Wasabimon!

I need to cut down on the amount of sugar in my diet. I eat healthy in almost every way, but sugar is that insidious little gremlin that always seems to get the better of me. Today, Carmella over at The Sunny Raw Kitchen posted a recipe for fudge that she found on the Raw Freedom Community. I'm really skeptical about raw chocolate desserts, which usually leave me underwhelmed with their chalky texture or bitter aftertaste, but I had all of the ingredients in the kitchen so I decided to give this one a go.

Wow! I was literally shocked when I tried this, and so was my husband. It tastes amazing, like my grandmother's fudge from when I was a kid. It can be frozen to create a fudge-like texture, or it makes a great chocolate sauce if poured right from the blender. This recipe is definitely going into my mega-yum file.

Now, I must mention that while this fudge does not have any refined sugar in it, it is not a sugar-free dessert fit for diabetics or a low glycemic diet. If you are just looking for a healthier, unprocessed alternative to a chocolate though, this is the ticket!

Here is Carmella's post on the recipe, and here is the original post in the forum. If you like this recipe, leave a comment in the forum to show your support!

Rawererin's Perfect Raw Chocolate Fudge

1/2 C Coconut oil
1/2 C Cacao powder
1/2 C Maple syrup (the more I use this the more I have found that it really compliments chocolate so well!)
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 C Chopped almonds

Blend liquid ingredients and chocolate until super smooth. You can add more sweetener or more chocolate to suit your tastes.

Transfer mixture to separate bowl and stir in chopped almonds. (Feel free to add other goodies...coconut, berries, etc)

Spread on a plastic wrap lined plate or dish and place in freezer to cool.

(photo credit: sunny raw kitchen)

When I have a free minute, I occasionally visit the forums over at the Raw Freedom Community looking for inspiration. I found just that the other day when Andy posted his recipe for a vanilla ice cream base. I mulled over the idea for a while, trying to find time to sit down and make it. I did today, and it was amazing!

This ice cream is high in fat due to the cashews and coconut oil, but it's WAY better for you than that tripe you're buying in the grocery store. No refined sugar, no dairy products, and no cooking make this treat *almost* good for you, or at least healthy enough that you won't feel too guilty after eating it.

My ice cream maker is the Cuisinart ICE-20, which you can get at Amazon for about $50. This is by far the best ice cream maker I've ever used, yielding consistently good results. Your mileage may vary with other machines.

If you like this recipe, I recommend that you drop into the thread where this recipe was originally posted and say thanks to the creator!

So without further ado, I give you:

Andy's Amazing Vanilla Raw Ice Cream Base

1 cup cashews (no need to soak)
1 1/2 cup water
1/3 cup raw agave
1/4 tsp salt (+/-)
1/3 cup raisins (This is the secret ingredient that imparts the rich/buttery flavor)
1 vanilla bean
1-2 Tbsp cacao butter or coconut oil or young coconut meat (I used coconut)

Take all the above ingredients and blend in Vitamix for one minute, until everything is blended smoothly. Next, run your base through a sprout bag, catching all of the particles and making your base super smooth.

You can turn this alone into ice cream, or Andy recommends additions:

Carob (about 2 Tbsp)
Cocoa nibs (a small handful)
Raw cacao powder mixed with cocoa butter
Strawberries
Nuts
etc...

He notes: "The exact quantity of each of the above ingredients will vary based on taste and the quality/moisture content of your ingredients, but I usually add anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 cup total volume at this stage in the game."

Toss everything back into your Vitamix (which you've rinsed out to get rid of large particles) and blend until desire texture. Be careful not to liquify anything you want to remain chunky.

Andy also recommends pre-chilling for better texture:

"At this point, it is best to 'pre-chill' the mixture. If you simply dump the mixture into the ice cream maker now, it won't set up properly, and it will be less firm than even soft serve. Place it in the fridge for a few hours, or if you've gotta gave that ice cream ASAP (trust me, I've been there!), put the mixture in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes. You want it to be cool, but not to the point where ice crystals are starting to form. (SPECIAL NOTE: do not use the ice cream maker 'bowl' to do the pre-cooling. The base will freeze to the bowl, and the batch will be ruined.)"

When the mixture is sufficiently cool, pour it into your ice cream maker. Mine took about 30 minutes to reach the ideal consistency. Eat immediately, or stash in an airtight container to freeze for later.

(photo credit: carmella at The Sunny Raw Kitchen for her adaption of this exact recipe)

This recipe started life as an experiment and ended up a staple at our house. My original intention was to create a risotto-like consistency with brown rice in my pressure cooker, and by not rinsing the rice before cooking it, it does indeed get starchier than it normally would. Brown rice will never achieve the creamy texture of arborio, but as far as taste goes, I think that it's right up there.

If you have no experience cooking brown rice in a pressure cooker, I highly recommend that you check out Lorna Sass' Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure. If you don't have a pressure cooker (or you have one of the scary old "jiggle top" models) I recommend the Fagor combi set. The two size pots makes it really idea for just about any party size, and I've yet to have any problems with it (unless I overfill the pot I'm using past 2/3 - in which case it will never pressurize).

So without further ado...

