Here is another conundrum about homemade food that seems to get exacerbated by rawness. I made a smashing salad dressing to take to a potluck Thursday night. Now, I never used written recipes when I learned to cook food, and so I rarely use them for raw, either -- I just wing it.
But when I tried to recreate the dressing the very next day -- tahini, miso, leftover sundried-tomato-soak-water, and spices -- somehow it wasn't remotely the same!! How'd THAT happen? Same ingredients, roughly same proportions ... way less interesting, the flavor was as greatly reduced as a wet Persian kitten. And of course, I'd gotten psyched up for that very flavor!
At least the potluck was fun. I have gone to this one with friends for years, so they've seen my raw incarnations come and go, and nothing I bring surprises them too much any more. I try to keep my offerings pretty generic, so people at least recognize it as food; not like a durian, which would send small children crying. The only true backfire I had was once when I brought what I called a "Bear Pie", a nice raw crust of nuts and dates, filled with blended fruits decorated with goji berries. Bears, you know ... nuts and berries. Cute, eh?
Well, unfortunately for my ursine offering, someone else had brought a REAL pie -- big, fat, doughy, Betty Crocker-type apple pie. Next to that, of course my weird brownish mess looked like a cow flop with red dots! Yeah, Reader, try to get a normal person to eat a health-food dessert when there's a Standard American Diet version parked next to it; even I didn't really want to be seen eating it.
But now as then, I am starting to notice a few rewards for my diligence. The late sleeping has subsided unless I'm up too late, and I am noticing my normal 5:00 p.m. energy-crash starting to fade. I've had black building up under my eyes for a few years, which horrifies me (less for vanity than the connection between that symptom and less-than-ideal cleaning organs like kidneys and liver); after a week of mostly raw foods, they are a little less severe, and interestingly the color is sort of shifting around. Now both sides look like a traditional Eye of Horah, which is supposed to be a good-luck sign. ???!?
All is not just peachy in the Universe of Skya, however. My work schedule has picked up a bit, which is delightful, but which also means that I frequently have to bolt something too fast or skip a meal altogether. What comes out the other end is not well-digested and frankly looked a lot better when I are more cooked food. Sheesh, the things I have to do for this book!!