portland.

we went to portland for a week! i discovered the challenges of eating raw while flying standby and having to wait around in airports ($1 per piece of conventional fruit! $6 for a disgusting-looking salad with iceburg lettuce!) and also that, while there is a lot of really great raw food in portland, the stuff at restaurants is generally overpriced and very small in portion. despite all that, it was a fun exploration and we did get some good eats (chai raweos! cashew sour cream and cashew hummus from blossoming lotus!)

now that i am back, i am thinking more about what i eat...when i have the most control, in my own home. i first craved grains and beans when i got home, so i thought i better start eating those in addition to my usual raw stuff. i ate some (cooked)millet, but havent really eaten any of the black beans i made. now im soaking kamut and just made some buckwheat cakes. so maybe sprouted grains will be all i need.

today:

pineapple buckwheat cake (a strange concoction of a buckwheat carrot cake base and pineapple preserves on top, all raw and homemade)
chococarob sunflower shake (banana, soaked sunflower seeds, carob, cacao powder)

1/2 avocado mashed up with garlic and red pepper
three buckwheat crusts, homemade
1 fuji apple
a handful of cherries

a bit of mango (as i cut them up to freeze, cleaning off the pits with my teeth)
one banana mashed with some coconut butter and carob
a small bowl of sauerkraut, homemade

kind of a weird day for eating. probably will have some more before the day is through, hopefully a big salad. its been mostly fruit and grains (buckwheat) today. i feel pretty good though, a little bit hungry at the moment...but i will wait for "dinner".

just getting byyyyyyy........................

the next few days and the following week will be a challenge.
we are about to go on a week-long vacation to portland, oregon
and the fridge is emptying out.
i want it to go empty.
there is a lot of perishable stuff in there
and its been kind of a forest as of late
now is a good time to clean it out
problem is, ive been eating
mostly saurkraut for every meal
and gnawing away at cashew cheese
whats left of the fresh produce...
some beets, a few pieces lettuce, cellery...
there are some frozen fruits in the freezer
for the trip i have been preparing some dehydrated foods
granola, buckwheat crusts/buns
i will also bring what we have of seeds and grains
luckily portland has lots of farmers markets and co-ops
but my parents dont live in portland, about 11 miles out,
so we have to be smart about food
and also we wont have all our fancy appliances...
portland also has some restaurants/cafes with raw food
that i am interested to try
i have also decided to "break" for some vegan baked goods...
its been a while since i had my chocolate cupcake :)

heres an example...what i ate today...
BFAST
smoothie of apple juice, celery juice, ginger, frozen peaches
SNACK
carob avo pudding with flax seeds and sunflower seeds
LUNCH
some beet greens with flax and honey mustard dressing
saurkraut
a celery stalk with cashew cheese inside
cucumber dill salad
mango banana ice cream
walnut fudge
SNACK
fruity guacamole
apple
DINNER
cucumber dill salad
some romaine lettuce
saurkraut
hunk of cashew cheese
SUPPER
miso soup with dulse, wakame, fenugreek sprouts, sesame seeds
saurkraut

yeah, its a lot of food, but it was mostly snacking on these foods, not large amounts. normally i would eat a huge salad for lunch or dinner, but we are so low on food....no greens! it is horrible. ive also been really hungry the last few days. and also extremely gassy from the saurkraut, i believe...

red delicious sorbet/smoothie and more

juice of one small beet
orange juice
ginger juice
cilantro juice
blend with two frozen pears
so pretty!

also: pineapple and celery juices are good together!

fruit salsa / guacamole
two avocados
two mangoes
1/2 pineapple
fresh cilantro
onion
jalapeno
salt
pulse to desired consistency. could be pureed into a soup or kept chunky as a salad, somewhere in between for a dip...

banana nut "bread" granola
ripe bananas
sprouted buckwheat
poppy seeds
honey / sweetner
cinnamon
nutmeg
vanilla
walnuts

other things recently made: cucumber dill salad, FUDGE, carob/avo pudding, cashew cheese wheel

dips, dressings, and more.

