In the Kitchen

I made this Exotic Fruit Salad Today for breakfast. It was super easy and yummy. A nice change from the ordinary smoothie.



I didn't have much in my fridge so I took out everything I had, combined it with some things from my pantry and came up with the above salad. I thought it was going to be better then it actually was. I mean, it was OK and I ate the whole thing but I wouldn't rave about it so I won't bother giving you the recipe. I can tell you it is an Asian Rapini and wakame salad. The dressing tasted so good in the bowl but when I mixed it with the greens it was just sort of boring. Oh well.

Ooopsies in the kitchen

So today was an interesting day in the kitchen for me. It started off good with my morning smoothie and then I moved onto my lunch which was wonderful. I made a corn salsa and put it on top of my mixed greens. The salsa was rather sweet and eating it on its own was a bit much but mixed with the bitter greens it was a nice balance.

Then I decided to make some pesto. I bought 2 bunches of basil because I wanted to freeze some. So I turned on a taped episode of Oprah and started throwing things in my food processor. I whipped it up and took a taste and blech! It was weird and yucky. I couldn't figure out what the heck was wrong. I've made pesto before so what the heck. I looked down and saw my garlic cloves lying there on the counter. Duh, I pressed them and mixed them and gave it another taste and blech! I thought back to what I had done and it dawned on me that I put, are you ready for this? A half cup of lemon juice in it! I know, how does someone hand squeeze 2 lemons and add them to a recipe that doesn't call for them without realizing it? Good question. I blame it on Oprah! :o) Oh well, it started to grow on my so I stuffed some mushrooms anyway and froze it so we'll see.

So then I decided to quickly whip up some sunflower pate before I had to run out the door for 2 baseball games. I would have just made some nori rolls with avocado but I didn't have any. I threw everything in my mini food processor and then it dawned on me that because I hadn't soaked the seeds I should have ground them up in the coffee grinder like I do every other time I've made this. Duh again. My food processor sucks the big one so the consistency was crappy. I didn't have time to care so I made up some rolls, threw them in a to-go container and ran out the door.

So there you go. Superstar in the kitch yesterday and super stupid today! hee hee.

OK, I think I am over nori rolls. I have officially burned out on them. I didn't even really enjoy them that much. It's good because I just ran out of the wrappers. I went through 4 packages. Can you believe it? Well I guess my body has had enough of them. Now I have no idea what I am going to eat tomorrow and I have a game to go to at 10:00am. I am not prepared. I was out until 9:00PM and had to come home to my kitchen that looked like a tornado went through it and then I watched Independence Day on TV and now it is midnight and I am just going to go to bed and let the chips fall where they may tomorrow.

Nighty night.

PS I meant to tell you guys what happened yesterday at my son's baseball game. Remember when I told you that I worked that garage sale for a fundraiser and I brought my lunch with me and everyone was looking at it and smelling it (that's putting it lightly, I stunk up the whole garage and had to sit outside to eat it. It was broccoli rabe). Anyway, one of the moms who was there came up to me and asked me if I would give her the recipe. I was shocked. She said she had never heard of it but it smelled good. I don't know, raw rapini might be a bit much to start her out on >;o)

Now I am going to BED!

For the Love of Broccoli Rabe

I have always had a love affair with this leafy green vegetable. Before I ate raw I would saute it up with some olive oil and garlic with a sprinkle of toasted pine nuts. When I went raw I was so sad that I couldn't enjoy it anymore. Then I found out about massaged kale salad and I skipped the kale and went right to the rapini. I was in heaven. Coming off my juice feast I have been craving this so much I can't stop eating it. In fact I had it for breakfast this morning!

This leafy green has many different names including raab, rapa, rapine, rappi, rappone, fall and spring raab, turnip broccoli, taitcat, Italian or Chinese broccoli, broccoli rape, broccoli de rabe, Italian turnip, and turnip broccoli although it is best known here in the US as broccoli rabe or rapini.

It comes from the Mediterranean and China. I didn't realize that it was so widely used in Chinese cooking. Apparently it is the most popular vegetable in Hong Kong although the Chinese version is said to be lighter green and less bitter in taste. I am most familiar with the Italian style and that is how I eat it.

