First post, I have some explaining to do

Hello you:

I have had numerous friends (actually 2) ask me to start a blog listing my discoveries while attempting a raw food vegan diet. I am a 50 year old ornithologist. I am currently at the University of Victoria, Canada pursuing a PHD in Biology. I grew up in St. Louis Missouri, USA. My mother was/is a good cook who always made sure we had lots of fresh vegetables at every meal. So consequently there is nothing accept watermelon I do not like. I became a vegetarian at 24 for many reasons. I considered myself very healthy and since my bird work involved hiking over mountains with a heavy backpack I assumed I was in good shape. I had given up my truck 8 years ago so I walk everywhere now. So I was quite surprised in December when I was diagnosed as diabetic. My mother is diabetic and her parents were to, so it runs in the family. But I had given up sugar, white rice, white bread, etc. years ago. So I got a blood glucose monitor (free here in Canada) and started studying myself. I found wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, potatoes and other items I loved to be bad for me. Especially items such as a vegi wrap at the campus restaurant. While I was at Bolen Books looking for a book on vegan diabetic recipes I found many books on raw food diets and how this diet helped diabetics. So I tried it. I have been on a 95% raw food vegan diet (Cheese sometimes still) for 5 months now and as long as i stay on it I am no longer diabetic. I lost 30 pounds and feel more energetic too. So my blog will list simple recipes that I have discovered in books, on the net and in my mind that I like. They will be appropriate for poor college students like me. Also hopefully they will contribute less to global warming then my old diet. There will furthermore be the occasional discourse on Beethoven, Keats and Carl Sagan.

Salud!

Zucchini Ratatouille
1 medium zucchini
1 and a half cups sun dried tomatoes (soaked one hour, use leftover water below)
one third cup of good olive oil
one fourth cup of apple cider vinegar
1 cup of water (adjust to desired sauce thickness)
1 tbs fresh rosemary
2 tbs fresh thyme
1 clove crushed garlic
one half cup of cilantro
salt and crushed peppercorns to taste

Slice zucchini into very thin rounds or sticks. Best if you use a spiralizer. Slicing paper thin brings out the flavor of the zucchini.
Mix everything but the zucchini, in a food processor to desired thickness. Spoon this over the zucchini.
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of using fresh, locally grown, in season vegetables, fruits and spices. This recipe has lots of room to play (Peppers, celery, parsely, onion etc, there is much room here for creating something new). I omit the salt when it is just for me and add fresh hot peppers. This dish keeps great for 2 days in the refrigerator. My first attempt at this came from the website goneraw.com. Its a really fun website with many great raw food ideas.

Let me know if you come across improvements or lateral dishes while experimenting with this. (PS: do not tell my advisor I took an hour out of my lab day to write this. I am supposed to be aging tree cores).

Until next time I leave you with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "There can be no excess to love, to knowledge, to beauty, when these attributes are considered in the purest sense."

Cheers. Steven M. McGehee