My Favorite Asian Salad & Pesto

Spring is just around the corner here in the mid-west.  We've had some pretty good storms today that cleaned up the air and passed quickly .  Now the sun is shining brightly and it invites me outside to play.  My daffodils in the front yard are ready to burst open at the first sign of warmth.  I love this time of year.  

Our CSA farmer is gearing up to plant and some items are  ready in the greenhouse.  I am looking forward to our first informational meeting because our farmer always brings some wonderful leafy greens along for sale.

While I am waiting for the harvest I am still partaking of lots of produce and I hope you have made plants the center of your diet too!

A nutrient rich  plant focused style of eating gives us a supercharged immune system , increased longevity and prevents diet related illnesses and disease conditions.

Today my son's request was my Asian Salad which is one of our family's favorites.

It is pictured above.

ASIAN SALAD

one serving

1/4 of a cabbage shredded

1/2 red bell pepper diced

1-2 stalks of celery diced

4 baby carrots cut into matchsticks

1 avocado cut in cubes

1/4 c. of soaked & drained almonds cut into pieces

1 heaping T. of raw cashew pieces

Annie's Asian Salad Dressing or make your own.

Mix together & Enjoy!

This is my mid afternoon meal

RAW PESTO WITH YELLOW SQUASH

1 small yellow squash spiralized

1 spring onion chopped

1/4 of a red bell pepper diced

cherry tomatoes

set these ingredients aside and make the pesto

PESTO

1/4 c. of raw pine nuts

1 garlic clove

1/4 of a red bell pepper

dried basil (I prefer fresh but I did not have any) to taste

I placed all of my ingredients for the pesto in my Magic Bullet and blended them to a smooth consistency.

Pour pesto over noodles and top with veggies and a sprinkle of dulse granules

This is my daughter's salad.  I found this on my memory card while downloading my pictures.  Taking pictures of our food must run in the family.  lol

Salad above consists of romaine lettuce, bell peppers, tomatoes, celery, sunflower seeds and goddess dressing. She also had a Spicy Adzuki Bean Burger from Hilary's.  These burgers are very yummy and they are not too spicy.  The do have more sodium than I prefer, but now and then it is okay as long as we are eating primarily home prepared meals without adding salt.  

Here is the ingredient list for the burger:

INGREDIENTS

Water, organic whole millet, organic adzuki beans, organic whole quinoa, expeller-pressed coconut oil, organic sweet potato, organic onion, mild green chilies, organic psyllium seed husk powder, organic arrowroot, Real Salt®, organic apple cider vinegar, organic garlic, organic cumin, sunflower seed oil, organic chipotle powder, organic chili powder, organic lime juice. CONTAINS: COCONUT.

                 Remember to eat your Greens & Smile!!!!  but check your teeth first   :)

My Favorite Asian Salad & Pesto

Spring is just around the corner here in the mid-west.  We've had some pretty good storms today that cleaned up the air and passed quickly .  Now the sun is shining brightly and it invites me outside to play.  My daffodils in the front yard are ready to burst open at the first sign of warmth.  I love this time of year.  

Our CSA farmer is gearing up to plant and some items are  ready in the greenhouse.  I am looking forward to our first informational meeting because our farmer always brings some wonderful leafy greens along for sale.

While I am waiting for the harvest I am still partaking of lots of produce and I hope you have made plants the center of your diet too!

A nutrient rich  plant focused style of eating gives us a supercharged immune system , increased longevity and prevents diet related illnesses and disease conditions.

Today my son's request was my Asian Salad which is one of our family's favorites.

It is pictured above.

ASIAN SALAD

one serving

1/4 of a cabbage shredded

1/2 red bell pepper diced

1-2 stalks of celery diced

4 baby carrots cut into matchsticks

1 avocado cut in cubes

1/4 c. of soaked & drained almonds cut into pieces

1 heaping T. of raw cashew pieces

Annie's Asian Salad Dressing or make your own.

Mix together & Enjoy!

This is my mid afternoon meal

RAW PESTO WITH YELLOW SQUASH

1 small yellow squash spiralized

1 spring onion chopped

1/4 of a red bell pepper diced

cherry tomatoes

set these ingredients aside and make the pesto

PESTO

1/4 c. of raw pine nuts

1 garlic clove

1/4 of a red bell pepper

dried basil (I prefer fresh but I did not have any) to taste

I placed all of my ingredients for the pesto in my Magic Bullet and blended them to a smooth consistency.

