Solstice Sweets and a Holiday Menu

WOW! What a solstice that was, eh? A lunar eclipse, a full moon, a total deep-freeze accompanied by a massive snowfall, and all on the same day we welcome winter?! It’s enough to make this tree hugger burst! Tee hee.
To celebrate the awesomeness my friends and I made a little fire in the forest and rung in the new season acknowledging how abundant our lives are and reflecting on all of our great fortunes. I think at this time of year, it is especially easy to get wrapped up in the frantic commercialism and rampant over-indulgence in every sense of the word. It felt really nice just to sit in nature and be quiet with people I care about. Simple.
And because no celebration is complete without something delicious to eat, Sarah B. brought along these solstice sweets to mark the occasion and satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth.

This recipe is also from my friend Eva (whose amazing cookbook will be available shortly!) and uses a very groovy ingredient, arrowroot, making its debut appearance here on My New Roots.

Woot woot, Arrowroot!
We are all very familiar with cornstarch in North America because corn is just oh-so-abundant. But arrowroot used in place of said thickener has several advantages over cornstarch. For one, the taste of arrowroot is more neutral, making it an ideal thickener for more subtle flavoured sauces, baby food, ice creams, and desserts. It also works at a lower temperature, and tolerates acidic ingredients and prolonged cooking better. And while sauces thickened with cornstarch turn into a spongy mess if they're frozen, those made with arrowroot can be frozen and thawed with impunity.
You can find arrowroot at most natural food grocers, health food stores, and even some Asian markets. It is more expensive than cornstarch, but far less processed and even has some health benefits.

I dug out my copy of Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon (p.s. best book ever) to learn more about this remarkable root. According to Falon, arrowroot flour is the only starch with a calcium ash, and is a totally nutritious food, obtained from the fleshy rootstock of a tropical American plant. It is an easily digested food well fitted for infants and the convalescent.
Arrowroot was once widely used in baby formulas as a superior carbohydrate, experience having shown it agreed with babies better than any other starch or sugar. We now find the reason. It is the only starch product with a calcium ash. In this regard, the calcium chloride, in the form of calcium found in arrowroot starch, is very important for the maintenance of proper acid and alkali balances in the human body.
Arrowroot only thrives on tidal flats where the sea minerals are available. Its known health-building properties may be due to trace minerals from the sea, as well as from the calcium it gets from the seawater. If it is used in ice cream formulas in place of cornstarch, arrowroot imparts a vanilla-like flavor, a smooth texture. Arrowroot as it comes to you is not a refined product; it is simply the dried and powdered root.

To use arrowroot, mix it with an equal amount of cold water, then whisk the slurry into 1 cup hot liquid for about 30 seconds. (One tablespoon thickens one cup of liquid.)

These little sweets are almost too easy to make. You can mold them into whatever shapes you like, so they are great to prepare with kids. Feel free to roll them in melted dark chocolate (um, I did) and I think next time I am going to put a whole almond or hazelnut in the center before baking them, or perhaps a couple dried cranberries. Get creative - these treats come together so fast you’ll want something else to do!

Solstice Sweets
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. tapioca or arrowroot flour
1/2 cup rice milk
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup rice syrup (or agave nectar, maple syrup, or date syrup)
3 cups shredded coconut
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 300oF.
2. Grease a cookie sheet with ghee or coconut oil.
3. Combine the tapioca flour and the milk in a small saucepan and mix thoroughly. Add the oil and rice syrup.
4. Heat up these liquid ingredients, stirring constantly, until well combined and thickened into a sauce. Add the vanilla extract.
5. Place the shredded coconut in a large bowl and add the sauce. Mix well.
6. Spoon out the mixture by dollops onto the cookie sheet and form these into
shapes with your fingers.
7. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the tips are slightly brown.

* * * * *

Holiday Menu
Okay, as promised, my top picks for your (healthy) holiday meals, or for, ahem, recovering from everything else you ate. Cheers.

For the roster I went back through my past articles and took a careful look at seasonality and flavour profiles to come up with this collection of extraordinary recipes that will make you and your whole family very happy and very full indeed. There are two different sample meals, but change it up to suit your tastes. I arranged the menus this way so that there would be a small nibble to start, followed by a delicious diversity of cooked dishes and appropriate raw foods, all while considering the balance of proteins, starches, and healthy fats. Whew! Bet your turkey dinner can’t lay claim to that.

Meal I
- Kickin’ Chickpeas
- Four Corners Lentil Soup
- Forest Walk Cabbage
- Spaghetti Squash
- Masala Chai Tea
- Dream Date Cake

Meal II
- Flax Crackers with Sweet Potato Hummus
- Best Lentil Salad, Ever
- Warming Winter Wheat Berry Salad
- Millet Mash with Good Gravy
- Smooth Criminal Chocolate Mousse Tarts

Breakfast Ideas
- Holiday Granola with Homemade Yogurt
- Coziest Banana Bread
- Fig Jam with Baby Step Buns
- Morning Glories

Other Favorites
- Wild Rice and Butter Bean Salad
- Roasted Fennel with Orange and Mint
- Roasted Roots


I wish you all the most beautiful holiday, whatever you are celebrating this season, and I will return in the New Year with all kinds of food for thought and food to eat.
Love to you all.
In health,
Sarah B.

Good Gravy!

Hey – it’s time for a quickie. I am squeezing this post in because I just made the most delicious vegetarian gravy I’ve ever tasted and had to share.
Out of all the traditional foods we consume over the holidays, gravy is right up there in the “must-have” category, am I right? It’s simply not Christmas without a mashed potato volcano.

I gave up gravy when I became a vegetarian, but up until now, I’ve even avoided the vegan versions of the ubiquitous brown sauce. Many vegan gravies are made from margarine, cornstarch, food colouring, and a whole host of super-processed ingredients that I just don’t groove with. Here’s one that my friend Eva came up with made from only three whole food ingredients, and sooooo tasty! And since I also avoid potatoes for the most part, I made my famous Millet Mash and bathed that garlicky cloud in good gravy love.

Even if you’re not a vegetarian, give this recipe a try, and put both on the table. Since traditional gravy is loaded with saturated fat and sodium, this version is far more health-supportive, and as a bonus, won’t hurl you into a complete gravy coma post-consumption.
Enjoy.

Good Gravy!
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. dark miso paste
2 Tbsp. tahini
about 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine miso and tahini and whisk in the orange juice gradually to prevent lumps. Stop adding the orange juice once you have achieved the desired consistency. Do NOT boil – you’ll kill the nutrients and probiotics in the miso.

Tip: This recipe easily doubles or triples. Make as much as you need.

Warming Winter Wheat Berry Salad

Whoa, is it actually this close to Christmas? Where the deuce have I been? I got a bit of a shock the other day when my dear friend Kiki asked me if I could share with her my favorite healthy holiday meal ideas. Yikes! I have actually thought of doing some kind of “festive favorites” round-up every year, but never got around to it because I seem to have a serious aversion to things I am “supposed” to do. Oops. So now…err, uh…I guess I will give it a go! And thanks to Kiki for putting a fire under it. ;)

I am going to start with this dish that I came up with at work last week, which I feel fits the bill just so. And it re-introduces many people to this groovy grain we all know as wheat, but in its whole form! I feel it’s holiday-appropriate because the familiar flavours of the spice mix in this dish are reminiscent of Christmas, but with an exotic edge. In the back of my head I was going for some sort of Moroccan thing - I love cinnamon in savory dishes, especially when hanging out with coriander and cumin. Totally winter-warming! Secondly, we got those beautiful wheat berries, which spend a heck of a lot of time boiling away, sucking in all that heat energy. AND, the roasted carrots that turn from crispy-cold to caramelized with love from the oven. Sigh. Everything coming together for a good cause: feeding your beautiful body with warmth! What could be better than that during the holidays?

