Raw Hot Peas

This is one of those things that does not make sense until you try it. It is definitely not for everyone but if you like Wasabi peas then you will love these. You can turn the spicy heat up or down easily. Most of the spices in this recipe below are not raw. Most store bought spices come from herbs and peppers that are dried in high heat (above 110°F). It is best to buy sun dried herbs and peppers. Better yet is to grow your own and sun dry them or dehydrate them. Then you can grind them fresh.

Ingredients:

• Peas sprouted 3 days (1 cup)
• Chili powder (3 tbs heaping)
• Cumin powder (2 tbs)
• Turmeric Powder (2 tbs)
• Coriander Powder (1 tbs)
• Cayenne Powder (1 tbs)
• Ancho Chili powder (1 tbs or Chipotle Powder)
• Olive Oil (2 tbs) 

Dried peas can be bought inexpensively in large quantities at ethnic grocery stores. They are popular in the Indian section. Buy small bags of any brand you find to see which brand sprouts the best. Soak for 6 to 12 hours. These require 3 times the volume of water to peas as they swell up. Then let them sprout for at least 24 hours. I usually sprout peas 48 to 60 hours.

In a bowl, mix the peas with the spices and oil. Try one and adjust the flavor by adding more of the spice you want to accentuate. The Chili powder and the Ancho or Chipotle powder are the 2 main flavors. The oil is used to coat the peas with the spices. You do not want too much oil or the spices run off the peas. You can also use Curry or Garam Masala to go Indian peas instead of Mexican peas. Wasabi powder or wasabi paste gives it a real kick. Experiment. These make a great snack or hiking food. I add them to green salads and to raw soaps for some crunch. With or without the spices they keep covered in the refrigerator for around 4 days.

In the lower part of the photo below are peas that were sprouted for about 60 hours. You do not have to sprout this long as they are soft enough to eat after about 18 hours of sprouting. Even after 60 hours they still have some crunchiness. After 48 hours they have begun to produce the extra vitamins that sprouting is known for. The top of the photo shows the sprouted peas with the spices. Salud!

Raw Sprouted Barley Salad

Here is another variation on the sprouted whole grain salad theme I have been concentrating on this spring. As always you can use other sprouted grains such as oats, buckwheat, spelt, kamut, rye, or sprouted legumes and beans like peas, lentils, garbanzos, adzuki etc.

• Barley Seeds sprouted 1-5 days (2 Cups)
• Tarragon or Sage or Dill or any herb (1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped fine)
• Cucumber (1/2 cup chopped)
• Bell Pepper (1/2 cup any variety, chopped)
• Celery (1/2 cup chopped)
• Red Onion (1/4 cup chopped)
• Agave nectar (3 tbs or honey)
• Olive Oil (1/6 to 1/4 cup, any oil works)
• Salt to taste

When selecting barley seeds use only whole hulless barley seeds as pearled barley and others are not whole seeds. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Taste. Adjust to get the flavor you want. The idea of this dish is mixing of the flavors of the barley, vegetables, herb and a little sweetness.  I like this one to be rather sweet so I add 3 tbs of agave nectar. You may prefer more oil and less sweetness. Any green herb works. This dish is ripe for experimentation. You can substitute any whole grain for barley. You can add other vegetables like olives, radish, arugula, turnips, beets etc. Keep in mind as you add or subtract what affect it has on the herb/agave flavor combination.

As you can see in the photo below my barley sprouts have just a little root on them. They had been soaked for 9 hours and sprouted for about 60 hours (2 1/2 days). Some sprout web pages suggest sprouting barley for 5 days to get the maximum vitamin production. I find that for flavor anywhere from 1 to 120 hours of sprouting produces great tasting barley sprouts. This makes a nice side dish or a full meal itself. Salud!

Raw Napa cabbage

I am getting great Napa Cabbages at the St. Louis Farmers markets this winter. This sidh is made up of whatever fresh herbs I have on hand. Last week at the farmers market, it was dill and chives. I wish I was growing my own herbs in a backyard green house, perhaps next year. Like all the recipes in this blog you need to experiment with different amounts and ingredients.

Ingredients:

• Napa Cabbage (2 cups chopped)
• Peas (1/2 to 1 cup sprouted 48+ hours)
• Red Onion (1/5 to 1/4 cup chopped, any variety of onion works here)
• Sesame Seeds (yellow or black 4 tbs)
• Rosemary (4 tbs chopped fresh leaves)
• Sage (5 fresh leaves chopped)
• Turmeric Powder (3 tbs)
• Coriander Powder (3 tbs)
• Paprika Powder, Spanish or Hungarian smoked (5 heaping tbs)
• Garlic (1-2 big cloves)
• Lime Juice (½ lime squeezed)
• Olive Oil (1/4 cup organic, first cold pressed, estate grown)
• Salt and Caraway Seeds to taste

Chop the Napa cabbage to the size you like. I prefer small and thin pieces. Squeeze the garlic with a garlic press or grate with a grater. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir. Add more oil if not all cabbage leaves are coated. This keeps in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 4 days.

