The Best of The Sunny Raw Kitchen by Carmella Soleil

The Best of

The Sunny Raw Kitchen

21 Yummy Recipes by Carmella Soleil and Friends

A FEW WORDS FIRST… I don’t consider myself to be a ‘raw Chef’ as such; I simply enjoy preparing healthy, beautiful food, and I love the way eating raw and living foods makes me feel. It recently occurred to me how the release of “The Best Of The Sunny Raw Kitchen” coincides with our one year anniversary on a fully raw diet. Interestingly, at this time last year, I was also working on a recipe book of sort; scouting the net and gathering recipes for a raw retreat that I was about to conduct at my sister’s. Don and I weren’t really intending to make the jump from the high raw diet we’d been following for years; we were only testing different recipes in order to select which ones to include in the compilation. Funny how Life goes… As it turned out, there was just no more room for cooked foods in our diet. And there hasn’t been since… My journey to raw began back in January 2001, at a time when I desperately needed to make some serious changes in my life, including the way I treated my body. Embracing a mostly raw diet was one of the steppingstones in the recovery of my health, helping me shake off a number of physical and psychological conditions such as depression, vicious mood swings, insomnia, migraine headaches, lethargy, SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), and chronic digestive problems. As an extension of my desire to spread the good news about raw foods, a few months ago I started my blog, The Sunny Raw Kitchen, where I’ve been sharing what it’s like to live ‘in the Raw’, as well as my favorite recipes and tips. This ebook features some of the best creations to have come out of our raw kitchen; 21 tried and true recipes that are mostly dehydrator free and don’t require a great deal of time or skills. These are perfect for the summer, when we’d rather be outside reveling in the many blessings of the season, rather than at the kitchen counter! While you may recognize a few recipes previously posted on my blog, most are revised versions or new exclusive recipes, never published before. Hope you enjoy this ‘work of heart’ and its celebration of how delectable raw food can be! In radiance and health,

Carmella Slocan Valley, BC July 2007

SUNNY RAW RECIPE INDEX Sunny Raw Soups ................................................................ 4 Tomato & Herb Soup ........................................................................ 4 Sweet Pea Soup............................................................................... 5 Don’s Creamy Cucumber Soup ............................................................. 6 Thai Coconut Soup ........................................................................... 6 Don’s Green Celery Soup .................................................................... 7

Sunny Raw Dressings ........................................................... 8 Carmella’s House Dressing ................................................................. 8 Don’s Creamy Citrus-Dill Dressing ......................................................... 9 Curried Dressing ............................................................................. 10 French Dressing.............................................................................. 10

Sunny Raw Entrees ............................................................ 11 Cheezy Cannellonis ......................................................................... 11 Spinach Mini-Quiches ....................................................................... 13 Lasagna Magnifica .......................................................................... 16 Pad Thai ...................................................................................... 19 Pesto Pizza ................................................................................... 20

Sunny Raw Desserts ........................................................... 22 Heathy’s Chocolate Cream Stack ......................................................... 22 Mango Pudding With Vanilla Coconut Custard .......................................... 24 Caramel Turtles ............................................................................. 25 Heathy’s Fruit Salad Stack ................................................................. 26 Don’s Chocolate Mousse .................................................................... 27 Heathy’s Chocolate Chunk Cookies ....................................................... 27 Heathy’s Caramel Macadamia Pie ........................................................ 28

Sunny Raw Soups We love raw soups! They have been a staple in our diet for years. There was a time when we’d throw everything but the kitchen sink in our daily concoctions… all at once! What we’ve learned, however, is that simple is actually best. Select 2 or 3 veggies, add some water, seasonings and herbs of your choice. And don’t forget to put a little avocado or perhaps some seed or nut butter: the secret to making delicious, creamy soups!

Tomato & Herb Soup Ahhh! Big juicy tomatoes and fresh basil; the tastes of summer! Here is a simple soup with a lovely, delicate flavor. The key is to use ripe, sweet tomatoes and fresh herbs. Serves 2 1/2 small avocado 2 cups tomato 1 cup zucchini, peeled 1 garlic clove 1 green onion 2 tablespoons fresh basil (packed) 1 tablespoon fresh oregano (packed) 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon miso 1 1/2 cups water Salt to taste Put all ingredients, except 1 tablespoon of basil, in Vitamix or high-speed blender and process until smooth. Add the left-over basil and process briefly. (You want to keep some of the herbs intact.) Sunny Tip: If your tomatoes aren’t quite sweet enough, add a teaspoon or so of raw agave or honey to the soup so as to take some of the acidity away.

Sweet Pea Soup

Photo by Jaime Lynn Hagel

Wanting to make Anna of the RawTable.com’s wonderful ‘Spinach & Herb Soup’ one day, but lacking some of the ingredients, I started playing around with what we had. The result was the following delectable soup; a testimonial to how recipes are not something static and ‘dead’, but ever open to transmutation. Serves 2-3 3–4 cups spinach 2 cups frozen green peas, thawed 1 celery stalk 1/2 avocado 1/2 apple and/or 1 kiwi 1/2 cup cilantro 4 basil leaves or 2 teaspoons dried 2 green onions

Lime juice, to taste 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste) 1 1/2 -2 cups water (or more, depending on the size of your avocado)Place all ingredients in a Vitamix or high-speed blender and process until smooth. Variation: Don’t blend the peas with the rest of the ingredients. Instead, put these in serving bowls and pour soup over them. Sunny Tips: ~ When we blend our soups, we usually put a little less water than what the recipe calls for. Then we add the rest in the blender and swirl it around so as to catch the remaining soup that has stuck along the ‘walls’ of the carafe. ~ We like to warm our soups gently on the stove on low heat and stirring constantly so as not to damage the enzymes.

