Memorial Day Cookout Berry Cobbler!

This fresh raw berry cobbler reminds me of the cakes decorated with blueberries and strawberries that people bring to Memorial Day and Fourth of July parties...I used strawberries and blackberries in mine, but blueberries would be delicious as well!

You could use frozen here, but I think fresh, in season berries are much tastier! For the spring and summer time, I like fresh strawberries as the primary fruit, but use any in season fruit you like…this would be delicious with peaches in the summer, or apples in the fall.

Filling:

2 ½ cups strawberries

¾ cup blackberries

½ cup medjool dates

1) Wash and slice strawberries, and place two cups of strawberries and the blackberries in a large bowl. Squish them gently with a fork, to release some of their juices.

2) In a food processor, combine the additional ½ cup of strawberries with ½ cup of pitted dates. Soft medjool dates are best for this, but if you can’t find nice, soft dates, pit and soak your dates for 10 minutes, then drain them before using in the recipe. Blend berries and dates until smooth

3) Add blended berries to sliced berries, toss well and set aside

Crust:

1 cup almonds

½ cup dates

1 tablespoon coconut oil

½ teaspoon vanilla

½ teaspoon or so of cinnamon, to taste

Pinch of sea salt

1) Combine almonds, pitted dates, coconut oil, vanilla, cinnamon and salt in a food processor until it is almost like a cookie dough, but you can still see small crumbs of almond

2) Press mixture into a pie plate

To Serve:

1) Top crust with berries, and refrigerate before serving or serve immediately.

2) Take several small scoops of the mixture and layer them into an individual serving bowl, so it resembles a cooked cobbler

3) Alternately, you can simply place a few tablespoons of the crust mixture directly into the serving bowl, top with some berries, and continue to layer it, rather than pressing into the pie plate first.

It's Easy Drinking Greens: No Juicer? No Problem!!

I admit it, I haven’t yet totally acquired a taste for green juice. I don’t hate it, but I don’t love it.However, it is touted by many as a fabulous elixir for health, so I know I should drink it! So I do, sometimes…although not yet being in possession of a juicer (I’m far more partial to drinking my greens in smoothie form), I’ve had to improvise a little and use the blender and a creative straining process. Purists would tell you that blending the juice and then filtering out the solids is not as good a method for getting the most of your juice as, say, actually making it with a juicer, but I think it is still a pretty darn good way to get a lot out of your greens. So if you don't have a juicer, and would like to try green juice, and don't live next door to a juicer bar, give it a shot! Adding an apple or some lemon the first couple of times will help you get used to it...Depending on how juicy your veggies are, this probably makes about 16 oz.

Here’s my recipe, meant to be tweaked:

1 large cucumber (peeled if it is waxed)

1 heart of celery (7-8 stalks)

Couple handfuls of spinach

Sometimes ginger, an apple, some lemon juice or some parsley

1 ½-2 cups of water

First, roughly chop all your veggies, and put them in the blender with 11/2 cups of water if you are using a cuke, 2 cups if not. It looks like this:

Second, blend. Depending on the size of your blender, you may have to blend up some of it first to fit the rest in. Blend until very smooth. Make sure it doesn’t get warm in the blender.

Third, filter through a nut milk bag, or an 8 inch foot section of CLEAN pantyhose. I fit the pantyhose over the mouth of a jar, secured it with a rubber band so that about 2 inches were hanging down, and poured in some of the green mix, like so:

Repeat this process – occasionally undoing the pantyhose, if that is your method, and gently squeezing out juice (yes, it is a little like milking a cow), or squeezing out the nut milk bag, emptying pulp, and adding more mix, until all the mix has been separated…

Finally, enjoy your juice! It has already been diluted, which it should be in any case, but feel free to dilute further with water. Remember to enjoy your juice immediately after making it, and preferably on an empty stomach! It is alkalizing and provides you with a better nutrient punch that any vitamin capsule. Raw appétit!

Upcoming Raw Food Classes! Spring Cleaning for Your Body...

Just taught a "restaurant-style raw" class the other night with mediterranean pizza, beet raviolis filled with herbed cashew cheese and topped with pesto, garlicky greens on the side, and a strawberry tart for dessert...yum! The recipe for the pizza - which was the #1 crowd pleaser - is pasted below.

If you are in the Wilmington, Delaware area, check out my Spring Cleaning class on May 15:

Would you like glowing skin, sparkling eyes and tons of energy for summer? Just as you air out and clean up your house in the spring time, your body needs detoxification and rejuvenation to feel and look its best! Join us to learn:

-Eating for Beauty: Detoxifying Recipes

-Proper food combining to aid digestion

-Simple techniques for cleansing and detoxification

$35, Class will be held at Pure Yoga Pilates Studio in Wilmington. To sign up, emailinfo@pureyogapilates.com, or call 302-225-YOGA.

I'm also doing another Getting Started on Raw Food Level 1 class on June 26 - check out www.rawteacher.com/angelasalvucci for more details, or email me at angelasalvucci@hotmail.com. Everything you need to know to eat raw!

Here's the Mediterranean pizza recipe:

On your favorite raw pizza crust (I use Alissa Cohen's easy crust recipe from "Living on Live Food" most of the time) or a thin slice of eggplant or zucchini, add:

Cashew-Shallot Cheese Sauce:

1 cup of cashews, soaked for one hour or more

1 shallot, chopped (about 1 tablespoon)

Juice of one lemon (or more or less, to taste)

1/2 teaspoon of salt

Cash of cayenne pepper

Blend all ingredients in a food processor, adding a few tablespoons of water, to desired smoothness.

Fennel and Arugula:

Toss 1 cup of very thinly sliced fennel (I used a mandoline, but you could also used a veggie peeler) with 2 cups arugula, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 tablepoon olive oil, salt & pepper to taste

And black olives...I am loving the black olives with celtic sea salt I recently got from Matt Monarch's www.rawfoodworld.com. They are seriously amazing...and even more so on this delicious pizza! Raw appetit!