Thursday, June 23, 2011

[Blog] Raw Corn

I would have never guessed, but raw corn on the cob is really good! I used to love it cooked and slathered in butter and salt as a child, but now, I'm enjoying it raw on the cob with nothing on it at all. I'm amazed by how much flavor it has all on its own.

I'm quite certain my tastes are drastically changed from how they were up until I was eighteen. All kinds of things I used to find tasteless, bitter, boring or nauseating now taste sweet, good, rich and enlivening.

Sprouts: I used to get sick to my stomach just from the smell. Now I feel neutral about the smell, and their taste can be easily disguised in a raw salsa, guacamole, salad, stuffed mushroom, etc.

Blackberries: I used to find them bitter, now I find them sweet.

Corn: I used to find it inedible raw, unsalted, or un-buttered. Now I love it without anything added, completely raw on the cob.

Spinach: I used to find it unbearably bitter and disgusting. Now I like it enough to eat it fresh and plain out of my garden. I feel undernourished now if I don't eat spinach every day or at least some other leafy green in quantity.

Wheatgrass Juice: I used to find it bitter and unbearable. Now I find it mildly sweet.

Kale: I used to find it too tough to it, and juice made from it too bitter to drink. I now find it acceptable prepared in a variety of ways, including in juice. I especially like kale/orange juice, and I also especially like "smooshed kale salad." I have an entry that details how to make a smooshed kale salad here.

Bananas: I used to never desire a plain banana. It used to have to always be in a smoothie, or mashed into a pudding or something. Now, I will often eat a plain banana on its own.

Cucumbers: I used to hate them and always pulled them off of burgers or salads growing up. Now, I add them to my own dishes frequently. I also enjoy their juice.

Carrots: I used to only ever eat them cooked in broth &/or with potatoes, but now I enjoy raw fresh carrot juice (which I especially like blended with bananas), and grated carrot in many of entree dishes.

Mushrooms: I used to find them intolerable, but now I enjoy making raw vegan fillings for them several times a month. I especially like to blend avocado, macadamia nuts, garlic, dates, and coconut aminos to make a savory sweet filling.

I'm sure there are other instances where my taste has changed, but these are what come to mind off the top of my head.

I'm interested in exploring new foods and recipes. Whenever I do have some spare time, one of the first activities that comes to mind is "making up a new recipe." Now that I have a juicer, dehydrator, blender, food processor and warm-plate all available at my disposal, I really want to get to making some new and different things.

One of my recent obsessions is to run macadamia nuts and partially-thawed frozen berries through the juicer together with the "mash" attachment. With the "mash" attachment, the food is mashed and all comes out as "pulp" and no juice comes out separately. This attachment essentially is just solid plastic where the usual attachment has a screen to let the juice out.

The result of running berries and nuts through the juicer using the "mash" attachment is to end up with a berry-filled-nut-butter. Very delicious and rich. Not so nice on the digestive system however to eat this too often.

Something of interest of the moment is that the lovely Raw On $10 a Day or less blog is having a giveaway for a book by Mimi called "Live Raw." To read about that (and other awesome things), visit this page.

I will be returning with lots of new recipes... Eventually. I'm not quite ready to put the time into it because I'm so incredibly busy between renovations, gardening, potlucks, other events, family gatherings, cleaning, and usual chores/errands, not to mention my actual work. For anyone who doesn't know, I'm a freelance artist and editor. You can visit my art blog here.

I also have several ideas for new books, including one all about potlucks. I've even written a draft for it on what I want it to be about, and what it will include. I want to provide recipes for people who can't afford to bring something fancy to a potluck, recipes for people who want to impress others at a potluck, recipes for people who are nervous and new and want something simple and easy, etc. The rawvegan potluck scene is so happening, fun, creative and welcoming: I want to open it up for more people.

I want a lot of things. Sometimes I wonder if I want too much, but time will tell if I can manage to accomplish everything I want or not. And hey, just because I don't get everything I want doesn't necessarily mean I wanted too much in the first place, does it?

Thanks for reading.

~ Raederle

3 comments:

  1. I think it's great to aim high and to want lots of things: you're more likely to get a good portion of them done, you never get bored, you stay inspired.
    And isn't it cool to notice how your tastebuds change? I was never a huge fan of corn on the cob, but I love it raw...

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  2. The changing of the tastebuds is something that so many people don't believe is possible for themselves when I tell them about it. People say, "oh, I could never go raw because I don't like enough raw vegetables." Well... I started out liking no raw vegetables except lettuce.

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  3. It's true that having a lot of goals can be inspiring. Often, it does make me feel like I have a lot to look forward to. At other times though, especially when I'm tired, it feels like an overwhelming responsibility to accomplish all of my goals.

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What brings you here? What are you thoughts? Do you consider yourself a raw foodist? Approximately how much of your diet is raw? Do you consider yourself healthy? What would you like to see more of on this blog? Will you be back? Is this too many questions?