kabocha two ways

Yet again, I bring you another two-fer recipe. They both were so so good, yet so so different! I absolutely LOVE squash. And Kale. And pretty much everything else in these recipes, but the squash stands out as the all-star tonight because it, to me, is the ultimate gustatory reminder of fall. It's funny- just a few years ago, the only squash that i knew of were zucchini and pumpkin. To me, zucchini=summer, pumpkin=winter. Now, I couldn't imagine going through fall and winter without having various types of squash. Here's a few variaties to spur your imagination:

As the post's title states, the squash I chose was a kabocha. Pronounced ka-bow-ka, it is a sweeter type squash that I describe as a mix between a butternut and an pumpkin. Roasted, it has a rich, succulent flavor and velvety texture; raw, it is crisp, crunchy and almost as sweet as a sweet potato. High in beta carotene along with vitamin C, iron, potassium, folic acid, calcium, and trace B vitamins. Basically, a nutrient powerhouse, that is, as long as it's not cooked over 118*F.

image courtesy of http://cleananddelicious.com

In order to make these recipes, I had to start off by cutting the top of the kabocha off and scooping out the seeds and innards. While cooking and dehydrating, I decided to nosh on the lid I had cut off, wondering if it was worth discarding. Let me tell you, it WASN'T. I had actually had, for a split second, regretted dehydrating the "raw" version. Thank God I'm one lazy mofo though, because man-oh-man did the raw version come out amazing. That being said, I have a bag of raw sliced kabocha waiting for me for tommorrows snack. (SO EXCITED!)

Alright, enough about tomorrows snack, lets talk about my amazeballs dinner tonight!

Vegan Stuffed Kabocha with Kale and "Sausage"

Go get these yummies:

• 1/2 of a kabocha (de-seeded and uncapped)
• 1 oz of GoodLife's vegan sausage
• 1/2 bunch of kale (torn)
• 1/2 red onion
• dash of nutmeg
• dash of cayenne
• dash of sage
• dash of salt and pepper
• 1/8 cup of white wine *option= substitute water
• 1/2 T coconut oil
• 1 clove garlic (sliced)
• 1 tsp truffle oil *optional
• pine nut parmesan "cheese"
• sprinkle of Daiya Mozzarella "cheese"

Make the magic like this:

1. Preheat oven to 400*F and roast squash for 35 min.
2. While the squash is roasting, melt coconut oil and truffle oil in a saute pan
3. Add onions and garlic and saute until soft
4. Add crumbled sausage and saute until brown
5. add spices, a eighth cup of wine or water, and the kale
6. mix until kale is soft and liquid is evaporated
7. set aside filling mixture to cool; when it cools, add "parm" sprinkles 
8. Take out squash when soft and slightly browned around edges. Add fililng, and sprinkle Daiya Mozz ontop and watch it melt. 
9. Settle into your favorite spot on the couch with your favorite person, book, or movie, and a comfy blanket. Don't forget your glass of wine, and you're good to go. 

Yes, this is partially eaten. It was WAY prettier than this before I dug in like a squirrel in a basket of nuts. 

Raw Kale and Kabocha Salad

Try and get this stuff organic:

• 1/2 kabocha squash (deseeded, decapped, chopped, and peeled)
• 1/2 of a lemons' juice
• dash nutmeg
• dash salt and pepper
• dash cayenne
• 1 bunch sage
• 1/2 bunch kale
• 1/2 Red Onion (sliced thin)
• 1/2 c mushrooms (diced)
• dash cumin
• dash Nama shoyu
• dash salt and pepper
• sprinkle of Cashew cheese or Nutritional yeast flakes *optional

Mix it all together like this:

1. Morning or night before: add chopped kabocha to dehydrator for 10 hours at 115*F
2. at five hours into process, flip squash to ensure even-ness, and add onion slices
3. In a large bowl, add kale, lemon juice, and a little salt. Using your hands, massage the salt-juice mixture into the kale until it is soft. Drain off lemon juice and rinse kale in colander
4. in a smaller bowl, add mushrooms. Spritz with Nama Shoyu and add "parm" plus the remaining spices. Mix, and set aside to marinate for 1 hour.  
5. When the squash is softened (after 8-20 hours) and the onions are soft, remove them from the dehydrator. Add them to bowl with mushrooms and toss. 
6. Drain off excess liquids if there are any and pour ontop of the kale. Very lightly sprinkle cashew cheese or nutritional yeast over top if you'd like. Toss, and Mow it down! (I enjoyed mine with a glass of coconut water. Such a great digestive, if you will.)