since getting a vitamix, i have ground up herbs that were once fresh and then dehydrated. powdered dried jalapeno and onion, as well. i have made the garlic tahini dressing and notcho cheese sauce from eco. delicious smoothies and sorbets, too. also

honey mustard vinegrette
honey
mustard
apple cider vinegar
lemon juice
balsamic vinegar
poppy seeds
salt
pepper
basil
tarragon
onion powder
olive oil

chewy "i cant believe its not
made with butter" balls
dried apricots
coconut butter
cinnamon
vanilla
walnuts
honey

seriously, the dried apricot & coconut butter combo is insane. these little chewie guys are so rich and decadent, it seems they must have been made with lots of butter. mmmmm!

crazy taste sensation vitamix in the houuuuuse!!

yeah we have a vita mix now. it is a mash up of a stainless steel maxi 4000 base and a polycarbonate container that needs a top and tamper. im looking into getting these directly from the vitamix co, unless i can find them on ebay or craigslist, etc.

so for the taste combo of the year...dried apricot dipped in melted coconut butter

dont let me tell you what it tastes like, try it for yourself. (but personally i would say it kind of tastes like toffee or buttered popcorn. no kidding)

picturespicturespictures

RAW SUSHI!

with miso soup and a dipping sauce made from almond butter, nama shoyu, ginger, wasabi, rice vinegar, sesame seeds

JELLY ROLL CAKE!

i rolled out the carob cake, then slathered on some raspberry "jelly" (mushed raspberries with honey and coconut butter), rolled it up, and sliced...i never got a good picture of the slices

PLANTAINS!

looks like scrambled egg

"SAUTEED" MUSHROOM PASTA

on zucchini noodles with olives, a cheezy sauce (nutritional yeast and rejuvelac) and fresh basil

"sauteed" vegetables.

i love this concept. especially since i cant seem to stomach raw onions nor green bell peppers; but they are both delicious "sauteed," or maybe i should say "rawteed" (that doesnt really work, does it). something else good...it keeps the vegetables longer! you can keep them in the refrigerator and they wont go bad as quick...a great thing to do with older mushrooms! so anyway, im talking about coating chopped veg with olive oil, balsamic vinegar or nama shoyu and seasonings / herbs and then dehydrating at 105 for a couple hours. here are some of my favorite possibilities...

for fajita style vegetables
green bell pepper
onion
carrots
zucchini
cumin
nama shoyu
cayenne
garlic
olive oil

for pasta / italian / pizza
mushrooms
onions
garlic
fresh basil, oregano, etc
salt
balsamic vinegar
olive oil

you get the idea. there are so many tasty options.

i ate well today.

last night is another story...chocolate cake and challah bread from a bakery dumpster. hoohoo!

but today was awesome. i had a bowl of mashed red bananas for breakfast and a green juice.

a few sips of mango kombucha mid-morning, followed by lunch...sprout salad with homemade raw mustard and some zucchini noodles with fresh herbs.

went to eco-p and for my meal i had a cross between nacho plate and taco salad. mmm nacho cheeze! and i threw some pineapple in the salad, too. and some hot sauce, marinated mushrooms, olives, spicy ginger marinara, parsley, cilantro, tomato.......!

i brought home two of the "savory cookies" i made. ho-hum, they are kind of meh.

came home after a bit and had a slice of my carob jelly roll cake with avocado and banana slices and a mashed raspberry topping. yum-o yum. i never thought to put fresh slices of avocado on a dessert before!

so i had a bunch of stale and dumpstered bread and started a batch of kvass using the recipe from wild fermentation. at least it was a better option than bread pudding! i did it different by putting orange juice instead of lemon and fennel instead of mint; also, i put slices of apple. and the breads i used were not all dark and rye and barley. it was a combo of this pretzel-y bread, challah, some white bread stick, a baguette, and one sourdough / dark grain bread that was probably the only appropriate type used.

we have produce coming out of our ears!

thanks to the reduced section at global market...whoa!

i just made a delicious and very simple spring time guac

2 avocados
1/2 large white onion
1 medium tomato
handful cilantro
salt, pepper, cayenne
lemon juice
2 cloves garlic

process that bitch! but keep it a lil chunky! yum!!

we also got plantains, and i mashed a few up with my hands then spread them into little flat loaves, sprinkled with salt, pepper, lemon juice, and im dehydrating...EXPERIMENT!

also have spinach tortillas in the dehydrator, made with the cafe gratitute recipe.

next i am going to make a "jelly roll" like cake using dr t's carob cake recipe for the cake part and then rolling it up with some mashed raspberries.

today is awesome!