Cold Heat : Raw Indian Cauliflower and Bean Salad

I am totally getting into this raw thing.  Last night, I chopped up a head of cauliflower into bite sized pieces, and added a can of rinsed chickpeas and another can of black beans to a bowl.

To make a sauce or dressing, I used my magic bullet to blend a can of san marzano tomatoes until they were smooth.  Added garam masala spice, cumin, coriander, cayenne, curry powder and fenugreek to a pot and was careful to just warm the sauce, so as not to destroy the raw enzymes in the tomatoes.  I also added a quarter cup of raw coconut butter, and mixed until smooth, and then seasoned it with sea salt.

When I poured over the cauliflower / bean mixture and stirred until combined, it became a nice marinated salad!

After a taste check, the raw cauliflower required more salt, and more spices - raw veggies don't have the subtlety of cooked ones, and need more seasoning.

Garnished with celery leaves.

Harrison ate the whole thing, and was surprised that he did!  Bill and I negotiated over the leftovers.

p.s.  they are delicious for lunch!  ;)  The "heat" in the dish is surprising, even though it's a cold salad, and it seems to be even better today than it was last night.

Raw Power

Last Saturday, I had just about had it with my overboard non-vegan week.  I was feeling like my veins had slow moving oatmeal running through them, my energy was low and my skin was dull and breaking out.  It's like a big scarlet letter on my forehead when I eat dairy now - a telltale sign that I've been off my veggies.

So - recalibration time.

Breakfast was two peeled and seeded grapefruits, and two cups of spinach in the blender, with some ice cubes and filtered water.  Yielded two full glasses of green juice, which tasted better than I thought it would.  It actually felt quite detoxifying - like it was going through my system as if it were cleaning up after a wild party.

I booked a facial at 4:00, a gift-certificate from Bill for Valentine's Day.  I could get clean on the inside and out!  Since most of the yard work was done (except for actually PLANTING), I could just sit, drink an herbal tea and read.  My choice?  A raw vegan cookbook that I got for Christmas.

Lunch was another cup and a half of spinach blended with vanilla coconut milk and green apple.

The recipies lept off the page, my facial was great, and Bill got home around the same time.  We went out for dinner, had a nice bruschetta with lots of tomato, garlic and basil, a fresh asparagus soup and two loaded fresh salads - mine with cranberries and walnuts, and his with beets and pecans.

Couldn't believe that I felt satisfied, full and really balanced.

Sunday through tonight have led to some really RAW choices, and I have never felt more stable.  Animal food makes me more anxious than plants, and I sleep better too.

Sunday lunch was raw asparagus spears tossed in umeboshi vinegar, lime zest and a bit of soy sauce, sprinkled with sesame seeds and chia, and another bruschetta with local tomatoes and my yet, unplanted sweet basil.

Dinner was a raw "asian stir-fry".  One of my favourite kid tricks is instead of mixing everything together already, I will put out about 8 veggies, some chopped two different ways and hand Harrison a pan.  When you give a child choice - even over simple items - it empowers them, and broadens their taste buds.  Amazing how he chooses the carrots, the finely diced celery (but avoided the larger ones), the mushrooms (I avoided those) took a few peppers for colour, no asparagus.  Tossed in some Blue Menu teriyaki tofu from president's choice, and dinner was raw, colourful, flavourful and fresh.

Lunch was a napa cabbage, with avocado, orange segments and julienned green apple.  Dressing was orange juice, umeboshi vinegar, agave and a bit of salt.

Yesterday's dinner, following a 3.5 mile run, was broccoli, cashews, more thin cabbage, and more organic green apples in a dressing of sweet chili sauce, soy and my own hot sauce.  Another raw winner, that doubled as a great lunch today.

Smoothie this morning was apple, banana, and napa cabbage, and was surprisingly delicious!  Banana for snack, raw hummus with hot sauce and Ryvita crackers, for another snack, and a raw salad with celery, red and yellow carrots, cucumber, and balsamic yellow tomatoes with Italian dressing spiked with Jerk Seasoning.  Our new fave.

