Raw Sprout Hummus!

Here is something I make every few days. Seriously, we both love it so much, and sunflower seeds are one of the least expensive protein sources we have, that it just makes sense to keep it on hand at all times!

Based on a recipe from Sproutpeople

Sprout Hummus!
(I usually make a double recipe. Amounts are approximate.)

a cup or so of sprouted sunflower seeds (see below)
1 clove of garlic, minced (or a little more for me, a little less for E. Remember raw = stronger!)
1/2 tsp sea salt, to taste
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Half a lemon, maybe more
1T or more tahini (make your own or just buy a jar! It is so useful!)
cayenne and/or cumin to taste

First, sprout your seeds. This part takes very little work, but it does take a couple days!

Soak your seeds in filtered water overnight. Make sure you have at least two cups of water for each cup of seeds, because they will absorb quite a bit! In the morning, rinse them well and let them drain. Put drained seeds in the fridge while you go to work. At night, rinse them again and put them back in the fridge. They are ready to use now if you want, but I like to sprout them just a little longer, until they develop cute little tails. Just rinse and drain morning and night until you're ready to make your hummus, about two or three days of growing. Feel free to remove floating seed skins during the rinse process.

(I use my small OXO herb spinner to hold and rinse my seeds.)

Now you're ready to make your hummus!

Put spun-dry sprouts, garlic, tahini, and salt in the bowl of your food processor with the S blade. Put all the innards of half a lemon in there with it - I remove the peel, cut the inside in half, and separate the sections into the processor. Keep the other half handy, because you may need it. Add a couple shakes of cayenne, and process! Scrape down the sides, and process again, until it gets all hummus-y. Add a drizzle of EVOO, taste, and adjust seasoning. The texture may be a little thicker than a conventional chickpea hummus. Feel free to add more garlic, lemon, a little vinegar, oil, or whatever you like! A dash of cumin is sometimes fun, though some people find it to be a strong flavor so be judicious. Earnest doesn't like cumin in his hummus, so I usually leave it out.

Dip carrots, celery, cucumbers, kale, crackers, pita, or whatever you like! Also fantastic if you wrap it up in a collard leaf with some radish sprouts and/or broccoli sprouts.

Gluten Free Bread and Rolls, and a Baba Ghanouj Recipe!

Our favorite sandwich bread/roll recipe is based on the True Yeast Bread from Bette Hagman's Gluten Free Gourmet.

I make a few modifications, but stick in spirit to the original. The bean-free high protein flour blend I use for this recipe has brown rice, sorghum, tapioca, and potato or arrowroot starch, whichever we have on hand. OH MY, is it good! Look at the texture! It tastes, feels, and stretches like the real thing. Hooray! It even slices, though here you see a rustic broken open cross-section of a roll.

For these, I scooped a big muffin-scooper-full into each of eight English muffin rings, then put the rest in a standard one pound loaf pan.

When they came out of the oven, it was hard to resist eating them immediately! We waited long enough to take a picture and cool them just a bit, then dug into the rolls accompanied by the baba ghanouj and raw sprout hummus I made this afternoon.

Heaven!

Here's the recipe for the baba ghanouj. I used partly the raw, sprouted tahini I made this morning, and then made up the difference with purchased, roasted tahini.

2 medium eggplants, roasted (see below)
sea salt
extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
a couple spoonfuls of tahini
a big handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
lemon

Slice the eggplants about 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with sea salt and let sit in a colander for about half an hour. This allows any bitterness to leave the eggplant.

Preheat the oven to about 350 or so. (If you are roasting something else at a different temperature, a different temp is fine. Just keep an eye on the brownness!)

Rinse the eggplant, then pat it dry. Toss with olive oil and spread out on a baking sheet in a single layer, or with a little bit of overlap if they don't quite fit. It's all good.

Roast for about half an hour, keeping an eye on it. It might need a little longer to get all lovely and brown, or it might need less time.

