Onion Bread

Staying away from yeast breads is important for my health. Mostly because I love them SOOOO much that I totally lose focus at the first bite of buttered yeasty chewy yum, and will easily go through half a loaf of fresh-out-of-the oven bread. And to make it even more difficult, I LOVE to BAKE BREAD!!


While browsing through various raw recipe sites, I kept seeing references to an Onion Bread that most contributors seemed to think was the bee's knee's, the best thing in the raw bread world. So I finally threw the ingredients in the processor, waited patiently for it do it's thing in the dehydrator, and took a bite.


Whoa nelly. This is GOOD STUFF!





Here's my version of a super lunch - tomato, avocado, and alfalfa sprouts in an onion bread sandwich spread with a bit of almondaise, some curried cauliflower, a spoonful raw kraut salad, some marinated/dehydrated mushrooms - and apple walnut cookies to snack on a bit later.

I did a few tweaks, after taking notes on various versions. Here's my

ONION BREAD

In processor, finely dice 1 large sweet onion - about 1 1/4c.

Put in a bowl with: 1 c. flax seed, ground (measure BEFORE grinding)

1 c. raw sunflower seeds, ground ( " ")

1/4 c. fermented soy sauce, ie Kikomans

1/4 c. water

1/8 c. -1/4 c. olive oil (too much oil makes it crumbly)

1/2 large sweet onion, THINLY sliced

Mix thoroughly. Spread on teflex sheets (it made two sheets for my round dehydrator) about 1/4" thin. Helps to wet your hands as you spread and pat it out. Dry about 8 hours at 115 degrees (overnight works). Flip off the teflex sheets onto dehydrator racks, dry additional 3-4 hours, or until it suits the texture you like.

These are pliable but mostly dry; they can be dried totally crisp, if desired.

I cut them into wedges with kitchen scissors while still warm.

The only problem I ran into with them - I kept eating samples while testing for dryness. REALLY good flavor, and while still warm - devine!

I like this bread way too much, so I packaged wedges wrapped in pairs, for sandwiches, and tucked them into a ziplock bag in the fridge. I understand they freeze well, too. I'll try that if I still have some left at the end of the week....

Rhythm of Raw Food Prep

The following anecdote points out the need to educate one's self in order to enjoy and benefit from eating a raw lifestyle.

"Three years earlier, I had been aimlessly wandering around the kitchen, wondering, What is there to eat? The fridge was packed with perfectly good food, the counters displayed bowls of beautiful, ripening fruits. Nuts and seeds filled many a cupboard.

But we didn't yet understand the rhythms of raw food preparation—soaking, sprouting, dehydrating (on occasion), or warming the food. We were still accustomed to, and comforted by, sauteing, baking, steaming, stir-frying, and the smells and sounds of cooking.


It took time to understand the nuances of preparing raw food cuisine.


Soon the chopping, blending, juicing, grating, and dehydrating began to replace the way we'd worked in the kitchen, and after several months these practices became joyful and natural.


Perhaps you are wondering, like we did, What is there to eat on this strange new diet? As we moved more into conscious eating, there were questions we asked ourselves: Did a meal leave us tired, or energized? Did it bring a sense of well being, and digest well? Was there rationalization during the preparation—or a clear knowing that whatever we were choosing to eat, in our heart of hearts, was the very best? Our intuition acted like light beams that cut through the fog of uncertainty.



So listen, act, and evolve with ease into greater levels of health and harmony. The beauty of the intuitive approach is that the unfoldment process never stops, nor will it ever need to, because the law of life compels us toward steady growth that is in perfect accord with our true potential!"


An excellent "getting started without confusion" is Alissa Cohen's 3 hour, instructional DVD, Living on Live Food, in which she makes twenty recipes—it may save months of uncertainty in the kitchen.

"It was through Alissa's DVD that we first learned about making anglehair pasta from zucchini with the handiest little gadget—a Saladacco—and how to make raw marinara sauce. Suddenly, we felt liberated to be able to have pasta again, without any of the problems of wheat!"

The photo illustrates part of the rhythm I have come to enjoy. The recipe, from Carol Alt's "The Raw 50", titled Thyme Bread, makes a great flexible cracker type of bread. Loaded with nut pate or hummus and topped with avocado and veggies, they make for quick meals.

THYME BREAD
1 c. dark flax seeds, ground finely (coffee or spice grinder). Soak in:
1 c. purified water for 1 hour; water should be absorbed. Combine in food processor with:
1 c. soaked walnuts (at least one hour)
1/4 c. fresh chopped thyme
1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
Spread mixture thinly on teflex sheets on dryer trays, dehydrate at 115 degrees for about 6 hours, until the tops are dry to touch. Peel off teflex sheets and continue drying on trays for another 3 hours or so. Cut into desired shapes (mine are triangular, due to circular dryer!). Dry longer if you want crisper "bread". Keeps well in ziplock bags in frig.


The point being, planning ahead for the soaking/sprouting/drying routine.
It is indeed a comforting rhythm, working with living foods that bring such joy and life to my body and soul.

(numbers report: at clinic today, BP was 116/68, blood oxygen 99%. I think it's time to talk with the doc about reducing/eliminating the BP meds I've been on...)