Noah and I decided to vacate the house while Graham was working on the drywall last Saturday and headed out for a visit to the Evergreen Brickworks market. You all know about my love affair with markets, and this one has a particularly local, organic bent to it that fits like a glove. The drive there? Not as awesome. But what awaits at the other end is worth a little Toronto traffic.

{Image source}

Although I was very excited to see the many varying vendors there selling their organic produce, fresh sheep and goats cheeses, gorgeous baked goods and so on, there was one singular booth for which I had really made the trip. I was there for Doug McNish.

I first met Doug at an organic, raw food restaurant in Mississauga. There, Doug opened my eyes {and my palette!} to the possibility that raw food could be totally gourmet and incredibly satisfying. So when I heard that he had a booth at the Evergreen Brickworks and – even better – a new cookbook with over 400 raw recipes, I made a beeline straight for him. I’ve been dying to learn how to cook raw haute cuisine since my first meal at Doug’s original restaurant, not because I am going totally raw, but because I want to incorporate more vibrant and healthy recipes into my repertoire and enjoy eating those meals.

Along with an incredible lunch of collard green falafel wraps and an amazing desert of raw walnut and cacao brownies, Noah and I also snatched up a copy of Doug’s cookbook, Eat Raw, Eat Well.

One of the first recipes I tried was the Sour Cream and Onion Kale Chips. Now, there are many scales upon which to measure one’s cooking success, but I would say a young boy willingly consuming most of the batch equals a major win! Noah seriously loved them and so did Graham and I. They are truly amazing and will replace chips for SURE! After many requests for the recipe from the Instagram photo I posted, I touched base with Doug and he has generously agreed to let me share it with you here today:

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked
1 bunch green kale
1 small red onion
1/2 cup filtered water
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp fine sea salt

METHOD:
Start by covering the cashews with 3 cups of water and soaking for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, starting at the bottom of each stem, strip away the frilly green leaves of the kale and, if necessary, tear into smaller pieces {about 2 ” each}.

Discard the stems, wash the leaves and transfer into a large mixing bowl.

Using a mandoline, slice the red onion very thinly. Break up the rounds with your fingers and add to the kale {Sarah’s side note: in my rush to make these, I didn’t read carefully and just threw my red onion into the blender with the cashews and everything else. Still worked brilliantly!} Drain the cashews after 30 minutes. In a blender, combine the soaked cashews, filtered water, lemon juice, vinegar and salt. Blend at high speed until smooth and creamy.

Toss over the kale until it is thoroughly coated. Spread the kale out onto non-stick baking sheets in a single layer. {Sarah’s side note: I used 2 full heads of kale for the amount of coating produced and spread it all out over 3 cookie sheets lined with parchment.} Dehydrate at 105 F {41 C} for 10-12 hours or until cripsy. {Sarah’s side note: I discovered my oven has a dehydrate setting!! Amazing!! If yours doesn’t, you can pick up a dehydrator online and will want to crisp them up this way to preserve all of the raw enzymes and nutritional goodness packed into the kale.}

 I absolutely love sharing recipes that taste just as good as they are good for your health. Thank you, Doug, for sharing your culinary genius and healthy inspiration with us!

xo
s.