Should get THIS earlier!

I should have got this EARLIER!!! It saves me so much effort, time and most important my vegetables strips are not watery. My husband loves my salad today, he says it feels likes eating noodles. He is very good in eating salad, he adds in NO CONDIMENTS, NO SEASONING, PLAIN! I have to KOWTOW to him because I still can't. I have lots of herbs lah, sweeten lah, lime lah and Braggs loh.... See mine below, I stood in front of my kitchen cabinet adding all my condiments for 5 mins..... All the condiments are a transition for me, hopefully one day I can do without them. But for now I like it and enjoy it, I don't know about you, why not you try it.

Oh yah, I forget to introduce you my super helper for this

dish. The Orange Shredder, humpp... I don't know the real name for this. Siok Khoon had introduced us this equipment 3 years ago when I attended her class. I was thinking I had a small conventional one and did not want to add anymore equipment in my kitchen; and and and I was soooo lazy to go to CK Tang Orchard to get it. I hate the crowd unless it is a weekday, it was so energy draining after walking through it. Headache and drowsiness will come and find me after that. I used to enjoy taking leave

during WEEKDAY to shop at Orchard Road, it feels goood to have the whole place yours.

I happen to saw it again in OG at New Bridge Road, it cost $19. This time, I found it too expensive for me to buy. My friend, Yvonne, strongly encourage me to get it but I did not take her words seriously. So during Chinese New Year, I used the conventional one, spending effort/strength holding the root vegetable, spending time peeling the roots vegetable and kept the remaining for juicing.... I would not want to do this so often, so tiring....

Again I saw this Orange Shredder while searching for Saladacco for my friend. This weekend, my husband and I were there, in New Bridge Road, stocking our parts and food for our part time HOBBY. I bought it for my HOBBY as I think will be useful. I tried it and to my surprise, I love it! My husband finds my previous noodle salad watery but not this time. I spent the least effort in shredding it and no left over needed to be kept. It is very fast and efficient because it is cutting in 2 way. In no time, it will be done. Going Up, Down, Up, Down, it is FUN!!!

Below are my recipes:

Shredded Carrot (Orange Shredder)

Shredded Cucumber (Orange Shredder)

Shredded Turnip (not in pic)

Shredded Purple Cabbage (by 2 way Peeler)

Shredded Onion (small portion)

Avocado (Cubed)

Whole Wheat Chips

Sesame Seed

Cinnamon Powder

Black Pepper Powder

Agave Nectar

1 Lime, Juiced

A Special Friend returned from Arizona

Hsiao Kee is a special friend and mum just returned from Arizona with her son. They had a good time there with Our Place International and have learnt an important, lifetime and valuable lesson. You can read more from this link : http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150407090745643&set=a.323023685642.331443.149785450642&theater

We got a good catch up from each other yesterday and our sons are having FUN on their own. I have learnt from her good sharing and she is a brave lady I can say, no joke... This is the first time I see my son munching half of a stick of cucumber and half of a prune without spitting out. Having peers together does makes a different. Watching Reyes eating his salad and vege happily, I hope that my son would also enjoy salad as his main meal one day. Thanks to Hsiao Kee for sharing her raw carrot cake and cashew dip with me. They are DELICIOUS!!! With the leftover, it add on flavours to my salad today....

Zucchini Noddle

Zucchini Strips --- make from 2 way peeler, idea from Simple Vegetarian by Wong Kee Yew

Raw Mushroom cubes --- can buy from NTUC, PESTICIDE FREE

Parsley

Cashew Dip --- from Hsiao Kee

Salad

Organic Alafafa Sprout --- from NTUC

Purple Cabbage --- shredded

Jap Cucumber --- cubed

Corn

Red Pepper Bell Dip --- recipes from Our Place International

see link : http://rawhealthyfood.blogspot.com/2010/09/red-pepper-bell-dip.html

Carrot Cake with dip --- from Hsiao Kee

Yummy!

For the book, Simple Vegetarian by Wong Kee Yew, you can buy it from Awareness Place. Thanks to my friend, Linda who gave me a copy, it has quite a number of simple recipes who is suitable for busy friends. My son enjoyed the raw walnut brownie very much.

Follow the Flow --- Raw Strawberry Almond Cake

Life seems easier to go along with the flow than against the flow. You may seems to get what you want in your life after some determination and struggle but if it is not yours, you will suffer along the process.

I wanted very much to become a teacher as a full time job after volunteering as a Dharma teacher for a few years. I quit my smooth sailing engineering job and join MOE in despite of some

objections. I don't want to regret, for it is my dream. But in the end, I suffered from depression and had phobia going into the classroom every morning. I cried when I talked to

my friends about my situation. I am lucky that my previous company took me back after 3 months in MOE. But my luck go down in my career after that.....

For this hobby or raw food preparation, it is just like a flow to me. My son push me to work on his food. My friend, Siok Khoon, kicked my ass to conduct food preparation class at her house. I am reluctant when she suggested this to me. It took me a lot of courage to do it. What if I speak the wrong thing? What if the participant don't like my dishes? blah blah.... But after I started my first lesson, I have the satisfaction and whenever I have new dishes, I a

m eager to share with people.

