Sauteed Mushroom Pasta Salad

Let me begin by saying that butter from grassfed cows was used to saute the mushrooms.  So okay, this is a vegetarian but not a vegan dish.  For me, at least, I consider butter from grassfed cows, besides EVCO, to be superior to those supposedly healthier cooking vegetable oils like soybean, cannola, sunflower seed oil.  Before you proceed to read the recipe, please indulge in my rambling for a while. 

At least in my own social circle, food has yet to acquire a political and ethical dimension.  Food is just, you know, food.  You eat when you are hungry.  You eat for pleasure.  You eat to socialise with other people.  For many people, food is food.  And many Singaporeans, including myself, love food for what it is.

Lately, however, I have been reading much on food politics and reflecting on what food means to me.  Now, I am no strict vegan simply because I have only started to venture into veganism very recently, and am the only one amongst my family members and friends to do so.  Or so I thought, until I realised a few days back that I probably wasn't even one to begin with.  Because I eat raw honey.  And honey is a product from bees.  Well, bees are insects, not animals.  Why would eating honey harm any animal?  Because veganism is a living philosophy of not doing harm to sentient beings, even insects.  It is more than a diet, even a lifestyle.  It is a spirit of compassionate living.  Very commendable, but veganism definitely does not appeal to everyone.  How about vegetarianism?  Vegetarianism is a more flexible approach, in the sense that individuals can choose to include or exclude dairy products and eggs from their diets, while abstaining from meat.  And then there are flexitarians, who are semi-vegetarians only eating meat very occasionally.  So I am most likely a flexitarian after all.  But does the term matter, really?

My aspiration to become a 'semi-raw vegan' was originally rooted in my desire to change my health for the better.  However, it soon became clear to me that adopting a plant-based diet would have much more profound consequences than simply changing my own health.  When I started to cook food from scratch using the most natural and purest ingredients, I began to see the massive and complex food chain unfolding in my mind.  You know what?  The problem was not about domesticating and killing animals for food.  It was not about burning down forests to make more land for agriculture.  The epidemic problem is the ignorance of how food reach our tables.  And how often do we eat at our tables?  The Buddha calls it 'mindfulness'.  Studies have shown that mindful eating facilitates weight loss by allowing one to feel satisfied with food and eat less.  But I think mindful eating is also an act of compassion that allows you to appreciate what has gone into making the food you are eating.  For one to live, one must die.  That is the life cycle, repeated over and over again in the food chain.  I am not a Christian, so I don't thank God for my food.  But I think it is good practice for us, vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike, to show gratitude for all the living things (including plants) gone into our food that nourishes our bodies and minds.

If you have reached this point, thank you very much for your patience with me!  So here we go.

Adapted from Sauteed Mushrooms recipe by Mark Bittman in "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian", p314-315

(Serves 1 petite girl like me so please adjust amounts of ingredients used accordingly.)

Ingredients

• Thin slice of grassfed butter (*If you opt to use butter for cooking, do use butters from grassfed cows as they have a better nutritional profile than cows kept in confined spaces and fed with chemical-loaded grains.)
• Two handfuls of mixed mushrooms (*I used portobello, king oyster and Swiss brown mushrooms.  As much as possible, you should use mixed mushrooms to create a more complex mushroom-y flavour.)
• 1 tsp shoyu 
• A pinch of ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Heat butter in the wok.  When hot, add mushrooms and ground black pepper and allow them to cook until tender.  Some water will start to ooze out, so don't worry about your mushrooms drying out.
2. Add garlic to cook for 1 minute. 
3. Add balsamic vinegar and shoyu for flavour.  Continue to cook for another 1 minute for the flavour to sink in.  Serve hot.

I didn't want my mushrooms to be too wet, so I didn't use water at all.  You may choose to add some water if you want to have a bit of gravy in the dish.  Adjust the seasoning accordingly to your taste.

