How beautiful is Edinburgh!! I mean this is not supposed to come out as a question, it is a pure statement on my behalf, but I'm not about to get over it any time soon- how beautiful is that little city with its enchanting structures and surprising abundance of greenery!

Loving the Royal Mile

I say pretty stunning and I was over the moon to be going there with a group of nine friends to see the All Blacks [rugby team] show the world what New Zealand is all about!

Small confession... as much as I support New Zealand all the way, it is official- I am just not a rugby woman. I’ve tried, I really have, over my 14 years in New Zealand, I tried to watch it on TV, to attend games, learn some players names, familiarise myself with the scoring system and what on earth the line out and scrums are (even though I did manage to go through High School thinking it was called a ‘scrub’- see what I mean?).

With Elliot at the Edinburgh Castle

When it comes to rugby, I am all Russian! So when in Edinburgh I parted with the rest of the group for a short while, as they cheered on our champions and went wondering the charming streets on my own, well ok- shops.

But you won’t imagine how hard my guilt swallowed me whole, as the very next day at the airport we saw the ENTIRE rugby team come through the departure gates one by one and I was the one asking everyone’s favourite players for a group picture with us! I believe that is also ‘So Russian’, accept maybe for the feeling guilty part (that’s just me).

From left: Gareth, Reece, Mel, Chris, Ben, Nick, BRAD THORN &DAN CARTER, Me, Kirsty, Elliot, Tim



Kirsty and I with a very handsome All Blacks captain Richie McCaw

I would like to make a special point here, that Richie put his arm around me First (!!) and then I got to touch his back.. his wonderful, strong solid back... perhaps I could be a rugby supporter afterall :)


Right! What is this blog about again? Recipes! Richie.. I mean Rugby.. I mean Raw Food!! This recipe is good, really good! I made it first thing as we got back home, because Edinburgh was so ridiculously cold and I was left with no choice, but come up with a very satisfying, comforting and warming Winter Recipe, which very quickly made it right to the top of my favourites:


For the mushrooms
10 x Medium Chestnut mushrooms
8 x Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 x Tbsp Tamari
4 x Tbsp Lemon Juice (or juice of 1 whole lemon)
4 x Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
2 x Garlic cloves, minced

-Prep the mushrooms: carefully wiggle out the stalks and peel back the skin to reveal a white surface
-Gently pierce the surface with a tip of a knife, so marinade soaks in more evenly
-Lay the mushrooms flat in a container with the gills facing up. Careful not to pile them on top of each other or you will require much more marinade
-Mix all other ingredients in a bowl and pour over the mushrooms
-Ensure every part of the mushroom is coated well, lightly shaking the container or dipping them with your hands. Don’t worry if there is not enough marinade for the mushrooms to swim in, as long as each side has been wetted, they can now sit to soak in the juices from the bottom
- Leave to marinade at room temperature overnight

For the Basil Pesto
3 x packed Cups Basil
1 x Cup Macadamia nuts
1 x Cup Pinenuts
4 x Tbsp Lemon juice
3 x Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 x Garlic cloves, minced
1 x tsp Sea salt

-Process the basil leaves in the food processer with an S blade
-Pulse in the macadamia nuts, not too fine so you have texture to your pesto
-Add the pine nuts and pulse
-Add the rest of ingredients, scrape everything of the sides of the processer and onto the blade. Pulse again
-Scoop mixture out with your hands forming into balls and place inside the mushroom caps
-To serve warm: place in the dehydrator on 105degrees F for two hours before serving or for half an hour in a warmed oven (which has been switched off before mushrooms go in)

Watch how to prepare this effortlessly...

I am yet to figure out why it is that if Raw Food is so much better and healthier and tastier, than its’ cooked opposite, we still try to make it look the same as cooked in appearance? Why do we still call it ‘cheese’, when it’s clearly not made from dairy? Why do we call it ‘pasta’, when it’s not made of anything remotely similar? Why ‘bread’, when baking is not in the Raw Food vocabulary?

I ask myself these questions often and yet when my [non Raw] friend and fellow blogger Roz comes to stay with us in London, I can’t help but organise a [Raw] meal that I am sure she will identify with. There it is! I have just answered my own question!!

