A Dinner Party

Big thanks to my friends Kat  & Adam who organized a lovely dinner
party last night at their home to get together with friends and to raise
funds for the life-saving work of Doctors Without Borders.

Kat's dinner table looked fantastic. She hosted quite a lovely spread
and I'd like to share a few recipes that we prepared for the guests.
The recipes below are easy and quick, not to mention very nutritious.
Remember to use organic and fresh ingredients from your local produce
or farmers market, because buying organic is a much better choice,
good for your health and taste buds too.

Quinoa Salad with Greens
2 cups cooked Quinoa - (use red, black or tri-color)    
2 cups raw Spinach
2 ripe Avocados - cubed
1 cup raw Cilantro
1 cup raw Walnuts
Salt (Himalayan) & Pepper to taste
Dash of Cinnamon

Combine the spinach and cilantro in a food processor, in 2-3
batches, pulse to chop about 3-4 times, but not too fine, or chop
by hand with a sharp knife. Put aside.

Ground the walnuts in the food processor, pulse about 4 times or
chop with a knife.

Combine all the ingredients, then add Lime-Cumin Dressing
and toss.

Lime-Cumin Dressing
2-3 Limes, juiced
1 Garlic clove - mashed
3 tbsp Olive Oil - cold pressed
1/4 cup filtered Water
A dash - 1/4 tsp Cumin (cumin can be overpowering)
A splash of Agave
Himalayan Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients into a blender, there is no exact recipe to
this dressing, you can tweak as you go along.

Kat's Kale Salad
Thanks for sharing your recipe!

One bunch of Kale (approximately 4 leaves per person, cut into bite size
        without the stem)
A dozen Cherry Tomatoes
Olives

Put the kale into a steamer and let steam for 1 or 2 minutes (max) just
so it gets just a bit softer.  Put into salad bowl.

Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and add to the salad bowl to spread
on top.

Add about 6 olives, you can cut in half if they are large. Toss and
serve.

Dressing:
1/3 cup of olive extra virgin - cold pressed
Half of 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper blend

Mix all ingredients together and let it chill in the fridge for 30 min
before serving.




Raw Apple Pie for dessert!
(I acquired this recipe from a raw food class.)

Crust:
1 cup raw Almonds (soaked overnight - to get more nutrients and
     easy to digest)
3/4 cup dried unsweetened coconut
1/2 dried Apricots
3 pitted dates
1 tsp vanilla extract (organic and alcohol free)
A pinch of Himalayan salt

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until the consistency
gets sticky and set the crust on a 9" pie dish. Set aside.

Pie filling:
2 Gala Apples (shred in food processor and set aside)
1/2 cup Water from soaked Apricots (4 hours or overnight)
1/2 dried Apricots
A dash or two of Vanilla Extract
A tsp combined powdered cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves

Except for the shredded apples, combine all ingredients in a blender to make a cream.

In a mixing bowl, combine the cream and the shredded apples
and mix.

Then add the pie filling on top of the crust.

Smooth with a spatula and serve!