepper.

The third cracker had a garden theme, based on the times the women in the book enjoyed the fruits of their garden. I decorated it with thin slices of zucchini and tomato from my mom's garden and some corn kernels, cut from an ear of corn she picked up for me at a nearby stand (she's been so wonderful, bringing me fresh produce, while I cannot do it myself).

Lastly, to drink it all down, I made a refreshing orange beverage out of the oranges my mother-in-law brought me to boost my vitamin C. I thought it was only fitting, since the ladies in the book would cool down with what was referred to as "orangeade." I even served it in this old collectible jelly jar, which made it even more authentic.

Now all I needed was a banana cream pie. May, one of the characters in the book, had to eat a perfectly unbruised banana each day. She would peel one after another until she found an unblemished one. Rosaleen, not wanting to waste anything, would make "banana pudding, banana cream pie, banana jello and banana slices on a leaf till August told her it was all right, just throw the blooming things away."

Unfortunately, it would take some effort to make a banana cream pie right now (hey Jeff, you could send me one; he makes a mean raw pie. If you are going to the Raw Spirit Festival, you might be lucky enough to try one), so maybe I'd settle for one of May's candlestick salads, which was half a banana standing up in a pineapple slice (my mom brought me a pineapple and some bananas, too).

"Let me light your candle," she'd say, and strike an imaginary match. Then she'd fasten a bottled cherry (although I'd prefer fresh) on the tip of the banana with a toothpick.

Or, perhaps I could make my own version of August and Lily's salted peanuts in Coca-Cola. I've always enjoyed goji berries in my bubbly kombucha. Maybe today, I'll try it with my maple walnuts. I'll let you know how it goes.

Berry Good

Back to my "care package" again, I pulled out another of Lydia's Organics cereals. These are great for travel, raw newbies, who haven't yet tried sprouting and dehydrating (or haven't had much luck finding raw buckwheat groats to sprout and dehydrate), any raw foodie, who has missed the convenience of grabbing a box of Cheerios or granola off the shelf and just adding milk (in this case, raw nut, seed or fruit "milk"), or perhaps someone who is not raw, but trying to avoid wheat/gluten in his or her diet.

That's right; Lydia's products (as well as a great deal of the raw diet in general) are grainless, gluten, sugar and oil free. They appeal to both the raw community and those following other special diets.

For instance, those with celiac disease need to avoid gluten, but you don't have to have this diagnosis to feel some ill affects after consuming it. I once heard someone say that eating gluten-containing foods can turn your stomach into a pinata (okay, maybe it won't turn your insides into a papermache donkey, but it can sometimes cause a problems for some).

Anyway, I've known people who have either suffered with this condition, had intolerances/sensitivities to wheat, diagnosed with IBS, etc. Some of them sought out these specialty products, due to their dietary restrictions, while others actually ventured further into raw.

Now, if you don't have any of these health problems, you can still enjoy these products and other raw foods just for the taste, how they make you feel and the environment (Lydia's products are certified organic). Experienced raw foodies can make them in their own kitchen, but it's always nice to have some on hand for convenience sake.

It was so simple to prepare a bowl of fresh strawberries, blueberries and sliced bananas to go with the new and improved version of Berry Good Cereal (it contains buckwheat groats, bananas, coconut, agave nectar, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries). I decided to top it with a basic banana "milk" (blended banana, water, vanilla and sea salt), since I like to stick with the flavors already in the cereal. Oh yeah, and now that the cereal has raspberries, I added them to the banana "milk," yielding a berry bright color (much more vibrant than the strawberry Nestle Quik I drank as a child).

As usual, before adding the "milk," I sampled the dry cereal, which is good enough to eat alone. The dried raspberry pieces were a sweet surprise, and their essence was somehow present throughout the rest of the cereal, as well. In the future, I could see myself grinding this up into a flour for making my friend Rawleen's Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes; you should try them sometime.

Anyway, this cereal makes for a nutritious and delicious breakfast, or anytime of the day (that sounds like a cheesy commercial, doesn't it?).

By the way, I just switched my commenting system to Disqus. Dhru had suggested it, so I decided to give it a try. Let me know what you think.