Since I was not even remotely sore from my run the day before, I went for another 3.5 mile run again today. I attribute the complete muscle recovery to the raw veggies.

Ravenous at 8 PM, instead of a cereal alone, I cut up another green apple and added 1/3 cup of soaked walnuts to 1/4 cup of cereal with coconut milk.

This raw thing is really amazing.  Maybe I'll go for a month 90% raw, and see whether it makes any difference?
I

Asparagus Ribbons and Coconut Hollandaise

Three more hours this morning did it.  The garden beds are finished, as are my arms and lower back. 

While cutting the grass this morning, I kept pondering last evening's question - why animal food, when vegan makes me feel so amazing?  Is it just the label?

I really don't think that I'm lacking in discipline, but the truth is that familiar animal-based cuisine is delicious to me still.  One of the things I continually seek out are vegan versions of my favourites and today was all about the hollandaise.

One of the best things about blogspot.ca is that when you double-click a picture, it expands to show beautiful detail in my food photography.  Do it right now....

That is some lightly sauteed asparagus ribbons (a vegetable peeler does it beautifully), some de-seeded orange tomato bits and some lemon juice.  Over the top is.....

A stunning coconut hollandaise. 

Coconuts are exceptional substitutes for butter and cream.  The thick cream in a can of coconut milk has made my tastebuds swoon more times than I can count.  I have added it to curries, of course, thai cuisine, of course and ventured into the more challenging world of caramels and creamed soups - all to massive acclaim.

So - on the quest for an even better hollandaise than the original I added a few tablespoonfulls to a warm pan, with a scant teaspoon of spicy dijon mustard, some cayenne pepper, a pinch of salt and the zest of an organic lemon.

When it whisked smooth, and a spoon coated beautifully with a creamy, luscious pale yellow liquid, I could only anticipate whether this would work.

The asparagus deserved a beautiful accompaniment.  Did you know that the centre of asparagus are literally luminous?  LUMINOUS!  Shimmering, opalescent and reflective.  It is very surprising.

But most surprising of all was the hollandaise.  It was, in a word, magnificent.

And  I scraped the bowl clean...dove into my asparagus for the start of the Top Chef Canada marathon on right now, and remembered that these food questions in life make me curious enough to keep pushing the envelope as a cook.

Coconut hollandaise.  What a real surprise.

What do you eat when no one's watching?

One of the real tests of what a person is really made of goes something like this...

"what do you decide when no one's watching?"

There are various versions in Zen, in religion, in pop culture - but the essence is the same.

With the guys away, I have had nothing but a really busy two days of hard gardening.  

Our property is massive.  We have almost a full acre of stunning mature trees, lots of perennials courtesy of the previous owners, and much more grass than last year thanks to some landscaping decisions which cut the responsibility for everything in half.  The thing is though, half of TOO MUCH is still - in my books - too much.

Not one to dwell on what's overwhelming for too long, my usual solution is to just dive in and get things done.  And with all the physical labour, I chose to focus on a great core workout and really intense arm exercise.  And daydreamed about what it would look like when I am finished.

Very few things go better together than tomato and basil, and my first garden (about 6 feet in diameter) will contain both.  One gorgeous full tomato plant, and six surrounding basil plants.  Harrison would eat cardboard if it had pesto on it, so this should be a good option.

I also intend to populate the second garden (about 15 feet in diameter) with squash plants and selfishly harvest them purely for the blossoms.  Something about eating flowers that just seems elegant!  And I can't buy them anywhere, so must do it myself.

Herb garden of course, must go in the best soil... AND the one closest to the kitchen!  My chives and rosemary came up beautifully all on their own, but I must get at least three variations of thyme.  Will grow some lavender again, even though I  haven't for three years.  Heirloom carrots are also on the agenda, just for the flexibility.  Another thing I can rarely get in stores, and few things make me feel as good as pulling a beautiful carrot from the soil...especially in a light rain when they yield to me much more easily.  Green onions, garlic, and shallots are also other must-haves.  And finally, the colourful nod to my heritage - some beets.

Of course our main entranceway will hopefully be flocked by rows and rows of cayenne peppers and jalapenos!

