RECIPES - from Katya's new book –especially for kids
CHOC-ORANGE SHAKE
* Make up a batch of Almond Mylk
* Soak 1 cup of almonds overnight.
Rinse well and blend on high with 1½ - 2 cups of filtered water (depending on how thick you want it).
* Strain the mylk through a piece of muslin and freeze the pulp for later use in Raw Energy Bars.
* To the Almond Mylk add a peeled, whole organic orange (remove any pips first), 1 tablespoon ground Raw Cacao and 1 tablespoon carob powder and 1 teaspoon honey to taste.
* Blend well. This tastes like a liquid ‘jaffa'. Delicious.
Choc - Date Sauce
* 6 dates (soaked overnight in ½ cup water)
* 1 tablespoons raw cacao (ground fine)
* 1 tablespoon carob powder
* 1 tablespoon organic tahini
* ¼ cup filtered water
Blend the dates and soak water, cacao, carob, tahini and water until creamy. Spoon a little over durian banana icecream for an exotic taste sensation.
Dragon Fruit & Goji Berry Topping
* 1 handful of Goji berries (soaked for 6 hours)
* 5 dates (soaked for 6 hours)
* 1 cup dragon fruit
Blend all together until thick and smooth
This richly –coloured topping looks beautiful. Pour over durian banana ice –cream.
Serve and watch the smiles appear.
NUTTY CHOC FUDGE
* 1 ½ cups pecans
* ½ cup muscatel organic raisins (soaked overnight)
* 6 medjool dates
* ¾ cup cacao nibs
* 2 tablespoons carob powder
* ½ cup almonds
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla essence or an inch of vanilla pod
* 1 tablespoon organic coconut oil (butter)
Roughly grind the almonds. Set aside.
Grind the pecans and the cacao nibs until very fine. Process with the raisins, dates, vanilla and carob powder until the mixture forms a sticky ball.
Add the almonds and lightly mix through. Roll into balls and freeze.
A couple of these nutty fudge balls really hit the spot.
* DURIAN COCONUT CUSTARD
This is the best! A rich, creamy texture - with a taste rivalling the most decadent cheesecake filling.
* 2 cups durian
* 1 ½ cups young coconut pulp
* Juice of an orange
* 1 tbs. coconut oil
* 1 tsp. vanilla essence or ½ vanilla bean
Blend the durian, coconut pulp and water, coconut oil and vanilla on high until the mixture is smooth. Add the raisins and juice and stir until well mixed.
Pour into a serving bowl. Refrigerate until set.
Serve at room temperature.
*EASY CHOC-NANA MYLK
* 1 large ripe organic banana
* 3 cups of filtered water
* 1 ½ tablespoons organic unhulled tahini
* 1 ½ -2 tablespoons ground cacao (finely grind the nibs in a coffee grinder first)
* 1 tablespoon organic carob powder
* 1- 1 ½ tablespoons raw organic honey
Blend all together in a high -powered blender until very smooth.
If the mylk is too thick add a little water to the desired consistency.
This is so yummy and full of essential minerals and nutrients.
Give this to children and watch their energy and vibrancy soar
EXOTIC SEASONAL EATING
DURIAN
Called the ‘King of Fruits”, the Durian fruit has been described as “tasting like heaven, yet smelling like hell”.
I tasted my first Durian several years ago, well mainly out of curiosity, as I had heard of its exceptional nutritional qualities and of its seductive creamy texture.
They aren’t cheap. At around $15-20.00 for a medium to large one, (4-7 kilos), I had high expectations of what lay within the sharp, spiky brown exterior.
I split the durian down the middle with a knife and then slowly wedged it open. The smell hit me first. It was strong, like garlic flavoured brie. My jaw dropped as I gazed upon its alien pod- like chamber, containing cavities filled with yellow pouches. I pulled out a pocket of the fruit, a little gooey - and bit into it. The first taste was of caramelised garlic with overtones of rich, almond flavoured liquor. The mouth feel was of egg custard. It was certainly unlike anything else I had ever tastedand whilst enjoying the novelty of the experience, part of me was a little disappointed that it wasn’t as delectable as I had anticipated.
I had read on the net of some raw food enthusiasts who literally couldn’t get enough of the fruit and raved about its ‘blissing out’ qualities.
Well over a year passed before I decided to buy another to share with a raw friend. This time the experience was more pleasurable. It was filling and satisfying. And then an odd thing happened about 1 month ago.
I hadn’t eaten Durian for some months and then for some reason the desire for the fruit became quite intense and so I went out and bought a good one. This time I didn’t even notice the smell. In fact it was so damn delicious, I oohed and ahhed as I savoured each richly flavoured morsel. Mmmm. The next day, to my amazement I had another intense craving for more Durian!! I bought one this time that wasn’t as good as the previous one. A little stringy. Note:they are frozen when shipped and thawed when you buy them. This one was a bit drier. None the less, the next day, undeterred by the prospect of picking a ‘dud’, the craving hit again. This is silly I told myself and EXPENSIVE.
