Radicchio and Corn Salad with Sweet Lime and Cumin

Happy Canada Day!  Yay to Summer too!  And what better way to celebrate  at Freshncrunchy  than share the colours red (and white)  with our food.  Here's a lovely salad that we enjoyed at lunch.   We also made some mini berry tarts for dessert which was shared at my Instagram page here  and here.  Mind you, our boy was enjoying them more than my husband and I. 

Our veggie star today comes in with that lovely red wine colour.  It's known as radicchio, a member of the chicory family and it became popular in the Veneto regions of  Italy.   It looks like a small coloured cabbage and if you're not too familiar with this wonderful leaf, take a look at these different images. It's a bit bitter but it's  a good source of Vitamin K which helps in bone formation and strength.  Radicchio is also an excellent source of  antioxidants such as zea-xanthin and lutein which are known to offer protection to age related macular disease by filtering harmful ultraviolet rays.  And let's not forget these other good stuff it brings: selenium, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, B-vitamins, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin E and folate.

So the colours in our produce are much more than just aesthetics.  I wrote a bit about this on this earlier post here.  That's the reason why I love purple cabbage and cauliflower, blood orange, cherries, blueberries and of course radicchio!   Here is a good article to read  from N. C. State  University about this topic.  

It's good for us so let's enjoy it!.  I'm mixing  it with fresh and local organic corn, cherry tomatoes, avocado, red onions, cilantro and a wonderful dressing to compliment them.  If bitter is not your thing, simply substitute the radicchio with other greens like romaine or spinach and maybe arugula for some peppery flavour.  Bitter greens require sweet and also tart items to balance that strong taste.  Berries, peach or mango are great to try.  Orange or grapefruit are other options too.

Radicchio and Corn Salad with Sweet Lime and Cumin Dressing

Ingredients (Preferably Organic)

Salad:
Two big handfuls of radicchio leaves, washed, torn and spun dried
1 1/2 c. fresh organic corn, cleaned, shucked and rinsed
1 c. cherry tomatoes, halved
1 avocado, halved, pitted and sliced
1/4 c. cilantro, washed and stems removed
2 Tbsp. red onions, minced

Dressing:
1/4 c. lime juice
3 Tbsp. avocado oil
2 1/4  Tbsp. maple syrup or coconut nectar
Himalayan salt and pepper to taste
A pinch (or two) of cumin powder
A pinch of cayenne or slices of jalapeno pepper

Method:
Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a small jar or a bowl and mix or shake well until fully incorporated.  Adjust the taste.  Wash and prep all salad ingredients.  It's a must to use fresh organic corn as this is one of those produce that's on the GMO list.  To assemble, toss the salad but only add the avocado as you plate individually so they don't get mushy.  Save some of the cilantro for the decoration as well.  Enjoy! 

Summer is also the time when we can take advantage of our  local produce.  Going to farmer's market to meet the source of the food we eat is something I love to do.  One of the great places to visit in Toronto is the Evergreen Brick Works.  This year, they're open from May 3, 2014 to November 1, 2014.  It was great to meet several of the organic farmers of Ontario last Saturday.  Here's a link to their vendors.  

Hoping you enjoyed Canada Day celebrations with family and friends.  The weather was a bit testy but it started to clear up later.  To all my relatives and friends in the U. S., have a Happy 4th of July too!  Our son is turning 17 that day and we're hoping to be able to share our celebratory food here on Freshncrunchy next week.  

Warmly,

Lina

Blood Orange and Chocolate Layered Raw Cheesecake

Happy Easter and Happy Spring!  Although I've been missing in action for 2 months, there's a big reason why...let me tell you.  One of my wishes for a long time was granted.  I was able to go for four weeks to beautiful and sunny Santa Monica, California to train at the prestigious Matthew Kenney Culinary Academy.  It was a blast!  Take a look at this photo taken on my first week at the Academy with Matthew Kenney.  I will be posting some of my other iPhone photos and of course my experiences in the coming posts when I get a chance to get everything all sorted out.  

Everyone has been asking me "what now?"  As some of you may know, I am 54 years old and I work as a Team Leader in Residential Mortgage Underwriting.  I've been in this industry for almost 20 years.  My love for health and wellness came about when I was turning 50 as a result of my own health journey.  It has now become my new passion.  So I've been on a path of learning: graduating as a health coach from IIN in September 2013 and raw chef training has always been in my heart for a while.  I am so blessed to be able to have the chance to do just that.  For now, I will remain in my day job while doing my new passion in between.  As I love to say, "things will happen organically."  They always do.  So now let me share with you our Easter 2014 Dessert!

