July 15th, 2012
This post is also available in: French
Thank you all for participating in the Wholistic giveaway. The rose mist goes to The Best Decade, please email us your address and we’ll send it your way.
Today we’ve got a guest post over at our lovely French translator’s blog, My Sweet Faery. Geraldine always finds the time in her busy schedule to translate our posts and recipes, thus making them available to more readers. We are so grateful to have such a friend and collaborator, and I think we learn from each other. Thank you for making Golubka bilingual, Geraldine!
It’s true that sometimes the best dishes are born when you don’t plan for them, but rather throw something together spontaneously, working with what’s in the fridge that day. That’s the story with these fruit samosas. I had lots of stone fruits and berries on hand, as well as a couple of young coconuts that were awaiting their turn.
Head over to My Sweet Faery for the rest of the story and recipe in English and French.
Tags: berries, breakfast, cherry, coconut, dessert, peach, raw, recipe, vegan
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July 1st, 2011
Hands down, breakfast is my favourite meal of the day. Every morning, I have to eat something to wake up and be ready for the day ahead. On a work day it’s usually a quick one – a green smoothie or chia pudding, but today I’d like to talk about weekend breakfasts. The best kind.
When pot after pot of tea is made, when the refrigerator door swings back and forth many times, and when we allow ourselves to linger around the table before getting on with the day.
We like these breakfasts to be abundant, indulgent, and entirely weekend-like.
Ever since Lisa wrote about these maca pancakes (Corinne’s recipe), I couldn’t stop picturing them on our table on a Saturday morning. Lisa’s site is always full of the freshest culinary ideas, and she is very generous about sharing them. Thank you.
My approach to pancakes has been a bit different, as I grew up eating the crepe-like variety. But these thicker, American style pancakes intrigued me. Almost anything that contains maca powder usually calls my name, and these guys just looked so good.
I’ve been on an Irish moss kick for a while now, and of course my magical ingredient ended up in the recipe, adding a fluffy quality to the texture. The yogurt cream was a try and see sort of thing. Luckily, it was a hit, and I’ve been using it in many other recipes since.
And so, one weekend morning, we assembled a tower of pancakes. Each layer was populated with a generous spread of yogurt sauce, berries, and honey-glazed apricots. Then a sprinkle of poppy seeds and one more drizzle of honey. It was a pretty mess, a leaning tower. Perfect for a lazy morning.
Tower of pancakes or not, we hope you have one of these mornings soon. Enjoy.
Honey Maca Pancakes
(For a vegan version, substitute the honey with your sweetener of choice)
2 cups cashews – soaked overnight
1/2 cup Irish moss – thoroughly rinsed and soaked in hot water for at least 10 minutes
1 cup water
1/2 cup raw honey
2 tablespoons maca powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sprouted pecan butter or other nut butter/oil
2 tablespoons poppy seeds – optional
2 tablespoons ground almonds
3/4 cup ground flax seeds
In a high speed blender mix together all but the last three ingredients until very smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Add the ground almonds, poppy and flax seeds, mix thoroughly. Spread to a desired thickness onto Teflex covered dehydrator trays. Dehydrate at 105F for about 6 hours, then flip over and dehydrate for another couple of hours until the pancakes are dry enough and ready to be cut into circles. We cut out the circles by using a bowl as a template.
Yogurt Cream
1/2 cup macadamia nuts- soaked overnight
1/2 cup cashews – soaked overnight
1 tablespoon light agave syrup
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon raw honey
zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon nutritional yeast
pinch of salt
4 tablespoons Bio-k acidophilus
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 tablespoon sunflower lecithin – optional, really good for you
In a high speed blender, combine all of the ingredients until smooth and creamy.
Honey-glazed Apricots
Slice apricots, drizzle with raw honey mixed with small amount of coconut oil. Dehydrate at 115F for 1-2 hours.
Assembly
Spread the yogurt cream on each pancake, top with fruits of your choice, sprinkle with poppy seeds (optional) and enjoy. You can keep all the components separately, or in the form of a cake, like we did. Either way, it tastes great and holds well.
Tags: breakfast, dessert, raw food, recipe
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February 20th, 2011
We might have mentioned before that Paloma’s older sister attends college in New England. We miss her living at home, and always look forward to her arrivals during school breaks, one of which happened to be last week.
I’m sure many of you, who live up North, have experienced this year’s brutal winter firsthand. It’s been snowstorm on top on ice storm many times around. Meanwhile, here in Central Florida, we’re enjoying mild temperatures and sunshine almost every day. That is one of the rewards for surviving Florida’s persistent summer heat.
Another benefit of Floridian winter – now is when our growing season finally peaks. The Saturday morning market is overflowing with local greens and vegetables, and the neighborhoods are dressed with bright, orange-spotted trees. We always look forward to this lovely time of year.
I came up with a welcome home brunch that speaks of warmth and sunshine and, hopefully, makes the cold winter seem very distant. Orange-cinnamon crepes, accompanied by a colourful citrus salad with an Earl Grey-orange creme.
Crepes are the ultimate comfort food – delicious and versatile as can be. As always, I had to find a healthier alternative to the original, but one that could truly satisfy our crepe craving. It worked, they turned out not in the least bit less delicious. The cinnamon and orange flavours combine smoothly in a thin young coconut-based crepe.
The shapes and all the different colours of cut citrus remind me of little suns. Appearing on the plate are blood and navel oranges, pink, white and ruby red grapefruit, tangerines, clementines, and limes. A citrus feast.
We’re a avid tea drinkers, and this winter has been all about Earl Grey – we just cannot get enough of it. Its wonderful flavour inspired me to experiment with Earl Grey as an ingredient for something other than a drink. The creme that I ended up using it for was a winner with its subtle flavour and beautiful tea-dyed colour.
