Saw Palmetto Harvest

Saw Palmetto Fruits

Most middle aged dudes who are aware of their prostate have heard of saw palmetto extracts and supplements.  The average person is oblivious to the fact that they grow like crazy all over Florida. The range of the saw palmetto stretches from South Florida up the coast in South Carolina. One of Florida’s major yet little known exports is saw palmetto fruit:

With about 2,000 tons harvested from South Florida and exported to Europe each year, the humble berries have become what some estimate is a $50 million a year crop in the state.

No one knows the precise value because the industry has operated quietly, with immigrant workers earning cash for berries taken from parks, riverbeds and ranch lands with no questions asked and no taxes paid.  AP Press

The Seminole Indians were onto something when they noticed that during the fall months while consuming these olive sized fruits that their need for nocturnal trips to the piss bush was reduced while their mojo was increased.

Noni's long lost sibling

To my pleasant surprise I was greeted by several drooping bunches of ripe and semi ripe saw palmetto fruits the other day in my parent’s side yard. Being an amateur wild forager I was aware that these guys were edible but not very palatable. Maybe they’re an acquired taste I thought as I found a black juicy ripe one to sample. There was a oily sap coating the ripe ones so I rinsed it just in case it was rabid armadillo spray or something that may spoil this foraging experience. I’d like to mention how ironic it is that these berries are supposed to support prostate health and the prostate being next door neighbors with the asshole. It seems fitting that these olive looking berries should taste like a bag of assholes. You may be saying this is a pretty harsh description, well the only thing I can compare saw palmetto to is noni, ripe, mushy, blue cheese funk noni. I’m talking the fresh stuff off the tree, not some sissy fruit juice concentrate that had a noni fruit placed next to the bottle while the label was applied. I acknowledge the magical healing properties inherent to the noni fruit. Though the taste is a potent deterrent it can’t be denied that noni is powerful medicine especially since your face goes numb after eating it. I’m still experimenting with saw palmetto berries to see if I can adopt a taste for them.  Imagine if blue cheese and vomit had a love child. Actually it’s not that bad… well, maybe. There is a brief instant where it almost tastes good. I haven’t given up on these dingle berries though. At this moment I’m pickling a jar of them. Hopefully the salt and vinegar may deactivate some of the vomitis properties inherent to the fresh berries. Time will tell.

They look like olives, don't taste like them

Banana Lama Ding… gone… part 2, the filling

Three bananas Johnny Utah, three.

I think it’s safe to say that the pie was a success. With little resistance the pie was happily consumed by the JaxRaw meetup members before it could melt in the sun. I will be posting a short video clip from the event but first I must share part 2 of 3 in the making of this yummy raw vegan pie. This filling is a modified version of some of the pie fillings that are listed in I Am Grateful, the amazing recipe book from Cafe Gratitude. I was looking for a pie filling that used Irish Moss. I did a combo of Irish moss and ground chia to thicken things up. Enjoy the latest video. As always, your feedback is appreciated.
Blessings, Adam

Banana Filling Recipe:
1 C water
.3 oz Irish Moss, soaked
3 T hemp seed
2 T ground chia seed
6 pitted dates
2 T lucuma powder
3 bananas
1 vanilla bean scraped
1 t salt

Viva Italia in Tallahassee

Viva Italia Eggplant Parm

This week I had a blast visiting Tallahassee, FL to teach a live food class and host a dinner. The theme of the evening was Viva Italia which allowed me to connect with my Italian roots in a vegan raw food way. The menu was eggplant Parmesan, bell peppers stuffed with pecan basil pesto, zucchini and squash noodles with a hemp alfredo sauce, a fresh garden salad with sorrel, kale, baby lettuce and a fig tarragon vinaigrette… dessert was a avocado chocolate mousse that was off the charts. Thank you to everyone who helped and all those who attended. I can’t wait to do it again. Enjoy this clip from the festive event.

Summer Spinach Soup

Fresh Produce

Down in Florida the local gardens are producing goodies in all shades of the rainbow. Recently I visited the local beaches farmers market and picked up some fresh produce. With my purchases spread out before me I saw a vision of soup, spinach soup and the rest is history. Enjoy this simple Summer Spinach Soup recipe.

2 Cups nut or seed mylk

1 Bunch of Spinach, rinsed and chopped

2 T chick pea miso

1 fresh tomato or 1/4 C soaked sundried tomato

6 black olives, pitted

1 T Mexican Seasoning Blend – cilantro, cayenne, black pepper, coriander, cumin

1 t cumin

salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in blender. Bleand until smooth. Transfer into a bowl. Garnish with diced veggies… corn, tomato, bell pepper, fresh herbs. Enjoy.