I served my mushrooms with buckwheat pasta and mixed greens, and ate everything as a salad.  I liked the earthly taste of my mushrooms.  But on hindsight, I think it would have been better to have some gravy to act as dressing over my pasta.  Gee.

No more oyster sauce

Oyster sauce is a staple condiment in Chinese cooking, especially in stir-fry dishes, because it enhances the natural flavours of meat and vegetables.  Unfortunately, many of us Singaporeans, including myself, have never savoured the prowess of the condiment.  Because the bottled ones you get from the supermarket are mostly fakes.  I daresay, you cannot even find one bottle of genuine oyster sauce.  Traditional oyster sauce is produced from a time-consuming process of boiling oysters until they caramelise and form a thick broth.  Time means money, so manufacturers maximise their profits by adding additives (notably MSG) and colouring, and then call their product 'oyster sauce'.  The French would say, "Voila!" but I scream, "Walau!"*

*'Voila' (pronounced wa la) means 'behold', a word I learnt during my one-month stay in Switzerland.  And 'walau' (pronounced  wa low) is a common Singaporean expression for exasperation and frustration, as was in my case.  

But I was raised on the good ol' traditional Chinese meals consisting of one soup, one stir-fry dish and one bowl of rice.  I can do without rice and soup, but not stir-fry (vegan) dishes.  They are the cooked version of raw salads, with plenty of room for creativity in terms of choosing ingredients and making your own dressing.  Especially when eaten fresh from the wok, they are warm, crunchy and flavourful.  Yum.  Even without commercial oyster sauce, I was determined to make my own stir-fry vegetables on a somewhat cold afternoon today.

Stewed potato and broccoli in mirin

I had recently purchased organic mirin and in my quest to learn how to use mirin, had found and bookmarked this recipe from a random website.  It called for beef, but I replaced it with broccoli because of its dark green colour and hardy crunch.  Strictly speaking, the dish was not a stir-fry, but more of a stew since I had to simmer my vegetables in considerably more water.  It was, nonetheless, stir-fry inspired.
    
Ingredients

• Potato (diced)
• Broccoli (cut into florets)
• Carrot (julienned)
• Small red onion (thinly sliced)
• Garlic (finely chopped/minced)
• Cooking oil (but you know me, I used EVCO)
• 5 tbsp organic mirin (I used organic because it is unadulterated with other stuff like added sugar.  Be sure to check ingredient list if you aren't sure!)
• 1-2 tbsp Grade B maple syrup
• Water

Very simple but satisfying for me

Heat your cooking oil and then add onions and garlic to stir-fry till lightly brown.  Then add your potato dices and some water to allow them to simmer for a while and absorb the essence of onions and garlic.  The main player is really the potatoes so I recommend you lightly steam the potatoes if you are short of time.  I thought my potato dices were small enough to cook fast, but they proved me wrong.  After 3-4 minutes, they were still somewhat hard.  It took them about another 2 more minutes to become satisfactorily soft.  You don't want them to be overcooked, so before they start becoming soft, you have to add your carrot and broccoli to cook them as well.  Pour in your mirin and maple syrup mixture, and allow your vegetables to simmer.  Once you are satisfied with the softness of your vegetables, switch off heat and serve them up in a bowl.

The old me might have selected to use commercial oyster sauce for flavouring of the broth out of convenience and ignorance.  Of course, mirin and maple syrup form a distinctly (but pleasantly) different taste from that of oyster sauce.  However, I am only too glad to give up on oyster sauce - anytime!

Raw Energy Bars

This afternoon, I made a mistake of not bringing my own food out.  So when I turned from being hungry to famished during lunchtime, I did not hesitate to wolf down a plate of vegetarian fried rice at my relative's house.  Plus a few pieces of fried mini potato puffs.

This should never happen again. 

To celebrate my lesson learnt, I have decided to make myself some delicious raw energy bars to take on the run in the future.  Like when I am in a hurry and unable to pack a small salad before I leave my house.   

