Monday, June 18, 2012

Wilted Spinach Salad with Marinated Onions in Mustard Seed Dressing

makes 4 servings:

Marinated Onions:
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Bragg Liquid Aminos or Nama Shoyu
Pinch black pepper

Mustard Seed Dressing:
1 tablespoon soft dates or 1 tablespoon agave syrup, maple syrup, or honey
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Salad:
8 cups of spinach
2 carrots, julienned
Pinch ground black pepper

Instructions:
To marinate onions, combine onions with vinegar, Bragg Liquid Aminos, and black pepper. Set aside to marinate while you prepare the rest of the salad.

To make the dressing, if you're using dates, soak them in 2 tablespoons of water for 5 minutes or until soft. Mash together the dates and water until it becomes a thick syrupy paste. Pour syrup, vinegar, oil, mustard seeds, and salt in a small bowl and mix well.

For salad, place spinach and julienned carrots in a large bowl. Pour in marinated onions, including the marinade. Toss with Mustard Seed Dressing.

To serve, top tossed salad with a pinch or two of black pepper. Set aside for five minutes or more to allow time for wilting. Or if you're like me and can't wait, it's okay to eat right away.

Salad mix will keep for one day, dressing will keep for three to four days, and marinated onions will keep for one day in the fridge when each are stored separately.

This salad is a total winner, it's very simple yet extremely tasty....
 -Lydia

Monday, June 4, 2012

Menu for Anjali's Mother Daughter Yoga Retreat



This outstanding retreat, with Anjali and Kathy from the Yoga Mountain Center, was a joy to cook for with all our stored food from last year (carrots, beets, squash, garlic, beans, corn, etc.) and all that's new in our gardens, fields and woods (greens of all kinds, herbs, flowers, fresh mushrooms, even spruce shoots!). It was inspiring to cook for those amazing woman - mothers and daughters - and it made me even more conscious and grateful for the joy of cooking and working with my own three daughters. I even had the blessing of my mother joining us for the first meal of the retreat!

Friday Dinner 
Carrot and lovage freshly pressed juice
Stinging Nettle Soup
Fresh bread from a local bakery
Basil pesto, fresh goat cheese
Cornbread (with apple sauce)
Mixed Sky Meadow Bean Salad 
     with Balsamic Dressing
Greens, White Miso Sorrel Salad Dressing
Pickle beans, cheddar, nuts
Sage Cookies, Wild Peppermint Tea

Saturday Lunch 
Miso Soup   
Fresh bread, rice crackers, Wild Garlic pesto
Saffron White Basmati Rice, Kale stir-fry
Nori Rolls, dipping sauce, wasabi, pickle ginger
Tamari almonds, roasted sunflowers and pumpkin seeds
Chai Tea (caffeine free and with caffeine)

Saturday Dinner  
Tempeh, Stuffed squash with brown and wild rice pilaf
Spruce Shoot Compote, Quinoa and Sorrel Salad
Greens, Raspberry Dressing, leftover dressings
Mint and Calendula Flower Tea

Sunday Lunch 
Sorrel  Soup
Chick Pea Crêpe, Bread
Couscous gratiné, leftovers
Pesto, Goat Cheese
Greens, leftover dressings
Deviled Eggs, sharp cheddar, nuts, leftover salads
Pumpkin Bread pudding, Bee Balm Tea
 


Thank you Juli for the pictures!