Fat and Sassy

I hail from a small town in the Midwest, nestled in rolling hills and steeped in a strong German(...ish) culture. Specifics aren't important, but what is important is a lovely little cafe in a lovely nearby town that has lovely salads. The cafe is called "Fat and Sassy" (don't you love it?) and their signature salad is, of course, the "Fat and Sassy" salad. Chicken breasts are the crowning ingredient and it awkwardly involves a bit of brown sugar (sort of thing that could happen to any salad), but its core ingredients are a delicious combination. Here is the rawsome(!) version of the "Fat and Sassy" salad.

Fat and Sassy Salad
2 cups romaine lettuce
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 cucumber, sliced
1/2 green apple, sliced
1/2 cup grapes
2 ounces raw nut cheese, crumbled (you can buy it from Dr. Cow or make your own)
2 tablespoons dried cranberries (be sure to check the label to make sure there isn't anything added to them, like sugar)
2 tablespoons candied walnuts (to make raw candied walnuts, toss raw nuts with agave maple syrup to taste, and dehydrate for 6-8 hours)

Toss. Drizzle with a balsamic vinaigrette (1 T olive, macadamia nut or avocado seed oil whisked with 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, a squirt of lime, a dash of agave raw honey and a sprinkle of sea salt) or enjoy plain with a few twists of black pepper. Serves one.

Meant for Each Other: Save the Moo-eat Mango Tango

Stopped home for lunch today - leftovers at the living room table. The "save the moo-eat" and mango sauce (which is just mango with some garlic and onion blended in) were sitting seductively next to one another. All cozy in their tupperwares. They might have even been touching. This led Sara to stray from her standard lettuce-save the moo-eat-cashew aioli wrap and douse mango on the save-the-moo-eat. What happened next can only be described as a Save the Moo-eat Mango Tango. In our mouths. These two are meant for each other. They belong together. They complete each other. They're looking forward to their dinner date.

Like a Gentle Breeze in Your Mouth

Tonight we hosted our first ever entirely-raw dinner party. OK. It wasn't entirely raw, but that truly wasn't our fault. Due to convoy delays and various other co-factors, things were tight at the cafeteria - aka grocery shop - the last couple days. And some ingredients, namely mushrooms and cauliflower, we will never get raw. Let's say there was nothing not raw that wouldn't have been raw if it could have been raw.

Besides our delic "save the moo-eat" from last night's Mexican extravaganza, pineapple-cucumber skewers, bok choy salad, and our clever idea to wrap everything on the table in big pieces of lettuce (thank you, sandwich bar), the dinner was Ani Phyo East Meets West, Desserts or Raw Food Essentials. She's a genius. Here's what we served:

Appetizers

Pineapple Cucumber Skewers with Ginger Dipping Sauce

Crudite Platter (carrots, celery, radish, cucumber) with "Peanut" Thai Dipping Sauce

Tomato Coconut Bisque

Main Course
Mixed Vegetables and Mango with Yellow Curry

"Save the Moo-eat" Lettuce Wraps with Corn and Tomato Garnish and Cashew Garlic Aioli

Mushroom Namul Lettuce Wraps with Mango Sauce

Bok Choy-Onion-Orange salad

Dessert
Peach Cobbler (variation of Mango Cobbler - serious YUM)

Chai Ice Cream
Coconut Ice Cream
Assorted Chocolates

The chocolates were new to me, and they were very cool - easy to make and set in a few minutes. I used our egg holder (which we have for what eggs??) as a mold and followed the ratio of two parts coconut oil to one part cocoa powder, plus a dash of agave. Before pouring the chocolate into the molds, I sprinkled cocoa nibs into each, and added goji berries or coconut to some. I also flavored some of the chocolate mint or almond. The result was delicious bites of chocolately goodness. When I find a raw caramel recipe, I'll try caramel sea salt filled chocolates. Yum.

P.S. Credit to Te for these lovely photos, and for the post title: she declared the Cashew Aioli, "like a gentle breeze in your mouth." Agreed.