For dessert, I enjoyed this fabulous gift from my grape-buyer bf: 

That's right, be jealous. I'm betting they'll be gone in 4 days, max. Because in this house, grapes, unlike diamonds, don't last forever. But that doesn't stop me from getting equally excited for them both. ;)

Stroganoff- 2 ways

I realize that this is an interesting post for my first recipe post, but I wanted to get this down before I forgot how I made it. I'm usually a recipe-based chick as far as traditional cooking goes (which I do often, no daily, for my SAD boyfriend) but when it comes to raw or vegan cooking, I free-hand it almost always. In today's recipe, I decided to forgo my workout (not purposely- I assumed that I'd finish early enough that I'd have time to fit in a quick Bodyrock.tv workout before my bf came home, but I was sorely mistaken), and compensated by making not only a traditional version of Beef Stroganoff for the boy, but a warm vegan version for myself and a raw vegan healthier version for my lunch tomorrow.

I'm sure you'll notice throughout these posts that my recipes/meals tend to mimic traditional SAD meals. I want to explain that I don't believe that it's necessary to make meals that are raw or vegan in an attempt to "trick" myself into thinking I'm eating the traditional cooked meal. No, I assure you I don't sit around thinking- "ya know what? I could totally go for some stroganoff (or pizza, or nachos, or _________ <--whatever you want to fill in the blank with). Instead, I tend to make these meals in order to eat the same thing with my family or friends. I find that the age-old adage of "a family that eats together, stays together," holds very true in my life;coming from a predominately Norwegian/ Native American family, the dinner table is where people connect. In addition, dating a 100% off-the-boat Italian boy drives this message home. To him and his family, food is EVERYTHING, and dinner is the most important meal of the day. Eating differently for the first couple months really strained our relationship. It's not that I couldn't handle the litany of questions by strangers or even my parents regarding my "unhealthy" intake of fruits and veggies, or even that I mind eating simple, unheated fruit/veggie meals or even mono meals. I actually prefer it- to me, it's brainless, easy, quick, energizing, and digestively-friendly. But the strain it puts between my boyfriend affects the bond dinner  creates between people, and for right now, I'm not willing to sacrifice that. Perhaps, if I ever live alone again, I'll consider it, and I'm sure he'll come around and even possibly (fingers crossed), will adopt my healthier lifestyle. But for now, I eat the majority of my meals as low fat raw vegan meals, with the exception of dinner, which I mock SAD meals in order to enjoy dinner with the ones I love. 

I'd love to hear if any one else shares this experience, and how they deal with it. Especially if you are a parent or child in a family, as I hope to have my own one day. I don't EVER plan on changing my lifestyle, unless it's more toward 80/10/10; and I'd love to have some advice from more experienced people as to how they manage their lifestyle in their families. 

**I also want to let anyone reading this know that in the VERY near future, there is going to be a BUNCH of recipes coming!! These will be recipes that I plan on making, or ones I have made, that are either directly from raw chefs or that are inspired by dishes from raw chefs. In either case, I will be citing where the recipe came from and if a link is available, that will be provided too. Just as a reminder, this blog is intended as a reference or "library" of raw recipes, not (yet) an innovative cookbook. Although, I hope that with experience, my skills will broaden and I will be knowledgeable enough to create my own masterpieces. 

