The Winner of the Wheatgrass Juicer is...

Sherri K!!!!!!!!

Congratulations Sherri! Email your full name and address to me at mochaangels@aol.com. I will give it to Lexen Products and they will mail you the juicer asap.

Is it cliche to say that I wish I had 19 juicers to give away? Probably. But I do. Reading everyone's comments tugged at my heart and I wanted 18 other juicers to just "poof" manifest into my house. Keep reading everything you can about raw food, stay determined, and stay the course.

Love,

Althea

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The Winner of the Wheatgrass Juicer is...

Mushrooms and a Birthday Party

Portabello Mushroom and Avocado

Hi Everyone! Since I last wrote, a few things have happened. I have a beautiful blog header! The angel, courtesy of Victor Sweatt, will eventually be the cover of the Mocha Angels book. In 2006, I prayed for a professional artist to do the cover of that book. Victor found me 48 hours later via email. He is an answered prayer. Cher Frampton over at MaliciousIntently graciously put it all together to create a header that I just adore. I love it. If you are a subscriber, go to
http://www.therawmochaangel.blogspot.com/ to see it. Let me know what you all think!

Cher asked me a question last week. "What simple things can I make that I can easily incorporate into my family's diet?" That got me thinking. Two days later Tracie asked me to teach a class. My husband says that when two to three different people say the same thing to you, that is God hitting you upside the head. PAY ATTENTION. I am paying attention.

I'm creating what I call "A Week of Simple." They are the easiest raw dishes I make that do not require a dehydrator. I will also include a shopping list. Look for that on Monday, Feb. 2nd. The portabello mushroom is one of them. Just wash it; take off the stem. Dice an avocado and place it on top of the mushroom. Squirt Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or tamari or soy sauce) over them. Allow the marinate for at least 30 minutes. You can add tomatoes if you'd like. Enjoy.

And on Saturday, Jan. 31, I will announce the winner of the wheatgrass juicer!

We had a small party for Jona who turned four on Inauguration Day, but we had the party on the 24th. This is me and Jona, who avoided the camera all day, so we were lucky to snap this photo.

And I got a good picture of Amaadi, Raymond, and her sons Khadir and Khary. That's it for now! I'll be back on Saturday to announce the wheatgrass juicer winner!

love,

Althea

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Mushrooms and a Birthday Party

First Potluck at My House

From left: Brenda, Shanna, Veneta, me, Tahisha, and Skai

I hosted a raw food potluck at my house last Saturday. It was the same day President Obama’s train rolled past my town, but I had to get ready for my potluck!

My husband was so funny….having grown up in the District of Columbia, he’s seen all the past presidents and vice-presidents. They are no big deal to him. He could not believe that, if I hadn’t hosted this potluck that I would have stood in below freezing temperature to watch a president-elect and vice-president-elect not stop, but roll past us slowly and wave. Heck yes, I would have gone out to the train station to see them! I saw George Bush when he was running for office in 2000, but that didn’t thrill me. Obama and Biden? Now THAT would have thrilled me. Had I had this potluck on a different day, you all would be seeing pictures of our president instead of me and my friends! I hope we are a good substitute. :-)


We had tostadas, chocolate pudding, key lime pie (which was the best of all), sorrel & pineapple juice, cole slaw, tomato salad, apple crisp, corn chili, spinach salad and organic fruit salad. My husband and kids got a kick from having all these women in the house. My kids hung in there until 11:00pm, when everyone left except Tahisha. She left at 12:30am. We had a wonderful time!

This another photo of the food. We couldn't even get it all on my kitchen table.

This perfection on a plate. Matt Amsden's Tostada from his book RAWVolution. Love it, love it, love it. Even if you put the walnut "meat" in a lettuce wrap, trust me, you will LOVE this.

