OK...that was just too good!

As you can see, I couldn't even wait to take the photo before I tucked into this delicious dessert!  The recipe is for a base vanilla ice cream that you can add your own "sides" to before you freeze it.  Being the "Kitchen Gadget-teer" that I am, I already had an inexpensive ice cream maker, and when I saw this recipe I knew it was for me!! :)  Andy's Amazing Raw Vanilla Base Ice Cream. 

This is actually "raw" ice cream, meaning that nothing is cooked, it has no dairy or processed sugar for sweeteners.  But, let me tell you, it was plenty sweet and delicious!  It has the same texture and taste as cow's milk based ice creams.  Oddly enough, this confection is made with cashews as the milk base and agave nectar and raisins create the sweet side.  The ripe apricot I had finished it off to perfection!

This followed another experimental dinner.  There has been talk on some boards about kelp noodles.  A neutral noodle made from some type of flour with kelp powder in it.  They, supposedly, pick up the flavor of the sauce with which they are served and have become a mainstay item in the Raw community.  The big questions haven't been satisfactorily answered, though, for true Raw-core people:  1)  Is it truly non-process heated from the beginning (making the flour) to the end (the final noodles)?  and 2) What is the true nutritional value by claiming it's kelp-based?  There are many trace nutrients in sea vegetables that people look for in something labeled "Kelp", but the packaging standards do not require manufacturers to show the details.  So, the question still remains...are kelp noodles a good idea for a Raw Foodist? 

Me, I'm still a newbie and could certainly get away with eating it.  But, if there is little nutritional value to them, then I don't know if I'm that interested at this time.  That's on the the kelp for now.

When people came back to my questions about kelp noodles, they brought suggestions of other choices.  The top referral? Zucchini.  Yes, that's right.  To make Zucchini "pasta", you peel and long-way, you very thinly slice the zucchini.  Depending on the type of "pasta you want, you cut the strips in the correct width.  Mix it with a sauce of choice and voila!  Dinner or a side dish.  I chose a very traditional combination by pairing my "pasta" with fresh pesto.  It was quite good.  I even have leftover pesto to eat with crackers or to mix with other veggies. 

The little red rings in the photo may look like hot peppers, but their not.  My local "cool" grocery had little baby bell peppers about the size of jalapenos for sale this week.  They are perfect for a single person who wants just enough pepper for one serving.  The bag has red, yellow and orange peppers...and they were mighty cute, too.

My current, on-going several day projects are to make rejuvelac (a lemony fermentation that is used in making nut cheese and is also a common drink for anyone who follow Dr. Witmore's cancer program).  I've also been peeling garlic to pickle, and once pickled to make garlic chips that can go on salads and in various dishes.  This is all a part of working on "the basics" of raw gourmet foods, so in a few weeks I'll have a nice store of easy to use goods in making new raw dishes. 

Tootles! :)