Thai Carrot Soup

Delicious Raw Thai Carrot Soup

You can eat it cold, warm or even if you make it hot, you will enjoy the simplicity and taste of this lovely soup! It's carroty, and creamy with a little kick and very filling.

It's Time

I don't know about you all, but I can tell summer is coming to a close. We are still in the triple digits here in the California desert and will be for a while still so it's not like it's getting cooler yet but the day before Labor Day just felt a little different.  It was still hot and sunny but change was in the air. In the days following we had some rare showers and even a thunder storm. Although we didn't cool down much and it didn't last long, it was kind of fun to get wet and have a bit of relief from the ever present sunshine. I know you are thinking well, duh! A storm was coming, of course it felt different. But now the storm is gone and that feeling is still in the air and sky.

This signal of seasons makes me a little sad for the wonderful summer fruit and produce that will be left behind but at the same time, it brings new options and I can't wait to be able to actually spend more time outdoors. I know for many of you that sounds the opposite of your summer experience but we are just coming into our "season" here. People from all over will be heading our way to soak up our warm sunshine- warm as opposed to hot! and sunny skies. The desert becomes a playground again and I hope to be able to get out and play too this season.

Our local Organic Farmer's Market is just about to re-open- Woo-hoo! Can't wait! It closes from May until mid September and it always leaves a major void. So this is an exciting time! I love learning about where our food comes from, the people behind it and trying new things. This year I want to push my comfort zone even further and try as many new things as possible.

So in honor of the change in season, I thought one of my favorite soups was in order. When I was brand new to raw, and looking for what to try that was good, my friend Deborah Blank shared this recipe with me. It was instantly one of my favorites and still is today. I believe Penni Shelton, the director of RawFood Rehab.com is the originator of this version of the recipe.

Thai Carrot Soup

Raw Thai Carrot Soup

What I love about raw food preparation is lining up all the ingredients (can you tell?) and looking at all the fresh and colorful ingredients and knowing that I am not going to do anything to them to destroy their nutrients. I know exactly what is going into my food and that I will get the full benefit of health and wonderful fresh taste in a meal. Being easy, only a knife and blender required and no cooking time or major clean up is all just a bonus!

Thai Carrot Soup Ingredients

3 carrots, topped and tailed

1 orange bell pepper

2 cups spring water 

meat from one young/thai coconut

3/4 cup almond milk

1 Tbsp Nama Shoyu or Tamari

1 Tbsp agave

1 Tbsp curry powder

1 Tbsp chopped cilantro

1/2 jalepeno pepper

2 tsp sea salt

chives for garnish

Chop all vegetables except for the chives, into smallish pieces, 

Blend with other ingredients until smooth. 

Tip: the water is where you can control the temperature of your soup.

 Add room temperature water for room temp soup 

If you want it warm or even hot, heat your water before adding to the blender.

What to do with the coconut water? Drink it! Or make a smoothie with it as a base- so good!

Printer Friendly Recipe

Now if you are new to Young Coconuts, Don't Be Intimidated!  

When I was new to raw, I skipped over any recipes that included these coconuts and when I finally tried to open one I was surprised how easy it was. For more info and a really good video on how to open them check out my post Cuckoo for Coconuts.

The hard part is finding where to buy them, usually your health food stores or  asian markets but they are popping up more places. I was surprised to find them in my regular Vons grocery store. Just shake to make sure you can't hear the water. Most of these retailers don't know when they turn bad to pull them from the shelf.

Now, I would love to be able to share a substitute for young coconuts for those of you that don't have access to them but since this recipe already has almond milk in it, I am not sure what would work in it's place. Meat from mature brown coconuts does not work, I'm afraid.
If YOU have any ideas on a substitution, please share in the comments below.

Cilantro Head

What are you looking forward to with the change of season?

Watermelon and Lime- Ice Pops and Aqua Fresca

It's not often that flowers inspire something to eat but when I picked up these flowers and starting shaping this arrangement I realized how much I love the colors of watermelon and lime together. They are both cheery as well as refreshing and cool. The more I thought about it, the more my mouth watered.

Since there doesn't seem to be an end in sight yet to the hot weather, I've decided to keep focusing on recipes that will help cool us off. Watermelon and lime are two perfect examples of fruit that do that well.

So here is a recipe that makes a wonderful ice pop as well as a refreshing and tasty drink over ice.

Watermelon and Lime Ice Pops

Watermelon and Lime Ice Pops

Forget the store bought who knows what is in them type popsicles and look no further than your produce department to make your own ice pops.

Recipe

*  About 4 cups of fresh watermelon
   (I left the seeds in)

*  Juice of one lime

*  A big squeeze of Agave Nectar
   (maybe 1- 2 Tbsp) depending on        the sweetness of the melon you         have

*  1/4 cup water (optional)

*   Pinch of sea salt



Blend all in a blender and pour into mold

Using the molds pictured, I filled almost to the top, leaving about 1/4 inch at the top for expansion. This keeps the liquid from sticking to the top.

I placed the top in place and let the pops freeze for about 2 hours.

