Almost Raw Carrot Curry Soup

For all of those bad with dogma and doctrine; who will will never buy the whole package, whether it's religion, party politics or dogmatic food philosophies—this one's for you! I bought the the Juliano Raw UnCookbook on a whim in college but was never been tempted to jump on the Raw Food Bandwagon. I've occasionally made recipes from it, but like the cuisine at many raw restaurants, the recipes tend towards lots of dried fruit, nuts and dehydrating— all of which don't agree with my stomach and make me feel pretty crappy. Plus, my urban kitchen is at max capacity for kitchen appliances with my vita-mix and stick blender. Who wants to buy and store a dehydrator?

I understand the sweet and creamy attempts to entice with nut "cheeses," cakes, pies and frostings full of coconut oil, cups of dates and bags full of nuts, particularly after my mother's description of the the juices and raw vegetables prepared with little concern for flavor or presentation at a rawist co-operative where she lived in the 70s. A slice of plain avocado was a big treat.

I've adapted some raw recipes to make them simple to prepare and primarily full of fresh vegetables using nuts, oils and dried fruits as garnishes and enhancements rather than the main attraction. And of course, I had to take it a step further and add accents sometimes using a non-raw ingredient here or there. Baked ingredient and all, if it wouldn't risk a copyright lawsuit and angering the FDA, I could call this "Accutane in a cup" or "natural Accutane." After eating 2 batches in one week, my skin looks like it did exactly one decade ago when I was a teenager and had just finished up a course of Accutane.

Adapted from a recipe at Raw Food Living Diet

ALMOST RAW CURRIED CARROT SOUP

2.5 C. Water

1/4 C. Cashews

1 slice Gluten-Free Bread*

1 lb. Carrots, peeled and chopped

1 Apple, chopped with peel

1/4 Small onion, chopped

1 stalk Celery, chopped

2 cloves Garlic

4 California Dates or 2 Medjool dates, pitted and soaked for at least 30 minutes

1 Tbs. Tamari or Miso

2 tsp. Curry powder

1 tsp. Garam Masala

1/2 tsp. Sea Salt

1. Combine Cashews and Water in Vita-mix or blender, blend until smooth.

2. Combine remaining ingredients and blend until thick and creamy.

3. Garnish with raw sunflower seeds and raisins (optional).

*a frozen gluten-free waffle, pancake, etc. works here too (don't worry if there's blueberries in them, it still tastes good).

You can use the equivalent amount of just about anything gluten-free and bready that you have on hand.

On a side note—I made this in a friend's kitchen (who didn't have curry powder). The soup tasted like pumpkin pie so it's definitely a variation to try, especially if you're out of curry powder.