A Nod to Spring

First, welcome to my new blog!   (Thanks to Katie and Kenny!)

A special  thanks to all who attended the Cooking-for-Peace workshop on April 28^th at  The Patapsco Friends Meeting. Together we raised $1200 to support The Samaritan Women!  Your generosity and positive energy were deeply appreciated.

Here's a peek at the class... and the yummy desserts we sampled at the end.

 

Ah, the blessings of Spring are upon us!  A perfect time for planting new seeds and creating new plans.    Although, sometimes change creeps up on us unannounced... regardless of the season!

And that’s where the topic of salad dressings comes in.  Salad dressing can make or break a salad. In the last few months I’ve been experimenting with oil-free dressings using a base of seeds or nuts. To be clear, I’m not talking about “fat-free” dressings, just pressed/processed oil-free dressings.  We need some healthy fat to absorb the nutrients in our greens and veggies.

But, let me back up a bit… my typical dressing for a long time was simple: good quality olive oil, raw apple cider vinegar , one teaspoon of sweetener (one soaked date, coconut sugar, etc.) a pinch of sea salt. Simple ingredients for a simple dressing.

Then I started reading and learning about the advantages of getting your fat in the most whole form possible by blending the nut or seed as opposed to using a pressed/processed oil. Less processing gives you the advantage of the whole package; including the fiber and nutrients that might otherwise be lost. Read more about this in Joel Fuhrman's fabulous book:

This bit of info inspired  me to experiment with recipes and techniques for making simple nut/seed dressings.   How food tastes to us can change over time. It can be a subtle shift or a dramatic one. Maybe your favorite cookies suddenly taste too sweet, or the crackers you once loved now taste too salty.

Last night I was in a hurry. I figured I’d just whip up a quick vinaigrette with my old standbys: olive oil, raw apple cider vinegar, and raw coconut sugar. (I like that sweet-n-sour thing!) We chopped our dinner salads, I added the dressing, and then... I just could not eat it!  The dressing tasted like an "oil-slick" . Same dressing I always ate-- but my palate had shifted.  Happily, I had some sprouted lentil/ mung bean miso soup (no oil in there!) and that became dinner!

Every day we train our bodies and minds to desire certain tastes, just by constant exposure. In general,  I think it is easier to abstain from a food you are trying to shift away from before you introduce a replacement. A few months from now your taste buds will forget all about that favorite  food and be delighted with its new understudy! I’ve had this experience numerous times: shifting from dairy  to vegan milk, from dairy cheese to vegan cheese, from gluten-full breads to gluten-free and then to raw gluten-free breads! So, if you are trying to release foods that aren’t serving you, don’t give up hope! We are constantly changing… including our taste buds!

And now-  here's a celebratory salad!

A Nod-to-Spring Salad:

6-8 dandelion leaves

1 cup baby spinach, torn into bite size pieces

4 asparagus spears

½ cup chopped parsley

½ medium golden beet, juilliened

1 medium carrot, cut diagonally

1-2 spring onions, chopped

10-12 wild violet flowers (you can add in some leaves too!)

1-2 purple Easter Egg radishes, cut in thin slices

-Tear greens into bite size pieces. Mix dandelion and spinach well. Dandelion can be bitter (which makes for a happy liver!)

-Using a carrot peeler, peel asparagus into pretty curls. This usually works for about half the spear… chop the remaining half and add to the salad.

-Chop remaining veggies, paying attention to color and shape. Top the salad with wild violets.

Dressing:

 ¼ cup raw sunflower seed butter

2-4 tbsp. lemon juice (to taste)

1-2 tsp coconut nectar (or your favorite sweetener- optional)

½ cup filtered water

1 tsp gluten free nama shoyu/tamari or coconut aminos

(Add your favorite herbs as desired. I choose mint and lemon balm!)

Enjoy, and don't forget to check out the "upcoming classes" tab for the latest info on opportunities to learn more!