A new year. . . I’ve been avoiding you.

That’s not true.

Yes is it.

It’s really taken me this long to get back to normal from the holiday season. I spent most of the month of December working/traveling/eating food I wouldn't even think of eating any other day of the year. What a joyous time! I have no pictures.

Long before we decided we were finally going to get married, I had taken up a crusade of health. When the end comes, I know I will not be one of the strong so I know I must be one of the fast to survive. Heloooo treadmill. I know, I know, but it’s wintertime and I’m a beginner so cut me some slack. Then I found this website posted on a friend’s Facebook page. So I’m about to start that as well. In 2 months, if I work hard, I should be able to do everything this program says I can. I will be a beast. rawr.

On the nutrition front, I’m heading in a new direction as well, mostly for amusement and love of the scientific process. Today is the first post in a series called “Miss Crow goes raw(ish) for a while to see if all the crazy stuff people say is true”. I’ll need to come up with a better title soon but that’s good for now.

So, yeah, people DO say all kinds of crazy things about the benefits of a raw food diet:

• excellent detoxification
• Increased energy
• Improved skin appearance
• Better digestion
• Weight loss
• Reduced risk of heart disease
• euphoria
• relieves PMS/PMT
• cures cancer

ummm. . . . Now, I’m skeptical of anything that says I can cure cancer, especially when there’s only some sketchy science backing it up but, hey, it’s a free country, you can say what you want as long as you have a disclaimer stating that it may or may not be true. (scientists have studied that eating fruits and veggies protect from free radicals and also seems to change how blood supplies are directed to pre-cancerous areas, but “cure”? I don’t know.)

However, even if half of the stuff they say comes half-way true It’s worth the experiment. I’m ready for clear skin and weight loss. Increased energy, YES! Euphoria may take some getting used to.

The only other thing that freaks me out it all the talk of “purity”. It makes them seem a little cultish. I asked Mr. Crow last night if I freaked out and got really new-agey after eating a bunch of green smoothies if he’d still love me. He said “yes”. Whew!

So, I’ve been easing myself into it for a while now by eating about 40-50% raw on most days in the forms of salads, crudité, and whatnot. Today is day one of 75% or greater. For breakfast I had a green smoothie, upon which I am totally sold:

3 clementines, peeled and split up
1 fuji apple, cored and chunked
1 kiwi, peeled and chunked
5 big leaved of romaine, washed and torn
brita water

I put the fruit in the blender and pureed it. Then I added some water and the romaine and pureed it again. It mostly tasted of apple with a romaine aftertaste which was surprisingly fresh and definitely not offensive. I’ll be going to the store today to pick up some baby spinach and kale for the rest of the week.

I’m also heading to the library to pick up some raw “cookbooks”. Can you really call it a cookbook if there’s no cooking in it? I wish the library had delivery. I REALLY don’t want to go outside in the cold.

Okay now for the science part. (Some of this is going to be somewhat subjective since I’m not going to sit and count every little blemish that’s working it’s way through my skin but I’m a sociologist so I’m okay with that.) Mood and Energy numbers are on a scale from 1-10:

mood: 4
energy: 5
hours of sleep: 10
Appx% of raw food consumed yesterday: 30%
notes: Craving noodles. Curse you wheat.

Tomorrow I’ll be back to document again.

Naked Burritos!

Ask your children to leave the room because these burritos gots no clothes!

If you dumped out a Chipotle burrito like a burlap sack this is what you’d get a bowl of. . . except my rice is better.

The topping is essentially the same as the taco-tater recipe (plus beans) but the rice is what makes this meal truly great. I shall pass it on to you because I feel a need to share it. This recipe is supped to make four servings but I don’t know who could eat that much rice at once. Really this makes 6-8 servings in my opinion. . .maybe even more.

Coconut Herb Rice

2T olive oil
2 3/4c jasmine or basmati rice
3c coconut milk
1t salt
1 bay leaf
2T cilantro, minced
2T mint, minced
2 green chilies, seeded and minced
the juice of 1-3 fresh limes (I like mine REALLY limey)

1. soak the rice in water for 1 hour. drain and rinse.

2. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add the rice and sauté until translucent.

