Metamorphosis

I pushed the reset button and got back to good. All is well and holding. Eating lots of fruit. Craving apples with almond butter or a fruit salad of grapefruit, orange, satsuma, banana, and honey. No greens in the house right now. I put Vitamineral Greens in coconut water to get my green quota yesterday. None today. Picking up my CSA box tomorrow so I will be back in the greens again.

I went to a raw potluck over the weekend. I was in the mood to uncook and wanted to make it special for the holiday. I way overdid it, I took four items. Matthew Kenney's coconut macaroon sandwich cookies (finally found a use for the can of Coconut Secret Coconut Flour that has been in the cupboard for months). I changed the recipe slightly. Rolled out the dough and cut circles and stars with cookie cutters, dehydrated and filled with his spread made of macadamias, coconut butter, agave, and vanilla. I also made another Matthew Kenney recipe. It was a savory pie from "Entertaining in the Raw". Several people called it a pizza. Four different components went into it. A dehydrated almond crust flavored with cumin, filled with a cashew-macadamia sour cream, topped with marinated lightly dehydrated eggplant seasoned with garam masala, then topped with a blended green olive tapenade. I made two of these savory pies in large tart pans. After making the pies I still had an extra eggplant and some green olives left over, so I whipped up a Caponata. I was concerned the savory pie would be too strange. It was, but no worries. One person had a suggestion on how to improve it, another didn't like the olive tapenade, a few people said they loved it. It couldn't have been too bad. Even though it was a small turnout with only about 15 people showing up, there was nothing left to take home but dirty dishes. I don't think I'll make the savory pie recipe again, not with those seasonings anyway. I would have prefered cumin and thyme on the eggplant instead of garam masala and a few other veggies along with the eggplant would have been an improvement. Oh well. Always and forever learning something about combining raw flavors. Actually that wasn't the only lesson I came away with. I felt afterwards that I could have saved the expense and time involved with making all this stuff, and simply shown up with the onion bread, my plate and fork. I would have had just as good a time.

Last night I went to a small gathering at a raw friend's house for dinner and conversation. She made two dishes for dinner. One was a Dirty Rice (made with cauliflower, peas, and mushrooms). The other dish had a very fun name, Not-Egg Foo Yuck. :) Both dishes were excellent. Dessert was abundant. Like everyone else, I had to try everything that was on the table; fudge torte with chocolate sauce, crustless lemon meringue pie, chocolate pudding, and a strawberry pudding. If I had added the banana that was offered it would have been just like a banana split.

Lots going on around here. December is speeding by. Christmas lights are going up all over town, including at my house. I've been picking up stocking stuffers here and there. No big shopping adventures. I don't plan on spending any money except on immediate family. I'm working on some knitting and jewelry crafting for extended family and friends. I'm going low-key with planning this year. I usually enjoy thinking about and planning for the Christmas holiday, going over and over my to-do and to-buy lists. Only this year I want to spend less money and more time with the people I love instead of providing food and gifts for them.

The annual Sister-In-Law tea party is this Saturday afternoon. I'm taking the Chocolate-Orange Cheesecake that is in the freezer. I'm testing a small piece tonight just to make sure it hasn't suffered from being in the freezer for a couple weeks. ;) No worries. It is still delicious.

There is another raw potluck Saturday night. I want to take something special to mark the holiday. I've got buckwheat soaking for Alissa's Calzone. I was thinking about making a cheesecake for dessert, but there I go again... overdoing it. Somebody stop me.