I came across this book, Living in the Raw Gourmet written by

Rose Lee Calabro by incident. While I am reading another book, it recommend some raw book with easy recipes. Without knowing what is inside, it is risky to buy them. So I intended to borrow from the library. Instead of getting the recommended book, I saw this and find that the cover page is quite old fashioned or unique. So I borrowed it. The recipes inside are very easy and simple, short and sweet. I hate recipes that needs a lot of ingredients especially the uncommon ones. I w

ill not use them after trying out the recipes and will go into the dustbin after it expires or wither.... What a waste!

I leave the book aside after I have it until my friend asked for raw cake for her daughter's birthday. I quickly flip through and go for a simple one. In this situation, if I have negative thoughts, I will be complaining, have fouling mood and rushing to make one out. If I stay positive and do it willingly, I will be a more happy person. Our thinking can change our environment or our world into a hell or heaven.

It is a blessing to be able to give and in return, you will benefit more. After her party, I have free reviews on my cake, with new recipes to write and share and best of all, I have fulfilment. With all the shitty things in our life, the more we should be positive and happy. Everything shits and obstacles can be treated as a test to us. We get wiser each time we pull through an obstacles. They are there for a reason.... Without any difficulties, how can we help other with the same problem? Without much nagging, below are the RAW cake recipe.

Strawberry Almond Cake

First Layer

2 cups Almonds --- soaked overnight, blanched and remove skin

2 cups Dates --- remove seeds

2 teaspoons vanilla extract --- best if you can find from organic stall

Process almond in food processor with S blade into fine meal

Add in dates and vanilla gradually

Process until mixture is smooth and form a ball

Mould into your favourite shape

Second Layer

2 cups Almonds --- soaked overnight, blanched and remove skin

2 cups raisins

2 teaspoons vanilla extract --- best if you can find from organic stall

Process almond in food processor with S blade into fine meal

Add in raisin and vanilla gradually

Process until mixture is smooth and form a ball

Mould into your favourite shape

Icing

2 cups Cashew --- soaked for 1 hour

1 cup Strawberries

1/4 cup Dates --- remove seeds and soaked for 1 hour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract --- best if you can find from organic stall

Process all ingredient in blender or food processor with S blade until smooth and creamy

Filling

1/2 cup Strawberries --- thinly sliced

Decoration

Blueberries

Strawberries

or any fruits

Assemble

Ice the first layer of cake

Layer the sliced strawberries on top

Place the second layer over the sliced strawberries

Ice the top and sides of the cake with remaining icing

Decorate with fruits

FIRST LAYER with Icing and Strawberries SECOND LAYER placed on top

Add Carob powder to your first and second layer if you want a carob cake as shown below:

Raw Tart

Tarts tarts tarts, we see them everywhere especially during Chinese New Year. People loves them so much that we have Egg Tart in all pastry shops and get to eat them fresh everyday. During CNY, people are busy making, selling and buying Pineapple Tarts. In the high class restaurant, we have bird nest tart or maybe Shark Fin Tarts???? But have you heard or seen any Raw Tart before????

I am so excited over raw pastry and have the urge to make them right away when I saw any recipes. I loves pastry but restraint from eating them from the pastry shop because of the refined sugar, salt, wheat and dairy products(they call them the 4 evil white).... They are highly refined and processed that they can no longer considered as real food. And the pastry may contain Margarine which I would not know... margarine is a No No for me, it is a synthetic, man-made chemical, do you know that it is only one molecule away from being plastic??!!

I am lacking of processor and I am searched through books on recipes that does not need one. So this recipe is a combination from 2 books....

Crust (from Light Eating For Survival, Marcia Madhuri Acciardo)

9 tbsp of Sunflower Seed Flour --- Grind sunflower seed into powder

Coconut Oil --- use cold pressed, I bought mine in Organic Shop, costed about $20 per bottle...

Agave Nectar --- Bought from Organic Shop, a better replacement for sugar

Add Agave Nectar into Sunflower Seed Flour, how much? Depend on your liking on sweetness, remember that the tart will be sweet because of the filling too. Then add coconut oil until it can form a dough and mould it onto your tart cups. If the dough stick on to your hand and difficult to handle, wet your hand with coconut oil. I like the crust thin, so I will not feel too heavy with too much seeds...

Filling (from Raw Living, Kat Wood)

4 Banana

1 large Apple --- Pacific Rose or any Sweet version, peel off skin and chop into small pieces

80g Tahini --- I used Melrose brand

120g Dates --- remove seeds and soak them before hand if possible

1 small Lemon, Juiced

1.5 tbsp Psyllium Husk

2 tsp Vanilla --- optional, unless you can find a good one from Organic shop else omit

Put all the ingredients in the blender except Psyllium Husk and blend them up. After blending, mix in the Psyllium Husk and pour the filling in the crust immediately.

Topping

Pine Nut or Coconut Flakes or Cashew or even cutted fruits for colours --- depend on your tart size

Decorate your tart according to your choice and place in the fridge for a few hours for it to set.

This recipes can make up to 10 to 15 tarts, depending on the size of your tart mould. Reduce the measurements accordingly if you want a smaller serving. Enjoy!