Tostada

1 1/2 cups finely ground walnuts, in food processor

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

3/4 teaspoon nama shoyu (I used Braggs liquid aminos)

In a small mixing bowl, combine the walnuts, cumin, chili powder, and coriander and mix well. Add the nama shoyu or Braggs and mix again. There you have the "meat" mixture. I topped it with tomatoes, lettuce, and cilantro. I put it on top of Matt's Famous Onion Bread which I'll share next time. Honestly, you can put this in lettuce, collard wraps, throw it on top of a salad. It's versatile and melt-in-your-mouth good. And it doesn't need any type of taco sauce or dressing.

Happy eating!

Love,

Althea

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First Potluck at My House

Win this Juicer!

FREE Juicer Giveaway

The Raw Mocha Angel is holding a contest for a FREE Healthy Juicer from Lexen Products. The Lexen Healthy Juicer is an amazing easy and effective wheatgrass and leafy green juicer, making it the most popular on the market.


877MyJuicer.com will be supplying the juicer at no cost to the lucky winner. More detailed information about the juicer can be found here - Healthy Juicer.


Here are the guidelines for the contest:

-You have between today, January 16 and midnight, January 30, 2009 to answer the following question: "how would this juicer benefit you and what would you do with it?"

-Post your answer in the "comments" section.

-You must live in the United States to win.


That's it! I will randomly choose a winner on Saturday, January 31, 2009.


Good luck!

Love,
Althea ◦

Win this Juicer!

Feast of Apples and Chocolate

Apple Crisp Redux

This is a raw apple crisp, done differently than I did before. It’s a combination of Jody Allen’s (www.lovinglifecafe.com) and Lynda Carter’s (www.aliveandraw.com) recipe. The apples are mixed with agave nectar, cinnamon, and vanilla. It’s topped with granola. What makes the recipe is the cashew cream sauce. Put 2 cups of cashews in a blender. Put just enough water to cover the cashews. I put in a little less because I like the sauce to be thick. Then add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of honey or agave. Blend until creamy. You’ll have a luscious whipped cream. Put it on top of the granola and you’ve got one heck of an apple crisp that is good for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Come Bite the Apple Cookies

We had a mixed verdict on Matt Amdsen’s Come Bite the Apple Cookies from his book RAWvolution. Rom thought they were okay. Raymond and I liked them. But if I’m being totally honest, the apple cookies from Alissa Cohen’s book were better. They went so fast I didn’t have time to take a picture. Raymond LOVED them. I had to tell him to slow down! But in Matt’s defense, the next thing I made out of his book I now call “Perfection on a Plate.” When I post again, I’m starting with that dish! Whoo!

Come Bite the Apple Cookies
2 lbs red apples (5-6 apples)
1 cup agave nectar
1 ¾ cups almonds, ground in FP
1 ¼ cups raisins
¼ cup cinnamon

Dice the apples in a food processor. Put them in a mixing bowl. Add the agave, almonds, raisins, and cinnamon to the bowl and mix well with a spatula. Use your hands to form the cookies about 3 inches in diameter. Dehydrate at 105 degrees for approximately 24 hours.

Blood

From Juliano’s RAW, I give you BLOOD. Yes, that is what it’s called. When Rom drank it, he said, “Damn! This is good! You could open a juice bar with this one!” That was my reaction too. I was like, “Damn, this is good.” Even if you don’t like beets, I think you should give this a try.

Blood
2 lbs apples (about 5-6 apples)
1 piece of ginger, about 2 tablespoons, unpeeled
½ cup beet
¼ cup fresh-squeezed lime juice
(I used lemon juice)

Juice all ingredients. Juliano says to let it chill in the fridge. I couldn’t wait that long. It’s fabulous.

Yuck, Yuck, Yuck

This was my first attempt at raw chocolate. This was train wreck of epic proportions. When recipes go bad in my kitchen, I don't tell you all where I got it because I don't want to embarrass anyone. But the "perfect chocolate" was not. Yuck. Triple Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. The ingredients were coconut oil, agave, and carob powder. I was ticked that I wasted my coconut oil. That stuff is not cheap!

Heavenly Chocolate

But when raw chocolate works, it ROCKS! This is Heavenly Chocolate from Fresh by Sergei and Vayla Boutenko. I have yet to eat a clunker from this book. These kids know their raw food.