Ingredients

• Pumpkin seeds
• Sunflower seeds
• Flax seeds
• Deri dates

I love raw and nutritious energy bars!

Grind all the ingredients in a food processor and use your hand to mix them further in a bowl.  The 'batter' is very malleable so you can wrap it up in a plastic cling wrap and then mould it into the shape that you want.  For me, I made a few long bars, not unlike those commercial ones.  Place your energy bars into the freezer until they harden.  Alternatively, you can dehydrate them to obtain a dry and crispy texture.  I didn't try that because I was too lazy to assemble my dehydrator, but I thought it was certainly a feasible idea to play with in future.

See the big piece of energy bar in the foreground?  I used apricots in place of Deri dates, and added cashew nuts as well.  It tasted less sweet than those made from dates, but was just as satisfying.  I think when you eliminate refined sugars from your diet, all types natural sugars appeal to your tastebuds whether they are intense or not.  Sweet is not just sweet, because natural sweetness has its own unique character.

Stir-fried mixed vegetables soba

Let me begin by thanking my friends who have been giving me encouraging feedback about my food blog.  I feel very heartened that my efforts have not been misplaced.  It is satisfying to know that your recipes are appreciated by other people.  I shall continue working on my food blog to share with you what I know. 

The dish that I would like to share with you today is an inspiration from those typical fried noodles served by many zi char stalls.  For those who do not know, the words zi char translate into 'cook and stir-fry'.  Pardon my less than elegant translation for my Mandarin isn't good.  And this dish is dedicated to my boyfriend who is currently on an exchange programme in Manchester.  He loves to eat such noodles from zi char stalls, which are unfortunately, oily and lacking in vegetables.  And I am darn sure that food additives, especially MSG, were liberally used to enhance the noodles' taste.  Very unhealthy, but the guy is too used to such food.  So I am going to demonstrate how one can adapt dishes to individual health preferences.


Ingredients

• Garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• Small red onion (finely chopped)
• Ginger (finely chopped)
• Half a green zucchini (thin slices)
• Half a large red bell pepper (thin strips)
• 4 Swiss brown mushrooms (cubed)
• Dark green vegetable of your preference (e.g. kai lan, cai xin)
• Japanese soba noodles
• Handful of dark sesame seeds
• Cooking oil (I used organic butter.  Not vegan at all but it is another good alternative to other forms of supposedly healthier vegetable oils.  Will explain myself in another entry on cooking oils in future.)
• 4 tbsp organic mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
• 1 tsp organic nama shoyu (Japanese soya sauce)
• 1 tbsp Grade B maple syrup (or other kinds of natural sweetener you want)
• Water

Cook your soba noodles according to instructions and set them aside.  Mix mirin, nama shoyu and maple syrup to form your flavour mixture.  As in any stir-fry recipe, heat your oil in the wok before throwing in finely chopped garlic, onion and ginger to cook for a very short while.  Then add your zucchini, bell pepper and mushrooms to stir-fry.  Pour in your flavour mixture and small amount of water.  Simmer the mixed vegetables for a while before you throw in soba noodles and later, your dark green vegetables.  The reason behind adding the dark greens at the last stage is because you want to prevent overcooking them.  Once your dark greens are cooked (which takes a very short time, trust me), serve up your noodles.  Sprinkle black sesame seeds over them for garnish. 

The mirin and nama shoyu created a very Asian flavour that I had been craving for.  The slightly acidic sweetness in mirin was subtle but highlighted the natural taste of the mixed vegetables in the noodles.  The good thing about Asian stir-fry vegetable dishes is that you can use different types of vegetables in different combinations.  What I have is merely an example.  You can substitute broccoli for kai lan.  Or use purple cabbage for an interesting splash of colour.  Or include thin slices of carrot for additional crunch in your noodles.  I am sure you get what I mean, right?   

