In my experiments with raw food, I came up with this recipe of stuffed cabbage, one of the traditional foods from Romania. This recipe is easy to make, budget friendly and tasty. Word of caution to all of those who would expect the taste of “sarmale”, it is not. It looks like sarmale, some of the ingredients are the same but it doesn’t taste like it and the texture is different. Yet tastes delicious.

Ingredients

1 cup buckwheat soaked in water overnight

1 cup nuts soaked in water overnight

1 cup carrots finely shredded

1 medium onion finely chopped

10-11 leaves of sauerkraut sliced in half

1 cup tomatoes diced

salt, pepper to taste

1 tsp nutmeg

3-4 tbsps cold pressed olive oil

Soak the cabbage leaves in water for half hour to take away dome of the saltiness.

When you are ready to roll the cabbage, drain the water form the buckwheat and nuts and rinse well.  Mix with the shredded carrots, diced onion, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

In the prepared leaves, start to spoon about one spoon of the mix and roll.  I’ve got 24 rolls from my leaves.

From the leftover leaves and the tomatoes make a salad, sprinkle it with the oil and serve with the cabbage rolls. It can be saved in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Barley soup

Yields about 1 ½ gallon of soup

Ingredients

1 small cabbage

1 cup barley soaked overnight

2 carrots sliced

1 medium onion diced

1 red pepper1 green pepper diced

5-6 tomatoes peeled and diced (or use 1 can of diced tomatoes) optional

salt, pepper to taste

In a hot pot, add some oil of your choice (I used canola since olive oil is loosing its properties when cooked. If you like, you can add some olive oil to the soup after it is finished as it provides flavor and is a good source of omega 3 fatty acids.)

Add the vegetables and sautee for 10-15 minutes being careful not to overcook them.

Add barley including the water it was soaking in. add water or vegetable stock to cover the vegetables. Simmer for 30-35 minutes. DO NOT OVERCOOK as the veggies will be mush !

Ingredients

1 golden beet, peeled and sliced into angel hair pasta (or similar. Use a spiral slicer or just a mandoline)

1 zucchini, peeled and sliced into angel hair pasta (same as above)

1/2 grape tomatoes

1/2 cup cucumber, peeled and cubed

1/4 orange pepper, diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon fresh basil cut into ribbons

1/4 taspoon minced garlic

pinch of salt to taste

Using a spiral slicer or a mandoline, slice the beet and the zucchini into thin ribbons (angel hair). Set it on a plate. Place the tomatoes, cucumber, orange pepper. Add the basil ribbons .

Ina small bowl, whisk the olive, lemon juice, minced garlic and salt then drizzle over the salad.

5-6 tangerines, peeled, seeds removed (I bought seedless ones)

1 bulb of fennel thinly sliced

1 shallot finely chopped

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)

1-2 tablespoons olive oil (preferably extra virgin)

salt and pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until well coated. Toss gently and serve.

This dish will be very welcome as a snack or an appetizer. Easy to prepare, delight to eat. Budget friendly. The recipe yields for 2 cups of prepared pate.

Ingredients

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 cups of raw (not roasted or salted) sunflower seeds (soaking optional)

Place the red bell pepper, garlic, lemon juice, soy sauce and sunflower seeds in the food processor and process until reaches a smooth consistency. Add few drops of water if too dry or not smooth enough. For a spicy kick, add a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Serve as a dip with celery sticks, spread on a veggie wrap or on a cracker.

Ingredients:

• 6 – 8 cups of peeled and sliced peaches (8-10 peaches)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• Crumble Topping:
• 1 1/4 cup unbl. wh. flour (use 1/2 wh. wheat or spelt flour if you like)
• 1 1/4 cup quick oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup chilled Earth Balance or other veggie spread
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Instead of blanching the peaches, i decided to just peel them and slice them, sprinkle with brown sugar.
3. Cut the peaches in half and remove the stones
4. Slice peach halves evenly into 1/2 inch wedges
5. Mix peaches and sugar together and spread evenly in cake pan
6. TOPPING:
7. Add the cold veggie spread to the flour
8. Use a pastry blender to cut into small pieces blending with the flour
9. Add the oats, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon
10. Using your hands, rub all topping ingredients together until the mixture is crumbly
11. Spread the topping evenly over the peaches. Don’t pack it down, just let it be uneven. Gaps are okay
12. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until the topping is browned

Cool on a rack for 1/2 hour before serving

Blueberries are a superfruit. They are extremely high in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties which combat oxidative stress and inflammation that many experts believe are involved in all the major killer diseases as well as age-related conditions like arthritis and memory loss. In fact, blueberries are considered the ultimate memory food. Bananas contain potassium and fiber. Avocados are high in good heart-healthy fats, and lutein, an antioxidant that’s great for your eyes and skin.

All tremendously healthy foods to eat. Blend them together and you’ve got one of the most delicious and satisfying desserts ever. Well I think so anyway.

