Raw Potluck II

We were graced with another sunset evening on the bay for the April Raw-some Potluck held at Art Space in Bay City, Oregon. 27 folks were delighted to walk through the door and add their dish to the beautiful serving table.

Here's a recap - I have to warn you,though, that this visual feast may cause drooling...

Savory Veggie Curry and toppings, Hippocrates Raw Kraut salad, a variety of crackers/flatbreads with nut cheese spread...

tiny cups of rich Chocolate "moose" with cashew cream and berry garnish...

"I AM PERFECT Pecan Pie"...

Spring onion sunflower seed cheese stuffed Mushroom Caps Carnival...

Jicama Mash (with avocados and garlic - wipe that drool off your chin, please)...

Colorbox Kale and Cabbage salad...

Atarashi Maki Rolls with Ume Ponzu dipping sauce...

Jicama Mango with dusted with chipotle powder...

Sassy green salad... which was next to a tingly fresh Cabbage slaw dressed with lime/honey...

Berry salad...

Winter fruit salad...

crackers and flatbreads fresh from the dehydrator, with nut schmear-kase (cheese!)...

crowd-pleasing Falafel...

and a few sides I didnt' get photos of. A feast, indeed! Everyone brought their recipe, so we could spread the wealth.

The doorprize calander from Delicious Magazine - the winner will be bringing the surprise doorprize for the next potluck!

Visiting before and after the meal is a favorite actitity. Sharing ideas, experiences, storys, resources, other connections - we're a family, for sure! Getting everyone seated for the blessing is always a challenge, too much to talk about...

But once that line starts around the table, no time is wasted in picking and choosing palate-pleasers. The intentness and smiles tell the story...

One thing I did notice...the plates people are bringing are getting larger :)

It's so encouraging to see our youngsters come with their family. And they clean their plates right up!

Good conversation is the final spice to outstanding raw dishes. Don't you wish you were there?!

We asked Linda to bring her spiralizer to show us how she had made a colorful salad for the previous potluck. A really fun demonstration, everyone who wanted to take a turn got to see first hand how the gadget worked. World Cuisine, at Amazon for less than $30! Paderna was the brand name.

The Coast Raw-view Newsletter featured the potluck. Next Raw-some Potluck: May 22.

Come on over and join the feast and fun!

Even a GUY can do it...

It's always fun to play with new toys. Linda brought her spiralizer to demonstrate at the April Raw-some Potluck.

Braden is noting the technique. C'mon, Clarence, don't let the little guy show you up!

Nothin' to it!

Even baby girls can do it! Go, Celeste, go!

The zuchinni quickly succumbed to being veggie spaghetti. But we were dubious that the chunky sweet potato would be as easy. Sliced like butter! Sweet tasty spirals, comin' right up!

"Yeah, but how does it DO it??"

Next time, there will be sauces on hand to dress up the veggie 'ghetti.

Makes nifty garnishes, too. More fun in the raw kitchen!

World Peace, one vegetable at a time

A short time ago, I fell into a stew. I stewed about why I was slowly gaining weight, after a long struggle to discard the danged baggage. I stewed about the time I was NOT getting to research and read the plethora of raw food info wafting about the ethernet. I stewed about not getting out to walk as much as I needed to (5,000 steps USED to be an average, not a dream...sigh). I stewed about the chilly soil causing my little seeds to shiver and huddle. I stewed.


Then - I found STEW. Raw stew, no less. Really truely raw and rambunctious stew, stew that brought clarity, satisfied my longings, solved problems (I think even world peace is on the list of benefits), and SAVED TIME. Now how sweet is THAT!!

Savory Veggie Stew. SVS. Closely related to the previous Curry post. In fact, the precursor to the curry. I bow to Roger Haeske (get your very own copy of his ebook at http://savorystews.rogerhaeske.com/ ) Here's a fast version:

In blender: 3-4 large plum tomatoes, quartered

1-2 stalks celery, chunked

Blend on low, tamp down as needed (use a celery stalk if you don't have a Vitamix and tamper), increasing speed just to liquify.

Blend in: 2 scallions, quartered

fresh herbs of choice, i.e. parsley, basil, dill, etc.

tiny bit of fresh ginger or hot pepper if you like some zip

dulse or kelp - you need those micro nutrients, and you'll never taste the seaweed...

* about 2 tsp. agave or honey NOTE: sweet note is KEY INGREDIENT

big handful spinach (preferably adult, has more nutrients) or other leafy green (kale, etc.)

Blend well, at lowest speed that will do the job.

Pour into favorite happy bowl. (Makes about a quart, so invite someone special to share a luscious lunch or daring dinner!)

Then stir in toppings: chopped/diced tomatoes, cucumber, zuchinni, celery, sprouts, sweet peppers, avocado, okra, apple - whatever floats your boat.

