Fruited Cabbage Kale Salad with Tahini-Garlic Dressing July 5, 2009
Posted by a-k in dressings and sauces, raw, recipe, salad, vegetables.3 comments
I’m not huge on holidays, and rather less huge on themed food for holidays (apart from Thanksgiving and the baking and beverages surrounding that one consumer holiday in December). Since we got our grill, however – because we have a space to have one now – I’m not opposed to an excuse for using it for various summertime holidays. We had a couple friends over who brough mojitos and ketchup (we forgot to get some at the store), and grilled up a lot of stuff. Not pictured are the Smoked Apple and Sage Field Roast sausages which were delightful with some of the aforementioned ketchup, grainy French mustard, banana peppers, and a little sauerkraut… but behold the strawberry and basil green salad, okra, corn on the cob*, and avocado:
*Notice those various colored dealies right above the salad? They’re corn cob prongs in the shape of dogs… corn dogs!
Despite the relative green theme of our meal, I tend to feel a bit stuffed and icky the day after a holiday feast. Trying not to spend my entire checking account on eating out at Ecopolitan (the local raw place) inspires me to try and rip off replicate a few of their dishes for a cheaper and often tastier homemade meal. Today I give you my version of their Purple Kale Salad, a name which is a bit misleading as the purple actually refers to red cabbage and not the variety of kale. The relatively bitter taste of raw kale and the accompanying red cabbage is balanced with sweet raisins, sweet-tart kiwifruit, tomatoes, and a tahini-garlic dressing that helps soften the greens. This is a case where I think my version turned out better than what I’ve gotten at the restaurant lately. But it may be the use of my CSA farm-fresh kale or that I probably add a few more raisins than they do 
Keeping the kale thinly sliced (important!) helps break up its fibrous texture, and the acids in the dressing and tomatoes help to soften it further. A great introduction to eating raw kale with little or no need to marinate or massage it!
Fruited Cabbage Kale Salad with Tahini-Garlic Dressing (serves 2-3):
1/4 head red cabbage, thinly sliced
3 large leaves kale, destemmed and thinly sliced
1 c diced tomato
1-2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 c raisins
1-2 kiwifruit, peeled, quartered and sliced
2 tbsp raw tahini
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1/4 c water (or as needed to thin out dressing)
Gomasio, to taste (omit this if you want to remain 100% raw)
Combine kale, cabbage, tomatoes, onions, and raisins in a large mixing bowl, reserving the kiwifruit. Make the dressing by combining tahini, lemon juice, garlic and water in a sealed jar and shaking until homogenized. Pour over kale mixture and toss until evenly distributed. Stir in kiwi. Let sit a few minutes if desired to help the kale soften up a bit.
Fill plates or bowls with salad and top with optional gomasio (if you like a little salt in there… my second serving was gomasio-free and equally delicious!).
Lower-Fat Rama Spinach Curry with Tofu July 4, 2009
Posted by a-k in nuts, recipe, tofu, vegetables.6 comments
With kaffir lime-cilantro rice and sugar snap peas.
I really like Thai curries, and I’ve always been a sucker for anything involving coconut milk and peanuts. But being vegan and eating Thai food means a lot of questions about fish sauce and eggs, and sometimes disturbingly not knowing whether you’re truly getting something without any offending ingredients. (At least in my experience, I’ve been told differing accounts of ingredients for the same dish by different people, and I often get told the bad news by a kind vegan server after I’ve ordered the same dish a couple of times.) On top of this, Rama Spinach Curry is pretty darn rich, what with loads of full-fat coconut milk and unknowable amounts of peanut butter, even for this not-too-fat-content-concerned lady.
So for both reasons, making this dish at home is a pretty good idea. I’m not going to claim this is a low-fat dish, because it’s not, but it’s certainly lower in fat than anything you’re going to get at your local Thai restaurant, without sacrificing the lovely peanut and coconut flavors. You can throw it together while your brown rice is cooking, and you can control the level of wilt in your spinach by steaming it to your own preference (or just going with fresh). This is a spicy, creamy, and ever so slightly sweet curry that would go great with a fresh salad or tangy veggie side dish (I opted for some lightly dressed citrus-y sugar snap peas from my CSA share). While I recommend thawed frozen tofu for a chewy texture, feel free to substitute fresh (or go with mock duck if that floats your happy boat).
