Here we go again with this “pear in a bottle brandy” that has been relieved of its brandy and soaked for a month or more in tasty vodka. YUM. It’s low calorie heaven; and I’ve got another RAWktail on board for the holiday weekend! I call it the Blueberry-Pear Liberty Martini. Tee hee.

As you may recall from the first RAWktail we did here at the fun house,  we used blackberries, shaken not stirred.

For this recipe you are going to need:

a jigger or two of vodka soaked pear-in-a-bottle brandy bottle

1 lemon

blueberries

ice

cocktail shaker

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crush 10 blueberries on a bowl and add juice to shaker

cut lemon in 1/4 and squeeze 1/4 lemon into the shaker – use another 1/4 piece to rim the martini glass

prepare toothpick with 5 or more blueberries

add ice to shaker and then the vodka – shake vigorously

pour over blueberries on the toothpick

serve

depending on your vodka , less than 100 calories  ;-D

Today we are going to make RAW Bloody Mary’s.

If you don’t have a juicer, use a nutbag to strain your live juice or you can just throw in some ice into the blender and turn it into a Bloody Mary Smoothie!! Personally, I like smoothies because you get all the good fiber from the vegetables.

Fresh veggies you will need:

1 very ripe very red tomato – large

1 small red bell pepper

1 stalk of celery

1 small clove garlic

1 piece of onion equivalent to 1/8 cup

fresh hot pepper of your choice (habenero is really great if you can deal with the heat! just remove the seeds before adding small pieces in the blender)

spice mix to add:  1/8 tsp black pepper, 1/8 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar

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Throw everything into the blender. At this point, decide if you want juice (use your juicer or nut milk bag to extract juice) OR throw in some ice and as much vodka as you like, flip the switch and the Bloody Mary Smoothie shall be ready in a flash!

Let’s start with the base of this amazing RAWKtail — The Blackberry Martini :

It is a bottle that once was full of Williams Pear Brandy, that is now filled with Tito’s vodka.  The pear was grown inside the bottle on the tree and then filled with the clear pear brandy.  After I finished the brandy I filled the bottle with the wonderful Tito’s vodka which is now has an amazing pear flavor that makes perfect notes for the nose.

You will need some fresh blackberries, ice chips, a cocktail shaker and a martini glass…

Take several blackberries and skewer them on a toothpick and then take 3-4 more and squeeze them then throw in the bottom of the glass if you love lots of garnishes in your drinks OR rim the glass and inside with them only.  Place the toothpick with the other blackberries in the glass.

Put the ice in your shaker and pour the “pear” vodka over it, a jigger or more.  ;)  At this point you may throw the blackberries that you used  to rim the glass in with the ice and vodka and shake vigorously!!  Pour over blackberries in the vodka glass.

This drink is less than 100 calories, and that would be a jigger+ of vodka.

Cheers!

Raw Kamut Onion Bread

2 cups sprouted Kamut brand grain
1 cup chopped onion
1 teraspoon of salt
1/4 cup poppy seeds
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup warm water w/ 1 tsp of yeast

Mix the Kamut, onion, salt and yeast and process through a food grinder or food processor. Mix in the poppy and sunflower seeds and spread on dehydrator sheets, spread no more than 1/4 inch think or less. Depending on your dehydrator, dry times will vary.

That’s some serious food porn.

But don’t think I’m going to leave you squirming in misery for the rest of the day without the opportunity to TASTE these decadent Chinese bakery treats!! Of course I would be referring to my special raw kefir “Chinese Egg Cream” smoothie. This smoothie is so satisfying, you’ll feel like you just walked into the best Chinese bakery in Chinatown..

2 cups of kefir (may substitute a vegan kefir if you prefer!)
2 cups of frozen mango, cubed
2 tablespoons of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
one or two tablespoons of raw honey or 3 or more raw dates (adjust to your sweet taste)

Throw it all in the blender and blend until smooth.

