Pesto Zucchini "Pasta" Salad

Salad:
3 Zucchini or Summer Squash - made into ribbons
1 Green Pepper chopped
1/2 bag broccoli slaw mix 
8 large mushrooms - thinly sliced
12 small black olives - sliced
Make zucchini ribbons using a mandoline slicer, spiral slicer or the large opening on a box grater.Combine the zucchini ribbons and the other vegetables, mushrooms and olives in a medium bowl and drizzle with Pesto Dressing.

Pesto Dressing:
2 cloves garlic
1/4 C walnuts
1/2 C raw or cold pressed olive oil
12 fresh Basil leaves
4 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
Kosher salt or Sea salt to taste
Blend in a food processor or blender until smooth.

Yum.

Asian Inspired Lettuce Wraps - RAWr option

Fresh and Spicy!
1/2 head of Green cabbage or Napa cabbage - sliced thin , then chopped (like for cole slaw)
1/2 bunch cilantro (12-14 sprigs)- chopped
1/2 bunch mint - (4-6 sprigs) chopped
1 Jalapeno - seeded and sliced paper thin
1/2 english cucumber - finely chopped
10 mushrooms (for raw diet) or 8 slices baked tofu - finely diced
Combine all of the above in a medium bowl
Drizzle with:
juice of 1/4 lime
2 Tablespoons Tamari
1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
Serve on:
16 Romaine leaves - rinsed and patted dry

Southwest Lettuce Wraps - RAWr

Fresh, raw, delicious and satisfying!
1 clove garlic - minced
1/4 red onion - minced
1/2  - 1 whole jalapeno - seeded and thinly sliced
2 tomatoes - diced
2 ears of corn - cut the kernels from the cob
1 avocado- diced
1/4 bunch cilantro- finely chopped
1/4 lime - juice
2 Tablespoons cold pressed olive oil
Kosher salt or Sea salt to taste
In a medium bowl combine all of the above ingredients and serve on:
16 romaine lettuce leaves - washed and patted dry.

Kale Chips

1 bunch of kale - stems and ribs removed and torn into large (4-5' square) pieces
cold pressed or raw olive oil
Kosher salt or Sea salt
pre-heat oven to 170 degrees
Put the torn kale pieces in a large bowl.
Drizzle with olive oil (4-6 Tablespoons)
Sprinkle with salt and mix well.
Put on a large cookie sheet without having the kale pieces over
Place in the oven and put a large wooden kitchen spoon in the door to prop it open.
Dry in the oven for 1-3 hours (depending on the moisture content of the kale), turning frequently.
If you are not doing a raw diet, you can bake these at 325 degrees for about 10-20 minutes.

Raw Food Experiment

Back in the 70's my diet was vegan and primarily - raw food vegan. I have decided to try that again for a bit. It's summer, there are lots of great fresh fruits and vegetables readily available and I could stand to lose a few pounds. I recall feeling energetic, light and enlightened. Maybe I  just want to get back to my crazy hippie roots.
I have a couple of friends who are contemplating going raw and I thought maybe blogging some recipes might come in handy.
The main reason I started this blog was for 2 reasons. Firstly, to hold myself accountable. Heart disease is rampant in my family. I lost my father when he was just 55 (my current age) to a massive myocardial infarction. My mother lived to 69, having had a quadruple bypass. I had a heart attack at age 53 - partially hastened by a raging case of sepsis - and I have 2 stents.My younger brother, Joe, has also had a heart attack when he was still in his 40's.
The second reason I started this blog was to share recipes with my older brother, Mike. Mike struggled to maintain a healthy lifestyle even after suffering a heart attack in 1990. He always had an interest in my cooking and loved to write down my recipes. This blog was an easy way for me to share recipes with him in an attempt to keep him healthy. Mike passed away in March of this year.
Initially, I really didn't want to work on this blog anymore. My main focus, I realized, was impressing my brother with my crazy concoctions.
Now - I want to inspire my kids, my siblings, friends and myself to do the best we can to stay healthy.
So - for now the goal is 80 - 90% raw food vegan..... for a while. I intend to leave that other 10-20% for times when I just want to have some kale chips or popcorn or maybe even (gasp!) bread -or- more importantly for potlucks, birthday parties, picnics...... social eating.
There you have it. That is my new initiative. I plan to post recipes that are raw and tasty or.... maybe, cooked and not too horrible for you, but helped me not fall off the wagon too badly.

Quinoa Salad

 Super easy and similar to Tabouli, Quinoa Salad is a delicious, nutritious and satisfying summer meal. Quinoa is actually the seeds from a variety of plant that is loosely related to spinach called: Goosefoot. Quinoa contains essential amino acids and has a surprisingly high protein content (12-18%). Be certain to prepare your Quinoa according to the package directions. Quinoa contains saponins that can make it taste bitter if not washed thoroughly prior to cooking. Some brands of Quinoa come pre-washed, so simply follow the directions on your package of Quinoa. If you pruchase bulk Quinoa - I would wash it prior to cooking.
In a large bowl combine:
2 Cups Quinoa cooked according to package directions (see above) in 4 cups Water and cooled slightly.
1 English Cucumber - washed and diced
1 Sweet Red Pepper - washed and diced
1 bunch Red Radishes - washed and diced
1 bunch Flat Parsley - washed and finely chopped
1 bunch Fresh Mint - washed and finely chopped
Dressing:
Sprinkle the Quinoa and vegetables with:
1/3 C Olive Oil
Juice of 1 Lemon
Kosher Salt to taste.
Serve Chilled.

Potato stuffed Naan Bread (aloo naan)

 Aloo Naan
Dough:
In a large bowl combine:
3/4 warm water
2 T soy milk
1 t dry yeast
1 t sugar
1 pinch of baking soda
let sit until bubbly (5 minutes or so)
add:
2T olive oil or ghee (obviously not vegan....)
1 C unbleached white whole wheat flour (or AP flour)
whisk well and let bubbly for about 15 minutes then stir in:
1 C more flour
When you can no longer stir in the flour - knead the resulting dough until smooth (roughly 5 minutes).
Set the dough aside and go light your grill - I used a charcoal grill and waited about 2 minutes before baking.

Filling:
2 boiled potatoes mashed slightly
Handful of frozen or fresh spinach
Saute in:
4T olive oil or ghee
1T ground cumin
1t course black pepper
pinch of Kosher salt
heat thoroughly and set aside, once cool add 1/2 bunch chopped cilantro.

Method: Make these one at a time (you can have 2 cooking on the grill at once - but prepare them one at a time)
Take roughly 1/6 of the dough and pat into a disk shape - set it on the counter and top with a heaping tablespoon of the potato filling, fold over and pinch edges together - now ...carefully with oiled hands....pat between your palms until you have a circle about 6" across....run to the grill and set that bad boy on the grate. close the lid. go make another one etc etc
These should cook about 5 minutes on each side BUT be careful depending on your coals, they can burn very quickly. After approx. 5 minutes use tongs and carefully pick up the naan and flip it over. Cook for another 5 minutes and remove from heat. Repeat until all your dough is used up. Remember keep your hands generously coated with ghee or olive oil when flattening your naan. The oil also keeps the bread from sticking. Serve with cucumber soy raita and chutneys or enjoy plain.