Raw Beet Salad with Ginger and Pistachios [gluten-free, vegan]

Springtime seems to signify rebirth, and while I’m still waiting for a rebirth of normal warm temperatures, I am certainly getting in the mood for some fresh flavors.

I mean, I really like root vegetables, but I’m getting a little sick of them. Okay, that’s not true. But eating them in the same way–I’m growing weary.

However, regardless of the follies of the weather, I can certainly evoke that springtime-feel in my kitchen. A good way to start? Trying old favourites in new ways, experimenting with different approaches, and highlighting fresh flavours by keeping it simple.

Try complementing your dinner with a super salad, featuring a bright burgundy vegetable miles away from the steamed or pickled versions you might remember. Beets contain betalain and vulgaxanthin, two phytonutrients with antioxidant and anti-imflammatory benefits. Betalains aren’t heat stable, so enjoying beets raw is the best way to reap their goodness. They also house two carotenoids (lutein and zeaxanthin), benefiting eye health like their carrot counterparts. Beets are also an excellent source of folate, an integral nutrient for fetus health and aging.

And, well, they just taste really good raw, okay? Especially with pungent ginger and salty roasted pistachios.

Broccoli Hemp Slaw

The dressing is a whizz of soaked hemp seeds, garlic, ginger, garam masala, turmeric and some other tasty ingredients – unfortunately, this was last week and I hadn’t had a moment to post it up, so I don’t exactly recall. Lime, too.

Lots of broccoli, red onion, green onion, napa cabbage, mango, red peppers and cauliflower.

Best. Dinner. Ever.

Stuffed dehydrated portabellos with pinenuts, loads of basil, cashew butter, spinach, garlic, whirred ’til smooth. Topped with cherry tomatoes, red peppers and green onion, and sea salt.

Made this twice this week, second time with soaked hemp seeds instead of cashew butter and PHENOMENOL.

Side slaw of Ani Phyo’s black sesame slaw with ginger mayo (or similar to that, I brought back the book). Second time had a greens with a load of veggies and hemp oil.

Chard patties (raw) [and the day I almost lost my finger]

I decided to do some more experimenting with dinner tonight and wanted to create something with swiss chard that I had to use up. I was a little wary eating it raw – I thought I could make it more interesting than a salad – but wasn’t sure what to do.

I came up with these patties and loved them! They were reminiscent of the filling in spanakopita, a phyllo covered Greek pastry that I used to enjoy pre-celiac days from one of my favourite restaurants.

And for the finger? Ironically, I had bought my first whole coconut, and carefully shattered it and took it apart. No issues, of course, using a hammer and a paring knife.

Alas, slicing some romaine for a side salad with my dinner resulted in slicing a portion of my finger. With a serrated knife. I laugh at the irony of the danger that ensued, smashing my coconut, but the mundane lettuce slicing is what got me.

Nothing that a delicious dinner couldn’t fix, with a little help from Polysporin and about four layers of Band-Aids.

Chard Patties

This recipe is just a guideline, I just threw it all in the food processor and adjusted seasonings to taste.

1 large bunch of swiss chard
1 cup cremini mushrooms
half a small onion
4 to 5 cloves of garlic (or less if you don’t love it)
juice of a half lemon
5 tablespoons golden flax meal
sea salt to taste
optional seasonings and herbs: I added a handful of fresh dill

Pulse chard, mushrooms, onion, garlic in the  food processor, in batches if need be. Put in a large bowl, and mix together with remaining ingredients. Let it sit for about 1/2 hour. It should be scoopable; if not, add another tablespoon of flax meal.

Spoon large spoonfuls onto dehydrator (using fruit leather trays), then dehydrate at 115F for about four hours. Flip, and continue for another two hours or so.

Mexican Bean Sprouts (raw/dehydrator)

As I mentioned in my last post, I’m heading increasingly in the raw direction again. I had a brief love affair with it last summer, but I’m opting to go a little more head strong this year.

Last night, I made raw fajitas – nut meat, marinated veggies and tomatoes stuffed in collard greens. I had a couple left over to enjoy today.

Raw Fajitas

nut meat:
pecans (I would have used walnuts, but I’m out)
chili powder
cumin
cayenne
salt
juice of half a lime

marinated veggies:
red peppers, thinly sliced
carrots, thinly sliced
red onion, thinly sliced
a few cremini mushrooms
a couple cloves of garlic
chili powder
cayenne
cumin
coriander
salt
juice of a lime
bit of olive oil

collard greens, for wrapping
sliced tomato

Pulse together the nut meat ingredients and toss together the veggies. Let both sit for a few hours. When ready to enjoy, trim the stalky ends of the collards, and distribute the ingredients and a slice of tomato in each. If you have a raw sour “cream”, it’s a perfect topping.

Mexican Bean Sprouts

about 3 handfuls of mung bean sprouts
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
1/2 carrot, grated in long strips with a vegetable peeler
1/2 lime, juiced
chili powder
garlic powder
salt

Toss all ingredients together and distribute in an even layer in your dehydrator. Dehydrate at 115 degrees F for about 1 1/2 hours.

