Sub Rosa Green - reaping the not so secret delights of green juice by secretly juicing

I live and work in France. A wonderfully beautiful country filled with wonderfully beautiful french people. 

A culture celebrated for it's ways in the kitchen and burning passion for food, I moved out here originally to study the traditional french techniques and recipes.

Since my arrival my journey has catapulted me in an entirely different direction, you know it....RAW VEGAN.

Although it may seem I'm be marching to rhythmically challenged, or deaf drummer,I'm not. I'm actually breaking dancing to DJ Jazzy Jeff and it's FRESH! (I know that was over the top )

Anyway, working in a very traditional french kitchen, you can imagine how eyebrows have raised in my direction concerning my changing eating habits.

Constant questioning concerning my large salads at lunch are something I haven't quite grown comfortable with yet.

 Some believe I've been struck down with an eating disorder, most think I the most unhealthy person since Keith Richards, and other seem insulted like ' how dare she eat that apple, she's calling me fat, wrong, ugly and bald, isn't she!'

I have most definitely solidified  their idea of me as a bizarre breed of Canadian creature.

To get down to the point of this post, the other day I was cleaning out the cupboards in garde manger before lunch and discovered a mini juicer!! It was crammed in the back, amid statues of aged vinegars and cold pressed oils and covered in some sort of unidentifiable gunk (definitely not juice), obviously forgotten and left to rot.

 Instantly I was dreaming of the rush of liquid chlorophyll life surging through my veins, the sweet tastes of apple and lemon, carrot and ginger. I was more than excited.

JC (my chef), caught me gawking and shot me an unimpressed look. He came over to see what was occupying my attention. He saw the juicer and explained it was of no real use in the kitchen, we never use it, don't know why we still have it, just put it back. Guillaume, second in command (so much like the army!) nodded his head in agreement about the silly machine. 

I was ecstatic.

That day during the break after everyone had left for a sleep, I went back to the kitchen with my bag full of greens, vegetables and fruits. I made two jugs of green juice and cleaned everything up quickly and stealthy. I've been doing this a couple times a week ever since, no ones the wiser!

It might seem silly juicing in secret and I can understand if you think so, because it IS REALLY silly!! Almost ridiculous in fact! BUT, I chose the route as an undercover juicer simply because it's easier for me.

 I stand by what I believe in and why I chose to eat this way. I live the benefits that grow in numbers and more apparent daily. 

I revel in the glorious framers markets and lush produce France has to offer but I'm still in the process of figuring out my place as a uncooked veggie enthusiast in this country.

If I was ever to get 'caught' preparing one of my concoctions I would smile wide reveling my parsley stained teeth, and not even bothering to wipe the spurilina from my upper lip declare "the green stuff makes life better, it's super tasty" and possibly looking like a lawn mower had backfired in my face and down the front of my shirt ( I can get messy ), I'd state " it also makes you look prettier" :)

 Then I'd deal with the what was to follow in stride: criticisms, concerns,bad jokes etc. 

Until that day I'm happy to continue my clandestine meetings with my new found juicy friend. It brings a fun feeling of bad assness into the picture as well!

Green Moustache Juice

1 Head of Parsley

2 Cucumbers

4-5 Stalks of Celery

1 Head of mache (or some other green)

2-3 Apples, your favorite kind

1-2 Lemons

I cut all ingredients, except lemons, into appropriate chunk sizes, depending on the size of the mouth of your juicer. Juices away. I squeeze in the lemons at the end. 

A good juicing tip is when you put something like a bunch of parsley through always follow with something that yields a lot more juice. Something like some apple or cucumber. This will help to push through the greens and you'll reap more juice from the little guys in the end.

Enjoy!

A Love-a-ly Bunch of Coconuts - making your own raw coconut milk.

This is a labour of love. All the hard work your about to embark on is fully worth the glass of rich, creamy greatness you are left with in the end. In fact the only thing more fulfilling would be to grow and pick the coconuts yourself. To those who can, awwee luckieeee.....

Here's how I made my own coconut milk......

Get some coconuts and shake em around to make sure you can hear some liquid moving around in there. Then find yourself a hammer, mallet, brick, baseball bat or chainsaw. Choose whichever is most pleasing to you.

Locate the face on top of the coconut. The eyes and nose are especially soft and easy to pierce holes into for draining the water out. Although the coconut face has a cute, sad and scared little expression on don't be fooled. The coconut can be a rough and tough meanie and should be handled with necessary force, while, of course still holding love and gratefulness in your heart.

Pierce a hole in the face and drain out the liquid into a bowl. Then take the hammer, or your tool of choice, and start tapping around the equator of the coconut until splits in two. Scoop the coconut meat out from the shell.

( I couldn't up load the photo for these instructions for some reason, sorry)

Take a vegetable peeler and peel the brown skin from the meat. Hey, I didn't say this was gonna be pretty, a good job to spirit the hunter in all of us, even us raw vegans.

