Fresh Asparagus with lemon and black sesame seeds

A sure sign of spring! Delicious lightly steamed, fresh green asparagus is drizzled with a light lemon-olive oil lemon dressing, and sprinkled with black sesame seeds mixed with salt. Easy to make, even easier to enjoy, these spears make the perfect finger food! Add a dip. Pick a spear up by the thick end and dunk it, as the Europeans do!

You'll need: Asparagus; 2 teaspoons olive oil; 2 teaspoons lemon juice; 1/2 teaspoon agave syrup; black sesame seeds; Himalayan salt crystals.

Rinse spears and snap off tough stalk-ends

Tie spears and steam upright until tender-crisp

Whisk lemon juice, and olive oil. Add agave.

Plate stalks and dress with lemon oil, black sesame seeds and salt.

Easy Wu Se Green Beans with Sunflower Seeds

Spicy Tender-crisp Green Beans

Wu Se green beans have a distinctive spicy peanut sauce. In this easy recipe, flavour is jazzed up with a bit of spring in the addition of great-tasting maple syrup.  The beans are lightly steamed before being combine with sprouted sunflower seeds, sun-dried tomatoes, sweet red pepper, garlic, ginger, and fresh cilantro, and dressed with spicy/sweet maple-peanut sauce.

You'll need: For the Beans: 1 cup greens beans; 1/2 cup sprouted sunflower seeds; 1/4 cup dehydrated tomatoes; 1/4 cup chopped cilantro; 2 teaspoons chopped ginger root; 1 small hot chilie. diced; 1 clove garlic, chopped. For the Wu Se Sauce: 1/4 cup tamari; 1/4 soaking liquid from re-hydrated sun-dried tomatoes; 2 tablespoons chunky peanut butter;  2 tablespoons water; 1 teaspoon coconut butter; 1 teaspoon maple syrup; 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground red chili pepper, 1 teaspoon kyoto red miso. Garnish: black sesame seeds.

Method: Snip sun-dried tomatoes into small pieces, and re-hydrate in fresh water. Chop peppers, ginger, cilantro and garlic.

Spicy Peanut-flavoured Wu Se Sauce

Place all sauce ingredients, except miso in a small dish and gently heat to melt coconut  and peanut butters. Remove from heat, add miso, and stir until smooth.
  

Place sunflower seeds in a large bowl along with chopped sweet and hot red peppers, cilantro, ginger and garlic.

Spicy Wu Se Green Beans

Rinse and cut green beans in half. Lightly steam. When beans are tender-crisp, mix into bowl and add sauce, stirring well to coat vegetables. Transfer to serving dish, and garnish with a generous sprinkle of black sesame seeds.

5-Spice Steamed Rice and Wu Se Green Beans

 To Serve: Dish up with plain or fancy steamed rice.

Easy Baked Tofu with Roasted Red Pepper

Let's Do Lunch!  Wu Se Green Beans (spicy peanut sauce); Steamed Brown Basmati Rice; Easy Baked Tofu with Roasted Red Pepper (spicy, sweet, and sour)

Baked Tofu with Roasted Red Pepper

Part 1: Easy Baked Tofu with Roasted Red Pepper:
Oven-baked tofu in a gingered-tamari marinade with dehydrated tomatoes and roasted red pepper is an easy dish to make.  It can be prepared ahead and cooked when needed. It also tastes great as a cold dish. Cayenne pepper and fresh ginger root give this sweet and tart dish extra zip; you can increase the heat to your liking by adjusting the amounts of either cayenne, ginger, or both!

Pressed Firm Tofu

You'll need: 1 block firm tofu; 1/4 cup tamari sauce; 2 tablespoons water; 1/2 lemon, juiced; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 green onions, thinly sliced; 1-2 tablespoons freshly chopped ginger root; 1 clove garlic, finely minced; 1 teaspoon dried thyme; 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 1/4 cup dehydrated tomatoes; 1 large sweet red pepper, thinly sliced; 2 teaspoons raw brown sugar, or agave; sesame seeds.

Marinade: Juice 1/2 lemon into large bowl; add olive oil and whisk lightly. Mix in tamari, water, green onions, ginger, garlic, thyme and cayenne.

Cubed Tofu in Marinade

Add pressed and cubed tofu to the marinade, and let sit in fridge overnight, or for minimum of 20 minutes.

Snip dehydrated tomatoes into bite-size pieces, and soak in water 10-15 minutes before assembling dish. Thinly slice sweet red pepper.









To Assemble: Drain tofu, reserve marinade; drain tomatoes, reserve water. Mix two liquids together, and stir in sugar or agave. Place tofu and tomato pieces in baking dish. Cover with red pepper slices. Pour sweetened liquid evenly over dish. Bake at 375 degrees until peppers are juicy, and tofu is golden brown. During last few minutes of cooking, sprinkle with sesame seeds and toast them lightly.

To Serve: Combine with rice, and a vegetable dish for an Asian-inspired meal. Tastes incredible stirred into a bowl of cream of tomato soup!

Lunch for Two: Baked Tofu with Roasted Red Pepper, Steamed Brown Basmati  and Spicy Wu Se Green Beans.

Next post: Spicy Wu Se Green Beans (steamed green beans in hot peanut sauce)

Sprouted Quinoa Salad

A great 'make-ahead' recipe for a busy schedule.

High Protein Sprouted Quinoa

The essence of spring vibrates through this delightful quinoa salad.  The sprouted grain is lightly dressed with a fresh lemon-herb oil, and flavour bursts from sweet red pepper, cucumber, and crisp anjou pear. This salad is a perfect main dish, or a welcome guest at a buffet or potluck meal.

See sidebar "Easy Sprouting" for description of making 'overnight quinoa sprouts'.

Cucumber, Pear, and Red Pepper

You'll need: 1 sweet red pepper; 1 firm anjou pear; 1 cucumber; 1 cup of sprouted quinoa. For dressing: 1 lemon; 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon agave syrup, 2 teaspoons Italian blend herbs (dried thyme, oregano, and savory) 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/8 teaspoon Himalayan salt crystals (garnish) freshly-grated nutmeg or black pepper.

Spouted Quinoa in Lemon Herb Dressing

Lemon Herb Dressing:  In a large bowl, combine juice of 1 lemon, 2 T. olive oil, 1 t. agave syrup, 2 t. Italian blend herbs, 1/4 t. cayenne pepper, and 1/8 t. salt. Whisk all ingredients together, and add sprouted quinoa. Marinade, covered, overnight, in fridge.

Diced Cucumber, Red Pepper, and Anjou Pear

Salad: Peel cucumber, and wash red pepper and anjou pear. Dice into small pieces. Gently mix into dressed quinoa. The salad tastes especially good if you let flavours meet and mingle before serving. 

Full of Energy and Flavour

To Serve: Grate fresh nutmeg on salad for an intriguing finish before serving, or sprinkle the salad with finely-cracked black pepper.