I’m really excited to try raw GABA brown rice.  Here is a little more information on this great breakfast or anytime during the day food: GABA RICE

A nutritionally superior method of preparing brown rice known as GABA Rice or GBR (Germinated Brown Rice)^[9] may be used. This involves soaking washed brown rice for 20 hours in warm water (38°C or 100°F) prior to cooking it. This process stimulates germination, which activates various enzymes in the rice. By this method, a result of research carried out for the United Nations International Year of Rice, it is possible to obtain a more complete amino acid profile, including GABA.

In order to make GABA rice you have to keep the rice warm in water (100 degrees is suggested) for about 24 hours, until you begin to see a small tail on the rice.  This means the rice has sprouted and has that fantastic GABA profile.  To do this I have placed the sprouting dish inside of my old/new Jack’s Dehydrator for 24 hours.

And now for the “raw” recipe — A Raw Brown Rice Breakfast  – enjoy!

Soak enough brown rice (must be brown, this will not work with white, instant or parboiled) either in a rice cooker with a gaba setting or inside a dehydrator for as many servings as needed, typically, 1/2 -1 cup per person

After the rice sprouts, warm up slightly to make a “warm breakfast” but not cook the rice. After warming transfer to bowls and spice with garam masala powder or cinnamon or both (don’t be afraid to load up on the spices they are good for you!) and some raw honey or raw agave syrup.

Pour fresh, raw brazil nut milk or fresh raw cashew milk over the rice.  Eat with a spoon.  Faster to make than a McDonald’s Egg McMuffin.

Brown rice breakfast:

1 cup of cooked brown rice w/ tea leaves

1/2 cup of lowfat milk or vegan milk like soy or almond

1 teaspoon of unwashed cane sugar, or honey or stevia, or whatever sweetener works best for you

1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

sprinkle some butter buds on top or a small sliver of real butter

I love this soup, and I’m making a big pot of it today. It is full of nutrition and medicinal value!

One important ingredient in the soup is the oyster mushroom. The oyster mushroom contains the cholesterol lowering drug, lovastatin.

Here’s the recipe for you to try. This recipe was created by me for my own health needs, you may adjust for taste and your health needs, of course!

1 Qt of Organic Chicken Broth

1 tbs of corn starch

fresh ginger slices (as many as you like)

1 tbs of mirin

fresh oyster mushrooms, a cup or two depending on your tastes

1/3 cup of egg replacer (rediegg, eggbeaters or organic egg whites)

Set aside one cup of broth and add the cornstarch, blend well. Slowly heat the chicken broth with the ginger slices and mirin until almost a boil. Add the oyster mushrooms and cook for 3-5 minutes.  Now add the cup of broth with the cornstarch. Let the cornstarch do its trick to thicken the broth a bit. Now, slowly dribble in the egg until strings form, don’t stir until egg is cooked and stringy.

This entire quart of soup is about 100 calories, which is why I call it the almost zero calorie chinese soup! You can easily fill up on this soup without making much of a calorie impact in your diet. Down the whole quart if you like!

How did I begin to love this simple, yet good-for-fatties food? I started experimenting with different herbs and spice mixtures that really liven up the old school “cottage cheese and tomatoes” into a new school gourmet treat! I’m going to give a general recipe you can follow, but you should experiment with your own favorite spices and herbs. Fresh herbs are just lovely with it, I especially enjoy thyme and basil, fresh, diced up and tossed in with the cottage cheese. Oh, and another thing, I don’t like “fat-free” anything, and that includes cottage cheese. yuk. It’s got to have a little butterfat in there to keep my taste buds satisfied, so what I do is go for the low-fat or reduced-fat cottage cheese. Again, to each his own here, some people dig the fat-free stuff, just not I. Use it for this recipe if you like it.

1 cup of your favorite cottage cheese

2 ripe tomatoes (or one large one)

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

2 tbs chopped fresh thyme

Now here is the kicker: Go to the supermarket and select one of their multi-spice combos that fits your taste buds. I selected one I really like that has hot red pepper in it in addition to 14 other spices and a little salt.

Toss your cottage cheese with the fresh herbs, cut the tomatoes in wedges of 4 and place them around the mound of cottage cheese that has been tossed with the fresh herbs. Now, sprinkle your favorite multi-spice addition on top of everything. Viola’ !  You have a jazzy fun cottage cheese and tomatoes!