Thank Heavens for Rawlucks

Have I mentioned how wonderful and supportive the raw community is in Denver. I attended a rawluck on Saturday and I was at another last night. And I tell you what, Denver is building something special. I haven't had such a stimulating, exciting evening in quite a while. Thank you Loriel, Soleil, Mila, Rachel and CJ for the lively conversation.

Of yeah, the food looked great too. My contribution was Lentil Patties with Coconut Peanut Sauce, but alas, I won't share the recipe until next week. Please forgive.

Today I present my dish from Saturday's rawluck. The tapenade and vegetable dip works perfectly with crudites and flax crackers. There's many a day where I'll whip up the dip and chop some veggies for the littles to eat for lunch.

Olive Tapenade

Yield: 2 cups

1 cup Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
½ cup Green Olives, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon Italian seasonings
1/8 cup Red Wine Vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
1/3 cup Olive Oil

1 Combine olives, garlic and Italian Seasoning in a bowl.

2 Add red wine vinegar and olive oil. Gently toss. Refrigerate at least 4 hours to allow the flavors to marinate. Overnight is best.

Vegetable Dip
Yield: 2 cups

1 celery stalk, finely diced
¼ onion, finely diced
½ carrot, shredded

¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ garlic powder
1 cup cashews, soaked for 2 hours
½ cup water, or more as needed
Juice of one lemon

1 Toss celery, onion and carrots in a bowl. Sprinkle with sea salt and garlic powder.

2 Place cashews, lemon juice and water in a blender. Process until cashews are very creamy, add more water if needed.

3 Combine cashew cream and vegetables. Chill overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.

I would like to pass along my Inspirational Blogger Award to Rediscover Raw Foods. She is a honest, straight forward lady. As for the other four? They will have to wait I'm going to bed.