But the craving was so strong, I just had to have a Durian. I began to be concerned of ‘being addicted’ to this fruit – Could that happen? I scoured the net for any stories of durian addiction and found an article claiming some people had mortgaged their homes to keep them in supply of Durian!!! EEEK!!
I tried to rationalise that $10-15 for an early evening meal was fair - I mean people pay that and more for a steak dinner.
After one week of blowing the food budget with nightly Durian feasts, something changed. The intense craving dissipated and then disappeared altogether. Now, I really knew that there was ‘something in them darn Durians’ that my body really wanted!! I found a quote on the net that goes ”once you have tried Durian you will return for more”. Mmmm - Turned out to be true.
Conclusion: - Do not pass through YOUR Life without having a Durian experience!
DURIAN FACTS
There are many varieties of Durian. Some have such a strong odour thatthere are signs in Singapore’s hotels and subways saying
NO DURIANS! The strong smell of durian can be detected ½ mile away by tigers, orang-utans, elephants and pigs who, by the way - just LOVE them. When buying Durian, choose a good weight fruit, dark brown - a little spongy means the fruit is creamy. If they are starting to split down the middle - this is good - they are very ripe. Look for a big, moist stem, a sign of freshness.
Origin: Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam
Season: May to October (5/6 years for trees to bear fruit) Durians are grown in Far North Queensland
Nutrition: Extremely high in minerals particularly, sulphur, magnesium, potassium. High in tryptophan, hence the ‘blissed out’ state that Durian eaters describe.
High in protein, vitamin E and oleic fats. Plumps and smoothes the skin.
Durians are a sweet, fatty fruit and combine well with other sweet fruits. Durians are warming, (a perfect, comforting winter food) and help clear the lungs – due to the high sulphur content.
Durians make great ice –cream, especially when combined with banana.
They also go well with young coconuts blended together for a filling, extravagant, smoothie.
Durian Custard Pies are delicious –
And if you do overeat durian, then eating papaya will help to digest the high fat content.
Try these delicious recipes from Katya's
forthcoming book.
DRAGON
FRUIT
Originally from Central America, Dragon Fruit is now grown in Australia and is actually a species of cactus.
It has a round oblong shape and is pink to vibrant red.
Dragon Fruits interior ranges from white, yellow, pale pink and a deep magenta colour with tiny black edible seeds dotted throughout. The pulp has a mild flowery fragrance, simple and sweet, with a texture similar to a kiwi fruit. Organically grown Dragon Fruit is available.
NUTRITION The deeper the colour, the richer the fruit is in anti-oxidants and the higher the vitamin C content. Dragon fruits also contain generous amounts of phosphorous, carotene, iron, vitamin B1 and vitamin B3.
Dragon Fruit Floater
* 2 cups freshly squeezed granny smith apples.
* ½ inch peeled slice of dragon fruit.
Pour the juice into a soup bowl. Float the dragon fruit in the middle. Leave for 10 minutes before serving and watch the pinky - red colour of the dragon fruit swirl into the apple juice. Using a soup - spoon, break a small piece of dragon fruit off and eat with your apple soup. Yum, Yum.
CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH BERRY CREME
2 ½ cups Walnuts
cup pitted dates (soaked 6 hours)
cup cacao nibs or ¼ cup raw carob
1 cup figs (soaked 6 hours)
1 tablespoon water
teaspoon pure vanilla essence
Process the walnuts and cacao nibs until fine. Add the dates, figs, vanilla and water and process until the mixture forms a ball. Scrape any mixture off the sides of the processor and then keep processing until the mixture is very smooth and the figs are no longer grainy.
Spread out onto a plate and form into a round cake shape about ½ inch thick. Refrigerate.
BERRY CREME
1 cups strawberries or raspberries
1 cup of macadamia nuts (soaked overnight)
an avocado
1 tablespoon raw honey
Blend 1 cup of the berries, macadamias, avocado, and honey until thick. Spread thickly over the top of the berry layer.
Slice the remaining ½ cup of berries and arrange over the berry crème.
Refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Remove 1 hour before serving.
STUFFED MUSHROOMS
4 large mushroom cups
Wash and dry the mushrooms, pat dry and remove the stems.
FILLING
1 cup fresh corn kernels
cup of pine nuts
handful of parsley
medium avocado
onion
pinch of Celtic Sea Salt
cayenne pepper
Blend all the above ingredients, except the cayenne pepper until thick and creamy. Fill the mushroom cups with the mixture and sprinkle with cayenne pepper.
Dehydrate for 30 minutes on high then 15 minutes on the low setting.