Heavenly Chocolate
1 cup raw cashews or macadamia-nut butter
¼ cup water
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons carob powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon sea salt

Blend well, pour into a flat dish, and freeze until solid.

Up next, I'm giving away a wonderful product!

Love,

Althea

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Feast of Apples and Chocolate

A Feast of Apples

Jona and Raymond

Before I get to the Feast of Apples, the verdict on my sons is they have NO food allergies. I was like, “Are you sure?” My lovely doc said if I felt their behavior changed when they ate certain foods, then by all means, don’t feed it to them. Their being gluten-free will continue then. She also said they both are in the 90th percentile for their height, and 95th percentile for their weight. That was great news.

But what struck me most was the dramatic change in Jona since I began the gluten-free experiment. Before November, Jona showed no interest in ABCs, counting, nor reading. He was into his trains, trucks, and airplanes. And we couldn't understand a word he said. He, and Raymond, both have receptive/expressive disorder, which looks a lot like Autism. Receptive/Expressive is a speech disorder, rather than a language or behavioral disorder. Basically, a child has trouble expressing himself, but can understand what is being said to him. For the past two years, I have been using a Naturalistic Speech Therapy based on the work of Stephen and Mary Camarata of Vanderbilt University. Their website is www.latetalkers.org. If you join the Natural Late Talkers Yahoo group, you can access even more information. I received a wealth of techniques that truly helped Jona. I do recommend it.

But taking him off gluten unleashed the intelligence within. If he wasn’t my son, I wouldn’t believe what I’ve witnessed. Since November, Jona, who turns 4-years-old on January 20th, has done the following:
-learned his ABCs
-learned basic phonics
-learned how to spell words, correctly
-counts to ten
-comprehends the books I read to him
-speaks in sentences

I’ve read so much about children with Autism, speech or behavioral issues responding to a gluten-free and/or raw vegan diet, that I had to give it a try on my kids. Jona, far more than Raymond, responded in dramatic fashion. I have to add him to the growing list of children who has been helped by a gluten-free diet. And for that, I am grateful.

Now on to the Feast O’ Apples!

Apple Pie

Apple Pie –adapted from Incredibly Delicious

Crust
¼ cup of date soak water
8 dates, pitted and soaked
½ cup almonds, soaked
1 ½ cup walnuts, soaked
1 cup raisins, soaked
1 ½ cup oats
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg

Soak all nuts, dates, and raisins for 20-30 minutes.
Using the “S” blade, blend the oats and spices, in a food processor (FP) until it becomes a flour. Remove from the processor. Put in a mixing bowl.
Add all other crust ingredients to the food processor. Blend. Add the oat flour as the mixture blends. It should be fairly dry. If it’s too wet, add more oats.
Press into the bottom and sides of a pie pan. It’s really thick, so press hard with your hands.

Filling
3 ripe bananas
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
6 cups of apples, peeled and sliced in FP, using “S” blade
½ cup raisins (optional)
1/8 cup lemon juice (optional, but I used it) with additional maple syrup
6 dates, pitted and chopped
Garnish: pecans, strawberries, or raisins

Slice 2 bananas into ¼ inch rounds. Cover the bottom of the pie with them.
In FP, blend remaining banana, maple syrup, and one cup of apples until creamy.
Add that mixture to remaining 5 cups of apples. I added the lemon juice and 2 more tablespoons of maple syrup. That is optional.
Pour the mixture into the pie pan. Garnish, if you like.
Chill for several hours, then serve.

Apple Pie Slice

This has been the hit of my apple feast. My husband ate three slices the first day, asked for a second slice on day two. After it was all gone, he asked me when I would make it again. Today he said that my raw apple crisp cannot compare to the apple pie. He said it was good enough to sell. Well! Surprised me! It was good.

