Sweet and Sour

Isn't that lime lovely?

Looks so incredibly REFRESHING -

doesn't it?

I decided we needed a break from the choco-caramel desserts we've been enjoying.

So yesterday I decided to experiment.

Remember I said I was excited because I was finally 'getting it'?

How to combine the ingredients better?

I got brave, I decided to venture out on my own. That can be scary, but in this case it was JUST what I needed!

I made a little 'Key Lime Tart' - all on my own!!

The key lime part is a mixture of:

• soaked cashews
• water
• fresh lime juice
• lime zest
• agave
• chia seeds

I added the chia seeds for thickness. I didn't want to use coconut oil.

I find that a LOT of raw recipes use coconut oil, but it just seems like a lot of added fat so I thought maybe I could use chia to help thicken this as chia has GREAT gelling properties.

IT WORKED!

The crust is simply walnuts, sunflower seeds, medjool dates, and a pinch of salt. I wanted something a little plain so as not to overwhelm the lime.

They are garnished with fresh cut lime slices in different shapes/poses.

The flavor of the lime 'mousse' is good but could have been a little 'limeier' so next time I will omit the water and JUST use lime juice.

I also decided to pop these in the freezer prior to eating. I wondered if that would make it more like a frozen keylime pie (one of my FAVORITES!)

Again, it worked!

The frozen version had a VERY creamy lovely luscious texture.

The only downside is that freezing it detracted a bit from the lime flavor. That was a bit of a surprise.

I have a fair amount of the lime mousse left over and will enjoy that tonight fresh from the fridge.

For dinner last night I had another batch of the 'ground meat' sort of thing that I showed a few days back.

This time I also made a little relish of jicama, sweet red pepper, onion, chopped cranberries, and broccoli.

I made a simple cranberry vinaigrette and let it marinade for an hour or so, then assembled with lettuce as the bed, my meaty mixture, then topped with the relish.

I enjoyed fresh sliced mango on the side.

I will be happily having leftovers tonight!

Janice

Where am I?

I guess the honeymoon phase is over.....the original 'high' of raw has subsided. You know - that initial period when you've experienced such a vast change in how you feel that you are just on cloud 9?

I think I'm entering a place where that has worn off and I'm now getting into the nitty-gritty of figuring out how to make this work day to day.

And..........................................

I'm excited that I feel as if I am finally gaining a workable knowledge of 'un-cooking'.

By following some of the recipes in the books that I checked out of the library recently, I am developing an idea of how to combine ingredients to get the results I want.

I am making less 'throw-away' meals and more good food which is nice because many of these ingredients aren't cheap.

It upsets me to dump out a bowl of raw organic ingredients that cost damn near an arm and a leg -- however, if I make something that is edible, in the long run I don't think my overall grocery bill is that much different because the food is more substantial. It sticks with me. . . and its 'nutritionally dense'. A little goes a long way.

Challenges that remain:

I still need to figure out portion and longevity.

I'm basically un-cooking for one.

Moi. Myself.

It can be hard to make a small enough amount and most of my kitchen tools would like a certain amount placed in them to run efficiently - especially if I want the blades to connect with the ingredients!

There is also a bit of planning involved. While the dishes themselves don't take that long to make, there is some prep work that often needs to be done. Soaking is one of those prep things. Oat groats need to be soaked, as well as nuts. I also like to soak my gojis and then there is sprouting! I haven't yet gotten really efficient in soaking and then planning meals several days in advance. If I soak on Monday I'll use it to make something on Tuesday or Wednesday - that might last me two days....so then I need to soak again on Wednesday at the latest....

My head is spinning.

Its just different from my usual habit of walking in the door from work, opening fridge and freezer, noting what is available and throwing together a fabulous meal in under 45 minutes.

I SO LOVE TO COOK. (and I still cook for my family)

But now I am starting to love uncooking - I'm not all that good at it yet - but I am finding my creative voice in it which is REALLY nice for me.

I did make a meal this week that I really enjoyed.

I combined raw walnuts, medjool dates, mushrooms, onion, sweet red pepper, garlic, nama shoyu, and I think some flour that I ground myself (either flax or almond).

The ingredients were left coarse - pulsed in the little mini-processor - not pureed.

It ended up making a mixture that resembled ground beef -- and it tasted really good.

The mixture was placed on lettuce leaves to which I added some shredded carrot and jicama. The jicama had been marinated for a few minutes in nama shoyu and chili oil. (dont' they look like french fires??)

I did sprinkle a tiny bit of feta cheese on them as well. Rolled them up and dug in!

I need to try one of the recipes I have for raw cheeze. Then I can take off the feta and the dish will really be raw!

So, yes, I am finally starting to get excited about making my food again. Cooking was (is) something I get so much enjoyment from and I was sort of missing - even moreso I suppose when the kitchen was torn out and being renovated.

Where are you in your journey?