Simple Vinaigrette

Don't buy salad dressing. You don't need to be super exact with this, just eyeball it.

A pinch of sea salt, maybe 1/4 tsp.
A dash of black pepper, maybe 1/8 tsp.
1/2 tsp. Dijon Mustard
3/4 tsp. pure maple syrup
3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 shallot, minced (optional)
1/4 to 1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil

1) In a small bowl add the first 5 ingredients

2) Whisk in the olive oil

3) Taste for balance adding more salt, vinegar, oil or maple syrup in very small amounts, if needed, and drizzle over a large salad or store in the refrigerator for at least a week.

Kalamata Zucchini Hummus

This can be raw if you use raw tahini. But it's still good and lower in calories even if you use roasted tahini because you're using zucchini in the place of chickpeas. Raw tahini is very expensive, which seems kind of silly since roasting is an extra step in processing. Perhaps the price is related to shelf life. In any case, use whatever kind of tahini you want. I hear there is a tahini made out of black sesame seeds, that would be interesting to try. This is the perfect recipe for using up the obscene amount of zucchini that your neighbors pawn off on you from their garden. It's easy to double this recipe if you like it.

Romaine Wraps with raw Kalamata Zucchini Hummus, bell peppers, cucumbers and sprouts:

1 small/medium zucchini, peeled (about 1 c.)
Juice of 1 fresh lemon, 2-3 Tbsp.
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/4 c. pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp. raw or roasted tahini
A dash each of:
-sea salt
-paprika
-cumin
-corriander
-cayenne

1) Place all of the ingredients into a blender or mini-processor and process until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add a little water or more lemon juice to aid in processing as necessary.

2) Use a spatula to scrape the hummus into a storage container and refrigerate. This hummus should keep about 4-5 days.

My sister-in-law, Christina,  made this with fresh mini bell peppers blended in and it tasted excellent.   You could also try adding fresh herbs or sun dried tomatoes.

Pad Kee Mow (Drunken Noodles)

If I could eat the daily diet of any other culture I would choose Thai. We traveled there in 2001 to visit some of our closest friends and I must have gained 10 pounds eating my way through Thailand. My favorite Thai dish is Pad Kee Mow and I judge every Thai restaurant by the quality of this dish. Tragically, there are no Thai Restaurants in Mankato. The closest good Thai restaurant is  Senyai-Senlek  ( http://www.senyai-senlek.com/ ) in Minneapolis, but it takes us 90 minutes to get there and sometimes a girl needs some pad kee mow right now.

I've tried dozens of pad kee mow recipes and finally adapted them all into what I deem an almost perfect dish. I can't claim it measures up perfectly to what you can get in Thailand, but if you aren't going to Bangkok anytime soon you can just make this. I love this dish so much that I grow Thai basil and Thai chiles for it in the summer, but they are now pretty common in most large grocery stores as well.

Things start to go quickly once you begin the stir fry, so it helps to have everything ready and in place before you start.

Sauce: 
4 Tbsp. light soy sauce or tamari
4 Tbsp. mushroom flavored soy sauce
1 Tbsp. vegetable boullion base
1 scant Tbsp. sugar

Stirfry:
1/4 c. canola oil
1 lb. extra firm tofu, cut into cubes
1 lb. rice stick noodles, the thickest ones you can find
1 shallot, finely minced
6 cloves garlic, finely minced
1-4 Thai red chiles, finely minced (or 1-2 Tbsp. chile garlic paste if you can't find Thai chilis)
1 white onion, halved and sliced thinly lengthwise
1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
1 green bell pepper, roughly chopped
About 10 crimini or button mushrooms, quartered
1/4 c. Thai basil leaves (or regular basil if you can't find Thai)
10-15 cherry tomatoes, halved

1) Mix together the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl making sure to dissolve the sugar and set aside.

2) Heat a large pot of water on the stove and prepare the rice stick noodles according to the package directions. Try to time it so that the noodles get done almost just before you're ready to add them to the stir fry or they will stick together as they wait to be added.  One option is to start the stir fry as you bring the water to a boil and then turn it off once everything is ready and turn it back on when the noodles are ready to be added.

3) In a wok heat the oil over high heat and fry the tofu in two batches until lightly browned on two opposing sides, about 5-7 minutes per side. Place the tofu on a plate lined with paper towels to drain the excess oil and set aside. This is something you could do ahead of time and either keep it warm or reheat it when you are ready to use it.