Pour pesto over noodles and top with veggies and a sprinkle of dulse granules

This is my daughter's salad.  I found this on my memory card while downloading my pictures.  Taking pictures of our food must run in the family.  lol

Salad above consists of romaine lettuce, bell peppers, tomatoes, celery, sunflower seeds and goddess dressing. She also had a Spicy Akzuki Bean Burger from Hilary's.  These burgers are very yummy and they are not too spicy.  The do have more sodium than I prefer, but now and then it is okay as long as we are eating primarily home prepared meals without adding salt.  

Here is the ingredient list for the burger:

INGREDIENTS

Water, organic whole millet, organic adzuki beans, organic whole quinoa, expeller-pressed coconut oil, organic sweet potato, organic onion, mild green chilies, organic psyllium seed husk powder, organic arrowroot, Real Salt®, organic apple cider vinegar, organic garlic, organic cumin, sunflower seed oil, organic chipotle powder, organic chili powder, organic lime juice. CONTAINS: COCONUT.

CSA share Week 20 of 25 and Recipes for Your CSA Share

 

Top left corner and clockwise!

Beets with tops (slightly hidden~you can see the tops)

bag of basil, arugula, dill and hot peppers

5 lbs of tomatoes (I ordered these as an extra item)

radishes

variety of sweet peppers

2 heirloom tomatoes

bag of sweet potatoes

kale

bag of mixed salad greens

                                                                                                                                             

Basil~a gift from a friend!

I am dehydrating it for the winter

Pictured are dehydrated sweet peppers.  The aroma in the house is amazing while these are drying!

SUN-BURNED BELL PEPPERS & WHAT TO DO WITH THEM

The picture below is how they looked before I sliced them in the food processor and the images above are what they looked like before removing the sunburned spots.  Most folks would not want these peppers, but they are perfectly fine.  Sometimes they will get sun-burnt in the field, just like we burn when we are out in the sun too long.  I admit they do not look appetizing, but they taste perfectly delicious after removing the spots.

Recipes of the week for your CSA share!

Look below for ideas for using your CSA share...be creative according to your family's taste.

Kale and Garbonzo's and Sweet Potatoes~not pictured

Cheezy Kale Salad~pictured below

KALE SALAD

1 bunch of kale

radished~diced

mini sweet pepperrs~chopped

chives~finely chopped

Chinese Five Spice to taste

 lemon juice

extra virgin olive oil

Himalayan salt

handful of raw pumpkin seeds

BEET SALAD

1 bunch of  beets

garlic~to taste..I use lots

lemon juice

extra virgin olive oil

Himalayan Salt

dash of ground cloves

Oriental Kale Salad~

not pictured

2 bunches of kale cleaned and shredded

1 red bell pepper diced

handful of raw pumpkin seeds

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

1/4 c. lime juice

garlic to taste

Chinese Five Spice~lightly sprinkled over the top

Mediterrianean Kale Salad~pictured above

follow the link for a video

kale

yellow bell peppers

olives

olive oil

lime juice

Himalyan salt

CHEEZY KALE CHIPS

not picturedIngredients:

2 heads of Kale, Washed and Torn~SIT ASIDE

3/4 cup Tahini
1/4 cup Tamari
1/4 cup Cider Vinegar
1/2 cup Water
1/4 cup dried onions
1 clove garlic
1 lemon (juice of)
dash of Sea Salt
1/3 cup of nutritional yeast

Blend everything but the kale until it is creamy and pour over kale and massage into it and let it sit for 10 mins.
spread on Teflex sheets and dehydrate at 115 until crispy.
I had some leftover sauce so I cleaned and de stemmed some rainbow chard and used the rest of it on it. I'll let you know how it turns out.

The weather is just right for a nice warm soup!

Sweet Potato Lentil Soup

10-12 c. water

1/2 red onion chopped

4 garlic cloves minced

14 oz of lentils rinsed and drained

1/4 to 1/2 c.  wild rice or another grain of choice (optional)

4 stalks of celery chopped

2 carrots diced

2 sweet potatoes peeled and diced

2 t. rosemary

1 t. oregano

2 t. sea salt or real salt or Himalyan salt

1 t. Italian seasonings

1/4 c. Seitenbacher vegetable broth

1/4-1/2 c. nutritional yeast

strip of wakame or sea veggie of choice (optional)

put all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil, then simmer until done

I try to make my soups early in the day and then place them in the crock pot on warm then they are always there waiting to be eaten

or my favorite way to make soup is to place all the ingredients in the crock pot overnight on a low setting and it will be done in the morning, then stir the ingreds and set to keep warm setting

This is what I am doing with my bag of mixed greens this week!