Hebrew Fruit Salad

Hebrew Fruit Salad with Sauce from The Joy of Living Live by Zakhah
2 apples, peeled and chopped
2 bananas, peeled and chopped
¼ cup raisins, soaked for 30 minutes and drained
cashews, soaked overnight and drained

Sauce:
1 cup of apple, banana, and raisins
¼ cup nut milk or water
2 tablespoons agave nectar

In a bowl, mix the apple, bananas, and raisins. Scoop out 1 cup of the fruit and blend with liquid and agave nectar in a blender. Pour sauce over remaining fruit. This is tasty. Zakhah doesn’t specify how many cashews to use, so I used about 10. I also had sauce leftover to use again. It’s sweet and delicious. And easy!

Apple Mango Soup

Apple Mango Soup from The Joy of Living Live by Zakhah
2 mangoes
4 apples, peeled and chopped
Bananas

Blend mangoes and apples. Pour into a bowl. Decorate with banana chunks.
I didn’t use the bananas. It was great without them. It’s a smoothie in a bowl. I would make it again.

Apple Sauce

Apple Sauce from The Joy of Living Live by Zakhah
3 apples, peeled and chopped
water or apple juice
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
Cinnamon, a sprinkle

Put apples in a blender. Turn it on “puree” and add liquid until desired consistency is achieved. This is easy and fabulous.

Harmony Spinach

There’s not an apple in here, but I thought I’d throw it in anyway :-).
Harmony Spinach from The Joy of Living Live by Zakhah
1 bunch spinach
¼ cup sesame oil
1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons liquid aminos

Wash the spinach, remove the stems, and chop. Put into a big mixing bowl. Mix in the other ingredients and serve. This rocks. Subtle flavor and goes well with any Asian-inspired dish.

That’s it for today. More apple recipes coming and a giveaway surprise!

Love,

Althea

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A Feast of Apples

Create a New Year!

Cashew Burger Wrap

Happy New Year! Everyday we get a chance to create anew. I look at everyday as a chance to create something positive. I’ve taken a “no-regrets” attitude. I did a lot of looking back in December and realized how much I regretted not doing in life. I don’t want to continue feeling that way. No more “I should have…” Everyday is “I do….” whatever it is I want to do.

I haven’t updated since Christmas because Jona’s stomach issues are still going strong. Tomorrow is the kids’ doctor appointment and we'll see if they do have food allergies. Jona’s been throwing up or not going to bed until 2:00am, and that has thrown his mommy’s sleep off a bit. He’s resilient, but mommy…not so much. I will let you all know the results.

If you ever don’t know what to eat, just put veggies in a wrap, add a sauce or salad dressing and you have dinner. The above photo is kale salad, spinach, and cashew burger wrapped in collards. I’ve made this before. It’s so easy. You can do it with anything. And it’s pretty to look at! :-)

Portabello Mushroom Wrap

This wrap is from Jody Allen’s Recipes Made with Love (www.lovinglifecafe.com). This wrap is divine. You can marinate mushrooms in a soy sauce/nama shoyu, olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice mixture for an hour. Add shredded veggies like carrots, tomatoes, whatever you like and wrap it up.

Tacos

I made these tacos at my most recent Gratitude Party. I took pictures of the food and forgot to take pictures of my guests Tahisha and Michelle! I swear, I think our memory cells leave through our breast milk. I haven’t had a good memory since I was pregnant with Raymond! And that was seven years ago! Or perhaps the cells left through the birth canal along with baby and placenta. Wherever my memory went, can you all help me find it? Lordymercy.....

Back to the tacos: the “meat” is walnuts ground in a food processor with cumin and chili powder. That’s it. Some recipes call for coriander, but there’s lots of freedom with raw tacos. Add whatever you’d add in a cooked taco. They are fabu.

Onion Rings

And here are the legendary onion rings…my inaugural dehydrator dish. Me and Raymond ate them all up. Even Rom, who doesn’t care for onion rings said they were good. Next up is flat bread. Thank you again Ingrid for this precious gift.

Also, if anyone has a wheatgrass juicer that is collecting dust, please let me know. I’m in the market to purchase one.

Love,

Althea

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Create a New Year!