StRAWberry Pie

As promised, I remade this beautiful little pie with some tweaks--not because the recipe I got it from was off--but because I did not follow the directions right the first time.

My method has its own personal flare. (Okay, really it's because I'm a little lazy and want to eat sooner than some other gourmet raw foodists. So I do things a little bit differently.)

Flare . . .Lazy. Whatev.

All told, it seems "two's a charm." 

It came out better than the first time, and sooooo luscious. 

This is my new favorite dessert.  

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Crust

Pitted Dates 1/2 cup

Water 2 TBS

Almonds 1 cup

Cocoa Powder 1/4 cup

Coconut Crystals or Agave or Stevia 1/4 cup

Ground flaxseed 1/2 cup

Filling

Pitted Dates 1/2 cup

Water 2 TBS

3 cups frozen or regular strawberries

Cashews (soaked for 6+ hours) 1.5 cups

Salt 1/4 tsp

Apple Cider Vinegar 1 TBS

Vanilla 1 TBS

Step 1: Soak cashews overnight. They should expand to about 2 cups.

Step 2: In a food processor, add dates and water and blend for about 3 minutes, scraping sides as needed till paste-y and somewhat smooth.

Add the rest of the ingredients (minus the flaxseed) and blend for about 3 minutes until almond crust resembles a crumble-y meal texture.  

Lightly spray pie dish with cooking spray.

Transfer crust to pie dish and mold to dish.

I use the flat part of my measuring cup to spread evenly like so. 

If the crust is too wet, add the ground flaxseed to the top of it to spread more easily.

Step ...I lost count:  Get ready for the filling. 

In the cleaned out food processor, prepare the date paste first, just like we did for the crust. 

After the dates are paste-y, add the rest of the ingredients then blend for 5 minutes until creamy smooth.

LUSCIOUS!

Transfer filling atop of crust. 

Spread evenly with spatula.

Make your own cool design.

I call this "Pinwheel." 

Put that lovely little pie in the freezer for at least 2-3 hours to firm up.

Or, if you are saving this overnight or for a day or so, take out 2 hours prior to eating. It will still be chilled and somewhat firm, but not rock hard. 

I don't think I've mentioned (or paraphrased) how beautiful and delicious this is and how happy this dessert makes me AT ALL in this whole post.

So let me just tell you how beautiful and delicious it is, and how happy this dessert makes me.

Very very. 

From my kitchen to yours... 

Bon appetit! 

Easter Weekend

This weekend was wonderful, emphasis on "wonder" and "full."

Every Triduum for us is. 

And along with Gods gifts this past Holy Week, we were blessed to have my husband's parents join us in the festivities. 

As you can see, my son was pretty psyched about it all. 

His jubilance is pretty standard, but as he's demonstrating below, he has a lot of faces he likes to wear. 

So, how was it keeping on track healthwise, you ask? 

Well, there were some concessions made, as Adam's family enjoy more cooked food.

For example, the main course, "Ducken" (minus the "Tur"), was the Easter feast.

It was pretty good, but surprisingly I only had a few bites.

Overall, I was satisfied with our diet (portions, fruit and vegetable options) all weekend, but am looking forward to getting back to more raw. My mind and body are at its best on that diet. 

Nevertheless, my in-laws are very flexible and adventurous, so I was able to try a few raw/vegan dishes on them, too. 

The Almond Butter Brownies, for sure.

And below, this is a mostly raw (minus the eggs) salad. Isn't it beautiful and colorful? 

They enjoyed the Liquid Gold Elixir dressing with this. 

We had a couple of these gorgeous salads while they were here.

I had to snap a picture of the wild rice side as it was tasty, beautiful and ... a feat that it came out as either.

Why?

 Let me put it this way: rice and I have a tenuous relationship.

Conclusion?

Rice is the boss of ME . . .I MUST wait until it is done.  

And I did. This time. 

Because I'm a dork and take pictures of every table setting on special occasions, I thought I'd share our Easter dinner table. 

Not sure why. It's nothing too special.  

But humor me...and just move on. 

And move on you shall to the grand finale!!!

The StRAWberry Pie

This stRAWberry pie recipe (seriously, this whole pie, crust and all--which is chocolate almond--is raw) will definitely be up on the blog this week, as I will be remaking and tweaking it. 

But need I tell you that it was refreshingly delicious and decadent?

'Twas.

A blessed Eastertide to all.

He is risen as he said!

Alleluia!