One of my resolutions for 2010 is to improve my cooking skills. I love to eat but I have never been very good at cooking! I enjoy the process and I make a lot of mess in the kitchen so I am sure I have creative potential!
A few weeks ago, my friend invited me to a ‘raw food’ dinner party. My husband did not look impressed but he has become the biggest convert and hasn’t stopped talking about it since! Raw food is no longer just salad. We had pizzas, Mexican wraps and even cheesecake! It was absolutely delicious – plus it was super healthy!
Following the dinner party, I signed up for a raw food ‘cooking’ class with Dr Wendy Yang from Sage Living. Wendy is the ultimate kitchen goddess, complete with a baby pink chef’s jacket! I knew this was a girl after my own heart! She trained as a raw food gourmet chef at the Living Light Institute in the US and is now sharing her passion here in Hong Kong.
I have taken a couple of raw food preparation classes before with other tutors but I never managed to re-create the recipes back home. However, with Wendy’s excellent teaching skills, I have been able to create each one of the dishes by myself at home! She explained how to select and purchase ingredients, taught us knife skills, gave us clear recipes and made sure that the workshop was ‘hands-on’. I was thrilled with the results and I have made vegetable curry, garden soup, macadamia nut porridge and chocolate brownies!
Raw chocolate brownies
The highlight of the workshop for me was the opportunity to get up close and personal with a coconut! I am from England so coconuts feel very exotic to me and remind me of daydreams about distant lands. Wendy showed me how to crack open a coconut and this has become my new obsession! When I was in Bali last summer we received complimentary coconuts after each morning yoga class so the texture and taste brings back beautiful memories. I am now merrily opening coconuts in my kitchen at home and it brings a smile to my face every time!
Learning how to open a coconut!
I don’t think I will ever switch to a completely raw food diet as I love the feeling of hot food in my belly but I certainly feel great after eating raw food and will include more of it in my daily life. I love the look and feel of fruit and vegetables so it is a lot of fun to get to know them better! I have always been attracted to the colours and shapes of the fruit and vegetable markets. These natural gifts make us feel happy so let’s put the fun back into food! Pick something you have never tried before and make a mess in the kitchen!
