Simply Raw

I am pleased to finally announce the dates for the Simply Raw food classes to take place this fall.  I apologize to all of you for the delay in setting these dates, as I have received many requests during the summer, including advanced bookings! The result is that there will be two Level 1 classes in French and two Level 1 classes in English between now and Christmas. Also exciting is the launch of my very first Simply Raw Level 2 class, in French, which will also be offered this fall. This class will cover everything green. For more information, go to this page. More details to follow on this class.

Please note that classes will take place provided there are a minimum of six participants. Should this condition not be met, the class will be canceled or possibly postponed to a later date that will suit all participants. Private classes can also be organized on a different date provided there are six participants secured. Classes can also be organized during the week should there be enough people interested. If you have any particular request, please contact me and I will do my best to find a solution.

The Fall 2008 Simply Raw Food Classes will be offered as follows:

• Saturday 13 September: Simply Raw Level 1, in French
• Sunday 5 October: Simply Raw Level 1, in English
• Saturday 25 October: Simply Raw Level 1, in French
• Saturday 8 November: Simply Raw Level 2, in French (details will be provided later)
• Saturday 29 November: Simply Raw Level 1, in English

I invite you to take a close look at the class details on the Raw Food Class Page which you can access on the left hand column or here. Do let me know as soon as possible what date suits you best. I really look forward to sharing raw food enthusiasm, tips and recipes with you this fall!

Now here is a culinary delight that will please many. Since converting to raw, and adopting as many favorite recipes as possible, I have been preparing countless desserts for family and friends, including many variations of raw pies. But most of them were the traditional bottom nut crust covered with a filling. I was missing the look and feel of the traditional pie my mother has always made for us, with a bottom AND a top crust. This recipe which I found and tested recently did the job for me, and I just had to share it with you.

This recipe was extracted from the e-book, “Off the Grill”, by Sunflower Lord from Comfortably Raw. I highly recommend it, it is full of nice raw delights, well explained and beautifully illustrated. Congratulations to this fairly recent website. You can also find there an interesting e-book exclusively on raw ice creams. What a treat! And a more recent one for Raw Kids. I have found this website highly inspirational and hopefully some of you will too.

One more thing: this recipe may look a little more complicated than the ones I usually share on Simply Raw, but believe me, it is rather simple to prepare and such a treat when fresh berries are in season, so it’s well worth the extra effort. I was lucky enough to find at a local farmer’s market some wild blueberries, freshly picked in the forest, which made this dish even more flavorsome.

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 2 cups of almonds
• 1.5 cups shredded coconut, ground into powder
• 6 Medjool dates
• 5 tablespoons agave nectar
• 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan crystal salt

For the filling:

• 1 cup blackberries, plus 2 tablespoons
• 1 cup blueberries, plus 2 tablespoons
• 1 cup raspberries, plus 2 tablespoons
• 1 cup strawberries, plus 2 tablespoons
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar

How to proceed:

• Combine almonds and coconut powder into food processor until completed powdered.
• Add the dates and agave and salt and process until mixture forms a ball.
• Divide dough into two balls (one larger than the other for the bottom crust) and roll out each flat between two non-stick papers or teflex sheets.
• Flip the large crust onto your pie pan and ensure the crust covers the bottom and edges thoroughly. Chill the crust in the fridge while preparing the filling.
• In a small blender, mix the 2 tablespoons of each type of berry with the agave to create a nice thick sauce.
• Mix all the berries in a bowl and gently add the sauce into this mixture, which you can then pour into the pie crust.
• Flip the top crust onto the filling, squeeze the edges of the two crusts together and voilà!
• Chill for one hour or more, serve and enjoy!!

If any of you try this out, let me know how you enjoyed it! I fixed this for my youngest daughter’s recent birthday and all guests raved about it. I’d love to hear about this and anything else you might need help with, so don’t hesitate to ask! For those of you still waiting to find out about my upcoming classes, I will be posting the dates in a few days. Thanks for your patience, I need to get organized!

Hello everyone! I’ve been on a long summer break and took my distance from the web… hence the long silence, but it’s great to be back.  Thanks to all of you who have sent messages, asked about new class dates, or simply got in touch. I appreciate all of these manifestations and am happy to say there will be a lot of exciting news coming in the next few months so stay tuned!

But before anything else, I’d like to honor my promise to a friend to share this wonderful recipe for summer gazpacho… and my apologies for the delay!  I recommend it to anyone who enjoys fresh cool soups in the heat of the summer. I know the heat here in Switzerland is pretty much over, and with school resuming we are looking at the fall season, but never mind. Watermelons are still in stock so try this.

Contrarily to ordinary gazpacho from Andalucia, this one is based on watermelon and is both refreshing and very tasty. Not to mention easy to make. And Simply Raw!

So here goes. This recipe is extracted from the wonderful, gorgeous and extremely inspiring book “Raw Food, Real World”, by Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis.

Ingredients:
3 cups seeded watermelon, blended into a purée
1 cup seeded watermelon, cut into small chunks
1 cup seeded tomato (around 2 large tomatoes), cut into bite sizes
1 cup seeded cucumber (½ cucumber), cut into bite sizes
½ cup red pepper cut into bite sizes
2 tablespoon lime juice
1 small handful fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 teaspoon grated ginger
½ seeded pimiento, finely chopped (optional)
1 spring onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Himalayan Crystal Salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Here’s how to proceed:
1. Blend the watermelon in a high speed blender to make a purée. This is the basis of the soup.
2. Pour this soup into a large glass bowl, and add all the remaining ingredients by hand. Mix well. (These chunks don’t show on the picture, but believe me, they are there!)
3. Add the spices at the end, mix well, serve and enjoy! This soup is even nicer when thoroughly chilled, especially on a hot day!

I will be back soon with news of class dates, by the end of this month for sure. And more recipes to come before that!