Veggie Tails and Flowers for Fancy Veggie Basket

My Mother began making fancy cut veggie baskets for special occasions after I left home, so I didn't have the chance to watch or help her much. Now that she's passed to the other side of the veil I had to recall, search for photos of her vegetable basket and online to "see" how to make various veggie tails and flowers.  In addition I asked myself questions.  I began to get some inspiration of my own--possibly from her whispering suggestions in my ear.  I felt her nearby as I thought of her, which made for a priceless time.   

What follows is how I make radish roses, green onion tails and stems, carrot crinkles and flowers, jagged cucumber circles, celery tails and turnip flowers. 

Green Smoothies

Health Tip of the Day

"Getting Fit. . . One Step at a Time"

Green smoothies are both nutritious and
delicious.  For an easy snack or meal:
combine 2 medium mangoes, 2 bananas and
1½ cups spinach and blend well. Add pure
water if smoothie is too thick.
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Dress it up!

Dress up any salad with one of the many raw dressings below.
If you want a great CAESAR Dressing, try . . .
1 cup pine nuts
1 tbs flax oil
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1 date soaked
1 large garlic clove
2 1/2 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs water
1/2 tbs white miso (Miso Master Organic brand unpasteurized (raw) www.great-eastern-sun.com)
sea salt as needed
blend till grainy pine nuts, oil, sea salt
blend the rest

If you want to know the basics for a great raw salad dressing, Chari says "for Raw Salad Dressing Formula/Dressings, 3 main ingredients make tasty dressing
-- something acidic, a fat, and seasoning.
Mix them in a blender so flavors mix well. Will keep from 3-5 days in the fridge.
Aproximately equal parts of acidic & fat then season to taste.
Acidics: lemon, lime, tomato, apple cider vinegar, orange, grapefruit
Fat: extra virgin olive oil, flax seed oil, avocado, nuts, seeds
Seasoning: garlic, onion, herbs"

Examples:

Spicy Tomato Dressing
1 small tomato
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 t garlic powder
1/4 t cayenne pepper (to your taste)
1 t minced fresh ginger

Oriental Twist
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1/4 c flaxseed
1 T Braggs Liquid Aminos
1 t garlic powder
1 t raw honey

Kalamata Dressing
1 pint Kalamata olives Pitted
place in blender cover with xvoo (extra virgin olive oil)
small handfull fresh basil
blend til creamy
Optional add garlic

Orange Cardamom Dressing
1c fresh squeezed orange juice
2T olive oil
2T agave or raw honey
2t ground coriander
1t groung cardamom
Makes 11/3 c

Asian Salad Dressing
2 cloves garlic
1/2 c rice vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
1/2 c Bragg liquid aminos
2 T sesame oil
3-4 T honey
2 T sesame seeds
food process garlic til minced
add all remaining until blended

Summer Peach Vinaigrette
1 ripe peach
2T agave or raw honey
3T olive oil
1 lime, juice & zest
sea salt & hot chili pepper to taste
blend- can be chunky or not
makes 3/4 c

Caesar Dressing
4 cloves garlic chopped
2t Bragg liquid aminos
1 small lemon juiced
2T dijon mustard
2t blk pepper
1c olive oil
1/2 c raw pine nuts
food process until smooth add oil last
makes 1 1/4 c

Bok Choy Salad
Chop up and put in a bowl:
~ 4 bunches Bok Choy
~ 2 tomatos
~ 2 avocados
~ 1/2 bunch cilantro
Dressing:
~ 4 tablespoons raw tahini
~ 2 tablespoons raw honey
~ 1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
~ 4 tablespoons olive oil
~ herbs and spices (experiment with what you have available)
~ salt to taste with unrefined sea salt

It's a Wrap!

For recipe club, the theme is Healthy! I'm making Romaine Lettuce Wraps

Chari says, "Use the lettuce to fill with goodies! Whatever you love... chop & add!"

shredded carrots
thinly sliced onions
sliced avocado
home made salsa
home made guacamole
chopped sweet red peppers
Sliced pineapple


Mango Salsa
An amazingly delicious sweet/salty salsa!
~Put in blender:
2 tomatoes
1/4 of a red onion diced fine
1 bunch cilantro chopped fine
juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons cold pressed olive oil
1 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
~Blend on 1 for 2 seconds so still chunky.
~Add 1 mango (with seed removed) and blend for 1/2 a second so pieces still chunky.
~Add spices such as oregano or tarragon (optional)
~Add finely chopped hot peppers if desired

Green Lemonade or Green Smoothie Please

Thanks Chari for sharing with me some of your great smoothie recipes to try. I love my Vitamix (www.vitamix.com) industrial blender and my Jack La Lane juicer (http://www.everythingkitchens.com/jack_lalane_power_juicer.html) when I am making smoothies.

Fruit smoothies
Bananas (ripe! can be frozen without skin in freezer- makes smoothie chillier)
Fresh fruit
Frozen fruit
water
Blend!

