Raw Mexican Class

January 14, 2008 By sweet_raw In Uncategorized 12 Comments

Fun was had in my kitchen last Saturday afteroon as I held a small, mexican raw food class for 4 women. Our time began with a refreshing "lime rawgarita". A simple mixture of freshly squeezed apple juice, lime, frozen pineapple, and ice. Mmm-Mmm-Mmm! We all enjoyed this one. It was my goal to show the ladies, yet again, how easy it is to prepare raw food, no matter what flavour or texture the cooked version has. I chose recipes that only required the use of a food processor, blender, and knife. No dehydrators needed (although the women who don't have one, now have it on their wish list 😉

It was then time to get started on the recipes. *

Mexi-Live Margaritas!

1 cup Pineapple, fresh or frozen
3-4 tbs Lime juice
1 cup Fresh apple juice

Blend all ingredients with some ice until smooth. Drink Up!

The next task was the fajita veggies. These are soooo good and I highly recommend! This recipe comes from Joz on RFC . We made it without the mushrooms and used red onion in place of the sweet onion.

Fajita Veggies

1 of each sliced thin:

red & green bell pepper

zucchini
small red onion

2 cloves garlic crushed

1/4 cup Nama Shoyu

1/4 cup of olive oil

2 tbsp. of chili powder

1 tsp. of cumin powder

1/4 tsp. of cayenne powder

Combine ingredients together in bowl and marinate 2-4 hrs.

Drain in a colander. Serve in collard leaf with toppings.

Next was walnut meat from Rawvolution. It's so simple and really does taste like taco beef.

Taco/Burrito Walnut Meat
1 ½ c walnuts, ground in a food processor
1½ tsp ground cumin
¾ tsp ground coriander
2 tbs nama shoyu or braggs

Stir all ingredients together to combine. Spread some of the mixture into a collard (burrito) or crunchy romaine leaf (taco) and roll up. Top with shredded lettuce, fresh salsa, guac, sour cream, and nacho cheese.

Salsa
3-4 medium tomatoes
½ each green and red bell pepper, cut into big chunks
¼ medium red onion
Handful cilantro
Sea salt and lemon juice to taste

In a food processor, pulse ingredients (using short quick pulses) into small pieces. Careful not to puree!

This sour cream recipe comes from chef, Diana Stoevelaar. Thie recipe calls for such a small amount of lemon juice that I find it doesn't give it that proper tang that sour cream has. We ended up using 1/4 cup lemon juice. Also, it firms up as it sits in the fridge a while.

Sour “Cream”

1 1⁄2 cup Cashews or macadamias

1⁄2 cup water

1⁄2 tsp. Celtic sea salt

1 Tbsp. Lemon juice

Blend all the ingredients in a blender until smooth and creamy.

Nacho/cheddar sauce was next on the list. I won't bother posting it here as I've posted it a few times already. It was a big hit with the ladies. They couldn't believe how much it tasted like cheez wiz, hehe!

Refried beans is essential for any good burrito! This is a really simple recipe, and cost effective since it's made with sunflower seeds. Some of the women had never tasted refried beans before, so had no idea what these were supposed to taste like! lol

“Refried Beans”

2 cups soaked sunflower seeds (~1 ¼ cups before soaking)

2-3 Tbsp. raw tahini

1/3-1/2 cup pure water,

2 “ piece of white or yellow onion, chopped

2 tsp. chili powder

2 tsp. cumin powder

1 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt

In a food processor, puree all the ingredients until smooth. Note: Add more spices and some olive oil if needed. Add cayenne for spicy beans.

Guacamole - something everyone knows well, esp if they've ever had mexican food.

2 large, ripe avocados

1 small tomato, chopped

Cilantro and green onion, chopped, to taste

Sea salt and lemon juice to taste

Mash avocados and add other ingredients. Mix well.

Finally, a delicious pesto, perfect as a condiment on a taco/burrito, or as a dressing on salad! We had a little mishap here, as the recipe calls for 1 tsp jalapeno or a PINCH of cayenne. Someone read that as 1 tsp cayenne!!! The recipe also ended up with 2 tsp MINCED garlic, when I'm sure it probably meant chopped - but who knows. The recipe says 2 tsp. So it was the perfect opportunity to remind my class the importance of reading a recipe thoroughly, and then of course, adjusting according to preference. We doubled the other ingredients again....

Lets just say this turned out craaazy spicy (esp for me since I can't handle much heat). It really was great in small amounts in the wraps though.

Cilantro Pesto (Juliano's RAW), found here.

1 cups fresh cilantro

1/3 cup walnuts

1/3 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice

Pinch Celtic sea salt

1/4 cup spinach (optional)

2 tsp garlic

2 tsp ginger

1 tsp jalapeño or pinch cayenne

1/4 cup olive oil.

Combine well in a blender!

Here is the spread we ended up with, doesn't it look yummy?! Lets review...we've got chard and romaine as the wraps, fajita veggies, sour cream, guacamole, cilantro pesto, walnut taco meat, cheddar sauce, refried beans, and salsa. I also served the last of the tortilla chips I had (from this post).

Alas! A chance to sample the goods! It was so much fun feasting on all the food we had just created. One woman said "It feels like I'm in Mexico!" We just needed the beach and sombreros! Another fun day in the kitchen and a few more brains full of information on raw food. A step in the right direction, I say! 😀

*The recipes shown here are printed the same way they were for my class.

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12 Comments

shannonmarie

January 15, 2008 at 18:37
Reply

Yummy. That's better than my layered dip. You had all the ingredients there to make it, and more. Oh, I wish we lived closer.
VeggieGirl

January 17, 2008 at 02:41
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a raw Mexican class?!?!?! ¡Tan excitando! ;0)
Tracy

January 17, 2008 at 17:04
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What a great idea for a class! I love it. How long was your class? How much did you charge for it?
Raw Goddess

January 17, 2008 at 18:05
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Shannon, Im definately trying your dip next time - and i totally wished we lived closer too! Btw, where do you live? Ill come visit some time :D
Carmella

January 17, 2008 at 19:52
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Looks like you girls had a real fiesta! You're making me hungry. I'll have to try your refried beans as I haven't found one I really like yet.
Raw Goddess

January 21, 2008 at 04:37
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Thanks Carmi! Yeah it was a fun time for sure! Wish you had been here!
Linda in the Raw

January 21, 2008 at 04:46
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Heathy, I have been trying recipes from your and Carmella's blogs and I wanted to say THANK YOU for your endless inspiration! You are increadibly vibrant, talented, and fabulous! I am going to make some raw mexican appetizers this week for my nutrition group and we will definately be sipping on your mexi-live margaritas! I'll post pics later this week :) Thanks again and keep up the great work!
Raw Goddess

January 22, 2008 at 21:30
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Hey Linda! Oh thank you! that is wonderful. Id really love to hear how your mexi appetizers and margaritas turn out!
debbiedoesraw

January 24, 2008 at 17:00
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I am so jealous.. wished I lived near you!! Your blog is very inspirational and beautiful. Keep up the good work! debbie debbiedoesraw.blogspot.com
Raw Goddess

January 28, 2008 at 01:37
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Thank you debbie! Where do you live? I'll have to check our your raw blog!
Mandy

January 26, 2009 at 19:44
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I am fasting right now, but writing recipes down for next week! I am so excited to try them! Sooooo Happy I found your blog! Mandy http://yogaddiction.blogspot.com/
Greene Ouitche

March 2, 2009 at 13:24
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Your recipes look amazing!! Thanks for sharing them with us... Is the cost of food included in your 70$?? Sounds impossible to me... How can you make it? :)

Raw Mexican Class