Garnish with more colorful veggies, sprinkle of purple dulse, grated carrot, whatever makes it pretty. "Pretty" is pretty important when it comes to food presentation. The stew pictured above was topped with sweet crunchy sprouts of beans and seeds, and a handful of micro greens snipped from the windowsill garden. Below - well, I almost forgot to take a picture, I was enjoying it so...

My meals seem to be mostly green smoothies or savory stews or curries. I have regained clarity of mind. I have energy to walk more. And time to do it, since this whole process takes about 5 minutes, with some practice (I chop a couple day's worth of various toppings at a time, which is a wonderful time saver and speedy meal prep). I now have a few more minutes a day to research and gather. I'm sleeping better. My energy level is high. I think my vision might be improving? That would be the carrots...

I have looser clothes, and have shooed away some adipose.

Not too bad, armed with only a blender and some lowly vegetables.

I am now going to work on world peace...

Easter Curry

The ham was tender, the baked potatoes fluffy and buttery, the desserts sublime. It really wasn't hard to pass all that up, though, because I had a new favorite to indulge my tastebuds:
Savory Veggie Curry.
In blender, in this order (juiciest on bottom):
3 roma tomatoes, halved (or quartered if using standard blender)
1 5-7" zuchinni cut in 1" chunks
Blend, starting on low, go up to about 4 on Vitamix. Don't totally liquify, just get it juicy and well chopped, tamping as needed. If you don't have a tamper, use a celery stalk or carrot.

Blend in: 1 large celery, coarse chopped - blend on low 3-4 seconds just to mix in.

Blend in: 1 T. agave
1/2 " jalapeno (opt)
1 T. curry powder, or to your taste
3 scallions, coarse chopped
4-5 more celery stalks, cut in 2" chunks, added in about 3 batches, tamping as needed.

Pour into 2 large soup bowls.

Stir in toppings: chopped/diced sweet peppers, scallions, celery, cilantro, cucumber, zuchinni, whatever floats your boat in the line of fresh veggies.
I also used finely chopped cauliflower, sprouts (pea, sunflower, and a bean/seed mix that is tender but crunchy, and grated carrot.

I added some slices of avocado, but only because I didn't have some fresh coconut to shred and top it all off in true curry style!

The mushroom caps were filled with Zoe's Spring Cheese, then dipped into a dish of chopped red sweet peppers.

A tasty and satisfying Easter Dinner. I've been enjoying this Curry for several weeks, I LOVE curry!

I have to confess: I did have a mini tart filled with my nieces' homemade lemon curd.

Hail, Hail, the gang's all here...

So - did your tastebuds sit up? They should. This luscious lettuce is right out of my garden. On April 1. In Oregon. On the coast.
The secret? Raised bed and cloche cover.

It hailed last night. And several times today. But the lettuces were tucked in and happy. The peas in the uncovered beds were a little miffed at being beat on the head, but they'll get over it.

Nothing makes me happier than the first greens of the season from my garden!

Adopting a greenhouse

Criteria for adopting a greenhouse:

Owners/managers must be dedicated, knowledgable, never too busy to welcome you and answer questions. A good sign is if they eat what they produce.

Greenhouse facilities are sparkling clean, disease and bug free, and filled year-round with health-promoting green stuff.

The flowers, fruits, veggies and exotics display happiness to be residents of the greenhouse. Temporary, of course, because they soon find new homes...

The bonus is when the greenhouse is less than 20 minutes away!

I just adopted Don's Waterfall Farm complete with greenhouses. Complete with tortoise - check out http://snapshotsfromtheleeside.blogspot.com/


Doesn't this just make your heart go pitter-pat??!! Hey, it's SPRING!!

Besides the outdoor-garden-bound babies Don and Janet grow wheatgrass by the ton. Customers buy it by the flat to take home, or snip their green bag full and leave the dirt at the greenhouse.

But here's what really put the icing on the cake (oops - forget I said that...). SPROUTS - as in LIVING FOOD!!! These are sunflower and pea sprouts. If you've never had fresh sunnies or pea sprouts, make a date with a spouter and try them. Unbelievably good for you, besides being gorgeously green.

Don graciously explained how to grow these beauties, with demonstration and details, and later supplied me with flats and two #10 cans of primo sunflower and pea seed especially for sprouting. They are easy to grow, a true delight to add to the raw menu!

One of the plants at Waterfall that is grown by the thousands (honest), is tomatoes. Big, little, and teensy tiny. Here's a new addition to the greenhouse family. Ain't she CUTE??!!

This is a Meyer Lemon blossom. Can you smell it? I can. Oh my. I covet that little tree. I've been in love with Meyer's lemons for quite a long time. I NEED a sweet little tree. But first I need a bigger dining room with more windows....(you'll see why in the next post).

Fresh and green and dedicated to healthy plants and healthy people.

Yep. I'm adopting that greenhouse.