The joys of... NOT cooking?

[Myself Again]

Okay, so I just made my very first raw recipe (those brownies everyone keeps raving about)! And, BOY HOWDY, are they good! I have to be honest - I was pretty nervous about all of this! I LOVE to cook, and would usually spend my weekends in the kitchen. I wondered how I would feel about giving that up. However when I whipped up these brownies and had my family taste-test them for me, they all loved them, and I realized something. THAT was what I loved about cooking: watching my loved ones enjoy something IÂ’d prepared for them. So now my only dilemma is to find a new way to spend my weekendsÂ… :)

[Veganforlife]

Oh very cool! You will find yourself still spending time in the kitchen on the weekends. I do. I pretty much prepare dishes for the week.However, not nearly as MUCH time as when cooking. And you will still find yourself enjoying your family enjoying your creations.
Welcome to the RAW world baby!!!

[Myself Again]

My sister and I just ordered Alissa's book and a dehydrator, and we are both so UNBEARABLY excited! And now that I figured out what it was about cooking that got my engines revving, and that it's something I'm still gonna get, I'm more excited than ever! WHOOHOO!!!

:D

[Nectarine]

The biggest joy of cooking raw for me is my lower electricity bills :D I reckon I'll save about $50 every three months in utility costs, and be able to buy my blender and juicer much sooner...HA HAAY ! :D :eek: :cool: :mad: :) :mad: :cool:

[Beckla]

You sound just like me - sans sister. I was STOKED when the book/dehydrator arrived and, like vforlife said, have since spent my weekends (happily) in the kitchen. ENJOY.

[RowanC]

I usually spend about one day in the kitchen uncooking, making pies, crackers, cakes, dehydrating... or maybe only 2 days every 3 weeks... yeah... not as much as when I had to cook every day.

[trinity082482]

You can still spend all your weekends in the kitchen without using a stove :D
My last raw cheese cake took 2 hours to make lol.. There are some recipes that take time to prepare, if that is your thing and you enjoy cooking and baking alot, maybe try some more complex recipes that will challenge you and surprise you :D
At first I was not big on spending hours and hours preparing a raw meal but I like it now. It's kinda nice to smell all the fresh herbs or tasting all the flavors. I enjoy licking the bowl and before when you prepare cooked food, many things shouldn't be licked before cooking like mixes with raw eggs, but now you can lick virtually everything :p

[Veganforlife]

I enjoy licking the bowl and before when you prepare cooked food, many things shouldn't be licked before cooking like mixes with raw eggs, but now you can lick virtually everything :p

That's so true! And foods taste different pre-dehydrating. Some I don't dehydrate because I like the way they taste and then some after they've dehydrated - WHOA!
I love Alissa's book. It is THE BEST out there. I highlighted lots of information for a quick reference when a question comes up from SAD eaters. One that I don't know or don't remember. I learned so much from her book.

[Nectarine]

The biggest joy of cooking raw for me is my lower electricity bills

...which were the highest they've ever been! Just thought I'd bring some structural balance to the contradictory statement above *shaking my head* :o :cool:

[Myself Again]

Ha! And here in California, our electricity bills have been THROUGH THE ROOF!! Also, in the summer (I live in the desert) I always HATED the thought of having to turn on the oven or spend a single sweaty minute standing over the stove! Goodbye to that! HOORAY!!!!!!!

:p