HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

...to me!

I was 30 yesterday, and on that purpose I decided to start blogging in English as well. I don't know for how long I will be capable writing bilingual (my Hungarian blog is:http://extraszuz.blogspot.com/) but I'd like to give it a try. The reason is that I read plenty of blogs in English, and I felt it's a pity I can't be a part of this community, although there are excellent blogs in my mother tongue, Hungarian as well.

However raw food has been on stage for a couple of years in Hungary, this is still a kind of invisible stream here. Obviously it is a challenge explaining the stew and goulash lover Hungarians that eating raw vegan food has such advantageous effects on our health which free us of the usual endemics as diabetics, high blood pressure, heart diseases, overweight, allergies and so on.

But let introduce my way in a couple of words!

I can't really define when I started avoid meat. I have to go back to my teen ages. I started step by step, by reducing the amount of animal products, just because I felt better without these. So I experienced the glory of vegetarian and vegan lifestyle on a long path. In the last 8 years I consumed fish or meat once a year. 3 years ago I met the alkalizing diet which had a huge impression on me and it was not difficult anymore skipping dairies which I adored before. Egg was no problem either. Today it is not only about myself anymore, but about taking care of our -by the way lovely- planet.

In the last one year I made a couple of compromises, but although I'm not a fan of resolutions, on this special day I start my completely vegan life!

I've sunk in raw food only a half year ago, and I'm absolutely convinced. So I try to adopt and acquire as much as it is possible on this topic.

Please, accompany me on the Journey, which is not simply about food, but much more. Food is just a part of it, a tool.

Just to start a couple of vegan and raw food recipes from the birthday party, which hosted meat-lovers, but they all were very much satisfied with these dishes as well. The rest of the food was my sweetheart's job.

Courgette pesto:

1 medium courgette (zucchini)
3-4 cloves of garlic
Himalayan salt
1 cup of mixed soaked and skinned almonds and Brazilian nuts
grated lemon and lime rind (1/2 and 1/2)
juice of 1 lime
a bunch of fresh parsley and a bunch of fresh mint
a few drops of extra virgin olive oil

You can peel the courgette if you want. Chop it in a food processor. Chop the nuts and add to the courgette. Chop the herbs with the olive oil and mix all ingredients. Enjoy it with crackers or vegetables! It's a great, refreshing summer snack.

Aubergine spread:

2 medium aubergines

4-5 cloves of garlic

Himalayan salt

a dash of fresh black pepper

1 onion

1 tomato

1/2 bell red pepper

Olive oil

I baked the aubergines in the oven for about an hour on 180 °C. I cooled them down, and then I peeled off the skin. Chopped them in the Vitamix. I goldened the onion on hot olive oil, then added the diced pepper. Leave it simmer a bit, then comes the diced tomato. Add the chopped garlic, aubergine and the salt, pepper. Stir it a bit and then turn off the fire. Serve it cooled.

Spicy herb crackers - this was inspired by Golubka, email me if you need the recipe

Black olive and sun dried tomato bread

75 dkg flour

25 dkg rice flour

1 pack baking powder

Himalayan salt

10-15 dkg sliced black olives

5-8 p. sun dried tomatoes

1 dl extra virgin olive oil

3 dashes of cayenne pepper

Water

Mix all dry ingredients, then add the rest. Make a dough with your hands. Spread a form with oil and put your dough in it. Bake it for an hour on 180°C.

Herb, garlic and pine nut bread

With the same amount and type of flour as above I mixed

2 p. baking powder

parsley, thyme, oregano, basil, sage, rosemary. Use as much as you can!

1 young garlic

5 dkg pine nuts

Himalayan salt

1 dl olive oil (I used the oil of the dried tomatoes)

water

I formed two baguettes of the dough and baked them on180 °C for an hour.

Raw peach tart

For the base of 6 tartlets (these are quite big, enough for two):

1 cup soaked cashew

1/2 cup Acacia honey

grated lemon and lime rind

1 cup sprouted buckwheat flour

2 cups shredded coconut

The cream

1 kg peach (I prefer the ones with white flash)

Psyllium husk

Blueberry for decoration

For the crust process cashews, coconut with a pinch of salt to fine powder. Add the lemon and lime rind, and the honey. Mix it again. Line plastic wraps into the tartlet shells. Divide the though into 6 equal pieces, and press them into the forms. Let them chill for about 30 min. in the freezer.

Peel the peaches, and blend them. Mix in the required amount of psyllium husk ( I used about 3-4 ts), and mix it well.

Take out the crusts from the forms, fill them with the cream and decorate the cakes as desired. I used blueberries and mint.

Raw chocolate & raspberry tart

The dough of this cake based on the previous except I added cocoa powder, cinnamon, nutmeg instead of the lime and lemon rind and I skipped the coconut, and substituted it with some raisins .

The cream:

2 medium avocados

1 large banana

1 kg raspberry (dried a couple of hours in the dehydrator)

Acacia honey

Cocoa powder

ground ginger

vegan dark chocolate

I smashed the raspberries through a strainer. Blended all ingredients. Fold in the raspberry puree. Fill up the prepared tartlets, and decorate them with fresh raspberries and chopped chocolate.

And the forgotten surprise:
Raw Lemon balm & pear ice cream

2 cups soaked cashew

1/2 cup acacia honey

2 cups fresh pear juice

lots of lemon balm

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 ts vanilla extract

the pods on one piece of vanilla

a pinch of salt

Blend all ingredients except the oil. Add this after and blend it again. You can prepare in an ice cream maker (mine was funny! An old Eastern German machine which only rotates your cream, and you have to put it in the freezer -plugged in at the meanwhile!), or you can freeze it stirring it occasionally. I sprinkled it with some black currents and mint leafs.

Berta had birthday as well! The first one!