h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Most of you who've known me a while (I have some new friends subsribed to my journal now- yay!) know that I adhere to a mostly vegetarian diet. I do consume eggs (cage free, organic vegetarian variety), organic fat free dairy and cheese made with non-animal rennet- in moderation (I try for no more than three servings of eggs/dairy per week).

This summer, I've been trying to have at least one raw meal per week. This doesn't include the raw fruits and veggies I munch on for snacks, and my intention is to have a variety of raw foods, not just salads.

I've been reading a vegan blog for some time, as its authors alternate vegan and raw vegan menus, and their stuff sounds great. But I just don't have time to prepare gourmet quality every night of the week- by the time we both get home from work most evenings, we have only 3 or 4 hours till bed. I don't like eating too close to bedtime, as it tends to give me indigestion and nighttime hot flashes.

So... does anyone here have any experience with a dehydrator? I'm thinking of buying one, preparing a couple of raw meals in advance and freezing for during the week. We don't eat leftovers more than three days in the fridge, and to be honest, I'm not a big fan of eating the same thing more than twice within a few days, if that- so we'd need to make stuff that freezes well, and in small enough quantities that we won't have to eat it more than twice.

I'd also love any suggestions for any raw foods you lot might have made, whether with the intention of eating raw, or just because that's the way it turned out.

Presumably one could only "do" raw eggs if one prepared them in the dehyrdrator? I'm very cautious about food-borne illness, and there's no point my investing in antimicrobial cleaners and then ingesting known contaminants.

You should look in on Recumbentman. He's arguing for a vegan diet.

I always feel mega-healthy when I eat a raw food meal - but I'm pretty sure its psychosomatic. I love the idea of these raw food restaurants I've heard of in the US. Frankly, though, I don't think the quality of produce that's easily available around here would sustain a raw diet. Plus - raw curry would be impossible.

Raw eggs:
It's a funny one. Things like proper mayonnaise, ice cream, Caesar's salad and (dare I say) steak tartare should be made with raw egg yolks. Over here, Edwina Currie (who went on to sleep with John Major)was sacked as Minister for Agriculture for saying that most of our egg production was infected with salmonella. Which it was. When they discovered a similar problem in Sweden, their reaction was...to fix it!

However, decent, organic eggs from a reliable source should be safe.

Can you get Udo's Oil? It's a very tasty raw oil.

Oh, yeah... I did make ice cream a few times (while I had a roommate with an ice cream freezer) but I swear I used a custard instead of adding raw eggs. And it's not like I never eat mayo (though the stuff we buy for at home is eggless). I think you're right that decent organic stuff should be fine, and that's what I usually have anyway.

Never heard of Udo's Oil, but I will definitely look for it. I'd be willing to bet Whole Foods or one of the local health food shops has it.

I haven't been to many raw restaurants in Chicago- just one, actually, which happens to be within a half mile of home. I've been to a fair number of vegan/vegetarian places, but I haven't found many raw places that do anything other than "raw bar" fare- sushi/oysters, etc., which I don't eat anyway.

I may just check in on Recumbentman, if you don't think he'd mind the intrusion.

I doubt he would. He's a convivial fellow.

I'll drop him a line later.

Meanwhile, I've been having a look at dehydrators- and appropriate cooking ideas- and I wonder if it'd be a worthwhile investment if I can't "do" nuts? I don't particularly want veggie jerky.

Though it could come in handy for storing the occasional left over sauce/soup, without it getting all freezer burned before I get around to using it up.

Some of the recipes I've seen for raw pastas and flatbreads made in dehydrators look fantastic- but they take HOURS. I can't leave the thing on while we're not home (what if the timer malfunctioned?). Maybe, though, one could whip up something over the weekend and it'd last longer in the fridge than typical leftovers, which I normally flush down the toilet after 48 hours.

Heavens! Why would a time malfunction? I bet you're the kind of person who unplugs all the lamps before leaving home.

Two ideas:
Gazpacho
Sopa de ajo blanco. (Garlic soup with grapes. Oh - wait - I think it has almonds.)

OK, then - Chilled avocado soup.

Here's the rub. Gazpacho is out because K hates cucumbers- though I adore the stuff. Oh, and he hates avocados too. Hmmm. I may have to change tacks and plan raw foods for lunch. Maybe I could do it every day, then, instead of just once a week.

I must find more things to do with sprouts (of the mung/alfalfa variety) in addition to sandwiches and salads.

What about raw tofu, if it's marinated in something vinegary?

No, smart arse, I don't unplug all of the lamps when we leave. I do make sure the coffee maker is turned off, though, and I'd be wary of leaving a dehyrdrator running. I'm not even keen on the idea of a crock pot (slow cooker). And not just because it's cheating.

You could sprout your own seeds. An old jar, a J-cloth, a rubber band and away you go. Once you've been to an Indian store (not an expensive wholefood store) for some moong dhal, mustard, fenugreek, fennel...

I can´t believe it! I was thinking a hour ago about this chat and writing mentally the recipes of ajo blanco and gazpacho!!
YOu wiil end up believing in that stuff of telepathy
About gazpacho:
You dont have to use cucumber. Actually, every person HAS his/ her own recipe. Mine is this: 1kg of ripe tomatoes, a green pepper, a clove of garlic( or half if it is very fresh)Some people use bread to thicken the soup, but I use carrot or apple, and sometime both. A small glass of olive oil, extra virgen, extra pure, ( don´t know what is written on the label you use, pressed in cold may be?) vinengar, use a good one, the sherry, the modena... or 1 lemon juice. Salt and that is. If you use lemon it lasts more as vinengar sour it sooner.