So if we have really become so adverse to change even in this fast evolving world of technology and need something familiar to identify with, I am certain that my Spaghetti ‘Meat’ Balls will give you all the comforting homely feeling you are after...



For the Essentials
-Food Processer
-Dehydrator
-Blender (optional, I prefer the bolognaise sauce to be slightly chunky, so only used the Processer)
-Spiralizer (grater will do the job too)


For the 'Meat' Balls 
6 Portabella Mushrooms (peeled, chopped)
1 Cup Walnuts (soaked 1 hour)
2+ Tbsp Hulled Flaxseeds
1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Basil
2 Tbsp Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Tbsp Tamari Soy Sauce
2 Cloves Garlic (minced)
1 Tbsp Mixed Italian Spices (I used a combination of Parsley, Rosemary, Coriander, Basil and Oregano)
1/2 tsp Cracked Pepper

-Pour the Apple Cider Vinegar and Tamari over the chopped mushrooms, add garlic and basil leaves, stir through and leave to marinate for a minimum of 2 hours. (note if you only have little time, slice the mushrooms really thinly)

-Rince out the water from soaked walnuts, place them with the mushrooms into a food processer with an S Blade, pulse so they are chopped fine and mixed in, but still slightly chunky

-Depending on how long you marinated the mushrooms for, you will end up with a different amount of marinade liquid. If there is only a small amount, only add 2 Tbsp of Hulled Flaxseeds, but if your mushrooms are drowning in water, only then add 4 Tbsp of flax.

-Also add all the spices and pulse a couple of times to let everything mix in, then let the mixture sit for half an hour for the flax to soak up the liquid.

- Roll into any size 'Meat' Balls you like, but note that the larger it is, the longer it will take to dehydrate.
-Place on Mesh tray of your dehydrator and dehydrate at 110degrees F for 4-6 hours


For the Bolognaise Sauce
3 Medium Tomatoes (chopped)
1 Red/Orange Bell Pepper (chopped)
1 Lemon (juiced)
1 Cup Fresh Chopped Basil
10 Sundried Tomato Halves (soaked min 1 hour)
7 Dates (soaked min 1 hour)
2 Cloves Garlic (minces)
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Mixed Italian Spices

-Pop all the ingredients (accept Olive Oil and Lemon Juice) into a Food Processer and process to a sauce.

-Add The Olive Oil and Lemon Juice and process some more. (Transfer to a blender only if you desire a smoother sauce consistency)


For the Pasta
2 Large Zucchinis/Courgettes

-I used a Spiralizer, but you can also either slice the zucchini as thinly as possible lengthwise and then slice again into thinner strips lengthwise to resemble noodles or you can use a grater


-To assemble, you can either place the noodles first, followed by sauce, then nut balls, like in the below picture, or start with the sauce, like in the top picture

-Garnish with fresh Basil leaves

Spitalfields on Sundays- it is really quite something else. Thousands escape from the cloned high streets to discover some truly hidden gems, hard to find fashion pieces, funky artworks and all kinds and sorts and variations of really fascinating original stuff, that I pay money to view in Galleries.

Spitalfields market, Upmarket, Brick Lane, foodcourts, restaurants, bars, cafes, portable kitchen vans, temporary corner shops, street stalls and smells- the glorious, enticing, tantalising smells. Spitalfields is a Disneyland for the hungry!


My friend Aya, who is also the founder of London’s Raw Food Catering company Raw Vegan Fast, like a real magician negotiated her way into a highly unlikely possibility of a stall and I, together with my Raw Chocolates and Nut Shakes came along for the ride. The hardest part of the entire day was having to resist the Mexican food right next to us. That smell was to DIE for!! But since I choose the kind of foods to LIVE for, with it also came the easiest part of the day- an inspiration for my next Raw Food dinner...

RAW VEGAN TACOS

No time wasted diving into my ideal recipe hunt and I didn’t even get past Google’s very first suggestion, when right there in front of me- a recipe I couldn’t possibly fault. My new favourite Raw Food blogger Angela, uses Chocolate!!!! How did I never think of that myself? I put chocolate powder in everything, why did I never think to try it in ‘meat’? It makes so much sense! Raw Cacao Powder is bitter and sour, dark and addictive, nutty and crisp, rich and creamy all at the same time, I just couldn’t help myself and shamelessly copied the entire recipe for Angela’s Taco Meat...

