Veggie Chips

Update from yesterday about the Key Lime Pie. I created my own recipe for the filling. Using the juice I had extracted from about 20 small key limes, I added 2 avocadoes and some cashew nuts plus agave nectar. Since I'm not much for pie crust, I skipped it and filled the pie pan directly. I placed it in the freezer. Later I added a topping which consisted of soaked brazil nuts and almonds along with some water, small tablespoon of raw honey and a splash of vanilla extract. Then I smeared it on top of the filling and continued to freeze it.

The results? Delicious! The tartness of the limes were still obvious in the filling and were well balanced by the sweetness of the topping. The filling was like an ice cream. I will do it again and perhaps use a regular juicer on the limes. I did the extraction by hand and it was very time consuming.

Since I was enjoying my time in the kitchen, I looked to make more raw food dishes. Having just acquired a food dehydrator 2 weeks ago, I'm still experimenting with it. One of my favorite recipes is kale chips. I used the one from Rawman's and fell in love instantly. So that you don't have to look it up, here it is:
KALE CHIPS

Ingredients:
3-4 heads of Kale, - Wash it - Tear off and only use the tips of the Kale,
as the leaf has too many veins. (Save the veiny leaf for your green smoothie.)
1 cup of Tahini - I grind up sesame seeds first until creamy.
1/4 cup Tamari OR 1/8 cup Braggs amino's
1/4 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup of water. I tend to omit this, which makes for a thicker dressing.
1/2 small yellow bell pepper; red works too. Avoid green as it's not as sweet.
Juice of 1 whole lemon
1/2 cup of nutritional yeast or more to thicken up the dressing.
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of onion powder or 1/2 small onion
dash of sea salt, which I often omit.

Blend the ingredients and it should be pretty thick, but smooth & pour able.
You may add water as needed. Pour the mixture in to a bowl and combine with the Kale.
I like to use my hands to massage the mix into the Kale and that way it really gets a
good coating and has my life energy in it, as well.
Place kale onto parchment paper or a teflex sheet, on top of your dehydrator tray, and dehydrate for 8 -10 hours, possibly longer until crispy @ 105 degrees.

I absolutely LOVE this recipe. And it's great eaten raw. Make lots of dressing as you'll enjoy this on other salads too.

Since I still had some trays in my dehydrator empty, I continued puttering in the kitchen and tried another recipe for Sweet Potato Chips. It was very easy.

SWEET POTATO CHIPS

Remove skin from sweet potatoes.
Slice thin by using a mandolin slicer or other tool.
You can dehydrate as is OR
Spray with olive oil and then sprinkle with 1) sea salt, 2) vegetable salt, 3) cayenne pepper, or 4) any other seasoning.
Dehydrate at 105 degrees until crispy, about 12-14 hours.

Results? yum, yummy. These veggie chips are great to take with me as a snack while I'm traveling. Or add as crumbles to a salad.