Layered Salad

in a 9 X 13 dish layer

Mixed baby greens or greens of choice

1 c. chopped celery

1 bunch of green onion chopped

1 bag of frozen peas

1/2-1 c. of raw walnuts broken up

I ladded 1 red/yellow or orange bell pepper chopped  

diced radishes are optional

Cheezy Mustard Dressing

1 small jar of Vegenaise

1/4-1/2 c. nutritional yeast

1/4-1/2 t. dried mustard

1-2 T. lemon or lime juice

water to thin

blend  and store in fridge..this will make more than you need for this salad

Here is an idea for using your fresh Basil

Basil Pesto

In Vita-Mix, food processor or Magic Bullet place:

small handful of basil

small handful of pine nuts

1 large clove of garlic

dash of Himalyan Salt

splash of lemon juice

Blend until smooth and enjoy!

You can use this as a dip, mix into zucchini noodles or as a spread on raw crackers

Basil Pesto and Veggies!

We have been getting fresh basil in our CSA share most weeks. This morning I was craving pesto, so it was a great way to use it up.

Basil Pesto

In Vita-Mix, food processor or Magic Bullet place:

small handful of basil

small handful of pine nuts

1 large clove of garlic

dash of Himalyan Salt

splash of lemon juice

Blend until smooth and enjoy!

You can use this as a dip, mix into zucchini noodles or as a spread on raw crackers

Sunburned Bell Peppers and Basil Pesto

Aren't they pretty? 

Yesterday, my dear friend that facilitates the CSA (community supported agriculture) group that I am a member of , gifted me with the extra's that were leftover from our weekly allotment.

The above pictured bell peppers were one of the items.  These peppers are what is called seconds, meaning that they are in some way not up to quality to distribute in our prepaid shares.  These peppers got sunburned, which means the sun burned spots on them.  Too hot!  They can be a bit unsightly as you will see in the picture below. Most people do not want them...not me!!  All that you need to do is to cut away the burnt part and you have a good pepper.  I will use these for my juice tomorrow.

They are organic, full of vitamin C and A. Check out this link for the nutritional profile of the bell pepper. Eat them, juice them or add them to your salads.  Bell peppers are part of the nightshade family. Some folks with arthritis do better by stayiing away from nightshades which include~tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and bell peppers.  Remember each of us are unique, some may be able to eat them and others may not.  Listen to your body, it speaks to you~in responses...slow down and pay attention.

These peppers do not look pretty.  They do not have  mold on them, just blackend skin from the sun...some parts of them are actually charred and have turned a bit white.  Sometimes the sun burns a hole right into them....several of mine had holes.  As I stated earlier all you need to do is cut the burned part away and you have a perfectly good pepper as pictured at the top.

If you are on a budget or just thifty, go to your farmer's market and see if you can make arrangements for the next week to get a box or bag of seconds.  Farmer's usually just toss these into the compost pile...which is a good thing...but you may be able to make a deal and save some $$$ and get an abundance of produce for juicing or snacking.  Farmer's usually have seconds on cucumbers and zuchinni's too!  Don't be shy...get to know your farmer...who they are....how the grow the food....you just might make a new friend.

I have another dear friend that has been sharing some of her organic garden with me this season.  Today she gifted me with one of her basil plants and a variety of tomatoes.

I  divided it into two bunches, bound each with a rubber band and sprayed them off with the hose and air dried them outside  and now they are hanging in my dining room to dry and store for the winter.

Basil Walnut Pesto

I took a large handful of fresh basil leaves placed them in the food processor

about 1 c. of raw organic walnuts

3 garlic cloves

sprinked nutritional yeast on top

splash of lemon juice

a bit of water

a couple grinder twists of Himilayan salt

Blended until smooth and placed it in a squeeze bottle (thanks to Penni Shelton for the great idea!)

this filled a 12 oz. bottle full to the brim

no time for a picture today...I've been squeezing it on the fresh tomatoes my friend so generously shared with me

I found this to be a very satisfying meal today..

Click on the ingredients above to read about the benefits of these foods and ideas on how to incorportate them into your diet