RAW FOOD: MATTHEW KENNEY & M.A.K.E !

I can't tell you how excited I am to find out that my favorite raw food chef Matthew Kenney has come to Los Angeles!  He has opened a Raw Food Academy and will be opening a restaurant in Santa Monica, California.  I really thought I was going to have to go to one of his restaurants in Chicago the next time I was there.  Maybe one day I will be able to attend the Academy.  He is the one that got me started on techniques and ideas about raw food.  His book Raw Food Real World was the first raw food cook book I really got into for raw cooking.  This cook book was the first prize I gave away for the first giveaway I posted.  I am really just beside myself.

My raw foodie friends and I can't wait to make it over to his restaurant in Santa Monica when it opens. I believe it will be opening later this month.  Check out this ARTICLE.

photos via Matthew Kenney Cuisine

 Thanks so much to The Chalkboard Mag for featuring an article about Matthew along with the fabulous Anna Getty.





TOFU TACOS WITH AN ASIAN KICK

I don't know if this is true where you live, but here in Los Angeles, the food truck craze is still in full swing.  We have a small main street in our town and every Friday night, they line up on both sides of the street for about 3 blocks.  It's a lot of fun to go there and hang out with friends, but it's not always easy to find vegan or raw cuisine.  I had some really great tofu tacos at the Kogi Truck before. They make fusion Korean BBQ food, so I thought I'd make these for my husband since he LOVES tacos.  They were a hit!

Makes 3 tacos as seen above.

 

TOFU TACOS

TOFU MIXTURE

1 8z block of tofu, cut into small cubes

1 table spoon sesame oil

2 table spoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon ginger, grated

2 stalks green onion, chopped

1 teaspoon raw agave nectar 

Chilli Flakes or top the tacos with your favorite hot sauce.  

EVERYTHING ELSE

Corn tortilla

Shredded kale (you can also use lettuce or cabbage)

Tomatoes, chopped

Raw corn kernels

Shredded carrots

Yellow peppers sliced

Guacamole

Heat sesame oil in a small sauce pan, and saute the tofu with all the ingredients for the tofu mixture on medium high until browned.

Warm up your tortillas. I like to warm them over the open flame on the stove.  Fill the tortillas with even amounts of the tofu. Fill with all the veggies and top with your favorite guacamole and hot sauce.  Thai Sriracha would work perfectly too!

Love these tacos.

Enjoy!

BUTTERNUT SQUASH POTATO SALAD

 

 

 

I don't know about you, but I grew up eating potato salad.  My mom, even though she is from Japan and only came here in her early twenties, perfected, in my opinion her potato salad recipe. It was the best!  She even created her own potato salad recipe using Kabocha (Japanese pumpkin), which my sister and I love!

 

I've been craving potato salad so I decided to make a butternut squash potato salad and added in a little green.  It was delicious!  I used my Raw Mayonaise recipe to bring it all together.   Here it goes, I got all the ingredients at Trader Joes too.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH POTATO SALAD

1/2 pound Butternut squash , steamed and cubed

1/2 pound Baby Potatoes - I used Dutch Yellow and left the skin on, steamed and cubed

1/2 organic broccoli crown, flash blanched

1/2 red onion chopped

1 avocado cubed

1 tablespoon dill

Raw Mayo to your liking but not too much, I used about 4 tablespoons

Sea Salt and black pepper to taste.

Give the avocado and lemon or lime bath to help with the blackening of the avocado.  Then, mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and serve.  This salad is best eaten fresh.  I hope you like it as much as I do.

Check out the health benefits of butternut squash from Whole Living:

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN

Per 1 cup cooked, approximately 205 grams

Calories: 82 kcal

Fat: 0.2 g

Vitamin A: 1,144 mcg = 163 percent* of DRI**

Vitamin B6: 0.3 mg = 20 percent of DRI

Vitamin C: 31 mg = 41 percent of DRI

Folate: 39 mcg = 10 percent of DRI

Potassium: 582 mg = 12 percent of DRI

* Percentages are for women 31 to 50 years old who are not pregnant

** DRI, Dietary Reference Intake, is based on National Academy of Sciences' Dietary Reference Intakes, 1997 to 2004

Enjoy.



