Today Denis and I celebrated Thanksgiving and our 3 year anniversary of being 100% raw vegans. I didn’t want to put a big production as I usually do every year so we kept it to just the two of us today.
Last week, I got asked: “What are you guys doing for Thanksgiving?” and it’s been so overwhelming for us in the last month that I realized I was not planning ahead for this weekend. I answered back: “I’m just trying to get thru today!” Which was true! I’ve been so busy with my school and work and life that I’ve been just taking it one day at the time.
Oh and no, I’m still not ready to share what I’m going to school for… in case you were hoping I spilled the beans here 🙂 .
So I woke up this morning and I asked Denis what he wanted to eat. His response was: “Nori rolls!” I smiled and got my phone to show him pictures of last year’s Thanksgiving food and even what I made for Christmas last year to see if it would inspire him to ask for something other than nori rolls. But he still wanted nori rolls and instead he said: “If you feel inspired to make something, go ahead.” And I did.
After all, I was grateful that I didn’t have to stress about having people over, clean the house, and roll out the “big carpet” as I always do for my guests. I LOVE having people over, but with all the weekends I’ve had to give up, I haven’t been able to rest. So these four days were strictly for me and Denis to rest, spend time alone, and beach! And that’s what we did!
Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Three Year Anniversary to Denis and I! Here is what I wind up “putting together” for today’s holiday:
Avocado Steaks with Sun-dried tomato gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and salad with hearts of palm and olives on the side and pumpkin pie for dessert.
Denis is supper addicted to chocolate and it has been a real challenge for him to stop eating chocolate (raw cacao). But once in awhile we both breakdown and make these brownies. I used to call them Midnight brownies because they would keep me up all night. But Denis prepares them and has perfected the recipe as time goes by and so now I call them Chubby Hubby Raw Brownies.
1 cup of almond flour
1 cup of chocolate powder
1/4 cup flax seeds meal* (powder)
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup agave
2 Tbs. of Maca
1 Tbs. of Mesquite
Pinch of Salt
1 Tsp. of ashwagandha
1 Tsp. of shilajit
1 Tbs. of vanilla powder
Mix in food processor until you get the brownie consistency. Mold into squares or any shape wanted. Eat next to a love one and watch TV all night.
Last Friday we hosted our first Raw Party! Not a potluck or meetup… a party!
After the Raw Spirit Fest 2008 in Sedona, I realized that what we were missing in our lifestyle was entertaining our friends.
When Denis and I fist moved in together, we used to have parties every weekend. I would cook all sorts of dishes (beef kabobs Russian style was a favorite), and friends would bring beer and such. It was lots of fun to entertain our friends and enjoy their company. As we got older, the parties stopped. Not because we didn’t want to or because our eating habits changed. Life just got busier with all of us graduating, moving away, working full time, getting married, and having kids.
Last year, Anthony Anderson of Rawmodel.com wrote a touching blog post that has stayed with me everyday. It was about friendships and judging others that are different from us. People believe we judge them by what they eat because we eat raw vegan food. We didn’t have any friends that were raw vegans when we started and all of my friends were not even vegetarian. I feel that most friends thought that any socializing that revolved around food was out of the question. Even now most of my friends think that we can only eat in “special†restaurants.
In fact, a few weeks ago one of my coworkers confessed that for months she thought that she could not go out to eat with one of her friends who has been a raw foodist for over 15 years. I was astounded! And I don’t know why because after years of being vegetarian/vegan/raw foodist I still get emails from friends and family members asking me what we can do that doesn’t involve food. Or if there is a party (and recently a wedding), they always call and ask what can they make us so that we can eat. We love all our friends and food is not going to change that.
I also noticed that people feel like they cannot eat their regular food in front of us. I have a “don’t ask don’t tell policy.†I don’t ask or tell anyone anything about their food or my food because everyone is different and only one knows what is good for oneself. We are all different and being a raw vegan is good for me but I won’t tell anyone is good for them because I strongly believe that everyone is entitled to live their life the way they want to. I won’t judge anyone for what they eat. My brother sits in front on me and eats a steak and I don’t judge him.
So I wanted to have a party to entertain all my friends… beef eaters and fruit eaters, babies and adults, single and married, black, brown, white, yellow, small and big, they all were welcomed! It was not about the food and it was not about converting anyone, simply to have a good time with great people. And that’s what we did! The energy was amazing and the live music was awesome! Kids were running around and adults were enjoying a night of much needed fun. Drinks and food were provided and many friends brought other delicious dishes to share. There was no plan agenda but to have fun all night and get to know each other and enjoy the company of everyone.