Then I placed the sticks into the mold. This keeps the sticks from either floating up or sinking all the way to the bottom.

I chose to use the kind of molds with sticks, as opposed to the ones with the plastic sticks so that I could remove from mold when done, store and reuse the molds.

After frozen solid, let thaw a few minutes and pull from molds.

Now if you don't want to freeze this into pops, you can just pour it over ice and enjoy it as

Watermelon and Lime Aqua Fresca

Enjoy!

Mountain Getaway and Fresh Peach Ice Pops!

Our Cabin in the Woods

We were actually just on vacation! We decided to escape the heat of the California desert and head up into the mountains. So here we were in Big Bear Lake, California where we had made a little log cabin in the woods, our home away from home. Up here at an elevation of around 7,000 feet the weather is cooler, the pine air is refreshing and the nights are just plain lovely.

Heirloom Tomatoes

Our first stop upon arrival was to hit up the local Tuesday Farmer's Market. We made it about an hour before closing time and managed to scurry around and buy some wonderful produce from the local farmers. This particular market is interesting in that they make all the farmers submit photos of their actual farms for their website. "No fakers here" being their motto. All farmers are from within a one hundred mile radius and most from the high desert region.

We met a woman who had a tomato stand- just tomatoes and a few different peppers. She had so many kinds and an absolutely gorgeous selection of heirlooms. She gave us a sample of one of her red tomatoes and it literally melted in my mouth- amazing!

We picked out some wonderful varieties and I knew even before we got in the car that we should have bought a lot more tomatoes!  We also picked up fresh peaches, grapes, seeded watermelon, apricots, fresh lettuces, lemons, limes, and berries. There was also a french gentleman selling his wife's fresh bread. We actually bought some wheat rolls for Rich to make tomato sandwiches- his favorite snack. The only ingredients with these were wheat, salt and yeast- hmmm. Very light and airy.

 I Love Farmer's Markets!!

I love to talk to the farmers, hear their stories and learn about the food. So very interesting!

Mon Chapeau Neuf

I kept seeing these fabulous hats wandering around me and I had to track down where they were coming from. A lovely gal had a booth with hats that she had made by hand. They are a little oversized, rumpled and indestructible and with the big flowers and lace bands they really spoke to the romantic in me. She had several different fun colors making it hard to decide. I went with the more neutral shade and donned it immediately. So glad I did! I love it!

So vibrant and colorful- Doesn't it make your mouth water?

Our next stop, since our cabin was not ready was to hit up a local restaurant called BLT's, sporting an outside deck for dogs and their owners. Lili was very happy sitting under the table watching the other dogs under their tables. They even had a portion of the menu for dogs that included things like chicken and kibbles, hot dog and kibbles, burger and kibbles, you get the picture.

For people they had the most amazing fresh Signature Salad, one of the few places around that included more than just lettuce, meat and cheese in their salads and believe me I read a lot of menus before we headed up.

This salad had five varieties of fresh lettuce and another five varieties of fresh fruit plus a sprinkling of walnuts and a strawberry balsamic vinaigrette- Delicious!

So after getting settled into the cabin which was adorable by the way, I decided to make something cool and refreshing to go along with the cool and refreshing theme of our trip. I put those little fresh peaches from the market to good use.

Fresh Peach Ice Pops

Nothing like fresh ripe peaches!

Last year we went the whole season with never having a ripe peach! We bought lots of them but they were always hard and unflavorful, and never ripened. This year we have been fortunate that Trader Joe's has been selling crates of local fresh peaches. A peach should smell ripe at the time you buy them. They should have that lovely peach aroma at the stem. If you buy at farmer's markets they will usually let you sample one. Our local market closes for the summer due to the heat but this farmer up here in Big Bear let us just eat one to test and they were delicious!

Ice Pop Ingredients- Peaches, Honey and a little water and some pop molds

Peach Ice Pops

Blend up some ripe peaches

Add in a touch of water to get things moving in the blender

Sweeten to taste with a mild honey or agave

(My honey turned out to be not so mild and overtook the flavor of the peaches.

 I ended up making them again with a light agave and it was much better!!)

 Pour into molds

Freeze

Enjoy!

I promised to keep it real with this blog and tell you even the not so good results and tips and tricks that I learn along the way. This little experiment was a good example of this. Not sure if my raw honey turned on me but it took on a strange flavor with my recipes this week. I ended up remaking these with agave and they were wonderful! 

I will need to hunt down a local raw honey vendor, since out farmer's market is gone for the summer. Local honey is always best as it is kind of like gradually vaccinating the body against local allergens, a process called immunotherapy- like allergy shots.  Stay tuned for more on this adventure.

Another not so great item for these ice pops was the molds. I do not recommend the ones pictured here at all! They were some cheapies I got at Target or Walmart, I can't remember which but I was so frustrated with them either not coming out of the mold or just the sticks coming out, or them coming half way out leaving the other half to be washed down the drain that I ended up "donating" them to the cabin when we left. I have ordered some new molds and will let you know how those work out with a new recipe that I am dying to try out when they arrive. 

