April Natural Way Cafe

Our April Cafe theme was salads - all the guests prepared scrumptious salads creations. We provided the entree: Barbecue Brown Rice Tortilla pizzas.

We began our evening of course with our Raw food (salads - Step #3 of the Natural Way)
After that, we walked out on to deck and assembled our pizzas for the grill.
1) Take a brown rice tortilla top with tomato sauce (or Tomato Basil Sauce see March 2009).
2) Top with your favorite vegetables.
3) Place on the grill, allowing tortilla to crisp (just a few minutes on a low heat).
4) Take off the grill & top with fresh basil, avocado, or cheesy sauce.
Enjoy!

We had a fantastic group of Natural Wayers that kept Mary-Ann going through the night. Question & answer time was invaluable!

Thank you Mary-Ann for sharing as our guest speaker once again this month. Have a safe journey back to South Africa.

March Natural Way Cafe Extravaganza

Our theme this month was Appetizers & Snack Foods and we had best selling author Mary-Ann Shearer as our guest speaker. With a fantastic turn-out of Natural Wayers the feast was on.

Each guest brought their version of their favorite snack - we had over 25 delectable items to sample from frozen grapes to Thai Pizza wedges, scrumptious dips and veggies, gluten free crackers & brown rice crisps to dip them in.

Mary-Ann graciously conducted a question and answer in spite of the fact that she had just flown in from South Africa and hadn't slept for over 24 hours.

Participants are encouraged to submit their recipes for posting on this blog. I've included below the ones recieved.


Eggplant Dip
1 Eggplant
2 tblspn finely chopped parsley
1 scallion, finely chopped
2 Tblspn olive oil
2 Tblspn lemon juice
2 Tblspns Veganaise (or use Mayonaise)
1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
Salt & pepper to taste

Bake eggplant until soft. Allow to cool, then scoop out flesh & chop roughly. Add remaining ingredients. Garnish with extra parsley or chopped red pepper.


Cheesy Sauce
¾ cup cashews
¼ cup pine nuts
3 – 4 tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
Mary-Ann’s Herb Salt to taste
¾ cup water

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Blend until smooth.
Add more or less water to attain desired consistency.

Use as a dip for vegetables, topping in replacement for a cheese sauce.
Works well as a topping for pasta.

Artichoke & Spinach Dip
½ package frozen artichoke hearts
1 package frozen spinach
Mary-Ann’s Seasoning Salt to taste
2 cups Veganaise (egg-free, sugar-free mayonnaise substitute)
1 cup Cheesy Sauce

Place artichokes & spinach in a pot or pan & season w/Seasoning Salt.
Roast frozen artichokes & frozen spinach in the oven or heat in a saucepan.

Place heated mix in a bowl add the remaining ingredients mix thoroughly.
Enjoy w/fresh vegetables or Brown Rice Crisps (See recipe from November 2008)

Tomato Basil Sauce
2 cups Basil Pesto Sauce (Follow the Pesto Sauce Recipe from November 2008)
1 can organic tomato paste

Mix the two ingredients thoroughly. For a thinner sauce add water as needed or olive oil.
Can be used as a pizza sauce, a dip or a pasta sauce.

Colin's Trail Mix
1/4 c raw pepitas
1/4 c raw cashews
1/4 c raw sunflower seeds
1/4 c raw slivered almonds
1/4 c roasted & salted peanuts (omit to stay raw)
1/4 c dried cranberries
1/4 c raisins
1/4 c unsweetened coconut flakes
1/4 c shredded coconut

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and enjoy. Store in a sealed container.

Thai Pizza appetizers
Peanut Sauce:
2 T peanut butter
1 T soy sauce or wheat-free tamari
1 T lime juice
1 T raw honey
1/4 t ground ginger
1/4 t crushed red pepper
Toppings:
1 c finely shredded bok choy
1/3 c finely shredded red cabbage
1/3 c finely shredded carrots
1 green onion, finely chopped
2 T chopped cilantro
2 T chopped, roasted & salted peanuts or raw sesame seeds
Brown Rice Tortillas:
Cut into eight wedges & crisp in the oven at 400 degrees for about 8 minutes.

Directions: Take brown tortilla crisps & top with Toppings. Mix together peanut sauce then spoon on top of wedges (you can have the wedges or create an entire pizza if you prefer).