First is a ratatouille, or in laymen's terms, a vegetable stew. About a dozen veggies go in to a pot and cook until they make their own sauce. Then there are raw carrot cake balls, a mixture of shredded organic carrot, candied ginger and dates with coconut, almond meal, flax meal, vanilla and cinnamon. Surprisingly yum. Finally, I took some of the basic carrot cake mix, added macqi berry powder, cacao nibs, coffee extract, almond extract and raw cacao powder for a chocolate truffle. oh. my. god. so freaking good. See below for recipes and variations, and enjoy!
Ratatouille
In true Lexie style, there is no recipe, just a list of ingredients. Use your imagination and the palates of those you're feeding, and run with it. This is what I used: (note - everything is rough chop, it needs to look rustic)
garlic, minced
onion
carrot
celery
parsnips
red, yellow and orange bell pepper
zucchini
yellow squash
button mushrooms
crimini mushrooms
fennel bulbs
eggplant
dandelion greens
tomatoes
herb mix - chopped fresh parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano
sundried tomatoes - I prefer dry pack, soaked in just enough hot water to cover - add the water to the pot, it's full of flavor!
salt and pepper
cannelini beans
Start with the harder veggies (carrot, celery, onion, garlic, peppers, parsnips) and let them saute in a little olive oil for a bit, then begin adding the rest of the veg. Cook until everything is tender. Just gets better as it sits, so make tons.
Carrot Cake Balls
An odd recipe that I came across while planning classes one day. All raw except for the candied ginger, which can be subbed for raw ginger if you're following a raw lifestyle. The surprising part is is that it has a cake like texture without having a bit of flour. Gluten free, dairy free, egg free, casein free... it's good for most everyone. If you need it to be tree nut free, omit the almond meal and coconut, and use ground sunflower seeds and more flax meal, and coat them in a cinnamon and palm sugar mix. The sugar will dissolve a little but it makes a nice crust. Or go with confectioner's sugar.
1 lb. organic carrots, washed
1/4 c. candied ginger (get the all natural stuff, please, or make it yourself)
1/2 lb. pitted dates (i like the flavor of medjool)
1/4 c. ground flax
1/2 c. almond meal
pinch sea salt
a couple of drops of vanilla (optional)
1 TB. ground cinnamon
Unsweetened coconut for rolling
In a food processor, chop carrots, ginger and dates together to form a paste. Remove to a bowl, and add flax, almond meal, salt, vanilla (if using) and cinnamon. Mix with your hands, mushing it up, until it is uniformly mixed. Roll 1/2" balls, then roll in coconut to coat. Eat immediately, or chill. They freeze beautifully.
Now the cacao version. I took the basic mix, added raw cacao powder, a little almond extract, a touch of coffee extract, (coffee makes chocolate taste chocolate-ier), raw cacao nibs and a bit of macqi berry powder (a superfruit, like goji. I added it because I have it, but it's easily omitted.) Knead this all together, form in to balls and roll in cacao powder.