Don't Crack Up

After nagging my husband for over a year that I wanted a dehydrator for a birthday or Christmas gift, he finally bought me one!  I've been intimated to use it as I've never seen one in action before.  I managed to get up the courage to unbox it and give it a test drive and made crackers.

Let me say this is not a quick process!  Not only do the crackers take a long time to dehydrate, there's soaking involved prior to that.  Even so, the outcome was well worth the patience.

My dehydrator has four shelves and I purchased two nonstick mats on the advice of someone who works in a raw food restaurant and said that would be fine for home use given the yield of most recipes.  Well, thank goodness I didn't take this advice.  I halved the recipe as I didn't want to waste the ingredients if it didn't turn out well.  And good thing I did!  Half the recipe was exactly the right amount for spreading on two nonstick mats, and then after the initial dehydrating when you peel the cracker mixture from the mats and break into crackers to then put back in the dehydrator, by the time I spread them out they required all four racks!

My only word of caution is they don't freeze well.  I held some of the crackers back and froze them, but once thawed I thought they lost flavour and didn't retain their original dryness.  Not that they were soggy, but they definitely seemed to take on a type of dampness.

Regardless of the above rant, I will make these again and venture to make other crackers too.  They were absolutely delicious, had tons of flavour, and were nutrient dense.  You can't eat a lot of these -- not because they aren't enjoyable -- but because you feel satisfied.  My good friend said she loved them, wasn't put off by the amount of time involved, and can't wait to make them herself once she buys a 'humidifier'!

Sunny Flax Crackers
(Enlightened Eating, Caroline Marie Dupont)
The recipe below is for half the amount called for in the original recipe.
1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked 4 hours and rinsed
1 cup flax seeds, soaked 2 hours in 1 cup of water
1 garlic clove
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 heaping teaspoon dried basil
1/2 heaping teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 heaping teaspoon dried thyme

Process sunflower seeds, half of the flax seeds, and garlic in a food processor.  Transfer to a bowl and add the remaining ingredients.

Spread mixture 1/4 inch thick on dehydrator trays lined with non-stick sheets.  Wet hands to help in spreading. (I actually spread the mixture even thinner).

Dehydrate at 110F for 10 to 12 hours until almost dry.  Peel off the nonstick sheets, cut into desired cracker shapes, and return to dehydrator (without nonstick sheets) and dehydrate until crispy (2 to 4 hours)

Note: After the initial dehydration, the crackers will appear dry on the top, but still be moist underneath.  It's when you return the crackers to dehydrate further that the underneath will dry and crisp up.  The word "crisp" is used loosely here.  Don't think it's going to get to the same level of crispness that you're used to with store-bought crackers. 

Summer Salsa

This Roasted Tomato Salsa  has quickly become my favourite go-to  salsa recipe.  The smokiness of the fire-roasted tomatoes and roasting the chiles & garlic elevate this to a new kind of wonderful.  This recipe should be eaten preferable the same day it's made or will be fine in the fridge for a couple of days.  However, don't plan keeping this refrigerated for long as it will lose it's flavour.  I hope you enjoy it!

Rustic Roasted Tomato Salsa
(Mexican Everyday, Rick Bayliss -- with a little change-up by me)

2 fresh jalapeno chiles (or 4 serrano chiles)
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
One 14-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1/3 cup roughly chopped cilantro
Juice of half a lime
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

In a small skillet over medium heat, lay the chiles and garlic in the skillet and dry-roast until soft and blotchy black in spots (about 15 minutes or so).  I like to use a cast-iron skillet for this job.

While the chiles and garlic are roasting, scoop the chopped onion into a strainer and rinse under cold water.  Shake off the excess water and put into a medium bowl.  This step takes the "edge" off the onions and makes them less acrid/more subdued in flavour.

When the chiles and garlic cloves are sufficiently roasted, pull the stems off the roasted chiles and peel the paper skins off the garlic.  Scoop them into a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped.  Add the tomatoes (including their juice) and pulse a few more times until the mixture is as coarse or as smooth as you want.