Wheat Berries…have we met?
Yes, you have. Wheat berries are just kernels of wheat (the kind that would otherwise be ground into flour), totally unprocessed in their whole state. Exciting, eh? I think so. I would put them in a category with short-grain brown rice, as they too are plump, hearty, and satisfying with the most amazing chewy texture. I love eating wheat berries in salads because they maintain their shape and suck up dressing like a good grain should. They are also wonderful in warm dishes and add awesome texture to soups and stews.

Because wheat berries are unprocessed, they contain all the goodness of the whole grain. We’re talking oodles of B vitamins (except B12) for extra energy and battling holiday stress; lots of fiber for keeping us, ahem, regular, as well as protein, folate, vitamin E, and calcium. Sounds like a pretty good deal, no?
The other wonderful proponent of wheat berries that I get a kick out of, are the plant lignans! Remember those fun-loving phytonutrients? They are commonly found in flax seeds, nuts, and legumes – I wrote about them here. According to the World’s Healthiest Foods, lignans are converted by friendly flora in our intestines into mammalian lignans, including one called enterolactone that is thought to protect against breast and other hormone-dependent cancers as well as heart disease. Lignans have also been shown to decrease insulin resistance, which, in turn, reduces bio-available estrogen, which also lessens breast cancer risk.
Just a couple more reasons to eat your wheat!

You can find wheat berries at health food stores, most often in the bulk section. It's rather inexpensive and is great to store in your pantry, as it keeps for months. Make it your new staple!



Warming Winter Wheat Berry Salad
Ingredients:
2 cups wheat berries
7 - 9 carrots (1 lb. bag)
1 small red onion
6 cloves garlic
melted ghee or your oil of choice
½ cup dark raisins or chopped dates
2 tsp. sea salt
flat leaf parsley
about 25 Kalamata olives (optional)
1/2 cup almonds (optional)

Dressing:
1 ½ lemons – juice and zest
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. raw honey
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
pinch of sea salt

Directions:
1. If possible, soak wheat berries overnight or for 8+ hours. Otherwise, rinse wheat berries well until the water is clear. Measure 6 cups water and add to a large pot with wheat berries. Add 1 tsp. sea salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer until cooked, approx. 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 400˚F.
3. Wash and slice carrots lengthwise from top to bottom, then again once more on each half. Then slice the carrot across widthwise so you have eight carrots slices.
4. Mince garlic and combine with ghee or oil. Drizzle over carrots and toss to coat on a baking sheet. Season with 1 tsp. salt. Place in oven. Roast for 15-20 minutes, or until golden and slightly caramelized. YUM!
5. Make dressing by combining all ingredients and whisking well.
6. Remove wheat berries from heat, drain and rinse under cool water (you will know they are cooked when some of the berries have split open. They will still be very chewy). Combine wheat berries with dressing, raisins, slivered red onion, olives, and chopped parsley. Let sit and marinate for as long as possible, or fold in the carrots as soon as they are roasted to your liking. Serve warm or cold, garnished with roughly chopped almonds and a grind of fresh black pepper.

As a side note: remember that wheat berries contain gluten, so if you are gluten-intolerant try substituting with quinoa (which I did, it was delicious!!!), whole buckwheat, short-grain brown rice, wild rice, or amaranth.

So ya’ll, here is my first holiday dish that you can enjoy without feeling like you’ve done a serious disservice to your body…and that’s just the beginning! In my next post I think I will actually put a real menu together. Wow. Probably good timing too, as I am having a holiday dinner party this coming Saturday and should perhaps begin planning something? Really? Do people actually do that? I sense a New Year’s resolution coming on…

Ghee Whiz!

Hey you. Yeah, you.
You’re still cooking with olive oil, aren’t you? Yup. Thought so.
I am sure you’ve heard the news that this is a bad idea, but you’re not sure why so you just keep doing it. Sounds familiar. Sounds like me. For years I thought I was doing myself a huge favour by switching from butter to olive oil, as my diet moved from a standard diet to an organic, plant-based, whole foods diet, but it turns out I was a little mislead.

First off, let me explain why cooking with olive oil, and eating other heated oils can be to our detriment.
There are many, many different kinds of fats, some of which are more delicate, or less “stable” than others, meaning that they will go off more easily. The three factors that cause fats to spoil are:
- heat
- light
- oxygen
No matter how stable a fat is, it will always in the end, succumb to one or more of these factors and putrefy. Unless we’re talking about margarine, but who would ever eat that anyway? Tee hee.

Now we can talk about extra virgin olive oil, which is a fairly delicate fat. It has a low “smoke point”, which means that it will begin to burn at a relatively low temperature. As soon as any fat reaches its smoke point, it begins to break down and create free radicals – those horrendous, carcinogenic, unstable molecules that damage cells and cell membranes, and are associated with the development of conditions like atherosclerosis and cancer. You thought I was kidding around?!

Extra virgin olive oil’s low smoke point (320ºF) means that is not suitable for stir-frying, sautéing, or any other high-heat cooking. Pour it all over your salads for sure, but stop using it to cook today. Seriously. There are other grades of olive oil (virgin, pure, pomace, light, refined) that are of lesser nutritional value that can be used for higher heat cooking because they have a lower concentration of fragile nutritive components. However, most people have one type of olive oil in their pantry, and it’s of the extra virgin pursuassion because that is the one we are “supposed” to buy. Am I right?

Okay, enough with the doom and gloom! I have a great solution! It’s called ghee, or clarified butter, and it’s been around for, oh, 5000 years.
Ghee has been used in Indian Ayurvedic cooking for centuries, not only as a totally delicious food, but as an aid for digestion, ulcers, constipation, and the promotion of healthy eyes and skin. It is used in Indian beauty creams to help soften skin, and as a topical for the treatment of burns and blisters, which really works! I burned myself on the oven at work and put some ghee on it a few hours later. It healed miraculously quickly.

Lovin’ me some fat
Ghee is essentially clarified butter, made by heating regular butter until the proteins (casein) and sugars (lactose) separate from the pure butterfat. Simple.
Depending on the source of the butter used, ghee can be very high in antioxidants, in additions to helping the body absorb vitamins and minerals from other foods, namely vitamins A, D, E, and K.

The reason ghee is considered one of the best oils for baking, sautéing and deep-frying is due to its high smoke point (up to 480ºF). Butter burns at a lower temperature because of the presence of casein and lactose. Once removed, butterfat’s smoke point increases substantially. The other benefit of this is that people who are allergic to dairy products, or have casein or lactose intolerance can often tolerate ghee. Groovy.

Ghee has a very long shelf life because of its low moisture content. You do not need to refrigerate it for 2-3 months if you keep it in an airtight container. This makes it ideal for traveling or camping (awesome). When kept in refrigerator, ghee can last up to a year.

Delicious, Liquid Gold
I guess I could go on forever about all the health benefits, long formidable, history, or how easy it is to make ghee, but the part I like best? IT TASTES INCREDIBLE. Think of that warm, nutty taste in a shortbread cookie, or a flaky croissant. Ghee is similar to butter, but you will be pleasantly surprised that it is even richer-tasting, and dare I say…cheesy? Oh you heard me. It’s crazy delicious. Spread a little on toast (guh) or drizzle it on steamed veggies, or cook with it! It’s totally safe for those of you who like a very hot pan when stir-frying, or for those that forget that you turned the element on full blast and left the kitchen to go write an email. Oops.

You can find ghee at most health food stores, but making it yourself at home is about as easy as boiling water. Plus, when you make it yourself, you can choose the quality of the butter; remember that organic, grass-fed cows are the healthiest and make the tastiest ghee.



Ghee
Ingredietns:
Organic, unsalted butter (this is important!) - I use 500g at a time (approx. 4 sticks).

