Monday, September 7, 2009

Recipe: Zucchini Chips

Zucchini Chips

I also love, love, love dehydrated zucchini. It is better than any potato chip from my old days. I don’t even use dip with them although you could if you wanted to. [Editor's Note from Darius: I love them by themselves and also dipped in ranch dressing like a potato chip!]. Simply slice at about 3/16" on your mandolin (or thinly and uniformly with a knife), and place on dehydrator sheets. It takes about 24 hours. I pack them in mason jars and suck the air out to keep them crisp. Of course, if they get a little soggy, you can always re-dehydrate them before serving. I like to serve them with meals like a french fry as well. They add a little crunch to the meal.

[Originally published in the newsletter distributed on or around May 23, 2009]

Recipe for "Mac" n Cheez

“Mac” n Cheez

Ingredients:
summer squash of your choice cut into match stick pieces or spiralized
nut based “cheddar cheez”

Just toss your cheez with your “noodles” and enjoy! Other vegetables can be added: broccoli, shredded
carrot, mushrooms, etc. to make it more primavera-like.

“Cheddar” Cheez

I make a fermented cheez, but if you want a simpler, less time-consuming one, here’s one adapted from Ani Phyo:

Raw, Dairy-Free Nacho Cheese Recipe - Makes 4 Servings

2 cups raw cashews or macadamia nuts
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon nama shoyu (raw soy sauce)
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup water (or as needed)

Use a food processor or strong blender to process nuts, lemon juice, nama shoyu, turmeric, and cayenne. Slowly drizzle water into food processor or blender while processing until desired consistency is reached.

This delightful dairy-free nacho cheese is perfect for drizzling on vegetables like zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, and asparagus. This dairy-free nacho cheese will keep in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for up to three days.

Why go dairy-free? Check out "The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell, phD or "The 80-10-10 Diet" by Dr. Doug Graham. I have copies of the latter if you are interested in one. There is a huge anti-dairy website at www.notmilk.com if you’d like lots of additional resources and information. From personal experience I can tell you that I have had dramatic improvements to my health after giving it up. Since cheese was such an important part of my life, this was not easy for me, but I have reaped the benefits of my “sacrifice”. I have known for many years that the liquid produced by bovine lactation systems was better
suited to their calves who were intended to go from 100 lbs. to 800 in a short space of time. Apparently my system was not quite as efficient as a calf’s – I hadn’t quite hit the 800 lb. mark before I gave up the moo juice (although I was well on my way!). When I learned of the addictive substances in milk, I realized why it had been so hard for me to give it up. Now free of these, I am grateful to be rid of them!

[Originally published in the newsletter distributed on or around May 16, 2009. Editorial written by Mom Trunk]

Recipe archives

I will be posting recipes that have appeared in the newsletter that we have sent out each week. We include at least one recipe in each newsletter, so please let us know if you are interested in signing up to receive it every week. We usually include a recipe for a new item we gave out as samples the previous week. So the idea is that you get to try it, and then you can get the recipe for how to make it!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Live Food Demo

"Live" in more ways than one!

We will be doing them every Saturday at the Beaver Street Farmers Market now, starting with one of our "Pasta" dishes, this Saturday at 10:00 A.M. and 1:00 P.M.

New Creation of the Week

So we've come up with this new TRIO of recipes that taste good when all combined. They were in our catalog last week, but we are just trying them for ourselves:

1. Mashed No-Taters (made from Cauliflower and Macadamia Nuts)

2. Mushroom Gravy... MMMMMM

3. Can't figure out the name yet. Either Mescla de Verduras, ¡Viva la Verdura!, or simply Veggie Mix.

In the catalog that we sent out last week, we called it “Shepherd’s Pie” Veggies, because when combined with the taters and gravy, the taste was like the traditional dish with the same name.

It is easy to make! It is basically just seasonal vegetables (zucchini, broccoli, carrot, bell pepper, strips of green kale, all marinated in lemon juice, a little bit of olive oil, salt, and vinegar). See the entry in the catalog for ALL of the ingredients.


This dish was AMAZING. We are going to be bringing samples of it Saturday to the market, and tomorrow to our friends at the Y. We are hoping it tastes just as good the day after as it does the same day it is made. Why not? More time for everything to marinate = more deliciousness!