MORE TACOS????
I know that we just posted a taco recipe. I know - I know. But this recipe was highly recommended to me today by two of my friends so I decided to rush out and get the eggplant and try it. The recipe comes from the book, "The Raw Food Primer"by Chef Suzanne Alex Ferrara. Peel the eggplant. (we have never liked eggplant before but I thought I would try it anyway. I had a back up of lettuce and cabbage leaves we would stuff just incase we didn't like the eggplant.)
Slice it into very thin rounds and sprinkle with sea salt. Place on the dehydrator at 105 degrees. You want it to soften so when you fold them - their sides don't split.
Place all the ingredients (recipe below) in the food chopper and process until it's creamy. You'll place a small spoonful of this mixture on the eggplant round and then fold it over for a "taco" look. Dehydrate it for about 2 hours or so. 
Jim actually thought they had been grilled - but nope - this
is what the dehydrator did to them - looks browned!
Serve with salad, avocados and lots of homemade salsa!
I have to say that we really enjoyed these a lot. They were nothing like I expected. When I think of eggplant - it turns me off - but these were perfect little veggie rounds that didn't taste or resemble eggplant in the slightest. Some eggplant tastes bitter - so be careful about that. I was told that putting the salt on them before hand helps to get rid of that bitter taste. I also cut these a little thick - so make yours thinner.
Recipe:
1 c soaked walnuts
1/2 c chopped celery
1/4 c minced white onion
1/2 c chopped zucchini
1/4 c water
2 cloves garlic
3 T Braggs
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp minced fresh oregano
Place all the ingredients (recipe below) in the food chopper and process until it's creamy. You'll place a small spoonful of this mixture on the eggplant round and then fold it over for a "taco" look. Dehydrate it for about 2 hours or so. 
Jim actually thought they had been grilled - but nope - thisis what the dehydrator did to them - looks browned!
Serve with salad, avocados and lots of homemade salsa!
I have to say that we really enjoyed these a lot. They were nothing like I expected. When I think of eggplant - it turns me off - but these were perfect little veggie rounds that didn't taste or resemble eggplant in the slightest. Some eggplant tastes bitter - so be careful about that. I was told that putting the salt on them before hand helps to get rid of that bitter taste. I also cut these a little thick - so make yours thinner.Recipe:
1 c soaked walnuts
1/2 c chopped celery
1/4 c minced white onion
1/2 c chopped zucchini
1/4 c water
2 cloves garlic
3 T Braggs
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp minced fresh oregano
posted by Judy Cozza Photography at 5:52 PM
23 Comments:
Could I talk you out of your salsa recipe?
(please, please) ;-)
Leah (from the raw foods group)
3:01 PM
Judy,
These look great! I'm going to try some this weekend.
You'll appreciate this - at work, we get a magazine called "Chiropractic Wellness" that we give to our patients. The issue we got today had a lot of things about kids in it, including healthy eating, and it had a recipe for raw chocolate (which, they said, you could refrigerate to a fudge consistency). It had coconut oil, maple syrup, cashew or almond butter, and raw chocolate. The other treat they suggested was fruit smoothies with powdered greens mixed in!
Sheri
4:39 PM
Hi Sheri - you did see the fudge recipe that we make every 2 weeks on this site - right? It's exactly what you just described! I just made another batch today. We leave it in the refrigerator uncovered with a knife laying on top.
It almost turns into cake consistency and we put walnuts on top and wow - it's a perfect dessert! That is sweet that the magazine suggested smoothies! We will change the world - one recipe at a time! Ha!
6:08 PM
Hi MawintheRaw! I am an LDS girl out in Philadelphia- transitioning to raw. Your blog is so inspiring and I am super excited to try your recipes! Keep up the good work- and Congrats on the upcoming BYU graduation!!!
Kindly, Lisa (lcferraro@gmail.com)
7:18 PM
I just stumbled upon your site from a link in Alissa Cohen's forum. And I must say WOW! I am tranistioning to raw. I am about 90-95% now. I am living in Thailand, and at times it socially akward for me to turn down food. I have so many yummy fruits that I can just pick out of my yard. I figured why not go raw here.