Lower-Fat Rama Spinach Curry with Tofu (serves 3-4)
16 oz tofu, frozen, thawed, and cut into bite-size pieces
splash of oil for sauteing
1/2 onion, diced
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
3/4 cup light coconut milk
1 tbsp peanut butter
1/2 tbsp red curry paste, or to taste (Thai Kitchen brand is vegan)
2 tbsp Sucanat or other vegan sugar
2 tbsp tamari
1/3 c chopped roasted peanuts
3-4 c fresh spinach
Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet or cast iron pan and add onions and tofu. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent. Add ginger, garlic, coconut milk, peanut butter, curry paste, sugar and tamari, stirring to dissolve sauce ingredients. Simmer over medium-low heat until sauce is reduced and slightly thickened, about 10-15 minutes. Stir in chopped peanuts, reserving some for garnish if desired.
Meanwhile, steam spinach until just wilted, or leave fresh. Place a bed of spinach on each plate, top with curry and reserved peanuts, and serve with a side of rice.
It’s Hot. June 23, 2009
Posted by a-k in Uncategorized.18 comments
Eating Out: Cafe Agri's Wild Mushroom and Asparagus Polenta
I’ve been spending the last few days trying NOT to cook. After a relatively chilly start to June, we’ve been sweltering in the humid 80s and 90s the past few days. (And of course every Minnesotan who was wishing for the hot temps at the beginning of June is whining about it being too hot now!) It’s strange to think that four months ago we had a day where it was about 117 degrees colder than it is today, and that was before windchill! Sometimes I can’t believe I live here. I even cut off all my hair today!
Enough with the stereotypical Minnesotan topic of the weather, after I needlessly explain to you that I haven’t been very into cooking lately. Except other people’s cooking. I went crazy and ordered a handful of cookbooks from the internet, and signed up to test for another cookbook (jae steele’s – yay!). All while settling into being a two-person household again, and trying to make up for being a bit of a poor Veggie Thing contributor since I had been so busy making my own meals at home. I know I owe a backlog of baking recipes (not to mention starting to develop recipes for a second zine), so for today, you get a bit of a photo gallery of recent yummy eats instead of more productive posting. I promise to work that out as soon as I feel brave enough to fire up the oven for experimenting on my own food.
First of all, I got Vegan Brunch. Overwhelmed by the choices and wanting to make something that I hadn’t seen online yet, I opted for the Mushroom Leek and White Bean Pie, only I used a different crust recipe and made it more of a tart than a pie. While delicious, my ladyfriend and I took to calling it gas pie due to some unfortunate after-effects… I am looking forward to trying out the tofu omelettes and some of the baked goodies in the future!
Mushroom Leek and White Bean Pie
My other cookbooks haven’t arrived yet, so I have been busy making some of jae’s testers. First we made the Tempeh Soysauges, which were really yummy and a nice alternative to seitan-based sausages:
Tempeh "Soysauges"
Everyone’s favorite part of new cookbooks, it seems: sweets! Here are Constellation Cookies, which are chocolatey and dotted with little amaranth grains. They were loved by all! Also, some Apricot Oatbran Scones, which I would add some cinnamon or ginger to, but were simple and light and fruity.
Constellation Cookies
Apricot Oatbran Scones
I have also been making a point to go to the farmer’s market every weekend. This week everything seemed green, and I was excited to see garlic scapes! I bought a bunch and made jae’s recipe Garlic Scape Pesto which I later used to make Pesto Potato Salad. I’ve never been a fan of mayonnaise, egg-based or not, so this was a yummy way to eat a picnic staple:
Garlic Scape Pesto
Pesto Potato Salad
I am diligently working out an epic post on green smoothies also, have no fear. I am trying to figure out the best way to organize the information and get some tasty little concoctions copied down as recipes for inquiring minds who want to know. Hope everyone is well and staying warm or cool, wherever you are. Till next time!
Friday’s Delicious, Tomorrow’s Chicago* June 13, 2009
Posted by a-k in cake, noodles and pasta, salad, vegetables.11 comments
*Not that Chicago isn’t also delicious…
Raw Zucchini Noodles with Lemon Basil Pesto
You really can’t convince me that pesto needs cheese in it… for me it’s all about the nuts and the basil and the little bit of garlic. Yum! I spiralized some zucchini noodles and tossed them with a few tablespoons of raw lemon basil pesto, then squeezed some fresh lemon on top. Rich and satisfying but light at the same time, which is what I’m aiming for these days.
