Seed Cheese and Caelee's Creation

As mentioned yesterday, today I will share Ann Wigmore's famous and quite simple recipe for seed cheese.  You need to first soak, and if you like sprout, seeds of your choice.  We most commonly used sunflower seed, but pumpkin seeds or a blend of seeds and or nuts would work.  The only requirement is that the seeds are ready to eat (no hulls), soaked for at least 4 hours for seeds or longer for nuts, depending on the size of the nuts.  All must be raw, so read carefully and when in doubt order on line from a raw foods supplier.... I will be researching and sharing information about where to buy supplies on-line, as my daughter and I have been inspired to start creating raw dishes.... And so as I look locally, I find not all easily accessible.... So I will begin searching on-line for such staples as really raw almonds (nowadays ones grown in the USA, even organically grown, are flash pasteurized), raw buckwheat (most commercially available is somewhat toasted...) and really raw dates (I am concerned that the ones we buy are heated in the drying process.... but that research I will leave for another day....)

So back to seed cheese.... You take your soaked and rinsed seeds and or nuts and blend with rejuvelac until smooth (remember sprouting and rejuvelac are in earlier blogs, so if you need the recipes, just check in the blog archives, to the right of this post (click on July or June (sprouting should be near the end of June and Rejuvelac likely in one of the first few days of July, if not at the end of June).  Only use enough rejuvelac to make the blender blend till all is smooth) and then put the mixture in a clean sprouting or seed cheese bag, or cheese cloth and hang to allow excess liquid to drain out (so hang over sink or bowl to catch liquid.)  The longer it hangs, the tangier it gets; so taste after a couple hours and keep tasting until you like the flavor (no more than 2-5 hours).  Then remove cheese from bag and put  in glass covered container (you may remove any outer part that has become very dark, due to exposure to air) and store the cheese in refrigerator for up to 3 or 4 days.  

Caelee, now back from her kitchen endeavors would like to relay her recipe.  Last night she asked me to soak for her some almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and dates.  All should be rinsed and each in separate glass jars (seeds can be soaked together).... I explained to her that the walnuts, not being whole and the almonds not really raw, are not the most ideal to use, so we will be looking into getting raw filberts and really raw almonds for the next time.... In the morning all nuts and seeds should be drained and rinsed.... The dates, we will use the soak water.... So in her little food processor she put almonds (she recommends peeling the skins off and says it is easily done if you start it with a paring knife), walnuts, dates, some ripe banana, and some of her seed mixture.  She added the date soak water to aid with blending and that carries some of the sweetness of the dates.  Then she tasted it, and when it tasted sweet enough, enough dates and bananas, she was satisfied.  She is now cutting up extra soaked nuts and will be rolling her mixture in this and then creating some bars..... Actually she just brought me a bowl full and is delicious... She definitely added plenty of dates and bananas - it tastes like a sweet breakfast porridge of sorts... Awesome!  Not sure how she will turn it into bars though... its a bit wet... But I am happy with pudding for breakfast and I did not have to make it.... Though likely I will be stuck with clean up.  But that is OK.   Unfortunately, her little sister is shouting for brown bread and oil (she may be a harder sell this morning, as she is quite stuck on whole wheat bread and oil - she would eat the whole loaf if allowed - so Caelee and I have our work cut out for us, in more ways than one....).  Until tomorrow, I wish you a glorious day!