Ingredients:

2 cups frozen blueberries

1 frozen banana

1/2 avocado

juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp honey
dash Himalayan sea salt

water

Instructions:

Add honey, lemon juice, flesh of the avocado and dash of salt to blender. Blend well until creamy, add a bit of water as needed to keep it blending. If you add the honey after the frozen fruit it will harden and be harder to blend in.

Add remaining ingredients and blend well until creamy. Add water, a little at a time, as needed to keep the mixture blending and get the consistency you like.

Serves 2. I made it double.

This is a quick and easy meal that can easily go as a main course salad and it is another example of how to include healthy, protein-packed beans in a warm-weather menu. This recipe is for two and just had it for lunch with my mom.

As for the garbanzo part, you can do two things. Either soak the beans overnight until they start to sprout and when ready to use it, pour over them hot water and then chill them with cold water. This will eliminate the bitterness of the sprout.Or you can use garbanzo beans from a can, as I did in this case.

Ingredients

1 yellow squash (or zucchini) diced

1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (or 1 cup garbanzo beans sprouted)

a handful of parsley

a head of iceberg lettuce (or any other type of lettuce but i prefer iceberg since it is soft)

salt and pepper to taste

italian vinaigrette ( 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp mustard, 1 tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon)

Toss all ingredients , except lettuce, in a large bowl.  Arrange lettuce on a plate and top with the bean mixture.

p.s. You can also add a diced  tomato and few black Kalamata olives.

South Haven

Today, we had a wonderful time driving to South Haven, MI. My dad’s friend, Bill, invited us to go pick peaches and blueberries. First stop was at his new vacation house and I posted some photos of the gorgeous interior and the serenic view surrounding. We went to pick peaches at an orchard close by b ut we skipped the blueberries since we got them already in a box. Frank picked them for us. At the orchard, we ate peaches, I had 5, Lior had 4. It was a lot of fun and for Lior was a first experience. Mom and dad remembered the childhood times and I cannot wait until mom will do peach preserves and jam.

We stopped to few fruit markets  on the way to buy tomatoes, grape tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, corn, apples and yellow string beans. I picked some nice organic strawberry marmalade and raspberry jam. Lior got some peach hot sauce.

Trying to find a place to have lunch (or early dinner), dad remembered of a place where he ate before. Finding the place, we went to the back yard and ordered. The staff was very friendly and I had a feeling they have great food. We ordered as follows: for appetizers, fried pickles and jalapeno poppers with a  raspberry vinaigrette salad.Pizza baked in a stone oven outside was prepared for us. Dad ordered broasted chicken , potatoes and coleslaw. Lior ordered jumbo wings (and they were huge) dipped in original house hot sauce. Mom and I shared broasted potatoes with green onions, willy chips and a salad.  While waiting for the food that was prepared fresh, we played bags. Of course, team Mom & Dad won. The owner, Pat, the Maui Gipsy as they call her, came to talk to us and we couldn’t stop complementing her on the food. Lior got a jar of her special sauce to bring home. To surprise us, she brought us homemade clairs filled with her original homemade blueberry icecream. It was really delicious, the flavor was not too sweet yet delicate, the color was so appealing I couldn’t stop looking at it.  I have to be honest, I’ve never had such good icecream.  Everything was so pleasant that I am considering go back there for my birthday on labor Day weekend.

The restaurant is located at 10336 Blue Star Hwy in South Haven, MI (JUST 5 MINUTES FROM downtown). Their menu, typical American,  is a large variety of burgers, sandwiches, salads, the list of appetizers is very appealing and most important, the owners are eager to accommodate special diets such as Vegan.

Being stuffed with such good food (and kinda greasy, but we considered some indulgence cannot hurt once in a while), we decided to go to downtown south Haven and walk the promenade. The weather was beautiful but windy. The waves on the lake were high and we saw many kite surfers. It was fun to watch them and I couldn’t stop admiring the force they needed to maneuver the kite. I took as hort film of one of the guys that was actually “posing” for us. He was good, oh well, until he lost his board at one point. That movie, after light editing, will be posted on youtube shorlty. We took a bunch of photos, admired the beautiful homes around the shore and the marina, the boats. Then, took a short walk by the little boutiques filled with candies, fudge, icecream and other goodies but we were too stuffed to eat. Just look. Lots of tourists, street performers, sunset, cute little puppies….it was a pleasant way to end the evening.

The drive back home was 2 hours, no traffic. We had a beautiful sunset and later on clear skies with stars. Fromt eh highway, we could see the fireworks at US Cellular filed. I can say that it was a beautiful and exciting day, driving back home with a trunk filled with fresh, organic vegetables and fruits, great memories and last, bellies full with great food.

Thank you Dad for driving us, thank you Mom and Lior for the awesome company.

Thank you God for this special day.