What an amazing afternoon, before dinner or anytime snack or meal. Yum.
What is that beautiful white creamy stuff on top of the avocado? It is Almond Seed Cheese. The avocado and seed cheese are piled high on top of a Raw BuckWheat Pizza Dough Cracker.
The recipe and instructions are below. It may seem like a lot of work is involved. But, it you do it in stages, it is effortless, as each step is easy. The secret to raw food is getting in a flow and planning ahead. Some people keep a tight schedule, never running out of their yummy raw snacks. I go by feel, and when I am out of my favorites I get inspired.
I call the crackers "Pizza Dough Crackers" because they are more moist than typical raw food crackers. Their moistness is due to the use of olive oil in the recipe. You can't dry out olive oil so the dough cracker has more of a bread consistency. They have a robust flavor, and a texture that is more chewy than traditional raw food crackers. What is really great is that these dough crackers substitute the need for traditional breads. In keeping with the theme of mixing raw and cooked, they are also great with egg salad, tuna, raw goat cheese, avocado, tomato, onions, and cultured veggies. Read below for the recipes and custom make them as you like.
Schedule for making BuckWheat Pizza Dough Crackers:
1. Soak buckwheat and sunflower seeds, over night (or in the morning if you want to make the crackers later in the afternoon, because neither buckwheat or sunflower seeds take long to soak - minimum of about 2 hours).
2. The next day, or later the same day, blend the ingredients for the dough crackers and place in the dehydrator for drying (about 18 hours - turning once). If you use an oven then set it to the lowest temperature. Note, they may dry faster in an oven.
3. When finished, store them in an airtight container and you will have them for weeks. Refrigeration keeps them fresher longer.
* A scheduling note: If you soak the seeds and then run out of time and can't make the recipe, you can store the seeds and/or nuts until ready to prepare them. Simply rinse the seeds/nuts well and store them in filtered water in the fridge until ready to use. If you go more than one day without using them, just change the water and they will be good for another day. I like to use them within a couple days. Most importantly, change the water each day.
Scheduling for Almond Seed Cheese:
1. Soak almonds for at least 8 hours. Sometimes, I change the water and let them soak again for several more hours. Overnight is always good. If you are not ready to make the cheese the next morning, just change the water and let them soak until you are ready. If you run out of time again, then store them in the fridge in fresh filtered water.
2. After the almonds are soaked it is nice to blanch them and remove the skins. This is not absolutely necessary, but blanched almonds will produce a beautiful white cheese. You can store them with or without the skins. Since the removing of skins can be tedious and time consuming, you might like to schedule it around a good TV program, movie and/or make it a mindful meditation.
Again, plan ahead. The cracker will last for weeks if kept in an air tight container. The seed cheese needs to be eaten within about 4-5 days.
Recipe: BuckWheat Pizza Dough Crakcers
1 cup saoked buckwheat groats
1 cup soaked sunflower seeds
1/2 cup soaked ground flax seeds
2 carrots
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tbsp Italian seasonings (or fresh herbs to taste)
Salt to taste and add garlic, cayenne and any other spices you might like.
Directions: Mix all ingredients together in a food processor. Start with the carrots, then groats and seeds, remaining ingredients. Coat a dehydrator sheet or a cookie sheet with a small amount of olive oil and scoop batches of dough out to make rounds. You can make a large pizza dough (about 6 inches in diameter) – or you can make smaller individual rounds (about 3 inches in diameter), which is my preference. The smaller rounds are easier to serve and eat.
Press out the dough evenly to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick, by patting the top with your finger tips. If it gets too sticky and hard to work with, dip your fingers into some orange or other citrus juice. Once crust is pressed out evenly, dehydrate at 100-115 overnight or about 7 hours or until crust is dry enough to turn over and transfer to the mesh rack. Use a spatula when lifting dough and be very careful when turning and transferring it. Dehydrate for another 8 hours or until completely dry. If crust is dry, and stored in a cool dry air tight container, it can be kept fresh for up to a month.
Note: I like to use olive oil because it gives the dough crackers a moistness which is more like bread. Use more oil for more moistness. If you do use a lot of oil, you will need to refrigerate to store.
Recipe: Almond Seed Cheese
2 cups almonds - soaked
2-3 cups filtered water
Salt to taste, spices of choice
Directions: Rinse almonds well. Blanch to remove skins by putting nuts into boiling water for about 1 minute. Remove from heat and strain. Using your fingers, squeeze the nuts and the skin should roll right off.
Blend the almonds in enough water so that they blend easily. Blend until creamy, which usually warms them a little as well. Pour mixture into a cheese cloth bag to ferment. Squeeze out excess moisture over a bowl so that the precious milk does not go to waste (I always drink it right then). Don't squeeze the bag dry or you will get a dryer cheese. Hang the bag with a bowl to catch the drippings underneath it. The seed cheese will then take another 12 to 24 hours to ferment. Preferably, the cheese should ferment in the dark. Since I do not have a dark closet to hang the bag in, I hang mine on a cupboard door knob with a bowl under it, then cover it with a paper bag to keep the light out. I usually ferment overnight alleviating the need to cover it with a bag.
Enjoy!!!
Would you like visual instruction on how to make Raw Pizza Dough Crackers and Seed Cheeses? You can on my Raw Food DVD series. See a sample here: Raw Food DVD Series. And, if you want to experience Essential Cuisine, the wonderful healthy world of "Raw, Cooked & Cultured Foods", take my 4-Week Dietary Makeover online course. The course includes my DVD collections, plus audio programs, recipes, shopping lists and so much more!
