Almost Raw Foods - Watermelon Napoleon & Summer Rolls

After a weekend cook out with smoked meats and deserts some clean fresh fruits and veggies sounded really good so I consulted my copy of Raw by Roxanne Klein and Charlie Trotter. I modified a few of the recipes based on what ingredients I was able to find. 

Watermelon Napoleon


watermelon, sliced into rectangles or squares
mango - thinly sliced
lychee (canned)
micro greens
horseradish

layer the watermelon, mango & lychee
3 layers




For Garnish:

top with micro greens & horseradish
olive oil
finishing salt
granita

I did a watermelon and a cucumber granita

Blend the following ingredients and then freeze them

watermelon, mint simple syrup, lemon, tequila

cucumber, mint simple syrup, lemon, gin

Top fruit layers with micro greens and some horseradish
drizzle olive oil around the plate
add small piles of watermelon & cucumber granita & horseradish
sprinkle with finishing salt

Summer Rolls

Marinade
1/3 cup shoyu
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons ginger
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
3 Tablespoons coconut milk
1 red Thai chili (seeds removed)
ground pepper
sesame oil


English cucumber -  cut in half and thinly sliced lengthwise
avocado
carrot - julien cut
red bell pepper - julien cut
cilantro
micro greens
red oak leaf lettuce - torn into smaller pieces

Prepare the marinade and all the vegetables
toss the avocado, carrot, and bell pepper in some of the marinade
lay out 4 slices of cucumber to act as the wrapper for the rolls
layer veggies in to wrapper - carrot, pepper, avocado, cilantro, lettuce, micro greens
wrap the cucumber around the veggies to form the rolls

garnish the plate with some of the marinade, peanuts and celery micro greens

Smoked Fish Spread

We've been doing some experimenting with our smoker and just tried doing fish, which was delicious. I decided to try something new with some of the left overs and made a smoked fish spread.

In a small food processor I combined
goat cheese
oil
smoked bluefish
fresh ground pepper
turmeric
dill
onion

once that was smooth I spread it on a cracker and finished with a dash of paprika and lemon finishing salt

Peach Pie

This year Kevin requested a peach pie for his birthday instead of a cake so I made my first peach pie. I looked up a few recipes and took pieces of each. It came out well.

I cheated and bought crust but here's what I did for the filling

8 peaches - peeled and thinly sliced
mix together dry ingredients
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of salt
toss dry ingredients with peaches and add
3 Tablespoons bourbon

fill the pie crust, lattice crust on top
brush the crust with milk and sprinkle with granulated sugar

Bake at 425 for 20 minutes
reduce oven to 375 and bake another 30 minutes

Red Wine Sangria

 In preparation for a summertime party I decided to try making some sangria. 

The night before you want to serve the sangria mix together
1 bottle red wine
1 lemon
1 orange
1 lime
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 shots of gin or triple sec
1 small can diced pineapple
splash of oj

Before serving the sangria add
1 cup of fresh strawberries
4 cups of ginger ale
ice

Chili Chocolate Cupcake with Margarita Frosting

For the cupcakes, taken from the Taza website

One package (2 disks) Taza Mexicano Guajillo chocolate
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 Tablespoons masa cornflour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup milk
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt

preheat the oven to 350
melt the chocolate disks in a double boiler
mix all the dry ingredients together and all the wet ingredients together then combine
add the melted chocolate
once smooth, spoon into cupcake pans
bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean

I decided for this Mexican inspired cupcake a margarita inspired frosting would be a nice compliment

butter
powdered sugar
blanco tequila
triple sec
lime zest

I estimated on amounts to get the consistence and flavor I wanted

Baked Beans

Ingredients
dried beans
onion
green bell pepper
garlic
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
6 Tablespoons dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon Tabasco
2 teaspoons smoke
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 beer
salt pepper

Cook beans
add everything but beer, taste and adjust seasoning
add beer, cover and let cook more

Mint Chocolate Ice Cream

In a pot on the stove, mix together
3 cups milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 coco powder
1 Tablespoon vanilla
10 springs of mint
salt

let simmer for 5 minutes then store in the fridge over night
strain out mint
put mixture in ice cream maker