Pumpkin & Pomegranate

I wanted to wait until I worked my first day to share the exciting news, but I recently got a part time job at my favorite health cafe, Healeo. I have to give my friend Valentina credit for part of this, as we both follow Healeo on Twitter and she clued me in to an update that the owner (Justin) tweeted. They were in need of a raw chef ASAP. I am very new to this, so I sort of sheepishly said that I would LOVE to try my hand at it, and that since I have been cooking for years, and love raw food, I am sure I can handle it. Justin took me up on my offer and last night I worked my first “shift”. Since I work full time during the day Justin is kind enough to let me work my own hours, right now the plan is for me to come in about 2-3 times a week, and to prepare raw food for their ready made, take and eat section. For my first project I made a raw apple pie! I felt that it would be perfect for Fall, plus Justin asked for a dessert. This Saturday I will be working for about 5-6 hours and I think I will be making a soup, some snacks, and possibly cookies. I am absolutely thrilled to be doing this kind of work, and  cannot thank Justin enough. Plus I definitely owe Valentina a smoothie for her quick twitter catch!

And now…for the pie!

Raw Apple Pie

That’s the pie pre-dehydrator phase. It doesn’t require a dehydrator, but it helps for the juices to sort of marinate, and I think it probably helps with serving it too. I admit, I am a bit on pins and needles here. I am not at the café to see it being sliced, and I am a tad worried it won’t come out of that pan. Here’s to hoping though!

Raw Apple Pie

Ingredients:

• 3 C. Raw Walnuts (soaked & dehydrated if you have the time)
• 1 1/4 C. Medjool Dates (pits removed)
• 3/4 C. Raisins
• Sea Salt
• 3 Large Crisp Apples
• 1 Medium Sized Orange
• 2 T. Pumpkin Pie Spice

Method:

1. Combine the walnuts, 1 cup of the dates,  1/2 cup of the raisins, and a pinch of salt in the food processor. Process until it becomes a sticky dough.
2. Press the dough into a 9×10 glass pie pan.
3. Core and slice 2 of the apples thinly, set aside.
4. Zest and juice the orange, set aside.
5. Core the last apple and place into the food processor. Add 1/4 cup dates, the orange zest, orange juice, and pumpkin pie spices. Process until you have a thick slurry.
6. In a bowl, combine the slice apples, 1/4 cup of the raisins, and toss together with the slurry.
7. Arrange the apple slices in the pie shell.
8. Eat as is, or dehydrate for 2-4 hours at 105°-110° F in your dehydrator.