Raw Food Success!

It took a lot of prep work, but I must say my Pad Thai with Peanut Sauce was AMAZING!  First I got my ingredients ready (I modified a little, so here is what I used):

• 2 Cucumbers
• 2 Zucchini 
• Red Cabbage (about 3-4 leaves)
• 2 carrots
• Bean Sprouts
• 1 Avocado
• Scallions
• Cilantro

First I washed my veggies, then I got to work. I used my Pampered Chef Spiral and Slice to make the cucumber and zucchini into "noodles". Next I went to work on the red cabbage, to be honest, this was my first time working with cabbage.  I tried to cut the leaves, but they really looked pathetic so I turned to my food processor and added on the grating blade, this method appeared to be a failure at first, but then I noticed that it wasn't liquifying it as it appeared at first, but was actually making smaller grated pieces.  I grated 3-4 leaves and then put them on top of the "noodles".  Next I grated a couple of carrots, grabbed a handful of cilantro, diced some green onion, and threw some bean sprouts on top for this pretty arrangement:

I was prepping this for the next night, so I simply put it in my pampered chef glass Leakproof glass container 

Now onto the Peanut Sauce.  After chopping all of the veggies, my kitchen was a mess, and I was tired, so I decided that I would use regular peanut butter this time.  For the Peanut sauce I also gathered my ingredients:

• 1 cup (raw) Peanut Butter
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 1 inch or so of fresh Ginger
• Lemon juice
• 3 TBSP Raw Honey
• 2 TBSP Soy Sauce
• 1/4 cup EVOO (olive oil)
• Water
• Cayenne pepper

I simply combined all of the ingredients in the food processor besides the water and cayenne pepper and blended until smooth.  Add in water until you reach a desired consistency (1/2 cup-1/3 cup). Then I added a little cayenne pepper, I probably added a little more than I wanted, and it made it somewhat spicy, but still really good when I tried it. This made about 2 cups of sauce.  I transferred it to my 3 cup prep bowl and put it in the refrigerator for tonight.

Tonight was the moment of truth, a couple of friends whom I had promised I'd have over after I got back from vacation came over for dinner.  I transferred the veggies into a bigger bowl and mixed them up. I opted to leave the peanut sauce on the side so everyone could choose how much dressing they wanted.  From the first bite the Pad Thai with Peanut Sauce was a slam dunk.  With this recipe it tasted just like any warm Pad Thai I've ever eaten, even though it was completely raw.  The cilantro added a nice fresh taste, and even though I'm not a huge cucumber fan I didn't notice the difference between them and the zucchini.  For how easy the peanut sauce was to make I think I'd make it again and just go with a fewer variety of vegetables depending on time constraints.  I'd give this recipe a 5/5 without blinking an eye.

After we ate most of it!

 Recipe adapted from Raw Food Recipes by Abby Richards