So, an overall objective for this trip, is to go around collecting
ideas and connecting with permaculture communities, seeing what people
are doing on their farms or projects, with the goal of making a home
somewhere someway somehow for Vishnu and extended to the kids I've
worked with at the children's home in Chandrakal, now some years ago.
They are getting to be grown ups and for a few that have fallen through
the cracks of the system, this means not really having a steady place to
be, and not supportive- that vulnerable fledGgling time.
I
meet up with Vishnu to go to Cosmos Green Farm (cosmosgreen.org). Seetha buys her vegetables
from them in Hyderabad and she has set up a meeting for us.Vishnu swipes
the camera, so he's documenting...
Some garlic harvest coming...
Papayas just about ready
Tip toe-ing through the garlic
we came upon the ginger patch
It's sewn among the trees
these are some curry pods
To the pepper domes..
I keep getting instructed to pose with the plants..
Inside the pepper dome, there are some beans growing off to the side, they are trap plants. The bugs are attracted to them and then they are picked and disposed of, so they stay away from the peppers.
So, Tara's inspiration came from this video she saw on youtube. Woman looks like she's 40 but is 70, her husband, who did not do the raw food diet, looks like an old man. Not only does she look good, she obviously is spry and clear minded.
So, now I will reveal a major recipe within the recipes we used in our raw food weekend...Cashew Cheese! Cashews are plentiful here. Here is what you do:
Get a bag of cashew pieces (less expensive than whole cashews, and they are being chopped to smithereens anyway)
cocunut oil
sneak some water out of the raw sauerkraut you are making.
that's it.
Get your blender out, put the bag of cashews in, put two tablespoons of coconut oil and oh, a quarter cup of that sauerkraut juice. Blend and blend, it should be creamy yet runny. Pour into a glass jar or glass container half full. I warm up the oven a little then turn it off, place the containers, with lid on, in the oven for four hours. It just needs to sit in a warm place so the ferment bacterias in the sauerkraut juice can ferment and cause bubbles and the concoction starts to rise. The sauerkraut water is a salty brine, btw, so that is adding to the cheese recipe too. I have also substituted rejuvalac for the sauerkraut water and then I add a little salt.
so, the cheese rises, then you put it in the refridgerator and it will thicken more. Depending on your ratio of cashews to coconut oil to magic fermento water, you will get a cream cheese spread to hard cheese. The stuff is devine in recipes. Now I know why so many raw recipes have this cashew cheese. I've had a cashew sauce with 'pasta' (spiral cut zuchini)
cashew cream chai tea !!!!
raw burrito with cashew cheese
cashew cheese salad dressing
and here is a simple dessert I made on our raw food weekend that was a hit:
get some dates, slice longways but not all the way through.Remove the pit.
take a dollop of the cashew cheese that you always have on hand in your refridgerator now, schmear that into the date.
Tamarind paste! I will be bringing this home for sure. Drizzle a line of that on top. At this point, it is delicious and good, if you want it a little more hearty, I also push some peanuts into the cashew cream. So good.
I must admit , I excel at desserts.
But here is a simple raw pasta dish- ok, I saute for just a few seconds, i just do...
I don't have any photos and I didn't make it for our raw food weekend because my spiral slicer is in Queens....
get some zuchinis, wash and prepare. oh, here is a demo so you know what it looks like:
So, take your pick of machinery, make some noodles, place on a paper towel, or clean kitchen towel to absorb moisture from the fresh cut noodles.
Chop up some garlic , put it in a pan with olive oil, some nagashoyu or tamari, heat briefly then toss the zuchini noodles in and mix around for 30 seconds or so, then dump on a plate. Squeeze of lemon, twist of pepper. simple pasta.
Or, make a pesto.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups fresh basil
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup pine nuts (other nuts, such as almonds or walnuts may be substituted, by soaking, you are breaking down the phytic acid so it can be absorbed properly. )
Combine
all ingredients in a food processor/blender until nuts are ground. Pesto should
still have texture and not be completely smooth. Add more salt and
pepper to taste and enjoy! One variation is to add 1/2 cup rehydrated
sun-dried tomatoes.
hmmmmm, back to the cashew cheese recipe... the need for sauerkraut water or
rejuvelac. This is rejuvelac in the making. It is the water from fermented wheat grains. Other grains can be used. Soak the grains overnight, then dump out the water, rinse the grains and dump that water out too. secure a cheese cloth on top, or if you have a proper screen lid, use that. Rest the jar upside down at an angle , let those grains sprout, rinse them twice daily so they keep moist, but have the jar upside down over night. Finally you will see the grains grow a tail. That is enough- rinse them, then fill the jar with water, i have the grains to water ratio at about 1 to 4. put in a dark room temperature location for about two days, until you see a layer of bubbles on top- then you know it is fermente. Syphone off the water and keep it for making cashew cheese, or watever else you want to mix it with. Fill the jar again and let sit for a day for a second batch. Then compost the grains and clean up.