Your family is beautiful. And so are all the yummy meals you create!
What appliances do you recommend for a raw kitchen? I have a Vita Mix in America waiting for me. And I know you will say the Excalibur. And the Champion juicer. What else could you recomend?
I'm glad I found your site.
Best, Carolyn
carolynmcgee@gmail.com
11:05 PM
Oh my gosh I just discovered your site (someone posted the link on the Raw Food Talk forums) and I'm IN LOVE! This is amazing! I love all the photos. Definitely have you bookmarked.
Thanks!
5:46 AM
Judy,
I recognized the fudge recipe right away (since I've made it before). Last night, I took the fudge ingredients (didn't measure), made it a bit runny, and added some ground oats and ground walnuts, made it into little balls, and have had it in the dehydrator all night. They're really good right now, but since I made them bite size, I want them to get crunchy. Guess they'll have to stay in there all day!
Sheri
6:32 AM
Maw in the RAW.
This has nothing to do with the tacos.
Do you have an rawesomely yummy receipe for mashed potatoes?
Thanks
4:52 PM
OMG,
can I move in? you should adopt orphans and maybe run for president.
These are some of the most mouth watering creations on earth and the pictures say a trillion words (or at least OMG and Yum).
Will have to try those chalupas
10:30 PM
A couple of tips on the FUDGE recipe:
Make sure that you don't get anything wet that has to do with the fudge. I mixed mine up in the blender and there was a little water left from me recently washing it. That was a mistake. The chocolate wasn't nice and smooth but instead very lumpy because of how the water and coconut oil reacted with each other.
The other thing is that I LOVE the fudge recipe with raw, unsweetened coconut added to the crust. Mmmmm... It is so tastey!
6:31 AM
Melissa - The closest thing we have come to having mashed potatoes - is taking cauliflower and dehydrating it for about an hour - to warm it up (115 degrees) so you can mash it up really good. YOu can put it in the food processor while it's warm (under 115 degrees) and add almond milk to it to make it creamy like. We added sea salt and garlic - and we wolfed it down. Sounds wierd - but we loved it for breakfast too. We don't eat potatoes - they are hybrid and so - they are like white flour to our bodies. Sweet potatoes or yams are a better choice. (we haven't mashed them yet)
8:55 PM
Molly, Molly, Molly. Come on down.
We will take anyone who will help create in the kitchen and for heaven sakes - can you run a camera??? I can always use help in that department. I WAS the PTA President this year - but getting out of that real quick! ha! Too busy "uncooking". Thanks for the fun comments - you are "egging me on".
8:57 PM
Jamie - I had forgotten about adding coconut. It's a "done" deal for our next batch! Thanks, sweetie!
8:58 PM
Leah - you asked a few days ago for my salsa recipe. Yikes - it changes every time I make it. This weekend I am going to experiment and write everything down that I do - so I can tell you how much of what. I use tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, lemon juice, cumin, chili powder, sea salt, peppers and a jalepeno. I will blog it with it's perfect. Hang in there - I won't forget!
9:05 PM
mmm! your taco recipe looks great! i will be trying it at the raw luck i am going to this week :)
Thanks for sharing!
Ariella
11:02 AM
Gotta say, out of all the raw blogs out there, yours definately stands out with all the photos, recipes and especially your positivie vibe.
Looking forward to the next entry!
7:55 AM
Leah - forget it. My salsa recipe changes every time I make it. My daughter is here and she used tomatoes, garlic, sea salt, onions, lemon juice, peppers and that's all. No cumin or chili powder. It's all about what you like. Someone else told me that use lime juice instead of lemon and it's great too. So I'm not blogging a recipe. It changes everytime. Just play with it. It usually takes a lot of garlic to be really great. Careful on the salt. Once you make it too salty - you can't fix it. Good luck!
1:51 PM
Sharlene - Just get one eggplant and it cuts into a lot of little circles. We didn't use up all the filling the same night. I dehydrated the eggplant for about an hour. If you do it too long - they become tough - too little time and
they still crack. If you have too much filling - use it the next day in celery or on a flax cracker! By the way - I made it again yesterday and the eggplant tasted bitter. I guess not all eggplant is good? I can't figure out that one.
