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.

EASY BAKED ONION SOUP WITH MISO AND SILKEN TOFU

Onions alive with Nutrition and Taste

Here's a simple onion soup that is tasty, and packed with nutrition.  It's so easy to make. You slice onions, garlic and tofu, but the oven does most of the work for you.  Once you've enjoyed it as an onion soup, make it again.  This time add different vegetables, noodles, or rice to the base for seemingly endless variations of this delicious dish.

 There are two different garnishes the onion soup, offering a vegan and a vegetarian option.

Vegetarian Version: With Parmesan Cheese

You'll need: (for 2 large servings): 3 medium onions, sliced; 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced; 2 tbs olive oil; 1 tsp. each dried herbs (thyme, oregano, savory); 1/2 tsp sage; 1 tbs tamari; 1 tbs Dijon mustard; 1 cup almond milk; 3 cup water; 1 block silken tofu, 2 tsp light miso. 

Garnish: (Vegan version) nutritional yeast; sesame seeds (Vegetarian option) Parmesan cheese

Sliced onions ready for baking

Here's How: 
Remove skin, and slice onions into thin rings.









In an oven-proof dish with lid, combine olive oil, tamari and dried herbs. Add onion rings and mix to coat well with oil.  Cover dish to sweeten onion's taste, and bake at 375 degrees until they are lightly browned, very soft and well-cooked. 

Adding the Diced Garlic to Oven-browned Onions

Add finely diced garlic and return dish to oven for a few minutes until garlic is slightly golden in colour, and onions lightly caramelized.

Frothy Almond-milk and Onion Broth

Remove dish from oven, and place 1/2 the onion/garlic mix in blender with almond milk, water and Dijon mustard. Blend until smooth.  Pour blended mix back into oven-proof dish, and stir gently. Replace lid, and bake in a medium oven (350 degrees) for 45 minutes.

Soft Silken Tofu Simmers to a Chewy Texture

Drain silken tofu and cut into cubes. Add to onion soup in baking dish, replace lid, and return to oven to simmer at 325 degrees for about 10 minutes. 

Blending in Low-sodium Miso Paste

To Serve:
In individual soup plates, blend miso with a small amount of water, then stir in onion soup.

Vegan Version:  Top soup with 1 tbs nutritional yeast, and 1/2 tsp raw sesame seeds.

Vegetarian Version:  Top soup with grated Parmesan cheese.

SUNSHINE SALAD

Sunshine Salad bursting with Taste

During these slushy sometimes-winter, sometimes-spring days in March, nothing is nicer than a Sunshine Salad.  Fresh lettuces, arugula micro-greens, sprouted sunflower seeds and juicy mango join spicy ground cardamom and cayenne in a flavorsome promise of things growing in the garden in the warm and sunny days to come.  

Cardamom Seeds Ground for Marinade

  
The Ingredients: 1- 1/2 cups mixed lettuces; 1 cup arugula micro-greens; 1/2 cup soaked and lightly sprouted sunflower seeds; 1 large ripe mango, diced; 2 tablespoons olive oil, juice of 1/2 lemon; 1 teaspoon maple syrup; 1 teaspoon ground cardamom; 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon cayenne; light sprinkle of salt.

Juice fresh lemon into olive oil

The Marinade:  In a large serving bowl, add two tablespoons of olive oil.  Juice half a lemon into oil.  

Whisk until light and frothy

Stir in 1 teaspoons ground cardamom, 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and salt. Whisk all ingredients together until oil emulsifies, turning light and opaque in colour.

Soaked and Lightly Sprouted Sunflower Seeds

The Sprouts and Micro-greens:
To the marinade, add 1/2 cup of soaked and lightly sprouted sunflower seeds. 

Arugula Micro-greens and Sunflower Seeds

Gently mix in 1 cup arugula micro-greens.

Fragrant and Sweet Haden Mango

The Mango:
Wash, and peel a large ripe mango.

Sliced and Diced Delight

Slice the flesh away from the flat pit, and dice.

"Marinading marries the flavours"...zen-cuisine

Add fruit to serving bowl, and carefully incorporate it into the other ingredients. 
Cover and let rest in marinade while preparing the remaining ingredients.

The Lettuce:  Choose a mixture of your favorite lettuces, or greens like spinach, bok choy, or arugula.

Roots still nurturing greens

This 'living summer salad' mix contains Romaine, Deer Tongue, Tango Leaf, and Oak Leaf  lettuces.
 

Chemical-Free and Fresh Organic Lettuces

Remove 'living lettuce' from the root ball.

A Tasty Variety

Wash leaves and pat dry. Tear lettuce into bite-size pieces.
 

Mango-licious Sunshine Salad

To Assemble: Add lettuce to salad bowl, and toss well to coat with marinaded greens and seeds. Enjoy with fresh bread or crackers.

Marinade on bottom; lettuce on top

Serving Tip:
If you are making the salad ahead  of time, place lettuce on top of marinaded ingredients, cover, and refrigerate until needed. The lettuce will stay crisp when you are ready to toss it into the salad just before serving.

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