3. Add the coconut milk, salt, and bay leaf and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid has absorbed.

4. Put a tight-fitting lid on the pot, turn the heat to its lowest setting and cook for 10 more minutes.

5. pull out the bay leaf and gently fold in the herbs and lime juice.

 

This rice is SUPER good. So good, in fact that I’m using it for naked burritos today AND I’m making a tofu stir fry with peanut sauce to have on it later this week! YEAY!

A note from Mr. Crow

Hello, World.  I am Crow Jane’s other half.  You can call me Mr. Crow, though as you might have guessed, it’s not my real name.  I make an appearance here because I’ve been mentioned previously and figured it’s about time for introductions.  Also, I’m slowly learning how to cook, so I’ve decided to post a lovely recipe for you.  Credit goes to The American Vegan Kitchen, page 157 for the marvelous pizza dough and to our blog mistress’ mother for the toppings.

So, our CSA, Wayward Seed, has been providing us with an abundance of swiss chard.  Now, growing up in a family where everything in the fridge, freezer, or cupboards came in box, can, or carton, I didn’t know what swiss chard even was.  Is it like lettuce?  Spinach?  Rhubarb?  What is it good for?  Why is it so colorful?  Why are so many people insane advocates of it?  I have no idea and still don’t.  But since we had so much of it, I had to do something. 

I emailed Jane’s mother, who was quick in providing the following recipe, slightly modified.

 

Swiss Chard Pizza

Preheat oven to 350.  Meanwhile, boil the swiss chard and squeeze dry.

Fry garlic and pine nuts in olive oil until toasty, careful not to burn.  Add swiss chard and separate as you stir constantly over medium heat, as the chard will have gotten clumpy.  Season with salt, black pepper & crushed red pepper.

Roll out pizza dough and brush lightly with olive oil.  Top with swiss chard mix.  Bake about 20 minutes, or until the dough starts to brown slightly. 

It’s super simple to make, even for a novice like me.  The best part is that Crow Jane liked it enough to let me post it here.  I think I may stop by again at some point to share more beginner dishes in the future! 

Reinventing the Wheel – or, in this case, Hamburger Helper

In my continuing romance with Daiya I decided that macaroni and cheese would be another great way to test its mettle. So I made a simple rue but I didn’t have enough milk to make enough sauce for the whole pound of pasta so, as usual, I improvised. I don’t have a picture of this one but it looks, and tastes, for all the world like what I imagine hamburger Helper tasting like.

CHEEZEBURGER MACARONI
sauce-
2T earth balance
3T flour
1c milk (warm-ish)
1c veggie broth (warm-ish)
1 pkg Cheddar Daiya
salt, pepper, nutmeg
1/2 jar of pasta sauce

1lb whole wheat shells
1lb crumbles

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions.

Meanwhile:

2. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan.

3. Sprinkle the flour over it and whisk until it’s just slightly past blonde.

4. Slowly pour in the milk and broth, whisking as you go.

5. Once the liquid is fully incorporated, add the Daiya a little at a time.

6. By this time your sauce will have begun to thicken. Go ahead and season it to taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

7. Dump in your pasta sauce and you’re all set.

8. Warm up your crumbles in the sauce, then added the shells and called it dinner.

Dinner

Mr. Crow was in the mood for a burger and not in the mood to do dishes so we warmed up a couple Planet Burgers and added some fabulous toppings: applewood smoked mozzarella cheese from Whole Foods, sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil that we grew ourselves on the windowsill, and some whole wheat toast. It was positively luscious.

Planet Burger Recipe (adapted from Vegetarian Times)

12 oz cooked chickpeas
1 medium onion
4 oz cooked adzuki beans
1/2 cup of almonds
1/4 cup Braggs liquid aminos
2 eggs
3 cups cooked brown rice
1 meduim carrot, shredded
1/3 cup roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds
1/3 cup dried parsley
1 tsp. Dried thyme

Put the first 6 ingredients in the food processor and pulse until smooth. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and form into patties. Easy-peasy.

The recipe in VT said it makes 9 burgers but I got 13 out of it. I put mine on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper in the freezer for an hour or so to solidify and then retired them to a giant freezer bag for safe keeping. Any time I want one I just defrost it a bit in the microwave and then crisp it up in a frying pan.