I’ve partnered up with Whole Foods in San Antonio, Texas to conduct a monthly cooking demo at the Quarry Market location on the second Tuesday of each month at 1 p.m.

Today was my first gig. It was fast and furious. We had a small, engaged group of Whole Foods customers in the deli area. In 30 minutes I whipped up a quick Valentine’s dinner and dessert meal idea: raw, vegan, Chocolate Mousse made with a base of avocados, and Balsamic Raspberry Chicken over Wild Rice with Steamed Asparagus.

Here are the recipes:

Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse (Adapted from Natural Epicurean)

Serves about 8 people

INGREDIENTS:

3 medium avocados mashed

3/4 cup cacao or carob powder

12 dates soaked in warm water for 30 minutes to one hour and drained

1/2 cup coconut palm sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract alcohol free

1/2 cup water or more as desired

pinch salt (optional)

strawberries and/or raspberries

mint leaves

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in a food processor, scraping down the sides periodically. Add water until desired texture is reached (1/2 a cup to 1 cup of water). Store mousse in a sealed glass container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days, or up to 2 weeks in the freezer. Serve chilled, topped with chopped berries and mint leaves as garnish. (TIP: You could make a fabulous trifle with the mousse, building layers of broken up cookies or cake, mousse, berries and whipped coconut cream).

 

Raspberry-Balsamic Glazed Chicken (adapted from Cooking Light)

Serves about 4 people

INGREDIENTS:

1 teaspoon olive or vegetable oil

1/2 cup red onion, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh (or 1/2 teaspoon dried) thyme

1/2 teaspoon salt divided

4, 4 ounce chicken breast halves skinned, boned

1/3 cup raspberry preserves

2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon pepper

raspberries for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion; sauté 3-5 minutes. Combine thyme and 1/4 teaspoon salt; sprinkle over chicken. Add chicken to skillet; sauté 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from skillet; keep warm. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, preserves, vinegar, and pepper, stirring constantly until the preserves melt. Spoon raspberry sauce over chicken. Top with fresh berries.

I served the chicken today with my current FAVORITE rice, Lundberg Wild Rice blend, made with vegetable stock in my Instant Pot, and simple steamed asparagus.

I’ll be at the Quarry Market location of Whole Foods again next month, March 9th, at 1:00 p.m. in the Cafe. Come join me! If you’d like to learn something specific, or try a specific Whole Foods product, zip me an email at Catherine@LavishCuisine.com and I’ll try to work it in to the next demo.