Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Birthday Gourmet

Yesterday for Mummy's birthday I prepared a minimalist but filling raw gourmet feast. Preparation time, inclusive of all chopping, juicing and blending (with some short breaks and distractions in between - e.g. phone) was somewhere between 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
In wine glasses we had my favourite juice combo: chilled carrot and beet juice with a twist of celery.
I experimented by creating a paste, along the lines of raw hummus, but using sprouted mung beans instead of sprouted chick peas and amending somewhat by adding raisins.
I put generous dollops of the paste along with chopped almonds and extra raisins (for contrast) into strong, flexible cabbage leaves. Wrapped them like samosas, securing each edible ensemble with toothpicks. Fresh, crisp and fulfilling.
Dessert: frozen banana slices ground to an ice-creamy textured pulp, filling two halves of a sapodilla. Topped with one raisin each.
To complete my dessert masterpiece: a walnut piece and sprinkled cinnamon. Keep in freezer and serve frozen.

I think I'll name this piece Sapodilla Dawn.

Since I've been eating raw, a few of my friends have been urging me to create a cook book with quick and simple recipes so that they too can eat raw ... without having to spend hours in the kitchen (they have hectic lifestyles and/or 8 - 4 jobs). I think I may do that.

11 comments:

Andreamuse said...

You could make a business out of this, seriously! You are really, really good at being creative with these!

Elspeth said...

Interesting you should say that today. A friend of mine gave me some money this morning so I can make raw lunches for her. Kind of like my first 'order'.

Elizabeth said...

Sounds delicious.
I hope the feast was a success!

Guanaguanare said...

Word from the bird...
Great idea about the book of raw food recipes but shouldn't you be calling it a non-cook book instead of a cook book?
Bendiciones

Elspeth said...

Yes, I keep mistakenly referring to it as 'cooking' (habit).

Ann said...

Yes I can't wait for you to share your delicious recipes with us in a book , what a beautiful idea, and of course you must include those cool photos!

Often I don't know where to start with the raw food, and end up just doing basic smoothies and peanut butter sandwiches... But I'd love to feast my eyes and soul on your experiments in the kitchen.

By the way what is spirulina?

Elspeth said...

Feast your 'eyes and soul'. What a great thing! And so true.

Spirulina is: http://www.naturalways.com/spirul1.htm

Tresa said...

Mmmmm, YUM!!! Judging from all of your Raw posts and photos, It appears that you're quite the Raw Vegan Chef!

Now I'm a bit jealous... I can't hire you as my own personal lunch chef! Sad :(

;)

Hungrily,
T

Unknown said...

I will read from time to time for that.

Unknown said...

This link seemed pretty informative...

http://allnutri.com/spirulina.aspx

candaceameni said...

Elspeth I'm now re-reading this did you ever work on compiling a "manual" for your raw food creations. I'm not thinking of a complete raw food lifestyle, I know I lack the discipline but these are very interesting. Would make an impressive and from the looks of it delicious addition to a meal.