Parsley

I had some fresh parsley in the frig that I knew I wouldn't use before it went to waste, so I dried it in my dehydrator. I have actually used the dried parsley multiple times and love knowing that it's raw!!

If I end up with an overgrowth of herbs in the garden, I will do the same with them!

Crickets!

Hello there! It's been a while, 29 days actually. Did you wonder why there was only crickets around my blog? Well, the 1st of June I woke up early to use the restroom, and when I bent forward, I heard and felt something "pop" in my low back (I have an old fracture at L5 where I heard the pop). Immediately I could not put any weight on my legs or even sit. I crawled back to bed and told Eric that he couldn't leave for work because there would be no way for me to take care of our son. He carried me downstairs and suggested I go to the ER. Yeah right, no way this ER nurse will be in an ER unless I'm working or half dead! Of course I conducted my own little "self-assessment" and knew I didn't have any dangerous symptoms with the back pain. Anyway, long story short, I spent about 13 days unable to fully stand up straight. After 3 chiropractic appointments, 1 useless appointment with my primary doctor, 4 days off of work, and 2 laser therapy appointments, I could finally stand up straight again. It was pretty awful since it ruined part of my vacation from work. After my back healed, I spent some time in Raleigh, NC visiting my friend Stephenie. So, that's why there's only been crickets around here!

I guess it was good timing considering that my garden has overflowed with lettuce. I haven't been making many exciting raw meals since all I've been eating is lettuce! I hate for it to go to waste! This is after my mother-in-law cut a ton of it for us this past weekend. The low temperatures have allowed it to keep growing. My green onions are huge and carrots are coming along nicely as well. My m-i-l also thinned by carrots for me. I've been meaning to do it forever, but a bad back just didn't allow:)

Lettuce, onions, carrots.

My cilantro and basil! I can't wait to use them:) My two favorites.

My tomato plants. I need to get cages for them soon!

That would be a lone cucumber plant. I sure it produces!

Beets for juicing and a bell pepper plant. The bell peppers haven't been doing to hot.

Zucchini! 

I'm hoping to post at least a couple of times a week again now! At least that's what I'm shooting for. At least enough to clear out the crickets!

Spinach & Wild Mushroom Quiche

 Spinach & Wild Mushroom Quiche posted by The Raw Chef

Makes 4, 11cm quiche

This recipe will require you to make the bases ahead of time.

For the base

1 cup cashew

1/4 cup macadamia nuts

2 tablespoons flax meal (ground flax seed)

1 clove crushed garlic

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

- Grind all ingredients in a food processor until thoroughly mixed, leaving some texture to the nuts.

- Press into plastic film lined individual tart cases *so you have a thin crust. You will find that regularly dipping your fingers in a bowl of water helps with this.

- Place bases onto a mesh dehydrator sheet and dehydrate at 115 degrees F for 2 hours. They should now be firm enough to remove from the tart cases so you can continue to dehydrate them for a further 6 hours.

*Tart cases should be approx 11cm wide and no more than about 1cm high, to allow the mixture (details to follow) to dehydrate inside.

I just love my organized cupboards! Had to show it off again:)

I found these little tartlet pans at Williams Sonoma.

This is a little baby quiche I made for my son!

 For the filling

2 cup wild mushrooms (or substitute for any type of available mushroom)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

- Wash and roughly chop the mushrooms, then marinate them in the salt and lemon juice and set aside.

Marinated mushrooms.

2 cups courgettes (zucchini)

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 cups cashews

1/4 cup white miso

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 medium white onion

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

- Blend all ingredients in a high-powered blender until smooth.

2 cups tightly-packed spinach

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

- Pulse spinach, olive oil and salt in a food processor for 10 to 20 seconds until broken down.

- Drain the mushrooms from earlier and transfer them to a large bowl, along with the blended courgette (zucchini) mixture, and spinach. Then also mix in the following ingredients:

1/4 cup finely sliced spring onions

1 cup diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon minced basil

- Once thoroughly mixed, pour this mixture into the bases. You’ll need to slightly overfill the bases as the filling will reduce slightly in the dehydrator.

- Dehydrate overnight and during the day, for anything up to 24 hours.

- Remove from the dehydrator and decorate with slices of tomato and fresh basil sprigs. It’s also a good idea to brush the top of the quiche with a small amount of olive oil, to make them more appealing in their appearance.

White Miso and nutritional yeast can be found at a health food store or a place like Whole Foods or Willy Street Coop. 

Filled and ready to dehydrate.

The end result was quite tasty! Top with tomato and basil as recipe suggests. The tomato adds the perfect contrast to the quiches. 

The tomato is a must on top!

The real test: He likes it!