Directions:
1. Heat the unsalted butter in a heavy-duty saucepan over low-medium heat without a lid until it’s melted. Let simmer gently until the foam rises to the top of the melted butter. The butter will make lots of spluttering sounds and perhaps splatter a bit, so be careful.
2. Over the next 20-30 minutes (depending on the water content of your butter), watch the butter carefully as 3 layers develop: a foamy top layer, a liquid butterfat layer, a milk solids bottom layer. You can remove the foamy top layer with a spoon if you like, which helps to see trough to the bottom, but this is optional – it will be strained out in the end anyway.
3. Once the butter stops spluttering, and no more foam seems to be rising to the surface, check to see if the bottom layer has turned a golden brown colour and there is an incredible aroma of freshly baked croissants in your kitchen. If so, the ghee is ready and must be removed from the heat immediately or it will burn.
4. Set a few layers of cheesecloth or gauze over a heatproof container, such a canning jar. Carefully pour the warm liquid butter through the cheesecloth into the container, leaving behind any solids from the bottom of the pan. Let sit at room temperature to cool and solidify before placing an air-tight lid on the container. Store in the fridge for 1 year or, out of the fridge for 2-3 months.



Now, you're probably wondering why the heck I have written many of my recipes for stir-frying or roasting with olive oil. Yup, good question. I guess part of me just wanted to encourage everyone to stop using Pam cooking spray, lard, and vegetable oil, and I wasn't sure how to tackle the enormous subject of cooking fat. Now, I will firmly stand by my ghee for future recipes and you will know what I am talking about because you'll have a jar of its golden goodness on your counter top too. Do we have a deal? Ghee whiz, I hope so.


OKAY! Question and answer time it is! I had a feeling that this would happen :)
#1 - I PROMISE to write a full article on vegetable-source cooking fats at some point in the very near future. This article was not meant to be about that. It was about ghee.
In the meantime if you would like to cook with a vegetable-source fat, I would recommend coconut oil. I will elaborate on that in another post.

#2 - Yes, ghee is better than cooking with butter because butter burns at a lower temperature than ghee. Please refer to paragraph #2 in the section called "Lovin' me some fat".

Oh my Gosh, Spaghetti Squash

We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Denmark. This makes me a little sad since I am always game to get together with family, eat like a maniac, and celebrate the abundance that is my life.
Well, never mind that – I can make a ridiculously luxurious lunch for myself, sit in the quiet, snow-filled world that is Copenhagen, and count my blessings over a bowl of spaghetti squash. Why the heck not?

Spaghetti squash is something fairly new to me. Of course I often eat other winter squashes, such as butternut and acorn, but I can’t even remember the last time spaghetti squash made an appearance at my dinner table. Ages, I tell ya.
When someone from work ordered them a week ago to use in the restaurant, I got pumped to experiment with such a cool-concept vegetable. I mean, a squash whose insides turn into noodles?! Nature, you’ve done it again. Consider my mind blown and my heart melted.

Oh my Gosh, the Nutrition!
Winter squash rocks because it is a powerhouse veggie. Unlike summer squash (re: zucchini, crookneck, pattypan), winter squash has had a lot more time to develop and pump itself full of vitamins and minerals throughout its lengthy life on the stem. We’re talking oodles more vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), vitamin C, manganese, potassium, and even some extra dietary fiber thrown in just for kicks. This combination of nutrients spells good news for asthma sufferers, those with heart disease, elevated cholesterol, or inflammatory conditions such a rheumatoid and osteoarthritis.
The other bonus? Nature designed summer squash to be rather delicate, with a high water content for those hot summer days when we need a cool down. Naturally, their shelf life is rather short during our abundant harvest season when produce is plentiful. On the flip side, winter squash has a tough outer skin and lower water content, which allows it to be stored for a very long time – some varieties up to six months. This means that we can keep these vitamin bombs around for a long time after the first frost to provide our bodies with the nutrition we need to see us through the long months of winter when there is nothing fresh in sight.
Put that in your oven and roast it.

This dish is so yummy - like Oh my Gosh yummy. I wanted to create something totally special and seasonal, with rich, earthy flavours, and satisfying comfort. Everyone loves pasta and the way it is like getting a hug from the inside, right? Well, this dish comes pretty close, except that instead of that really heavy feeling you get after a plate of penne, spaghetti squash is filling in an energizing way. I bet you will be very surprised at how delicious it is all on its own, straight out of the oven - I nearly ate a meal-sized portion to myself before combining it with everything else. I just couldn't stop myself! I'm totally wild!

Oh my Gosh, Spaghetti Squash
Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash
1 bunch kale
1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 can)
3 cloves garlic
olive oil
sea salt
pinch crushed chilies
¾ cup toasted hazelnuts
Pecorino Romano (hard sheep’s milk cheese)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Prepare the spaghetti squash by cutting it in half lengthwise, removing the seeds, rubbing the inside of each half with a drizzle of olive oil, then seasoning with salt and pepper. Place face down on a lined baking tray and place in the oven – cook for about 45 minutes.
3. While the squash is baking, prepare the rest of the filling. Wash kale well and remove the tough center rib of each leaf. Roughly chop kale into small pieces.
4. Heat oil, ghee, or butter in a frying pan, then add minced garlic, crushed chilies to taste, and a pinch of sea salt. Cook 2 minutes until fragrant, then add chopped kale and cook until the leaves are bright green and just starting to lose structure. Throw in the chickpeas and cook just to warm. Remove from heat.
5. Remove squash form the oven when it is cooked through. Using a fork, scrape out the insides, which will pull away from the shell in strands, like spaghetti (whoa). Place all strands in a bowl, and toss with the kale and chickpea mixture. At this point you can either serve it from the bowl, or mix it everything together and place back in one half of the empty squash shells for a beautiful presentation. Sprinkle with chopped toasted hazelnuts and shaved Pecorino Romano. Enjoy.

I wish everyone out there a truly beautiful Thanksgiving; we sure have a lot to celebrate.
This year I am grateful for so many things: the incredible people in my life, a job that I love everyday, the warm food in my belly, sound sleep in the night. I also want to give thanks to you for reading this, for caring, and for getting back in the kitchen again to feed your body with the food it deserves. Even though we’ve probably never met, I can feel us standing side by side at our cutting boards, making so much more than dinner.

On Being Cozy and Banana Bread

The Danes got it right. Apart from exceptionally designed mid-century furniture, cities built for bicycles, and remarkable rye bread, they have truly mastered the art of coziness.

In Denmark, this pursuit is know as “hygge”, and it applies to just about every facet of life. From crispy autumn afternoon strolls to family dinners, hand-knit sweaters to petting the cat, hygge is everywhere and the ultimate reason for doing anything.
There is no doubt that cozy for me means yummy food, and there is something especially comforting about baking. It could be the domesticity of it all, or the incredible smell that fills the house, or the sweet satisfaction of slicing into the thick crust of a dense piece of carbohydrate heaven…who cares? It’s hygge – and that is reason enough for me.

I have been making this particular banana bread recipe for years now because it is so delicious and makes me want to curl up on Sunday morning with an instructional book about macramé plant hangers or an old Woody Allen film (aren’t you just dying to come over?). It hails from one of my all-time favorite cookbooks Enlightened Eating by Caroline Dupont. I suppose there’s really nothing exceptional about the ingredients, but the final product is so much more than the sum of its parts. Not to sweet, delectably moist, and rich despite it’s whole food ingredients. I usually make mine vegan and people never believe how delicious it is - baking without animal products gives great results, I promise! In fact, this would be a great recipe to try out if you’re a skeptic.



I don’t think I am going to add any “health tips” in this post – I’ll just give you permission to take a break, put the kettle on, and bake this delicious, no-fail, hygge-making banana bread. It’s cold out there after all, and the cozy is calling your name...

Coziest Banana Bread
Ingredients:
¼ cup milk of your choice (almond, hemp, cow, goat, soy…)
6 Tbsp. olive oil, butter, ghee, coconut oil
6 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups mashed ripe bananas (approximately 5 medium bananas)
2 cups flour (I used equal parts light + whole spelt)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. sea salt
1 cup chopped nuts + seeds (I used walnuts, pecans, and pumpkin seeds)
¾ cup chopped dark chocolate (1 standard 100 g bar) – optional

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Line an 8” x 8” cake pan or loaf pan with baking paper, or lightly oil and dust with flour, shaking out excess.
3. Put the milk, oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and bananas in a blender and blend until smooth.
4. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients. Add banana mixture and combine using as few stroked as possible. Fold in nuts and chocolate.
5. Pour into a cake pan and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (time varies greatly according to oven – mine takes about an hour, but this recipe suggests only 30 minutes. Check periodically after the half hour mark.)

