Summertime Mango-slaw

Makes for a perfect barbecue side dish. Easy and delicious.  Recipe from Fat Girl Trapped In A Skinny Body (phenomenal blog name btw)


Serves 6-8 
Ingredients:

• 2 mangoes, peeled, pitted and julienned 
• 1/2 a head of green cabbage, very thinly sliced
• 1 red pepper, julienned
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• juice from two fresh limes
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil (evoo works too)
• 1 tsp fresh grated ginger (or dried if you have none fresh)
• 1 tbsp agave (or honey)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or more if you're a cilantro freak like me)

Assembly:
Toss mangoes, cabbage, red pepper and red onion in a large bowl. Whisk lime juice, vinegar, sesame oil, salt agave, and ginger in a smaller bowl and pour over slaw. Chill in the fridge for a few hours before serving. Before serving, toss in the cilantro.

No actual cooking involved here, just soaking, chopping, and waiting. I finally tried sprouting seeds for the first time. It's incredibly simple and requires no special equipment (although they do sell special sprouting contraptions--not necessary). 


To Sprout Seeds:

• place 1/2 c lentils and 2 c water into a quart jar 
• cover the top with cheese cloth, thin dish towel, or mesh lid
• let sit over night
• the next drain the water off
• rinse and drain once a day, keep out of sunlight (I left mine on the kitchen counter away from windows)
• on the third day your sprouts will be ready

Mine began to sprout but never really took off even though I let them go for four days. I'll try a different location next time and see if I have anymore success. 

You can see sprouts starting to pop from the lentils.

Lentil Sprout and Cucumber Salad with Maple Mustard Vinaigrette

Recipe from Rawmazing

Vinaigrette:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 lemon, juice from
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons mustard (I used dijon)
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Place all ingredients in bowl and whisk until the mixture starts to emulsify.

Salad:

• 2 cups sprouts (I used red lentils)
• 2 cups cucumbers, cubed
• 2 scallions, sliced

1. Toss together all salad ingredients.
2. Stir in vinaigrette and mix well.
3. Let sit in refrigerator for 30 minutes to meld flavors.

the obsession with Dillion eggs continues

Butte sunset, June 19.

Ecuadorian Quinoa Casserole

Love me some good ol' quinoa. It cooks faster than rice and has that extra crunchy punch.

Quinoa is not technically a grain but the fruit of the Chenopodium family. It contains 16 to 20% protein, is high in amino acids that tends to be lower in other grains, contains iron, calcium, vitamin E, and is relatively high in fat. Quinoa (liek all grains) anitnutrients which interfere with the absorption of nutrients, and therefore require a long soaking as part of the preparation process in order to neutralize. This is a recipe from Nourishing Traditions from a "chipper centenarian living in Equador". It incorporates the basic principles for easy digestion and thorough assimilation--animal stock, presoaking grains, cultured cream rich in fat-soluble vitamins.

I slightly adjusted the recipe because I was missing a few ingredients.

Serves 6-8

2 c quinoa (I discovered red quinoa for this recipe. Compared to white it has a slightly earthier flavor)

6 c warm water plus 2 tbsp yoghurt or buttermilk

1 bunch green onions

2 tbsp evoo

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

4 c beef or chicken stock 

1/2 tsp garlic, mashed

2 medium potatoes, sliced thinly

4 tbsp cream cheese

1/2 tsp sea salt

Soak quinoa in warm water mixture for at least 12 hours (soaking grains in water and lactobacilli allows the break down and neutralization of phytic acid). Rinse, drain well. Saute onions in oil, add paprika and pepper, ass garlic at last minute. Add quinoa and stock, bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, simmer for 1 hour or more on very low heat. About 45 minutes before serving add potatoes and salt. To serve, stir cheese in cream cheese.