Raw-Vegan-Potluck. My friend, Karenna Love, invited me to a vegan potluck at her house. I love all things food related and immediately knew what I was going to bring – until I re-read the invitation. Somehow I missed the ‘raw’ part. I make a lot of vegetarian and vegan food but other than green salads, I generally cook some or all of my foods. I was stumped. All my go to foods like grains, beans and legumes need to be cooked. I thought about going out to my garden and picking fresh produce for a salad but other than lettuce and chard, nothing else is ready yet. Then I remembered how well cauliflower stood in for wheat in my Cauliflower Crust Pizza Recipe and decided to make a traditional tabouleh using cauliflower ‘rice’ instead of the usual couscous or bulgur. The result is delicious and, even though I know better since I ground up the cauliflower myself, I would swear it’s cooked bulgur wheat not cauliflower. This is a great recipe for those on gluten or wheat free diets – even for my Paleo friends. I would definitely make this again-on purpose!
Why eat raw? Eating fruits and vegetables raw ensures that you get 100% of the vitamins and minerals, including beneficial enzymes. Cooking can make some foods easier to digest but some of the vitamins and minerals (and all of the enzymes) are lost in the process. I’m not quite ready to throw out my pots and pans just yet, but I do see how adding more raw foods into our diets is a worthy goal.
Let’s go back to Karenna Love, founder of wonderful website VeganGreenPlanet, and her Raw Vegan Potluck. I have to admit to a few apprehensions about going to a vegan event when I’m not even vegetarian. But then I realized that GMD is all about pushing myself out of my comfort zone, so I went. It was an interesting mix of caring and non-judgemental people and great food. I’m so glad I stepped out of my box. My Tabouleh was well received, which after one taste, I knew it was yummy and potluck worthy. The speaker, Mikaele Holzer, health coach and cleansing expert at Green Your Spirit was pretty interesting and very personable. I learned a lot about vegan food, cleansing, and detox. Both are amazing women-check them out.
Grain Free Tabouleh
1 head cauliflower
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, small dice
1 seedless cucumber, small dice
1 1/2 cups fresh parsley, minced
3/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced
1/2 cup fresh mint, minced
1/3 cup olive or avocado oil
3 Tbsn fresh lemon juice
3/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
- Remove leaves from cauliflower and break into florets. Discard leaves, core and stem. Using a food processor, blend florets into ‘rice’. Or you can use a hand grater. Scoop into a large bowl.
- If you are using a food processor, you can mince the parsley, cilantro and mint by machine as a shortcut.
- Add the rest of the diced vegetables and minced herbs to the cauliflower.
- Whisk together the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and pour onto salad. Toss to combine. Adjust seasoning (add salt or lemon juice to taste).
- Serve immediately or let rest in the refrigerator. Flavors will continue to develop over several hours.
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