Happy cozy-ing everyone. The Danes would be so proud.

Dining in the Dark

Hello to All!
Well, I am back on Danish soil – very cold and wet soil, as it turns out. I miss Los Angeles just a tad already, but I suppose it’s only the sunshine that really stole my heart, the rest of that fast-paced, always-in-a-car lifestyle I could leave behind for a while. One thing that I truly marveled at in L.A. was the total lack of home cooking and the incredible frequency of restaurant dining and take-out. It was like no one knew how to make food for themselves; all fridges jammed with convenience meals or Styrofoam containers of lowly leftovers. It could have just been the crowd I was rolling with, but it just seemed like the norm to eat out several times a week, if not more than once during a single day! Craziness.

So it perfect timing when one of my old students emailed me asking if she could write an article for My New Roots to complete a project for her university class on Social Context. Her assignment focused on ways to make a difference in her community, and she chose to write about decreasing the waste consumption in restaurants by informing consumers about the waste of the restaurant industry and creating a demand for greener restaurants, while also providing restaurants with ways to become more environmentally friendly. Awesome! This could not have come at a better time.

Without further ado, I present Dining in the Dark – a project to help us all be a little more conscious when eating out.

***
As much as I wish that I could be as creative and talented as Sarah is in the kitchen, I frankly am not. And if you are like me, you find yourself eating out more than twice a week. However, have you ever really stopped and thought about the ramifications of requesting that meal, getting that takeout, or ordering that delivery? Many of us do not think about the environmental consequences that are connected every time we choose to eat out, mainly because we have been left to dine in the dark.

So, what kind of repercussions am I talking about?

Well, simply put, the restaurant industry is one of the most waste producing and energy consuming hospitality industries out there. An average of 50,000 – 100,000 pounds of trash are produced by a single restaurant every year; that’s more than 50 times the amount that the average person throws away a year! On top of that, a restaurant uses up to 29 gallons of water per meal, equaling an average of 5,800 gallons of water in one day!
Ever wonder how the food on your plate got there? Well, the average fresh food item travels 1,500 miles before reaching your plates. That is equal to 14 tons of carbon emissions or 71 trees!!

What can even be done?
You’re probably now thinking to yourself, “Oh that’s great, but what am I supposed to do about that?” Do not fret because there are many easy ways that you, as consumers, can make a positive change in the very unsustainable restaurant industry. For example:
1. When getting take out, ask the restaurants to exclude plastic utensils and paper napkins in favour of using your own metal utensils at home.

2. Always try to recycle when possible. If the restaurant does not have a recycling bin, suggest to management to provide one! Through recycling, restaurants can cut back on their waste by 95%!

3. Buy and ask for locally grown food! Through cutting back on transportation and production costs of mass produced crops, you are really helping to decrease carbon emissions. Plus locally grown food just tastes better!

4. Take initiative and make a change both at home and at restaurants! Opt for beeswax candles or LED candles over regular paraffin candles. Or even start using non-toxic cleaning chemicals at home by making your own cleaning products. If you want to know about the benefits of choosing these healthier options, just read one of Sarah’s previous posts, such as “The Burning Question” and “DIY Birkenstock-free Cleaning Products”. When you start seeing the difference that it makes at home, start suggesting it to your neighbourhood restaurants!

5. Tell restaurants about our initiative!!! Any restaurant can contact us at dininginthedark.org@gmail.com and we can help them get on their way to a greener future!

Now that you know about truth of dining out, maybe you’ll think differently when you go out to eat instead of dining in.
For more information, follow our facebook page or visit our blog.

Thanks for listening and stay bright!

-Dining in the Dark

Sources: Green your Dining Out and the Green Restaurant Association

The High-Vibe Sandwich Makeover

(Holy Cow. It's National Sandwich Day?! Weirdest coincidence ever. I did not plan this. )

Back during our totally fabulous honeymoon, my man and I stopped in at the illustrious Tartine Bakery in San Francisco to sample their world of baked goods. I know you’re probably wondering what a girl like me could possibly find to eat in a place like that, but let’s keep in mind that I was on vacation and for “research purposes” I will try almost anything.
Needless to say, that was not my last visit to Tartine. In fact, the day my sweet left to go back to Denmark I was feeling so low that I took myself to the bakery again for a lonely lunch to console myself with a gigantic calorie bomb. Yes. Great decision.

I don’t know if I have ever mentioned it, but I am mildly obsessed with sandwiches. Finding the perfect combination of ingredients I regard as somewhat of an art form and huge respect goes out to those that can instinctively unite seemingly disparate elements between two slices of bread and make magic. At Tartine, they’ve done it. Their sandwich creations are surprising despite their simplicity, as they allow their extremely high-quality ingredients shine by standing on their own. I fell hard for the Pecorino: almond, sage, and lemon, crushed together, with fine shavings of sheep’s milk cheese on the best bread EVER (not exaggerating), slathered in olive oil and grilled to a criminal level of perfection. Gasp. So delightful in its unfussiness.
However, while sitting there feeling my mood increase with every gooey bite, I realized that this “perfect” sandwich could actually use a few things. First, those raw almonds were tasty, but I knew that they would be even better sprouted; a hint of sweetness was definitely necessary to offset the saltiness of the Pecorino Romano and for heaven’s sake, where were the greens?! I polished off half the sandwich sensation and went on my merry way to ponder how it could get better.

DIY: The High-Vibe Makeover
It's easy to high-vibe almost anything you make in the kitchen. It really just involves taking each element of the food you like, and finding a healthier alternative. This simple process takes a dish that is more empty calories than not, and turns it into something conscious and health-supportive. And this basically means you can eat more. Yay.

Here’s how I planned to one-up this already awesome sandwich:
#1 – Sprout the almonds. This process liberates all of the vital nutrition in the nut while making them easier to digest. Learn more here.
#2 – Add vegetables. I decided that the peppery-ness of arugula would be the perfect flavour accompaniment, and I love the crunchiness of good greens. Not to mention all those vitamins!
#3 – Add a superfood. Raw honey is was the obvious choice here because it is like a magical vitamin supplement and it conveniently contrasts the saltiness of the cheese.
#4 – Up the fiber. Sticking with the sourdough theme I chose a multi-grain version that still had that distinctive tang, but without all that nutritionally-void white flour.

Done. On we go.



Sprouted Almond Pesto
Ingredients:
1 cup soaked almonds (or blanched, see tips below, or raw)
zest of one organic, un-waxed lemon
juice of ½ lemon
a dozen fresh sage leaves
pinch of sea salt
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
1. Soak the almonds overnight, or for 8 hours, and remove the skin.
2. Place almonds in a food processor with remaining ingredients and pulse until desired consistency is reached. The one at Tartine was very chunky; I made mine a tad finer.

Tip: If you want to make this sandwich immediately (I understand), you can skip the sprouting process and just blanche the almonds to remove their skin. Pour boiling water over them in a pot and setting it aside for about a minute. Drain off the water, fill the container with cold water and slip the skins off by squeezing the almonds between your thumb and fingers.
Removing the skins is an important step in ridding the almonds of the enzymes that make them difficult to digest.
You can also forgo this process altogether too. Use raw almonds if you like.

The almond pesto tastes pretty good on its own, but really nothing compares to it rubbing up against good Pecorino and the like. You can try it on toast with honey for a savory/sweet breakfast treat, and I bet it would be a really tasty topping for a cozy winter stew.

