Sunday, July 26, 2015

A Berry Raw Cake ;)

For the finale of an Indian Feast I did a few nights ago, I made this raw cake, in honour of birthday girl, and dear friend,  Kat Witgruber.

What you ought to know about Kat, is that she's just as adventurous in the kitchen, though her passion & specialty lies in baking- hence there was just no way I was baking anything - nothing compares to Kat's baked goods!! 

As for this cake, I kid you not, it is so very very simple. 

The ingredients are simple, and it doesn't take so long to prepare. I'm all about simplicity these days, without compromising on taste. 


I got the idea for this from this recipe, by someone I can only find as 'Megadaisy1's- thank you whoever you are!
I adapted it by substituting almonds for the macadamia nuts, and maple syrup instead of dates in the crust.     There's a fair bit of room to play, so go for it, do your own thing, using the following as a rough guideline. 


CRUST (& Topping)
2 cups Almonds 
1/2 cup Shredded Coconut 
1/4 cup Maple syrup 
Pinch of salt 

FILLING:
2x Avocado 
4x Banana (very ripe) 
Cacao powder

TOPPING:
Your choice of fruits & remainder of crust ingredients (if you wish). 

Put all the crust ingredients into a food processor, and blend to from a coarse mixture. 

Blend avocados, bananas and cacao powder. Fill in the crust. 

Add berries and voila- all done!

It did turn out to be quite a hit. So much so, that it's fast becoming part of my Indian Feast repertoire. 🌞 

Let me know if you try it, and in the mean time, I'm heading back into the kitchen to prep for tomorrow's lunch time feast, with a few angels. ;) 



Sunday, July 5, 2015

Kohlrab & Courgette 'Pasta.'



Kohlrab & Courgette 'Pasta'
I bumped into a friend the other, moments before I was being interviewed (by 9muz), about my first published fairytale, "Piyar & Soleil."

We had just enough time for him to tell me how amazing my food looked on instagram, and for me to ask him if he'd tried to make any of it yet.

His answer resonated with what I'd been feeling of late with my food, I've really got to simply.

So, this is for my dear friend, and anyone else looking to make a beautiful looking and tasting meal, in very little time.

As an artist, I still do pay attention to detail, rather than time, so by all means, you don't have to shave the kohlrab, nor cut the courgette so finely, but believe me, it'll impress. ;)

Fettucine Aglio Olio & Peperoncino
That was about the longest part of this meal, which was still complete in about half an hour. (You could cut that time in half).



Before I carry on, I've got to admit, that I did imitate the 'Fettuccine Aglio Olio& Peperoncino, ' that I made for my husband the other day, (the traditional way). As I was in the first day of my cleanse, I didn't taste it all, but got the gist of it today. :).








Moving right along-

What I used for this meal (All very loose estimates).

2x kohlrab
1x large courgette
1/2 red pepper, cut into small pieces
6 garlic cloves
6 leaves of fresh sage
Parsely flakes
Salt & Peppercorns (crushed to your liking)
Tbsp butter
3Tbsp olive oil
Juice from half a lemon

I peeled and shaved the kohlrab, sliced the courgette into noodle shape/size, lightly boiled them (separately), in a little bit of water, on low heat, with the lid on the pan. (Kohlrab was still a little crunchy, and courgette, 'al dente.' :)

That done, on low heat again, I melted the butter in olive oil, added salt, pepper, chopped sage, parsley flakes, and let it all fuse together for a few minutes, then tossing in the veggies.

I added the raw red pepper bits, right at the very end, just before serving, along with a squeeze from the lemon.

A hit, as usual. :)

If you try it, let me know.