raw wednesday

Raw Wednesday: A Lack of Novelty

/ Kelly / 1 Comment

I failed to diversify this Raw Wednesday, by which I mean that I ate the exact same thing I had a couple of weeks ago. Maybe that makes me super lame and boring, but I appreciate a dish I can depend on, one that I know is going to satisfy me and taste delicious. If a raw meal can count as a comforting standby, then that’s a good thing, right? I think so, and Gena‘s Zucchini Marinara is well on the way to achieving that status. My meal tonight was both beautiful and delicious, as ever.

Raw deliciousness.

When I made this dish two weeks ago, I enjoyed mixing avocado slices with my zucchini noodles. Tonight, I used sliced mushrooms instead, and found that the marinara complemented them quite well. I wasn’t extremely hungry, so I had leftover sauce, and my brother ended up mixing it with some bottled marinara sauce and using it over regular ol’ pasta. We both enjoyed our dinners, and now I’m going to wrap up this short ‘n sweet post to go do some shopping with the aforementioned brother. Ciao!

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Raw Wednesday: Honeycrisp Heaven

/ Kelly / 5 Comments

I’m just going to level with y’all right now. I didn’t truly participate in Raw Wednesday this week. I know, I know. I’m properly ashamed and all. It’s just that I was in minor panic mode all day long (more on that later) and didn’t really eat much, and when I did, I couldn’t be bothered to do anything more than reheat a leftover vegan enchilada my wonderful daddy made for dinner a couple of nights ago. That was lunch; I skipped breakfast (I know!) and had a vegan burger for dinner… the kind from a box. I know.

I did, however, go raw for dessert. By which I mean I ate an apple. So… that counts, right? Counts-ish? Maybe? Okay, maybe not. But honestly, I couldn’t be arsed to make a more complex dessert, and Honeycrisp apples were on sale at the grocery store today, and they just looked so inviting in the fruit bowl… and you know what? I don’t think I’ve ever had a Honeycrisp before tonight. But they’re listed on that Vegan’s 100 List which seems to make for an excellent lazy-day MoFo post (mine’s coming, don’t you worry), and people have been blogging left and right about their deliciousness… so I had to try one.

Crispeh!

Ooer. I think they live up to all the hype. Honeycrisps are kind of my perfect apple, sweet but not too sweet, a little bit juicy, and, well, crisp. It was love at first bite.

On the topic of biting, fun fact – I can’t eat apples straight-up; I have to cut them into pieces because my gums are, um, slightly receding and biting into apples isn’t great for that. Oh, the joys of growing old (snerk). At least I’ll never fail to appreciate the joy of a simple raw treat, even if I do have to hack it up in order to enjoy it. ;)

Raw Wednesday: Choosing Raw’s Zucchini Marinara

/ Kelly / 5 Comments

It’s Raw Wednesday, people! Get excited! I know I sure did. Today I realized that I haven’t used Sallie the spiralizer in a few weeks, and that’s just a darn shame. So I liberated Sallie from her hiding place in the cupboard and set her to work making zucchini “pasta” for my raw lunch.

As I was debating what to use as a topping for my zucchini noodles, I remembered hearing various bloggers rave about the Sweet Pepper Marinara from Choosing Raw. When I checked out the recipe and realized that I had everything I needed to make the famed raw marinara sauce, I just couldn’t resist. Into my trusty ol’ blender went all the ingredients, and the result was a thick, beautiful, brightly-colored marinara sauce that tasted as good as it looked.

Pretty colors, no? I followed Gina’s suggestion and added some avocado slices to my zucchini noodles, which helped bring some variety to the bowl. Unpictured is a big handful of mung bean sprouts I also threw in there; we had some in the fridge that needed to be eaten and I figured, what the heck? They’re noodle-y enough! And the marinara sauce tasted just wonderful over all my veggies. I’m glad to say that the sauce lived up to the hype; I really loved it. I think I’ll be sure to add more sundried tomatoes next time, though, because I was eyeballing my measurements and I think I skimped in that department. Ah well.

Now I just need to get me some dates and whip up some of that Chocomole that looks so enticing! Mmm, dessert… :)

Raw Wednesday

/ Kelly / 2 Comments

I suppose it’s not technically Wednesday anymore, but better late than never, right? I meant to post earlier, but I got tied up with family and friend type activities and you know how it goes. Anyway, I’ve got a doozy of a post planned for tomorrow, so I’ll keep this one short and sweet. And that’s fitting, really, because my eats today were simple and unassuming yet undeniably satisfying.

In the spirit of Raw Wednesday, I put together a magnificent raw lunch that filled my tummy and made me smile thanks to its colorful appearance. Check it out:

Raw delight.

Lovely, no? My lunch was comprised of two dishes. First, I decided to try a recipe from Choosing Raw that I’ve had my eye on for a while now. Although I’ve never been a huge tomato soup fan, Gena’s chilled Basic Tomato Soup looked like the perfect way to use some delicious tomatoes from my dad’s garden. And it performed that function perfectly.

Avocado and tomato goodness.

Although it ended up being a little avocado heavy (and thus turned a borderline unappetizing green-brown color), the tomatoes fought back and let their garden fresh flavor shine through. The result was a delightful mix of creamy avocado and sweet tomato goodness. My only problem with the soup was the slight tangy balsamic vinegar aftertaste I noticed with each spoonful, but that’s just because I seriously dislike being able to taste or smell any type of vinegar in my food. Even though I did cut down on the amount called for in the recipe and added the smallest of splashes, I should have left it out entirely to tailor the soup to my personal tastes. Other than that, however, it was a perfect summer soup, and it paired so well with the more substantial part of my lunch.

Lovely lettuce wraps.

These lettuce wraps were filled with matchstick zucchini slices and generous scoops of the Sunflower Pate I made a few days ago, and they were fantastic! Although Romaine lettuce may not be optimal for wrapping, it was the only type we had in the house and worked fairly well. I had another helping of pate on the side with more zucchini for dipping, and I also enjoyed three delicious heirloom Chocolate Cherry Tomatoes. I love these little guys; they’re so amazingly sweet and smooth and rich. They’re truly a treasure and I love popping them in my mouth right off the vine. They complemented the meal perfectly, and I washed everything down with some Santa Cruz Mango Lemonade. It was a wonderfully refreshing lunch on a hot summer day.

Although I planned on enjoying a big ol’ massaged kale salad for dinner, my wonderful father ended up making a potato-leek-mushroom hash and I just can’t resist his cooking. There’s always tomorrow, right?
:)