Best Sandwich Ever
Ingredients:
Sprouted Almond Pesto
Pecorino Romano (sheep’s milk cheese, available at most grocery stores)
very good multi-grain sourdough
arugula
organic, raw honey

Directions:
1. Heat up your Panini press. If you don’t have one, use a cast-iron grill pan, a regular pan, or a toaster oven.
2. Cut bread into generous slices, slather with chunky almond pesto, layer on some thin slices of cheese. Drizzle (or in my case, pour) olive oil all over both sides of the sandwich.
3. Cook as you would a grilled cheese sandwich or Panini, flipping when necessary.
4. When you decide the sandwich is ready, remove from the pan, open the sandwich, toss in a handful of arugula, and drizzle with honey (I like my honey poured all over the outside. This makes eating way messier and way sexier!)
5. Devour.

Just to set the record straight, I have all kinds of love for Tartine. But I also have all kinds of love for myself and I what I put into my body. The fun part of giving your favorite foods a high-vibe makeover is that you can eat those ridiculously delicious foods and still get some sort of benefit from them. And isn’t it nice to know that you’re just a few simple tweaks away form that deep-fried Mars bar? Right.

Falling for Sweet Potato Hummus

Even in the thick of Los Angeles, I can feel the weather changing.
This autumn has been strange for me. I am not walking through the fire-coloured forests of Ontario, or biking in spitting rain under steel-gray skies in Denmark. Nope. I am in sunny southern California, where up until this week I could have sworn summer would last forever. But the changes have come here too, just slower I suppose, and are hidden in the cooler nights and shorter days.

It would be a gross understatement to say that I am little excited for the arrival of this season because it would be a gross understatement to say that I am obsessed with fall’s produce. Squashes, melons, pumpkins, Brussels sprouts, beets…sweet potato! Oh lord, sweet potato, you are my long lost autumnal lover, my everything that somehow manages to find your way into everything I cook this time of year. You are sweet and soothing, a nutritional superstar, the most versatile of vegetables! I bow to your ridiculous deliciousness.

Healthy Digestion with the Sweetest of Potatoes
Many people think that sweet potatoes are just regular potatoes that are orange, but they are in fact a completely different vegetable.
Compared to regular potatoes, sweet potatoes have oodles more vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), vitamin C and even more fiber. This means that sweet potatoes are excellent for your digestion. Sweet potatoes are composed mainly of starch, which is very easy to break down and is soothing for the stomach and intestines too. This makes them an ideal healing choice for those suffering from the pain and inflammation associated with stomach ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome. The roughage of sweet potatoes even prevents constipation. What a root!


I came up with this recipe for sweet potato hummus last fall at one of the restaurants where I work, as I had baked a few too many sweet potatoes for another dish and needed to use them up. I was about to make a large portion of hummus for the day, I thought I would just throw them in the food processor with everything else and see how it would turn out. Genius. How could two of my favorite edibles not make the most perfect match when combined anyway? This dip consequently, became the new favorite thing on the menu, and often the staff would scoop it into their Tupperwares to take home before it even made it out of the kitchen!
This is one super simple, flavourful, nutritional drop kick of a dip. Serve it and smile. That’s all you gotta do.
And regular hummus? So last year!

Sweet Potato Hummus
Ingredients:
2 cups chickpeas
zest of 1 organic lemon, juice of ½ lemon
3 small sweet potatoes
1 tsp. ground cumin
pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
2-3 pinches sea salt
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic

Note: Don't get too hung up on the quantities of ingredients with this recipe - it's hard to make a mistake! Use more or less sweet potato than called for, more or less chickpeas if that suits you (or even leave them out!), omit the cayenne or throw in more if you like it spicy. Just work with what you have and what tastes good to you.

Directions:
1. Place sweet potatoes (with the skin on) in a baking dish in a 400 F oven and bake until very soft, about 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on their size. (You can also steam the sweet potatoes, but I find baking them is more flavourful.)
2. Let the sweet potatoes cool down so that you can easily remove their skins - they should just peel off. Place them in a food processor with the remaining ingredients and blend on high to mix.
3. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle of cracked black pepper, and whatever herb you have on hand. This is wonderful with raw veggies, healthy crackers, or pita bread.

This dip doubles as an amazing sandwich spread, particularly on crusty sourdough with avocado, sprouts, and fresh herbs. I even eat this on the side of a rice bowl, or use it as a thickener for soups and stews, especially when I am cooking with lentils because they are a brilliant combo. Such an easy and yummy addition to just about anything! It will keep in the fridge for a week, but I highly doubt it will be around that long. Happy hummus-ing.

***Oh hey! I just entered a Sweet Potato recipe contest over at a great new blog called Affairs of Living. Check out all the other amazing recipes!***

Making Yogurt, all by Yourself

To Do List:
#1 – Get a goat.

Seriously. Those four-legged, milk-giving wonders sure have worked their way into my heart. After spending morning after delightful morning feeding, grooming, and of course milking them, I have fallen into a total goat bliss-out. All I want for Christmas is a dairy goat to call my own. Now if only I had a backyard…

I think the most rewarding part about being around these animals is the reciprocal nature of your relationship - you feed them and they feed you. It’s incredible! Again, getting back to the source of where food comes from is such a pleasure for me, and being able to look the creature in the eye who is literally going to give me breakfast, feels like divine gift.

I hadn’t eaten dairy products, save for butter and ghee, in quite some time, and I had never tried raw dairy before. Happily, I found it really worked for my body. I eased my way in slowly and found that my homemade goat yogurt was the easiest to digest, I suppose because it was full of enzymes and friendly bacteria. This discovery was so moving that I had to share.

Yes, you can do this!
Surprise! Yogurt is extremely easy to make. You may have been convinced otherwise by commercial yogurt makers at the health food store, which give you the impression that special equipment is required, or you may think that you need to obtain some kind of special culture to inoculate your milk with, but happily, neither is the case! You hold the power and the ability to make this healthful food right at home with things you probably have on hand. You’re pretty pumped, eh? Thought so.



You will need:
A large pot to heat the milk in
A candy thermometer
½ cup good quality, organic plain yogurt with live active cultures (or ½ cup yogurt from a previous batch of homemade)
1 liter organic, whole milk, non-homogenized

Directions:
1. Gently heat the milk to 180 F (82 C), then allow it to cool to 110 F (43 C).
2. Stir in yogurt and pour mixture into a shallow glass, enamel, or stainless steel container.
3. Cover the container and let sit in a warm place (about 150 F / 65 C), such as a gas oven with the pilot light on, overnight.
4. In the morning, transfer to a glass jar and refrigerate.

Variation: Raw Milk Yogurt
I know that there is a lot of controversy surrounding raw milk, but my personal opinion is that if you are going to consume dairy, it’s the most holistic way to go. Raw milk has not been pasteurized, so it retains all of its enzymes and essential vitamins that are destroyed through heating. It may be difficult to find as it is not legal for retail sale in many states, and in Canada you would have to know a farmer to get yours direct. Not an easy task, but well worth the effort I believe.

You will need:
A large pot to heat the milk in
A candy thermometer
½ cup good quality, organic plain yogurt (or ½ cup yogurt from a previous batch of homemade)
1 liter organic, raw whole milk, non-homogenized

Directions:
1. Place 1 liter raw milk in a double boiler and heat to 110 F (43 C).
2. Remove 2 tablespoons milk and add 1 tablespoon yogurt.
3. Stir well and pour contents into a one-liter glass jar. Add another 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons of yogurt to the jar, stir well and cover tightly.
4. Place jar in a warm spot (95 F/ 35 C), like a dehydrator, overnight.
5. Transfer to the refrigerator.

Make it a routine:
Every time you make your own yogurt, remember to save a little bit of for your next batch.
Your homemade yogurt is not going to be as thick as regular store-bought yogurt, but I like the smooth creaminess of it. It is wonderful as a base for smoothies, as a topping for pancakes, you can blend it with some fresh herbs for a dressing (mint is delicious!) or even use it instead of whipped cream for dessert. If you want to flavour your yogurt, you can add crushed fresh fruit, jam (the fig one is ridiculous!), maple syrup, or raw honey.

