Well last night I had such a wonderful and unique experience. One of my old instructors and I have become good friends and last night she had a dinner party that I was invited to. Raw Food - 100% vegan.
So already I was skeptical but curious. Nothing eaten touched the stove. The dinner party was in 2 parts. A few of us arrived early for the instructional part and the other half came later just for dinner.
We started with miso soup that had large diced advocado in it. This was really delicous. There was also a crudite with all the standard veggies, but also jicama, snow peas and about 4 types of mushrooms. It was served with a zhoug sauce which is cilantro based and a bit like a pesto. It gets its bite from habanero. It was also served with a savoy dressing that stunned me on it's flavor. It was buttery, tangy and sweet. I was already thinking of so many other things I could use it on.
Savoy Dream Dressing
1/4 C raw Cashews (soaked for 30 minutes)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon raw agave Nectar
1/2 Teaspoon sea Salt
Blend in high-powered blender till creamy.
Then we had "pasta" with basil pesto. The pasta was seaweed, which was soaked in water to make it tender and then again in lemon juice. I was really surprised, plesantly no less. I'm trying to find the name of the seaweed. The 'noodles' were clear and it was slightly curly.
Next was dessert. OMG hold on to your to hats kids! Chocolate Mint Meringue Pie. So the crust was a combination of nuts, dates and a dash of cinnamon all done in the food processor. This was pressed into a spring form pan (about 8" pan) The chocolate filling was (you may want to sit down) advocados, raw chocolate powder, mint extract, agave nectar, coconut oil all processed in a blender till smooth. This was put on top of the crust and chilled. Then for the meringue. He used the meat of 3-4 thai coconuts. The flesh is really soft like thick yogurt. A bit of vanilla and some more agave. This went on top of the chocolate mixture and chilled some more. I was blown away at the flavor!
I must say that while Derek and I are now doing 2 vegetarian meals a week now I'm thinking about making one of them a raw meal.
There are side affects folks! For one who cooks her food, eats meat and carbs...the sudden introduction to a full meal of raw veggies and nuts is, well let's say musical and a tad painful So it would take some getting used to
So already I was skeptical but curious. Nothing eaten touched the stove. The dinner party was in 2 parts. A few of us arrived early for the instructional part and the other half came later just for dinner.
We started with miso soup that had large diced advocado in it. This was really delicous. There was also a crudite with all the standard veggies, but also jicama, snow peas and about 4 types of mushrooms. It was served with a zhoug sauce which is cilantro based and a bit like a pesto. It gets its bite from habanero. It was also served with a savoy dressing that stunned me on it's flavor. It was buttery, tangy and sweet. I was already thinking of so many other things I could use it on.
Savoy Dream Dressing
1/4 C raw Cashews (soaked for 30 minutes)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon raw agave Nectar
1/2 Teaspoon sea Salt
Blend in high-powered blender till creamy.
Then we had "pasta" with basil pesto. The pasta was seaweed, which was soaked in water to make it tender and then again in lemon juice. I was really surprised, plesantly no less. I'm trying to find the name of the seaweed. The 'noodles' were clear and it was slightly curly.
Next was dessert. OMG hold on to your to hats kids! Chocolate Mint Meringue Pie. So the crust was a combination of nuts, dates and a dash of cinnamon all done in the food processor. This was pressed into a spring form pan (about 8" pan) The chocolate filling was (you may want to sit down) advocados, raw chocolate powder, mint extract, agave nectar, coconut oil all processed in a blender till smooth. This was put on top of the crust and chilled. Then for the meringue. He used the meat of 3-4 thai coconuts. The flesh is really soft like thick yogurt. A bit of vanilla and some more agave. This went on top of the chocolate mixture and chilled some more. I was blown away at the flavor!
I must say that while Derek and I are now doing 2 vegetarian meals a week now I'm thinking about making one of them a raw meal.
There are side affects folks! For one who cooks her food, eats meat and carbs...the sudden introduction to a full meal of raw veggies and nuts is, well let's say musical and a tad painful So it would take some getting used to