Another Dinner Down…And many more to go!
Now, let’s get to the good part. Just what was on the menu?!
Caesar Salad with pine nut parmesan cheese, and almond croutons
OR
Cream of Mushroom Soup topped with marinated mushrooms, almond milk swirl and parsley
Main:
Spicy Thai Veggie Wraps with sweet mango dipping sauce and spicy nuts
OR
Cheesy Broccoli Cannelloni with sundried tomato basil sauce
Dessert:
Strawberry Lime Mousse Cake with strawberry sauce
OR
Apple Crumble with vanilla ice cream
Creating the menu is always so much fun for me, but never easy, as there are so many great raw dishes that it’s hard to decide on just a few. One day I’ll have to make it buffet style, or “chef’s surprise” – actually, I’m contemplating that for my next dinner. No one will know what they’re getting until they arrive! How fun is that?!
All the recipes here are as I’ve made them for the dinner, so they need to be cut in half or more, for a smaller group.
I ended up creating my own Caesar dressing and parmesan, just days before. I’ve made Woody Harrelson’s dressing before, and while it’s great, I was wanting something a bit different.
Here’s a variation I came up with, based on his and Café Gratitude’s dressing.
This salad is my new favourite! I’ve been eating it literally all week (since I had to test the recipe and now I’m enjoying a bit of leftovers from the dinner) and I still love it!
Caesar Dressing

½ c cashews
½ c water
¼ c lemon juice
¼ c olive oil
2.5 tbs acv
2 tbs nutritional yeast
2 tsp sea salt
1-2 tsp black pepper
2 medium cloves garlic
1 large date
Blend till smooth.

½ c pine nuts
1 tsp nutritional yeast
1 small clove garlic, minced
¼- ½ tsp sea salt
Pulse brazils, yeast, garlic, and salt in FP until almost ground. Add pine nuts and grind until crumbly.
5 cups almond milk (soak 1.5 c almonds)
5-6 cups chopped mushrooms
1 cup dried porcini soak water
2/3 cup dried porcini mushies
½ medium avocado
½ cup chopped zucchini
1/3 c olive oil
¼ c lemon juice
4 sm cloves garlic
2 tsp sea salt
Blend till smooth. Garnish w marinated mushies (sliced button mushrooms in tamari and then dehydrated for a few hours), almond milk swirl, and chopped parsley.
The first entrée is an adaptation of the cheesy broccoli cannelloni by chef Dan Hoyt, from Carol Alt’s, The Raw 50 . I’m not so big on some of the herbs in the recipe (as I did try it before), but I love the idea, so I decided to create a new version. The all versatile zucchini makes the cannelloni tubes, filled with cheddar sauce mixed with chopped broccoli. They get topped with sundried tomato basil sauce, pine nuts and fresh parsley, and were served with a mixed greens salad.
Cheesy Broccoli Cannelloni
Cheddar Sauce
Pulse 1.5-2 heads broccoli, with a bit of nutritional yeast and sea salt, to small bits in food processor. Fold into cheese sauce.
Peel/ make strips out of zucchini. Let sit to soften or dehydrate for a few hours. Roll up with the filling.
¼ cup soak water
1 pitted, medjool date or 2 tsp honey
2 tbs olive oil
2 small clove of garlic
Sea salt & dried oregano to taste
4 large tomatoes, chopped
½ cup fresh basil, chopped & packed
Blend all but fresh tomatoes/basil. Pulse last 2 ingredients into the blend.
Mine look quite disheveled (do to probs with the lettuce as wraps) but they do taste great and are fun eaten with your hands!