Don’s Creamy Citrus-Dill Dressing As one of my readers on The Sunny Raw Kitchen blog put it, this dressing is “like diving into a burst of sunshine. Either the lime or a combo of flavors hits the taste buds in a different way than usual.” Try it and see for yourself! Yields about 1 cup 1 small orange 1/2 avocado 2 garlic cloves 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 large lemon, juiced (or to taste) 1/2 large lime, juiced (or to taste) Handful fresh parsley and/or cilantro Handful fresh dill 1 tablespoon tahini 1 teaspoon sweetener Salt or tamari (to taste) 1/3 cup water or more Blend until smooth. Sunny Tip: I find that this dressing can vary in thickness, depending mostly on the size of the orange and avocado I’m using. Simply add more or less water until it reaches the consistency that you like best.

Photo by Jaime Lynn Hagel

Lasagna Magnifica A lasagna is one of those recipes that looks pretty complicated but, trust me, is much easier than it seems. All it is, really, is several simple recipes combined into one. If you’d rather not do it all in one go, feel free to prepare some of the individual recipes a day ahead. The assembled result, however, is live synergy - much greater than the sum of its parts, and is certain to thrill your taste buds! Precisely because of the different recipes that make it up, a lasagna just begs for improvisation! There are countless possibilities to play with, so don’t be shy to experiment. The following Lasagna Magnifica was inspired by ‘The Raw Chef’ Russell James’ creation and my Luscious Lasagna. This version is so good, however, that I’d recommend trying it as is at least once before putting on your raw chef’s hat! This recipe won’t quite fill up a 6” x 12” dish and yields 6 med. portions Spinach Layer 3 cups spinach, torn to pieces 1 tablespoon dried oregano 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/4 teaspoon salt Place all ingredients in a bowl and massage to wilt. Set aside while you work on the rest of the lasagna. Zucchini noodles 1 or 2 med. zucchinis 1 tablespoon salt 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Cut the mushroom into bite sized pieces and mix these in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Spread the Portobello pieces on a teflex sheet and dehydrate for a couple of hours. Alternatively, you could also serve the mushrooms non-dehydrated for an equally delicious treat! Sunny Tip: If using jicama as noodles, you might want to put these in a colander for a few minutes to allow the release of excess liquid.

Pesto Pizza For me, raw pizza has it all! It can be whipped up in no time (provided you keep a stock of dehydrated crusts in your freezer), and you can let your imagination go totally wild. Best of all, you don’t have to ‘pay the price’ for such a tasty treat! For this recipe you will need: - Crust - Your Favorite Pesto - Cheddar Sauce - Marinated Crimini Mushrooms Veggie Herb Pizza Crust By Erica of School of Rawk www.schoolofrawk.com 2 cups sprouted buckwheat 2 cups zucchinis Onion powder 1-2 cloves garlic Braggs or salt, to taste 20

When I turned our sunny kitchen into a chocolate factory last Easter, I came up with this delectable raw version of the famous SAD turtles. Heavenly! Makes 24 Caramel 1 cup soft dates, pitted and chopped 1/2 cup walnuts 1/2 cup pecans 1/4 cup pine nuts 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Photo by Jaime Lynn Hagel

Caramel Turtles

Photo by Jaime Lynn Hagel

Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Be careful not to process the pine nuts and dates too long as the mixture will get REALLY oily. Chocolate Coating 1/3 cup maple syrup and/or agave 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder 3 tablespoons carob powder 1/3 cup coconut oil, warmed up Blend until smooth. Assembly: Form Caramel mixture into lightly flattened balls. Use about 1 1/2 teaspoons of caramel per ball. Spread a little Chocolate Coating on the bottom of a caramel ball.

Put it down on parchment paper and finish covering with chocolate. If the mixture is nice and smooth, you’ll notice that it will spread along the sides of the caramel with very little effort. You may also have to work quickly as the chocolate will sort of pool up on the paper. Top with a pecan piece, if desired. Chill until set. Sunny Tip: I like to warm up the agave along with the coconut oil, as I find that it prevents the chocolate mixture from ‘seizing up’.

ABOUT DON AND CARMELLA We live tucked away in the Slocan Valley mountains of Southern BC, along with our extended furry family: Kylo, Angel and DaPuss. I guess you could call us the 'permanent residents' of the Benailse Retreat Center, where we lead a mostly contemplative lifestyle. We spend most of our days walking our animal friends, doing the Five Tibetans, Qi-Gong, and creating raw delights. A great deal of our time and energy is also going towards our forum, Raw Freedom Community, which we have recently launched. It’s a warm, supportive and nurturing environment where we can explore the inherent power of real cooperation and exchange about everything that matters to us, be it raw and living foods, health, nutrition, holistic parenting or personal growth. Besides blogging about our latest ‘rawdventures’ on The Sunny Raw Kitchen, Carmella is also working on a number of projects. She is planning to release another ebook,”Maha’raw’dja’s Feast”, later this year and is also preparing a series of recipe ebooks in collaboration with Heathy and Raw Freedom Community members. To visit our websites: thesunnyrawkitchen.blogspot.com www.rawfreedomcommunity.info/forum/

ABOUT HEATHY Heather Pace is a raw food chef and yoga instructor living in Northwestern Ontario. She is currently working on a raw dessert book with Paul Benhaim and is looking forward to projects with Carmella. Her goal is to travel more of the world and open a raw food cafe in the future.