Asparagus Select — Spears with a vibrant color and no bruises or blemishes. The buds at the tip should be tightly close. Peak Season: March to May
Store — Remove any bands that bind the spears together and put the bases of the steams in a jar filled with 2” of water. Change the water daily to keep asparagus fresh longer. Refrigerate for up to 3 days. Trim — Hold one end of the asparagus spear in each hand and bend the stalk. It will naturally break at the point where it is tough.
Recipe #35 and #36 of "the Complete Book of Raw Food" Endeavor
Asparagus Avocado Salad by Rita Romano, p. 54 Honey Mustard Dressing with Poppy Seeds by Elaina Love, p. 85
This refreshing salad combines the crispiness of asparagus with creamy avocado and tangy grapefruit.
Elaina Love's "Give Me Greens!" Sweet Milkshake (p. 146) is a pretty cool milkshake. Really and truly. It's fun and frothy and it's a lighter shade of green. I was sceptical at first. Almond milk and bananas are tasty goodness, but to toss in Spirulina or Barley Green Powder for good measure? I don't know about that. Strange? Sure. Delicious? Absolutely! My husband gave me "that" look but he relented after my Adventurous Avery took a swig.
Today was all about finding lost friends, connecting with relatives and re-discovering old recipes.
Can you tell I spent the entire day on Facebook?
I had the pleasure of spending time in Facebook chat with my cousin’s wife Michelle. She and I never really spoke at any great length, and I’m afraid the 15 minutes of “chatting” on the computer is the longest time we have conversed.
There was a time she hosted the Fourth of July and I brought ingredients for a salad and she very kindly let me have her kitchen. I remember the conversation was mostly about the food. Small talk, you know. There might have been mention of lack of a good cutting knives or blender or something of the sort. Through it all she remained wonderfully gracious. Even while I typed, I pictured her warm, friendly smile and how her eyes squint a bit when she was really tickled. She is a lady I would like to get to know better.
Angela, Angela, Angela. What can I say about Angela? The fact that she’s drop-dead gorgeous comes to mind. But why don’t I share the first time I realized she was my best friend.
You know how you are friends with someone and you have fun together, you hang out all the time and share secrets, but, you don’t really know if it’s truly friendship or acquaintances.
Maybe if you are lucky, you settle into a routine and one day someone introduces you as "my friend so-and-so." But most of the time you just don’t know. The dear that Angela is, spared me of that whole guessing game. One day after a day of not doing too much, she handed me a little red envelope and told me to open it later when I was alone. Long-story-short, inside the little red envelope was a little white card with the world’s best penmanship stating the most beautiful words of friendship that a person could write to another. That was about 12-13 years ago and I still have the card. Somewhere, tucked away in a box of my treasured documents. Thank you Angela for today’s lengthy conversation and for being my friend.
In the midst of Facebook and phone conversations,
I prepared two recipes that were one of the first ones made when I purchased The Complete Book of Raw Food several years back. So in honor of Angela, I give you dishes that are tried-and-true and they can never do you wrong, Almond Milk and the Best Ever Almond Nut Pate.
Both are no-brainers. They are simple to make, provided you have soaked almonds handy, and the nut pate is very flavorful.
And for Michelle, a recipe that I’ve never discovered before, will call upon again and again and was a much needed breathe of fresh air, The Sunrise.
Recipes 18, 19, 20 of the Complete Book of Raw Food Endeavor
Almond Milk, by Elaina Love, p. 182 Best Ever Almond Nut Pate, by Rose Lee Calabro, p. 249 Sunrise, by Shazzie, p. 154
Recipe #6 Ranch Dip or Dressing by Elaina Love, p. 276 and Recipe #7 Winter Salad by John Fielder, p. 77
My daughter, Avery, and I tagged along with my husband while he went to the Emissions Office, fun right? Before I move on to the actual fun part of the day, I just have one question. What is it about men naming their cars after women?
My husband has a Cadillac. I know next to nothing about cars, so please don't ask me what type of Cadillac it is. My best guess would be the purple kind. It's not just his car, it's his Purple Haz, that's "her" nickname, short for Hazel.
He has accused me of not liking his car. I have to admit I do have a bit of misguided animosity surrounding the car. It could be the fact that I drive the sensible Saturn with all the kids' car seats and strollers and crap. I don't know, maybe I am jealous each time he bumps and grinds with Hazel, I'm told she needs new shocks. Truth be told I'm not mad at him, it was just one of those things I could have lived my whole life without knowing. It's a sensitivity issue, I mean come on, I don't let him know that I ride George Clooney everyday. Okay, I'm done. Back to the fun part, creating today's recipes.
I have been dying to make Elaina Love's Ranch Dip/Dressing with John Fielder's Winter Salad all week, so imagine my disappointment this morning to find no cashews in the cupboard. Hence the event which set into motion the tag-a-long with my husband and his mistress Hazel to Emissions and to Vitamin Cottage. After all the "Hazel" drama, I was back at home with cashews in hand and I set out to create one of the best salad dressing I have ever smelled and my husband has tasted.