You can make yogurt with any type of whole milk, but I would insist on buying organic and choosing goat over cow. Yes, you heard me correctly. Remember this awesome post: Goat is the New Cow? Yuh-huh.
And just for the record, a good-quality goat milk should not taste “goaty” – it should taste almost like cow’s milk, but a little sweeter, in my opinion. I do know that if a male goat (buck) is around the does, especially during milking time, their odor can be absorbed by the milk, as it is rather penetrating. But I spent the last month in close connection to just the females and they do not smell at all, nor does their milk give off that familiar goaty-ness we don’t really dig in our morning coffee, right?

Go forth and conquer! Making yogurt yourself is a totally satisfying culinary activity, and will surely make you feel like a super hero in the kitchen. So give yourself all the credit your deserve, and a really delicious breakfast to boot.

Three Years and Growing

In all the busy-ness that is this life, I almost forgot to acknowledge the third year anniversary of My New Roots.

When I first started this blog, I thought it would just be a little hobby on the side of my nutrition practice, something fun to keep me in the loop, but over the years it has become so much more - my creative outlet, a place to reveal my latest culinary experiments and experiences, a place to make mistakes (oh, those buns…), a place to celebrate health and healing, to cleanse, to explore, and to grow. I can only hope that you are learning as much as I am.

I thank you for inviting my recipes and my ideas into your life. It makes me smile knowing that somewhere, on any given day, someone is getting their hands dirty in a raw pie crust, kneading their first loaf of bread, julienning sweet potatoes, or tasting ”yucky” vegetable again for the first time.

I thank you for encouraging me with your incredible comments and challenging me with your questions. You really, really have no idea how much they mean to me - I am feeling the love!

I thank you for continuing to share this site with the important people in your life – we are up to 9,000 visitors a month! Wow.

I thank you for taking this journey with me. Let’s keep going.

In love, gratitude, and health,
Sarah B

Autumn in a Jar: Fig Jam with Lavender, Thyme, and Walnuts

Autumn is my clandestine lover.
It’s true that summer is the reliable, constant, and deeply warming season that I look forward to most in the darkness of winter. But fall is full of secrets, it is mysterious and unpredictable, making those last dreamy-hot days with the long amber light so achingly beautiful and met with the utmost gratitude.
And then there’s the harvest. I find autumn food the most appealing and most healing, as the fruits and vegetables that have been growing for so long have built up an incredible amount of life force having spent months and months connected to the earth, the source of their nutrition and energy. There is a great power in these foods and when prepared in ways that compliment their own life processes (re: sloooooooowwwww), and I find that echoing this slowness enhances their flavour and digestibility.

This brilliant recipe comes from the book The Savory Way by Deborah Madison who opened the vegetarian restaurant Greens in San Francisco. Her recipes are innovative and sophisticated, yet still accessible. I was totally enamored with the unique combinations of familiar ingredients and flavours, and it seems like she has a real knack for reinventing vegetarian classics.

This fig jam for example, imparted with rich, autumnal aromas is a study in seduction. The lusciousness of sun-ripened figs, cooked down slowly with honey, woody thyme, and fragrant lavender is enough to entrance me, but throw in those freshly cracked walnuts and I am on my knees. The deep aromatic flavours of each individual ingredient somehow manage to compliment one another in a divine, perfume love potion that is so much more than the sum of its parts.

Whew. Is it getting hot in here?



Not Just a Pretty Face
In my opinion, figs are some of the most sensual fruits on the planet, and anything that sexy must be good for you.
As it turns out, they are a good source of potassium among other things.
Potassium is especially important in regulating the activity of muscles and nerves. According to World’s Healthiest Foods, "the frequency and degree to which our muscles contract, and the degree to which our nerves become excitable, both depend heavily on the presence of potassium in the right amount." Interesting.

So far this spread has been making a regular appearance on some very lucky toast with goat cheese and a slight drizzle of good balsamic vinegar. I can imagine however, that served warm over roasted root vegetables, squash, or on the side of a Brussels sprouts dish would be heaven. And ice cream drenched in the stuff is an obvious choice for those that subscribe to total indulgence.

I highly recommend you make this. It’s self-love.

Autumn Fig Jam with Lavender, Thyme, and Walnuts
Ingredients:
2 pounds figs (about 3 baskets)
4 thyme branches
1 tsp. dried lavender, plucked from stem
pinch of sea salt
½ cup honey
¼ cup shelled walnuts, chopped

Directions:
1. Remove hard stems from figs, rinse off dust, and then chop them into small pieces, leaving the skins on.
2. Place figs in a heavy non-corroding saucepan with the thyme, lavender blossoms, sea salt, and honey. Gradually heat; then simmer until the jam is thickened, well flavoured, and the pieces are broken down (cook time will depend greatly on the water content of your figs).
3. Stir in walnuts and cook another 5 minutes.
4. Pour jam into sterilized jar and keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks, or process according to whatever canning method you’re using.

Thistle Blow your Mind: Artichokes!

I realized something pretty major the other day: I have never eaten an artichoke before. Yeah, I know. How is that even possible? Not sure. This occurred to me, in fact, while I was driving through a town called Castroville – the self-proclaimed “artichoke capital of the world” in central California. Hmm…there sure were lots of artichokes in those fields and I had no idea how any of them tasted, which freaked me out a little.
Then, a few days later, I was up north in another part of the state where, lo and behold, in a friend’s backyard garden grew a number of the intimidating-looking plants that had never graced my palette. It was a sign. Time to do something about that.

Artichokes are a member of the thistle family (in case you didn't pick that up from my awesome post title), and the part that we eat is actually the immature flower bud that would otherwise grow into a bright purple blossom.
Although most of us can buy artichokes all year round in a grocery store, we are actually on the opposite side of their ideal season, which is March through May. I guess having never tasted an artichoke before I am equally oblivious to their life cycle. Oops. And that I am in the state that can grow a lot of things all year round no matter what the season is, so can you really blame me? No. I’m just going for it.
So began my artichoke adventure. I picked up some local beauties at the store, figured out how to prepare and cook them (super easy), but as I was looking at many of the suggestions online and in cookbooks on how to eat them – with melted butter, mayonnaise, or hollandaise sauce – I knew that some radical differences were in store for my vegetables. More on that later.



It’s all news to me: artichokes are good for you!
Okay, so we’ve already identified that I am way out of the artichoke loop, fine. How was I supposed to know how full of fiber these things are? Or how they are loaded with antioxidants? Or that they are naturally very low in calories and virtually fat free? Did you know this? Why didn’t you tell me?
I’ve also learned that artichokes are a good source of vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, folate, and iron. And to top it all off, they are particularly supportive of liver health due to their cynarin content.
Again: why didn’t anyone tell me?!

I know I am not the only one out there that is jumping on the artichoke wagon, so here is some easy information on how to prepare these totally delicious treats.
Directions:
1. First, wash the artichoke thoroughly. Hold the artichoke under cold running water. Rinse in between the leaves without pulling on them. Turn the artichoke upside down (stem side up) and give a good shake. Dry the artichoke with a clean towel.
2. Using a large knife, cut off the top 1 1/2" to 2" of the artichoke. This is where the leaves are most tightly bunched.
3. Using a pair of kitchen scissors, cut off the sharp points from the leaves.
4. Cut off the stem flush with the base.
5. Place the artichoke in a steamer basket over boiling water. Steam for 25-45 minutes until one of the leaves can be removed easily.
Here are some pictures.


So yeah, lots of gloppy dips out there to totally negate the low-fat, low-calorie tasty-ness that attract people to artichokes in the first place. My version is super flavourful, but uses just a hint of olive oil and pungent ingredients to make your mouth sing.
This dip is somewhat similar to my Green Giant Cilantro Pesto, except for the parsley content and the real kick from the jalapeno. I would suggest making a double batch if you’re serving a crowd, or you want leftover for a sandwich spread (holy, delicious).

Cilantro Parsley Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups cilantro
½ cup parsley
juice and zest of 2 limes
4 Tbsp. cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil
pinch of sea salt
2-3 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1 tsp. raw honey

Directions:
1. Wash and dry herbs well.
2. Roughly chop herbs, garlic, and jalapeno, then put them in a blender with the remaining ingredients.
3. Pour into a serving dish and enjoy.


