Within the past three quarters of a year, my sister has transformed into a master chef! And she shared her progress with humor and advice, wit and charm, in her blog:
Rach and Me
Oftentimes she gives tips on how to tweak the recipes she shares.
Maybe she’ll suggest half a lime, because Texas limes are so big. Or she’ll suggest using something instead of something else. Sometimes, simply because she doesn’t have the first ingredient. Or maybe that ingredient doesn’t suit her taste. So she’ll try something new; and then share her results with her readers.
I’m not much of a cook. I used to just add cinnamon and honey to everything I made. Delicious, to be sure, but not much variety.
Lately, I’ve been keen on the raw vegan diet.
I worked out at the Lake Miriam gym recently; and down the strip is a mini-branch of the local library, so I looked inside to see what I could find. I checked out “Ani’s Raw Food Essentials” by Ani Phyo, the author of “Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen”.
Obviously, not a “cook” book.
The cover says: “Recipes & Techniques for Mastering the Art of LIVE FOOD”.
Part of me reads that and thinks: Ew!
Because it sounds like they bite the heads of live chickens.
And that’s if you’re lucky. Could be worse. Could be rodents.
And not the tasty kind either.
But obviously, she means raw fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, which happens to be “The Halleujah Diet” too.
I thought I could glance through the book to see what spices she uses, so I could dash some of that onto what I eat to give my palate some variety.
While perusing through the pages, I found a recipe for pancakes!
Raw pancakes?
I saw the recipe for pancakes and checked the cover. Yep, it’s supposed to be raw food. And technically, I guess it is. She doesn’t cook the batter, she “dehydrates” it. For seven hours!
Two things were wrong right at the start.
I don’t have a dehydrator.
And I don’t want to wait seven hours!
The third problem was that I didn’t have or want all the ingredients.
So I made my version of the recipe, substituting oatmeal for flax meal and sunflower seeds for Brazilian nuts.
And I cooked them on the stovetop on Medium Low heat instead of dehydrating. When you’re hungry, Medium Low heat takes long enough! But that’s still quicker than seven hours.
I wasn’t even sure that would work, but I went back into the kitchen and could smell the cinnamon.
They tasted delicious! Next time, though, for fun, I’m going to replace the sunflower seeds with cashews.
And I’m going to need to get some maple syrup!
I didn’t have any, so I tried olive oil on one. Not recommended.
Honey on the others. Sweet! Way better than olive oil. (No offense to the love of Popeye’s life.)
(Ani Phyo's recipe for syrup was on a different page than appeared in the magazine article featured on her website.)
Ani Phyo's website
Ani Phyo's Pancakes
I had fun; and I enjoyed a delicious treat!
And I wouldn’t have tried any of that, if not for enjoying my sister’s blog so much.
Check it out. I'm sure you'll enjoy it too:
Rach and MeRach and Me
Oftentimes she gives tips on how to tweak the recipes she shares.
Maybe she’ll suggest half a lime, because Texas limes are so big. Or she’ll suggest using something instead of something else. Sometimes, simply because she doesn’t have the first ingredient. Or maybe that ingredient doesn’t suit her taste. So she’ll try something new; and then share her results with her readers.
I’m not much of a cook. I used to just add cinnamon and honey to everything I made. Delicious, to be sure, but not much variety.
Lately, I’ve been keen on the raw vegan diet.
I worked out at the Lake Miriam gym recently; and down the strip is a mini-branch of the local library, so I looked inside to see what I could find. I checked out “Ani’s Raw Food Essentials” by Ani Phyo, the author of “Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen”.
Obviously, not a “cook” book.
The cover says: “Recipes & Techniques for Mastering the Art of LIVE FOOD”.
Part of me reads that and thinks: Ew!
Because it sounds like they bite the heads of live chickens.
And that’s if you’re lucky. Could be worse. Could be rodents.
And not the tasty kind either.
But obviously, she means raw fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, which happens to be “The Halleujah Diet” too.
I thought I could glance through the book to see what spices she uses, so I could dash some of that onto what I eat to give my palate some variety.
While perusing through the pages, I found a recipe for pancakes!
Raw pancakes?
I saw the recipe for pancakes and checked the cover. Yep, it’s supposed to be raw food. And technically, I guess it is. She doesn’t cook the batter, she “dehydrates” it. For seven hours!
Two things were wrong right at the start.
I don’t have a dehydrator.
And I don’t want to wait seven hours!
The third problem was that I didn’t have or want all the ingredients.
So I made my version of the recipe, substituting oatmeal for flax meal and sunflower seeds for Brazilian nuts.
And I cooked them on the stovetop on Medium Low heat instead of dehydrating. When you’re hungry, Medium Low heat takes long enough! But that’s still quicker than seven hours.
I wasn’t even sure that would work, but I went back into the kitchen and could smell the cinnamon.
They tasted delicious! Next time, though, for fun, I’m going to replace the sunflower seeds with cashews.
And I’m going to need to get some maple syrup!
I didn’t have any, so I tried olive oil on one. Not recommended.
Honey on the others. Sweet! Way better than olive oil. (No offense to the love of Popeye’s life.)
(Ani Phyo's recipe for syrup was on a different page than appeared in the magazine article featured on her website.)
Ani Phyo's website
Ani Phyo's Pancakes
I had fun; and I enjoyed a delicious treat!
And I wouldn’t have tried any of that, if not for enjoying my sister’s blog so much.
Check it out. I'm sure you'll enjoy it too:
Thank you Lisa for inspiring me to attempt new culinary endeavors.
Blessings & Joy,
Dean
Aw, thanks Dean! You're too sweet! I'm glad I had a part in your cooking inspiration :) The pancakes sound intriguing. I would definitely avoid the olive oil. Honey sounds better. I'm surprised you didn't cover them with some peanut butter, melted chocolate chips, and sliced bananas. That sounds like a Dean meal to me. Can't wait to hear more about your cooking fun!
ReplyDeleteYou’re more than welcome Lisa. I enjoyed your culinary creations over the holidays and also love reading how you tweak recipes. Plus, it’s been such a pleasure watching you progress in your cooking skills over the past several months. You always make your journeys fun. I’m so proud of you! Keep up the good work!
DeleteThe deal with the olive oil is that I used to like dipping bread in olive oil mixed with spices like Rosemary or Sage, back when I ate bread, so I figured a pancake’s sort of a type of bread ... Worked in theory, but not in practice. ... Still, I’m glad I tried it. I like trying things that no one else in the history of humankind has ever tried. Within reason, of course. Some reason. ;o)