Winner Winner There Ain't No Chicken in MY Dinner!

::Slaps wrist:: I know, I know. My lax blogging is inexcusable! Sorry folks, often real life (like my full time real job) often takes over and I am just too damn tired at night to put forth the energy for a  post that I feel is worthy; not to mention the annoyance of only being able to blog from my laptop since you cannot upload photos on from the IPad to the blog.

Anyway, I am here, I am back. Let's get down to business, shall we?

Cucumber pasta! God, I just really love the stuff. You can legit top cucumber pasta with anything and it is guaranteed to taste amazing! Seriously, even the most simple combination like 1/4 an avocado, lemon juice, and diced tomatoes is the bomb! No salt, oil, or spices needed! Avocados are creamy and unctuous, lemon juice provides the acid to pump up the flavor of the avocado and well, tomatoes are just natures little gifts of flavor-popping goodness. It was kind of insane, once I eliminated salt and spices from my diet, all my fruits and vegetables started to have more dynamic and robust flavors. You are going to think I am cray-cray, but even zucchini started to taste creamy and sweet to me!

Personally, my most beloved cucumber pasta sauce is the one below: mango, sliver of red pepper, yellow grape tomatoes, celery, basil, and a sprinkle of fresh thyme.

 

Looks disturbingly similar to real pasta, no? 

Sometimes, I throw in cilantro or to make it more hearty I like adding in salt-free, un-sulphered, sun dried tomatoes.

So, you might be wondering, "Where the heck is the zucchini pasta in all of this?? I thought raw vegans were allllllllll about the zucchini pasta?!" And well, we are. I truly LOVE zucchini pasta, but unfortunately, it really doesn't love me back - anymore! It is the weirdest thing, honestly. And I am quite perplexed by it. All summer I ate zucchini pasta. Zucchini tasted so delicious to me that I was eating it nearly everyday, much like my cucumber pasta. Uhh ohhh. And then I came back from Italy, and zucchini started to give me a really awful headache every time I ate it. And perhaps the strangest part, it makes me mouth and my whole body go numb! 

I decided to eliminate the zucc all together for a couple of months, kind of like a modified Elimination Diet hoping that someday ::sigh:: I could indulge in more than just cuc noodles. Thankfully, it worked! And I am happy to say that I am officially back on the zucchini wagon! 

I've been in California for my "spring break" and have been eating ginormous bowls of zucchini fettuccine with red pepper marinara. 

This sauce has some serious panache! And you know how I roll, so this doesn't have any salt or oil and only FRESH herbs. It is a simple combination of good tomatoes, red pepper, sun-dried tomato, a mango, celery, few green scallion tops and then I blend it up until it is as smooth as butta. Then I add basil and blend some more. Lastly, it is more tomatoes, more basil, and the rest of my zucchinis after they have been fettuccine-ed. And I blend it up, but not all the way, because I like to keep it chunky. Nom nom nom, for sure! (And this is only PART of my meal...this doesn't even include all the fruity deliciousness I eat before hand.)


 I think the real secret as to why this was so damnnn good is because I have been making my own sun-dried tomatoes from local heirloom tomatoes that I have been picking up at Mother's. God, California produce is just so heavenly. New York produce is bland. Sorry, but it is true. Bland, bland, bland!

 

I mean, check out these babies! Don't they just scream "EAT ME!"

On the flip side, sometimes I like to really change things up and make beet noodles! I know, right? Beet noodles! This girls gone all sorts of crazy! But, beets can be really good especially when they are nice and sweet and when spiralized they make really funky looking noodles! Before I came to California I was on a bit of a beet kick.

 Once again, my life in NYC is go-go-go. I don't have time for complicated meals with fancy-pants food preparation. I' m all about simple, but I still want to be satisfied by what I am eating. I don't think there is anything worse than eating something and feeling unsatisfied when your done. Personally, because I am such a food-oriented person, want to LOVE what I am eating. So, this sauce is as you would imagine, pretty simple: mango, basil, scallion. Blend it up, 123, you're done, toss over your noodles and your on the way to munching-land! 

As you can see, I'm allll about the noodles from zucchini to beets and the endless possibilities for the number of sauces you can create from only a few ingredients. (Ahh, the blood of an Italian, always got macaroni on the brain!)  You don't really NEED the salt because you've got celery and you certainly don't need any oil because only we really use oil for in a sauce is to add richness and body and that's what the sun-dried tomatoes do! Why mess with perfection really?

...really hoping I don't even have to mention the fact that meat and dairy, which shouldn't even be considered a food group, need not be present in any meal...

