Backpacking Assateague

Backpacking Assateague was like backpacking a dessert with cold wind coming from the direction of the Atlantic Ocean. Brrrrr. Even with this blazing fire we were still cold.

The wild horses in the park were quite tame. Here is one I could see from my tent. Park regulations don't allow us to pet them.

Overall, it was a fun trip with no biting mosquitos Assategue is known for, chemical toilets, good exercise, just enough warm clothing (day & night), huddling around a fire with Craig's leftover 2x4 & 2x6s, and a big tent to get us out of the cold temperature and in for a game of Rook.

Reaching Hearts International: Raw Food Class

We hope you enjoyed the raw food class. Here are links to most of the recipes...and then some. Please print the recipes out or put a bookmark to them (and not to our website), since this website changes constantly. Thank you. You can always email us if you have questions or need more resources.

Note: Some recipes (if not all) may not use all raw ingredients. But, they are certainly "high" in raw ingredients! Sample of non-raw ingredients are spices, almonds (see Almond Board of California about pasteurization), bulgar, agar, braggs, lecithin.

Lebanese Layered Salad
Equipment: None
Click here for recipe. Makes for a beautiful display. Use first cold-pressed olive oil.


Date Nute Torte
Equipment: Food processor
Click here for recipe. Top with raspberries.


Mango Cheesecake by CheFlandria
Equipment: Food processor & high-speed blender like the VitaMix or BlendTec
Click here for recipe. Irish moss is hard to find. Instead, I used one tablespoon agar and 3/4 cup boiling water, later cooled before adding the rest of the ingredients. Top with raspberries. This recipe freezes quite well. To make almond milk:

Almond Milk for Cheesecake
1/3 cup almonds
1 1/2 cup water
Blend. Squeeze almond milk through a cheesecloth or nut milk bag. You will need about 1 to 1 1/2 cups almond milk for the cheesecake.

Famous Onion Bread by Matt Amsdem
Equipment: Food processor, dehydrator, & optional mandolin/spiral slicer
Click here for recipe. Try vidalia onion or sweet yellow onion for this recipe. If the mixture is not mixed thoroughly, the bread will turn out crumbly. Look for a subtle milky, white-ish color.

Spicy "Bean" Tacos by Sarma Melngailis & Matthew Kenney
Equipment: Dehydrator & food processor
Click here for recipe. In class, we had these with the sunflower sour cream recipe which follows:

Sunflower Sour Cream:
1 2/3 cups water
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 1/3 cups raw sunflower seeds ( or cashews)
1/3 cups lemon juice

Blend all ingredients well until very smooth. Refrigerate. Good served as a salad dressing or as a dip for raw cauliflower and broccoli.

Vietnamese Zoodle Salad, inspired by a cooked dish
Equipment: Small blender & optional spiral slicer
Click here for recipe.


Cucumber Dressing by Jurea Dawson
Equipment: High-speed blender for creamy dressing
There is no link to Jurea's Cucumber Dressing recipe but here is one similar, just search for Creamy Cucumber Dressing. There are so many ways to make this recipe. You can use cashews for a fruit dip or sunflower seeds for a salad dressing. You can add more cucumber. You can add more lemons for 'taste'. You can use raw honey or agave. But, skip the garlic salt altogether. Play with it.

Coconut Macaroons
Equipment: Optional dehydrator
Based on a recipe by Sarma Melngailis & Matthew Kenney
This recipe is yummy, fast, easy-to-make dessert and does not use maple syrup like the original recipe.
Coconut Carob Macaroons
3.5-5 cups dried, shredded coconut flakes
1/2 cup carob powder
1 cup agave
1/2 teaspoon maple syrup extract (alcohol free)
2 Tbsp cup almond pulp (optional)
1 Tbsp vanilla extract (alcohol free)
1/2 tsp sea salt
Combine 3 cups coconut flakes and all the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. Add more coconut so the mixture is not too wet nor too dry. Form into small truffle-sized balls. Optional: Dehydrate at 115F for 12 hours.

Sprouting
Refer to SproutPeople.com for sprouting.
We buy our sprouts from Sprout Man and we have had a good experience with successfully sprouting their seeds.


Raw Food 'Essential' Ingredients
A list of ingredients you may want to add to your grocery list to make raw recipes!
* Greens, greens, greens! Vary your greens. Try kale, chard, collard greens. Yes, you can eat them raw! Try marinating or wilting.
* Fruits and vegetables.
* Agave
* Dates
* Coconut butter/oil
* Lemons/Limes
* Flaxseed
* Nuts/Seeds like sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds
* Cashews
* Sea salt or a wet salt like Celtic salt

Places to Shop for Raw Ingredients
You can buy special raw products online or locally. Here are a few:
* Natural Zing.com They are in Maryland and carry the Spirooli (spiral slicer). You'll find unpasteurized almonds here, as well as raw carob and raw shredded coconut!
* Roots Market in Olney and Clarksville, MD. An organic market that is also raw food friendly! They have raw crackers, cookies, bars.
* My Organic Market I found the one in Elkridge, MD that sells steam pasteurized almonds that will still sprout. In other words, raw & living.
* The Common Market in Frederick, MD. You can find raw agave, coconut oil/butter, nuts, grains, seeds, first cold-pressed olive oils, and more.
* Whole Foods You can find most ingredients here like raw nuts, seeds, and first cold-pressed oils.

Local Raw Food Restaurant
The nearest all-raw-food restaurant is Loving Life Cafe, opening Summer 2008 in Hanover, PA. I think they are not re-opening the one in New Oxford. They have the best ice cream and cheesecake! We took a raw class there, but it was a very basic course. It was fun, but the class I teach you has so much more information in it! However, I do encourage you to learn more about raw foods, health, and nutrition... then, share what you've learned!

[UPDATE, 04/24/09]  We have since found these local restaurants which offer raw food dishes on their menu!   Java Green Cafe , Senbeb Cafe, and Great Sage.  Great Sage recently offers a night of raw dinner with guest speakers.  They just started in April 2009.

Loving Life Cafe is no longer in business.

Some Common Raw Kitchen Appliances/Tools
Food processor, sprout jars, nut milk bags, dehydrator, juicer, high-speed blender, spiral slicer, mandolin slicer, salad spinner, salad crisper, coffee grinder (for small seeds and spices), and a good knife to break open coconuts.

Germinate
Remember, all ingredients use germinated nuts, grains, and seeds. ...except for a few like flax, cashews, almonds. Flaxseed is simply ground and added to recipes... probably because soaking them would end-up in a goopy texture. Sometimes cashews are soaked in water, but only for a short time. Almost all almonds are pasteurized now, so if you cannot find unpasteurized almonds, there is no need to germinate/soak them for recipes. See Almond Board of California about pasteurization.