Europe in The RAW 2011 ~ Budapest

Parliament

Every time I visit the capital of Hungary I see a new world. Ten years ago there were no restaurants to grab something when on the go. The fast food places slowly appeared and now there are quick restaurants with a “home cooked” feel to them everywhere. The organic culture is ever growing and while there’s no raw restaurants yet there is a little bio (organic) store that carries some raw items and it has an eatery/juice bar next door as well….ah so awesome! The city has several bio stores now but if you’re looking for fresh produce and bulk nuts or seeds this one is the one to visit.

Bio ABC Review
A cute little organic store in the city center, this shop carries some raw crackers besides fresh produce and bulk items. You will not believe what I found here! Can you guess what these greens are?

I give you a hint: it’s a tart green that is used as an herb in the U.S. for it’s lemony flavor. In Europe they make an entire dish with it, one of my childhood favorites, as a matter of fact, a sour dish with the consistency of Indian saag! If you guessed SORREL, you’re right! I found organic sorrel by the kilogram! Can you imagine how excited I was? Since I don’t eat cooked food now, I used it for salads and even put it in my morning green smoothies. Sooo yummy!
I also got some crackers. They had both sweet, and salty ones. I tried the buckwheat-ramsons (also known as bear leek or bear’s garlic), the coconut-sour cherry, and the apple-walnut.

The first one was terrible but the sweet ones were yummy and I loved the apple-walnut so much that I went back for more that afternoon! : )

I also ordered lunch, which was more like a snack, next door in their eatery.

Lunch At Bio ABC

They didn’t have a great selection of raw dishes so I ended up with a shot of wheatgrass and some arugula-tomato salad. By then I was starving for greens so it really hit the spot but the salad was not the greatest, it could have been fresher.

I made lots of salads at home too. This one is a sorrel (!)-tomato-cucumber-onions salad with poppy seed dressing. I didn’t measure ingredients just threw it together using things I found at my mom’s (she was awaiting me with a kitchen fully stocked with pesticide-free produce, etc).

 
Poppy Seed Dressing
Mix in a small bowl:
Ground poppy seeds
Olive oil
Pickle juice*
Mustard
Sea salt
Some sweetener of your choice
*You may use vinegar instead of pickle juice
                                                                               
Poppy seeds are another childhood - and adulthood ; ) - favorite of mine. I love them so much I can just eat them by the spoonful! This was the first time I used them for dressing and the salad came out delicious.
All in all, staying raw in Hungary turned out to be easier than I thought it would. Hopefully, Paris will be just as doable!!!