Onion Rings with Chipotle Mayonnaise

Just like the ones you're used to...they're crunchy but soft, they're oily but in a satisfying way. Here is one that's not quite quick and not so easy but may be well worth your time and effort! I guess there are two cases when you would "bother to" make these: one is if you really want some onion rings and two, if you have guests coming, especially those that haven't been introduced to raw food, this would be a great finger food or something that would balance out a salad...besides getting them hooked ; ) on raw foods, right? I must say though, making these onion rings will easily result in a huge mess and they're the most delicate things and are so fragile to touch once they're done....but I'll share my trick with you. I've been "suffering" from OCD ever since I can remember and when I was little I was always the one who breaded pieces of chicken - yes, chicken! :(  - or mushrooms or whatever my beloved grandma was getting ready to fry for a Sunday dinner. Here's what I always did and I still remembered to do today: use both hands for breading the rings but make sure to never mix them! Keep one hand for working with the dry mix and one with the wet mix. Also, every time before you transfer a ring from one batter to the other tap it against either the next ring in that bowl or the side of the bowl. That's all! You will not make a huge mess and your mixes will not mix and become something gooey. This makes it possible to coat the onion rings without your fingers ending up three times as big because of batter accumulating on them. So roll up your sleeves and make the batters:

Onion Rings
Ingredients:
(Serves 2-3 for a snack)
1 onion (as round as you can find)

Dry batter:
1 1/2 cup flax golden seeds (you might need to make more as it gets harder to coat the rings when     there's hardly any left)
paprika
salt
Grind the flax seeds as fine as possible and mix all the ingredients.

Wet batter:
olive oil
water
salt
Mix oil and water in about a 2 to 1 ratio and add some salt.

Directions:
1. Slice the onion as thick as you wish (mine are about 1/3-1/2 in or ~1 cm)  and gently separate the slices into rings.
2. Dip each ring into the dry batter first. They will pick up a bit of the flax seed mixture. Then dip them into the wet batter and finish with the dry.
3. Place them on a screen and dehydrate them at 115ºF (46º) until they're crisp. This will take several hours so if you'd like them for a late lunch you could do it early in the morning. If you need them earlier you can make them in the evening and dehydrate them overnight. They can sit on the trays for a day or two without spoiling. I kept mine there for two days and went back to snack on them whenever I felt like it.

I think I would prefer onion rings with some kind of tomato based dip such as ketchup but since it's not tomato season, I made this:

Chipotle Mayo
(Makes about a half a cup)
1/4 cup cashews
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 clove of garlic
juice of 2 lemons (or 1 lemon and some water)
splash of nama shoyu (or salt)
splash of umeboshi  vinegar
chipotle powder 

Blend all the ingredients until you get a very smooth consistency. Taste test it and adjust flavoring if necessary. Serve with the onion rings.

Onions have tons of health benefits.  They are a strong anti-inflammatory and can boost your immune system, help get rid of mucus and prevent colds (perfect timing for the winter months when at any given time there's someone with a cold around us, right?). They're also a good anti-coagulant so if you or someone you know were warned to watch your/their cholesterol levels then onions should be on the menu often... Enjoy!