KathyMarie & Mimi—a New Direction

 Live Raw is my favorite raw recipe book!

I stumbled upon an idea last week that I keep tumbling over and over again in my mind.

I watched the movie Julie & Julia from the library, and something clicked. Maybe I identified with Julie being an aspiring writer and blogger, maybe it was my love for food and enjoyment of preparing it, maybe it was just the characters themselves that I found delightful, but anyway, I loved this movie for all that it was—deliciously cooked foods and all.

If you remember having watched it yourself or have seen the movie trailer, Julie Powell was a real-life blogger who was enamored with Julia Child and her cookbook: Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She had this phenomenal idea and read here what she says about herself from her blog:

Government drone by day, renegade foodie by night. Too old for theatre, too young for children, and too bitter for anything else, Julie Powell was looking for a challenge. And in the Julie/Julia project she found it. Risking her marriage, her job, and her cats’ well-being, she has signed on for a deranged assignment.

365 days. 536 recipes. One girl and a crappy outer borough kitchen.

In just one year she made all 536 recipes from Julia's French cookbook! It really is amazing.

So I started thinking about my favorite cookbooks and of course I was inspired.

My autographed copy of Mimi's Live Raw - Raw Food Recipes for Good Health and Timeless Beauty is a gorgeous book, with large full color photos, lots of information and tons of nutritious raw food recipes. There are eight chapters that highlight recipes, from Herbs, Spices, and Condiments to Sweets, and many in-between. I thought I would take one chapter to work through at a time, but not on any crazy time limit like Julie. Oh no. I'm not quite that deranged and I do have another life. It's just for fun and to give myself a little direction.

So I'll start with Chapter 5: Smoothies, Juices, Warm Drinks, Mocktails, and More. I urge you to get the book—gee, right now it's on sale at Amazon for only $11.32 and this oversize book has 225 pages! Or visit Mimi at her website and get your own autographed copy for only $16.95 (a great gift) Young On Raw Food.com. Get the book or one of your own choosing and you'll be glad you did. I'm giving myself the option that if I can't find an ingredient (there are a few strange ones here and there) or I can't eat an ingredient listed (I'm on an anti-inflammatory diet remember) I can skip or modify the recipe.

So, check back or join me in your own raw food recipe exploration and be good to yourself!

From Almond Milk to Healthy Treats . . . Almond Pulp Bites

Chocolate Almond Pulp Bites

Ummm . . . I just grabbed one of these tasty little chocolatey treats from the freezer  . . . delightful . . . they hit the spot, plus I'm munching raw nutrients that are good for me!

My husband does pretty good eating nutritious foods and adding in a good amount of raw foods, but he still buys and eats  jalapeno potato chips, ice cream, and has his stash of candy and Little Debby Nutty Bars . . . but I need a healthy treat that I can grab on the run (which helps me to avoid the no-nos). These are good!

I've enjoyed making and drinking my own almond milk but there were baggies of left over almond pulp in the freezer calling me to put them to good use. I thought of almond pancakes or macaroons (see recipe in a previous post), but I came up with my own easy dehydrated cookie.  They are similar to the macaroons which I LOVE, but a bit different. I made a double batch—one plain with cinnamon, and one with a melted chocolate, nutty topping. Here's how:

Ingredients for basic cookie:

2 cups raw almond pulp (left over from almond milk recipe)

1 cup raw almond butter

4 Tbs unsweetened coconut - fine cut

4 Tbs sucanat (or honey or sweetener of your choice)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp coconut extract

Options:

3-4 Tbs raw cacao powder (for chocolate version)

1 tsp cinnamon (for plain version)

dark melted chocolate for topping

chopped nuts, for topping or add some to basic cookie mixture before forming

 It makes a stiff dough.

1. Blend the almond pulp with almond butter, coconut, sweetener, salt and extract. You should get a stiff heavy dough that will still be moist and easily hold together.
2. Depending which option you want, add cinnamon, cacao powder, or chopped nuts to the above and mix in.
3. Pinch off a teaspoon-size chunk of dough, roll it into a ball, and flatten into a cookie shape with your fingers. Place on a dehydrator sheet. (Makes approx 36 cookies)
4. Dehydrate at 110 degrees for 12-18 hours. I made these in the afternoon and let them dry until morning. They were most likely done before then. 
5. If you want to make the chocolate treats, then melt the dark chocolate, spoon some on top, and sprinkle with nuts.
6. Store in a baggie in the fridge, (or freezer like I do).

 Lined up for the dehydrator.

 Before the topping.

I have to admit, the plain, basic cookie I made tasted kind of bland, and that's when I decided to add the chocolate topping and nuts. I think the cinnamon ones would have been better if I had added some chopped nuts to the batter, but then I am thinking they'd be good dipped in chocolate too. Anyway, I'll probably eat a few for a breakfast pick-me-up along with some fruit.

 Ready to enjoy!

P.S. I took some of my plain cinnamon bites and sandwiched a heap of nut butter between two of them. Delicious!

Quote for the day: 

“If you can't get a miracle, become one.” ― Nick Vujicic http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/