Field greens with tomatoes, parsley, and Mexican Gems
I had some odds and ends in the fridge and a burning desire to grill the remaining okra I got from the farmer’s market, but it felt decadent to heat some coals just for little ol’ me; not to mention I wouldn’t have been able to finish all the food. So I had one of my coworkers and her husband over for an impromptu dinner tonight…the exchange went something like this: “Hey, M-, what you doing tonight?” “Nothing.” “Wanna come over and grill some stuff? You should bring your special manfriend.” “Hot (vegan) dog, A-K! Sounds great!” And then we made it happen. Part of my container garden this year includes some edible flowers called Mexican Gems. They’re distinctly floral and followed by a spicy kick! I don’t have too many blooming quite yet, but each of us got one with our locally grown field green salad.
Grilled Okra
Earlier this week I made my first vegan gumbo and included some okra. While good, I also wanted to enjoy okra on its own in a way that didn’t involve deep-frying. So I tossed some in a splash of olive oil and rubbed some salt and pepper in, skewered them, and grilled them over low coals for about 8 or 10 minutes. Wow! It’s kind of like eating corn, only you don’t get kernels stuck in your teeth. Soft, almost creamy, sweet centers surrounded by a slightly crisp, salty crust. I know there are a lot of people who hate okra because of the slime (I’ve only experienced the slime when slicing it raw), but I’d always been into okra the few times I tried it. I think I’m having a love affair with it now! This is the best way to make it so far.
The other day at work we were discussing our favorite smells. Most of mine are food-related, particularly spice-related. And one of them is saffron – the lovely, fragrant Spanish kind. There’s a lot of nostalgic attachment for me to Sweden and the St. Lucia bread made around Christmas time, which has saffron in it. One of my coworkers told me she thought saffron tasted like plastic, and I knew I had to convince her otherwise. I think the best way to do this is with cake. So while I was marinating tofu and slicing veggies for the grill fest, I whipped out this pretty little cake. I think I’m finding that wheat (and yeast) is doing bad things to me, but spelt seems alright so far, which is why this cake is a darker yellow than a traditional Swedish saffron cake would be. But let me tell you, this turned out moist and delicious! It’s a bit heavier than I’d like and took significantly longer to bake than the recipe I based it off of, so I won’t post a recipe yet, but once I get my hands on some more saffron, I’m all over making this again. Do you think she’ll like it?
Spelt Saffron Cake
Tomorrow I find out it it passes the “plastic test” (fingers crossed). And tomorrow I’m also dashing off to Chicago for 24 hours after work, so I’ll be gone most of the weekend. Hope yours is lovely!
Flowers and a Link June 11, 2009
Posted by a-k in Uncategorized.21 comments
Flowers from the lady
Yesterday I was having a bad day at work. Nothing catastrophic happened, just a bunch of little things adding up to put me in a stressed and sourpuss mood. Towards the end of my shift I heard my name being called from the other end of the kitchen and looked up to see this gorgeously pink and yellow bouquet of flowers that my special ladyfriend got for me (she’s still on tour until Monday). All my cares melted away, and I had a huge smile for the rest of the day!
I feel the need to update you on my back-to-cooked food situation. I can tell you that I’ve probably made a few poor diet choices since Sunday (Malaysian food, some homemade white flour biscuits a friend brought over, a couple of mint juleps that left me feeling pretty hungover the next day, and I’m rarely hungover), and I’m feeling a few effects that differ drastically from last week while I was eating raw. One, I’m really really tired. As in I took a four hour nap yesterday after work. And two, my stomach is experiencing some gastric distress, today especially. So right now I’m sitting here eating a bowlful of sugar snap peas for dinner and regretting the chai oatscreme shake I got earlier at work (my heart is racing and my stomach feels quite sad). So, more raw food for me again, maybe even two smoothies a day! I need to work on my savory green smoothies/soups anyhow…
Last but not least, my little rudimentary baking tips video has finally been posted! I feel least qualified amongst the other baking advisers featured in the post, but you might find the video amusing – watching with the sound on is a definite must for the full effect! (Scroll down to the bottom of the post, I’m the last one.)
Raw Week: Transitioning June 8, 2009
Posted by a-k in raw, salad, vegetables.16 comments
Salad greens and sugar snap peas from the farmer's market with sauteed portobellas and orange slices
Sorry for the lack of blogging the past couple days… on one hand I needed a break to work on some other projects, and on the other I didn’t really have anything blog-worthy to share. Honestly, after Thursday’s feast at Ecopolitan, I started eating very simply for the most part. A lot of straight up fruits and veggies, some repeats like the red pepper soup. I had decided that on Saturday evening I would start to eat some cooked food again.
