When I saw that raw food legend Matt Monarch was going to be in Dallas, I knew that I would be going. It had been a while since receiving any raw food inspiration, plus it was an excuse to get out of town!
We decided immediately to visit and fill up at a spring in Canton, TX which is about an hour outside of Dallas. The water was amazingly clear, delicious and hydrating. We will be going back regularly!
There was a beautiful sassafras tree right across from the spring. I used some leaves to infuse in my water bottle. Wonderful!
After all that, we made it on time to the event!
In fact, we had a little time to pop into the amazing library next door and let Amethyst run off some energy and play in the kids area. Oh, and play in the wildflowers, too.
It was wonderful to see Matt in the flesh, chat with other humans on similar paths to us, and listen to some healthy inspiration. Even though we left a bit early ( poor Ami was DONE lol) we still enjoyed it thoroughly.
Of course I bought treats, too 😉
Next time- our epic raw food meal at Be Raw in Dallas.
In a previous post, I mentioned that my hubby had to be in Dallas. After his appointment, we went to the raw food restaurant in Dallas, Be Raw Food and Juice. As far as I know, there are other places to get raw vegan food, juice bars, Whole Foods, etc. but this is the only dedicated raw food restaurant at the moment. When I heard that Bliss Café shut down without my ever getting a chance to try it out, I was pretty upset having just moved back to Shreveport. So of course I was just so happy to hear of another raw foods place. I called to make sure they were going to be open and the woman who answered the phone was very friendly and professional. I really don’t know much at all about the layout of Dallas, but I do know that driving is notoriously stressful there. However, finding the restaurant was not really a problem at all. I can’t really tell you where it is, but google maps works 😉
Dan and I kind of went crazy when we got there. We each ordered a soup. I got the corn chowder.
This was phenomenal. Creamy, chunky, peppery corn goodness. The menu said it contained coconut water and hemp seeds so if the base is made from that, then it is much more nutrient dense than a traditional raw corn chowder made with cashews.
And he got the pho.
Really, really good. Slightly spicy, gingery and with a flavor that neither Dan nor I could put our finger on. I love it when that happens! I am normally really good at dissecting raw recipes and it is awesome when someone can keep you guessing!
Then he ordered the trio of pizzas
The pizzas were alright. I liked the variety- Greek, Margherita and another one with pineapple on it. Also the portion size was amazing for the price. The base was really soggy though, and some of the flavors were a little bland. I hate that I didn’t like this dish much, but maybe it was just an off day? Or that I just reeeally like my own raw pizzas?? LOL
And I ordered the coconut kale enchiladas
These babies were the BOMB! I liked them way better than the enchiladas at Daily Juice in Austin and I thought those were great. The enchilada wrapper just melted in your mouth, the kale was massaged with avocado and spiced to perfection and the sauces were just perfect. Green and red salsa on the side as well! Just about the best thing ever!!
We also ordered a brownie, the amigo wrap and a pad thai to go, not knowing what our eating situation was going to be like in Fort Worth.
The brownie was super delicious but did not want to be photographed after a long car ride. It was expensive, but big and I liked the fact that they covered it in a fresh berry sauce.
The amigo wrap was like a raw mexican burrito inside of a lettuce leaf. We ate this as a late night snack after a dip in the pool and a soak in the hot tub at the Omni where we were staying. This was incredibly delicious as well. The staff at Be Raw really know how to bring in the Tex Mex flavors that the area is known for into raw food.
Last was the pad thai, which to be fair we had the next day. I thought this was alright, but paled in comparison to the other dishes we had. The variety of spiralized veggies was colorful and tasty, but the sauces were lacking something and there wasn’t enough of them to really coat the veggie noodles. For my tastes, this could have done with some fresh herbs like cilantro or thai basil and the addition of more textures like crushed nuts or something.
All in all, the food was stellar. I know now what kinds of things that are more suited to my tastes and I cannot wait to try more!!
This last week has been pretty crazy. We had to go to Dallas for my hubby to have a biometric scan as part of his immigration process and it just so happened that my Dad was going to be in Fort Worth for an industry convention that week. So we stayed over and did the DFW thing for a few days. It was kind of awesome, actually. But also tiring and I have been laying low since we got back, especially considering that next weekend we are going away again. This time down south to Lafayette for Festival International, which we are looking forward to not only for the music but for reconnecting with old friends!
So for today, I want to post about a few of my recent discoveries which came together quite serendipitously as classic police fare, haha. The famed coffee and doughnuts, but this way the doughnuts aren’t deep fried balls of flour and sugar and the coffee isn’t the normal brewed crap with cream and white sugar.
For the dougnuts, I used a recipe from the absolutely amazing blog fragrant vanilla cake. I have been eyeing and drooling over her creations over there for months now and chose this lemon lavender dougnut recipe as my first recipe to try of hers.
here they are dehydrating in all their glory:
I loved these doughnuts. I thought that the texture was incredible and the light lemony and lavender flavor came through without being overpowering. That being said, next time I make these (and there will be a next time) I will leave off the frosting and dip them in chocolate instead. I think that as a base recipe for doughnuts, this recipe is a real winner!
And cold brew! This is probably one of the most revolutionary discoveries I have made in a while. We bought a bottle at Central Market in Fort Worth for the trip home and enjoyed it so much that I was determined to find out how to make it. Well, as it turns out it is just about the easiest thing to make. ever.
1. Take the best quality coffee you can afford, although even crap coffee is going to taste infinitely better cold brewed and grind it (or buy it pre-ground..whatever works for your lifestyle and budget)
2. Add 1 cup of your ground coffee to a big jar along with 4 cups of cold water
3. Stir the coffee and water and then cover it.
4. Let sit overnight up to 24 hours.
5. Strain the mixture really well. (I use a coffee filter inside of a funnel. It takes about half an hour to fully pass through the filter)
6. Dilute this concentrate 1:1 with water, coconut water or nut milk of your choice. Sweeten to your liking with stevia, honey, maple syrup etc. I myself am partial to a home-made date sweetened almond milk with a touch of cinnamon 🙂