Raw Food Wednesday 4/22
Red Bell Pepper Empanadas
White Asparagus
Gazpacho Shooter with Baby Cucumbers
Mixed Micro Greens Salad
Strawberry Pie
Utilizing more of the bounty from Farmer Lee Jones…
The red bell pepper empanadas use the tortilla recipe (below), stuffed with greens, cashew cheese, scallions, walnut taco filling and diced tomatoes. The white asparagus was trimmed, peeled, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and dehydrated for 2 hours @ 105F. They retain some of the crunch, but are very tasty…
Red Pepper Tortillas
(makes approximately 8 tortillas)
1/2 cup flax seeds
1/2 cup water
1 cup red bell pepper, diced
1 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. nama shoyu
1 jalapeño, diced
1 tsp. Mexican oregano
1 tsp. fresh ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
Soak the flax seeds with the water and let sit for 15 minutes. Put the flax seeds and the rest of the ingredients into the Vita-Mix and process on high until smooth — this will tax the machine, but that’s why you bought it in the first place. 
Spread out the mixture into 7″ rounds with an offset spatula and dehydrate around an hour on 105F. Carefully flip the tortillas and dehydrate for an additional 30 minutes or so. Take a peak at this point to make sure they’re not too dry — you want them flexible enough so you can roll them later. You can make these a day in advance and store in the fridge if needed.
The gazpacho shooters (tomato, red bell pepper, cucumber, onion, garlic, nama shoyu, lime juice, olive oil) were brightened by the addition of the colorful baby cucumbers. They were almost too cute to eat. Almost
If the shooters aren’t enough to quench your thirst, we also made a larger bowl, adorned with a cucumber slice and a popcorn shoot. The best way to describe the popcorn shoot is that it tastes mildly like corn for the first 5-7 seconds, and then you’re hit with an almost candy-like sweetness… really unique and fun!
The baby radishes were served as a crudite with a little sea salt to dip them in and then they were eaten whole — the green tops were extremely tender with just a hint of radish bite.
The strawberry pie used a quick almond/cashew/brazil nut/salt/agave crust pressed into a tart mold, layered with sliced strawberries and a little extra raw agave, which was then chilled for a few hours.
Below you’ll discover two recipes for prickly pear ice lotion: the recipe I really created, and the recipe I would ultimately like to create. See, I utilized to reside in Arizona, exactly where I took prickly pear fruit for granted. You can just walk out for your yard (or your neighbor’s) and choose the prickly pears. Now I’m in Seattle and have an excellent plum tree, but no cacti. My mother-in-law graciously gave me a bottle of prickly pear syrup, which I utilized in the very first recipe beneath. The syrup would make an excellent addition to lemonade or margaritas, but sadly tasted much more like sugar than prickly pear. (This didn’t maintain us from enjoying the ice lotion, thoughts you!) I believe if I could discover prickly pear concentrate, this technique would create much better outcomes.
The second recipe is what I will attempt to create when I get my greedy small paws on some prickly pears. It’ll also be an excellent opportunity to make use of agave nectar in ice lotion, because you will have this entire desert point heading on.
Recipe #1:
2 c. soy creamer, or any non-dairy milk
1 ½ c. soy milk, or any non-dairy milk
¾ c. prickly pear syrup
2 T. lime juice
2 T. arrowroot powder
2 – 4 T. tequila (optional)
Mix ¼ cup of soy milk with the 2 tablespoons of arrowroot and set aside.
Mix the soy creamer, soy milk, prickly pear syrup, and lime juice together in a saucepan. When the mixture has just started to boil, take off the heat and stir in the arrowroot slurry. This should immediately cause the liquid to thicken (not a lot, but a noticeable amount; it will be thicker when it cools).
Set the ice cream mixture aside to cool. After the mixture is cool, stir in the tequila, if using. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.
Recipe #2:
5 – 6 ripe prickly pear fruits
2 c. soy creamer, or any non-dairy milk
1 ½ c. soy milk, or any non-dairy milk
½ c. sugar (or ¼ c. agave nectar)
2 T. lime juice
2 T. arrowroot powder
2 – 4 T. tequila (optional)
Carefully (they have spines!!!) peel the prickly pears and puree in a food processor.
Mix ¼ cup of soy milk with the 2 tablespoons of arrowroot and set aside.
Mix the pureed prickly pears, soy creamer, soy milk, lime juice, and sugar (or agave nectar) together in a sauce pan. When the mixture has just started to boil, take off the heat and stir in the arrowroot slurry. This should immediately cause the liquid to thicken (not a lot, but a noticeable amount; it will be thicker when it cools).
Set the ice cream mixture aside to cool. After the mixture is cool, stir in the tequila, if using. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.
Vege Island