Vegan Stroganoff:

(this IS a gem of my own design, and as far as I'm aware, I'm the first to create it... if anyone finds this same recipe, PLEASE let me know so I can give the rightful creative genius proper credit. PS- this was AWESOME! especially on a chilly fall night)

Go get this stuff: 

1/2 large yellow onion (sliced however you'd like- I prefer thin strips)

1 large clove of garlic (minced/chopped/sliced thinly)

3/4 box of sliced ORGANIC portobello mushrooms***

1/2 T Organic Virgin coconut oil

1 tsp Nutritional Yeast Flakes

1/2 tsp Himalayan salt

1/2 tsp Montgomery Seasoning

1/2 tsp liquid smoke

1/4 c. Organic Vegan White Wine (I used Orleans Hill 2011 California Viognier, which I purchased for $9.99 at Whole Foods.) 

1 T organic tomato paste

1/8 c almond milk + 1/4 c almond milk (helps if you separate them before you cook it)

1 tsp xantham gum [can be substituted with almond flour]

1 package shiritake fettuccine-style noodles

***organic mushrooms are important because of the soil (versus manure) that they're grown in, and the absence of pesticides (versus the 14 known carcinogenic and mutagenic pesticides) sprayed on them.***

Now do this:

1.Make Raw Vegan Butter: Coconut oil + Nutritional Yeast Flakes+ pinch of salt --> whip/whisk/mix together. 

2. Add "butter" to pan to melt on medium heat (I was on setting 6 out of 10 on the burner)

3. Toss in your sliced onions and garlic and saute until soft and fragrant. 

4. Next toss in your mushrooms and mix. Stir until they softened and onions are translucent. 

5. While the mushrooms are softening, whisk together xantham gum [or almond flour] and 1/8 c almond milk and set aside to thicken.

6. Since step 5 will take you like 30-40 seconds, take the rest of the 5 minutes you're using to wait for the mushrooms to soften, get out a saucepan and add to it your wine, remaining almond milk, and tomato paste on medium-high (I was on 8 setting on the burner). Whisk these together until they simmer. 

7. Add the xantham-almond milk slurry to this and bring to simmer again. As soon as it simmers, take off heat to allow it to all thicken.

8. Now turn your attention to the mushroom/onion/garlic pan; to this you're going to add your Montgomery Seasoning, liquid smoke, and another shake of the Nutritional Yeast if you desire. Stir some more, until the liquid begins to simmer a tiny bit. As soon as you see a little bubbling, bring the heat down to low (like a 4) and slowly add the creamy sauce (that should by now be thickened), stirring continuously. Take off the heat, and allow it all to cool a bit. 

9. While the sauce is thickening, drain and rinse your shiritaki noodles and toss them in a pan of water. *Unlike normal noodles, where you have to add them to already-boiling water in order for them to soften, I've found these noodles come out better when you bring these tofu to boil WITH the water, and that adding salt to the water makes them tougher/chewier, which is why I don't suggest doing it.*

10. Strain your noodles, and top with mushroom stroganoff mix, and enjoy while warm. 

Raw Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff: 

(This recipe is adapted from a recipe by Living Light Culinary Institute's Cheri Soria)

Go get this stuff:

1 1/2 large zucchini (spiralized) + 1/2 large zucchini chopped

1 pint portobello mushrooms (cleaned with damp paper towel or thin cloth)

2 T minced onion ( I used yellow, they use red)

5 spritzes of Braggs Liquid Aminos or Nama Shoyu

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 c almond milk 

2 T miso paste

1 1/2 T mushroom powder

1 tsp Nutritional Yeast

1/2 tsp Organic Paprika

1/2 tsp Himalaya Salt

1 minced garlic clove

couple grinds of fresh black pepper

6 oz Organic Vegan White Wine (see above for brand)

Do this with all that: 

1. Wrap spiralized zucchini in a dry towel to soak up any extra liquid. Set aside.

2. Dump mushrooms into a small mixing bowl. Spritz with the Bragg's or Nama Shoyu, add onions and garlic powder. Toss to coat and set aside.

3. Blend remaining ingredients until smooth and creamy.

4. Drain and retain mushroom marinate mix. Add this mix to the cream sauce in the blender. Blend again until smooth. 

5. Pour this sauce over marinated mushrooms. Pour the mushroom-sauce mixture over the unwrapped and plated zucchini noodles.*I let mine sit for a hot minute while I cleaned up the kitchen so that all the flavors would soak into the noodles. It took a lot of restraint tho. A LOT.*