A collection of Raw winter comforters

The weather is cold and wet, so perfect time to experiment in the kitchen with some raw winter comfort food. I dished up a feast tonight with a smorgasbord of delicious creations for the family, each member having a favourite. I don't normally serve up quite a display, but Michael is once again heading out to camp for three days, so left overs will make up for his packed meals while away.


My first dish was this fabulous Raw Shepard's Pie! The results looked so appetising and the flavour was amazing.

Amazing raw Shepherds pie for a winter time meal

Recipe:

'Mince'
I started by chopping up about 3 cups of mushrooms into tiny cubes and then added 2 small carrots that had been minced in the food processor. To this I also added a handful of semi dried tomatoes I am currently dehydrating. If I had thought of it, I would have added a handful or peas.

I then marinated these vegetables in a combination of:
1/4 cup of barley miso
good dash or more of cumin powder
some granulated garlic - (would use fresh if I had some)
A little olive oil
and a selection of herbs from the garden- rosemary, oregano, parsley, thyme and chives.
I also added a dash of seasoned salt and some cracked black pepper.
The marinated vegetables were left in the dehydrator for about an hour to take on a 'cooked' appearance, but the same effect could be obtained by just leaving it on the bench in a warm spot for the afternoon.

Next was the 'mash potato'
In the high speed blender I whipped up 4 small parsnips with a handful of macadamia nuts, salt, olive oil, garlic granules and nutritional yeast.

This mash was dolloped over the vegetables and served with a drizzle of olive oil.
A winner with Michael!

Raw shepherds Pie - a winter comfort

Next was a simple vegetable stir 'rawfry' with spicy almond dressing.

Recipe:
Toss in a bowl a selection of thinly sliced vegetables. I had on hand some cabbage, carrots and broccoli.

Spicy almond dressing:
Blend till smooth-
3/4 cup of homemade raw almond butter
1/4 cup of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of Nama Shoyu
2 Tablespoons of Agave
1 teaspoon of minced ginger
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1/2 cup of young coconut water

Pour this dressing over the vegetables and toss.
I added some kelp noodles, basil leaves, coriander and a sprinkle of chopped cashews before serving.

'Raw-fry' with spicy almond dressing

This dish was a winner with Starzi


Next was another kelp noodle dish in a raw creamy green curry.

Recipe:

I started by making fresh coconut milk from the flesh and milk of a brown coconut squeezed through a nut bag.

To make the milk creamier, I blended in the flesh of a young coconut.
To give it a green colour, I blended in a handful of spinach leaves and fresh coriander.
I tossed a packet of kelp noodles through the milk and began to mix a combination of spices until a desired spice was obtained. I used dashes and sprinkles of garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander seeds, garam masala, salt and I think a small amount of curry powder. It was all an experiment. 

Raw creamy green curry with kelp noodles 

  
This actually was a winner with me as I do love my curries!

Finally, I had to make a sweet treat, not only for tonight's dessert, but mainly for Michael to enjoy while away on camp.

A five layered Raw dessert!

This was an experimental 5 layered Raw cake! I want to include something similar at the workshop this weekend, so will hold back on sharing the ingredients just yet, but will be sure to post it up after the weekend.
I was quite pleased with the outcome as it was light and sweet and made almost entirely without nuts, other than for the base only.

The First layer was a nutty base
The Second layer was a chocolate mousse
The Third layer was a sweet coconut fluff
The Fourth layer was a raspberry treat
and the Fifth layer was a hard chocolate shell that drizzled over the edges.

This was a winner with all!

Served with raw coconut cream