Mother's day luncheon: Tomato and Avocado Salad

 350 g avocado ( weight of 2 large after skinned, pitted, and diced)
350 g cherry tomatoes, cut into 8ths
10 black olives, cut into pieces off the pit
sea salt to taste


directions:

1. combine and serve!

Red Rice Sushi

I usually make our sushi with cal rose brown rice. I get grains that are so short they are nearly round. However, I ran out of brown rice, and tried making sushi with colusari red, which is a medium length whole grain, and is red. I cooked it the way I cook brown rice for sushi -- 1:2 with water -- and it ended up adequately starchy and sticky that it held together for our cute and colourful sushi rolls. Tonights escapade involved black sesame seeds, avocado, and spinach. I hate to be redundant, but that's what I had in my fridge. Did I mention I hate shopping? These taste great! I wonder what purple rice sushi would taste like??

ingredients:

1 cup red colusari rice
2 cups water

brown rice vinegar
sea salt

avocado

spinach leaves

nori


directions:

1. cook the rice in the water -- 1 hour
2. season the rice with the vinegar and sea salt
3. spread the rice on sheets of nori
4. lay down the fillings, and roll the sushi up
5. slice and serve

Mother's day vegetable salad

I like a light salad of sliced and chopped vegetables. I kept the dressing very simple with a dash of lemon juice, a sprinkle of sea salt, and a quick grind of black pepper. Bedded on a few leaves of baby spinach, this little salad added a refreshing counter point to the savoury dishes of our luncheon.

ingredients:

2 medium carrots, finely sliced into rounds
a few handfuls of grape tomatoes, quartered
3 stalks of celery hearts, finely sliced
2 small avocadoes, diced
a few handfuls of baby spinach, cut into ribbons
a baby cucumber

sea salt
black pepper
lime juice


directions:

1. combine all the vegetables in a bowl
2. dress with lime juice, sea salt, and black pepper to taste

Vegetable and Bean Salad -- naturally gluten free, dairy free, and vegan

 I've been full-scale into chopped veggie salads lately. I used to crave leafy green salads, and wanted to eat them every day. Then, when I was pregnant with my son, I had such a profound adversion to salad that just the smell of it brought on an immediate gag reflex. Sadly, I've never regained my previous adoration of the humble leaf. So, I do enjoy it from time to time, but it's no longer something I want everyday, and I've found myself preferring cooked greens to raw. The honeymoon is clearly over, but a new relationship has developed.

So, now I really like chopped up salads of whatever veggies are handy, and I like throwing in whatever beans are in the fridge (or freezer -- that's why it's so handy to freeze 'em in small quantity packages like a cup or two). Plus, these seem to go over really well with everyone in my family. It seems to be much easier to get my three year old to eat something like this than a bowl of leafy greens, which he enjoys for a few bites but then loses interest in. I will often throw in left over cooked veggies like cauliflower or broccoli -- or you could use asparagus if you are a fan. I've also been using steamed green peas (because unfortunately they are not fresh sweet peas, but rather gulag peas from my stock of organic veg in the freezer).

Nice thing, too, is the leftover are great the next day if you make too much.


ingredients:

1 avocado (1 cup chopped)
1 pint grape tomatoes (1 1/2 cups chopped)
3/4 cup finely sliced celery
3/4 cup finely sliced carrots
3/4 cup black eyed peas
1/2 cup chick peas

1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp raw honey
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp chili powder
black pepper


directions:

1. combine the cut up veg and the beans, except for the avocado -- mix that in after the major tossing has been done
2. add the seasonings, and toss really well
3. adjust for taste
4. add the avocado and mix gently to combine

We don't always have avocado, and anyway I've found that steamed cauliflower is a delight in this salad.  As is broccoli. Go crazy, kids.

Not Chocolate Ice Cream

I thought it would be fun to make some chocolate ice cream using alternative ingredients. Mine involved some avocados, some coconut nectar, a few dates, some vanilla and cinnamon, and a vast quantity of raw cacao powder. The result: very creamy and very delicious. To me and my son, at least. We both love it. It was eaten with enjoyment by some others, but my husband dislikes it, possibly because he dislikes avocado in anything but sushi. If you like avocado, this might be as yummy to you as it is to me and my little one.

ingredients:

2 large ripe avocados

12 pitted honey dates

6 tbsp raw cacao

1/2 tbsp acai powder

1/2 tbsp maca powder

1/2 - 3/4 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 tsp ground vanilla (or 1 tbsp vanilla extract)

1/4 cup coconut nectar

2 tbsp xylitol

2 tbsp coconut oil

1 cup water

directions:

1. puree the ingredients with a hand blender until well mixed

2. put into an ice-cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturers instructions

3. makes 1 L

4. enjoy in small quantities -- very rich and very chocolaty