I can't promise how regular my posts will be, but I am going to do my best to post at least once every two weeks if not every week. Until then!

Sincerely,
 Raw Food Nerd

The Revival Of Raw Food Nerd

Yes, it is for sure a revival friends- and the best kind at that, one that involves food and pictures of food, and I really cannot think of anything better than that! I've seriously missed this blog and I am ready to bring the goods.

    (I wasn't joking when I said I was ready to bring it!)

 So, gawd, where to begin? Well, I'm still as nerdy (and raw) as ever but I've given up on that high fat raw gourmet shim-sham. That's right, I've kicked it to the curb in favor of the fruity lifestyle.  That means, any of my food that I post pictures of will all be high carb raw vegan; free of salt, oil, spices and heavily based in good ol' fruity tuttie deliciousness.

Hey, don't knock it till you try it. Just because there isn't a whole lotta nuts, seeds, and taste-bud numbing salt and spices doesn't mean my food ain't DAMN good. (Even my Mim, The Salt Queen, loves my cucumber pasta slathered in rich sun-dried (yup, salt free too) mango basil sauce. )

If you want to know more about why I hopped on the 811-train feel free to ask, but otherwise, I'm not really going to get into it. (Check out www.30bananasaday.com for tons more info, recipes, forums, and general guidance) Let me just say though, if you have a digestive issue, it would be in your best interest to really give the high carb low fat lifestyle a 100% chance. That's the main reason why I did it and it has literally changed my life.
          
As far as this little bloggie goes, a good portion of the food pictures (for now) will be what I am eating, as I'm still in NYC and therefore, it's dinner for one even though it looks like dinner for 10.  But you should disband all preconceived notions because I refuse, just down right refuse, to eat anything that doesn't taste good. I know I have said it before, but I am just not one of those people that eats strictly for fuel. So the meals you see will all be combinations of foods that I legit crave and they just happen to be salt, oil, and spice free. I'm a big fan of tahini and hemp seeds so you'll see meals with that too, because low fat doesn't mean NO fat. That would just be crazy talk!

And, of course there will be recipes, lots of recipes. I'm a big believer in sharing the wealth of health. (Still a cheeze-ball, yup.) I also plan to still include reviews on new fangled raw snackles that I find and restaurants that are must eats.

I do think high raw is better than no-raw so sometimes, especially when I am off to California to visit my hubby or TEACH A CLASS (yip! I cannot WAIT to get back into this!) you will see cooked vegan foods popping up on here. Any vegan non-raw snacks, that I can't dive into will surely be devoured taste-tested and critiqued by the husbandry, Kev He's a trust worthy foodie with an equally discerning palette, perhaps even more than mine!!   I'm all for it. I think the best thing we can do is cut the meat and dairy - it's toxic and not just for us, but for the planet. I don't care how grass-fed pasture raised your beefychickenducklamb- kabob is, it still died so you could have dinner; baddd karma!

Ultimately, the objective here is still the same: organic, as local as possible, and freaking delicious.

Stay nerdy foodies, and check back by Monday for my Oodles of Noodles post. It's going to be quite the pasta showdown!

Oh Snap, She's Back!

That's right fellow vegan foodie nerds, after a very long (unplanned) hiatus, I'm back!!

Honestly, I've been meaning to re-start my sadly neglected child blog for some time; no time like January 1st! Right?!

So much has happened in the past year - I moved to NYC for work, planned a wedding, got married in Italy, and gave my diet a huge overhaul! (More details to come on the aformentioned).

In the upcoming weeks expect a serious bloggie turn around because if you thought I was all about food before -- you haven't seen anything yet!! >> certified food geek here <<

Happy New Year!!

It's recipe time!

Good day foodie peoples!

It's Thursday and I am feeling recipe-ish today. A couple of you asked if I would share more concrete recipes from my little Italian feast a couple posts ago and I figured today would be the perfect day to do just that!

These recipes are from a recent class I taught at the Environmental Nature Center. We did a "Ladies Night" where I made all the toppings and the ladies used Ezekial Spouted Grain Tortillas as pizza crusts. I will say, toasting them up in the dehydrator or oven for 5-10 minutes makes a more authentic 'pizza' crust, but we made due without!

Maiorelli’s Authentic Italian Marinara:


3-4 large Heirloom tomatoes
1-2 cloves of garlic
¼ cup Extra-Virgin, Organic, Cold-pressed Olive Oil
2-3 Tablespoons New Frontiers Pizza Seasoning
1 Tablespoon dried Oregano
1 cup (soaked, unless oil packed) Sun dried Tomatoes
Sea Salt to taste
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
½ cup fresh basil, chopped

In a food processor combine all the aforementioned ingredients with the exception of the fresh tomatoes, parsley, and basil. Blend until a thick paste forms. Add in your fresh heirloom tomatoes and puree. Taste to make sure it’s well seasoned.

