Dinner Party

So.

I was so excited about this dinner party

I seriously deliberated all week about what to make.

We usually have dinners where all of the food is served at once, and we have to eat early

so the kids can partake.

but we said, "nay."

This was served course by course- preparing each after the previous one had been

finished.

First we had a bit of cheese.

Fab Fromage for Quebec

(served on ceramic coasters)

The avocado and cucumber soup we learned to make in Quebec,

topped with serrano pepper whipped cream.

Fried green tomatoes, roasted beets and remoulade!

Served over polenta

The main course was Osso Buco

I don't have photos

The dessert was a caramel apple pecan cheesecake

Also, no photos.

We were having fun...we must have forgotten :P



Quebec- Day 4

Today our Lovely meal was chilled avocado and cucumber soup (with a garnish of lobster and shrimp!)




An amuse bouche of pea soup




Beef steak salad




And an apricot tart with almonds, pistachio and rosemary frangipane, with raspberry sorbet. It looked prettier before the sorbet melted, but I was pulling shots.




In the afternoon we went to the Honey Economuseum


Doing a honeywine tasting




We visited Saint Anne de Beaupre Basilica





We visited Moulin de Petit Pre- A very old flour mill







And stopped as a shop for some fresh produce, fabulous pie, and to visit some goats.

>






Our travels then took us to Montmorency park falls









Words in the wood



Then we came back to the college and cooked dinner in tiny poorly stocked kitchens- It was fun, but I am very full right now.. this seems to be a recurring incident.

Anyhow, tomorrow off to the Farmers market bright and moderately early.

Raw Food Party

Raw food? Really? Okay, I will admit that I was skeptical. I love a hot simmering pot of soup on the stove, filling the house with its warm and enticing aromas. and I adore the moment when I get to open a dish braised in the oven, and finally getting to appreciate the melding together of flavors and tastes... and Summer BBQ- need I say more?

So, yeah. I was skeptical.

But, let me tell you, this was really, really cool.




We all went over to Dee's house and a cook named Helen Liba (we heard about her in the Walleye) came on over to give us all a raw food demo. She first peeled and spiralized some zucchini. It was fascinating to watch these pale green rivulets of "pasta" pour out of this machine. My first thought; I want one!




Once she had a huge bow full of the zucchini, she made the sauce.

Zucchini Marinara
2 large tomatoes
1 red pepper
1 cup of sun dried tomatoes- soaked for 2 hours in warm water, drained and chopped.
1/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
3/4t sea salt
pinch of cayenne
Fresh basil and oregano
Put it all in a food processor and blend.

Pour the sauce over the raw pasta and let it sit for 15 minutes. the salt in the sauce will soften up the squash. Now let me tell you...you will NOT fool anyone into thinking that this is spaghetti, though it is similar in texture. But, it is delicious, and on a hot summers day, I would say that this dish would be preferable over actual pasta.


While this was soaking, Helen whipped up an app for us. She had previously soaked, blended and dehydrated flax into sort of crackers (gluten free!) On top she put her Cashew mayo, which is wonderful and has probably a million uses then topped that with fresh veggies. It was a wonderful way to start a meal. Very light and flavorful.

Cashew Mayonnaise
1 cup cashews soaked for 8 hours; drained
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 doft dates; pitted
1t onion powder
1/2 t garlic powder
1t quality salt
dash of pepper
1/4 cup olive oil




But the Icing on the cake was the dessert. Seriously, you have never seen anything like this! Raw chocolate mousse! Had 10 other women not been there I would have eaten and licked the whole damn bowl!

It is with avocados- did you hear me?! Avocados! I LOVE avocado!

Chocolate Mousse

2 medium avocados
1 cup natural cane sucar (sucanat)
1t vanilla
1/4 t cinnamon
3/4 cup organic cocoa
3/4 cup water, with additional to thin as needed,

blend and serve with berries fruit or whatever your heart desires.

So of course, as per usual I had more wine than everyone else combined, but I had a great time because of the food. It is so great to learn so much about cooking and ingredient prep- even a new way of eating! I am pretty sure that I wont be switching my entire diet, but I look forward to incorporating everything I learned into my cooking.

If you're in t bay and want to contact helen, call her at 472-0514. You might be skeptical too, but I guarantee you wont regret it.