Ajo blanco ( how do you know that???!!!)

You need bread, a good one, you must use it the day after.
Almonds, raw and peeled ( just boil them one minute and the peel goes off very easily with your fingers)
garlic ( it depends of your taste) I use one clove and half for a litre of soup. Salt, oil and vinengar ( not lemon) the grapes used are called moscatel , they are pale green and subtly sweet, but any other will do. The grapes are added peeled and seedless before having the soup, cold.

You can use apple to thicken together with the bread.
I´m going to collect recipes of that kind for you, Im not a vegan , but tonight I´ve prepared a vegan dinner and all happy.
maría

I know everything.

Everything about food, anyway. But I admit I wouldn't have thought of apples or carrots in gazpacho. I can see that they'd work, though.

I make a good iced soup with peas and mint too. Of course, you wouldn't expect me to gave anything you could call a 'recipe'. Take some peas. And some mint. Blend them with a suitable liquid into a soup. Add some ice cubes and serve.

'Cold pressed'. btw.

There was somebody on the radio the other day raving about the delights of Spanish olive oil.

Ooh! Ooh!

Vietnamese spring rolls. Use Chinese cabbage leaves instead of rice wrappers. Bean sprouts, grated carrot, maybe some grated mooli, ginger, finely-sliced shallot, thinly sliced chilli. Dip them in a sauce of soy, rice vinegar and sesame oil.

I've got all the Indian spices already (yep, I visit the Indian grocer next to my favorite restaurant with some frequency, though our wholefood shops aren't that expensive here as we have so many).

I do love spring rolls like that. Not unlike the wraps I made on Tuesday of cooked sliced veggie burger patties with broccoli slaw mix (basically julienned broc and carrot) in a sauce made from soy sauce, fresh grated ginger, cider vinegar, and cayenne pepper, with some spring onion. Yum! But not quite raw.

Mariangus, that gazpacho sounds divine, and I can't wait to try it!! Thank you for sharing. I really appreciate it.

Must try the pea and mint soup, too.

Hmm. I am as you know total veggie & nearly vegan. But i don't really "get" the "raw" thing. Sometimes it's lovely to have raw veggies, but more often than not, most stuff tastes better cooked, not necessarily in oil or for ages in an oven.

I don't know anything at all about a "dehydrator"; presumably it's some sort of machine for removing water from veggies? But if so, why? veg are designed to have a high proportion of liquid!

Certainly; as Ed says, if you cut out cooking, you totally eliminate curries & even most Chinese type stuff does need brief stir fry. But if you eat the actual curry with rice or naaan typr bread, you don't need much (i typically eat about 2 to 3 tablespoons with maybe twice that of rice or one naan)...so the fat content is pretty minimal.

Why are you considering adopting a "raw" diet? Not criticising, just curious. How would that work in day to day life, given that K is not veggie & presumabaly you eat at home together a lot of the time. If it's mainly to reduce oil consumption, steaming/stirfry or even simply measuring out your preferred amount of daily grease works Ok & still allows you to experiment with various cooking methods, without losing "the joy of food".

zdt

>Why are you considering adopting a "raw" diet? Not criticising, just curious. How would that work in day to day life, given that K is not veggie & presumabaly you eat at home together a lot of the time<

I'm not considering adopting an entirely "raw" diet, just incorporating some/several "raw" meals into each week's menu plan. As many of the nutrients in food are broken down in the cooking process, I'd like to consume more raw foods, and not just salads and fruit, but more raw proteins and stuff.

K is not veggie, but only eats meat when we order in or eat out; when either of us cooks, it is veggie stuff. He's not averse to a "raw" meal now and then. But I am actually thinking that I would do this for my lunches during the work week, and we don't eat those together, obviously.

Regarding the dehydrator- in the sorts of recipes I've been eyeballing, it appears to kind of "cook" certain foods without using heat. It also appears to be useful for making soup and sauce concentrates that can be stored out of the freezer, which might be useful.

The closest recipe to raw food I´ve found is a variant of Ajo blanco:
boiled beetroot( the purple), garlic, almonds, salt, vinegar and oil. To dilute the puree and turn it into soup add the boiling water of the beet.

What I´ve found is that people eat raw vegetables dipping them in different and tasty sauces.

Today I´ve eaten vegan again, try this variant of Ajo blanco:

apple ( nothing of bread)
almonds ( toasted, not fried nor raw)
garlic, salt, modena vinegar and olive oil. I havent diluted the puree and believe me: it´s ambrosia, absolutly delicious!!!! I dipp on it celery stalks and carrots.
for dinner I ´ll have it diluted with the grapes.
Buen provecho!

How about a chilled apple soup with curry spices, thinned with buttermilk.

Gazpacho & vichysoisse are often eaten cold, but you have to cook them first, so it doesn't really count i suppose, plus you definitely have to refrigerate vichysoisse. Oh, and Borscht of course!

They do loads of soups in boxes here, i will have a look to see if any of them could be just eaten cold, but it's hard to work out how they made them in the first place! They do loads of "thick veg" juice stuff, which i imagine just got blended, not cooked, they would probably work as a soup or a dip, there's one which boasts "11 fresh vegetables all in one box"....but whether the box also contains preservative stuff, i don't know.

The trusty chick pea could work well for protein stuff & i would think you could make some good "hummous" type patés with other types of beans, that with salad of whatever you have & a hunk of nice bread would be a great healthy portable lunch!

zdt

Lookie look what i found!

http://www.rawfoods.com/recipes/

Just Google "raw foods", there are loads of sites.

zdt

Cooked gazpacho? Nonsense!