2 hours = Endless Goodies!

As any good raw-er will confess, it's the preparation that can stink out any motivation. I love raw food as is: in it's raw natural state. I could probably eat raw kale, lettuces and veggies with tahini or almond butter all day. Well and toss in a few smoothies/juices. But have you tried raw cheesecake?!

I never cooked growing up or even after I grew up so I don't have much reference on traditional recipes, but I did somehow always manage to know that making homemade cheesecake was a chore if not entirely impossible. I knew something about all the different pans and forms needed to do it and I lost all interest.

Boy was I upset when I found raw cheesecake. Turns out, raw cheesecake is one of the EASIEST things to make and requires no

• dairy products
• sugar
• heating/cooking/special supplies
• lengthy amount of time

I can't tell you how duped I often feel by the mainstream society that raised me to believe sugar and dairy products are the supremacy of life. Phooey!

So last week when I got home from the grocery store I had some unshakable urge to stay in the kitchen. My husband finished up some belated Christmas gifts (we handed out home-made, organic sugar scrubs) and I just kept on making goodies. It took time, but it was so worth it.

In about two and a half hours I made

1. chocolate cheesecake (the recipe should be somewhere here on this blog...I should check, though to be sure)
   
2. almond halvah (a new recipe from Matt Amsden)
3. granola (note the pic welcoming you to today's post)
   
4. oatmeal raisin cookies
5. tabouli
   

And today we are still enjoying the fruits of my labor. I even had something to bring to a last minute dinner party on New Years Eve. And this is especially helpful for my formerly sugar-addicted husband--having treats around makes him feel spoiled and well-fed. And while that's not my goal, it's nice when raw food is this decadent.

Unfortunately, I cannot share all my recipes. My granola is one of my top secret recipes and if I ever open a restaurant, it's going to be on the menu. So please enjoy the pic. If you are in town, you're welcome to stop by for some. What I can say is be creative. Grab a bag of organic raw oats (oat groats) and add your favorite yummies. Mix and dehydrate.

What I will be sharing is my recipe for raw tabouli (I kind of created it from a variety of different recipes--I couldn't find a directly raw tabouli recipe online or in any of my thousands of books).

Raw Tabouli (using the Mother of all Grains: Quinoa)

• 1 cup organic raw quinoa, soaked 8-12 hours (taste it as you go, til it's as soft as you prefer--you can also sprout quinoa but it's not necessary for this recipe)
• 1 1/2 cups raw organic red onion (or scallions if you prefer a milder taste), diced
• 3 medium size tomatoes (raw and organic...obviously!), diced
• 3 cups raw organic parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (I just squeezed every last drop of liquid from a half a lemon)
• Olive oil to drizzle
• Salt to taste

Rinse the quinoa after soaking and add to large mixing bowl. Add onion, tomatoes, parsley and lemon juice. Drizzle lightly with olive oil (taste as you go is my method of choice) and flavor with salt (You all do know about the importance of salt quality, right? Himalayan Pink is the best money can buy us here in AZ). Stir and serve room temperature or chilled. We ate this up like it was bailout money for the banks so I don't know how well it saves with the dressing on it. I do know that the ingredients will not last for more than a day or two in the fridge. YUM-MEEE! Just as tasty as traditional tabouli if not more so and completely raw. Voila!