What an incredible evening spent with beautiful friends! It felt so good to take my hands off my textbooks and into the kitchen this week! The day classes ended I was in my kitchen preparing cheese! The first step was making rejuvelac which you do by sprouting grains and then soaking them in water for 3 days. It makes this tangy liquid that tastes similar to lemon juice. Then I had to mix soaked cashews with probiotics and let it ferment for a variety of time (24-72 hr) depending on what the cheese was. For the cheddar cheese I blended the cashew mixture with nutritional yeast, and miso and then heated it on the stove top and added agar. Then I refrigerated it. I won’t bore you with the process of the mozzarella, cheesecake or the cannolis! It was quite the process but I just so happen to LOVE cooking and LOVE being in my kitchen so it was great 🙂 And well worth it because these cheeses and desserts turned out AMAZING! I couldn’t believe it! The cheddar….. tastes like cheddar…… the consistency, the mouthfeel- it was a miracle. The cheesecake was nothing like the frozen ones I’ve been making that can’t be too frozen or too melted and the perfect in between is still more like icecream than cheesecake. This recipe used agar and the consistency was identical to cheesecake. I wish I could have everyone try it, or everyone slap me in the face to make sure I’m not dreaming.
Oh, and I don’t think I am being biased because every one of my girlfriends stuffed themselves full! They raved about how tasty it all was and I believe them! I mean, it could have been the wine…. but then my mom came home (who doesn’t drink wine, and is always honest with her opinion of my food) and she LOVED it all! I also had on the platters Zengarry Garlic and Herb nut cheese (omg so yummy), Simply Raw Express veg pate (tastes like stuffing), two homemade fruit compotes (strawberry & blueberry), and homemade Chocolate & Chestnut Cannoli’s. To go along with the cheeses I had a fresh loaf of rye bread baked that day by Bread By Us, gluten free crackers, dates, figs and dark chocolate.
It was an aesthetically appealing night with flowers decorating the table from Flowers & Vintage on Somerset St, but it was also a beautiful night because of the compassion surrounding it. No animals were harmed and no animals suffered in the making of this feast and my girlfriend’s couldn’t tell the difference. Compassion is so so so beautiful. When I see it in someone I am always taken back by the beauty that radiates from them. Thank you ladies for allowing this evening to be a symbol of compassionate, and how wonderful, beautiful and inspiring it can be.
veggyogadventures 