october cooking class and belated thanksgiving

I taught a cooking class this past week with an absolutely wonderful group of women at one of the Superstore locations in Mississauga. As it was my first class at this particular location, I wanted to offer an introduction to raw and vegan cooking. I selected some of my all-time favorite recipes to share with the group; Lemon-Coconut Bars, Morroccan Quinoa and Carrot Salad, and Almondaise Appetizers. I've made these for other classes before, but couldn't pass up the opportunity to demonstrate them for this group. Here are some photos from the class:

We had such a great time that myself, Sandy (the Cooking Class coordinator), and the group stayed well past the one hour cooking class, to chat about health, nutrition, and the sumptuous recipes! Many thanks to Sandy and the ladies for a fun afternoon.

On another note, I hope all of you had a Happy (and healthy) Thanksgiving. This time of year holds a special place in my heart; Niagara is always so beautiful with the shifting colors and weather of Autumn, and I'm fortunate to celebrate a few familial birthday's around the same time as this holiday.

Here is a raw apple pie recipe (featured is the last piece of pie remaining - so good!) that I made this past Thanksgiving. It almost tasted like a raw apple crumble - yum!:

Apple Crumble Pie

Crust
1 cup shredded coconut
2 cups almonds
1/2 - 3/4 cup dates

Filling
5 large mutsu apples
1/2 cup dates
1/4 cup raisins
1 tsp cinnamon

Process crust ingredients, and fit to a large glass pie pan. Process 2 apples, and puree in a food processor. Chop the remaining 3 apples in the food processor. Combine apple mixture together, and fill pie shell. Top with leftover crumble/crust.

Also, Thanksgiving marks a special day for my little humble corner of the web, 'barefoot and frolicking'; it was a year ago that I posted my first blog entry entitled "A Vegan Thanksgiving?" Since then, I've expanded my horizons by learning from many other food bloggers (and even meeting some in person!), as well as writing about and documenting my personal journey with living, raw, vegan, and whole foods cuisine.

I want to thank all of you for your support, encouraging comments, and inspiration along the way. I am always so pleased that people are interested in following my blog, and I love to keep up with everyone's blogs as well - it is so great to keep up an ongoing dialogue about health, nutrition, and well-being. All in all, I am looking forward to another great year of 'barefoot and frolicking' and hope you are too :)

Best wishes for now!

an afternoon with BrockTV

During the last week of August, I had the esteemed opportunity to film a cooking demo episode for Brock University/BrockTV's "Broke and Hungry," a cooking show featuring quick, easy, and healthy recipes that are both affordable and delicious for university students living on a budget.

I was approached by Annie, a film major at Brock (as well as the show's producer), to share some vegan recipes, and after much deliberation, I decided to prepare my favorite Moroccan and Quinoa Cherry-Carrot Salad (vegan) and some Blackberry Mini Tartlets (raw vegan). The ingredients are affordable, and the recipes are simple and quick to prepare.

Annie and Tracy were oh so professional - check out the lighting and camera equipment; these girls mean(t) business:

 the Blackberry tartlets

Tracy and Annie go in for the close-up in my kitchie!

The episode was featured this week on BrockTV's website. You can check out part 1 and 2 of the cooking show below (I'm not sure if the links will work for those of you outside of Canada - let me know):

 Part 1: Moroccan Quinoa Cherry-Carrot Salad

Part 2: Raw Blackberry Tarts.

 

A really big thank you to everyone at Brock TV, especially Annie and Tracey, who helped make filming for the show a comfortable and fun experience. I am so pleased to be part of such a great show!

(PS... definitely check out Tracy's website; Tracy is OK. She is one talented girl!).