So with aching fingers barely able to hold a shovel any more today, I will seek out something in the kitchen to take away the hunger pains slightly.

When no one's watching I am constantly surprised how much I crave eggs...  Yesterday I did a beautiful souffle yesterday when my mom came for lunch, and made some rich hollandaise to go with mounds of local asparagus and the New Jersey / Rangers game.  Since I went to law school with the head coach of the New Jersey Devils AND he's a law school alum, I am very obviously rooting for a Devils victory...  It would make a great alumni story for my magazine.

Eggs always seem to be the one thing I consistently cheat the vegan diet with, whether Bill's gone or not.  Let's face it - on a fishing trip with the guys, I doubt he's eating legumes and fiddleheads, so turnabout is fair play.

And that's what I mean about what one eats when no one's watching.  Even though I feel a zillion times better on a plant based diet, I really struggle with the cravings.  Why the need for eggs (OK... and even some cheese) the minute he's out of the house?  Where is it coming from?  Am I vegan only when someone's watching?  Or am I just vegan most of the time?  It's like saying "I'm loyal to my husband" - "except for those times that I'm not".

And while animal based food isn't adultery, it does make me question why I can be so passionately committed to a plant based diet when someone's around, finding massive amounts of delicious, healthy choices everywhere and resisting temptation, and then yielding to temptations occasionally when no one's around.

No answers tonight.

Breakfast

This morning's eggs... with chives, blossoms and avocado.

Inspiration from yesterday's lunch.  Avocado, sliced thinly, and fanned.  I want to perfect this over the weekend with my alone time.

Planting seeds...and what they ultimately grow up to be.

I'm down to my last bottle of homemade hot sauce from the fall. My cayenne peppers did so well in the front garden last year that I harvested several of the seeds and sprouted them in early March. I told myself I would have been thrilled with four or even six sprouts. Last year, I harvested hundreds of beautiful red cayennes from only eight plants, and I want to do twice as many this year.

When no fewer than 30 peppers sprouted (fuelling my optimism!) I transplanted them to larger soil containers. They spent their first day outdoors yesterday, enjoying the sunshine. This particular Victoria Day weekend is going to be perfect. Sunny, warm, dry - ideal for planting... and I can't wait.

 I sometimes think briefly about putting some flowers out front, but why grow something you can't eat? And can you possibly beat those red, spicy, flavourful morsels for everything from breakfast to a midnight snack.

Every so often, events in life push you back to time frames which surprise you. My involvement with alumni reunions mean that I spend the better part of my fall in a time warp. I watch our students graduate in June, new students on their first day of first year law in September and then get to join the party of every reunion class in between. And even those celebrating their 40th reunion feel like day one of law school was just yesterday.

 I have spent several heady days in the 80s this week. From the fuschia, turquoise and neon yellow colours everywhere, to the plaid shorts and sparkly shoes - seems that a 22 year fashion cycle has again ressurected. All we're missing is the big hair and rubber bangle bracelets. And my not-so-18 year old self having a nostalgic look back.

 I had a friend when I was 18 who went to chef school. He made the best hollandaise I have ever had one weekend in 1988. I remember thinking that the hours of a chef must be so draining - to have to work weekends, evenings, every single holiday. How much of a sacrifice that must be. How hard life would be to "have to" be a chef. My wanna-be lawyer brain thought that unequivocally. I couldn't imagine giving up so much.

I subsequently learned that as a lawyer, I was also giving over every weekend, every evening, every weekend - not to food, but to paper. And now I am certain that paper will NEVER trump food. Although I wouldn't have appreciated it then, I sure as heck am certain of it now.

Working with edible items, preparing them with care, seasoning them with the right balance of confidence and risk, all the while making it look beautiful, real and tasty are just the very best way to nourish my own soul. And now that I actually have the brain of a lawyer, all it really wants to do is cook, and wait for the sounds of enjoyment from the people I love.

And I get to do it every day - weekends, evenings, and every single holiday!

In the words of Elton John, from the Sleeping with the Past album from 1989...


 It's no sacrifice at all.