Transfer your gravy (marinara) to a separate bowl. Add in fresh chopped herbs and mix.

Almond ‘Ricotta’ Rustica:

2 cups Organic, Un-Pasteurized, Raw Almonds (Soaked in filtered water over night)
2 cloves of garlic
¼ cup Extra-Virgin, Organic, Cold-Pressed Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Italian Seasoning or New Frontiers Pizza Seasoning
1 T Garlic Powder
3 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
Juice of 1 lemon
Sea Salt to taste
Filtered water as needed

Garnish:
Fresh Parsley, chopped
Fresh Basil, chopped
New Frontiers Pizza Seasoning

In your food processor combine almonds, garlic, and olive oil. Pulse until almonds break down and become grain-like. Add in your remaining ingredients and process until fully combined. Taste for seasoning.


Ricotta should be light and fluffy. Mix in your fresh chopped herbs and drizzle with Olive Oil.

*Option: Blend in Culturelle Vegan Probiotic while processing. Place in a wide-mouth jar (mason jar) and cover with a napkin secured with a rubber band. Store in a dark place overnight. This will essential ferment/culture your Ricotta, giving it a more authentic flavor.

To make the lasagna you will need:
 
3-4 zucchini sliced using mandoline or veggie peeler
1-2 T EVOO
1 clove minced garlic
sea salt
 
In your baking dish lay sliced zucchini. Top with EVOO, minced garlic, and sea salt. Toss. Let sit for 1 hour so that the zucchini softens. 
 
After one hour remove your zucchini from the pan. Sauce your pan with gravy and then place one layer of zucchini - making sure to cover the whole pan. You don't want the bottom of the pan to be visable at all.  Do another layer of gravy, again covering the zucchini. Then do a layer of ricotta. I like to do dollups of ricotta- gently pressing them down to spread them out. I try not to mix the sauce and ricotta together, but if that happens, don't sweat it. It's still going to taste just as good. Continue layering, placing another layer of zucchini to cover the gravy/ricotta. And keep on going until you run out of zucchini. Do a final layer of sauce and top with dollups of ricotta and sliced heirloom tomatoes. Garnish with chopped basil, parsley, and drizzle of EVOO. I like to let mine sit overnight in the dehydrator set at 105-110 degrees. This is what really gives it that true lasagna mouth-feel and taste. Yum, yum, yum!  

 

Sometimes I like to make different variations of this adding in marinated spinach and arugula or 'sauteed' veggies on top of the ricotta or sauce. You can even use pesto instead of marinara or ricotta. Be creative!

 

Here is my easy-peasy Pesto recipe just in case you want to switch things up a bit!

 

 

 

Pesto alla Maiorelli:

2 cups walnuts (option to do a mix of walnuts and pine nuts)

2 cups basil

1 cup parsley

1 cup spinach

3 cloves of garlic

1 Tablespoon garlic powder

Juice of 1 lemon

1 Tablespoon sea salt

1 cup Extra Virgin, Organic, Cold-pressed Olive Oil

Combine above ingredients in the food processor adding Olive Oil slowly while the ingredients blend.

*For a thinner Pesto slowly add water.

Hope you enjoy!

Monarch-Stokes Festivities!

Oh boy, I've been holding this little secret in for a while now...

I'm not fond of secret keeping especially ones like these! So, I have been unfathomably anxious to announce this mega OC event on my blog:

::drum roll please::

Matt Monarch & Angela Stokes-Monarch are coming to give a talk at the Environmental Nature Center in Orange County on August 25th!!!!

Matt contacted me a while back and asked if I would be interested in helping to organize the event and naturally I jumped at the chance. I've been a HUGE fan of both Matt and Angela for quite some time now. I literally check my inbox twenty times a day waiting for The Raw Food World TV Show to pop up!

This is going to be an awesome event and a fantastic chance to learn from two experienced, long-term raw foodists.

A little bit about Matt & Angela if you don't already know who they are:

Matt Monarch, Raw Food Educator and author of 'Raw Spirit' and 'Raw Success' has been eating 100% raw for nearly 13 years. Matt will address the question, "Is the Raw Food Diet for me?" He will discuss overcoming health challenges, why some diets work and some don’t, difficulties that may arise on your journey and the benefits of eating Raw Foods, juicing and colonics.