It’s important to go back to cooked gradually or you’re not gonna feel too good in the digestive department. I’m not going to say I didn’t miss anything while eating raw, although I was really enjoying it as well. But I missed a few things like cooked grains, and the weather over the weekend has been gloomy and quite cold for June. So I continued to eat raw all day Saturday, and dinner that night was basically a giant spinach and tomato salad with tahini dressing and a small pile of quinoa cooked in veggie broth.
Sunday morning I walked to the farmer’s market and scored some delightful treats, like sugar snap peas, okra, and salad greens. I’d had a green smoothie for breakfast, but have to admit at this moment that I couldn’t pass up finding vegan tamales at the market. VEGAN TAMALES, people! They were small and I think the long walk helped, because I didn’t feel regret having eaten them. Still, I wanted to make something mostly raw for my real lunch, which you see pictured above. Yum! Salad greens with tahini dressing and a pretty edible flower, sugar snap peas, and orange slices making up the raw, and a little bit of sliced portobella sauteed in olive oil and garlic with chopped sun dried tomatoes and figs.
Sauteed portobellas with sun-dried tomatoes and figs
I’m still working on the green smoothie post, have no fear! For now I’m taking it a little easy and getting excited about all the herbs I’m growing in the window and outside. Look at this gorgeous lavender flower starting to bloom:
Lavender Lady Bloom
Raw Week: Noodles and Dining Out June 5, 2009
Posted by a-k in raw.20 comments
Raw squash noodles and veggies with spicy tahini sauce and fresh herbs
Quick post tonight – I’m beat! In addition to eating and preparing raw food when I’m not working, I’m photographing a friend’s knit/crochet crafts for her etsy site. It’s good fun, but lots of work!
Had a giant green smoothie for breakfast. When I got home, I made a Pad Thai-style noodle dish except I was out of almond butter, so I used tahini. It was yummy!
After a few errands and my volunteer shift, I met my fellow detoxer at Ecopolitan for a veritable feast! We started with drinks… for him a blackberry peach iced tea and for me (in the foreground) a Tasty Tonic – apple, cucumber, red bell pepper, and lime.
Tasty Tonic and Blackberry Peach Iced Tea
We split an appetizer: the Cashew “Cheese” Log with black olives, balsamic red onions, and flax crackers. So, so good… I would totally get it again and it might even fool some dairy eaters into imagining it was some fancy soft cheese.
Cashew "Cheese" Log with Balsamic Red Onions, Black Olives, and Flax Crackers
He had the Eco Burger (the condiments are raw!) with a side of borscht. So pretty, so tasty.
Raw Eco Burger and Raw Borscht
I went for the Hawaiian pizza: pineapple, macadamias, bell peppers, red onions and cilantro over marinara on a buckwheat-flax crust. Mmmm…
Ecopolitan's Raw Hawaiian Pizza
For dessert, we split two! The ever-popular parfait of whipped fruit over dates and coconut.
Raw Parfait
And a pumpkin pie! This was so amazing and we were totally glad our server talked us into it. Plus, we were so full I could only eat a couple bites so I have leftovers for tomorrow!
Raw Pumpkin Pie
That’s all for today, dears. More tomorrow!
Raw Week: Fruity Crepe and Veggie Dressing June 4, 2009
Posted by a-k in dressings and sauces, fruit, nuts, raw, recipe, salad, vegetables.14 comments
Raw Crepes stuffed with Vanilla Lemon Pine Nut Cream, spiced fruit salad, and date syrup
Today has been a weird day. I had some weird nightmares so I never felt totally rested all day, and on top of it I had my (usually) least favorite shift at work.
However, I had an AMAZING breakfast, as you can probably see! I used the Rawmelette shells to make a fruit crepe. Or is it a fruit taco? I can’t decide. The early morning intense domestic in me decided it needed a little more than just a shell and fruit salad, so I decided on some date syrup (which I’ve wanted to make for a long long time) and some kind of sweet nut cream. In raw food, there are some nuts that don’t need much, if any, soaking in order to be pureed. Pine nuts are one of them, and I had half a cup waiting to be utilized!
I was hesitant at first, since pine nuts have a more distinct flavor, but I’m so glad I took the plunge. The delicate flavor of the pine nuts went so well with the tangy lemon and warm vanilla and it’s just lovely for dipping your finger into! I used this to “glue” the fruit salad to the shell.
