SURPRISE!

It just so happens that in Minneapolis lives one of the allergic hedonist's biggest fans! Since I was randomly in her town, my friends and I decided to surprise her and her family with a dinner party! (We set it all up before hand with her husband of course) My friends in the 1st photo (Jenn, Erin, myself, and Parker - the photographer) showed up with bags of groceries and an ice cream maker and introduced ourselves at the front door.

Once all the introductions were made, and the hand painted aprons bestowed, 14 hands got to work in the kitchen making swordfish kabobs, wild rice with almonds and currants (I started soaking the rice that morning), and a Minneapolis inspired dessert, Mini-Raw-Ha's.

We made the same kabobs that I made on my camping trip (but oh so comfortable this time!) Swordfish marinated in wine and honey, with mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, and red onion.

For the wild rice:
2 cups rice
4 cups water
4 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
a bunch of herbs, fresh or dried.
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup currants

Soak the rice in 4 cups of warm water plus the lemon juice for 7 hours in a pot. Then bring to a boil, skim the top, reduce heat and stir in the salt, oil, and some of the herbs. Without removing lid, cook over lowest possible heat for about 45 minutes. Once the rice is done, add some more fresh herbs, and toss in the almonds and the currents. Done :)

A few days before the big surprise, Parker took Jenn and I to see the Minnehaha Falls. That is pretty much the only connection between the Mini-Raw-Ha's and Minneapolis, other than the fact that we created it there :)

A Mini-Raw-Ha is a single serving dessert. (I guess a Raw-Ha would be the same thing but in a pie dish, that people would share) So, begin with little bowls, or coffee cups, or ramekins. Then add the crust (coarsely processed dates, walnuts, and coconut flakes) to the bottom of the dish. The next layer is thinly sliced apples (as many as you want) sprinkled with ground nutmeg.

Ice cream is next: We had two frozen ice cream maker bowls (thanks to Parker's mom!) and made two different flavors.
1. cinnamon honey ice cream: 1 can whole coconut milk, 1 banana, 1/4 cup honey, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla.
2. chocolate mint ice cream: 1 can whole coconut milk, 1 banana, 1/4-1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1/4 tsp vanilla, handful of fresh mint leaves finely chopped.
Place ingredients in a blender or food processor then follow your ice cream maker's instructions.

Lastly, we topped the Mini-Raw-Ha's with blueberries. Have fun making this recipe your own raw dessert by adding, subtracting, multiplying, or completely changing the layers. Desserts prepared in personal sized dishes are great, because then you don't have to worry about someone else (I'll use myself as an example) taking more than their fair share :)

Enjoy! And thank you to Cathy and her family for letting us into their home and sharing this amazing meal with us, and to Parker for the b-e-a-utiful photos!