Max's birthday gathering today. I was up super early and was still preparing food when the guests arrived at 2pm!
I made some raw mushroom and squash burgers with salsa and sour cream, layered russian salad inspired by Tonya Zavasta's gorgeous recipe in the last issue of Funky Raw magazine, taken from her book, Beautiful on Raw, and Max's delicious chocolate coconut cream cake.
Raw mushroom squash burgers:
6 portabella mushrooms, peeled
2 cups cubed peeled butternut squash
1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 tbsp braggs liquid aminos
1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
1/2 cup flax meal
1/2 cup pumpkin seed meal
First put the garlic in the food processor and blitz until finely chopped. Add the squash and process until a puree consistency. Add mushrooms and onion and process until a coarse pate is achieved. Add other ingredients and process again so that everything is thoroughly combined. Either just spoon onto paraflexx dehydrator sheets, or do what I did and use a ring mould to shape into small burgers and then dehydrate for 12 hours at 115 degrees. You want the burgers to still be moist in the middle so do keep checking on them. As soon as the tops are dry enough you can flip them onto the mesh sheet and remove the paraflexx sheets so that they dry evenly.
Salsa recipe:
5 tomatoes, quartered
1 small clove garlic
1/2 red onion
Juice from 1/2 lime
1/4 tsp. Himalayan salt
Finely chop garlic in the processor, then add onion and repeat. Then add tomatoes and pulse until roughly chopped. Mix in salt and lime to taste by hand and season with freshly ground black pepper.
Sour cream recipe:
1 cup raw cashews, soaked 2 hours or more
juice of 1/2 - 1 lemon
1/2 tsp. Himalayan salt
Pure water as needed
1/2 bunch finely chopped chives
Drain cashews and put in high speed blender with a little water (barely covering the cashews). Blitz until smooth, adding more water a tablespoon at a time to achieve the desired consistency. Then add juice from 1/2 lemon and the salt. Blitz to mix, then taste. Add more lemon and salt if it still tastes sweet or cashew like. When you have got the flavour right you can pour into a bowl and stir in the chives by hand. Mmmmm!
Max's chocolate coconut cream cake:
Cake:
1 cup almond flour (almond pulp from making almond milk, dehydrated and powdered)
1 cup buckwheat flour (raw buckwheat soaked 1 hour, dehydrated and powdered)
1 cup coconut flour (can be bought or just powder unsweetened shredded coconut)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup raw cacao powder
1/2 cup agave
1 large ripe avocado
1 cup water
1/2 cup coconut oil
Pinch Himalayan salt
Process everything to a smooth batter in the food processor. Split into two and put into two 8 inch loose bottomed cake tins lined with cling film. Shape in the tin and then take the two cakes out and place onto mesh dehydrator sheets. Dehydrate for 8 hours until firm but still moist and springy to the touch.
Coconut cashew cream:
3 cups shredded coconut
1 cup raw cashews, soaked 2 hours or more
Coconut water
Put the coconut in the food processor and process until it turns into coconut butter. Remove and set aside. Put the cashews into a high speed blender with a little coconut water (barely covering) and blitz until smooth. Add 1/2 cup of the coconut butter and blitz to mix in.
Chocolate icing:
2 large ripe avocadoes
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup coconut butter
1/4 cup cacao powder
1/4 cup agave
Put everything in the food processor and process until smooth.
To assemble the cake:
Put one of the sponge cakes back into the tin. Pour the coconut cashew cream on and smooth over. Put the other sponge on top. Then spoon over the icing and smooth out with a spatula. Ease out of the tin carefully and decorate with cacao powder or shredded coconut or goji berries if desired. I left mine plain just with the number 2 candle.
Wishing you raw health and happiness,
Natalie. x