Success! (plus gluten-free, vegan, raw recipes)

It was an excellent day, and the turn out was awesome. I am very excited for the owner of the studio. Unfortunately, I neglected to take food photos in my angst pre-event, and the ones that I took there were less than stellar.

Hopefully I can get my hands on some that the local news grabbed, but here is the run-down of what I made. The recipes are obscure, as I scratched them down as I went. Adjust seasonings to taste!

Curried Quinoa Biryani in Endive Boats

I took a traditional (well, as traditional as I could make it) biryani guideline and tweaked it into a salad, inside of endive boats. I combined the rice with a few raw veggies.

• Zest two limes.
• Saute a few cloves of minced garlic in a pan. Add cumin, cardamom, turmeric and coriander and toast for for a few minutes. Add 1 cup of,  quinoa continue to toast for about a minute.
• Juice the two limes into the pan, and add a scant 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, add some garam masala, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 12 minutes, until quinoa has absorbed the water. Keep covered, remove from heat, and let stand for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, shred a few carrots, and dice up the greens of a couple green onions.
• When the quinoa is finished, fluff with a fork and put in a large bowl. Add carrots and green onions, the zest from the lime, a few tablespoons ofsunslower seeds, and about 1/4 cup of raisins. Let cool, and serve in endive boats.

Great served cold or warm, and can stay a few days in the fridge.

Guacamole Gazpacho (raw) with Tortilla Crisps

I wanted to create a liquid guacamole, and put them in shooter-sized cups for a quick couple sips. In lieu of the crips, I was going to make a red onion/roma tomato/cilantro topping, then opted for this instead.

• In a blender, puree 3 to 4 ripe avocados, cumin, juice of a lime or two, water, and sea salt.
• For crisps, season a corn tortilla with salt and chili powder. Cut in thin slices, and toast ’til crispy for about 10 minutes at 425F.

Nori Rolls with Fresh Vegetables and Nut Pate (raw)

Based on a favourite from Ani Phyo, this is always a hit. I love the spicy mix of garlic and ginger. I don’t puree the mixture until smooth – I like it a little chunky.

• For the pate: 2 1/2 cups of almonds, 1 tablespoon ginger, 3 cloves of garlic, water, salt, lemon juice.
• Spread on nori and top with alfalfa sprouts, carrots, spinach, and red peppers.
• Roll up and slice.

Pesto Eggplant (raw) stuffed with Tofu “Ricotta”

I could have make the ricotta raw, but doing the eggplant raw was an afterthought, after I already did the filling, which is a tofu based one.

• For the eggplant: peel eggplant and cut into 1/4″ rounds. Brush each with your favourite pesto mixed with some finely diced tomatoes. Dehydrate until soft, about 5 hours.
• My pesto included: lots of fresh basil, a few roma tomatoes, pine nuts, lots of garlic, salt, pepper, and a bit of olive oil.
• Add a dollop of ricotta and fold over, taco style.
• Sprinkle with more fresh basil.
• For the tofu ricotta: this time, it was a simple mix of nutritional yeast, salt, lemon.

Seasoned Flax Crackers (raw) with Caramelized Onions (raw)

• For the crackers: soak 2 cups of flax seeds with 4 cups of water for a few hours. They will get gooey.
• Grind in a blender and add salt (you might have to do a few batches). Add until seeds are quite broken. Add seasonings, such as garlic powder, Italian seasonings. I also added an onion and a tomato.
• Spread thinly on your dehydrator sheets, and dehydrate for about 12 hours, depending on how you want it to feel.
• For the onions, I used this recipe from Russell James. I dehydrated them for about 3 hours, then the next day after they sat in the fridge, they were perfect.

Tahini-Dill Potato Salad Bites

My idea was to take baby red potatoes, boil them, scoop out the filling, make potato salad, and put it back in. I ended up doing it in fingerlings for something a little different.

• Boil potatoes in salted water.Drain, and plunge in cool water so they stop cooking.Scoop out some filling in each one.
• Make your favourite potato salad; I did raw tahini, fresh dill, green onions, and hemp oil.
• Stuff the filling back in and chill in the fridge.

Vegan, gluten-free Easter and Spring ideas

Check out my latest article, highlighting ways to rejuvenate yourself this Spring with simple, nutritious, switches.

The article features three Spring/Easter recipes:

Roasted Asparagus with Caramelized Tofu, Toasted Pine Nuts and Garlic

This easy side dish puts simplicity in the foreground. Each component is easily done, and then it’s tossed together at the end for a sure-to- please main course complemen.

Jumbo Shells Stuffed with Roasted Spring Vegetables, with Creamy, Fresh Dill Sauce

Roasting the vegetables adds a smoky flavour to whole grain stuffed shells with a new twist. The creamy sauce is deceptively rich, infused with garlic and fresh dill.

Pineapple, Pecan and Coconut Crisp

This raw recipe features nuts and dates and the primary components, added to fresh pineapple, make a no-bake, fresh springtime dessert.

The article can be read here

As always, all recipes are gluten-free and vegan, as well as high in nutrition (okay, and taste!)

Enjoy, happy Easter!