Beet & Flax Crackers

I recently purchased some Garden Vegetable raw crackers from our local healthy foods store, Organic Garage. My first thought: these are delicious! My second thought: I can totally make these myself! And so began my quest.

I scrutinized the label and saw that these crackers contained various ingredients including sunflower seeds, flaxseed powder, beets, kale, celery, carrot, and garlic. Simple enough, n'est-ce pas? The trick would be in getting just the right ratio of ingredients to ensure optimal deliciousness.

In checking my fridge, I found - to my delight - that I had everything I needed except for the kale. No matter - this was to be, after all, an experiment in ingredients. As I started to chop, spiralize, process, and blend all of the ingredients, my crackers grew from a simple combination of foods into conglomerate! The end result, however, was delicious!

Don't be put off from trying this when I say that it's a conglomerate of ingredients - the making of the recipe is still quite simple, it just calls for a few more ingredients than anticipated.

Please enjoy!

Namaste :)

RAW Beet & Flax Crackers

1 cup sunflower seeds (soak for 6-8 hours in 1 1/2 cups of water)

1 large red beet, finely chopped (I leave the skin on but chop off the ends)

2 large carrots, finely chopped (I use the deep purple & yellow heritage varieties)

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

1/2 - 1 cup cashew butter (add 1/2 cup to begin, & add more for flavour if needed)

1/2 cup flax oil

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp mustard seed powder

2 tbsp parsley, dried

1 tsp sea salt

2 cups golden flax seeds

In a food processor or high-powered blender (I use the VitaMix 5200), add the sunflower seeds along with the soak water. Add all of the rest of the ingredients, except for the flax seeds, bit by bit. Play around with the blending speeds - you may need to speed it up, then slow it down, then speed it up (you get the picture!). Depending on the consistency, add more water or flax oil. You want it to be thick but still runny; you should be able to pour it out of the blender without any trouble.

Pour mixture into a large bowl. Add flax seeds. Stir, and let stand for 5-10 minutes to thicken up.

Spread mixture onto paraflexx sheets. Make sure you spread it into a nicely shaped square and that you spread the mixture in an even layer. Score it gently with a butter knife to achieve the desired size of crackers. Dehydrate at 100 - 105 degrees for 12 hours. Then remove the crackers from the paraflexx sheets and flip them over, dehydrating for another 8 hours directly on the dehydrator tray.

I've Returned Bearing the BEST Ranch Dressing Recipe

'Tis true. It has been awhile since I've last posted. Okay. It's been more than awhile; it's been the greater part of a year. I could blame it on several "things" - and valid ones, at that - which have seemed to consume my life, body and spirit, over the past long while. A part of me wishes I could displace this blame so easily. Another part realizes that every action we make in our life is the result of a choice. The fact that I have not written for so long is a result of the fact that I have chosen not to do so. Granted, a number of variables have contributed to this choice that I have made, but nonetheless, 'tis no one's fault but my own.

Having said all this, I have not wasted this past year in vain. I have been un-cooking, meditating, practicing yoga, teaching French, and engaging in a wide variety of other endeavours. One of my most enjoyable forays has been experimenting with raw-foods, or "un-cooking" as I am prone to calling it.

One of my greatest challenges has been to come up with enticing and delicious dressings and dips. I was a great lover of ranch. An admirer of caesar. A fan of creamy poppyseed, thousand island, and greek feta. Le sigh. It pains me to admit that I couldn't seem to get enough of the commercially made "creamy" dressings. Oil and vinegar? I'd rather just use plain old freshly squeezed lemon juice - which I have, in fact, been using since I became informed of the toxic ingredients in conventional salad dressings and dips. However, I still craved that "creamy" texture found in many of my forbidden dressings and dips.

Oh sure, hummus is fabulous. Substituting vegan-mayo (not raw, but better than Hellmann's!) can be fantastic. Still, my tastbuds were wanting. Then, I started to experiment with the creamy texture of cashew butter. Wow! The results were AMAZING! This is one of the best recipes for a dressing/dip that I have ever tasted! Lest I sound conceited or full of myself, might I add that I chalk this discovery up to the random combination of ingredients of my own personal discovery - perhaps you have already tried these ingredients together.

But on the chance that you haven't, let me share with you a FANTASTIC recipe for a raw Ranch dressing:

1 cup raw cashew butter

1/2 cup water (N.B. - this makes a very thick dip-like concoction; increase water if you'd like a thinner dressing-like concoction)

4 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup fresh dill, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

Add all ingredients in the food processor or high-powered blender (I like the VitaMix) and process until smooth. For a thinner texture, add additional water. For a thinner yet creamy texture, add olive or flax oil to taste.

Enjoy and namaste!