hurrah for cozy dinners at the dinner table!

when is the last time you ate at a table in your home? for paul and i, it was last night! after what seems like months! and we vow to do it way more often. but a big push to actually sit down for dinner is to make a dinner worth sitting down for (rather than a quick rice and veg that we sit on the couch with), which last night was roasted butternut squash, raw chili, ginger garlic coleslaw, edamame quinoa and kombucha (grapefruit sage is my absolute favourite!) with jodie and janna!

the butternut squash was inspired by a recipe i saw in alive magazine but as usual for me and recipes, i didn't quite follow it. what i did was bake the butternut squash and then blend it with about 2 tablespooons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of earth balance and 2 tablespoons of dijon and a palm-full of fresh sage and a pinch of sea salt and a small nub of ginger. then i baked it at 400 F for about 30 minutes and then i broiled it at a bit higher to brown a bit of the top because i hadn't added anything (like cheese, like the recipe had suggested). it was smooth like baby food and i liked having it mixed with the other dishes, like janna's yummy quinoa, for texture purposes. it was also nice for a "sweet" change from my garlic-heavy chili and slaw.
the chili is my ever-faithful matthew kenney one (his everyday raw book is worth buying just for that recipe, i swear!) and i had made a raw caesar-ish dressing earlier that day that we used like a sour cream on top (delicious! it was a blend of cashews and water and lemon juice and ACV and sage and dulse and tahini and olive oil and braggs) and the slaw was inspired heavily by ani phyo's chinese chickenless salad (page 161 of raw food essentials, another great book to have around). i did a blend of braggs and ACV and garlic and ginger and olive oil and tahini and maple syrup. paul told me today when he pulled out the leftovers that it really needed some nuts on top which i agreed and the original recipe had called for that.
having time off right now affords me the luxury to relax and take time to make food and i hope this experience influences my working days as well so that i get into the habit of coming home from work and sitting down at the table for dinner after making more inspiring meals with paul. ^_^

rawzania night!

on friday, sarah, emily and jen came over and we assembled a raw lasagna together! i guess i would call it an ingredient potluck! no overuse of hummus here! and wow... how fun to be all crowded in the kitchen assembling this thing! ^_^

we used ani phyo's italian rawzania (page 185 in ani's raw food kitchen) as reference, though didn't use olives. jen made the 'italian pizza cheeze' (page 161) with cashews, emily brought the zucchini and sarah brought tomatoes, onions, basil and garlic (and carrots and kale for later! ^_^) from her garden. THE BEST! i blended up a brazil nut/cumin/coriander/braggs/salt crunchy topping which was so awesome the last time i made lasagna with paul.

thank you, thursday night! (and kassie!)

not sure how i got so lucky, but on thursday night, i was invited over to kassie's where me and CL got to enjoy a raw meal she made!

it's super exciting to have a new "raw" friend with so much to discuss AND she lives super close! YAY!

also, we have the same 'cook'book (ani's raw food essentials) so i basically got to sample a whole bunch of recipes in one night! thanks, kassie!

 this is the "chinese chickenless salad" (page 161). love it! i got to take some home with me ^_^ and it was just as great the next day for lunch!

 ooh and then pizza! YAH! using the oregano pizza crust (page 214 - celery and flax? loved the texture) and cherry tomato marinara (page 240) and fresh basil leaves (my favourite!) and tomato slices and i think it was the basic cheeze (page 103) recipe on top - made of cashews maybe? i don't know if i have ever made my own raw pizza and i have to get on this! so fun!

 and we all were so full but look at these! desserts from organic lives! how could one resist? the strawberry cheezecake, chocolate ganache (aka the ridiculous) and the coconut cream pie (aka the OMG).

thanks again for a wonderful night! 

(i hope to make a cheezecake tomorrow that i can share with her! ^_^)

and it just keeps getting better...

i am still loving ani phyo's raw chili and so does my sister. she is still asking for it when she comes over for dinner! and it was awesome to have sarah over tonight too to try it. it is a total win!!!
plus i tried this cashew sour cream to go along with the raw tacos idea and it was great! i made way more than needed so there'd be leftovers and have had several people sample it now - it's the best sour cream ever!

rawsagna!

sunday night dinner! paul and i made zucchini lasagna (aka "italian rawzania") from ani phyo's ani's raw food kitchen - page 185.

it was my best cashew cheeze yet. the secret, as obvious as it is, is to only add water as needed. i tend to have more of a cream than a cheese. this was a great ricotta type texture. YAH! also, i processed almonds with oil and cumin and coriander (chili ground round topping style!) to layer on top (paul's idea) and this was AWESOME. plus it stayed crunchy days later.

this was yummy sunday night, but really it was best the next day and the day after! i really have to start making lasagnas more often. with 2 people at work in the kitchen, it is so easy and quick.

raw banana pancakes!

the other night, i made some brazil nut-banana pancake batter to dehydrate to be ready for morning breakfast. (p73 ani's raw food essentials). i put them in around 12:30am and had got up at 6:30 and flipped them and removed the teflex and we probably sat down to have them around 11?

blended blueberries and raspberries with a date and some filtered water to make a syrup and served up with coconut oil, nectarines and plums!

verdict? maple syrup would be fun for next time. i was stubborn because i made the fruit syrup. and 7 hours dehydrating would probably be enough. after what, 10 hours, they were kind of leathery. it'd be fun to have a softer, more doughy pancake. 

next time!

still fun to do a brunch-type thing.

p.s. organic lives added a ravioli to their menu today and i can't wait to try it! (i was debating bringing it home today but i think i want to wait for a time i can sit in there for dinner or something)