Ani's Raw Food Essentials (20 page)

MAKES 6 PANCAKES

 

Deliciously light pancakes. Enjoy with agave syrup, maple syrup, or any of the Jams and Butters (pages 96 to 100), or Sauces (pages 280 to 282).

2 cups mashed bananas, packed (about 3 whole)
1 cup Brazil nuts, processed into a powder
1 cup flax meal
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup filtered water, or as needed

Place the banana in the bottom of a high-speed blender. Add the processed Brazil nuts, flax meal, cinnamon, and water. Blend until smooth.

 

Ladle ½ cup of the mixture into six circles on two lined 14-inch-square Excalibur Dehydrator trays (four on one tray, the remaining two on the second tray). Spread into pancake shapes.

 

Dehydrate for 5 to 7 hours at 104°F. Flip, peel off the Paraflexx lining, and dehydrate for another 2 to 4 hours, to desired consistency.

 

Serve with your favorite jam, sauce, or syrup.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

1 recipe Brazil Nut-Banana Pancakes (page 73) (four pancakes)
1 cup sliced banana and/or berries
1 recipe Basic Fruit Sauce (page 280) made with blueberries

Lay one pancake on each of four serving dishes and top with the fruit. Drizzle with the sauce and serve.

I like to make raw vegan bacon using the fatty meat from fresh Thai baby coconuts in the same way cooked jerky is made. You can buy these young coconuts at natural food stores and Asian markets. Young coconuts are different from the traditional brown furry ones we're used to seeing. The young ones typically have the shell trimmed off, exposing their white spongy pith. They look white on the outside.

 

You may be able to order coconuts online, but they are very heavy, and it will be expensive.

 

In case coconuts are not available, I'll show you how to make bacon from eggplant instead, by first wilting it with salt, then marinating and dehydrating it the same way as the coconut meat.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

 

Thai baby coconut is a favorite raw food for its electrolyte-rich living water. Plus, the inside of each coconut is lined with the coconut meat used to make this recipe.

The thickness of each coconut's meat varies from thinner, more translucent in color, and gelatinous in consistency to harder, whiter, and thicker—sometimes up to ¼-inch thick. The thicker meats make for better bacon, only because it shrinks a lot during dehydration.

Adding a few drops of liquid smoke will give your bacon a barbecue flavor.

2 cups coconut meat (from 3 to 4 Thai baby coconuts)
3 tablespoons Nama Shoyu or Bragg Liquid Aminos
2 tablespoons olive oil
A few drops of liquid smoke flavoring (optional)

When scraping the meat out of your coconuts, try to keep pieces as large as possible. Clean the meat by running your fingers over its surface, picking off any pieces of hard husk. Rinse with filtered water as a last step, and drain well.

Place the coconut meat in a mixing bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Toss to mix well. Lay the meat in a single layer on two 14-inch square Excalibur Dehydrator trays.

 

Dehydrate for 6 to 8 hours at 104°F. The length of time will depend on how thick your coconut meat is. Check it and dry it to your liking. Don't overdehydrate, because the more you dry it, the more it will shrink, and you'll be left with only a small amount of bacon.

 

OPTIONS:
Replace the smoke flavor with herbs and spices to make different flavors. Try chipotle powder, garlic, dill, or oregano.