Saturday, September 13, 2008

Food Processor

1

Just about a month ago, I picked up a food processor for a little over $10 at a thrift store downtown. I looked it up online and it's one of those infomercial ones that claims to be able to turn concrete into dust (but has a number of reviews saying it can't handle certain food items). It's had a safety recall and they stopped making them. Mine smells like burning sometimes, but for the most part, it does the job.

The original reason for acquiring the machine was for making a raw, sprouted nut+seed cheese using rejuvelac to ferment it. I consider that experiment a failure, because it tasted mostly awful. Perhaps I should have followed the recipe more closely.

Next, my housemate, Vince, made a delicious raw, vegan, keylime pie out of pureed avocados, lime, and maple syrup -- I believe -- with a graham cracker crust. It was absolutely delicious. I'll have to get the recipe from him, make one myself, and post the recipe with pictures.

I've been using the food processor to chop up seaweed to put into soups and stir-fries. Seaweeds are high in nutrients. I've also been grinding up flax seeds for the same purpose.

Then it occurred to me that those expensive raw nut+fruit bars and cookies sold at health food stores would be really really easy to emulate with a food processor -- So I grabbed a handful of raw cashews, pumpkin seeds, and flax seeds, and made it into a powder. Then I threw in some prunes and raisins until it started to thicken up, added a little maple syrup, and some cinnamon and allspice. The result -- fast, delicious, and healthy! From the moment the idea came to me, it was only a couple minutes before the whole thing was completely ready. A larabar is probably costing you about $13.34/lb. With bulk ingredients that you choose from bulk bins, you can sculpt your own flavors for significantly less. I'm going to keep experimenting and come back with some recipes.

1 comment:

Julia Fredenburg said...

Thor,
This is unrelated to your post, but it was something in the food world that I was outraged about! Several months ago I read a study saying that echinacea wasn't effective at fighting colds. BUT in the most recent edition of Whole Food's magazine, they chide the effect of echinacea, while saying that studies stating its ineffectiveness are just plain wrong. Could you do a little research about this topic? And then verify my rightness? Also, I'm glad your food processor was such a successful purchase.
Julia Fredenburg