I have come to two conclusions after all my artichoke exploits:
#1 – Artichokes are delicious. I probably should have mentioned that before. I plan on eating them much more often than never.
#2 – No matter how much I think I know about food, there is always something new to learn about and discover. The world is so exciting!

That sounded like an after school special. Sorry. You get the point. Sheesh.

Peachy Keen Raw Cobbler

Oh dear friends, it is so good to be back! And if you could only see where I have ended up – a place worthy to be called a Sarah B-style paradise. Tee hee.

I am on farm in northern Califonia wwoofing for the next month or so, getting my life bearings, exploring, learning, and surrendering to all the beauty that is the natural world. It feels incredible to be surrounded by organic gardens bursting with fruits and vegetables, beautiful animals, and exceptional people. I have been in the kitchen for many of my hours here so far, as we have so much food coming in from the garden that needs to be made into something! Sigh. Tough life. Needless to say I am in my element, and on my knees with gratitude for ending up in such an abundant place.

The peaches here are literally falling off the trees, so heavy with juice, and crying out for a special purpose (although eating them straight off the branch works for me too). We’ve been harvesting them daily and using them in everything from salads to relishes, chutneys, sorbets, pies, dressings, and we even threw a whole bunch in the dehydrator to have peaches in the winter. Having this much of one type of produce breeds creativity, some interesting experiments, and a lot of delicious food.

Late Beta Carotene Bloomers
Perhaps it’s just the delicious anticipation, but having to wait all year for that extraordinary, bright first bite of a ripe peach is like an epiphany. It is on those occasions when I feel pretty stoked that peaches are actually healthy, because I eat them like, well, they are going out of season. The orange colour of peaches is thanks to beta carotene, the same phytonutrient responsible for giving carrots their pigment, as well as sweet potatoes, and winter squash. Beta carotene protects your cells from free radical damage, which causes cancer, heart diseases, arthritis and other diseases related to aging. It is also responsible for good eyesight and formation of the mucous membrane of the urinary, digestive and respiratory tracts.

Beta carotene is fat-soluble, meaning that it requires the presence of dietary fat in order for your body to absorb it. Bonus! I sneakily made a crust out of healthy-fat nuts so that you can be assured to take in all that beautiful beta carotene and your cells can bathe in orange, healing goodness – at least that is what I picture going on.



Today, the peaches wanted to be eaten raw, but I was also looking for a “comforting” way of serving them. Seeing as I am in the great U.S.of A. I thought a cobbler was in order – nothing says America more to me than cobbler (except maybe chicken fried steak). A cobbler is traditionally baked, but to highlight the ridiculous juicy-goodness that the peaches possess, I figured out a way to keep all the ingredients out of the oven. Success.
This recipe is pretty flexible. Use the number of peaches available to you, and try to buy locally if possible. I realize that in many parts of the U.S. and Canada peaches are on their way out, so use up the last of this season because it sure will be a while before we see them again.

Peachy Keen Raw Cobbler
Ingredients:
Filling
• 8 ripe peaches
• juice of ½ lemon
• 4 soft dates, soaked
• 1 vanilla bean, scraped
• dash ground cinnamon

Topping:
• 2 cups nuts (I used half walnuts + half pecans)
• 1 cup soft dates
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon (or more to taste)
• pinch sea salt

Directions:
1. Wash and cut up five peaches into bite-sized chunks. Set aside.
2. Remove the pits from the remaining three peaches and place them in a food processor with the rest of the filling ingredients. Blend into a smooth sauce. Pour over cut peaches and gently fold to combine.
3. Rinse the food processor and add the topping ingredients. Pulse until a chunky crumble-like consistency is reached, or blend to your liking.
4. Pour peach filling into a pie dish. Sprinkle topping over the filling, garnish.
5. Serve to hungry farmer friends.

Vegan Caesar Salad - Hold the Anchovies

Holy cow, it's September.
This means that my honeymoon is almost over (sad face), summer is coming to a close (really big sad face), but harvest season is in full swing and autumn goodies are on their way! This is my consolation.

While we still have some lovely local lettuces in store however, I thought that this recipe by my friend and health crusader, Meghan Telpner, was the perfect way to use up what's left of the summer's greens. Her creation is a ceasar salad that is ridiculously scrumptious and completely vegan, meaning that it's a much waist-friendlier version of your indulgent classic...



Contrary to popular belief, I am not a strict vegan. As my friend Elana, who was once macrobiotic and is now indulging in raw cheeses and fish says, “labels are for tin cans”. I agree. But I have my limits when it comes to eating foods that once had eyes.

My mom happens to make the very best caesar salad that there ever was. That there ever was until I developed my vegan version. I have no problem eating my mom’s awesome salad, but I do have a hard time taking those little squigley fish out of the can and putting them into a blender. I needed and alternative that I could take with me to people’s homes when they invited me for summer BBQs.

See, I am not a vegan, but I also prefer not to eat food that comes off a BBQ (that’s a whole lotta heat going on). Since I rarely, if ever have the appetite for actual meat type foods, any wee bit of an appetite that I may have gets absolutely squashed, squelched and eliminated whenever I see a BBQ grill loaded down with a zoos-worth of animals, and animal assemblages (read- mixed meat burgers, hot dogs and sausages).

As per my pot-luck rule, I like to bring a dish that could serve as my whole meal, and given that I have now gone through 21 of my 24 packs of tempeh, I am a whizz with this probiotic rich, protein dense, healthfully fermented, great meat sub, delicious food. You name it, I can make it with tempeh!

I figured that I could make tempeh to to do a great impersonation of bacon, make croutons out of some sprouted whole grain bread, mix-master up a dressing that had that little bit of tang, that little bit of creamy, and that little bit of salty, well my BBQ hostesses with the mostesses, I had a winner!

Blow those horns of victory because I do! I do have a winner and here she be- the bestest, lightest, canned-fish free, Vegan Caesar Salad. She truly is a BBQ’s best girlfriend and will totally hold her own against any sausage fest, and will surely humiliate the mayo-clad potato salad.


Tempeh Bits
Ingredients:
1 block of tempeh, chopped into 1/4 inch cubes
3 Tbs tamari
3 Tbs olive oil

* Heat olive oil over medium heat
* Add in tempeh cubes and lightly sautee until browned
* Add in tamari and cook until fully absorbed.
* Remove from heat and set aside

Croutons
Ingredients:
3-4 pieces of stale bread, or ends (I used Ezekial sprouted grain bread), cut into 1/2 inch squares
2 cloves garlic, minced or chopped finely
1 Tbs dry or 2-3 Tbs fresh oregano, chopped
2 Tbs olive oil

* Heat olive oil over medium heat
* Add in garlic and oregano coat in oil
* Toss in bread and mix throughly until bread is lightly coated in herbed oil
* Leave on low-medium heat, stirring and turning occasionally to avoid burning
* Once evenly toasted, remove from heat and set aside.

Vegan Caesar Dressing
Ingredients:
2 Tbs almonds (ground) or almond butter
2 cloves garlic
3 Tbs nutritional yeast
2 Tbs tamari
1 lemon, juiced
3 Tbs dijon mustard
1/3 cup water
1 Tbs olive oil (or flax oil)

* Blend
* Pour over salad

Now go on and tantalize the BBQ meat eaters with this treat and leave out the word vegan. BBQ meat eaters think vegans are hippies. Yep. Generalizing.

Meghan Telpner, Certified Nutritionist and Chief Love Maker of her blog Making Love In The Kitchen, delivers a refreshingly realistic approach to nutrition and healthy living. Based in Toronto, Meghan is the director of The Love In The Kitchen Academy cooking school as well as Nourish Your Soul Holidays, leading healthy living retreats world-wide. With humour and passion, Meghan inspires people to take a look at their lives and to start living their dreams now. Her enthusiasm, charisma, positive energy and dynamism are truly motivating and inspiring.