4) In the same oil, over medium-high heat add the shallots, garlic and chiles or chile paste and saute for about 3 minutes. Add the onion and saute for about 3 minutes more. Add the peppers and mushrooms and saute for about 3 minutes more.

5) When the noodles are done drain them and add them to the stir fry along with the fried tofu, the cherry tomatoes and the sauce. Toss to coat and stir fry for another few minutes.

6) Turn off the heat and add the Thai basil leaves and toss once more to distribute the basil.

This serves about 6 unless I'm there, then it only serves 4.

Strawberry Peach Smoothie

If you start making these smoothies you will notice there are several ingredients I use as a base for all of them. I made this one simply because frozen peaches were on sale and it turned out quite nicely. I think it's my second favorite smoothie right now. I don't really follow any of the amounts strictly, so when I say 1 c. of strawberries I mean dump in a bunch of strawberries.

1 c. raw almond milk, or store bought nut or soy milk
1 Tbsp. raw almond butter (Trader Joe's has the best price for this)
1 banana, broken into pieces
2-3 dried dates, minced (Trader Joe's has a good price on these, ethnic grocery stores usually have even better prices)
Small drizzle of vanilla extract (optional)
1 c. frozen strawberries
1 c. frozen peaches

Place it all in the blender and blend until smooth. Keep in mind it will all blend together better if you place the wet ingredients into the blender first.

Cherry Almond Smoothie

This is my personal favorite smoothie in the world. I think it came to me from above because The Almighty knew how much I'd love it. I don't really follow any of the amounts strictly, so when I say 1 Tbsp. of almond butter I mean a big blob of it.

1 c. raw almond milk, or store bought nut or soy milk
1 Tbsp. raw almond butter (Trader Joe's has the best price for this)
1 banana, broken into pieces
2-3 dried dates, minced (Trader Joe's has a good price on these, ethnic grocery stores usually have even better prices)
Small drizzle of vanilla extract
Small drizzle of almond extract
1 c. frozen cherries


Place it all in the blender and blend until smooth. Keep in mind it will all blend together better if you place the wet ingredients into the blender first.

Nate and Mr. Miyagi enjoy a smoothie - Photo courtesy of Christina Lehner

Blueberry Orange Smoothie

I got into smoothies when I tried to eat all raw food one summer. I felt amazing that whole summer but it wasn't something I felt I could keep up 100% of the time. The smoothies stuck with me though so I'm going to post some of my favorites. I don't really follow any of the amounts strictly, so when I say 1 Tbsp. of almond butter I mean a big blob of it, or when I say 1 c. of blueberries I mean dump in a bunch of blueberries. You can also add any supplements that you'd like to this such as nutritional yeast, spirulina, flax oil, greens, etc.

3/4 c. raw almond milk, or store bought nut or soy milk
1 Tbsp. raw almond butter (Trader Joe's has the best price for this)
1 banana, broken into pieces
2-3 dried dates, minced (Trader Joe's has a good price on these, ethnic grocery stores usually have even better prices)
Small drizzle of vanilla extract (optional)
1 whole orange, skin and seeds removed, or 1/2 c. pure orange juice
1 c. frozen blueberries

Place it all in the blender and blend until smooth. Keep in mind it will all blend together better if you place the wet ingredients into the blender first.

Raw Almond Milk

I use this to make smoothies and I think it tastes much fresher than store bought almond milk, however, it only keeps in the fridge for 4-5 days. When raw almonds are soaked the natural enzymes in the nut become nutritionally available, but you can also make this if you forget to soak the almonds.

3/4 c. raw almonds
Purified water
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)
1/8 tsp. almond extract (optional)

1) Place the raw almonds in a ceramic or glass bowl and cover them with at least an inch of water as they will expand quite a bit. Leave them to soak over night or for 10-12 hours. They will start to look kind of slimy by the end.

2) Drain the almonds in a fine mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly.

3) Transfer the almonds to a blender and add 4 cups of purified water and the vanilla and almond extracts, if using.

4) Blend on high until the nuts are pulverized and you have a white liquid (about 45 seconds):

5) Place the strainer you used to drain the nuts over a large bowl and pour the almond milk through the strainer into the bowl. Then pour the milk into a mason jar or some other container and refrigerate.