I love days when I get to work at home! For breakfast, I make kefir muesli with plain kefir, 2 tsp of ground flaxseeds, 1 tsp of flaxseed oil, a tsp. of sunflower seeds, 1 tsp of agave nectar, and 1/2 cup of sliced strawberries. A variation of this has become one of my favorites.
I look through the cookbooks and decide to prepare Ani Phyo’s Mexican Squash “Rice” and Stuffed Anaheim Chilies with Mole Sauce (Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen
I get to work. At around 11:00, I eat a snack of sliced apple, and then, at 12:00, go to the gym for spin class. I don’t eat lunch until around 1:30 – a raw sandwich made with 2 slices of my newly made sprouted grain bread, some of the mashed broccoli from the other night (I figured if it didn’t taste good by itself, it might work as a spread), spinach, sliced red bell pepper, and marinated portobello mushrooms. It turns out to be quite satisfying, though the bread is a little bit crumbly. I probably left it in the dehydrator too long.
At around 2:00, I begin preparing dinner. I’m actually kind of excited about it. This is something new, and seems like comfort food, which I’ve been craving a little with the onset of cooler weather.
First, I make the “cheeze” – a paté of processed cashew nuts, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and a little water. I taste it as I scoop it out of the food processor. Yum!
Next, I cut the Anaheim chilies and scoop out the seeds — I like some spice, but know that leaving some seeds in would be too spicy for me, and especially for Rich. I stuff the chilies with the pate, place in a casserole dish, cover, and set it in the oven on warm. My oven has a warm setting that heats to about 100 degrees, and is perfect for warmed food that is still living and raw, since heating to less 115 degrees won’t kill important enzymes. The prolonged warming process (about 3 hours) will soften the peppers a little, too, making them seem more cooked.
I make the mole sauce — dates, chipotle, chocolate (the recipe calls for carob powder, but I don’t really like the taste of carob), cinnamon, olive oil, celery, tomato, salt, and water. I double the recipe, because I don’t think it’s going to make enough, and end up with too much.
The whole preparation takes about 1/2 an hour, and I am back to work at 3:00.
It’s Halloween, and my son is having a pizza dinner at a friend’s house. By 6:30 pm, they’ve gone out to Trick-or-Treat (is that a verb?), and we are starting to get a few little ghouls and princesses at our door, so I decide to finish making dinner. The Mexican Rice is easy – simply process peeled and cubed acorn squash until it is in small pieces, like rice, add diced red bell pepper (it was supposed to be tomato, but I was out and opted for bell pepper), a little diced onion, salt, pepper, and cilantro. I want more flavor, so I squeeze the juice of a lime onto the salad and add 1/2 of an avocado, cubed, and mix it up. It takes about 15 minutes to make.
I serve the chilies with mole sauce drizzled over them and the Mexican “Rice” to Rich for dinner. I haven’t given him an option for something else tonight, though I promise to “nuke something” for him, if he doesn’t like dinner.
Between runs to answer the doorbell and give out candy, I eat. The stuffed chilies are wonderful — spicy and warming, but the mole sauce and cashew paté soften the spice somewhat. And the acorn squash “rice” is also a big hit. This is definitely a dinner I could serve again. And, best of all, I have leftovers for tomorrow.
It wouldn’t be Halloween, if I didn’t eat candy, right? Actually, I don’t know how I could avoid it, with so much of the stuff passing through my hands all night. I end up eating about 7 pieces and not feeling good about it, though I know that I usually eat more like 10-15. I’m feeling very satisfied from dinner and am thus probably better controlled.
Subscribe to Real Raw