Raw Food Is Hot!
Summer is almost over, which means that BBQ is getting its last few fireups on the grill.
Rather than retire the smoky flavors of BBQ favorites, though, consider a raw food version of these grilled staples.
The June 2008 edition of
Food & Wine featured a six page spread on
Raw-Food by Nick Fauchald. Fauchald spotlights Ani Phyo, author of the recently published book,
Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen and five of her raw food recipes.
Raw food is especially interesting when presented as new renditions of familiar cooked dishes. The proverbial grilled hamburger smothered in barbecue sauce, alongside creamy potato salad and corn-on-the cob with butter can be recreated in a healthier, raw version--which can be just as tasty.
Set fresh sweet corn-on-the cob in the dehydrator for 20 minutes at 100 degrees: over 115 – 118 degrees, food begins to lose its enzyme and nutrient value. Instead of butter on the corn, use olive oil blended with Himalayan sea salt and garlic cloves.
Make jicama salad with dill, red pepper, celery, onion, parsley and a creamy raw cashew mayonnaise that is very close to the consistency, color, and egg flavor of “real” mayonnaise. The secret of the egg flavor is in the salt: “kala namak” or “black salt,” an unrefined mineral salt from India (
more info). The salt has a very strong sulfur smell. But once blended in food, the sulfur odor disappears and you’re left with a taste similar to hard-boiled eggs: perfect for “potato salad-style” jicama salad. Blend kala namak with soaked cashews, ground yellow mustard seed, olive oil, onion, rejuvalac (sprouted and fermented rye water), lemon juice, and raw agave for sweetener.
For the burger, homogenize portabella mushrooms, soaked walnuts and sunflower seeds. Then mix with onion, celery, fresh tarragon, parsley, cumin, garlic, olive oil, Nama Shoyu, and cayenne pepper. Make burger patties and dehydrate at 100 degrees for 12 hours, flip over and dehydrate another 12 hours. Like real barbecuing, this is a very slow process. Patties become brown like meat burgers, but the texture is veggie burger-like.
BBQ sauce can be made by blending together soaked sun-dried tomatoes, ground chipotle powder, fresh squeezed apple juice, raw cider vinegar, nama shoyu, raw agave sweetener, fresh garlic, cumin, and olive oil.
Serve meal on a bed of “honeymoon” salad: lettuce alone, with no dressing!
What a meal! Those who have tried this raw BBQ meal have said they loved the meal. One person commented, “why would anyone want to cook corn again? The raw corn was so sweet and juicy!” Each person loved the tasty combination of foods--flavors rocked with freshness and succulence.