Anniversary parfait

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. ~Mignon McLaughlin

On January 16, 2009, my husband and I stood barefoot in the sands of St. Lucia and vowed to love and honour each other forever. It was just the two of us and a minister, and it was the happiest day of my life.

Yesterday was our second wedding anniversary and so a celebration was in order. While a one-way ticket back to that gorgeous tropical heaven had undeniable appeal, a more realistic plan to celebrate our anniversary was a trip up north to the empty family cottage. In anticipation of a quiet weekend away, I flipped through my vegan cookbooks and gathered meal ideas and ingredients to recreate our Caribbean paradise through a candlelight dinner for two. With images of St. Lucia and its lush tropical fruit as my starting points, I decided to whip up a warming coconut curry and mimosas, as well as a dessert that infused layers of tropical bliss into a special anniversary parfait.

This luscious and creamy dessert included the tropical flavours of coconut, banana and avocado along with the traditional goodness of strawberries and chocolate. The presentation didn’t turn out as nice as I had imagined. The coconut milk ice cream melted quickly, leaving the raw brownie pieces and banana chips to sink right into the parfait. Nonetheless, it tasted like a dream. Each bite reminded me of walking along the bright, sunny beach of St. Lucia, feeling the warm sand between my toes and the cool sea breeze against my face. I could almost smell the sea air and, for a moment, I forgot about the falling snow and cold weather outside the cottage window.

The components of this amazing parfait included:

Chocolate avocado pudding (similar to this recipe)

Purely Decadent coconut milk ice cream (vanilla bean flavour)

Banana nut crumble (soaked and dehydrated almonds, walnuts and oat groats, flax and banana)

Strawberry coulis (pureed frozen strawberries)

Raw coconut brownies (recipe here)

Dried banana chips and a maraschino cherry for garnish

With my mind still in the tropics, I also managed to come up with some delicious Caribbean muffins that we enjoyed for breakfast yesterday along with grapefruit and mango. I’ll be sharing the recipe soon!