{ raw vegan, gluten-free, serves many }

My stepmother, Marigene, has been in my life for nearly 20 years now.  She’s from southern Alabama and was raised in the quintessential southern debutant fashion, à la modern day Gone with the Wind.  I’ve always loved spending time with her not only because I am fabulously entertained, but I learn something new with every visit.  She has served up better advice and educated me more on manners and etiquette than Ann Landers and Emily Post can dream up between the two of them.  All with an incredibly light, charming, and witty sense of humor that only a southern belle can dish, with drawl and all.

So with a proper southern upbringing, your know-how on cuisine and family recipes are ingrained in your brain and your soul,  then passed along.  We southerners take our food quite seriously, and I thank my father, my paternal grandparents, and Marigene for ingraining it all into me.  Things as simple sounding as say, a pimento cheese spread, has each his own family recipe.

With that said, this is my rawified version of Marigene’s pimento cheese spread, traditionally made with cottage cheese, mayo, and jarred pimentos.  My version comes pretty darned close, I certainly think it captures the spirit.  Marigene, this is for you! I think you’d be proud.

{ Caramelized Onion Flatbread }

Fresh pimento peppers are indigenous to Spain and the Mediterranean region.  They’re a heart shaped bell pepper, with a flavor like a cross between a bell pepper and a cherry pepper.  They can be difficult to find fresh, so it’s fine to substitute with red bell pepper, or mix bell pepper with a fresh cherry pepper.  First cut them into large chunks, sprinkle with salt and olive oil, and put them in a dehydrator (or oven on lowest setting) until they soften.

For the pimento “cheese” spread:

1 1/2 cups raw macadamia nuts, soaked 10-12 hours
1/2 cup pine nuts, soaked for 4-6 hours
1 cup red bell pepper and/or cherry peppers, dehydrated until soft and diced
1/2 cup filtered water (to thin)
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs nutritional yeast
1 garlic clove
dash of hot sauce
1 tsp sea salt

Blend all ingredients except for the water in a food processor until well blended. Gradually add water until you get a thick, creamy consistency. The spread will be soft and fluffy. For a more dense cheese, spread onto a lined dehydrator tray and dehydrate until desired thickness and dryness is reached, then refrigerate. Pimento cheese spread will keep up to 5 days.

{ Great on celery too! }

Caramelized onion flatbread:

3 cups red onion, thinly sliced (will yield 1 cup reduced)
1 tsp agave
sea salt
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

2 cups roughly chopped zucchini
2 cups almond flour
1 cup golden flax meal
1/2 cup golden flax seeds
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove
2 tsp dried tarragon
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
freshly ground black pepper

First prepare the onions: place sliced onions in bowl, liberally season with sea salt, and allow to sit for about 1 hour. Drain excess liquid, drizzle in agave, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and mix well. Spread onto a lined dehydrator tray and dehydrate at 115 degrees for 2-3 hours, until onions are very soft, reduced and “caramelized”. This will yield about 1 cup.

Meanwhile, put almond flour, flax meal, and flax seeds in a large mixing bowl. Process the remaining ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Pour into the dry ingredients, and mix well until very well blended. Divide mixture to spread evenly onto 2 lined dehydrator trays, about 1/8″ thick. Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 4 hours, until lightly hardened but pliable. Carefully flip onto mesh dehydrator trays (underside of flatbread will still be soft and sticky). At this stage, sample the flatbread for saltiness. If desired, sprinkle sea salt over top of flatbread. Dehydrate for 12 hours longer until crispy.

<3, JMK

(raw vegan, gluten free)

Ajvar, (pronounced EYE-vhar), is a popular Yugoslavian and Greek relish that is typically served as an appetizer or side dish.  The primary components are eggplant, bell peppers, garlic, olive oil, and paprika.  For this raw flatbread version, I diced and marinated one baby eggplant and half each of a yellow and red bell pepper with some sea salt, a light squeeze of lemon, and extra virgin olive oil, then dehydrated for about 6 hours.  Afterward, I added minced garlic, paprika, and adjusted the seasonings then let it sit in refrigerator overnight. Dehydrating bell peppers really concentrates the flavor similarly to the intensity of roasted peppers.

When I made the pine nut pâte, I had in mind to create something similar to feta cheese that would mimic its salty, crumbly creaminess.  But I must say that once again, I find that making nut based “cheeses” like the ones that are so commonly found in raw uncookbooks is a bit misleading in that they never turn out anything like their inspirations.  In fact, these cashew, macadamia, and/or pine nut substitutes are so uniquely rich and delicious they should stand in a category of their own and not be compared to a food that they so distantly resemble.

For the pine nut pâte: In a food processor, add 1 cup of pine nuts soaked for 2 hours, 1 medium clove of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast, 1 teaspoon of sea salt, 1/8 cup of flax seed oil, and about a tablespoon of lemon juice and process until as smooth as possible.  If needed, drizzle in small amounts of cold water to assist smoothing the mixture.  The end result should be the consistency of hummus.  Spread on teflex dehydrator sheets and dehydrate 6 to 8 hours at 115 degrees.  The pâte can then be stored in the refrigerator.

Now that I’ve been experimenting with raw food recipes for over a year, one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that there’s a lot of room for customization and approximation.  In other words, the vast majority of preparations are not at all like, let’s say, the precise science of baking.  I have never been a big fan of baking so when it comes to making raw, seemingly comparable foods like flatbreads, cookies, crusts, or pastries, I used to be a little shy of them.  When new to raw, many of us are at first a bit intimidated by the unconventional ingredients and methods, but in actuality there is no need to be nervous or apprehensive.  And as always, the most important thing is to just practice, practice, practice!

So when I made the crust for the flatbread, I opened up Everydaw Raw by Matthew Kenney and turned to page 92, “Tomato, Basil, and Ricotta Pizza”.  There, I referenced his recipe for herb crust knowing I did not have all the ingredients listed, such as squash and dried basil.  All I really needed was a little help with the foundation, and the next thing I knew I was throwing all kinds of stuff into the mix.  And, as typical with dehydrating, home results can vary greatly from that in a recipe book.  This is absolutely a cinchy easy crust to make, from which you can top with all kinds of goodies!

I took 1 cup of walnuts that have been soaked for 4 hours; a small bunch of fresh basil; 1 clove of garlic; 1/2 jalepeño pepper; 4 medium vine tomatoes, scooped and seeded; 1/2 yellow bell pepper; 1/2 red bell pepper; 1 small shallot; 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast; 2 teaspoons agave; 2 teaspoons sea salt; a few turns of freshly ground black pepper; and a squeeze of lemon juice and blended in the food processor until smooth.  Pour this in a large bowl and add 1 teaspoon of dried oregano and 1 teaspoon of dried thyme.  Then, gradually sprinkle in 3/4 cup flax meal as you stir the mixture until well combined.

Spread on teflex dehydrator sheets to desired shapes and sizes and about 1/2″ thickness.  Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 18 to 24 hours, flipping crusts onto the mesh trays and removing the teflex sheets halfway through.

To assemble the ajvar flatbreads, take a crust and spread on some pine nut pâte with a spatula.  Add arugula leaves and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.  Finally, top with the ajvar and serve.

<3, JMK