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

Gdansk, Poland. That was my recent weekend getaway with Elliot, Tim and Kirsty. Polish Food. Well that was just a getaway all on its very own.

The food really was something. Something so “good” and something so bad all at the same time. I think the Polish must know it too, they do after all have a famous saying "Jedzcie, pijcie i popuszczajcie pasa" (Eat, drink and loosen your belt).


If you’ve tried Polish food, you’d know there’s nothing Raw about it. In fact, it is so far from Raw that when you order a salad, you are guaranteed to get warm Sauerkraut. But then coming to think about it, you also get Sauerkraut with anything you order - sauerkraut with mains, sauerkraut in Pierogi, sauerkraut on the side and even sauerkraut for breakfast.


So what do I do when I get home? I make Sauerkraut! My own version of the raw, crunchy, salty, tangy, nutritious salad, that is also the easiest dish you can make:

1 x small red or white cabbage
1 x juiced lemon
3 x Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 x Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 x Tbsp Himalayan Salt

-Finely slice or grate the cabbage (if you grate it, it will marinate quicker and can be ready to eat within an hour)
-Mix all the other ingredients together in a small bowl, then pour over the cabbage and mix through
-Let it sit at room temperature overnight or longer



SO WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT CABBAGE?

Where do I even start? Maybe by saying ‘I wish I didn’t hate it so much as a child’, however I am making up for it plenty now. This magical vegetable belongs to the same Cruciferae family as kale, collards, brussels sprouts and broccoli. They have special phytonutrients that protect your cells and aid in detoxifying your body.

Phytonutrients work as antioxidants to disarm free radicals before they can damage DNA and cell membranes, but in crucifers, they work at an even deeper level. These compounds actually signal our genes to increase production of enzymes involved in detoxification and help our bodies to release harmful compounds.

This cleansing and antioxidant activity reduces the risk of cancer and alzheimer’s disease, and promotes gastro-intestinal health. Studies have shown raw cabbage to have a particularly strong impact on breast cancer rates because its phytonutrient content and its own detoxifying enzymes help to metabolize estrogen properly. However, eating raw cabbage is the vital key, because these special cancer-fighting properties are reduced during the cooking process.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE FERMENTATION?

Well this is where Sauerkraut can be classified as Superfood! ‘Probiotics’ is a big buzz word out at the moment and it is the fermention process, which produces this good bacteria, as well as beneficial enzymes to aid digestion and promote healthy flora in the digestive tract. Fermentation also produces isothiocyanates, compounds that have been shown to prevent cancer growth in test tubes and animals.

However, not all sauerkraut will give you these benefits, as most sauerkraut in restaurants is served heated and sauerkraut sold in supermarkets is pasteurized, which means all of the good bacteria have been killed. So make your own, it’s too easy.

Wednesday 28th April 2010- A date to remember! My born and bred heavy meat eating boyfriend had his first ever - not just vegetarian, not even vegan, but a Raw Vegan Day of his life!

He made it quite clear early on in the relationship that he is not prepared to live a day without meat, so as disappointing as the statement was to me (being totally happy to live off my favourite tomato + cucumber + avocado salad), I found myself cooking meat especially for him every night of the week.

Ofcause there hasn’t been a time he didn’t look forward to trying all the new raw recipes I’ve been coming up with and he already religiously drinks his green smoothies each day and has his salads with dinner, but I am sure he is not the only one out there that struggles to overcome the mentality of dead animal consumption.

So for some time now, I’ve been thinking up a pitch, considering every aspect of an upcoming debate and a strong negotiation point to propose a ‘one day a week’ Raw Regime for Elliot. Going in for the win, I even got stage fright speaking and I can’t even remember at what point he agreed, but I’m sure I still carried on talking, unable to believe my own ears that it took no convincing, no debating and no persuading what so ever. I guess there was a bit of influencing, but that has been 2,5 years in the making.

With the toughest challenge now over, the next challenge was not necessary to make something tasty (I knew I was capable), but something of a ‘Real Man’ type that does not scream out ‘Happy Hippy’ on his plate. And so the answer was simple:




Having a great recipe for the pizza base and sauce already (see previous post), the 2 pizzas I decided to create were:
1. Mushroom and Basil Pesto
2. Broccoli and Tangy Tahini

I found its best for the toppings of both of these pizzas to be left marinating overnight, so prepare the night before you are planning on eating them, or early in the morning so the marination is complete by the time you get home from work:

Essentials:
1.Prep the night before
2.Food processor for basil pesto
3.Blender for Cashew Cream- optional
4.Dehydrator- if not available, then the below recipes are just as amazing as salads


ALL RAW BROCCOLI AND TANGY TAHINI PIZZA



Broccoli:
1 broccoli head chopped small without stems
3 x Tbsp Lemon juice
3 x Tbsp Olive Oil
2 x Tbsp Tamari soy sauce

1. Mix all ingredients in large bowl and massage with your hands until the broccoli becomes softer, then cover and leave to stand out of the fridge overnight.

2. The juices may have settled on the bottom of bowl by the morning, so mix all ingredients again and leave to marinate until lunch/dinner out of the fridge.

3. Arrange the broccoli onto the pizza base (from previous post) and dehydrate for 2 hours at 41 degrees C. You may find it useful to pour the Tangy Tahini sauce and cut into pizza slices half way through the dehydration process, so that you can serve straight out of the dehydrator while pizza is still warm.



Tangy Tahini sauce:
1/4 x Cup Tahini
3 x Tbsp lemon juice
1 x Tbsp Agave Nectar
3 x Tbsp Raw Apple Cider vinegar
2 x Tbsp tamari
1 x garlic clove or ½ tsp garlic powder
1/2 x tsp mild chilli powder
1/2 x tsp ginger root powder

1. Mix all ingredients in a small bowl
2. Pour over dehydrated broccoli pizza. I used an icing syringe for even spread and ease.


ALL RAW MUSHROOM AND BASIL PESTO PIZZA



MUSHROOMS
7 x medium portabella mushrooms
½ x Red pepper
7 x fresh basil leaves chopped
2 x garlic cloves
3 x Tbsp Olive Oil
½ x lemon juiced
3 x Tbsp Raw Apple cider vinegar
Pinch salt

-Follow the same preparation process as Broccoli pizza

[Mushrooms freshly chopped, ready for marination process]

BASIL PESTO
1 x Cup pine nuts
2 x Cups fresh basil
2 x garlic cloves
1 x lemon juiced
3 x Tbsp Olive Oil
1 x tsp salt

-Chop up basil in the food processor, then add nuts and then the rest of ingredients. The consistency will not be runny, so spoon small amounts over the pizza in blobs.



CASHEW CREAM (Optional)
½ x Cup cashews
½ x Cup water

1. Blend until smooth in a blender. If the ingredients do not cover the blades and you struggle to blend well, just double the ingredients and use left over Cashew Cream in another recipe later (will last in fridge for 7 days)
2. Splatter over pizza

It was so so good.