Homemade dark chocolate

I am a girl.  I love chocolate.  Especially dark chocolate.  This isn't primarily a health blog, but I thought I should share with you what I have found out about commercial dark chocolates, even those of reputable brands from Switzerland.  Most unfortunately, it applies to some organic brands of dark chocolate, which you would have thought are supposed to be healthier than non-organic ones.

Dark chocolates are supposed to be the healthiest type of chocolate around.  Or so I thought, until I learnt that what I was ingesting contained more than just a high dose of antioxidants from cocoa.  Let me show you what I mean using the brands I have always loved. 

From the chart, it is pretty clear that the most offensive brand is Frey, one of those beloved chocolate manufacturers from Switzerland! 

Sugar
I know sugar is important in lending sweetness to an otherwise heavy bitterness in dark chocolates.  But when you read 'sugar' in the list of ingredients, the word itself is extremely vague.  You don't know what type of sugar was used in the production of the dark chocolate.  Was it refined white sugar?  Demerara (brown) sugar?  Or...in my worst fears, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)?  Cheaper and sweeter than cane sugar, it is one of the most common toxins used in processed foods, even seemingly healthy ones like yoghurts and granola bars. 

Butterfat
Its presence indicates adulteration which compromises the quality of the dark chocolate.  Butterfat is used to make the dark chocolate softer and hasten its melting in the mouth.  It is cheaper than cocoa butter, and thus, its use lowers the cost of production of the dark chocolate.  Frey's production of dark chocolates is perhaps, more frayed than I can imagine.

Flavour
Look at the word 'flavour' too.  I cannot conjure an image in my mind because I really cannot imagine the vast arrays of artificial flavours humans can invent.

Soya lecithin
Lecithin is used as an emulsifier in chocolates, which makes them viscous and thick in consistency.  Even though the food industry claims it is safe, it is an additive.  An additive is an additive is an additive.  It never existed before industrialisation.  Can I believe it is really safe?

If they looked good to you, they tasted just as good to me as well!

Ingredients

• Unsweetened cocoa powder
• Raw carob powder
• Dessicated grated coconut (for interesting texture)
• Extra-virgin coconut oil (EVCO)
• Very small amount of Sucanat (or any other kind of natural sweetener you desire)

Mix all the ingredients together to form a thick and viscous batter, which resembles melted dark chocolate.  Pour the mixture in a mould and place in the freezer for about an hour to set the chocolate.  One key ingredient I like to emphasize here is the EVCO, because it is liquid at room temperature and solidifies at much lower temperatures in the refrigerator.  This characteristic allows your dark chocolate mixture to set. 

Another thing I like to highlight is that using both cocoa and carob is unnecessary.  I used carob because it added a hint of its unique sweetness that cocoa lacked.  If you aren't familiar with carob, it is frequently used to substitute cocoa in many recipes as a caffeine and fat-free alternative.  (Raw carob powder can be bought at some shops selling organic products.  I bought mine from Organic Paradise at Cuppage Plaza.)  You can use either ingredient in your own mixture.  Or experiment using both ingredients in varying ratios.    

From the picture, you can see that I have sprinkled some sunflower seeds for decoration.  Of course, if you love nuts and raisins, feel free to incorporate them into your dark chocolate mixture.  Or you can have it plain.  Either way, you know what goes into your own dark chocolate, and its taste (and nutritional value) can never be on par with those commercial ones.

Sweet potato & millet cakes

I think it is pretty evident that I am a BIG fan of sweet potatoes.  Before I started learning how to cook, my idea of potatoes was erroneously predominated by images of commercial potato chips, french fries, KFC mashed potato and all that unhealthy stuff.  Potatoes aren't just those ubiquitous brown-skinned, white-fleshed potatoes.  As I have come to realise, sweet potatoes are severely underutilised in everyday cooking.  In my personal opinion, they taste so much flavourful than their white counterparts.  Plus, they have a much lower glycaemic index (GI) than their white peers, even though they are sweeter in taste. 

