Saturday, March 29, 2008

Time for tea


I had envisioned a tea party, something out of "Alice and Wonderland," for our latest Thursday Night Raw, but due to lack of planning (I've been a little under the weather lately), it didn't turn out quite as elaborate as I had imagined. Besides, Matthew refused to wear the crazy hats (you know, like at the Mad Hatter's unbirthday party).

Actually, I don't know if I can even refer to it as a tea party, since none of us drank any tea, although Jacob enjoyed sipping his hot chocolate out of his tea cup (okay, it's really an espresso mug). So, I guess it is better summed up as an unbirthday celebration (none of us had a birthday that day).

We did have a spread that was fit for a party. I made a variety of simple tea sandwiches, which I creatively displayed as one would for a formal tea (except these sandwiches were entirely raw).

My first idea for a sandwich was something with cucumbers, since cucumber sandwiches are quite common. However, I opted to use the cucumber as the bread and filled them with cashew dill "cheese," shredded carrot and thinly sliced radish. I topped some additional cucumber bases with some sliced tomato, marinated cucumber (my husband loves those) and a piece of red onion (also from the marinade).

Next, I moved on to some zucchini rounds, which I sandwiched around a slice of tomato, a basil leaf, some red onion, sea salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. These were simple, but very good.

Then, I had some nice sized mushrooms that I thought would be perfect as little sandwich buns, although I hadn't really thought about a filling. The first thing that came to mind was a raw version of chicken salad, but in the end, I chose to make a Waldorf salad-style pate instead.

I also had some jicama, which looks a lot like sliced white bread with the crusts cut off. I made some more sandwiches out it with mango and avocado slices.

Lastly, I had to have something sweet for the boys, so I made some almond butter and banana sandwiches using apple rings. The cutest ones used the tops and the bottoms of the apples. They were like the muffin tops of the bunch.

Alongside the sandwiches, I served some carrots and celery sticks, as well as some cantaloupe (Jacob has been craving it lately, so we'll be having it a lot). I have to say that I left the table with a full belly. Not bad for a tossed together meal. Maybe next time, we'll actually have tea :-)

7 comments:

RawBin said...

It looks like my meals lately! A little cashew cheese for added flavor and a whole lot of fresh veggies! I've been backing off of the heavy nuts some. (Although the day of my juice feast I made your raw-do, and yesterday I made a half batch of brownies (I only wanted one).
I love your festive spread. It really looks like a crazy party! Your son will truly appreciate the memories of his enthusiastic mom when he's older. It sounds like he has some super times at the table.

Heather Pace said...

Shannon, that spread is fabulous! Your creativity never ceases to amaze me. I esp love the jicama and the apple ones. Lucky family you have!

Jenny said...

of course i wasn't suprised to find this latest post. . . as my mum and i had just decided to have an impromptu tea party for some friends and cousins in the area. . . with pretty glass pots (with the flowering tea) and lots of tiny raw 'tea sandwiches'. . . raw chocolates, and such. . .

held on a lovely sunday afternoon at 4ish. . . for a formal high tea!!
great minds. . . and you know the rest!

lovely photos and next time, do you know what i highly recommend for a delicious treat is the ulimana's mulberry hemp brownies, cut into tiny little pieces, they're HEAVEN. (the deal might still be up on welikeitraw too!)

thought of you this weekend, have a wonderful monday!
xx Jenny

Michelle said...

Hi Shannon, once again you outdid yourself! Great, wonderful recipes! I love the almond butter, banana sandwiches!! Thats dinner for me i think!
Michelle

shannonmarie said...

Rawbin, I am excited to report that Jacob's done an excellent job of coming to the table to eat on Thursday evenings. He has increased his fruit and veggie intake. I think he's had fun, too.

Thanks Heathy. I'm also lucky to have them.

Jenny, we are on the same wavelength a lot, so I'm not surprised either. One day I'll need to have a real tea party like yours with the ladies in my family and/or close friends.

By the way, I thought of you, too. Hope you had fun at the event :-)

Thanks Michelle. Although the apple/almond butter/bananas were so simple, they were definitely a hit. I'll probably tote some along with me for a snack on the go.

crowdancer said...

I love the jicama sandwich idea, I am a total jicama freak. I will be bringing these along on my next picnic outing.

The apple bottom and top sandwiches are almost too cute to eat!

The amount of energy you put into giving your kids good nutrition and making it fun is so inspiring!

shannonmarie said...

Thanks, crowdancer. Hopefully I'll be inspired to do more posts like this in the future, although not as often. In the meantime, enjoy what I've posted over the past five months :-)