Green smoothies
handful greens (spinach, parsley, romaine, kale, etc..)
2 ripe pears ( any juicy fruit peeled oranges, peaches, nectarines, strawberries, etc)
2-4 stalks celery
water to cover
Blend! (more water to thin or less for thicker)

Green Lemonade
(Juice all)
1 head romaine or celery
5-6 stalks kale
1-2 apples
1 whole lemon
1-2 T fresh ginger
JUICE! Drink up!
The lemon cuts the "green" flavor.

Sweet "Good and Plenty" and Salted "Planters" Peanuts Combine

My good friend came to visit and I realized I didn't cook anything for her, but instead we ate cold cereal, pizza, went out for our traditional Mexican lunch, etc. and thoroughly enjoyed our time spent not cooking!! When I mentioned to her that I hadn't made her anything special, she said, "Yes, you have! You introduced me to "Good and Plenty and Peanuts". Good and Plenty is the candy coated black licorice pieces and they taste great mixed with salted planters peanuts. 

I used to eat this sweet and salty combination while "at the movies" in Finland, since I couldn't get popcorn to eat at the Movie Theaters. While she and I were out looking for shoelace black licorice for the eyelashes for a Sponge Bob Cake for her son, we found these, so I introduced her to them. We bought them at KMart and they were stale. We'd found a generic Western Family brand of them which were fresh at my local grocer's and they tasted much better.  Any salted peanut will do. 

My brother likes to eat raw peanuts and raisins together, something he learned to eat in Finland. I prefer my combination better. I also like to eat plain M&Ms mixed together with peanut M&Ms.

Resolved: Eat more fruits and veggies every day!

Last night for Recipe Club we were to bring a new recipe for the New Year.  Our New Year's resolution is for ALL of us in our family to eat more fruits and veggies.  We've had 2 big Christmas bowls full of fruits available on the table, a drawer of veggies in the refrigerator and bags of frozen fruits and veggies to choose from.  Each child has enjoyed being the one to go with one of us to pick out the fruits and veggies.  With the purchase of  a Vitamix, the industrial strength blender Jamba Juice uses to make their smoothies, we are having fun concocting smoothies.  By the way, you can buy a Vitamix online at http://www.vitamix.com or at Sam's Club or Costco -- at least during the holidays.  I also came across a much less expensive type by Jack Lalane at http://www.healthmaster100.com.  The idea is to have a heavy duty type which will chop ice in seconds and puree most anything and has a variable speed so you can puree part and stir in pieces, if desired, especially for soups. 

My husband made a Smoothie for me to share last night.  He just sees what we have in the freezer and fresh and goes for it.  The key is to have a mix of fresh and frozen so it's thicker and colder.  He titled this New creation:

Triple Berry Tropic Smoothie

3 cups frozen mango chunks

3 cups frozen blackberry, raspberry, blueberry blend

2 fresh bananas, slightly spotted makes them sweeter

2 scoops of Whole Nectar smoothie powder http://www.wholenectar.com 

3/4 can of Dole Orange Strawberry Banana concentrate

I avoid adding sweetener.  I add spotted bananas as my sweetener.  Of course according to your taste or take on sweeteners you may try: 

sugar or splenda or honey or agave, etc.

Serve it frozen immediately.  It tastes best frozen right then, just like at Jamba, so it wasn't as tasty thawed by the time we got around to drinking it an hour later.   Also be ready to rinse, soak or wash your glasses immediately as it dries on quickly.   

So here's to "5 a day" in a fun way -- get creative and eat your fruits and veggies as smoothies and soups. 

My Breakfast Green Drink

Since it's so easy for me to skip breakfast and since I know it's better for me to eat something, I make a "Green" Drink for breakfast, where the green comes from "Spring Mix and/or Spinach". It actually tastes great and I feel more satisfied when I drink this during the morning.

Blend together:
2 cups 100% pineapple juice
2 cups 100% papaya juice
very large handful(s) of organic spring mix and or spinach
1 avocado or 2 tsps. flax seed oil
1 banana

Fresh and organic is best, but I use what I can get. Sometimes I use a frozen banana instead or ice cubes to make it cold then. Usually I just drink the first glass as is and put the rest into my empty juice bottle and put it in the fridge and drink more a little bit later.

We use a Vitamix, http://vitamix.com/ but a blender or blender/juicer combination will work,
depending upon what you want to put into it. You can add lots of things to it, but right now, mine is very simple. Sometimes I add an apple.

As a friend who knows about eating more raw foods explains it:

Straight juice goes directly to our bloodstream.
Fruits and veggies blended are like pre-digested food on our system.

What do you put in your green drink and why? Or try it and experiment with what works for you.

Oh, and I feel even better when I drink a glass of water about an hour before I have breakfast. A friend from the "Old World" suggested it, saying it's great for your digestive system too.