Category: Misc.

Raw “poached” pears is a very easy, tasty dessert! Great for any time of year!

Raw Poached Pears

You will need:

As many pears as you need – allow 1/2 pear per person. Pears should be soft to the touch, meaning that they should yield when pressed on.
As many teaspoons walnuts as you have pears, chopped finely
As many teaspoons raisins as you have pears, soaked in water for 10 or more minutes
A small amount of fresh lemon juice
Cinnamon
Honey

Cut pears in half lengthwise, and use a spoon to gentley carve away the core, leaving a hollowing where the core was. Trim both ends of each pear half, to remove the tough stem and bottom.

Place a Teflex sheet on a dehydrator tray, and on top of it lay a sheet of waxed paper that is long enough to wrap up and over the pears.

Lay the pears, cut side up, on the waxed paper.

Brush or wipe lemon juice on the cut side of each pear.

Sprinkle chopped walnuts into each hollow in each pear.

Top walnuts with raisins.

Drizzle honey on top of the walnuts and raisins in each pear, and along the top edges of each pear.

Sprinkle each pear lightly with cinnamon.

Wrap the excess waxed paper up and over the pears, and tuck it back under the pears, so that the pears are enclosed within the waxed paper.

Warm in dehydrator at 115 degrees for 8 to 12 hours – the pears are done when they are as soft as you’d like them.

Yummy!

I have absolutely been jonesing for raw Indian food, and so I found a recipe, made it my own, and the results were nothing short of incredible! You could barely tell that it was raw. And ohmygosh it was so easy! Indian raw food – it’s what’s for dinner!

I found the recipe on which I based this on the GoneRaw.com website. However, I didn’t have all of the ingredients for which it called, and my substitutions made a great recipe even easier!

For this raw Indian recipe you will need one small pumpkin. Whole Foods often has organic pie pumpkins, which are perfect. That said, the smallest pumpkin you can find should be adequate.

Raw Food Pumpkin Curry – Indian Style

2 cups pumpkin (deseeded, peeled, and cubed)
1/4 cup onion, chopped (doesn’t have to be finally chopped as it will be pureed)
1/2 cup red or yellow pepper, chopped (doesn’t have to be finally chopped as it will be pureed)
1 teaspoon ground ginger, or one slice fresh ginger about the size of a nickel
1/3 cup raisins
2 Tablespoons coconut butter or coconut oil
1/2 cup shredded or powdered coconut, or coconut flour
1 Tablespoon garam masala paste or one Tablespoon garam masala powder plus just enough vegetable oil to blend the powder into a paste
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt (I use sea salt)
filtered water
1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro
1/2 cup frozen peas

Soak the raisins in about 1/2 cup water while you are prepping the pumpkin, onion and pepper. Also let the frozen peas sit out at room temperature while you are prepping the rest of the ingredients.

In your Vitamix, blender, or food processor, blend all of the ingredients (including the water in which you soaked the raisins) except the cilantro and peas. Reserve the cilantro and peas for later.

Once everything is pureed and very smooth, add more water until it is the consistency you want it to be.

Transfer the puree to a bowl that will fit in your dehydrator, and mix in the cilantro and the peas.

Warm the curry in your dehydrator, set at 115 degrees, for a half hour or so until thoroughly warmed. (Can also be eaten straight from the blender, but warmed it is incredible.)

Raw cacao nibs (or raw cocoa nibs) are absolutely, amazingly delicious. Whether you prefer to call them cacao nibs or cocoa nibs, the bottom line is that they are chocolate at its most pure.

(According to Ghirardelli, “historically, “cacaoâ€? and “cocoaâ€? were used interchangeably since “cocoaâ€? is easier to understand. However, technically, “cocoaâ€? should be used in reference to powder products, while “cacaoâ€? should be used when referring to the bean”.)

And they are so good for you!

The Yale-New Haven hospital says that “Over 300 naturally occurring chemicals are found in chocolate. In a study conducted by Andrew Waterhouse, chocolate was found to have potent antioxidants,” and USA Today explains that medical research has revealed that “chocolate is rich in cell-protecting antioxidants”, that the antioxidants in chocolate “help block chemical changes in bad LDL cholesterol that lead to clogged arteries,” and “act like aspirin to reduce blood platelet stickiness and thus the clotting that triggers heart attacks and strokes

In any event, raw cacao nibs (or cocoa nibs) are an absolute treat. Crunchy, chocolatey, and not at all bitter like baking chocolate (although not sweet either – they are just perfect!) they can be eaten plain, mixed into recipes, sprinkled over fruit or ice cream, or just eaten with nuts and dried fruits by the handful!

You can mix them into pretty much any sweet (or indeed some savory!) recipes. Leave them ‘whole’ for some crunch, or mix them in with other ingredients in your food processor or Vitamix to grind them up.

They are wonderful added in to smoothies and nut-based drinks, and divine mixed into homemade ice creams.

For a great drink, try our Orange Chocolate Dream! Or our Banana Split in a Glass!

And my own Mole Mole sauce uses them!

One site recommends cutting up squares of raw honeycomb, sprinkling them with the cacao nibs, and serving. Yum!

Raw cacao nibs can be ordered many places online, including Amazon!

For more information, and to order raw cacao nibs, click on the picture: