Mushroom Mania

It's been a little while since I've posted a raw recipe, but don't worry folks, I'm still at at (keep the groaning at a minimum please :> ) I have always been a fan of mushrooms...sauteed, baked, on pizza, in pasta, on sandwiches...you name it and I'll eat it if it involves mushrooms. I've been wanting to find a good recipe for stuffed mushrooms for quite sometime, but the ones I find are usually loaded with cheese (not good news for us lactose-intolerant people). Then, lo and behold, I found a RAW version...yippee. Remember, Raw cooking is not using any ingredients or preparing in a way that heats the food over 115 degrees in order to preserve essential enzymes. This recipe was a BREEZE to make...food processor, dehydrator, and done!

Stuffed Mushrooms

12 oz button mushrooms
2 ribs celery, minced
1 carrot, grated
1 medium onion, minced
1 small zucchini, grated

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp agave
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tbsp basil
salt & pepper

Gently clean and remove the stems from the mushrooms. Mince the stems and set them aside (because they'll go into the filling).

Grate the carrot and zucchini and mince the onion and celery.Mix these together with the olive oil, garlic, basil, agave, balsamic vinegar, minced mushroom stems and salt and pepper and stir well.

Fill the hollow in the underside of the mushroom. Dehydrate for about 3 hours, or until warm and slightly softened.

Fat and Fluffy

Not much to say about these bad boys. They're obviously not at the head of the class as far as health is concerned...but they just sounded fun and easy to make. I baked them a minute or two longer than the directions call for...NOT a good idea. Just follow the directions (unlike me) and you'll be fine.


Fat Fluffy Snickerdoodles

makes 16-20 cookies

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 tablespoons milk

1/4 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon cinnamon for dipping

Preheat oven to 375.

Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well until combine, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix until dough comes together. Add in milk. If dough is still crumbly, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until it comes together. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

In a bowl combine remaining sugar and cinnamon. Remove dough from fridge and roll into big 1 1/2 inch balls. Dip in cinnamon sugar mixture and place on baking sheet. Lightly press down on dough to flatten it. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

Building An Ark and Making Gyros

So...apparently it's monsoon season in Los Angeles. It's been raining non-stop for about a week now with no signs of letting up. I'm thinking about building an ark with the extra wood in our back yard:) I'm getting MORE than excited for the trip home to Indiana for Christmas (which reminds me, I still need to post the recipes for the Christmas cookies I made last week) where the California rain will be replaced with blankets of marvelous snow! Oh yeah, forgot to tell you, Santa came to our neighborhood last week. Yes, I'm 27...and yes, I still shamelessly sat on his lap. I think I even cut in front of a 3 year old waiting in line. Whoops.



Well, today's recipe doesn't really tie into anything rainy, snowy, or Christmas-y at all...it's just something that I made that was good:) Every Thursday I do a cooking class with my clients and last week I just so happened to stumble across a super easy Chicken Gyro recipe by the Deen Brothers (you know, Paula's sons). Super yummy, super easy. Enjoy.

P.S. For those of you that have been following my blog for awhile, you know by now what swaps to make to health-ify (think i just created a new word) it, right?


Marinated Chicken Gyros (serves 4)

Ingredients:

4 pita wraps, warm
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 cup chopped tomato
1⁄2 cup sliced cucumber

CHICKEN:
1 1⁄2 pounds chicken cutlets, cut into 1-inch-long fingers (antibiotic/hormone free, organic)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 ⁄4 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

YOGURT-DILL SAUCE:
1 cup Greek yogurt or plain yogurt
1⁄4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1⁄2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

In a large bowl, place the chicken, oil, 1 clove garlic, oregano, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste; toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

In a small bowl, stir together the Yogurt-Dill Sauce ingredients. Chill until ready to use.

Preheat the broiler. Spread the chicken on a baking sheet. Broil 6 inches from heat about 8 minutes or until cooked through.

To serve, spread each pita with some of the Yogurt-Dill Sauce. Divide the chicken, lettuce, tomato, and cucumber evenly among the pitas. If desired, top with additional sauce.

Let's Take a Vote

Yep..I'm still here! If you can't tell, I go through spurts with my cooking...and posting. Tis the season where we go out to eat a lot with friends and family and also tis the season where we bake a frozen turkey and live off of it for a week. I've made a few of my raw dishes, but I'm not quite sure if you are enjoying reading those recipes or would rather me only post when I make something less "hippie-ish". Or, maybe you don't like my recipes at all but just read for my ramblings:) I think I should take a vote! For now, I'll include a couple raw recipes from the past week or so and then I'll add an additional post of my weekend-o-fun baking Christmas goodies.



P.S. I'm still loving making the raw food because it's so simple, its delicious, and it makes my mind clear and gives me super human powers to win in Jeopardy:)

Cranberry Pecan Torte (thanks to Rawmazing for the recipe and photo)

Chocolate Crust:

2 cups raw almonds (finely ground)

1/4 cup cocoa powder (or carob)

1/4 cup coconut oil



-Mix together almonds, cocoa, and coconut oil. Pat into tart shell.

(I used almonds that were presoaked and dried in the dehydrator)



Filling:

2 cups raw cashews (soaked)

1.5 cups filtered water

1.5 cups coconut oil, melted

1/2 cup agave nectar

1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped

3/4 cup raw pecans, chopped



- In a food processor or high speed blender combine cashews and water. Blend until smooth.

-Blend in coconut oil and agave nectar

- Transfer to bowl and stir in cranberries and pecans.

-Pour into crust. Refrigerate until set (this will take several hours).



Lastly, top with Ganache

Ganache:

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 cup agave

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted.



-Whisk all ingredients together and pour ontop of your torte!



Okay, ready for one more?? How about some "turkey"!!?? (with cranberry sauce of course)

Turkey (makes 1 loaf or 10 burger patties)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup raw almonds

3/4 cup raw walnuts

3/4 cup raw sunflower seeds

1.25 cups mushrooms

1.5 cups celery

1 cup fresh parsley leaves

1 cup onion

4 cloves garlic

1/8 cup tamari (soy sauce)

1/8 cup olive oil

1/8 cup water

3/4 tsp salt, or to taste

2 tsp dried sage

2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp tarragon



Directions:

-Grind nuts in the food processor until smooth. Transfer to a bowl.

-Pulse chopped mushrooms, celery, parsley, onion, and garlic in a food processor.

-Mix chopped veggies along with the nuts and the rest of the ingredients

-For into a loaf of about 1" thinck or into patties (this is what I did)

-Dehydrate at 120 degrees for a couple of hours, then flip over and continue to dehydrate at 110 for another 9 or so hours (I just did this overnight while I was sleeping).

-Serve with cranberry sauce

Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1 cup of raisins, soaked

2 sweet oranges, peeled and sectioned

2 sweet apples, cored and chopped

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 ttsp allspice

1/8 tsp cloves



Directions:

Puree all the above ingredients through a juicer or food processor. Add spices and mix. Chill overnight to let flavors set.