Making this dessert reminds me of the Santa Monica Farmer's Market.  Every Wednesday, it is bursting with energy, excitement, colours and abundance from the earth.  Citrus was in season when I was there.  Our class made a few trips there for our projects as it was only across the street from MK Academy.  It also reminds me of our Final Presentation. I would have made this as my dessert course...I don't know why I didn't??  Anyway, I love blood orange! They are so colourful and nutritious. Anthocyanin is an antioxidant that provides the blood orange its distinct colour.  

Blood Orange and Chocolate Raw Cheesecake

Crust:
1 cup raw almonds
1 cup Medjool dates, pitted
1 Tbsp. lemon

In a food processor, pulse the almonds until they are coarsely chopped.  Add the dates and lemon and continue to process until they stick together when you pinch it.  If your dates are too dry, add a bit of water, 1 teaspoon at a time making sure it won't be too watery.  Press the mixture into an 8-inch spring form pan.

First Layer (Blood Orange)
1 cup raw cashews, soaked until soft (4-6 hours), drained
3/4 cup blood orange juice
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 c.  coconut nectar or maple syrup
3 tbsp. orange zest
1/4 c. coconut butter, melted
1/4 c. coconut oil, melted

Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender.  Blend until smooth. Adjust the taste (the crust is sweet so it blends well with the not so sweet 2 layers). Pour over crust.  Place the  pan in the freezer to set for 10 minutes while you get to work on the top layer.

Top Layer (Chocolate and Orange)
1 cup raw cashews, soaked until soft (4-6 hours), drained
1/2 c. orange juice (I used regular orange)
1/4 c. cacao butter, grated or chopped then melted
1/3 c. coconut nectar or maple syrup
1/4 tsp. vanilla powder
a pinch of salt
1/4 c. raw cacao powder

Combine everything except the cacao powder in a high speed blender.  Blend until smooth.  Add the cacao powder in 3 stages at the last part of blending.  Adjust the taste.  Pour over the blood orange layer.  Freeze for 6-7 hours.  Remove from freezer 30 minutes before serving.

Optional Add-On's

Candied Oranges
Slice 1 -2 oranges in rounds.  Coat the slices in 2-3 Tbsp. of maple syrup and dehydrate until they become dry, about 36 hours. Cut out the peels with a pair of kitchen scissors or sharp knife. 

Chocolate Bark
1/4 c. cacao butter, grated or chopped
3 Tbsp. maple syrup
3 Tbsp.  raw cacao powder
pinch of salt
1 Tbsp. chopped pistachios

Combine everything in a bowl  except for the nuts and place it on a double boiler to melt or  over a pot of simmering water. Spread  thinly on a pan lined with parchment paper.  Scatter the pistachios then place is freezer to set for 15 minutes.  When done, break them in different sizes.

Coulis
1/2 c. blood orange
1 small Fuji apple
1 Tbsp. chopped mint leaves
pinch of cardamom
Combine everything in a high speed blender.  Blend until smooth. Adjust the taste and check for consistency.  Add more apples for thicker sauce.

Assemble:  Serve a slice with candied blood orange rounds, chocolate bark and coulis.  Some chopped pistachios are great too.  Decorate the plate as you would want to. Enjoy!

I hope you had an awesome Easter celebration with your family.  I will be sharing some of my own MK-inspired creations in the coming weeks so stay tuned!

Warmly,

Lina 

Peaches & Kale With Avocado & Poppy Seed Dressing + More Healthy Tips

It's peach season in Ontario so we've been enjoying these lovely local produce lately.  Sweet and juicy, they are great to munch on, awesome on green smoothies and if you're like me, I've been throwing them into our salads...peaches and greens instead of the usual "peaches and cream." They look so inviting with their red and yellow colours.  My teenage son became interested in eating raw salads several years ago when I started adding colourful fruits and vegetables into my recipes.  They say that "we eat with our eyes first" and my experiment worked out very well with him.  To this day, he still enjoys them.  He just came back from a Christian summer camp in New England and I was very encouraged when he told me  that he ate salads 2x a day for the whole week that he was there.  

Before getting into  the recipe, I’d like to add more healthy tips as a continuation of what I wrote on my last article (please read here).

Tip#3  -  Cook/prepare food at home.  Many health and wellness goals fail in  the absence of home cooking.  We need to know what ingredients go into the food that we eat on a daily basis.  Salt, oil, sugar and flavour enhancers are some of the things we do not have any control of when relying on food made outside our own kitchens.  Everyone has their own challenges when it comes to home cooking.  As I've been talking to several people, these are some of the reasons given: takes too long to  wash, chop or cut vegetables, not familiar with healthy ingredients or not good in the kitchen.  These are all valid reasons and with very minor adjustments, they can change.