Vanilla Lemon Pine Nut Cream
Vanilla Lemon Pine Nut Cream
1/2 c raw pinenuts
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp raw agave nectar
1/2 tsp acidophilus powder (optional, for a tangier flavor)
1/2 vanilla bean scraped (or a splash of vanilla extract)
Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth … It may be quite thick. Pause occasionally if the motor gets too hot and to scrape down the sides as necessary.
I also made some date syrup by soaking 1 1/2 c dates in some warm water for 20 minutes, then draining and blending with 3/4 c water and a couple shakes of cinnamon. If you have an empty squeeze bottle lying around, this is a great way to make use of it and fancy up some desserts (raw or not)! The crepe was spread with pine nut cream, filled with spiced berry fruit salad, and drizzled with date syrup. Yum!
Raw Fruit Crepe Closeup
For lunch I thought a soup would be nice. I’d read a long time ago about “Energy Soup,” which, it turns out, is really just another term for a savory green smoothie. Being quite happy with my sweet green smoothie creations, I thought this would be no problem. Well, I was wrong. I don’t know if it was me being out of garlic, or missing some essential base flavor, or just a bad combination, but this was really acidic and frankly kind of difficult to eat. Because of the carrots it turns more of an olive green color which I tried to ignore by covering it in cilantro and red peppers. I made an energy soup once a while back that was delicious, really and truly delicious, but this sadly wasn’t. Anybody have any good recipes for energy soup?
Curried Energy Soup
When I got home from work with a bunch of free red bell peppers, I knew they had to become part of my dinner. Originally I’d planned to make a red pepper tahini dip to make lettuce roll-ups, but when I blended everything together it ended up too thin for that. What resulted is a creamy, delicious concoction with a hint of spice that I used (liberally) as a salad dressing and fed to my detox friend as a soup. If you find yourself with some extra peppers, make this! It’s so good, and such a lovely bright salmon color. I had it over field greens with sliced snow peas, micro greens, tomatoes, hemp seeds, and a side of rosemary crisps.
Green Salad with Creamy Red Pepper Dressing
Creamy Red Pepper Dressing (or Soup)
2 red bell peppers, chopped
1/2 red chili pepper, seeded and chopped
1 large garlic clove (minced if not using a high speed blender)
2 tbsp chopped onion
1/2 zucchini, chopped
1/4 c raw tahini
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp chopped cilantro, for garnish
Blend all ingredients except cilantro in a food processor or blender until smooth. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
Tomorrow I’m drinking a green smoothie for breakfast, and headed to Ecopolitan for a dinner date with my detox friend Michael. Who knows what lunch will bring? Though I have a hunch it might include avocado…
Raw Week: Tuesday Eats June 3, 2009
Posted by a-k in cookies, dessert, fruit, raw, salad, vegetables.9 comments
Torn Basil Salad with Avocado and Tomatoes
Just a quick post today… I am definitely way more full of energy than I have been in a long time. I admit it could be from a combination of things, but I’d like to think my recent eating habits have something to do with it! At any rate, I think I’m figuring out my “natural bedtime” and it’s earlier than I’m posting this now.
This morning I had the green smoothie I wrote about in the previous post, followed by lots of water. When I got home I ate the second half of my Purple Basil Kale Salad from Ecopolitan and half of a grapefruit. As an early dinner I ate the salad pictured at the top, which I’m calling the “Torn Basil Salad” in honor of Jamie Oliver and a distinct memory I have from an episode of the Naked Chef 5 or 6 years ago where he urged the hand-tearing of basil right over the greens. It also had two tomatoes, half an avocado, a few tablespoons of Juliano’s House Dressing, diced red onions, and field greens from the farmer’s market.
Triple Berry Fruit Salad
As a dinner-dessert I made a big fruit salad (with enough leftovers for breakfast!). I used strawberries, an apple, a peach, one kiwi, blackberries, and blueberries, and tossed them with cinnamon, cardamom, and fresh minced ginger. It was kind of like cheater garam masala, and it was spicy and warming against the refreshing fruit. I meant to add raisins, too, but I’d already been raisin-ing earlier to make these:
Raw Carob Walnut Cookies
I found the recipe from Ani Phyo’s new raw dessert book for these tasty Raw Carob Walnut Cookies while perusing We Like It Raw. When I was a vegetarian, one of the things that really interested me in veganism was vegan desserts – they were so much tastier, and not so cloyingly sweet! Now that I’m vegan, I absolutely adore raw desserts above traditional baked vegan desserts. While these raw cookies don’t have the same taste and texture properties of a baked cookie, they’re quite a lovely mouthful. I know there are a lot of carob haters in this world, but I love carob, and especially raw carob! It’s so nummy!