Thanks to all my friends that came out to our first raw party!
10 Zucchinis sliced in a mandolin slicer (for two people use 2 or 3 zucchinis and reduce the marinade)
1 cup of your favorite marinade (see recipe below)
2 cups of your favorite pate (see recipe below)
Slice zucchini using a Mandolin slicer and marinate the night before (I place them into a lasagna pan as if they were lasagna noodles and pour the marinade over each layer). When ready, prepare the pate to fill the rolls. Line up the zucchini slices and put a spoon of pate at on the slice and roll the zucchini and put in the dehydrator sheet. Repeat process to use all slices and pate. Dehydrate for 2-3 hours.
Marinade I recommend
Namashoyu
Braggs
Olive Oil
Italian Herbs
Pate I used for party
1 cup of hemp seeds
¼ cup of pine nuts
½ sun flower seeds
Olive oil
Salt to taste
2 Tbs. water
Italian herbs to taste
Crackers and Pate
White Crackers
1 cup sunflower seeds soaked for 1 hour
½ cup hemp seeds soaked for 1 hour
¼ sesame seeds soaked for 1 hour
¼ pumpkin seeds soaked for 1 hour
1 cup ground yellow flax seeds (I used yellow to make them light)
½ shredded zucchini
Any seasoning to taste (I often alternate between Italian herbs or Mexican Seasoning)
About 1 cup water
1 Tbs. salt
I soak all the seeds in the same container and after 1 or 2 hours I drain them and rinse them again with ionized water. I them put them in the food processor and grind. Put the grind mixed seeds in a bowl and add the flax powder and seasonings as well as salt. Mix well and then add the shredded zucchini. I add as much water as I want and continue to mix until I have the desired consistency and that way the crackers won’t have to dehydrate for a very long time. After mixing and making a “doughâ€, press them flat onto a teflex sheet and dehydrate for approximately 4 to 8 hours. Serve with any pate, salsa, or guacamole.
1 broccoli cut in mini florets same size as the other vegetables
1 cup of diced tomatoes
1 yellow zucchini diced small
1 cup peas
1 Tbs. lemon juice
2 Tbs. olive oil
Curry powder to taste (I use about 2 Tbs. of curry)
A pinch of garam masala
A pinch of cumin
Salt to taste
Curry Sauce (see recipe below)
Mixed all the ingredients in a bowl and let the marinade mix well. Transfer to a teflex sheet and dehydrate for 1 to 2 hours.
Curry Sauce
1 red pepper
1 cup of sundried tomatoes soaked for about 2 hours
Garlic to taste (I use about 2 cloves or more)
1 Tbs. lemon juice
Ginger to taste (I use about an inch cube)
½ cup of cilantro
Curry powder to taste
1 Tbs. Coconut oil
Salt to taste
*To make it spicy I add about 1 red or green jalapeño
Blend all the ingredients in the blender until smooth (you may want to add a little bit of water or oil to make it more liquid). Bring the vegetables out from the dehydrator and put in a glass container and add the curry sauce. Mix well and return to dehydrator for another hour or so.
The original recipe is from Get Fresh Magazine by Russell James
Salad & Raw Nut Tofu
I made a big salad and one of our friends brought another salad which everyone loved! I often use lettuce to replace rice and serve with any dish.
Raw Nut Tofu
1 cup Irish moss paste
¼ cup water
½ lemon juice
2 cups of Cashews soaked for 2 hours
1 Tbs. of unpasteurized light miso
Salt to taste
Blend in high power blender until smooth. Use a plastic wrapped container to pour the mix. Refrigerate for a few hours and serve. Another variation on this is to actually marinade the tofu in the kind of sauce you want until it soaks the sauce. I put the marinade in the blender from the beginning and refrigerate longer.
The original recipe is from Get Fresh Magazine by Russell James
Drinks
Ice Tea & Watermelon Juice
Ionized Water
Desserts
Chocolate Pudding
1 Avocado
¼ cup raw cacao
2 Tbs. maca powder
¼ cup raw agave
1 Tsp. of Mesquite powder
Salt to taste
Put all the ingredients in the food processor and blend until smooth. Set in refrigerator until ready to serve.
