Freedom's Raw Recipes

Monday, August 28, 2006

Pancakes with jam and cream
Bet that's not something you'd expect to see on a raw vegan recipe blog is it? The texture of the pancake might not be quite what you're used to but it is totally delicious.

Ingredients:
For the pancakes-
1/4 cup sprouted buckwheat flour (see below for instructions)
2 tbsp fresh grated coconut
1 medjool date, finely sliced (stone removed)
1 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
3/4 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp coconut water

For the jam-
2 big strawberries
2 small dates (the ones without stones)
water for soaking the dates
a little orange juice

For the cream-
1 banana

Instructions:
For the pancake-
Stir the coconut and cinnamon through the buckwheat flour than add the orange juice and date and mix through. Add the coconut water by the tablespoon, mixing to a wet but not runny consistency. Form into a pancake shape on a lightly oiled dehydrator tray and dehydrate for about 3 hours, then flip over and place on a mesh dehydrator sheet for another two hours.

For the jam-
Finely mince the dates and strawberries in a food processor then add some of the date soak water and a little orange juice until it is as runny/thick as you would like.

For the cream-
Freeze the banana for at least twelve hours. Allow to deforst for about five minutes then place in a food processor and process until it resembles thick luscious cream. Stir through cinnamon/nutmeg/dried grated coconut or anything else you like for different flavours.

To serve-
Put the pancake on a plate, drizzle jam over the top and around the edges and blob cream in the middle. You can eat with a knife and fork but I'm over that metallic taste, so I ate it with my fingers!

Sprouted Buckwheat Flour
Scroll down two posts to my RAW HOMMUS recipe and follow the instructions for sprouting chickpeas, but use buckwheat instead. When it is sprouted, dehydrate for 3-4 hours until crunchy then place into a coffee grinder (or really good food processor!) and turn into 'flour' About half a cup of sprouted buckwheat yields 1/4 cup flour.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Spice Snap Cookies
I have memories of 'Ginger Snap Cookies' from my childhood but I never was a huge ginger fan - if you are you can increase the ginger in these cookies, or you can make them cinnamon snaps or nutmeg snaps... the snappiness is the best part!



Ingredients:
pulp from one recipe of 'Brazil Nut Mylk' (see below)
1 dried fig
1 big medjool date
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ginger
3 cloves, crushed
2 tbsp home-dried grated coconut
1 to 2 tbsp coconut water (you know, that stuff inside fresh coconuts - could use regular water or fruit juice)

Instructions:
Chop the date and remove the stone, then chop the fig - both should be in pieces about 1cm square, depending on how goo your food processor is. Combine brazil nut pulp, fig, date and coconut in the food processor and whiz around until all mixed together, scraping down the sides as necessary. Then add in the spices and process some more until cobined, before adding the coconut water (or other liquid). Add it slowly, processing in between, until the consistency is such that the mixture will stick together but is not actually 'wet.' The amount you need will depend on how moist your nut pulp is. Shape into cookies of desired size and place on mesh dehydrator trays then dehydrate for 8-12 hours (again, this depends on how moist the cookies are when they start dehydrating, and also how crunchy you want them - the longer they get, the crunchier they become).

Brazil Nut Mylk
In the same way as some people use 'cheeze' rather than cheese to describe nut (or other vegan) cheeses, some use 'mylk' for non-dairy milks. I think it's kinda cute! Whether you agree doesn't matter - you'll be sure to concur that this stuff tastes great, and the leftover pulp makes some damn fine cookies!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup plus about three extra raw brazil nuts
210ml water
extra water for soaking the nuts

Instructions:
Soak the brazil nuts in the extra water for at least 8 hours, preferably 10 or 12. Drain them and then process until well chopped in a food processor. Add about half the water (1e about 100ml) and process some more, then add the rest of the water and process for as long as you can be bothered, stopping a few times to scrape down the sides of the processor. Take a nut mylk straining bag (can be purchased here or you could use something like a piece of cheesecloth) and place it in a jug then pour the nuts/water mixture in a strain it through, squeezing and squeezing until you don't think you can get anymore liquid through. Drink the brazil nut mylk as it is or serve with a tasty raw muesli for breakfast and use the pulp for 'Spice Snap Cookies.'

NOTE: I freeze my pulp then allow it to defrost for only about 1/2 an hour before making cookies. I imagine that less moisture would be required in the cookie recipe if you used the pulp when fresh.

Friday, August 04, 2006

Freedom's Raw Hommus



However, you spell it, however you say it, hommus is yummy! I've seen lots of recipes called things like "Delicious raw Hommus - Chickpea Free!" or "Yummy Zucchini Hommus" but when chickpeas are so delicious, why would you want to make hommus without them? I consider it a crime... so I got in the kitchen and created this beautiful, chunky, flavoursome dip. Far nicer than any cooked hommus I ever had!

Ingredients:
3/8 cup sprouted chickpeas* (for the non-mathematically minded that means fill the 1/4 cup measure, then half fill it)
1 1/2 to 2 tbsp raw tahini
1/2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp coconut water (ie fresh from a coconut) or spring/filtered water, or more lemon juice if you like it zingy
1 smallish garlic clove, crushed
1 big spring onion, white part only of course, chopped roughly

Instructions:
Place the chickpeas, onion, parsley and garlic in a food processor and finely mince then add all other ingredients and process until smooth (or not so smooth if thats how you like it :-)
Serve in a bowl with sprouted chickpeas thrown on top.

* To sprout chickpeas, soak them for a minimum of about 8 hours with LOTS of water - these things are seriously like sponges, so if you're going out/to bed while they're soaking make sure there is plenty of water for them to soak up. Place them in a strainer/colander or something similar and put them on the draining board of your sink (or anywhere else really) and leave them to sprout, rinsing a few times a day. Their tails wikll start growing after 1 or 2 days but I love them so much that I usually start munching on them before they even start sprouting...