Pour the tomato mixture into the bowl with the onion.  Add the cilantro, lime juice, and salt.

Thin with a little water, if necessary to give the salsa an easily spoonable consistency.

If not using within a couple of hours, cover and refrigerate.

Earth Bowl

This is a favourite little lunch of mine when I want something fresh, quick, and satisfying.  Best part is you just  chop and throw everything into a bowl and dig in!

Earth Bowl
(Enlightened Eating, Caroline Marie Dupont)

1 apple, chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
small handful of dried currants or raisins or blueberries (or fresh blueberries, if available)
6 walnuts, broken into pieces
1 tablespoon hemp seeds or pumpkin seeds
Juice of 1 orange

Real Ginger Ale

Here's to putting real ginger into ginger ale!  This summer drink is cool and refreshing yet finishes with just a touch of heat.

Ginger Ale
The Thrive Diet, Brendan Brazier

1 lemon
2 cups water or sparkling mineral water -- if you want more fizz
1 tablspoon agave nectar
1/2 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
Pinch of sea salt

Squeeze the juice of the lemon into a blender.  Add remaining ingredients; blend and enjoy!

Makes about 2 cups.  Will keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

1st Day of Summer 2012

….AND WE'RE BACK!
Today is the first day of summer and I’m happy to be back after a lengthy absence.
As the theme of this blog is to go throughout the whole summer without turning on the oven – let’s go directly to the freezer. And to celebrate my return to blogging, a little champagne is in order.

Champagne Sorbet
(from The Perfect Scoop, David Lebovitz)

Courtesy of www.finecooking.com

1-¼ cups Champagne
¼ cup water
½ cup sugar
2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen

Mix the Champagne, water, and sugar in a medium, nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add the raspberries; remove from the heat, and cover. Let stand for 10 minutes

Pass the mixture through a food mill with a fine disk, or press it firmly through a mesh strainer with a flexible rubber spatula. Discard the seeds.

Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Yields: approx. 2 cups

Cheers to You and a Happy Summer!

Farewell Summer 2010

Image from Flickr

Sadly summer has drawn to a close. It's been a wonderful experience jotting down recipes, thoughts, and comments to post on this blog. Looking back at the summer I realize there were many recipes that got left out - including fermented foods and raw/dehydrated foods. As I plan to ask for a dehydrator from Santa this year, you can expect to see a wider assortment of postings for Summer 2011. Until then, eat well & healthfully! Come check out my new blog http://gibsonsgrub.blogspot.com/ for more cooking inspiration. ~ Sandra

CORN-ucopia Salad

(image from Flickr)

For good energy I find it essential to team up proteins with carbs. And so nice to know that you don’t have to rely on animal proteins all the time – or even beans for that matter. The protein provider here is a grain: quinoa. If I haven’t mentioned it before, please keep quinoa in your freezer to ensure maximum freshness. It does have a high oil content so can certainly turn rancid.

With it being summer, corn is bountiful and beautiful so is showcased well in this salad with notes of sweet, citrus & heat. Great combo!

The recipe hails from that wonderful cookbook from the wonderful restaurant of the same name ‘Rebar’ (in Victoria, B.C.) with further direction from me regarding the type of salt to use.

Quinoa Corn Salad
1 cup quinoa
1-1/2 cups water
½ teaspoon unrefined sea salt
2-1/2 cups corn, removed from cob
1 small red onion, minced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
½ red pepper, finely diced
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons lime juice
¼ cup chopped cilantro
3 scallions, minced
2 tablespoons finely minced chives
1 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce, or to taste

Place quinoa in a fine mesh sieve and rinse thoroughly with cold, running water (this will remove any bitterness). Bring water to boil in a small pot, add the quinoa and salt and bring to a boil again, Cover and reduce heat to low for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and keep the pot covered for an additional 5 minutes. Strain off any excess liquid (if any) and spread the quinoa out to cool on a cookie sheet while preparing the remaining ingredients.

Steam or lightly sauté the corn until just tender and then cool to room temperature. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and gently toss. Season with additional salt, pepper, or hot sauce to taste. Serve with fresh lime wedges