For the Raw Vegan Taco Meat
2 Portabella mushrooms
1 Cup Walnuts (soaked 1 hour)
2 garlic cloves
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 heaped Tbsp Raw Cacao Powder
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp ground pepper
Salt to taste

-Pour the mixture over sliced mushrooms and leave to marinate for 2-3 hours
-Transfer to a food processer and add the remaining ingredients
-Pulse a few times to mix the ingredients, but keep the chunks for texture

Now back to my own original recipes...

For the Raw Vegan Taco Shells
3 Corn cobs
1 Cup Milled Flax seeds (soaked in 1 cup water 1 hour)
½ Cup Sunflower seeds (soaked 1 hour)
¼ Red onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt

-Slice the corn kernels off the cob
-Transfer all the ingredients in a high speed blender, starting to fill the bottom with the softest ingredients first
-Pulse and blend until the mixture is spreadable
-Spread four equal round bases onto each dehydrator teflex sheet
-Dehydrate at 115degrees F for 3 hours
-Use a sharp spatula to carefully shave each base off the teflex sheet and transfer onto a mesh tray
-Make some tubes out of tin foil and fold each base over each tube to make a taco shell
-Return to the dehydrator for another 3-4 hours


2 ripe Avocados
1 Lemon, juiced

For the extras
This is your preference, but I used:
Cucumbers with coriander and salt
Carrots and olive oil
Salsa of tomatoes, red peppers and red onion (it is not in the photos, because the thought of what was missing for me came later)

Super Satisfaction. And so much... Better Raw

If there is ever a reason to make a Three Course Meal, our only family in the whole of UK is it!

Elliot's sister Alex came to dinner at our house last week with an open mind (as I put it) and 'intrigued and interested' (as she put it) to her first All Raw Experience.

To try something new and different, you do have to be open minded, 'intrigued and interested', but this still didn't change the fact that I spent most of the day preparing something that would not alienate a rookie and did my best to create a meal that would resemble your typical diet.

I can assure you though, if you try the below recipes yourself, it won't even take you a combined 2 hours in prep. I however wasn't going by any recipes and trial and error are big time robbers indeed.



It was such good evening catching up and what a perfect way to get Elliot to eat at the table. And the food was De-li-cious! I certainly thought so, but the real proof is in the pudding... Alex you are the pudding- will you comment? :)

So first we had my Savoury Italian Flaxseed Crackers with Guacamole (Avocado+Lime+Salt+Pepper) and Dejon Cashew Cream Mayonnaise, then we had Raw Cannelloni 'Pasta' and for Desert, it was a scrumptious Banoffee Pie!!




For the sauce
2 Medium Tomatoes, chopped
1 Cup fresh basil leaves
½ Cup Sundried Tomatoes (soaked in warm water 1 hour)
1 lime, juiced
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Garlic powder

-Process the Sundried Tomatoes first, put the water it was soaking in aside
-Add the rest of the ingredients into the Food Processer and pulse it into a sauce
-If the consistency is not runny enough, add the tomato water slowly
-If you prefer a creamy sauce, transfer to a blender

For the cannelloni wrap
1 Large Zucchini
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Salt

-Use a mandolin to slice the zucchini lengthwise. Alternatively use a knife to make the slices as thin and even as possible
-Lay them out on a plate, brushing each layer with a little Olive Oil and sprinkling with salt
-Leave to marinate for ½ hour- 2 hours, depending on thickness





For the filling
½ Cup Almonds (soaked overnight)
½ Cup Pecans (soaked 1 hour)
½ Cup Sunflower Seeds (soaked 1 hour)
½ Cup Pumpkin Seeds (soaked 1 hour)
2 Tbsp Tamari soy sauce
1 tsp Mixed Spice
1 tsp Nutmeg
½ tsp Cinnamon

-Put all the ingredients in a Food Processer with an S Blade
-Process for about 2 minutes or until the nuts are very finely chopped
-Take some of the nut mixture and squeeze with your hands into tubes (these can be as thin or as thick and as long or as short as you like your cannelloni. I was running out of time so I made large ones for everyone to have one each
-Depending on the length of your cannelloni filling, you will need 2-3 slices of zucchini, overlap them on a work bench with the ends facing you
-Place the filling near your end and roll carefully