This afternoon, I attempted to make my parents and myself some sweet potato and millet cakes, the recipe adapted from Eating Bird Food.  The original recipe used quinoa (pronounced as keen-wah), cranberries and spring onion.  Here, I used millet and Goji berries, and omitted the spring onion which, in my opinion, functioned more as a garnish than as a key ingredient. 

Cake batter which can be eaten on its own!

Ingredients (makes for 12 patties)

• 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes 
• 6 tbsp millet 
• 1/2 cup Goji berries

Steam the sweet potatoes for about 20-30 minutes till they are soft enough to be mashed up in a large bowl.  Cook your millet at the same time.  Heat your oven at 180 degrees Celsius.  When your sweet potatoes are ready, mash them up and mix in the millet and Goji berries to form your cake 'batter'.  However, the batter was so irresistable that I ate it on its own.  I could imagine having it as part of a big warm salad on a cold day!

Batter on oiled tray

Once done, scoop up a handful of batter and mould it into a patty before placing on an oiled baking tray.  Repeat until the batter is completed (of course).  Then bake them for about 20-30 minutes.  Halfway through, remember to turn the cakes over so as to ensure both sides are cooked equally. 

These cakes, mind you, were no typical cakes.  In appearance, they looked like small patties.  They were lightly crisp on the outside, and when I took my first bite, they were oh-my-oh-my sweetly moist and delicious!  The millet rendered a kind of nutty density to the cakes.  The Goji berries diversified the overall sweetness of the cakes.

I had meant to make those cakes for my parents when they come home from work.  Most unfortunately, however, I gobbled down everything save for four cakes sitting in the oven right now.  Either I used too little ingredients or I was too greedy!

Honey-glazed parsnip and carrot

This dish is based on the concept of caramelisation.  Caramelisation is a chemical reaction in which sugars in food are transformed by heat to produce a complex type of sweetness.  In this recipe, parsnips and carrots, being root vegetables containing loads of starch, are cooked to the point of caramelisation to bring out their natural sweetness.


What are parsnips?
Parsnips are rather uncommon in Singapore.  They look like carrots in terms of structure, but their skin is light brownish and their flesh is whitish in colour.  Parsnips are sweet.  While people claim that they are sweeter than carrots, I cannot verify that because I am still new to that vegetable.  Usually, you would find parsnips in supermarkets like Cold Storage and NTUC Finesse.  I suppose that is because such supermarkets cater to Caucasian expatriates who are familiar with parsnips in their cooking. 


This was adapted from the Nourished Kitchen.  I was attracted to the recipe because I thought it was an excellent substitute for traditional popiah or springroll filling in Singapore.  In the traditional popiah recipe, the filling is made from stir-fried bang kwang (otherwise known as jicama), bean sprouts, eggs, shrimps and some lettuce - not vegan at all!  Moreover, the popiah skin is also made from wheat, thus making it unsuitable for gluten-intolerant people.

In my own adaptation, I used raw honey and apple cider vinegar to substitute maple-syrup in the original recipe.  The sweet and sour taste from the honey and vinegar enhances the earthly caramelised flavour of the root vegetables.  In addition, I used extra-virgin coconut oil (EVCO) to cook, thus lending a hint of coconut aroma to the dish.  (You may realise that I love to use EVCO in cooking.  This is because it is the most healthy cooking oil that can withstand high levels of heat.  I shall leave my explanation for another entry.)

Parsnip and carrot on Vietnamese rice paper

Ingredients

• 1 parsnip (julienned)
• 1 carrot (julienned)
• 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• 1 red onion (thinly sliced)
• 2-3 tbsp extra-virgin coconut oil
• 1-2 tbsp raw honey
• 2-3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• Warm water

Mix raw honey with warm water and apple cider vinegar, and then leave aside.  As with most stir-frying recipes, heat the cooking oil in the wok first.  Then add the garlic and onion to cook for a short while.  Throw in the julienned parsnip and carrot, stir-frying them for about 4-6 minutes to the point of being tender (but not too soft to retain a degree of crunch).  Turn off the heat.  Cool for very short while, and then pour the honey mixture over the vegetables and mix well.  The rationale for turning off the heat before adding raw honey is because you do not want to (1) destroy live enzymes in the raw honey and (2) degrade the molecular structure of the honey, which makes it toxic for consumption.

