Posts Tagged “Raw”
Simple, but thoughtful vegetable salads are one of my favorite things to both make and eat. I love pairing two or three vegetables together with a simple dressing that lets the produce shine. I especially like taking an ethnic influence to marry the flavors, like I did in this Japanese combination.
I make chopped salads just about everyday. They are a great way to enjoy vegetables. I love leafy green salads, but sometimes I would rather skip the greens and focus on other veggies.
Pesto is a crowd pleaser. It’s truly greater than the sum of it’s parts. The combination of flavors and its divine texture make it one of my favorite sauces. It’s commonly available in the refrigerator section of grocery store, but those pestos are never very good. It’s a very rewarding experience to make it yourself.
Tough it appears to be a healthy addition to ones diet, it’s generally loaded with various fatty ingredients to give it a creamy texture. My avocado pesto is a whole foods plant-based answer to the classic recipe.
I have probably enjoyed more kale in the last year, than all my previous years combined. Kale is a nutritious and delicious vegetable that is gaining popularity among people looking to add healthy foods to their diet. Kale can be prepared in many ways, but to preserve as many nutrients as possible, I try to enjoy it raw.
Kale Family Values
Wild grassy kale, the ancestor of today’s big leafy green kale, is the mother of the entire cabbage family.
Expanding on the concept of the Dragon Bowl I talked about a few weeks ago, I’m going to post more recipes that might inspire you to build a your own. The vegetables and grains are the easy part, but not everyone has a repertoire of dressings and sauces to make their sauteed spinach and brown rice into a meal. So, here is a fantastic sauce recipe! I consider all the ingredients pantry items, which means you can most likely make this sauce even when you think you’re overdue for a trip to the market.
High Raw
The other night, I made a Thai inspired “Bangkok” Bowl with this almond sauce. Peanut sauce would have been a more obvious choice, but I wanted to make the sauce using more raw ingredients.
Harissa is a North African chile paste that seasons everything it touches a delightful spice. It is most commonly found in Tunisia, and can be found at ethnic markets. Why not make this tasty condiment yourself and leave the sodium and other questionable additives at the factory?
Harissa is a blend of chiles, spices, garlic and olive oil. It’s traditionally used to liven up soups, stews, grilled eggplant and couscous.
Tuesday was the first spring-like day of the year. I decided to make a raw soup to celebrate the changing of the seasons. I have been looking forward to making this recipe all winter, and the weather finally gave me a reason to make it. Only two days later, it’s snowing. Oh Santa Fe, you keep us guessing!
This soup is an adaptation of a traditional Moroccan soup, not a contemporary raw food recipe. Semantics are an interesting thing, however, in Morocco they refer this dish as a salad.
In the Dragon Bowl recipe I posted the other day, I mentioned you might have leftover Dragon Dressing. If you didn’t see this post, the dressing is a Japanese inspired creamy tahini vinaigrette.
Many dressings can be made in advance and stored for week or so. I suggest using dressings that contain raw ginger and garlic within 5 days.
Cauliflower is one of my favorite members of the cabbage family. The season is over at the end of February, so I’m going to try to enjoy it a few more times over the next two weeks. I won’t enjoy cauliflower again till it is in season again in the fall. Though it is lower in vitamins than its close cousin with super food status – broccoli, it is still a healthy addition to everyone’s diet. Because cauliflower is quite mild, it takes on dressings and spices quite nicely. By the way, we’ll get beck to our discussion of dried spices soon. Today, I’m in the mood for some Mediterranean cauliflower.
I inherited a my love for cauliflower from my mom. It’s her all time favorite vegetable.
Kim Chi is definitely an acquired taste. I love all things pickled, but it took me a few tastes to really enjoy kimchi’s flavor. It is a spicy fermented vegetable mixture, seasoned with garlic, ginger, green onion, and hot chile powder. The flavor of the ginger after the fermentation process is quite strong.
Kimchi is the staple condiment that completes a traditional Korean meal. When I use the word “complete,” it’s no joke.