Let the eggplant cool to room temperature, then throw it all into the food processor with the S blade. (Yes, skins too! Eggplant is expensive, why would you throw away that beautiful skin?) Add the garlic, tahini, peeled lemon, and fresh parsley. Process it until it is the texture you like. It's nice when chunky, and velvety when processed longer. Adjust seasoning.

Eat it right now, or put it in the fridge for a couple hours for the flavors to really meld and go from great to AMAZING! Dig in with your favorite dippin' veg, bread, crackers, roasted potatoes, or spoon.

Makes about two cups.


In addition to the bread and rolls and the baba ghanouj, I also made GF "bran" muffins, almond butter, raw tahini, and raw sunflower seed sprout hummus. I think a separate post is in order for the sprout hummus!

Raw Vegan Sausage Nut Pate

I made something today that tasted a LOT like hot Italian sausage!

I started formulating the recipe based on this one I found online. (Scroll down.) I changed it up a bit, though, and used it as a topping on zucchini ribbons instead of pizza, and didn't dehydrate because I don't have a dehydrator! It was fantastic straight out of the food processor.

1/2 c raw, soaked, dried walnuts
1/4 c sprouted sunflower seeds
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp ground fennel seed
1 tsp sea salt
lots of freshly cracked black pepper
1 tsp ground dried sage
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 - 1 tsp cayenne
1/2 a granny smith apple, chopped (peel ON! Don't peel away all the fiber and nutrients!)
2 stalks celery
big handful fresh parsley

Put nuts, seeds, and seasonings in food processor. Chop it all up. Add apple, celery, and parsley, and process until you have a lovely pate texture with some green showing.

Adjust seasonings until it tastes delicious!

For lunch today, I used a vegetable peeler to make zucchini ribbons, added some broccoli florets and some slices of oil-packed sun dried tomato then topped with dollops of this lovely sausage pate.

Then I had the rest of the apple for dessert!

I used the food processor again to make a cashew-sunflower seed cheez with a little bit of everything: bell and serrano pepper, lemon, garlic, sundried tomato, the last of the celery, some parsley, cilantro, and nooch. I put some of that over broccoli in a container to take with me for lunch tomorrow. Mmmm broccoli with cheez sauce! I may noolde-ify the last zucchini and bring the rest of the sausage pate too!

Raw Cashew Cheddar Cheez Dip/Sauce

Made this this morning. So good! The surprise: Earnest loves it too, even though it tastes like cheese! He loves the flavor of the bell pepper.

http://www.goneraw.com/recipe/rich-cheddar-sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup raw cashews, sunflower seeds or almonds
½ large red bell pepper
¼ cup water
2 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon tahini
1½ teaspoon sea salt
1 clove garlic
2 teaspoon onion powder (or a small slice of onion or 1 Tbsp of green onion)

Preparation:

Blend all ingredients until creamy. Add more water if it is too thick.

Getting better all the time!

I have been making so many awesome things out of sprouted sunflower seeds, and out of soaked cashews. Those are my favorite two protein sources these days. Can not get enough!

Earnest's clear favorite is this Sprout Hummus

http://www.sproutpeople.com/cookery/hummus.html

made with sunflower sprouts, and a good dash of cayenne. So good! He likes it best without the cumin. He is a hummus purist that way. I like it both with and without.

Having health challenges/dietary restrictions has made us more creative, and in the long run, maybe actually more healthy! I am so glad to have discovered the raw food movement. Yum!

OK Go

OK Go is my favorite band today.

Watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w

You thought the video with the treadmills was the epitome of awesome. Just watch this one.

Hello World!

Well hi!

This blog is about life, which for me is filled with the making of things. Sometimes useful things, sometimes delicious things, sometimes things that are beautiful because that is all they need to be.

My favorite ways to make things include but are not limited to baking, cooking, sewing, knitting, crocheting, writing music, and dancing.

Thank you for visiting. Enjoy your stay!