Rolling With the Nori Part 2

That's a tight roll

Sequels are rarely better than the original but this may be an exception to the rule… well at least this video is shorter. I actually get my roll on. I ended up making a ridiculous amount of filling for these nori sticks. I rolled for about an hour and had only gone through a third of the mix. I recorded this towards the end once I had figured out this advanced rolling technique. If you’re going to roll nori sticks, invite some friends over and make a party of it. No sense in rolling alone. I’ll post my recipe for goji beer and then you got no excuses not to Rawk and Roll.

Love, Adam

Rolling With Nori

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the kitchen, I’ve done and gone it again… ? Yes, I’ve been huffing rejuvalac. Not really. I made some tasty ginger almond nori roll ups last week and now the video is edited and ready for viewing.

The recipe I made on the video was a double batch which is a cruel thing to do to yourself if you’re on your own when it comes time to roll. My prayers weren’t answered and a bunch of escaped Cuban cigar rollers did not show up to help out. And none of the high school kids in the neighborhood were willing to roll up what I had to offer… Below is a half version of the recipe on made on camera.

Happy rolling and Keep It Live!

Nori Almond Sticks

1 C almond (soaked)

1/2 C sunflower seed (soaked)

1/4 pumpkin seeds

1/4 C sts water

1 T ACV

1 t turmeric

¼ t ground black pepper

2 T ground chia seed

1 clove garlic, pressed

1 pinch cayenne

10 Nori sheets – cut in half across the grain

2 T lemon juice (to moisten nori)

Process the above ingredients into a thick paste. Spread a bead of paste on the cut nori sheets and roll. Moisten the edge of the nori and seal it. Dehydrate at 125 for 3 hours then lower to 115 and continue dehydrating until completely dry. 10-12 hours. Nori sticks can be cut in half after dehydrating.

Post-Surf Smoothie

Surfs Up

When fortune smiles upon me and there’s good surf in the morning, I down a morning glass of water and paddle out for a AM surf session. It’s nice to start the morning off with a bit of exercise to stoke the appetite. After an hour or so of flailing around in the ocean… hopefully spending a majority of time above the water than below, I return home with quite an appetite. Tops on my list of post-surf meals is durian, but that isn’t always an option. This week I have a surplus of pears and blood oranges so that’s what has been going into my smoothies. Enjoy this how to smoothie video… Keep it Live.

Recipe: Pear Blood Orange Smoothie – serves 2

3 Blood Oranges

2 Pears

2 Bananas

1 C water

3 T Dry Nettle – Add fresh  1 C packed Spinach or fresh Nettle if possible

1 T Greener Grasses

1 T apple cider vinegar

1 t Bacopa Monieri

1 t Tribulus Terrestris Saponins

1 t Holy Basil

pinch of Himalayan Salt

Raise your smoothie potential by adding these ingredients.

Raise the Bar: 1 T Cinnamon, 1/2 T Fresh Ginger, 1 t Orange Zest

Food Porn

Food Porn

Food porn… Food and Porn, what a combo. Recently I’ve come across this phrase on several occasions. To me porn is something that creates an immediate heightened response, draws you in with lofty promises, artificially excites,  it pulls your trigger but in the end leaves you empty and spent… pun intended. A majority of the “food” that people consume these days is more like pornography than food… all airbrushed(artificial), sweaty(salt), processed, stimulating (food additives) and propagandized (advertising). Did you ever notice the picture on the DVD… or box of food always looks 100 times better than what actually comes out of the box? It’s all empty calories, it all leaves you empty.

As you incorporate more live foods back into your life that is what you get… more life. Porno ain’t just on the net or at the video store… it’s on almost every aisle of the grocery store. You know what I’m talking about. I remember the days of staring blankly into the beer cooler or the ice cream freezer… c’mon, my favorite Ben and Jerry’s flavor was Karamel Sutra… now I can make a raw vegan version. That’s the beauty of live foods… porn foods were most likely reverse engineered from something natural. I think everyone out there can agree, in the end, natural beats artificial every time.

Example,

Porn Food: Hawaiian Punch

Natural Food: Habiscus Cooler
2 C Iced Habiscus Tea
1 C Fresh Squeezed OJ
1/2 C Pineapple juice
1 C sparkling water
Pinch of Himalayan or other healthy salt
Sweeten with agave, raw honey, stevia…

The above recipe tastes exactly like Hawaiian Punch or vice versa…. and it won’t stain your upper lip red.

Just say “no” to food porn… it’s a start. Eventually you can lose the rest of the porn in your life as well.

Keep it Live, Adam