Conscious Food Choices

Dragon Crackers

This raw cracker recipe is an adaptation from the recipe in Roxanne Klein and Charlie Trotter’s gorgeous book Raw. In my not-so-humble opinion, Roxanne and Sarma have been the leading edge in making raw food stylish and sexy.

For Crackers:

• 1 1/2 c golden flax
• 2 c white sesame
• 1/4 c black sesame
• 2 c water
• 1/4 c agave (dark is best) or maple syrup
• 2 T nama shoyu (raw soy sauce)
• 2 dried chipotle chili peppers, stem and seeds removed
• 1/2 t red chili flakes
• 1 t salt
• 1/4 c sesame oil (toasted is nice)

For topping:

• 2 Tbs agave/maple syrup mixed with 1/4 c water
• salt, or smoked salt
• paprika, or smoked paprika for sprinkling (optional)

Mix all cracker ingredients together and soak overnight.

Blend 3 cups of the soaked mixture (make sure you get the chipotles in there) in a blender or food processor for a couple of minutes. Add 1/4 cu sesame oil and up to a cup of water as necessary to keep things moving. The idea is to break up some of the flax and sesame to make it more digestible and give a nice cracker base, but not to make it a homogenized pulp. Flecks are good.

Combine with the unblended mixture and adjust for taste. Should be slightly sweet and spicy- not too salty.

Split between 4 Teflex sheets and spread evenly. Add more water to batter if needed – it will just evaporate. Dilute agave in water and lightly spray or brush on tops of crackers. Sprinkle  lightly with salt and smoked paprika.

Dehydrate overnight or until dry enough to flip. Flip over and break into big jagged shapes and dehydrate for 1 -2 more days on screens until they are crunchy. Taste and adjust the salt/sweet hit along the way by spraying agave/sprinkling with salt.

These crackers take a long time to dry and if you use agave rather than maple syrup, they make always stay just a little bit chewy. Really nice though – everyone loves these crackers.

Flavor Trick: with crackers and snacks I always try to hit a nice sweet salt balance on the surface, so the flavor explodes on your tongue. That makes the brain happy and paves the way for all the other nuances to come out as you chew.

January 17, 2010 Posted by Jorin Hawley | Low Carb Recipes, Raw Food Recipes, Recipes, Snacks/Crackers, Vegan Recipes | flavor trick, raw crackers | Leave a comment

Herbed Walnut Hemp Quackers

I call these raw crackers “Quackers” in tribute to Sarma Melngailis’ retail store One Lucky Duck. This recipe comes from a combination of two of her recipes in Raw Food Real World.

• 5 c raw walnuts (soaked 5 hours or overnight)
• 5 c diced zucchini
• 1/2 c sun-dried tomatoes, soaked 1 hour or more.
• 1 shallot, peeled and chopped
• big handful of fresh herbs
• 1/4- 1/2 c water (or tomato soak water, if not too salty)
• 1 c ground golden flax
• 1/2 c hemp seeds
• 2 t salt

In food processor or high-speed blender, grind walnuts to a rough powder one cup at a time. Transfer to a bowl. Blend zucchini, tomato, shallot, herbs and water and grind to a thick paste. Little flecks are good. Mix in bowl with walnuts, add remaining ingredients and adjust to taste. Add a little tomato soak water or more water to make a spreadable batter.

Spread mixture onto 4 Teflex sheets and sprinkle tops lightly with salt. Dehydrate at 115 6 – 8 hours or overnight. Flip over, cut into any cracker shape you like,  and continue drying on screens until completely crunchy and dry. Store these crackers in the refrigerator.

Flavor Trick: with crackers and snacks, I like to keep the batter lightly salted and add a little salt (and sometimes sweet) on the top so you get an immediate flavor hit when you bite in. Most whole foods release their flavor as you begin to chew, but our Western palates have been conditioned by Doritos and such to expect a flavor explosion at the first bite. So do it!

January 17, 2010 Posted by Jorin Hawley | Low Carb Recipes, Raw Food Recipes, Recipes, Snacks/Crackers, Vegan Recipes | flavor trick, raw crackers | Leave a comment