England | Sacred Strawberry

Hi again! It’s been a minute since I posted last, trying to get things going again with the business since we got back from England. I’ve made a few raw cheesecakes that I have sold at my local HFS as well as at the freshly begun Fall Farmers’ Market!
This one was Chocolate Mango. I used both fresh and dried mangos in the mango part and it tasted like caramel! So good!

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Then I made this Pumpkin Lucuma with Chocolate Drizzle Cheesecake! This one was freaking amazing! Don’t let anyone scare you out of using fresh raw pumpkin!!

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Just for fun, here’s a photo of our market stall!

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So, our last night in England we stayed in London because it was easier to get to the airport. We chose a hotel room within walking distance of the Whole Foods in Kensington because I wanted to eat at Saf. It was soooo, soooo good. We started off with a cashew cheese appetizer.

20131027-211441-7981041 I loved this cheese, and it inspired me to get back into making my own fermented nut cheeses.

Then I had a portobello slider. The barbecue sauce was incredibly good and I was so impressed by the attention to detail and how every single component of the plate was delicious- so assembled it was just insane!

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Dan had some kebabs that were tender and flavorful. The side dish was my favorite though!

20131027-211926-4099542 He also got a juice that had carrot, ginger, apple and turmeric root. It was my first time having the root fresh and it was so good. Amethyst loved it and ended up with a golden mustache. I got a smoothie with almond milk, lucuma and berries because I thought Amethyst would like it. She didn’t think much of it, and while it was good compared to the juice it was kind of just okay.

We also both ordered the tiramisu.

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Whoa, this was one heavy dessert! We could have ordered one. While I liked it much more than InSpiral’s tiramisu it still didn’t crack the code. It was clearly nut based and while it was delicious it just wasn’t the definitive raw tiramisu for me lol! I guess that just means manos a la obra for me to create my own!! All in all though, we loved Saf! I was impressed with the quality of the dishes and the rich complex flavors. We both left really full, which is rare with raw food restaurants. It is gourmet raw food, so expect to pay for it. It is worth it!!

We are still here in England and have been lucky enough to have quite a few gorgeously sunny and warmish days. It is starting to get cold now, but soon we will be flying back to Louisiana where I have been informed that it is still hot!
One day we went for a walk down historic Winkle Street in Calbourne and we were met with this:

20131011-133038-6297597 Loads and loads of watercress! We made a watercress and potato soup with our haul because eating it raw isn’t very safe due to possible liver flukes. Best not to dwell on that though because cooked it is perfectly safe and lovely!

Here is the hubby with our score:

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We also found fresh ripe hazelnuts

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Damsons

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and of course loads of nettles, from which we made (and keep making) a nourishing, mineral rich brew!

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Little poppet got to run and play in the setting sun

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It was a beautiful day, and we got to share it with my husband’s parents, his brother Gavin and his fiancé, Emma. It really us hard being so far from his family. No matter where we live, someone misses out and unfortunately that includes Amethyst who grows up not really knowing half of her family. We just appreciate the time we do get to spend together, make the most of it and plan ahead!

Our little family has been in England for the past two weeks visiting my family-in-law. We must have timed it perfectly because there has been such an abundance of wild food for us!
One of the first nights here, I made a raw crumble with blackberries we foraged and apples from a tree in the garden.

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20131007-153636-8434703 It was so good! Especially considering I am not in my kitchen and just used bits and pieces my mother in law had on hand. With a little creativity, preparing raw food is easy anywhere!!

We then found some lovely mugwort, which we used for a pre-bedtime relaxing cup of tea!

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As beautiful as the Isle of Wight is, we took a day trip up to London one day to visit Camden, do a bit of shopping at Braintree Hemp and eat at inSpiral Lounge! It did not dissappoint!

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Sunburger, raw pizza, raw Caesar salad, butternut squash and apple with goji berry sauce, olives, Banoffee Pie, tiramisu and more!

As usual, we stopped back by on our way out to pick up snacks. We got some superfood truffles, Raspberry Maca Kale Chips

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and this!

20131007-154726-6793729 I’m still not a fan though! Freeze dry it, coat it in chocolate, whatever you want to do to it- I do not like it! But I love that my hubby loves it, haha!

We have been blessed the past few days with some beautiful sunny weather. We even took a plunge in the COLD ocean yesterday!! I’m off to enjoy more of it and have lots more foraging adventures to share!