Meanwhile....

Here are some pictures from around town:

I just adore hollyhocks

 and they were everywhere.

So pretty!

Daisies always make me smile!

I also love American flags.

We got a kick out of these chairs out in front of a pub.

Next Post: We head out hiking, picnicking and exploring around Big Bear Lake but only after setting out the sun tea!

Jicama Salad or Mock "Potato Salad"

Raw Jicama Salad or Mock "Potato Salad"

Hello All! I have so much I've wanted to share with you but our main computer has been in the shop. I have loads of photos all set to share with what I have been up to but they are trapped in the computer. I kept thinking any day now it would return but no such luck yet. Ugh!

Meanwhile I have been getting really good feedback on a recipe post I made awhile back over at Raw Food Rehab in their recipe section, so I thought I would share that here with you.  It's super easy and very tasty.

Many people call this "Potato Salad" because it's similar in texture I guess. It's creamy and a little crunchy. If you are like me and are not a potato salad fan, I hope you try it anyway. I was never a potato salad fan because I don't care for mayonaise so much, but I do love this! That actually is a theme running for me in raw. I am finding I like much more than ever, probably because the flavor and tastes are so fresh.

In general I am not a fan in calling things similar to regular S.A.D. (standard american diet) food versions because they generally do not taste anywhere near the original and if you are hoping so you will be disappointed but they do serve as some wonderful replacements in the diet. I challenge anyone to take this to a party with people that don't eat raw and see if it doesn't disappear the fastest out of all the dishes served- just don't call it potato salad.

Hmmm....Don't call me...Tater Salad.
        Love Ron White ;-)

I had already labeled it on my post and since I am just copying it over, Potato Salad it is. (sorry about the typos and lack of photos)

I hope you try this because it is delicious!

And if you do try it, tell me if you would call it mock potato salad, would you? I would love to know if you think it's similar.

Hope to be back up and running on my main computer soon. I've got lots of fun things planned and some news about an experiment I have going.

'Til then, take care!

Classic Andalusian Gazpacho

Classic Andalusian Gazpacho aka Raw Chilled Vegetable Soup
Psst: I just want you all to know that I did not enhance the color of this photo in any way- It's that vibrant!

It's Tomato Time!

Nothing beats a fresh raw organic ripe tomato in season. Well maybe there are other things but for me who never really liked raw tomatoes this was a new discovery. Tomatoes were things I would pick out of my sandwich or kick around out of the way in my salad. Who could blame me for not liking tomatoes when my only real exposure to them was in restaurants where you are hardly served a ripe tomato or from grocery stores where it is picked green or so modified where ever it comes from that it hardly has any taste at all.

No. there is a reason to wait for tomato season and then buy locally grown, or better yet from the farmer and indulge in the real deal- Flavor!! 

Take it an extra step and pick up some heirloom tomatoes, which means the seeds are at least over 50 years old and have been handed down the generations or have not been hybridized. There are over 600 varieties of heirlooms!

How many varieties of tomatoes does your grocer carry?

But I'm getting off track....

Back to Gazpacho!

A great way to enjoy the summer harvest vegetables is in Gazpacho, which is a very cooling  and refreshing soup made of raw fresh vegetables that is chilled. Gazpacho originates in the southern region of Andalusia and is a summer staple in Spain, Portugal and other Latin regions.

Traditionally gazpacho was made with raw fresh vegetables, mostly tomatoes, stale bread, garlic and olive oil. It is said that it became popular with field hands as a way to both eat and cool off without cooking and to use up stale bread. Over the years it has morphed into all sorts of cold vegetable combinations but I am going back to the source- the original if you like, but minus the stale bread.

What's kind of fun about Gazpacho is that you can make the basic soup and then pass around the garnish for people to add in any of their favorite flavors, including more oil or vinegar/sherry or more onions. You can have it smooth like a drink or chunky like a salsa. It's all personal.

Classic Gazpacho

Classic Fresh Ingredients

GAZPACHO RECIPE:

2 1/2 lbs ripe tomatoes, cored and quartered

1/2 cucumber peeled

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and quartered

2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed to a paste

2 Tbsp sherry vinegar or wine vinegar, or to taste

4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, or more to taste
1 tsp agave or more to taste, depending on your tomatoes

1 tsp sea salt to taste
Fresh black pepper to taste
Pinch of Cayenne pepper (optional)

GARNISH  
(Optional)
1/2 cucumber peeled and finely diced
1/2 red onion or 4 scallions, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
Olive oil
Vinegar
(Or any combination of the above)

Quarter the bell pepper and blend to a paste in a food processor.
Add the rest of the ingredients minus the olive oil and blend until creamy or chunky if you prefer.
Drizzle in the oil while processing.
Place in a glass bowl or jar and cover.
Chill for an hour or up to a day before serving.

To Serve: 
Spoon into bowls and pass round the optional garnish or serve in a glass.

Takes about 10 mins to make this before chilling. This batch made up a quart and a half of soup,
Enough for 4-6 people


Enjoy!

Raw Tomato Gazpacho