To make raw sauerkraut, I'm going to be lazy here and refer you to this perky lady. You should also get a tube top for making raw sauerkraut.
Anyhoo, that's all for now folks. Write me! I blog for attention!
Well, our weekend of raw food has ended, I have to catch up this blog...here is the recipe for the Breakfast Pudding
ready? Get your blender out.
Bananas raw cashews - soak them for a 3 or 4 hours a little salt dates tamarind paste
cut up dates for the top
drizzle of tamarind paste (I'm in India, so there are about 10 different brands on the shelf to choose from in a regular grocery store. If you are in NYC, you might have to go to the Indian grocery. I have no idea if Whole foods has this. From the 10 different ones, I picked one that was just tamarind in the ingredients, no preservatives, it comes in a squeezie packet).
so, I don't have exact amounts to tell you. Also I used mini bananas and made enough for 4 people. You could get a bag of cashews pieces from Trader Joe's and use half.( this is not an advertisement for Trader Joe's , if you know of somewhere to get cheaper cashews, say so, I just know regular groceries and Whole foods are more) Blend them with a half cup of water at first. This will be thick . Add a banana. add another banana, add more water, add another banana until you get pudding consistancy, pinches of salt. That's it. pour it into a bowl, drizzle the tamarind paste on top, toss some dates on it. You can make variations for the topping too, we had cut up mango on it another day. Try coconut flakes, or add cinnamon. Berries.This will be enough for two at least. Add more bananas for sweeter and lighter consistancy.
Why soak nuts and seeds? basically this: The Benefits of Soaking Nuts and Seeds
Enzyme inhibitors get neutralized.
The amount of vitamins your body can absorb increases.
Phytic acid, which inhibits the absorption of vital minerals, is reduced.
So try this one, let me know how it goes. More recipes to follow.
Our raw food weekend was a success- it wasn't too difficult to stick to , especially with the comfort of pudding. there was homemade sprouted hummus, cauliflower soup, cashew cheese for various sauces and a desert---so more recipes on the way. It's not exactly a juice cleanse, but eating raw is cleansing compared to fried breads, white rice and very cooked oily vegetables. eliza's boyfriend Cyrus did not participate, so there was an instance over the weekend where they stopped for him to get breakfast before coming over to the residency. He got a breakfast dosa.
Eliza snapped this photo on her phone and held her talisman for power and resistence. Dosas are pretty yummy, one of the variations of fried bready things available...
Well, I am not done for the day- I just facebook chatted with my Yoga teacher, Gayna Uransky!
She was my original teacher,er, 22 years ago, the real deal. She is contributing her two cents for daily cleansing, Nostril cleansing! And how appropriate with all the air pollution here in Bangalore, help a nostril out! She has been neti potting for about 40 years daily. Here's a cute neti pot on Amazon:
An elephant Neti- put a trunk up your nose, it's like this:
From Gayna:
"One level teaspoon of sea
salt with 2 cups of warm water. dissolve. Preferably pour into one
nostril with head tilted to allow water to flow through one side and
come out the other. Repeat on other side. AND if you really want clean
nasal passages....repeat again on both sides. ta dah."
How lucky are we?!
Use filtered water or what you know is ok or boil it first.
"I am not one of those Americans that came to India seeking
enlightenment, yet, guided by chapati, paratha, nan, white rice and the
beloved idli, have awakened to my calling and will use my knowledge and
expertise to help others relieve their suffering. Let the spirit move
through you (daily), and perhaps at first, explosively! Fear not!"
your poop guru, Bethany
This weekend's inspiration is from the artists at the
residency itself, some random words in conversation about wanting to
improve diet, which I took on as a project. And so begins this blog. I'm at an artist residency In Bangalore,India btw, incase you are just finding this, I've been here a couple weeks and
I may back track with photos of Ooty and Mysore as well, where I have been already, but the focus right now is bringing in the raw food....
Thursday evening after Nadira and Eliza gave presentations of their work to our crowd of guests, Tara, Nadira and Eliza received the first communion of cleanse/raw food weekend. Some herbal capsules of psyllium husk, bel leaf , and chandrashoor , lovingly labeled 'Bowelcare'.
-to make you move, and also calcium/magnesium powder to mix with a glass of water before bed. They also each received a talisman for the journey and permission to call my hotline should they need encouragement. It is scary business changing diet. But in the morning we started out with some raw comfort - cashew banana pudding with tamarind drizzle and dates on top.
So, my followers, any thoughts , fears , questions? I think all of you had some trepidations...Cryus made a good point about raw food in India, we may be subjecting ourselves to some bacterias to contend with. There is a reason for all this cooking down of the veggies. So far I have combatted that with blanching some veggies just enought to kill any unwanted guests. But also, India has a host of fermented foods. Fermenting food also combats bad bacterias and makes good bacterias. We will delve into some fermenting for our raw food weekend. Also I have clove capsules on hand in case there is a hint of digestional turbulance, the clove spice can knock out the badness.
