Just like eating a rare steak (well, almost)

I did it!

I finally tried serving a raw meat dish to my family at the birthday dinner for my son last night (of course, he didn't have any!). I decided to put it out as an appetizer, in addition to the main meal, so that they could feel free to try it or not.

What I didn't expect was how much my daughter would just adore it! What I did expect was how my husband wasn't too into it (though he gave it a good shot and had a couple pieces).

My mother-in-law and sister-in-law both ate a little bit, but had a hard time getting over the thought that it was raw, even though they actually didn't mind the taste of it. My teenage brothers-in-law didn't have a piece between them, I'm pretty sure.

As for me, I actually thought it was pretty decent! I still definitely like eating cooked meat more, but I could handle it (and the Egg Mayonnaise sauce I made to go with it was really yummy!).

I promise, I'll write a more informative post on the whole concept of raw meat, it's benefits, and it's safety just as soon as I can! It's definitely intriguing when you start looking into it, and there is much to be said on the topic.

Because I forgot to take a picture of the meat (which looked really pretty, by the way, all thinly sliced and layed out on a nice platter, with the sauce in the middle), instead I'll give you a picture of the cake I made. Caden didn't get to eat any of it (he tried his first ever homemade baby cookie instead), but the rest of us sure enjoyed this:

This beauty is the Orange Cake from Nourishing Traditions. It is a dense, soaked whole grain cake (I made mine with spelt and barley), which is baked slowly at a lower temperature (mine took over 2 hours to bake), and I did mine using honey instead of Rapadura with really nice results.

Then, you make a sauce with honey, whey and the fresh juice of two oranges and two lemons, which you slowly pour all over the top, then let it soak in, and repeat the process until the sauce is all gone. You are actually supposed to leave it sitting for 1-2 days to allow it to soak more and just slightly begin to ferment, but I only had a 1/2 day to let is sit.

Mmmmm… I had two pieces last night. Tonight, I'm going to fight generously offer my hubby the last piece to share.