Potluck, Green Juice and Pie... Oh My!

Monday, 30 November 2009

This past weekend we held our first raw food MeetUp.com potluck. It was an intimate gathering with just two friends. But, it was a relaxing afternoon with some great food, of which we're still enjoying the leftovers! These groups often take time to get going, so we'll try again in the New Year. It's a lot of fun to share recipe ideas and a good meal.

Yesterday was International Juice Feasting Day, which was creative by Dave, the Raw Food Truck Driver (http://www.rawexistence.com/Dave-raw-food-truck-driver.html). In honor of his inspiration, Darren and I made a couple nice big glasses of green juice this morning and toasted to good health! We would both love to do a juice fast sometime, but were not feeling organized or informed enough yet to embark on that. I think I could easily do a day or two, but beyond that, I'd need to schedule it in.

My niece asked me for the link to JoAnn Farb's website today, and in doing so, I came across an article on her blog at http://getoffgluten.blogspot.com about recurrent abdominal pain possibly being a pre-cursor to Celiac Disease. We saw her at Vegetarian Summerfest last summer and I remember hearing her story about her daughter's experience with gluten, and thinking how at least Joe wasn't allergic to wheat on top of all his other allergies. However, thinking back, Joe had always been saying his tummy hurt, and the week we were at Summerfest where he was eating tons of vegan pizza, he spent much of the time, especially right after meals, trying to lay down somewhere because his stomach hurt. Little did I known then, that a few months later, allergy testing would reveal he was allergic to wheat and soy. Talk about a challenge when you're already on a nut, legume and mostly seed-free vegan diet, right? Well, it was at first, but we've gotten in a groove and have plenty great food options, so we don't focus too much on the things he can't have.

I made a raw pumpkin pie last night, and we ate some today. I made it with pumpkin seeds and raisins for the crust, rather than almonds, so Joe could have it. It was quite good, but I think it would be perfect with an almond crust. But, pumpkin pie has always been one of my favorites, so I was pleasantly surprised to find a raw version that was so enjoyable. I'll be tweaking it and trying it again over the holidays.

Tomorrow is our produce delivery day, and I have a bunch of citrus and Lulu avocados coming, so I'll be looking for interesting recipe ideas for those. I've actually found that mashing ripe avocados with a little lemon juice, then freezing them, makes a nice addition to a smoothie frozen, or thawed out in a salad. I also have a ton of kale and collards coming, so I'm looking forward to doing a lot of green juicing this week!