Raw Sisterhood

This last Wednesday a group of girlfriends gathered for raw food, belly chuckles, and soul sharing. This was our second month of the Raw Potluck tradition and I am pretty sure that it will live on into the distant future. As you can see it was quite a feast.

On the drive to Melanie's house I was searching the radio for the perfect getting out of the house music on the radio. I had the windows down and was ready to blare out to the world that I was freed from bedtime duties for the night. I could still hear the echoes of giggles from the first potluck and was so happy to be with these women again. Not only were we nourished with with amazing food but with the beginnings of new relationships with promise.

We are social beings and the demands of being a wife and/or mother and/or career woman can push the social needs away. So here we have a gathering of women who are mothers, caregivers, healers, teachers, prayer warriors, loving partners, all around hold-it-together crusaders! (okay maybe a little bit tooo much drama)  Thank you, friends, for a lovely evening. I look forward to next month.

So, on to the food...

For our first course we had Cashew dumplings. Upon arriving, everyone commented to Heidi how beautiful they were. She asserted that she was pretty sure that she will never make them again due to the labor intensity. I was amazed at all that went into them - juicing a beet, carrots, kale- cracking coconuts - dehydrating for a day or two to make the most amazing colorful wrappers for an amazing cashew filling.

Our main course just so happened to be an Italian theme - they didn't even coordinate! (The pictures of our main course are above)We had Zucchini Fettuccine with a Spicy Tomato Basil Sauce.  Melanie's neighbor supplied the recipe and we all went to town helping Melanie in the kitchen. Leah brought Sweet Potato Gnocchi topped with Pesto. Oh my! This one is a do-over. Leah, can you post the link to this recipe again?  We also had  a  Zucchini "Spaghetti" with a Marinara sauce. Garlic was definitely in full force for this course.  Melanie's choices in wine went fabulously with the meal.

For desert we had an amazing fruit salad - fresh fresh fresh. When in Toronto with an old friend, I had an amazing raw pecan pie. I ran across a recipe and was eager to try it. It was a super easy recipe. The crust was almonds, cinnamon, and agave. The filling was raisins, pecans and coconut water. Personally, I did not like the flavor of the raisin, next time I think I will try a mix of golden raisins with dates for a more delicate flavor. I also made some truffles. They had great flavor but I didn't read the directions quite right. Make a powder with the almond and coconut first, then add the liquid... So they were very textured truffles, not the smooth buttery consistancy they could have been.

So, stay tuned for next month's Raw Food Potluck update.