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Garden Pâté

My daughter asked me the definition of pâté so I decided to look it up:
1 – a meat or fish pie or patty
2 – a spread of finely chopped or pureed seasoned meat <chicken liver pâté>

Well in this case, the title of this dish might be a bit misleading…unless I tell you that this recipe comes from a raw food recipe book, so there is NO meat in it.  I guess one might say that nuts take the place of meat for raw Foodists.   I was looking for something a little different for lunch today.   It’s really amazing how creative you can get with salads.   Yes, you never have to eat the same salad twice.
Here is the recipe for Garden Pate which makes 4 servings.  I cut this recipe in half today and I ate both servings within a few hours of one another.  Recipe comes from Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen by Ani Phyo.
  • 1 cup almonds, dry
  • 1 TBS grated ginger
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 3 carrots
  • 2 stalks celery
  • 1/4 cup yellow onion
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon, about 1 TBS
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1 – 2 TBS water to thin, if necessary
  1. Process almonds into a powder.  Empty into large bowl and set aside.
  2. Add all veggies and salt to food processor and pulse into small pieces.
  3. Add to almonds in bowl along with remaining ingredients and mix well.
  4. Scoop on a bed of greens or place into a lettuce leaf (or collard green leaf) to make a wrap.
I added 1/2 avocado.  This was so tasty that I didn’t add any additional dressing.
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Mango Salsa

This salsa is the same recipe using the same ingredients for any salsa you might make. The only difference is the proportions.  Specifically because I wanted to call this “Mango Salsa” there is more mango in this salsa than tomatoes.  So, chop the following ingredients and add them in whatever proportions you like best.
  • Mango
  • Tomato
  • Avocado
  • Red onion
  • Green onion
  • Cilantro
  • Lime Juice
  • Lemon Juice (1/2 of amount of lime juice used)
  • Jalapeno
I served this on top of a bed of lettuce.  The other part of the meal was black beans and rice (for family members not on the SCD diet).
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Raisin Almond Butter Breakfast Spread

This isn’t just any almond butter.  Yummy!  Yummy! RAW and preservative FREE!

Raisin Almond Breakfast Spread
I was wondering if I would get this article typed before I finished my slice of gluten free bread and this almond butter spread.  Nope!  It’s all gone, but I will finish this before getting another helping.
This recipe comes from the Whole Food Recipes book that came with my Vitamix.(If you order a Vitamix using my affiliate code “06-006562″ you will receive FREE standard shipping.)
Ingredients            Directions
2 TBS honey or agave nectar1 cup raw almonds

2-inch cube of fresh ginger (I used a crystallized ginger)
1 cup raisins
-or-
1/2 cup raisins, 4 dates and 4 dried apricots (figs, etc)
  1. Place all ingredients into the Vitamix container in the order listed and secure lid
  2. Select Variable 1.
  3. Turn machine on and quickly increase speed to Variable 10, then to High.
  4. Blend for 1 minute, using the tamper to press the ingredients into the blades.
Notes:  You might want to add a bit of oil to get the desired consistency you desire.  The Roasted Almond Butter recipe in the book does recommend this.  My spread was very thick, but perhaps if I would have used fresh ginger, it would have had a softer texture.  Also, be sure to remove any pits from your dried fruits such as figs and dates or you will have hard pit pieces that can harm your teeth.
Cleaning:  This was amazingly easy to clean.  I tried to create a video, but my camera did not do a good job.  I know this is the stickiest mess I would ever create in the Vitamix, so it was a good test.  I did have to clean it twice.  The cleaning instructions are to fill with 1/2 water add 1-2 drops of dish liquid and run for 1 minute.  I guess sticky messes such as these require 2 minutes.
More Ideas:  I can imagine adding cinnamon or cayenne pepper to the mix to give a different spice.  My taste buds are SCREAMING!
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Kathmandu Stew

Recipe By Moira Nordholt
I don’t know how I came about this recipe, but it has two of my favorite things in it.  I love sweet potatoes and lentils, so I had to try it.  It has lots of Indian flavors, quite tasty – especially if you are looking for something different.
Serves 4
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
3 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 pinch of cinnamon
2 cups organic red lentils, rinsed
1 medium sweet potato, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 medium red onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 or 2 teaspoons sambal oelek (chile paste) or dried red chiles (I used Chiapaspaste.)
4 cups water
Pink Himalayan sea salt
1 small bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped
1.  Toast the cumin seeds and powder, fennel seeds, curry powder, coriander, turmeric, and cinnamon in a cast iron frying pan on high heat until the cumin seeds start to pop.
2. Add the red lentils and stir until the spices are mixed in.  Add a splash of water and continue cooking and stirring.  Add the sweet potato, carrots, onion, sambal oelek, and 4 cups water.
3. Stir, cover, and bring to a boil, then stir again, turn down the heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes until the sweet potatoes and lentils are cooked.  Add salt to taste, and serve garnished with fresh cilantro.

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Praline “Mylk” – An Unexpected Treat

I was actually looking for a green smoothie recipe when I came across this recipe in Ani Phyo’s Book, “Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen”.  I’d been making almond milk and rice milk in the Vitamix, but today this one caught my attention. I didn’t follow the recipe exactly because I was too lazy to measure (I’m not sure why I didn’t use more water??), but to my surprise it was wonderful.  My version tasted like a creamy “hot chocolate”.  Yes I said hot chocolate.  I guess it was the praline-ness of it that made it taste so good.  The vitamix warmed it up, so that’s why it was warm (I didn’t add cold water or ice).  But it was a frothy, warm, creamy and sweet beverage!  I was going to save some for the kids, but that didn’t happen. I’ll have to make them some when they actually get home.  AND best of all — it’s 100% raw.  Like Ani states in her book, “dates have fiber, potassium, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, iron, magnesium, and patothenic acid.   [All these vitamins give us energy and THEY ALSO MAKE HEMOGLOBIN!]“
Here is the original recipe (which I plan to make later and keep in the fridge as a milk substitute):
  • 1/2 cup pecans
  • 1/2 cup pitted dates
  • 1 TBS coconut oil
  • 1/2 vanilla bean
  • Pinch sea salt
  •  5 cups water
My version:
  • 1/4 cup pecans
  • 2 Mejdool dates, pits removed
  • 1/4 – 1/2 tsp coconut oil
  • a few drops of vanilla extract
  • 1 quick shake of salt (from salt shaker)
  • 1/2 – 3/4 cup of water
Now, when the winter gets here I will add raw cacao (or carob) powder for a true hot chocolate. Carob has only 1/3 the calories of chocolate, it’s high in vitamins A and B and other nutrients.  RAW is the way to go…support your health with good for you, healthy drinks that are yummy too!  I dare you to try this if you like hot chocolate…you will crave “this one” in the future.

One Added Bonus:  Did you know that coconut oil is not stored in the body as fat?

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Water Kefir

I learned about water kefir from Ani Phyo.  You can view how to make water kefir at Ani’s website.  She calls it a naturally effervescent probiotic drink.  Probiotics are full of friendly bacteria for building healthy intestinal flora.

Water Kefir is a fermented using water kefir grains. I purchase my Yemoos. Yemoos also sells Kombucha mushrooms.  I love to drink Kombuchas too, but I haven’t started making it on my own.  I think the Water Kefir is a bit easier.  The entire family loves to drink it and it’s much more economical than any store-bought probiotic.  We can flavor it any way we like using natural fruits. This is a bubbly drink I can feel good about giving to my family.
grains from 

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