Angela Stokes-Monarch lost over 150 lbs and overcame morbid obesity with a raw food lifestyle. She will share her message of natural recovery. Angela will discuss healthy, rapid weight loss, how to break overeating patterns, balancing detox with slimming, taking care of the body naturally and addressing the underlying issues.

Just to entice you more, I'll be making some snacks to nibble on during the talk AND Matt and Angela will be selling a whole bunch of products from their online store, http://www.rawfoodworld.com/ -- one of the best places to find below and at cost deals on all your raw food essentials!

This is one of their last events for a LONG time so sign up ASAP! You will NOT want to miss this extraordinary information powerhouse! 

To register call 949-645-8489 or email Lori Walen at lori@enc.org

And for questions please email me at maioa827@gmail.com

Unholy Creations of Italian Goodness...

Ah, if only there were such a thing as virtual 'smell-o-vision- because the aroma of sun-dried tomatoes, basil, and faux oven-baked lasagna has been a constant in the apartment. Seriously, it smelled like when my Mim used to make big pans of Baked Ziti. Mmm, cheeze, saucey, love!  It's like a big warm hug of deliciousness.

Lasagna alla Maiorelli:

Mmm, Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms:

Italian food in general is so simple to prepare which makes it that much more difficult to recreate well. The secret? Keep the sauce simple: tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, a little garlic, dried spices and finish off with a touch of good olive oil and chopped basil and parsley. Do not, under any circumstances, puree the rest of the ingredients with the fresh parsley and basil. It muddles the flavors and turns the sauce green. And the ricotta? Culture/ferment it. That's it. It's amazing, spectucular, and really freaking good.

Lasagna, post-dehydration:

It's entirely difficult to abstain from eating the whole thing. You start with small slivers and before you know it there is absolutely nothing left...Oh well, guess I just have to make more, darn!

I also made a whole stinking bunch of cookies while on hiatus. I'm obsessed with the Almond Amaretto Tecchino herbal coffee so that was my inspiration for these cutesy cookies of almond ameratto goodness. A little Almond extract and you've got yourself a sweet little treat; it's almost too easy!  

Almond Amaretto Cookie Dough Bites:

These were so soft, chewy, and almond-y. I think next time I might add some of the actual tecchino to the dough to make it taste more like the coffee. yum, yum, yum!

Better Planned Upheaval

Pardon moi, Raw Food Nerd has been on hiatus for the last two weeks. It's that time again, i.e. better planned upheaval -- except in Season 2 of Alysha: This Is Your Life I've actually got a well-mapped and finalized plan.

I'm moving back home, to New York City- right where I belong. I'll be resuming my old job (the one that so easily filled the emptiness in my heart and gave me purpose).

I feel like a ginormous weight has been lifted off my shoulders; like I can breathe again. Given the circumstances, I've been quite successful in California. However, since the moment my feet (or our tires, whatev) planted themselves in this Sunny State I've had an unquenchable feeling of regret. (I cried all the way from LA to The OC the day we arrived...and for several days after...)

We left everything, everything behind. And while at first it seemed exciting, spontaneous, new - once the realization that this was permanent and not a three week vacation set it, it became even more apparent that perhaps I had made quite the mistake.

And then I realized I'd be living in the OC and not LA and my heart sunk a whole lot more. This was not how I envisioned my new California lifestyle. Wilkes-Mesa anyone?

And I'd have to fly home for Christmas every year...

And I'd have to spend Thanksgiving in CA...

And Christmas would be the only time I would see my family because it is so expensive to fly...

And working for yourself is never consistent...

The list goes on...

California never felt like "home", but more like a self-actualization of who I really was. (Obviously, I'm not the bohemian nomadic type who can just pick up and move without a second thought.)

Unfortunately, there is one MASSIVE con to all of this: Kevin has to stay here for another eight months to finish his masters. The very thought is gut-wrenching and physically painful. We've been together going on seven years and in that time we've spent, at most, five days apart. Needless to say, other than planning and getting mine and Kev's shimmelz together (he's moving into on campus housing, etc.)  this is the reason for my hiatus.

It's been a rather emotional time as September is steadfastly approaching; everything is changing once again and neither of us in all our sentimentality take well to change (though you'd never know it). It's hard to picture my day to day life without Kev. It's hard to picture New York itsef without Kev...

We're bothing taking it pretty hard and I haven't felt much like doing anything but hiberating.

Yet, in my heart of hearts I know this is what I have to do...what I really want to do.

Hi, my name is Alysha and I'm in a Bi-Costal Long Distance Relationship. Oye vey!

Anyway, Raw Food Nerd is up and running again; we'll be back with regular scheduled blogging tomorrow--  pictures and all!