Vivacious Variety: Vegetables and More Vegetables

Here is a delicious and substantial salad you can have as a side dish to supplement meals, or as a snack when those late night munchies hit. Vegetables balance meals to the alkaline side and contribute vitamins, minerals, fiber. You will find you can use this basic recipe with all sorts of variations.

1 large or 2 small zucchini
1 red bell pepper
4 medium or 2 large kale leaves
1 green onion
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne
juice of 1/2 lime
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Chop the vegetables in to large pieces (Chopping for a food processor should take only a moment - you just want to get the pieces to a manageable size. For example, cut the zucchini into 4 pieces, the bell pepper into 4-6 pieces.)
Put all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse about 10 times - or until the veggies are of a uniform size.  I prefer chunky chunks, though some folks like closer to salsa sized bits.

Variation suggestions: Use snap peas, snow peas, green beans, celery, save your broccoli stems - peel them and add to the melange. Add parsley, watercress, or cilantro. Use fresh herbs: thyme, basil, dill or oregano.

Having a simple basic recipe that you can change up to keep variety in your meals helps stay healthy and stimulated.

Habit Forming - Forming Habits

image by Ron Leishman: http://www.toonclipart.com/

I have always found replacing “bad” habits to be much more feasible than quitting anything. Quitting just leaves a void. Want, need, longing, fury, agitation, frustration - just to name a few - were my new companions in the void. Why not just find something I enjoy to replace the thing I enjoyed but found to be detrimental in some way.  It isn’t so much a question of will power as of energy.  Energy constantly transforms, but it doesn’t go away.  A habit is a pattern of energy.  It is constructive to work with it, creating change and transformation.

During the holidays I found myself inundated with ambivalence about all the sweets and treats I was confronted with constantly at that time of year. What should I do? I was tortured by the ice cream, chocolates, and egg nog. They made me suffer! - I want! I shouldn’t! I mustn’t! I want I want!

Ice cream was always one of my greatest addictions. Great in quality and size and challenge. Recently I have found a substitution which I find full-filling and delightful, leaving me without cravings. I make a shake. Not a milk shake! Young coconut banana shake. Delectable.

1 young coconut - water and meat
1 banana
6 pieces of ice
Blend all ingredients in a blender or vitamix

For instructions on how to open a young coconut, you can search youtube.com or google.com. If you are a beginner, just be very careful!
The consistency of the shake will vary depending on the youth of the coconut - but I find all variations to be yummy.

Good luck and please post questions!

My Thai Madness

I have been eating a lot of Thai food lately.  As I sit and savor, I wonder - could I create a raw recipe that would be something like this delectable, dastardly delight?

So at my next opportunity I experiment.  What makes this possible is the little Excalibur dehydrator I got on craigslist.org
I don’t know where I’d be without it.
Here is my latest creation. I have to mention that Margaret has inspired me by being inspired.
Inspiration works that way!

Hope you like this one.

4 large shiitake mushrooms
3 green onions
ginger - about 1/2″ x 1″ piece ( more if you are partial to ginger )
1 clove garlic
juice from 1/2 lime
3mm slice of serrano chile
1 tsp ground ancho chile (or your preference)
1/2 tomato
1/8 c olive oil
1 tsp pink salt

It is important with the spices, salt, and herbs of recipes that you adjust to your taste. For example you might like a little more lime or a little less serrano chile.

There is no right, there is only delight.

Chop shiitake mushrooms into bite size chunks
Cut the green onion into thin slices
Chop tomato into small pieces - about 1/4 size of your shitake chunks
Mince garlic, serrano, ginger
Add ground chile, salt, and olive oil

Mix well with your hands to get the olive oil and lime worked into the mushrooms. You may need more oil if the mushrooms are absorbing a lot. I am generous with olive oil, starting with less than I need and adding until a good consistency is reached.

Spread the mixture onto a teflex sheet on a dehydrator tray. Cook at 108 for 2 to 4 hours depending on the consistency you like. Try it after 2 hours. Again at 3. If it seems like it could go longer, let it go to 4.

I like this dish sharing a plate with a big green salad made with similar dressing ingredients and tomatoes.

It is good with a curry carrot and avocado soup, warmed by processing in the Vitamix.