The recipe was super easy to make, it took all of five minutes. I used the apple cider vinegar instead of lemon juice and I almost was going to use dried basil but I put forth the effort and minced fresh basil. That was totally worth it. The basil fragrance is killer in this recipe.
I deviated from the instructions a bit, I opted out of pouring the blended cashew mixture in a bowl then adding the herbs. To save a bit of time, I just threw the herbs into the blender and gave a quick pulse, so the mixture would retain it's white ranch coloring.
The bright and colorful Winter Salad was a fun salad to make. I thought the cilantro, basil and lettuce leaves would be greenery over-kill but they meshed really well. My lettuce leaf of choice was Escarole, a type of endive, but not as bitter and sturdy enough to hold the Ranch Dressing.
Here's a bit of something to take away with you. If you are using the same grater (without rinsing in between grates) to grate the vegetables, make sure you grate your carrot and ginger before the beet, so that they maintain their vibrant hues and not turn crimson.
"….Do you think you'll be starting at the beginning of the book and working through every page, or jumping around it?”
Thank you Angelique for your comment and feel free to call me Hopalong Cassidy because I am jumping all over the place…sort of.
The best course of action methinks would be to start with what I feel are the easiest recipes. The criteria is those using minimal ingredients, equipment and time. Start off loosey goosey, you know?
The complex recipes will come to pass, just not right out the gate. Some recipes build upon each other, for example Rejuvelac is made before a nut cheese. And let’s not forget the fun part of creating raw foods (wink, wink) the soaking and sprouting and dehydrating. I will tell you now, those recipes are not happening anytime soon.
I will try to let you know what’s coming up ahead of time so you can follow along and prepare the recipes yourself.
Starting with the Rejuvelac on page 9 and traveling onward my count was 375 recipes, (if you count something different, please share.) So if my calculations don’t fail me, that’s about 7-8 recipes per week to make a finish within the next year.
THE DOWNSIDE: because of copyrighting laws I won’t be able to print most of the recipes, so if you don’t have the book you might be out of luck.
ON THE UPSIDE: I will provide lots of photos. Yeah!
Let’s begin.
On next week’s menu (in no posting particular order):
1. Ants on a Log by Karie Clingo (p. 110) 2. Broccoli, Kale and Celery Juice by Vita Mix (p. 139) 3. Avocado Burritos by David Wolfe (p. 208) 4. Green Lemonade by John Larsen (p. 147) 5. Ranch Dip or Dressing by Elaina Love (p. 276) 6. Fast Avocado Salad by Stephen Arlin (p. 61) 7. Raw Candy by David Wolfe (p. 295)
From time to time, I will feature several dishes from the same Chef, to switch things up a bit. Last month, I had a dinner party featuring the recipes of Elaina Love. Everyone enjoyed the spread, I wasn't surprised, I mean how can you go wrong with Phad Thai and lettuce rolls? For more information regarding The Complete Book of Raw Food Endeavor and to see how many recipes have been completed, please visit here.Mustard-Ginger Pumpkin Seed Crunchies, p.111
Simple & Saucy Cucumber-Coconut Salad, p. 71
Cranberry "Wine", p. 142
Fresh Spring Rolls in Romaine Leaves, p. 122Sweet and Spicy Chili Sauce, p. 269
Easy Phad Thai, p. 220 with Phad Thai and Thai Wild Rice Sauce, p. 265
Thai Coconut Curry Soup, p. 104
Banana Ice Cream with Chocolate or Carob Syrup, p. 320. The syrup was eaten before I could take a photo with it. Darn youngin's
Spring Roll Wraps, p. 131. This recipe isn't very visually appealing but my dinner guests thought they tasted good, Man on the Raw did not.
Man on the Raw and I did some major kitchen spring cleaning and carpentry (check out the wood board on the stove burners) in the midst of a mini-blizzard on Friday.
Come Saturday and Sunday Colorado’s winter wonderland transformed into pleasant warm spring.
Saturday night, I hosted another raw dinner party for friends. It was a pleasant, relaxing evening and everyone enjoyed the food, which is always good. For the first time during the juice feast I felt left out, not eating and for the last week I haven’t been enjoying the green juices as much so….
Today, Day 81, my juice feast has officially left the building and has taken residence in Smoothie and Prunesville.
I love the juice feasting experience and I just might venture on an extended trip again in the far-off future. But for now, quick juicy pit stops once or twice a week will suffice.
On Tuesday a very special lady, who I absolutely adore, will be sharing her “10 Thoughts.” I could be nice and tell you who she is, but you’ll have to wait till tomorrow. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Thai Coconut Curry Soup, p. 104This week for The Complete Book of Raw Food Endeavor, recipes from Elaina Love will be featured on Wednesday. I served a collection of her dishes at a “Nothing But Love” dinner party I hosted last month.
Don't forget about the giveaway here of the e-book “Me Raw-You Cooked” by Emma and Rod MacDougall
Oh, my goodness I almost forgot! My eldest daughter, Jordan turns 19 today. Happy Birthday, Jordan, I love you baby!
Also, Man on the Raw has a birthday tomorrow and I know for a fact he (he would never admit it) would love your well wishes on his blog here.