Brown Rice-otto

1 1/2 c short grain brown rice (do not rinse)
3 c veggie *stock* (not broth) at boiling temperature
3 T olive oil
1 large or 2 small leeks, diced
1 c sauvignon blanc
3 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 c raw cashews
1 zucchini or yellow squash, chopped
1 handful baby spinach
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cardamom
2 tsp sea salt
3 Tbsp vegan parmesan (Parma brand works particularly well)

Heat olive oil in pressure cooker over medium heat, sauteing leeks until they begin to get tender. Add garlic, sauteing for one minutes, and then brown rice. Fry brown rice for two minutes, then add 1/2 c of sauvignon blanc, cooking until wine is mostly absorbed. Add cashews, turmeric, coriander, cardamom, and salt (adding 1T more oil if necessary) and cook for two minutes. Add in vegan parmesan and remaining 1/2c sauvignon blanc, cooking for another minute. Add in squash and spinach, cooking until greens reduce slightly, and add in vegetable stock. Bring to boil again over medium high heat and secure lid of pressure cooker, set at high pressure. Reduce heat to medium-low (or minimum heat to maintain high pressure) and cook for 25 minutes.

After 25 minutes, remove from heat and let sit for 10 more minutes, allowing the cooker to naturally release pressure. After ten minutes is up, release pressure the rest of the way, remove lid, fluff up rice, and enjoy! Add more vegan parmesan to taste.

On Greens, and How to Keep Them Fresh, from Clotilde at Chocolate and Zucchini:

"I've come across many versions of this tip over the years. Keeping one's greens fresh and happy seems to be the culinary equivalent of keeping one's skin young: it's a losing battle, but everyone hopes to find the magic technique.

"Wash, don't wash (we're talking about greens again now; we'll address personal hygiene another time), wrap in plastic, cloth, or a paper bag, keep on the counter or refrigerate, and even this one: put the herbs upright in a glass of water and place on a shelf or in the door of your fridge. (That gave my French-sized refrigerator a good laugh.)

"I've experimented with those ideas to varying degrees of success -- mostly on the lower end of the scale -- and after throwing out enough wilted herbs to start a compost heap, I've finally found the M.O. that works for me, so I thought I'd share.

"When I get back from the greenmarket on Saturday mornings, I put my purchases away, sit down for a cup of coffee, then get to work.

"Every week I get one bunch of leafy herbs -- flat-leaf parsley, chervil, cilantro, or basil -- and one paper bag's worth of small salad leaves, which I prefer over a head of lettuce. These days it's a mâche fest (pictured above), but I'll switch to arugula, baby spinach, or mesclun (mixed greens) when they're in season again.

"I start with the herbs: I remove any elastic or string tying them, and rinse them in a shallow bath of cold water in the bowl of my salad spinner. I drain the herbs, rinse them again if the water was a little brown, and spin them as dry as I can. I line a plate with a paper towel, arrange the herbs on top, and leave them out for 15 minutes, or until dry.

"I line the bottom of a medium plastic container with a fresh paper towel and, using kitchen scissors, snip the top of the herbs (tender stems + whole leaves) into the container, discarding the stems, or freezing them for soups and stews. I close the lid of the container, and place it in the fridge.

"Then, over the next three or four days depending on the type of herb, all I have to do is open the container, take a handful of ready-to-use herbs, and add them to salads or sprinkle them on dishes. Bliss, I tell you.

"While the herbs are laid out to dry on a plate (two paragraphs ago), I turn to the salad leaves. If it's mâche I'm dealing with, I take each tiny bouquet in turn, cut off the root, and place the leaves in the empty salad spinner. For other kinds of greens, I simply sort through them to make sure none of the leaves are wilted or browned.

"I then rinse the greens in just enough cold water to cover, drain, repeat (mâche typically requires three baths, the others just two), spin them dry dry dry, and leave them in the uncovered salad spinner to dry for about 20 minutes, shifting them around every now and then.

"I line a large container with a paper towel, and arrange the salad leaves over it -- they should not be packed too tight. I top them with another paper towel, close the container, and put it away in the refrigerator, ready to be used in a pinch over the next three or four days.

"The power of paper towels is that they absorb the moisture, preventing the greens from turning limp and moldy. And the power of prepping the entire bunch in one go is, of course, that you don't have to do it again every single time, thus saving some of your energy, and a bit of the planet's water resources.

"And while we're on the subject of environment, I should note that once all the herbs or salad leaves have been eaten, the paper towels can be left out to dry -- they'll be just a little damp -- and reused for whatever purpose paper towels usually serve in your kitchen.

.

Check out the comments on her original post for her readers greens-preserving recommendations!

For me, cold weather means a slight increase in spicy food. Not too much of an increase - I'm the world's biggest puss when it comes to spiciness - but just enough to break a slight sweat and warm those frigid toes a bit. This week's loveliness is care of Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Romero over at the Post Punk Kitchen. Their new book, Veganomicon, really is the ultimate vegan cookbook. It's literally a tome of goodness.

This week I made the potato kale enchiladas with a side of mexican millet (in our drunken haze we kept calling it mexican mullet. heh). I can tell you that as the first thing I've made from this book, it was divine. Better than divine. I've made a lot of good gluten free vegan food, but the flavor and subtle spiciness that these two recipes packed was really unexpected for, well, potatoes, kale, and millet.

(photo credit: littlepretty)

There's so much crammed into this book that you probably won't need another one for quite a while. Well, until Lolo's book comes out, at least.

Orbit covets his two copies of Veganomicon (and no, he doesn't normally look like he's possessed by the devil):