June 14th, 2015
By the time this post goes up, Paloma and I will be in Russia spending some much anticipated time with grandma. I will try to keep Instagram updated with some snaps from our travels.
I leave you with this salad, made with plenty of nutritious grains, herbs, and two stars of the spring/summer farmer’s market – asparagus and strawberries. It’s a variation on one my all time favorite salads, from our book (Fava Bean, Quinoa, and Mint Salad on pg. 89) – simple, rich in textures, filling and very fresh. Mint is essential to the flavor here, so try not to skip it.
Enjoy the beginning of summer!
Multigrain Summer Salad with Strawberries and Asparagus
for the salad
1 bunch asparagus
2 cups strawberries – sliced
handful fresh mint leaves – chopped
handful basil leaves – chopped (optional)
2 cups cooked grains (I used a combination of sorghum, red rice and spelt, but any grains like quinoa, faro, frekkeh, any type of rice, or even buckwheat would work fine here)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper (optional)
for the dressing
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
pinch of sea salt
1. Cut tough ends off the asparagus. Cook it your preferred way – blanch, steam or grill. I like to blanch asparagus in salted water for 3 minutes, then shock it in an ice bath, so it stays bright green and crispy. Slice into bite sized pieces.
2. Whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl until well combined and set aside.
2. Place cooked grains into a large mixing bowl. Add asparagus, strawberries and herbs. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if desired. This salad tastes best when eaten within a day.
Tags: asparagus, basil, grain, mint, red rice, rice, salad, sorghum, spelt, strawberry
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June 17th, 2014
The number of amazing people I’ve met through this blog keeps growing. One that I’m very grateful for is Cathryn Fowler, a very kind and health-concious reader, who reached out to me recently about the possibility of doing some video work together. Fate’s doing, as right at that moment I was dreaming about a book trailer. Above is what we came up with – a day of meals from the book – breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.
The Vibrant Table came out this past week and is now available to buy at bookstores and online. Visit this page for retailer information, a peek inside, press and reviews.
We came back from Russia last week and, without too much mercy for jet lag, I started preparing for my first book signing and cooking demo that happened this past Saturday. I’m pleased to say that everything went very well. This ‘having a book out’ business is still very surreal to me and it was hard to believe that people will come out to watch me cook. I enjoyed meeting every single reader and hearing everyone’s stories, and hope to do many more of these things in the near future.
Over that busy week, we had this quick and easy strawberry milkshake quite a bit, since the berries are gem-like and irresistibly sweet this time of year.
There is a Strawberry Milkshake recipe in Sarma Melngailis’ Living Raw Food cookbook that, in my opinion, is the best tasting milkshake on earth. It involves the meat from a young Thai coconut, cocoa nibs and strawberries, which, as you might imagine, makes for a heavenly combination.
Unfortunately, young coconut meat is not an easily obtainable ingredient for the majority of people. I have steady proof of this fact in the form of countless emails and comments with one single question – what does one substitute coconut meat with?
I found that freshly made Brazil nut milk is the next best thing after fresh coconut meat to use as a base for vegan milkshakes. It’s easy to make at home and is perfectly creamy, thick and delicious. Brazil nuts are also known to be very rich in selenium – an essential mineral to have in our diet – good to know when enjoying this milkshake.
In other news, I will be holding a free Vegetarian Summer Picnic cooking class at the St. Petersburg Rollin Oats Market on June 26th, 6:15pm. To sign up, call 727 821 6825 or email [email protected]
Hope to see you there.
Strawberry Milkshake
to make Brazil nut milk
1/2 cup Brazil nuts – soaked for 2-4 hours
2 cups purified water
Blend the nuts and water in a high-speed blender until smooth. Strain through a clean nut bag or cheese cloth, disposing of the pulp. Keep refrigerated.
to make the milkshake
1 1/2 cups Brazil nut milk
2 cups chopped sweet strawberries
1 frozen banana
2 tablespoons cacao nibs
seeds of 1/2 -1 vanilla bean or a splash of a good vanilla extract
1 tablespoon maca powder – optional
Blend all the ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy. Enjoy immediately or refrigerate for up to one day.
Note: When strawberries are really sweet and fragrant, I like to omit banana. That way, the flavors of strawberries and Brazil nuts are more pronounced and the milkshake is lighter. Have your ingredients cold and/or add a few ice cubes.
If you like your milkshakes on the sweeter side, or if your strawberries are not particularly sweet, add 1-3 soft pitted dates and leave in the banana, of course.
Tags: drink, smoothie, strawberry, vegan
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August 12th, 2013
Last week we learned that our cookbook will be much bigger, over fifty pages longer, than originally planned. We’re very excited and, upon our publisher’s request, have been busy taking a large batch of new photographs, making the dishes from the book and reliving the experience.
In the middle of these crazy times, I especially cherish my quiet mornings, before the work begins. Breakfast is always mandatory, and this fragrant and nutritious amaranth porridge has been a dish that I’ve come back to time and time again. Amaranth is amazing, although often thought of as a grain, it is a seed of the amaranth herb and contains more protein than wheat or any other gluten-free grain. The texture of amaranth reminds me of poppy seeds, which is one of the reasons I like it so much. Growing up, poppy seed rolls were one of my favourite treats, and I still crave them when feeling nostalgic. Cardamom and vanilla make this porridge exceptionally addicting. There are few flavours as magical as cardamom seeds straight out of the pod or vanilla scraped fresh from a plump vanilla bean. The porridge is also very good cold, straight from the fridge, and we sometimes have it that way for dessert. Any fruits in season will work in place of strawberries.
Back to work now!
P.S. Honored to be featured in Emma’s Inspire Me Series.
Cardamom Amaranth Porridge with Stewed Strawberries
for the porridge
1 cup amaranth – soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
2 cups almond or coconut milk
2 tablespoons coconut sugar
1/2 vanilla bean – split open, seeds scraped
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom – from about 3-4 pods
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon – optional
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg – optional
for the strawberries
1 lb fresh strawberries – hulled and sliced
1/2 vanilla bean – split open, seeds scraped
1/4 cup honey
to make the porridge
Combine all of the ingredients (vanilla bean included) in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
to prepare strawberries
Combine all of the ingredients (vanilla bean included) in a separate saucepan, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
to serve
Mix the porridge and strawberries together. Add a few splashes of coconut milk if desired and sprinkle with poppy seeds.
Tags: amaranth, breakfast, cardamom, porridge, recipe, strawberry
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