Wrapped up in rice paper

Popiah alternative
I used Vietnamese rice paper to wrap up the root vegetables, along with some raw baby spinach leaves.  Rice is gluten-free.  You could use lettuce leaves as part of your filling, and I would if I had them in my fridge.  The alternative tasted good, but being someone who loves salads sooo much, I finished the dish with raw baby spinach in the form of another warm salad.

Goji mushroom millet salad

I love to eat raw salads, but my body is ill-suited to eating them at every meal, every day.  There are times when I crave for something warm and hearty but don't want to miss out raw greens.  This afternoon was one such instance, and I prepared myself a warm salad, comprising cooked millet served with raw baby spinach leaves.  To infuse an earthly flavour to the millet, I stewed it in mushroom broth and then sprinkled a handful of Goji berries for a dash of delicate sweetness.  The result?  A simple but nourishing lunch on a cold, windy afternoon.

Ingredients

• Raw baby spinach greens
• 3 tbsp hulled millet (sufficient to fill up a petite girl like me)
• 1 garlic clove (finely chopped)
• 1 red onion (sliced)
• 2 medium-sized portobello mushrooms (substitute with other mushrooms if you wish, Shitake mushrooms are a good alternative)  
• Goji berries
• Extra-virgin oil coconut oil (can use other healthy types of vegetable oil)
• 2-3 tsp soy sauce (adjust accordingly to taste)
• Water

Cook your millet separately while you prepare your mushroom broth.  Heat the oil in the wok, and add garlic and onion to stir-fry.  Then add some water to keep them cooking as the oil dries up fast.  This is to allow their flavours to permeate into the broth before adding the mushrooms.  Once you are satisfied with the broth, add your millet which should be moderately moist to facilitate its mixing into the broth.  Simmer it for a while before sprinkling with Goji berries and spraying with soy sauce for taste.  I left Goji berries to the last step because I didn't want them to be too soft (and they typically turn soft fast!).  Serve with raw baby spinach greens.

Bell pepper pancake (or does it look more like a patty?)

My heart sank when I lifted my bell pepper pancakes from the wok.  (It was not that I didn't learn my lesson about using traditional woks to make pancakes.  I couldn't find a decent pan in my kitchen, oops.)  My first thought flashed across my mind, "Walau, is this a pancake or PATTY?!?!"

I think the picture showed what was the obvious.  This was supposed to be a blog propagating semi-raw veganism, not encouraging fake meat production!  Admittedly, the taste of these (erm) patties was decent.  I wouldn't say they were fantastic though the spirit of adventure in the kitchen was commendable.  To meat-lovers, they may not like the crunch of vegetables in their patties.  For me, however, I was ecstatic that I was able to savour the juice bursting from bell peppers when I took my first bite.  Seeing green in my patties was another redeeming factor.  At least my grated zucchinis weren't burnt!

Ingredients

• Half a zucchini, grated
• Half a red bell pepper
• Half a yellow bell pepper
• Minced garlic cloves
• Buckwheat flour
• 1 egg replacer
• Water

Mix the last three ingredients together to form a batter, before adding the vegetables in.  Better take my instruction with a pinch of salt.  It is better that you play around with the ingredients of your own pancake batter though, since my culinary experiment was a semi-failure!

Sweet Potato Prata

I must confess that these sweet potato prata weren't meant to be prata.  I had wanted to create sweet potato pancakes which were supposed to look light and fluffy.  However, my pancakes looked slightly charred, creating an unwanted image of being oily.  They weren't!  Despite their less than ideal appearance, they tasted awesome.  The sweet potato provided nutritional and atomical density that filled me up fast.


