Making Love in the Kitchen - Part 3

Cooking class on Thursdays is really starting to become part of my routine and I don't know what I'm going to do when it's over! We have such a great group of people and Meghan is such a fabulous teacher. The focus for last night's class was raw food, sprouting and dairy/calcium. This had been the class I had been looking forward to the most and I was definitely not disappointed.

We started off with a demo on sprouting. We had talked a little bit about it last week, but this week Meghan showed us how easy it was to sprout our own seeds. Sprouts are packed with vitamins, nutrients and enzymes, making them quite the little powerhouses!

I was really happy that Meghan covered calcium and dairy. Since cutting out dairy I was concerned that I wasn't getting an adequate supply of calcium in my diet. (It's all those milk commercials and ads I think!) She made an interesting point in class and on her blog:

Is there any single food on earth that we need to consume in order to obtain one particular nutrient? Is there any vitamin or mineral that is only available from a single source? So why would dairy be the only place we could get calcium?

There are so many foods that are rich in calcium and many of them have a higher absorption rate than milk. By demonstrating that we can derive calcium from other sources, I feel more confident that I am meeting my calcium needs. Meghan showed us how to make our own milk from almonds (which is actually a lot easier than I thought!) The result is a creamy, delicious milk that also has calcium, thanks to the abundance of almonds used. It's reassuring to know that those of us who can't have milk are not doomed to be calcium deficient. 

The Menu:

Walnut crackers with sprouted chickpea hummus

Carrot & Broccoli lentil soup

Cauliflower couscous (raw)

Baked veggie falafels with tahini

Balsamic roasted vegetables with walnuts

Chocolate pudding

Honey seed treats

I ended up on falafel duty as I was one of the only ones who had received the recipe (ah, technology) They were made from a mix of beans, grated carrots & zucchini, onion, flour and spices. They turned out well and were quite yummy!

I thought they looked like cookies.

The rest of the menu was quite delightful. The cauliflower couscous was so interesting! It really looked like couscous and had the texture of couscous but was made from little bits of raw cauliflower. I think this would make a great addition to a summer BBQ. Nicole and I enjoyed a wee bowl without olives.

The walnut crackers were kind of addictive. I can't wait to make them for myself especially with some homemade hummus!

I bought a food processor last weekend and I think some sprouted hummus may be the best way to christen it. Stay tuned!

Dessert was probably tied with the cracker/hummus combo. It was amazing!! The pudding was so creamy and smooth and the honey seed treats were fantastic.

All together looking delicious!

Only one more week - I can hardly believe it! I'm so happy that I signed up for these classes. I'm learning so much and meeting some wonderful people and making dishes that I will make again (and in some cases I have already!)