Monday, March 19, 2012

How to Make . . . a Raw Food Platter

Putting together raw dishes can be fun! Even though this one looks and smells amazing, it isn't all that complicated. These are the steps I took to make my lunch today - a Sweet n' Sour Platter over Veggie Rice (and the recipe will definitely be included in the My Daily Eats e-book).

VEGGIE RICE
Veggie rice is made in a food processor by simply placing chopped root vegetables in the food processor, adding seasonings, and processing lightly just until it resembles rice (overprocessing will make it wet and mushy).

Experiment with as many different kinds of root vegetables that you can find. Butternut squash, cauliflower, daikon radish, parsnips and carrots are but a few of what is available. 


MARINATING VEGGIES

Luckily I had a partial casserole of marinated veggies all ready in the fridge. But normally I make up a casserole of mixed veggies once a week, add a simple marinade, and dehydrate for a few hours. Using an 8" square glass casserole provides me with a few meals - or 1-2 meals for a family!

A marinade can be as simple or complicated as you want it to be - some people just use olive oil and salt, others use more ingredients - here's your chance to let those creative juices flow!


ADDING THE SAUCE
There was leftover Sweet n' Sour Sauce from yesterday's meal, so all I had to do was mix spoonfuls of the sauce into the marinated veggies. If you have a favourite sauce, this is the place to use it.

Ensuring all the veggies have a good coating makes for a really tasty dish.


COMPLETING THE DISH

Finally the veggie rice was spooned in the centre of a lovely plate (beautiful presentation seems to amplify taste). The sauce coated veggies were ladled over top of the rice, and I made sure to leave some rice showing around the sides of the plate.

For the final touch, I drizzled spoonfuls of the sauce over the platter of rice and veggies and served the dish with chopsticks. Taking a moment to appreciate this feast for the senses somehow made it all the sweeter!

4 comments:

Alice in Knitland said...

this post gave me an idea to keep veggies marinated around..want to do them in the dehydrator next.

Maureen, EZ Raw Living said...

Thanks Alice - by keeping a bowl of marinated veggies ready in the fridge - I am never at a loss for a meal!

Nicky said...

What if I don't have a dehydrator? An what is the sauce you used in the picture? And what is in it and how do you make it? Is there a way to soften vegtables other then dehydrator.

Maureen, EZ Raw Living said...

Without a dehydrator, you can put veggies and marinade in a glass casserole and let sit covered in the fridge for a few hours to soften the veggies.

Another way (on a sunny day) is to put veggies and marinade in a glass dish that is covered. Sit the casserole in the sun for a couple of hours, remember to check and turn veggies.

The recipes for Sweet n' Sour Sauce, Rice, and Marinated Veggies will be in my new e-book that is almost finished - watch for it!