August Cooking Tool of the Month & Guest Recipe: Buffalo Cauliflower

August Cooking Tool of the Month – Dehydrator

This month we feature the dehydrator. What better tool to feature in the dead of summer? I was hoping by now that I would have purchased an Excalibur and would have delicious recipes to share with you. But alas it isn’t in the budget for a new gadget right now, so we will have some extraordinary guest recipes this month from some of my favorite people! 

First we have a recipe from my dear friend Sherene. She likes everything spicy. Sriracha is attached to her hip practically! If you like spicy food you are going to love this Buffalo Cauliflower! I bet you could make it in the stove on the lowest temperature if you don’t have a dehydrator. 

In the world of cameras, people are split typically between the Canon/Nikon line. In the world of dehydrators, there’s a split between Excalibur and Lequip. For me, the gold standard belongs to the Excalibur.

Every now and again, I’ve been known to go on beautiful cleanses that help me boost my skin’s radiance, help eliminate toxins from my body and just give me a natural energy boost. So every once in a while, my friends will hear me say…”Don’t ask me to go hit up the vegan pancake brunch, or go grab a yummy taco!! I’m raw for the month!” And while I never regret going raw for a few weeks, almost the SECOND that I decide I’m going to dig in and do it…my brain starts sending me cravings that I NEVER get on a typical basis.

The one thing that helps keep me on my raw path the most, is my Excalibur dehydrator. Essentially, a dehydrator, when used at low heat levels, (there’s debate that argues from temperatures varying from 105-118) sucks out the water from your food but leaves your enzymes intact. This wonderful machine keeps me from going stark raving mad when I want a sandwich. (I have a raw onion bread I make that will make you plutz!) Or, when I’m craving the flavors of my mock buffalo chickn’ wrap I make, I can create a sauce that has the same flavor profile and then marinate eggplant, portobello mushrooms, or cauliflower, and satiate my craving. And don’t get me started on the AMAZING desserts I can make.

In my pantry, I always have large mason jars FULL of nuts and seeds. And regardless of what I’m whipping up (raw nut milks, raw cheeses, ect.) I ALWAYS soak and dehydrate my nuts. This sometimes, seemingly time consuming process, really makes the digestion of nuts and seeds so much easier on your belly! A few of the benefits of soaking and dehydrating nuts:

1. To remove or reduce phytic acid.

2. To remove or reduce tannins.

3. To neutralize the enzyme inhibitors.

4. To encourage the production of beneficial enzymes.

5. To increase the amounts of vitamins, especially B vitamins.

6. To break down gluten and make digestion easier.

7. To make the proteins more readily available for absorption.

I love my dehydrator and it’s such a great kitchen tool that keeps helps you on your path to whole health.

Sherene’s Raw Hot Buffalo Sauce

2 Tomatoes (I use 1 kumato tomato, and one vine ripened one)

5 Sundried tomatoes in olive oil

1/2 cup red onion

1/4 cup of almond flour (you can make your own easily, or Whole Foods does have some)

1/4 cup raw coconut vinegar

1-2 cloves garlic

1 or 2 habanero peppers (to taste according to your spice level)

1 jalapeno

1 teaspoon himalayan salt

1 teaspoon smoked salt (or 2 teaspoon whatever salt you have)

Black pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon Caribbean rub seasoning (optional)

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)

Preparation

Place all the ingredients in the high speed blender and mix it up. Cut up a head of cauliflower. Pour enough sauce to coat the cauliflower. Place in dehydrator for about 2-3 hours at 102 degrees.

Tell us, what is your favorite thing to make with a dehydrator?

Sherene Abraham works full time as a photographer. Her biggest passions in life are activism, photography and cooking. She’s captured weddings, engagements, births, families, food, fashion as well as notable musicians such as Jay Z. She’s been shooting for 15 years, and cooking for even longer.