This week has been simply magical! I turned 31 on Tuesday and the blessings keep coming. From surprise breakfasts delivered to my door, flowers on my balcony, to gatherings at bars that feel like the coziest house parties—I was reminded of the beauty of my community in the city of Angels.
Today was another day filled with simple pleasures and an abundance of love. The highlight was spending time w/ my dear friend Agazit. We met in a Kiswahili class at UCLA years ago (I dropped it after the demands of student teaching took over while she’s nearly fluent…yikes!), and I instantly knew I had gained another sister. After meeting in the a.m. to organize events for Haile Gerima’s screening of Teza in LA (this September), and discussing climate change in Africa, we made our way to the kitchen (like all good Ethiopian girls eventually do.) 
We made a raw walnut pate, and started perfecting a flax seed cracker recipe, but our raw mango/berry pie was definitely the dish of the day! A delectable summer dessert with absolutely no guilt involved…what more could one ask for?
Agi’s Mango & Berry Pie
Step 1: Prepare the crust:
- 2 cups raw pecans or walnuts (or mixture of both)
- 1 cup pitted dates
- 1 t cinnamon (or chai spice mix)
- 1 T lemon zest (optional)
1. In a food processor, grind the nuts until fine.
2. Add the dates and process until smooth.
3. Remove from processor and pat down into a pie pan, making sure to cover the sides of the pie plate.
Step 2: Prepare the filling
- 2 cups fresh ripe mango
- 1 cup fresh strawberries
- 2 pitted medjool dates
- Juice of 3 limes (1/3 cup)
- 1/4 cup apple juice
- 3 T flax seed meal
- 1/2 t cinnamon
- 1 t grated ginger (optional)
Step 3: Pour the filling into the nut crust.
Step 4: Garnish the pie w/ sliced mango, strawberries, blueberries and kiwi (or any fruit you like).
Step 5: Let the pie set in the fridge for 2-3 hours (or in the freezer for 30 min if you are like me and think patience is overrated!)
Enjoy…