Tomorrow morning I’m planning a slightly more fancy breakfast a la Rawmelettes, though perhaps as a fruit taco kind of thing with the leftover fruit salad. A little date syrup and some nut cream and I’ll be in absolute heaven!
Also, I’m planning a tutorial post about green smoothies for the near future. After a lot of comments about different combinations and additions, I think it’s high time some green smoothie love gets spread!
Raw Week Update: Rawmelettes! June 2, 2009
Posted by a-k in fruit, raw, recipe, vegetables.21 comments
Banana-coconut-flax shells stuffed with cashew cheese, avocado, carrots, red onion, and cilantro
This wasn’t quite as good as Ecopolitan’s version, but pretty darn near close… this is what I ate there Sunday afternoon, and it seemed too easy NOT to make it at home. All I had was my experience eating it and the menu description for Rawmelettes: two banana-coconut-flaxseed “omelette” shells with macadamia-cashew “cheese”, avocado, carrot and cilantro. So last night I guessed some proportions, put it in the dehydrator for a few hours and voila! It worked! I’m really pretty proud of it, and since I ended up with five shells, I can make it again. Or make fruit tacos. Or just eat them plain. They’re really tasty!
Rawmelette Closeup
Rawmelette Shells (makes 5-6)
2 ripe bananas, peeled and chopped
1 c golden flaxseed, freshly ground
1/2 c shredded coconut
Place the bananas in a food processor and process until no chunks remain (it should have a sauce-like consistency). Add the ground flaxseed and coconut and process to a uniform paste.
Using wet hands, form 5-6 balls of the mixture and place on dehydrator sheets. Flatten with palm and fingers, pushing edges out until you have a fairly thin circle (about 1/8” thick). Dehydrate at 95F for 3-6 hours, or until flexible but no longer wet.
(For the above Rawmelette, fill each shell with 2 tbsp nut cheese, 1/4 avocado, 1/2 carrot, 1 tbsp red onion, and 2 tbsp cilantro. Fold shell gently around fillings and serve.)
[Don't have a dehydrator? I bet this would work in the plain old sunshine, if you have enough of it. (So long as it's not too humid where you are.)]
I’ve been a bundle of energy today! I bought a new dresser and moved it inside by myself, then got to work cleaning and rearranging furniture and organizing little messes that had piled up before my girlfriend’s current absence. I could have kept going, but I stopped myself and made a big salad for lunch which I ate outside in the gorgeous sunshine listening to the radio:
Veggie Salad with Mango Dressing, Kiwi, and Hemp Seeds
This was a bit of a what’s-in-the-fridge concoction. It had napa cabbage, snow peas, radishes, orange bell peppers, cilantro, kiwi, hemp seeds, and a dressing made from mango, lime juice, salt, and chili pepper flakes. I realized halfway through that the reason it tasted a little too “sharp” was that there wasn’t any garlic, onions, or ginger in it! I added some leftover house dressing and that helped a bit, though next time I’m going to remember to add at least one of those to any future impromptu dressings!
Dinner was a purple kale salad and “peanut butter chocolate” mousse pie from Ecopolitan, because I was watching a movie with a friend and had been so busy doing stuff around the house I hadn’t thought about what I was going to have for dinner. Delicious! And so filling I’ve got leftovers for lunch at work tomorrow.
Green Smoothie!
I didn’t have one today because of the fancier breakfast I made, but tomorrow morning I’ll have a pretty fantastic quart of green smoothie. This one has a whole head of romaine in it! And some basil and pineapple mint (yes, pineapple mint!) and kiwi and pineapple and ginger. I read somewhere once that you should aim for two heads of romaine per day as your greens intake… I assume you can switch that up with other greens, but it seems hard to get that kind of volume without making green smoothies or eating salads at every meal. I’ve certainly surpassed my greens quota today, and I’m excited to get a good start to my work morning tomorrow.
Fruit salad topped with cinnamon and cardamom
I’m also excited to make another fruit salad tomorrow. This is what I had last night for dessert: a peach, kiwi, blood orange, strawberries, apple, and blackberries, dusted with cinnamon and cardamom. The peaches were so sweet and delicious that I didn’t miss any date syrup, although I am really into the spices with fruit now. I will have a more berry-heavy salad tomorrow as I’ve got so much in the fridge waiting to be used. Yum!