RAW: MAYONAISE



 

I LOVE this recipe!  As a kid I grew up eating maynaise on sandwiches but especially in potato salads.  So, when I found this recipe I was thrilled.  It's super easy and really has a lot of flavor.  I adapted it from this Rawmazing recipe...

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

1 cup cashews, soaked 6+ hours, drained and rinsed
1/2 lemon, juice of
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon agave
2 teaspoons dried mustard (if you want to give it a kick, use Chinese dried mustard, I did)
Himalayan salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together in high-speed blender. Blend until smooth.  If the mixture seems too thick, just add a little more olive oil a table spoon at atime.

Enjoy!


Check these nutritional facts in regards to cashews! 

A ½ oz. of cashews counts as one serving in the meat and beans group of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Guide Pyramid, although most people probably eat more than that in one "serving." Cashews come from trees related to mangoes, pistachios, sumac and poison ivy. Cashews, like other nuts, are calorie-dense but can play a role in a healthy diet.

OTHER NUTRITIONAL FACTS

One ounce of cashews provides 12 percent of the vitamin K that your body needs for blood clotting. One ounce of these nuts also provides 8 percent of your daily thiamin and 6 percent of vitamin B-6. They provide 1 gram of fiber and just 1 percent of the recommended dietary allowance for calcium. This serving size also provides about 10 percent of your daily iron.

 

SODIUM

Raw cashews are low in sodium. One ounce contains only 3 mg of sodium, which is less than 1 percent of the maximum recommended daily allowance. This is significantly less sodium than the amount in roasted, salted cashews, which is typically 181 mg.

 

MINERALS

Raw cashews contain numerous essential minerals. One ounce of cashews supplies 69 percent of the DRI for copper, which is important for the breakdown of iron in the body. Cashews also supply iron, with one ounce providing 24 percent of the DRI for men and 11 percent for women. Other minerals supplied by cashews include magnesium, phosphorus and manganese. One ounce of cashews provides over 20 percent of the DRI for all three of these minerals. Additionally, one ounce of cashews supplies 10 percent of the DRI for selenium, and more than 15 percent for zinc.

 

HEALTHY FATS

Only 2 grams of the 12 grams of fat in one ounce of cashew nuts is the unhealthy, saturated variety. The rest of the fat in cashew nuts is polyunsaturated and monounsaturated. Eating these types of fats as 25 to 35 percent of your daily calories is healthy, according to the American Heart Association. In addition, consuming unsaturated fats instead of saturated fats may help lower blood cholesterol.

 

DIETARY IMPACT

Eating nuts, including cashews, can improve your overall nutritional profile. A study in the “Journal of Nutrition” published in 2008 found that people who consume nuts as a regular part of their diet have higher intakes of the nutrients folate, beta-carotene, vitamin K, phosphorus, copper, selenium, potassium and zinc.

 



ASIAN SLAW WITH PEANUT SAUCE

Asian Slaw with Peanut Sauce

TGIF everyone!  This one is short and easy.  I promised to post the salad I made with the Peanut Sauce I made the other day. Asian Slaw's are really easy to make.  I packed this one full of various raw veggies and so it had a tremendous amount of flavor in one bite.  An easy way to give variety to your salads is to vary the cutting methods used.  In this case I tried to Julienne, shred and thinly slice a lot of the ingredients.

ASIAN SLAW WITH PEANUT SAUCE

 

2 cups Shredded Cabbage

1/2 cup Jicama, Julienned (Or Diakon Radish)

1/2 cup Cucumber, Sliced or Julienned

1/2 cup Cilantro, chopped (I love cilantro, so I proably added about a cup!)

1/2 cup Leeks, Sliced or Julienned

1/2 cup Red Radishes

1/2 cup Green Onions, chopped

Avocado to garnish

DRESSING:

Peanut Sauce or your favorite vinaigrette or asian salad dressing.

You can also top it with your favorite nuts.  Mine would be these Sweet & Spicy Cashews, which I can't believe I forgot to use!

Enjoy and have a fabulous weekend!