Grate the coconut meat with a cheese grater.

To the grated coconut add the reserved coconut water and some pure, regular H2O. You can play around with the quantities depending on how creamy you want it. You can't really mess up here, don't worry, just add the water bit by bit until you've reached the desired creaminess.

Then call on M. Le Hand Blender and thank him for all his wonderful uses. VRRRRMMMMM, le blend it up!

Strain the remaining meat from the milk.

 I then added fresh vanilla bean and raw honey and le bended the milk again. It was a delicious treat just like this.  You can also use it as a base for smoothies, or pour it on top of fruit for breakfast. Lots and lots of yummy things to do with coconut milk!

So, that's homemade raw coconut milk, enjoy! 

Bisous.

You're Just Gonna Have To Trust Me -a new take on an old favorite.

My love affair with food started before I was born. For generations people in my family have been laying the ground work for my life of food lust, before my arrival on earth. 

Food and family fit together so nicely. It is in kitchens among my beloved kin, not in class or in Michelin star restaurants, that I have learned the most about the philosophy of cooking (and 'un'cooking) and have developed the most in my appreciation for food and the joy, love and health it can bring all of us. 

We have a variety of different types of eaters and chefs in the group. Some of us are more into the eating and some find great pleasure in preparing and sharing. Either way it's fun times for everyone!

It should then come as no surprise that our family has a family sandwich!

I've heard of some others who prepare and enjoy this unusual dish but I still call it an Andrews family sandwich. This is based on the large number of people who eat it and stand behind it's bizarre ingredients, in our group. 

Our special way of preparing it and the 'secret' ingredient has been passed down to the Andrews grandchildren and now great grandchildren.

So what is this glorious preparation?

Peanut Butter and Dill Pickles!!!!!!!!!

Our traditional Preparation:

TOASTED grainy bread

Peanut butter slather ( I like chunky)

Sliced dill pickles ( the best are the ones grandpa makes )

Leafy greens

and the secret.......... a little mayo

YUCK? 

You have no idea how far off you are. Please trust me, your ignorance is causing you suffering that you do not deserve, or at least preventing an explosively blissful experience from entering your life.

Anyway, I no longer find mayo blissful and traditional bread makes me feel a little to explosive in way of bloating these days so.....

I now honor family tradition this vegan, semi-raw way

-Puffed rice cakes

-Raw peanut butter or I like raw almond butter better

-Cauliflower 'mayo'

       -cauliflower, oil, lemon, salt  

        blended 

 -Yummy, creamy avocado (I had no pickles)

-mache

-Radish 

-Smoked black pepper

Simple and easy and makes me feel like the kid that I am!

So finally,

 thank you family for the love and the weird sandwiches.

 

A Wedding

Finally blueberries!!

The market has been lush all summer long. Abundant in the way of cherries, melons, raspberries, strawberries and peaches but where oh where were my little purple-y blue buddies?

Oh glorious day, you have arrived!

I will marry you with a coconut. Banana, tahini and macadamia are all invited to the ceremony. I will throw cinnamon confetti at you and all your guests. It will be the messiest wedding of all time.

 I should explain that most things I do are add lib. Although I use very reliable methods and tests while preparing food to ensure the results are wonderful. 

Tests such as 'The Lookie, Feelie Test' and 'The Taste Test' are very handy and I suggest you use them as often as you see fit. Play around with everything, nothing is set in stone, especially when it's raw. 

I'll post some full, comprehensive recipes soon but here's the ingredients I used to make this tart just to give you some ideas.

Crust

Soaked Macadamia nuts, I chopped them and then hand blended them

mix in by hand: coconut flakes, coconut oil, agave, cinnamon (wedding confetti)

Filling

1 Banana, a couple tbsp's of tahini, cinnamon and a bit of raw honey. The banana wasn't that sweet.

All hand blended. vrrrroom.

Blueberry Top

Blueberries, lemon juice (just a squeeze), agave. Don't use a hand blender for this it will become too liquid, just mash and mix.

I layered it up in a brioche mould, courtesy of the pastry department at work, and put it in the freezer to set.

Meanwhile back in the kitchen.....

I made COCONUT CREAM, such a dream. yum.

I used coconut milk and soaked cashews, a vanilla bean and agave. 

Then I took it out of the freezer and let it sit for a bit so it's wasn't so ice cream. Oh and I removed the mould. 

I then PLATED it, I then ATED it.

Enchante

I am Monsieur Le Hand Blender.

I want to liquify you. 

Well, I'd like to liquify you and leave all your fiber in thus make you into more of a puree than an actual liquid. Perhaps you will then be put through a sieve to achieve a more liquid like consistency, but at this point you are of no further concern to me.

I look forward to transforming you into a melange of delicious flavor arrangements or you pulverized tout seul, with a little water to easy the strain on my powerful yet sensitive moteurr.

Now, let's get to party time.