Sprouted peas can be replaced by sprouted Mung, Lentil or Adzuki beans. Nuts, raisins, hot pepper, apple slices etc., can be added. The Napa cabbage can be swapped with any kind of cabbage. Be creative.  In this dish you want to taste the sweet crunchiness of the cabbage along with the flavor of the fresh herbs. Curry powder can be substituted for the turmeric, coriander and paprika to give it a different spin.        

Alternative Raw Simpler Napa Cabbage Salad

Ingredients:

• Napa Cabbage (2 cups chopped)
• Corn (1 cob)
• Rosemary fresh (4 tbs chopped)
• Cumin (2 tbs)
• Garlic (1 big clove grated)
• Lime (½ squeezed)
• Olive Oil (1/4 cup)
• Salt to taste

Corn is hard to find this time of year. Napa Cabbages are tough to find in the summer. But when they overlap, the dish created is great. Remove the corn from the cob. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix and let sit covered in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours.  Salud!

Raw Truffles Balls

 Have you ever read the ingredient list on a box of imported Truffles from Europe? It’s not a pretty sight nor is it healthy. This raw variation comes from the book “Entertaining in the Raw” by Matthew Kenney.

 Ingredients:

• Cacao Powder (3/4 cup)
• Cashews (1 cup) (can substitute Almonds)
• Tahini (3/4 cup) (raw tahini is not as creamy as toasted tahini)
• Cacao Butter (1/3 to 1/2 cup)
• Vanilla Extract (3 tbs)
• Agave Nectar (1/3 to 1/2 cup)
• Cinnamon (3 tbs heaping)
• Nutmeg (1 tbs)
• Salt to taste

Matthew Kenney`s recipe says to soak the cashews for 2 to 4 hours. I omit this step. I just put the cashews in a food processor for about a minute to grind them to a powder.  He also uses coconut oil, I substitute Cacao Butter for the coconut oil. Raw coconut oil is cheaper but makes the truffles taste very salty although still good. A company called Artisana makes a raw Cacao Butter. They take cacao pods and cold press them to get the butter. Cacao butter is a solid at room temperature. So first it must be melted on low heat (Below 110 F). Health food stores should carry it. Look for cacao butter that is organic and cold pressed.

After running the cashews in the food processor add the cacao powder, tahini, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt to the food processor. Blend for about 1 minute. Then slowly add the agave nectar and melted cacao butter while blending. Using a spoon, ice cream scoop or melon baller, roll one mix into the size ball you want. If it does not hold together well, you can add more agave nectar to the mix in the food processor and blend to get the balls to hold together. You can see by the photo that my truffle balls are not very round. I refuse to conform to western civilization societal norms.  Mine are the size of my thumb. Experiment with the ingredient amounts to get the flavor you like. Before rolling into balls, you can taste and adjust.

These keep for a year sealed in the freezer or 2 months in a sealed container in the refrigerator. When you are ready to eat them, they are crunchy when taken straight out of the freezer. From the fridge they are a little softer. To prove to yourself that raw from scratch tastes better than a mass produced corporate poison ball, go to a grocery store and buy some fancy schmancy truffle balls imported from China. Try them side by side with your homemade creation and see which is the real thing. Salud!

Raw Sprouted Wheat Berry Salad

This one will take a few tries before you get it the way you like it. I enjoy chewy wheat berries but you may want a softer grain. You can sprout longer than 3 days letting the root get as long as the berry. You can also cut back on the amount of wheat until you get the texture you prefer this salad to be.

Eating wheat this way does not cause my glucose levels to spike. Sprouted seeds contain more nutrients than cooking and eating the same seeds.

Ingredients:

• Wheat berries (1-2 cups sprouted 3+ days)
• Clementine Oranges (2 separated in pieces and cut in half) (Can use any fruit)
• Dried Cherries (1/4 to 1/2 cup) (Can use any dried fruit)
• Red Onion (1/2 cup chopped)
• Pecans (1/4 to 1/2 cup) (Can use any nut)
• Thyme, fresh (1/5 cup chopped)
• Sage, fresh (1/4 cup chopped)
• Rosemary, fresh (1/4 cup chopped)
• Olive Oil (1/4 to 1/2 cup)
• Red Wine Vinegar (3 tbs)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Select local wheat berries to sprout, if you can find them. Farmers markets and locally owned grocery stores that carry local farmers’ products are a good place to start. Soak the wheat berries for about 8 hours (anywhere from 6 to 12 hours works). They do not swell much. Drain and let sit in a strainer, colander, sprout bag or sprout tray. Wash with water every 12 hours or so for 2 to 4 days. You can periodically taste a sprouting wheat berry to see if they have reached the texture you like.

When the wheat reaches the stage you like, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir. This can be eaten immediately or kept covered in a refrigerator for up to 4 days. In this dish you want to taste the wheat, fruit and nuts along with one or more of the herbs in each bite. You can substitute tarragon, oregano, cilantro etc for the 3 herbs listed. You can do it with one herb or any combination you like. But only fresh herbs work here. Add more red wine vinegar if you want this really sour and sweet.

I like Clementine Oranges or any other small orange but a large orange will work too. You can also use another grain such as Rye or Buckwheat. This baby is a big hit at pot lucks. People opposed to eating healthy food will like it. I cannot remember where I got this recipe from. Perhaps I made it up or combined salad recipes. No matter, try it and I want a picture of the look on your face when you eat it. Salud!