Sarma’s Spicy Thai Wraps
1 cucumber, cut into matchsticks
1 red and green pepper, sliced thin
*Spicy nuts/seeds
In a high-speed blender, puree the maple syrup, lemon juice, ginger, red chile, and nama shoyu. Add the almond butter and blend at low speed to combine. Add water to thin if necessary, to get a thick, cake batter - like consistency.In a medium bowl, add the shredded cabbage and the almond butter mixture and toss well to combine.
2 cups soaked sunflower seeds
2 tbs sesame oil
1 ½ tsp cayenne pepper
1/2- 1 tsp chili powder
cumin to taste
Mix spices with nuts. Dehydrate until dry.
5 cups mango
½ medium banana
Lemon and lime juice to taste
Agave to sweeten
Blend until smooth. Serve with thai rolls.
Apple Crumble
Crumble Topping:
1 cup walnuts
1 cup pitted and packed, medjool dates
In a food processor, combine all ingredients until they become crumbly.
Filling:
10 medium sized apples (2 pureed/ 8 sliced)
2/3 cup pitted and packed, medjool dates
1/3 cup raisins
2 -3 tsp cinnamon
3-4 tbs honey or agave
2 tbs lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla
½ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp sea salt
Puree 2 apples and rest of ingredients till smooth and creamy. Set aside.
Peel and thinly slice the 8 apples. Toss with cream.
Place into a large dish, sprinkle with nut crumble topping. Warm at 115F a few hours.
(Heathy’s Note: For soft “cooked” apples, let the sliced apples sit in the blended cream overnight)
6 cups water
2 large bananas
¾ cup packed, pitted dates
2 tbs lecithin
Blend the almonds with water and then strain in a nut milk bag. Blend the almond milk with remaining ingredients until smooth. Chill overnight. Process in an ice cream maker, or freeze in an ice cube tray and then process through a juicer.

So overall, I think the dinner was a success - meaning everyone enjoyed good company and good food. I now look forward to my next big dinner which will be held outside in the summer. Im already dreaming up new possibilities...

15 Comments
You did an amazing job, such dedication and love. The pie, forget about it, and the candle were pretty cool too. : )
Thanks Philip! This is so my passion :)
Oh girlie! You've done it again!!! Everything looked fabulous! I can't believe how aligned we are (I know, it happens all the time but eh!)... I'm just about to make cannellonis for supper. lol I'll be trying something new, a pesto & cream filling with marinated mushies. I also have left over cheddar sauce in the fridge so purrrfect! Let's hope there's a bit of broccoli somewhere so I can try your version as well. ;-)<br />I'm soooo making your Ceasar dressing/salad! I've been having my house dressing for weeks on end now. lol Hey, I meant to ask you, for the croutons, you used wet almond pulp, right? (I'm too lazy to dehydrate it first! hehe)<br />Oh, and I made parmesan today as well. Too bad I didn't see your variation first. Will have to try it some other time then.<br /><br />Congrats again for such a successful dinner!<br /><br />Luv and light,<br />Carmi
wonderful job again!!! I cannot get enough of that Stawberry Lime mousse cake!!!!! Your kitchen looks HUGE!!!Something for me to dream about!!!<br /><br />RawLeah
Hi ... i don't think I've ever commented before but I've been reading your blog for a while now ! I had to comment after reading this post ... I LOVE IT !!! I can't wait to try these recipes. I don't eat totally raw. Maybe one day I will though with recipes like this !! I'm guessing you don't live in Australia ( like I do ) with all that snow ! Too bad, I'd be signing up for one of your dinner parties !! Looks fantastic !!
how lucky are your dinner guests!! between the presentation and the actual food, I'm in awe!!
Everything in your dinner menu looks so appetizing and delicious.And your strawberry lime cheesecake mmmmm, I wish I could have a bite just now! Btw, when is your raw dessert book coming out?
hi! ok, i have been following your blog for a couple of weeks now and WHEN and where can i get your dessert book?????!! i'm SURE it will be a sell out!! thanks! lexilee in kansas
May I come next time? <br />hehe<br />It all looks amazing, you are truly talented.<br /><br />Blessings!
It really freaks me out how good you are making raw food. Dizam!<br />take care, sam yardsnacker.com
Thanks everyone for the lovely comments! I wish you all lived closer and could attend one of my parties too. I soooo love to do things like this. It just makes my heart sing :)<br /><br />In light!<br />Heathy
Wow, that looks amazing. Contrary to popular belief, I'm such a mess in the kitchen.
I love your blog, I'm trying to be a raw foodist to but here in my country we don't have any info about it. I'm interesting in your book but<br /><br />where do we get a copy of your new book? <br /><br />Thanks for share all this great recipes.<br /><br />Blessings<br /><br />Katya <br />El Salvador
Everything looks great, quick question. What is ACV? (The caesar dressing calls for it)
I was wondering what ACV is as well! Love,Love,Love the blog!<br />Namaste, Mandy