Sunday, July 1, 2012

Dinner Party for 3!

Hey everyone! I'm happy to say my dinner party was a success! It was so nice to see my friend and her fiance and it was really fun to cook for everyone! I decided to do a decadent yet still a little healthy lasagna for dinner and a light, raw dessert that still tasted sweet and delicious!

I used gluten free brown rice lasagna noodles, tofutti better than ricotta, Daiya mozzarella, some marinara, spinach, broccoli and zucchini.


I actually thought it looked really pretty before I baked it so I took a few photos of it ;) I hate using foil pans but my bro and sister in law don't have much in terms of cookware and I already had to transport so much so I just grabbed one down the block from the house.


Check out all of the green in there! It always looks more vibrant before it's cooked, ha!


I served the lasagna with this beautiful salad. It had greens, strawberries, pecans and cucumber. We topped it with some balsamic vinaigrette. Yum!


My plate. The lasagna fell apart in the oven. It was fine though it still tasted good and everyone seemed to like it. I was impressed by the ricotta, it tasted pretty good! The veggies were really good, still a bit crisp which was nice. I'd say it was pretty successful! The salad was nice and fresh and was a good way to balance out the richness of the lasagna :)


For dessert I made a (Mostly) Raw Cherry Berry Crisp! I just took raw cherries and strawberries and topped it with a mostly raw crisp I made. I used oat flour making it mostly raw since I'm sure they steam the oats before grinding them but I wanted to keep the oat flavor you find in most crumbles. Otherwise, it is completely raw! It went over well!

Raw Cherry Berry Crisp

Ingredients:

2 cups pitted sweet cherries
1 cup strawberries, sliced

For Crisp:
1 cup oat flour
3/4 cup raw walnuts, chopped
1/3 cup agave
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp liquid coconut butter

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients for the crisp and mix until it is a crumbly dough. Put dough into dehydrator and dehydrate at 104 degrees until dry, about 20-24 hours.
2. Mix fruit together and evenly distribute between bowls (I had some fruit leftover which I had for breakfast!).
3. Top with dried crisp topping and enjoy!

We had a great time until Tyler, my brother's dog, has a bit of a meltdown. He's incredibly skittish and heard a firework and started trembling and panting and wouldn't stop. I figured out he wanted to go upstairs and lay in the bed snuggled up with me and wouldn't you know it, as soon as we called it a night and came upstairs he stopped panting and trembling. It makes me feel horrible that he'll be home all day while I'm at work :(


This was the beginning before the meltdown when he was sitting in his carrier. He does this often when he misses his mommy and daddy. He's ok now though, it was just sad to watch!

Other than the puppy meltdown, I'd say the night was a success! It was so nice to see my friends and catch up. Now it's back to reality and I have to work a wedding in the blazing heat today. Hopefully the day goes quick!

Have a great Sunday everyone! Enjoy the rest of your weekend :)

18 comments:

  1. Little Tyler!! So small!! I think the smaller the breed, the more skiddish around loud sounds they become. Remy notices them, but he doesn't tremble. I'm sure Tyler greatly appreciated you being there!

    Fantastic dinner menu, and great company! I love the strawberry-cucumber-nut salad combo. Beautiful lasagna, I'm so sorry it fell apart! What was it that made it happen? I hope the noodles tasted alright.

    Dessert looks amazing! I bet it tasted that way, too. :)

    I hope the wedding goes smoothly today!

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  2. I felt so bad, he was terrified! I'm sure he'll hear more fireworks tonight being so close to the 4th of July. He'll be ok, it just makes me feel bad!

    Thank you! The salad was really fresh and delicious! A great combo! The noodles tasted great! I think they just slid off or something because I used all of the veggies. Normally I guess the ricotta would glue the layers together. Oh well, it still tasted good :) I'm glad I took the photo of it before when it actually looked pretty! lol!

    Thanks! Dessert was delicious, gotta love cherries and strawberries!

    Thanks, me too ;) have a great day!

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  3. What a fantastic dinner you cooked up! Your lasagna sounds awesome! It's always such a shame that the greens in veggies become less vibrant when baked isn't it? And who cares if it fell apart- as long as it tasted good that's what counts! Love the look of that salad too. Strawberries and pecans always make for a special salad.