Our cold student arrived late Saturday night, and even Paloma was impatiently waiting for her at the arrivals gate. Sunday morning was full of sunshine, laughter and beautiful, bright food. Nothing like having the whole family under one roof.
She stayed home for a short week, during which we made and photographed all kinds of new dishes. We cannot wait to share them all with you.
Orange-Cinnamon Crepes
3 cups meat of fresh young Thai coconut
1 orange – peeled and cut into large pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh coconut water
1 cup golden flaxseed – ground
2-3 tablespoons raw agave syrup OR another sweetener of your choice
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
In a high speed blender, combine the coconut meat with the orange flesh, adding coconut water as needed to achieve a smooth, thick consistency. Transfer to a large bowl and combine with the rest of the ingredients thoroughly. Spread the batter on Teflex-lined dehydrator trays and dehydrate at 115F for 6-8 hours. Flip them over, peel away the Teflex, and dehydrate for another 1-2 hours, or until the surface is dry, but the crepes are still pliable. Cut on a cutting board with a circle cutter or a sharp knife into the size and shape you prefer.
Earl Grey Orange Creme
1 1/2 cup very hot purified water
3-4 tablespoon good quality loose Earl Grey tea leaves
1 cup meat of fresh young Thai coconut
1 cup cashews – soaked for 2 hours or more
flesh of 1 small orange
3/4 cup coconut oil – warmed to liquid form
3/4 cup raw agave syrup OR to taste
1/3 cup date paste – optional
Steep the tea leaves in hot water for about 5 minutes, drain and chill. In a high speed blender, mix the tea with the rest of ingredients until smooth. Refrigerate overnight to thicken.
Citrus Salad
Blood and navel oranges
Pink, white and ruby red grapefruit
Tangerines
Clementines
Limes
Peel, cut and arrange the citrus on the plate. Garnish with fresh mint. Serve with the Earl Grey creme. Optionally, you can separate the grapefruits into segments, cutting and peeling away the membranes to expose the flesh.
Tags: breakfast, food, raw food, recipe, salad
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January 15th, 2011
We’ve got a new staple food. One that often acts as an accompaniment to breakfast tea, or as a snack at work, or a dessert after dinner, or all of the above. It has earned an almost permanent nook in Paloma’s lunch box and a thumbs-up from all the friends who’ve tried it. Needles to say, our new staple tastes good. Delicious and satisfying, to be exact.
Fig bars.
We didn’t have Fig Newtons when growing up, but had something similar – a cookie with a chewy, fruity filling. I’ve often thought about that cookie and craved a more nutritious alternative. Finally, I found the recipe, or, as I often feel with this sort of thing, the recipe found me.
The recipe is adapted from Living Raw Food. It yields moist, chewy, and nourishing fig bars that, dare I say, taste better than any Fig Newton I’ve tried.
Now, here’s a cooking mystery that I’ve been trying to solve. The original fig bar recipe calls for coconut oil in the “dough” part instead of the almond butter that I used in my adapted version. I’ve tried to use coconut oil, but it immediately went rancid in the dehydrator. I didn’t give up easily and tried to use different brands of coconut oil, but the result was always the same – rancid. I’m puzzled – it never happens when I use coconut oil in other recipes that require dehydration. If you happen to know the reason, please let me know. I’m truly curious.
Edit: Thanks so much for all your help in solving the mystery. It turns out that the sprouted oat flour+coconut oil=rancid formula is universal, literally. Many readers have lost trays of cookies and bars because of it. Some have suggested that it is because of the water in the recipe, some have said that it is because the coconut oil is raw and is not fit to be heated to higher temperatures. Since then, we’ve also tried to substitute the coconut oil with raw cacao butter and the bars turned out excellent!
Have a lovely weekend.
Fig Bars
(Adapted from Living Raw Food)
Dough
8 cups sprouted oat flour
2 cups maple syrup powder
1 cup raw almond butter OR raw cacao butter
1 cup date paste
1/4 cup vanilla extract
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoon purified water
In a large bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients. Add the almond butter and mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, mix the date paste, vanilla extract, and water. Add to the dry mixture and combine well.
Filling
6 cups fig paste (see below)
1/2 cup raw agave syrup
To make fig paste, soak any kind of dried figs for 8 hours. Then blend in a food processor, adding the soaking water as needed to achieve a smooth consistency. Keep refrigerated in an air tight container.
Assembly
In order to form the bars, you will need two trays that fit in the bottom of your dehydrator. We use half-sheet pans that can be found at any restaurant supply store.
Line the two pans with parchment paper. Divide the dough equally between them and press into the pans to achieve a uniform thickness. Using a knife, cut the dough in one of the pans into 4 even parts. Place that pan into the freezer for about 10 minutes, so that it becomes more firm for easier handling.
Meanwhile, mix the fig paste with the 1/2 cup of agave, and evenly spread this mixture on top of the uncut dough in the second pan. Remove the first pan from the freezer and carefully place each quadrant on top of the fig paste layer.
Place the sheet pan in the bottom of the dehydrator and dehydrate at 115F for about 6 hours. Remove from the dehydrator, cover with parchment paper and invert your second empty pan on top of it. Carefully flip over, holding both pans together and remove the upper pan. Peel away the parchment paper and place back into the dehydrator for another 6 hours. Once removed from the dehydrator, cut through all the layers to form bars of any size you like. I cut each quadrant in half lengthwise, then across into 8 sections to make 64 bars. Transfer the bars onto screen-covered dehydrator trays and dehydrate for another 10 hours.
Another great thing about these bars – you can always order them online through One Lucky Duck, or pick one up at their takeaway in NYC.
Tags: breakfast, dessert, food, raw food, recipe, snack, staple
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