RAW FOR LIFE

All ingredients are organic and raw, I usually don't measure things in my kitchen unless I'm following someone's specific recipe and I often add many of my own favorite spices and herbs randomly at the end (especially cinnamon, oh how I love thee, and trader joes 21 spice salute). Thanks to this my recipes taste slightly new and different nearly everytime (which I love!) but keep the same essential character. So I encourage everyone to do the same! I will do my best to approximate amounts when I can remember them ;-).

PORTABELLO PARMASEAN
I was really craving chicken parmasean and have always had wonderful success marinating portabellos to acheive that meaty cooked flavor. So I came up with this recipe all on my own (with inspiration from Alissa Cohen's Marinara Sauce recipe)

2 stemmed portabello caps
Optional: Cashew Veggie Burger (Just Good Energy)

Marinade (enough lightly to coat mushrooms):
1 C Flax oil/ Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic
chunks of ginger
2-3 Basil Leaves
Green onion chopped
Spices- Sea Salt, pepper, garlic powder, mustart seed, cumin, cinnamon, tj 21 spice salute, basil, cayenne, (chili power and whatever other spices depending on mood)

Marinara Sauce: (add what you like!)
2.5 C assorted color cherry tomatoes (or whatever kinds you enjoy)
12-15 soaked sun-dried tomatoes
3 soaked dates
4-6 cloves garlic (or more, I LOVE garlic so always more for me)
Big chunk of ginger
Herbs- Parsley, Basil, Oregeno, and whatever else sounds good
Cayenne Pepper to taste (plenty for me, don't be too afraid of it)
1t sea salt
pepper and spices to taste
1/4 C olive oil (I mix with flax oil and often use less oil and add some of the soaking water instead)

1. In small mixing bowl, crush garlic on bottom to release the juices. Combine marinade ingredients in bowl and mix by hand till well combined
2. Cut mushrooms in half and place in tupperrware with lid. Pour marinade over the top, cover, and shake to coat mushrooms well. Let marinade a few hours or overnight in fridge to let oil soften mushrooms (may not soften completely in this step)
3. Combine Marinara Sauce ingredients in food processor and blend until desired smoothness.
4. If hungry now, take one marinaded mushroom halve and place on plate. Cover with marinara sauce and enjoy. Otherwise, combine sauce with mushrooms to let the shrooms absorb the sauce and soften completely. The flavors improve with time until of course the food is no longer fresh, you'll know when that is.
5. If you have cashew burger, start with this at the bottom and then layer mushroom and sauce on top.

ENJOY!!!

SUN-DRIED TOMATO AND ROSEMARY AVOCADO SALAD
I put this together in preparation for a taco themed pool party. Originally a simple tomato and avo salad, it took on a life of its own to become my solution for my taco cravings when I stuck it between two crisp romaine heart leaves!

Assorted Color Cherry Tomatoes cut in half
small sweet cherry tomatoes kept whole
1 diced roma tomato if needed to bulk (wash off seeds)
5-6 Soaked Sun-dried Tomatoes (save water)
3 Avocados skinned and diced square
1 ear sweet white corn, shaved (kernals)
Green onion, diced
6 cloves diced garlic
diced ginger
Herbs: Cilantro, Basil, Rosemary (little leaves, no stalk)
Spices: Sea Salt, Pepper, Cumin, TJ 21 Spice Salute
White Truffle Oil (1 tsp max)
1/2 lime
agave necatar

1. In Large bowl: Halved tomatoes, corn, avocados, rosemary, onion, spices,
2. In food processor: Garlic Ginger Cilantro Basil (don't clean). Till diced. Add to large bowl and add spices. Mix a few times.
3. In food processor: 4-6 small whole cherry tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, 5-6 T of sun-dried tomato water, truffle oil, dash of salt and pepper if desired. Blend till smooth
4. Add dressing to bowl, drizzle with agave, and give a light squeeze of lime. Add a dash of cayenne if desired. Mix well and ENJOY!
* Use to fill romaine heart leaves for a VERY satisfying taco!!!*

FIG MUSTARD
I made this recipe the first time with decent success, and the second time it turned into a dressing because I couldn't get to my tumeric and I think food processing it changed the consistency (plus I never measure things!). I'm still experimenting but I DID come across some fresh tumeric in Erewhon that I'm looking forward to playing around with :-)

2 fresh figs peeled
garlic and ginger diced
mustard powder
tumeric power
apple cider vineagar (not too much, maybe a capful)
sun-dried tomato/date water (or any liquid you like)
cumin
salt, pepper, tjs spices, cayenne, any other spices you like
agave
(white or black truffle oil)

In small to medium bowl add garlic and ginger and smash a bit to release juices. Add everything else, water (and oil if desired) last. Add enough water till desired consistency and enjoy.

To make into dressing add a little more water and oil as well as a couple more figs. Just keep fiddling with amounts till it tastes right to you (I know I'm maddening...)

SEATTLE'S BEST HEIRLOOM TOMATO & PORTABELLO STEAK PASTA
This recipe was insipred by a visit to Seattle, staying with some friends who were really interested in learning more about my raw lifestyle. They were very surprised when I told them that I don't sit around munching on carrots all day and so I decided to create a dish all on my own, no cookbooks or recipes, just based on my last year of raw experiences. And boy is it tasty! They loved it (and a couple of them were mushroom haters!)!

5-7 Zucchini, peeled
white truffle oil (optional)

Portabello Steak:
4 Portabello Mushroom Caps (left whole, cut in halves, or cut in strips)
Spices: Cumin, Chili Powder, Mustard Powder, Garlic Powder, Trader Joes Spice Salute or Italian Seasoning, Cayenne Pepper, Cinnamon, Fresh Ground Pepper, pinch sea salt.
Nama Shoyu or Braggs
1 clove garlic pressed or smashed
small piece ginger
Extra Virgin Olive Oil or oil of choice (I like to mix olive and flax)
Agave Nectar (3 seconds)

Sauce:
5-7 Heirloom Tomatoes
1/2 c diced green onions/red onions
Large handful basil
handful parsley
15 sundried tomatoes soaked (save water)
3-5 dates pitted and soaked (save water)
Sea Salt
Cayenne Pepper
Agave Nectar (5-7 seconds)
Medium piece Ginger
7-9 cloves Garlic (or to taste)
Fresh or dried Rosemary
1/8-1/4 c flax or olive oil

1. In medium to large container with a lid, combine mushrooms with other steak ingredients.
2. Add lid, shake to coat, and let marinade for at least one hour. The larger your pieces are, the longer it will need to marinade; whole pieces can take around 4 hours. You will know when the center looks like it has absorbed the juices at least 1/4 of the way in.
3. Using a Saladacco, a Vegetable Jullianer, Mandolin, or any similiar product, make zucchini into noodles and let sit at room temp. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and TJ/ italian seasonings and mix. (Optional add 1t white truffle oil).
4. Dice 1 large heirloom tomato and set aside. Also set aside 1/2 of the onions, and 4 basil leaves
5. Combine all the sauce ingredients into food processor and blend well. Add saved sun-dried tomato and date water until desired consistency.
To Assemble:
6. In large serving platter add Zucchini Pasta, sprinkle with rest of onions and basil leaves. Add 1/2 of diced heirloom tomatoes to center of pasta. Add mushrooms to the center on top of tomatoes. Sprinkle remaining heirlooms over everything. Drizzle with tomato sauce and sprinkle with fresh ground pepper. Serve with remaining tomato sauce on the side to add to individual plates and ENJOY!!!!

**Check out www.goneraw.com for many delightfully creative recipes**