1:53 PM
I gave this recipe a try last night and learned a couple of lessons for next time:
Make sure and peal all of the skin off or else it becomes extremely tough
Slice the eggplant as thin as possible
Don't dehydrate for too long (or it becomes the texture of a dried apple - and far too chewy)
MOM - I have a topic for you to blog when you get a chance. You've tried out so many recipes in the last couple of months. I'm interested in YOUR FAMILY's favorites. I'm trying to feed a husband and sometimes it is helpful to know what other men tend to like best. Love you! - Jamie
2:17 PM
Okay Jamie - I'll work on that when Gina and I aren't eating! Ha! More to come.
6:23 AM
Thanks for the recipe clarifications. I have never used eggplant myself, but am up to the challenge.
Here's what I found out on the internet about bitter eggplants and how to remove the bitterness from them.
Putting salt on the eggplant triggers osmosis, which draws out excess moisture and the bitterness along with it. To salt, do the following:
1. Cut the eggplant into quarter-inch rounds.
2. Place a colander inside a larger bowl, or in a plate with deep sides (to catch the liquid that will drain off).
3. Place a layer of eggplant rounds in the bottom of the colander, sprinkling liberally with salt. (Don't be hesitant; you won't be ingesting all that sodium).
4. Add another layer of eggplant rounds and sprinkle generously with more salt.
5. Continue until you've salted all of the eggplant.
6. Place a small saucer or plate on top of the eggplant, cover bowl with a cloth, and use something heavy to set on the plate to press down on the eggplant. (Ex: a gallon jug of drinking water.)
7. Let salted eggplant set for 8 to 10 hours, (other sources say 30 minutes to 4 hours), on the counter (if your kitchen is cool), or in the refrigerator.
8. After 8 to 10 hours, about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of purple liquid will have drained in the bottom of the bowl. Drain off.
9. The liquid will have sweated off most of the salt, so usually you don’t have to season the eggplant again. (You can run your finger down a round and then lick your finger for a salt taste-test.) If you like, you can lightly brush each round with a damp (but not wet) piece of paper towel.
10. To further remove any excess salt and bitterness, wrap the eggplant in a kitchen towel and press on the slices (which removes even more water), or spin in a salad spinner.
Another source suggested using smaller eggplants, as they tend to be less bitter. The fewer and smaller the seeds, the less bitterness. (Too bad we don't have x-ray vision! But then the smaller eggplants won't make very good tacos. Such a dilemma!)
One more: Try to buy male eggplants. They have a dimple in the end opposite the stem, while female eggplants have a flatter place. Female eggplants have fully developed seeds which are usually bitter. (Another source said there was no such thing as female eggplants. Arrgh! Can't they get their facts straight?)
I'm not sure if any of this applies or works, but many of the chefs on the Foodnetwork salt their American eggplant, which seems to be the most bitter of the varieties.
My family will never go for bitter eggplant, especially my husband who is an eggplant hater. Hope this works! Maybe a taste-test for bitterness will help to determine if salting is necessary?
sharlene
3:22 AM
Carolyn - you asked me what appliances and tools I would recommend in your kitchen. I'll just tell you what I have in mine and I use them all the time!
A super good blender. I have a VitaMix
A super good food processor. I have one from Walmart for $39.00
A Champion Juicer - for juicing fresh juice, for making almond butter and such, and for making delicious ice cream with any frozen fruit.
A little coffee grinder. I got mine at Walmart - for $10.00. This grinds my flax seeds and any nuts so quickly.
Dehydrator - I have the Excalibur from rawguru.com - cheapest in price and shipping is free.
Of course good knives.
A Spiralizer - it makes spaghetti noodles out of zuchini so fast.
A little hand juicer for getting limes juiced quickly or lemons for that matter.
4:47 PM
Sharlene - your helps on the eggplant were fabulous. Thanks for taking the time to share it with everyone. You go girl!
5:16 PM
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