Start with organic pre-washed greens if you don't enjoy the prep.  Take baby steps...make simple vegetable dishes one day at time.  A good example would be sauteing greens like bok choy in chopped garlic and ginger for about 3 minutes just until they wilt.  Season with a little tamari or braggs liquid aminos.  If you need assistance around the kitchen, ask for help.  I've been giving free mini workshops  to some of my friends recently... let me tell you, even one short week makes a difference. 

Peaches & Kale With Avocado & Poppy Seed Dressing

Ingredients:
(Preferably Organic)

For the salad:

7-8 cups of shredded or chopped kale leaves (see suggestions)
a handful of  sunflower microgreens or other sprouts
2-3 ripe peaches
2 Tbsp. lightly toasted poppy seeds

For the dressing:
1 medium size avocado, cut and seed removed
4 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 clove garlic, grated or chopped finely
optional salt (I didn’t use any)

Method:

1. Wash the kale very well, remove hard stems and chop, shred or tear leaves into bite size pieces.   Spin dry them and then place them in a mixing bowl.  
2. On a skillet on low heat, toast the poppy seeduntil it turns fragrant, about1 minute.
3. Mash the avocado with the garlic, lemon and maple syrup until the mixture turns creamy.  You can also blend this in a personal blender if you prefer a smoother consistency.
4. Massage the kale with the avocado mixture until the leaves turn soft and then let them sit for at least 10-15 minutes so they soften even more.  Adjust the taste if necessary.
5.  Mix  ½ of the poppy seeds with the kale then transfer to a serving bowl.   Add  the sprouts on top.
6. Before serving, cut  the peaches and arrange them nicely on top of the greens.
7. Sprinkle the rest of the poppy seeds.   Enjoy!

Suggestions: 
1.  I used black kale, also known as lacinato or dino kale.  Any variety will do.  I have used curly kale previously and I like them both.
2.  If peaches are not available, you can substitute them with nectarine or strawberries.

I hope you're having a great summer.  We can't stop thinking of Hawaii...so here are some more of our memories. 

Warmly, 

Lina

Spring Salad With Strawberry and Orange Dressing

In the warmer months, our bodies crave for lighter foods .  This is not accidental as nature has its way of resetting our bodies according to the season.  In Ayurveda, Spring is the start of the ‘detox season.’  In contrast,  we eat high fat and high protein foods in the winter to keep ourselves warm and nurtured.  Fast forward to spring and summer and it’s clean up time.  Ever wonder why Spring’s harvest brings us greens, sprouts, microgreens, berries and cherries? Read this article here by one of my favourite teachers at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Dr. John Douillard. 

This is a Spring salad that my family has been enjoying recently.  It consists of fruits and vegetables of the season which I find very refreshing.  At this time, I’ve been trying to get away by not using oil in our dressings.  The good fats from the avocado and walnuts are enough.  Trust me, you will definitely not miss the olive oil that’s present in the dressings that we’re so accustomed to.  I highly suggest organic strawberries as the conventional ones are on the dirty dozen+ list of produce high in pesticides. You can check the full list here.  And by the way, this is also salt-free!

Spring Salad With Strawberry and Orange Dressing

Ingredients (Preferably Organic)

6-8 Romaine lettuce leaves, torn to bite-size pieces
2 handfuls of baby arugula or other greens of choice
1 handful of mixed microgreens (pea, sunflower, daikon radish and corn) 
3-4  red radish, thinly sliced
20 organic strawberries
1/3 c. raw walnuts
1 avocado, sliced
2 tbsp. red onions, minced

Optional add-ins:
sulphite-free cranberries or
sulphite-free dried cherries or
dried golden berries

Dressing:

10-12 organic strawberries
juice of 1 medium orange
2 tbsp. lemon juice
a pinch of grated ginger (optional)

Method: 

1. Wash the lettuce, spin dry and tear them into bite-size pieces. Also wash and prep the rest of the ingredients and place them in a salad bowl.  
2. Juice the orange and lemon then put them with the strawberries in a blender and process until it becomes thick and smooth.  
3. Mix the dressing  into the salad just before serving.  Enjoy!

Suggestions:

1. Feel free to substitute the lettuce, greens, sprouts and the berries with fresh produce available in your own area.  I sometimes add mangoes in.

2. Another option for the dressing is using just oranges which you may have to increase accordingly so approximately 1 - 1 1/2 depending on their size.  You also have the option of blending the oranges instead of juicing them.  I sometimes do that if I happen not to have any fresh strawberries.