-Serve Cannelloni on top of the Sauce with your favourite Salad





For the crust
1 Cup Almonds (soaked overnight)
1 Cup Pecans (soaked 1 hour)
1.5 Cups Dates

-Use the Food Processer with an S Blade to chop up all the ingredients well
-Line 8 cupcake tins with cling wrap, so when set, you can pull the pies out with ease
-Scoop 8 equal amounts into of crust mixture into each tin and press down

For the Filling
½ Cup Cashews (soaked one hour)
2 Young Coconuts
2 bananas
3 Tbsp Agave Nectar
3 Tbsp Coconut Oil

-First blend the cashews with ½ cup coconut water to a smooth and creamy consistency (drink the rest of the nutritious water or keep in the fridge for another recipe)
-Scoop all the meat out of both coconuts and add to the blender
-Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend to a cream (if you don’t have a high powered blender, it will be best in 2 stages- food processer, then the blender
-Place in the freezer for 5 hours or overnight


For the Chocolate Topping
1 ripe Avocado
2 Tbsp Cacao Powder
2 Tbsp Mesquite Meal
3 Tbsp Agave Nectar

-Use a food processer to process everything together (if the blades don’t cover the ingredients, you can manually mix everything with a fork by mashing the avocado first)
-Add to the pies just before serving

The key here is to freeze this desert first and thaw it in the fridge for 2 hours before serving. If served frozen, it will be too hard and if left at room temperature or even in the fridge for too long, it will fall apart

So good. And so much... Better Raw

I can’t remember if I always have been or if it is something I’ve learned to enjoy, but either way I am very much a morning person and just love getting up early(ish) and being really productive(ish).

This Saturday was no different, accept maybe for the fact that I pretty much flew out of bed even before the alarm. My very first Royal Ascot Racecourse experience and I wasn’t about to jeopardise the luxury of time to enjoy the most fabulous dress up procedure.

I had to stop myself from skipping on the way to the station, as I walked there linking arms with the most handsome man. Even those not attending seemed to know the races were on, wishing us to have a lovely day. I felt like a million dollars.

That price tag feeling managed to decrease by a few thousand when we arrived in Ascot and saw some truly spectacular outfits, hats and fascinators and I instantaneously began to plan for next year’s event!

But for now we enjoyed an amazing day with a beautiful picnic to which one of my contributions was “Stuffed Collards and Raw Mayo”. The below picture is actually from previous night’s dinner, which I made for Elliot. Since there was so much left over, the collards seemed like a perfect picnic idea and they went, well, like hot cakes...




For the Stuffing
1 head chopped cauliflower
1 Cup Sunflower seeds
1/2 Cup Quinoa (sprouted 12-24 hours)
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/4 Cup Raisins (soaked 1 hour)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon

-To sprout Quinoa, simply wash it and soak in water for 12-24 hours. Then drain water
-Process all ingredients in a food processor fitted with an S blade, till it’s finely diced and resembles rice

For the Wraps
8 Collard leaves (aka british greens in the supermarket)


-To assemble the wraps, cut each collard leaf in half and remove the thickest part of the stem. Place 2-3 tbsp rice mixture about one inch from the bottom of the leaf
-Roll the wrap up (similar to sushi or burritos) and place it on a serving platter with the seam side down (I just had these rolled up in a tupperware container, ready to grab and dip into the Mayo, but for dinner I sliced each roll on an angle, as pictured above)

For Raw Mayonnaise
1/2 cup cashew nuts (soaked in water for 1 hour)
1/2 cup water
3 Tbsp Olive oil
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika

-Put all the ingredients except the oil in a blender. Blend on the lowest speed. This may take a few minutes, as the nuts break down and become creamy
-Gradually - one drop at a time - add the oil until the mixture starts to thicken. Continue blending until thickened and smooth

For the Salsa
(I didn't include this with the picnic, as salsa can get a little messy, but it is a beautiful dinner addition)
1 Cup Cheery Tomatoes
1 Avocado
1/4 red onion
1/2 Red pepper, deseeded and minced
1/2 Cup chopped fresh coriander
1 lime, juiced
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne

-Chop all veges into small pieces
-Mix all ingredients in a bowl