“Cooking” raw vegan is a labor of love. Many hours pass as you wait for things like coconut crepe sheets (used for spring rolls, wraps, samosas) to be finished in the dehydrator. Some recipes require 36 hours! That’s a lot of time…and electricity. Personally, I’m happy grabbing handfuls of arugula periodically from the fridge. No plate. Straight into mouth. My version of raw vegan.
Nevertheless, I had an unbelievable 5-hour class with the head chef of a raw vegan Ubud restaurant, Moksa. I had such an amazing dinner there that I asked the chef for a lesson, and he agreed. This place makes raw vegan legitimately delicious – gastronomic – not just healthy-tasting, and I want to be able to be able to do the same at home (whenever it is that I’ll get there…and stay there…sigh). I’m thinking of cutting down on meat.
Here’s some stuff Chef Made (pronounced MAH-day) and I made:
- Asian Zucchini Noodles (i.e., Heaven)
Basically, this involves selecting some veggies, massaging them in tamari, onion powder, garlic powder, and lime juice, and then mixing them into “zoodles” (zucchini noodles made from a spiralizer). Top with some spiced cashew crunchiness. La piece de la resistance! (Too lazy to find the accented “e”).
2. Pumpkin Seed Crackers
Hola, deliciousness! Seriously, these are so amazing, I can’t even describe it. And so versatile! Used as a base for some snacks we made. They’re under all the veggies.
3. Herbed Cashew Cheese
This is what makes many of the dishes so delicious. You can put them in circles of coconut crepe to create “samosas,” layer them between slices of tomato, add them to wraps, or just eat Nutella style with a spoon. That’s how everyone really eats Nutella at home when no one else is looking, right? Yeah, same deal with this cheese. I have to be careful.
4. Coconut Everything! Crepe, Squid, Noodles, Ravioli, Water, Kefir, Cream, Milk
5. Smoothie
It’s good to have a good balance between smoothies and juices during the week. Juices don’t require much digestion while smoothies have the benefit of fiber. The key is half frozen fruit, half fresh fruit (no ice). If it’s too cold, it’s less satisfying apparently.
6. Orange Chocolate Mousse Cake
The crust is made of of almonds, dates, dried coconut, cacao powder, and vanilla. This is super rich and delicious, but honestly, I don’t really see the point of eating super healthy and then finishing with this pile of sugar. I don’t care that it’s agave nectar…
I think I’m going to try to make some of this stuff when I get home because it really was very good, and I want to channel (or force, if necessary) my inner Martha Stewart spirit.
Chef and I also talked about island life, how he got into raw vegan food, running his business, and some of the family issues he had at home. It was also a good time for just sharing stories and struggles of life. Observing his clear passion for food and his unbelievable work ethic, I was impressed. I waitressed, bartended, and hostessed in high school and college, and working in the kitchen is one of the hardest jobs ever. Day in and day out, prepping, cooking, sweating, dealing with all sorts of crazy orders, on your feet for at least 12-14 hours a day oftentimes. All for very little money. And when you’re the chef-proprietor, you have to do all of that, run the business side and staff, and be an excellent host for your customers. In his case, you also have to run a farm!