Although it's name would lead you to believe it is a member of the broccoli family that would be inaccurate. It is actually a decedent of a wild herb and part of the turnip family. It has a nutty, bitter taste rather like mustard greens. It is a source of vitamins A, C, and K, as well as potassium. You can buy it all year long, but its peak season is from fall to spring.

When buying these delicious greens look for bright green leaves that are crisp and not wilted. It will have small broccoli buds that may have yellow flower buds which are edible. Avoid any bunches that have yellowing leaves however.

To prepare the greens for raw dishes you will want to cut off the bottom stems that are tough and discard. Chop the remaining greens and buds up to make them easier to massage. Sprinkle with some good quality Celtic or Himalayan salt and get your hands in there to begin massaging. Of course we all know that the best Italian food is made with love so send your loving thoughts to your greens while you squeeze. You will be surprised at how quickly they will begin to wilt and take on that traditional cooked appearance.

Because some of the stems are thick I prefer to let the broccoli rabe sit out on the counter for a while to marinate and then I let it marinate in the refrigerator overnight. Before eating I either bring it back out onto the counter for a while to take the chill off or I put it in the dehydrator for a bit.

You can keep it simple and just add a bit of good quality cold pressed olive oil and garlic or you can go to town and add all kinds of things like mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts, olives, fresh tomatoes, onion, red pepper flakes. Whatever sounds yummy will be.

Fun, Fun, Fun in the Kitchen

What a wonderful day of eating I had today. I woke up around 7:00 and drove my son to school for his baseball game. I headed off to the store to pick up a few things and it was so fun to be able to go into different sections of the produce aisle.

When I got home I started preparing food for the day. It was so fun. First I made a Sweet and Sour Sauce from Snowdrop that I have made before that I think it so delicious.

Sweet and Sour Sesame Sauce
¾ c nama shoyu
¾ c honey (or agave)
2 cloves garlic
1 pc ginger as big as your thumb (equal to the amount of garlic approx)
2 T sesame seeds
2 T coconut oil
1 t sesame oil
2 t red pepper flakes

Chop the garlic & ginger so it doesn’t jam under your blades, and put all into the food processor and blend till the veggies are well pureed. The seeds will float up with the oils when left standing, that’s ok, just stir when using.

I put some broccoli slaw mix, bean sprouts, shitake mushrooms, cilantro, and green onions, in a bowl and mixed them with half of the sauce. I let it sit out on my counter for the day and get nice and soft. When I ate it for dinner later I drained off the liquid and added some more sauce on top. Yum!

Then I made some more of my special Broccoli Rabe.
1 bunch rapini chopped
celtic sea salt
olive oil
2 cloves of garlic minced
4-6 sun dried tomatoes chopped
6 mini portabella musrooms sliced
red onion chopped
1 med tomato chopped

I simply chop up the rapini and massage it with some celtic sea salt. Then I drizzle some olive oil over it. I added the rest of the ingredients and let it sit on the counter for the day. I will then move it into the refrigerator until the next day. You could put it in the dehydrator to warm it instead.

Last but not least I made some marinara sauce from Alissa Cohen's book, Living on Live Food. I love this sauce. It is so delicous and comes together quickly in the food processor. I made some zucchini noodles with my peeler (I have to get the saladacco!!! ), added some spinach that I massaged for a quick minute and some mini portabellas. I mixed the marinara with it and put it aside. I had plenty of marinara left over.

In less than an hour I had 3 meals prepared and ready to go with enough sauce left over to make at least 2 more dishes too! How cool is that? I was very excited.

The only thing I would have done differently is that I would not have mixed the zucchini with the marinara sauce until I was ready to eat it. It released too much water that I had to drain off and it still was a bit watery when I ate it. It still tasted delicious though. I knew about this but I forgot. It's been a while since I made that.


What a great raw day. I am loving food again and enjoying the ease of preparation and planning. I haven't introduced nuts back into my diet yet for a couple of reasons. The number one reason is that my stomach is a bit tender and nuts are harder to digest so I figure I will just wait and see what happens for a while. I am not craving them yet so I will just enjoy life without them for a while.