    My mouth is watering for that crumble too. I love how simple raw desserts can be and still be so delicious. I still haven't had fresh cherries this summer and this picture is making me crave them!

    Hope Tyler is ok now! I always feel terrible when an animal is afraid and upset :( So good of you to snuggle with him though!

    Glad to hear you enjoyed your day off! Good luck in the heat ;)

    Gabby @ the veggie nook

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    1. Thanks Gabby! I know, it is sad that the veggies fade but they still taste great :) i agree, strawberries and pecans are a great salad combo!

      The crumble is really delicious, I definitely recommend trying it! I think the crumble toppings is one of my fav simple recipes I've made in a long time. It is so good!

      Thanks, he's ok! He's snuggling up with me as I type this :)

      Thanks! Definitely glad today is over ;)

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  4. Nice job. Lasagna usually goes over well with most people. I remember one year G and I had a dinner party on one of the hottest days of the summer and made a lasagna that made the kitchen SO HOT. Hope you had AC or something at least. Gorgeous salad. I ought to include fruits in my salad more often; it's fun.
    Awesome sounding dessert too.
    Poor pup; my friends have a super-manic one that freaks out constantly and they had to put him on Xanax or something!

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    1. Thanks! I know, lasagna was a poor choice on a hot day but it was worth it. I had the AC blasting for sure :) Fruit in salad is really yummy and fun :) Dessert was awesome!

      My friends were saying he needs a Xanax/Prozac combo. He's very needy but he is so sweet you can't help but want to coddle him!

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  5. Big mistake combining Tyler and the dinner party in one post. He totally steals the post. It may have been a thoughtful and successful dinner party, but I'm all about The Button Nose.

    Our Jack Russell Terrier starts panting about a half hour before the strorms are even in our area. We tried a Thunder Shirt for her. It helps a little we think. We also try turning up (blasting) the TV so she can't hear the thunder.

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    1. Lol! I know I had a feeling that he would! You can't resist that adorable yet sad puppy dog face.

      I will tell them your suggestions as the 4th of July is approaching and Fireworks really freak him out. Thanks for sharing them! That's crazy that she can sense the approaching storm!

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  6. The food looks and sounds stunning and very delicious!!

    Dogs are terribly frightened by fireworks! Poor little guy...I've read that the best way to sooth a dog during thunder or fireworks is to swaddle them...just like you'd swaddle a baby.
    My does it with her dog and it seems to alleviate some of the fear and stress.

    Anyway, great job on the dinner party; really beautiful food!

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    1. Thanks Rose! Interesting! I'll have to pass that info along to my bro and sister in law!

      Thank you! Glad to see you back!

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  7. Yay dinner party! Lasagna's always a good choice, everyone seems to love it. And lots of people seem really amazed that you can do it up vegan-style, ha ha! And that dessert looks lovely, but then, so does anything with cherries. :) Hope it was fun, and hope that dog chills out a little, he looks so sad!!

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    1. Haha! Yeah pasta dishes are pretty universal :) The dessert was awesome, that crumble is so good! Lol he was ok, he just needed to be in bed. He works the sad face really well!

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  8. Wow, Sarah, everything you made looks terrific! You had a great mix of mostly healthy with just a bit of decadence, too. Perfect!

    Poor Tyler. :( Sophie gets scared when there is thunder or fireworks, too. We'll often find her underneath one of our blankets on the bed.

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    1. Thanks Molly! It was a great dinner :)

      It's so hard to see them so scared! Thankfully he calmed down when we were able to upstairs!

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  9. Very impressive lasagna! I think that is something I have never made, but it looks like a great idea for a dinner party. It does look very pretty, even after it's baked. ;-)

    Too bad about the pup; he's so cute. My dog HATES the fourth of July because of the fireworks. I hope little Tyler's hanging in there.

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    1. Thanks Rachel! It was kind of a mess after it was baked but I appreciate it ;) He is really cute, he freaked out again last night from the thunder. He's been extra jumpy lately.

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  10. That lasagne doesn't half look pretty!

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