It happened again!

Everything started jumping in the dish again. It must be a Sunday afternoon thing?? It's a good thing. Just look how it all united and came together:

It was quite yummy.  I got to use several of my favorite gadgets too.  So here is how it all happen. 

First there was the line-up on the chopping block.

Then the zuchinni and butternut squash begged for the spiralizer, (they must have seen this video on YouTube).

That is one of my most favorite tools. I used the ribbon tool to get thin slices of the butternut squash and then cut them into smaller chunks. I then salted the squash and set it aside for 10 minutes or so to "wilt" and then rinsed it. This is the first time I have used butternut squash raw, and I must say it won't be the last time.  I really liked it.

Ok, so next the garlic and onion jumped into the, hmmmm . . .  I call it the pull string chopper but I don't know exactly what it is called . . . a chopper I guess.  Four pulls of the string and it is all chopped.  I love it!

The cucumber, orange bell pepper and the tomato went under the knife with the avocado, and joined the onion, garlic, corn, zucchini and butternut squash in the bowl. From the refrigerator I heard the purple hulled peas begging to join the gang, so what could I do but agree. So much color. 

I think the real reason for all these veggies deciding to jump into the dish is that they wanted to wear the wonderful dressing that appeared in our refrigerator. It was unfortunately (fortunate for me though!!) left behind by Dianna at our raw pot luck. It is an amazing dressing that she made full of wonderful ingredients from Alissa Cohen's book, Living on Live Foods.

It was a match made in heaven!  

Eating in the Moment

Today was a busy day. It's unreal how hard I can work on a vacation day! But I definitely had a vacation day lunch!

This is a piece of Chocolate Ganache Tart that we brought home from Matthew Kenney's OKC yesterday, after having an incredible dinner. It made for a fabulous lunch!

And then along came dinner.  Sometimes I just love how it can all comes together in the dish. No recipe. Just grab a bit of this and a bit of that and holy cow (hmmmm, funny phrase, holy cow, for a vegan to pick!), it comes out great!

This has as much taste as it does color! Here's what jumped into the dish:

• a wonderful combination of greens from Natural Farms coop
• a handful of raw hulled purple beans (I think that is what they were called) from the farmer's market this morning
• chopped tomatoes and red onions, also from the farmer's market today
• chopped cucumber
• fresh corn off the cob
• and some really ripe avocado

For the dressing I took some of the avocado and mashed it, added some chopped cilantro, a squeeze of  lemon, a splash of olive oil and apple cider vinegar, and then a dash of cumin and Himalayan salt. 

It came out so good I figured I better blog it so I don't forget what I made!!

I do love it when food just jumps into a dish!

How to dress a date

I've heard the expression, "Use it or lose it," so I decided I better use what I learned on Friday night.

Here are the steps to dress your date:

First remove the pit from the date, and fill it with nut butter.

Make the Ganache. One of the best tips I learned at class was to sift the cacao.

Now dip half of the date in the Ganache.

Roll in coconut.

And there you have it . . .

. . . beautifully dressed dates!

Raw Dinner and a Movie

What a delightful night.

This was the first, of what I hope of many, Raw Dinner and a Movie nights by Raw Intentions. Denise's passion to share her knowledge, culinary skills, and her desire to help us educate ourselves in the area of nutrition and health is just remarkable.

She shed her chef jacket and greeted us at the door in such a lovely fashion.

The table was plated with our salad and I happily was seated with my beautiful friends, Katherine Rose and Megan Demarais, along with some new table mates. The salad was literally from the farmer to the market to our plates today! Local, fresh and organic. What more could you ask for?

And then came the main course. The best raw lasagna I have ever eaten. Sorry Matthew, Denise's is better than yours. And that onion bread, wow!

Can you tell I liked it!

The movie: The Gerson Miracle.

"In this documentary from filmmaker Steve Kroschel, noted MD Max Gerson reveals a nutritional healing treatment that he claims can restore the body's ability to fight off cancer and numerous other degenerative diseases. The testimonies of a few "incurable" cancer patients highlight why this long-term cure could be much more effective than many of Dr. Gerson's critics may care to admit. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi"

Have you ever heard the word cancer? Do you know someone who has cancer? Do you know that the prediction is one in two people will have cancer. 

If you answer yes to just one of these questions, WATCH THIS FILM! PLEASE.

After the film was over there was some brief discussion. Knowledge is so powerful.

The night ended with dessert. With oh-my-gosh-I-can't-believe-I-am-eating-cheesecake-that-is-this-good dessert!  To use one of Denise's lines, "it is to live for!"

The next picture says it all!

A Date Anyone?

I love dates.
I really love dates.
Lots of dates, lots of ways, and often.

Oh, you are thinking, "and she is a married woman." Well, yes, and I love dates with my husband. But I am talking about the kind of dates that I eat.

As a child, I remember holidays with dates stuffed with walnuts then rolled in powdered sugar, and my Aunt Leona's date bars. Now living a pretty raw food life, dates are a routine in my diet.  From grabbing one for a snack, to using them as a sweetener in recipes, and to making wonderful desserts with them. They are the fix for a sweet tooth.

Tonight I went to a raw food class at Whole Foods taught by Denise of Raw Intentions. And there they were, naked plump dates.  And then she dressed them!

If only you could taste these little beauties. Oh my gosh!

First she took the seeds out and then filled each date with nut butter.

Then each filled date was dipped in chocolate Ganache and rolled in coconut.

Devine!!!

I will be making these little delights, often!

We also had a strawberry sorbet, and cacao ganache bites.

My mouth was so happy. 

Glorious Granola

I made my first granola and it came out great! Next time I will definitely make a bigger batch. It really took a long time in the scheme of things.

First the buckwheat groats had to be soaked, then rinsed, again and again.  Then at last they sprouted. Look at those cute little tails!

Now for all the additives . . .

I added diced apple, raisins, maple syrup, coconut nectar, and a pinch of salt . . .

mixed it all together, and then added cinnamon and combined it well.

Then into the dehydrator it went.

And it stayed for about a day.

The tray wasn't as full when it came out as it was when it went in. I did a number of taste tests while it was dehydrating.  The smell was amazing and I just couldn't resist regular tastings!

This is a do-over recipe.  It tastes sooooo good!

It is a great snack, and I can't wait to have it with almond milk and fresh fruit.

Glorious granola. Can granola be glorious? Why not!

Sinful!

I spent lots of hours in the kitchen this weekend.  I LOVED it! It is a very therapeutic thing for me to do. I continue to be amazed at how good I feel from eating so much raw food, as well as how good it tastes. I never turn down the opportunity to try a new recipe when I have time.

One of the new recipes I recently made is currently my husband's favorite: Mint Chocolate Ice Cream.  We do love to please our men, so of course I make it for him, and just to be a good sport, I "have" to eat it too.

This truly is an amazing dessert.  The ice cream is sitting on top of a brownie, and the raspberries add a nice contrast of flavor and make it even prettier with the splash of color. The brownies are so easy to make and they are stored in the freezer with the ice cream. And yes, the brownies and ice cream are both raw. No sugar, no dairy, nothing processed. All whole plant based foods!

We had this for dessert last night, and then again tonight. 

Yikes, we could have this every night!

It is just so good, it must be sinful!!!!