Lessons learnt

1. Never use a traditional wok to make pancakes.  It produces charring on the surfaces of the pancakes.  Should use a non-stick large pan.  That is why pancakes are called pancakes.
2. Be diligent in flipping your pancakes.  They turn brown pretty fast!

Ingredients

• 1 sweet potato, steamed for 15-20 minutes and then mashed up
• About 3/4 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin coconut oil
• 1 egg replacer (1 tbsp ground flaxseed meal to 3 tbsp water)
• Water

Mix all the ingredients together, adding water until the batter has a smooth consistency.  However, if you like, you can use less water to retain the texture of mashed potato.  Slightly oil and heat up your pan before pouring your batter over it.  Makes 3 medium-sized pancakes...oops, prata, I mean!

Sweet Potato Chips

I love potato chips, especially those BBQ-flavoured ones.  However, commercial potato chips are deep-fried and loaded with chemicals.  You know how bad they are when you reach out for them again and again, never feeling fully satisfied.  On the other hand, these sweet potato chips are dehydrated to the point of being crispy.  They are raw, which means these chips are packed with nutrients!

Ingredients

• Sweet potatoes, sliced thinly using a mandoline
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Apple cider vinegar
• Paprika powder
• Ground cinnamon

Marinate your sweet potato slices in the remaining ingredients mixed together.  Dehydrate them for 3-5 hours.

Buckwheat waffles

Waffles are one of my favourite comfort foods.  Before I started on semi-raw veganism, I loved those waffles from bakeries like Prime Deli, despite knowing they contained high levels of refined sugar and flour.  I can never stress enough how unhealthy such a combination is.  It is more than just the empty calories you eat, because these calories are highly likely to stick onto your intestinal walls and feed the bad microbes and their burgeoning colonies.  A yucky thought, isn't it?

To avoid the tragic combination of refined sugar and all-purpose white flour, I have used buckwheat flour and very minimal brown sugar instead. 

Buckwheat flour
Despite what its name suggests, buckwheat is NOT a type of wheat at all, but in fact, a type of seed.  As such, buckwheat can be eaten by people who are gluten-intolerant.  Although buckwheat sounds foreign to many of us, it has been an integral part of many Asian diets.  For example, the popular Japanese soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour.   

Brown sugar    
Though brown sugar is a healthier alternative, it is still a processed, un-raw type of sugar.  Truly unprocessed, raw sugar is made up of larger and rougher granules, which people typically call Sucanat.  I have seen supermarkets like NTUC Finesse and Cold Storage selling Sucanat.  I would have much preferred using Sucanat to make my own waffles, but I was answering a sudden craving for something sweet and dense so I had no choice but to use brown sugar.

Ingredients

• Buckwheat flour
• Egg replacer (1 tbsp ground flaxseed meal to 3 tbsp water)
• Nut milk
• Very small amount of brown sugar (optional)
• Ground cinnamon (optional) 

Mix all the ingredients to form the batter of smooth and appropriately thick consistency.  How I estimated whether my batter was good enough was by dipping a fork in and using the dripping fork to draw a figure of eight on its surface.  If you don't have a waffle maker, you can always use the batter to make pancakes instead.

Zucchini noodles

This was my first attempt at creating noodles from zucchinis, and I must say that I was very pleased with the result.  Before my foray into raw veganism, I had never known the existence of a vegetable called zucchini.  The appearance of a zucchini is not unlike that of a large cucumber, and can be either yellow or green.  Its flesh is softer and more chewy than that of a cucumber, which makes it ideal for making vegetable noodles.  I used a hand mandoline to churn out strands reminiscent of vermicelli, and then lightly steam them so as to make them warm.  Serve with lightly sauteed vegetables for an Asian-flavoured dish.