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Raw "Cheese" Crackers
Obviously, there can be no real cheese in a raw cracker. They can't even contain non-dairy "cheese" products like the vegan shreds that you see me use from time to time. So why Raw "Cheese" Crackers? The truth is, my entire family thinks that these crackers taste like they are flavored with cheese, and for us, that's a good thing.
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One of the benefits of raw foods recipes is the brief ingredients list and ease of preparation.
For the final week of Now Gigi Serves Dinner!, I featured several raw food items that I received courtesy of Return to Eden Organic Market in Atlanta (see the image on my right sidebar for your discount coupon for R2E!). This, coupled with the Raw Nut-Free Fudge recipe that I created for April in the Raw, had me feeling somewhat inspired by the raw foods lifestyle. So much so that I ventured out of my comfort zone and created a nut-free cracker.

My family giggled in the background as I fussed over these sun-baked munchies, but the giggles stopped when they tasted the finished product. These crackers were very tasty, and yes, I would make them again.

I have never baked anything in the sun, or Mother Nature's oven, as I now refer to the great outdoors (at least when it's sunny and warm!), with the possible exception of brewing sun tea as a novelty once or twice as a child.

While I can assure you that these crackers are made of all raw ingredients, I cannot promise that the temperature didn't rise above the acceptable ceiling of 118 degrees for raw foods (I know, it's between 92-118, but I can never figure out who the authority is on this). Kind of difficult to control the sun. 

As you've guessed, this experiment was actually meant to serve the purpose of demonstrating that (1) raw foods can be tasty, (2) even if you aren't a Raw Foodist, you can still incorporate healthful raw foods into your diet, and (3) it never hurts to extend beyond your comfort zone, even in the kitchen (or outdoors, in this case).

First the recipe, then the method:

Raw Nut-Free "Cheese" Crackers
You can see the brands I used, available at Return to Eden Organic Market in Atlanta, in the above photo.

Remember, you are baking in the sun, so this is an early in the day project, not a night time effort. I recommend noon as a good start time for outdoor baking when the sun is at its peak (like I'm an authority on this, huh?)

1/2 cup raw sprouted sunflower seeds (I used garlic & sea salt flavored seeds)

1 Tablespoon raw coconut aminos

1 chia "egg" (You can see how I make mine HERE)

2 small carrots, scrubbed and cut into chunks

Blend all ingredients in the bowl of your food processor until a uniform mixture is achieved and most of the seeds are broken down to at least half size, but most broken down a bit smaller. The mixture will look like a semi-sticky dough.
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Remove the mixture from processor, form it into a ball and place it between 2 sheets of wax paper (use sheets that are about 12 inches in length so that the mixture doesn't go beyond the sheets when rolling it out). Roll as thin as possible - my finished rolled product measured approximatley 15x11 inches.
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Cheesecloth protects from insects.
Peel the top layer of wax paper away and hang on to it - you will use it again after the first half of baking is complete. Leave the cracker dough on the bottom sheet of wax paper, and cover the dough with a single layer of cheese cloth (my family insisted that I do this to insure no friendly insects made their way onto our snack). Carefully slice your covered cracker dough onto a large cutting board or butcher block (or pan, or whatever you have that will hold it). Place in direct sunlight for 1 1/2 hours.
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You could call them half-baked.
When you peel back the cheesecloth, the crackers should feel dry on top and more firm than before you put them in the sun. Of course, the sheet of cracker dough is still fragile. To finish baking the crackers, grab that reserved piece of wax paper from when you rolled the crackers out and cover the top (exposed) side with it. [Just to make sure we're on the same page here, the cracker dough sheet is still on the cutting board they were on in the sun, and now they are again sandwiched between 2 sheets of wax paper.] You will now need to flip the sheet of cracker dough - to do so, place a large cutting board or baking pan on top of the wax paper covered dough, and flip (use both cutting boards/baking pans to help you do this). Remove the (now) top baking pan, carefully peel away the (formerly bottom) sheet of wax paper, and cover with the single layer of cheese cloth. Return crackers to the sunny spot outdoors and allow to bake for an additional 1 1/2 hours.
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Very thin crackers that hold up well!
Remove the cheesecloth from the top of cracker dough and use a sharp knife or pizza cutter (my pick!) to cut crackers into desired shape. The top left corner of this picture shows how thinly these are rolled. If you want thicker crackers, you may need to increase your "baking" time.
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A raw appetizer!
We served them topped with slices of English cukes and heirloom tomato pieces for an appetizer with this meal.
Of course, you could always bake these in an oven (they wouldn't be considered raw anymore, though) if you like the combination of ingredients, but don't want to invest in the 3 hour baking time (not that you have to stand there and watch as they bake!).

You may also enjoy my Raw Chocolate Pudding Wraps and Raw Nut-Free Fudge.
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Raw Chocolate Pudding Wraps
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Raw Nut-Free Fudge
 


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