I finished my work at the retreat yesterday. I really enjoyed it, even when I had to make Hummus and cauliflower rice, without a blender for 30 plus people and my friend whom I was working alongside, had to rest for a bit.
I just really enjoyed making good healthy, wholesome food, outdoors, surrounded by nature. Listening to the birdsong and the sound of women singing in the distance.
This was the lunch we prepared, one of the days. My friend was kind enough to send me a photo she took, when it had been served. I made rainbow spaghetti with pesto. It's super easy, just a little time consuming, that's all.
Now that the weather is heating up, it's the perfect time to eat more raw food. Gazpacho is also super easy, Weade this one with leek, tomato, courgette, cucumber, red pepper, some vinegar and oil. I would usually add garlic and red onion if I was making it myself, but we were told not to use them.
I made a chickpea and celery salad. I also added, red pepper, mint and fermented carrot, apple and ginger. The dressing was olive oil, mustard seeds, lemon juice and vinegar. It tasted super fresh. This dish was part of the lunch we made for the last day. I also made them a special treat, a Raw Chocolate, Papaya cake. I managed to take some photos of some of the process which I will share with you now.
I made two of them, as I wanted to make sure,there was enough for each person to have a decent slice. I've been making raw cakes for almost 15 years now and I really prefer them to cooked cakes. I would usually make my girls a raw cake for their birthdays, but as they got older they began requesting cooked cakes.
The base of most raw cakes, is made up of dates and nuts. I soaked the dates for a bit, as well as some cashew nuts, Brazil nuts and some sunflower seeds. Then I put them in a blender with dried mulberries, some coconut oil and raw Cacao powder. Which I then press into a round tin.
There are two different toppings to make. Both use cashew nuts, so I soaked some for at least two hours, this makes the filling more creamy. ( I'm not really one for measurements, I just use my eye and measure by the handful).
First up is the Papaya layer. I cut up one Papaya per cake. I blended it with the cashew nuts, coconut oil, maple syrup and some ground up vanilla pod.
For the chocolate layer, I used one cup of the Papaya layer and mixed it with Cacao. Then using two different spoons, I added a few spoonfuls of the Papaya filling on top of the base and then some of the chocolate filling. Then I used Cacao nibs to decorate it. It then was placed in the freezer for at least 2 hours.
As I was making the two cakes, I managed to put aside enough to make very small one, so that me and my friend would get to taste it. Unfortunately, we never got to try it, as the salad get mixed in with it by accident. It sure did look good and I did get some very good feedback also.