Thanks Meghan!
I hope you all enjoy the dish and I will be back to post my own recipes very soon!

Everything and a bag of Flax Crackers

Wow! There sure is a lot going on these days.
First, I just got married, and it was by far the most magical day of my life. Thank you to everyone who joined in our celebration.
We are now on our honeymoon in California, driving along the Pacific coast in our 1981 VW camper van! It’s really too much fun.



Secondly, I finally completed a two-year project with a friend, Eva Cabaca, who wrote the most fantastic vegan cookbook. I will let you all know once it is published because I know that you will want your very own copy of this totally unique and original work. I had the privilege of creating the design and layout for the book, and it is my pleasure to share one of the recipes with you today.



Savory Flax Crackers
Ingredients:
• 2 cups flax seeds
• ½ cup hemp hearts
• ¼ cup chia seeds
• 2 cups water
• ½ -1 tsp. Celtic sea salt or Himalayan rock salt
• 1 Tbsp. dry herbs and spices, such as basil, oregano, chili powder, cumin
• optional ¼ cup fresh herbs, such as parsley, cilantro, basil, rosemary or thyme
• optional but delicious 1 Tbsp. agave syrup and 1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:
1. Grind the flax seeds in a coffee grinder briefly to get a very coarse meal. Transfer into a large bowl.
2. Add the hemp hearts, chia seeds, water, salt and all the herbs and spices.
3. For easy spreading, mix quickly before flax absorbs too much water.
4. Spread the mixture immediately onto a solid dehydrator sheet and let it harden for 10 minutes. Cut into desired shapes.
5. Dehydrate at 115oF for 3-4 hours or until the top is dry, then flip onto a mesh dehydrating sheet. Continue dehydrating at 105oF until crisp, about 5 hours.
6. Alternatively, spread the dough onto an oiled cookie sheet, cut into desired shapes and dry in the oven on the lowest setting, for 4 to 6 hours or until you achieve the desired texture (from slightly soft to very crispy).
7. Crackers will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

So that’s where I’ve been, and where I will be for the next little while. I do have some fabulous guest bloggers lined up, so check back every week or so for more of what you love! Thanks for all of your love and support for My New Roots – it means so much to me.
See you all soon.
In health and light, Sarah B.

The Great Scape

I was visiting my grandmother the other day, who lives in a very small town where everybody seems knows each other and everything is just more relaxed.
We went out to the local café for lunch, and just as we walked in there was a huge cardboard box with the words: “Organic Garlic Scapes, $2/bag”, scribbled on the side. I can’t imagine what kind of restaurant would ever have such a treasure trove of whole food treats greeting customers at the hostess stand of a big city eatery. Sigh. I love small town Ontario.
On the way out I asked for a bag of scapes, which was almost too big to wrap my arms around, tossed the waitress a toonie, and went on my merry way. My grandmother had never heard or seen anything like them before, as I am sure most people haven’t – unless you’ve been to a farmer’s market lately.

What is a Scape?
Garlic scapes are the curly-cue stalks of the garlic plant that matures along with the garlic blub - the part that most of us are familiar with. As the bulb grows larger underground, the stalk begins to lengthen and develop a seed head. At this stage, the scapes are removed from the plant in order to focus all of the garlic’s energy into the bulb growth. When young, the scapes are lovely and tender, and contain a great deal of flavour - although the stalk never reaches the level of pungency that cloves of garlic contain. I find the flavour is more like a shallot with its subtle sweetness. When roasted or grilled the taste really mellows out to a smooth smokiness with a hint of garlic without the bite.

Scapes can be used in a number of ways. Pesto is a very popular application and a really nice addition to pasta, or as a topping for fresh summer vegetables like tomatoes. I have also had pickled scapes, scape stir-fry, and scape soup. You can sort of treat scapes as you would asparagus, get creative and appreciate them while they are in their peak season!

Nutritious and Delicious
As far as health benefits go, garlic scapes boast many of the same super heatlh-promoting properties that garlic cloves contain. We’re talking loads of manganese, to keep your bones strong and healthy and protect cells from free radical damage; vitamin B6 to support your nervous system; vitamin C to boost your immune system and improve iron absorption; and selenium to reduce joint inflammation. And because you’ll likely to only find locally grown scapes (grocery chains tend to only sell “the familiar”, right?), you can rest assured that the product you’re buying is freshly picked, which means more nutrition!
Head to a farmer’s market or good health food store to find scapes right now – they are not around for long and it is the season for trying something fresh and exciting.



To be honest, I had never grilled scapes before the other night, but these turned out to be one of the most lip-smacking veggies I have ever had the pleasure of munching on. Oh BABY! You must try this as soon as possible and serve it to all of your friends who will surely marvel at this fancy “new” vegetable that no on has ever heard of but tastes like a dream. And as a bonus, let’s talk about that super short ingredient list! I bet you have everything but the scapes in your kitchen right now.

You can serve the grilled scapes on their own as side dish, perhaps with a squeeze of lemon juice, or you can get fancy and make it into a simple summer salad with some bitter lettuce. I chose radicchio, which not only looks beautiful (I love purple and green together), but the bitterness of the lettuce pairs really nicely with the smooth, mellow, garlicky-ness of the scapes. It’s a match made in heaven! I also made a very basic dressing that you can whip up to your taste. After all, it’s summer. Relax and ditch the recipe.

Grilled Scapes
Ingredients:
1 bunch scapes
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt

Directions:
1.Preheat grill to medium high.
2. Pick through scapes and discard any that are mushy or dried out. Cut off tough ends (as you would with asparagus). Rinse and dry.
3. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt.
4. Place scapes on grill and spread out evenly (be careful they don’t fall through!). Close lid and cook for about 3-4 minutes, until they are slightly charred underneath. Flip scapes and continue cooking on the other side until evenly cooked – they should be slightly crunchy still, but not raw!
5. Remove from grill, season to taste (lemon juice is yummy too) and serve.

Optional: Make a dressing out of olive oil, fresh lemon juice, maple syrup and a pinch of sea salt, whisk together. Toss large leaves of radicchio, or other bitter lettuce with dressing, and place grilled scapes on top.

I hope you get chance to try these really special summer treats that would otherwise be tossed away! Happy grilling!

Totally Addictive Kale Crisps

Whew! I made it back to Canada in one piece and the first thing I did when I got here? I made kale crisps. There’s just something about the confines of a plane and watching my fellow passengers chow down on mystery meat that makes me want to run for the nearest bunch of leafy greens as fast as possible. Call me crazy.

Although they may appear a little freaky (you try making baked kale look appetizing), I guarantee that these crisps are every bit as addictive as potato chips! Light, lacey, and crispy, with a hint of whatever kind of seasoning you can throw at ‘em, you will be fighting over every last crumb and wondering how you ever hated kale in the first place. Seriously.

Delicious Addictive Kale?
We all know that kale must be good for us because:
- It looks scary
- It is always in the produce section of health food stores
- Your yoga instructor is constantly trying to get you to eat it

Fine. But I feel the need to make a case for this under-appreciated leaf, because it really is all it’s cracked up to be. First of all, it packs more nutritional punch per calorie than almost any other food on the planet. Seriously. It is crazy-loaded with vitamin K, an essential vitamin for preventing bone fractures, postmenopausal bone loss, calcification of your arteries, and has even been shown to protect against liver and prostate cancer. And because kale is a member of the brassica family (think broccoli, cabbage, collards, and Brussels sprouts) it contains the organosulfur compounds that appear able to lessen the occurrence of a wide variety of cancers, including breast and ovarian cancers.
Kale is also excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and manganese. It is also a very good source of dietary fiber, calcium, copper, vitamin B6, and potassium. This combination of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients makes kale a health superstar, for real.

And besides being SOOOOO healthy, kale actually does taste good when you know how to prepare it. For the novice, I would not suggest munching on kale leaves completely raw, but trying this crisps recipe could be a good first step. Once you’ve mastered that, you could move onto a recipe such as this pan-glazed tempeh, and perhaps then you’ll be ready to eat it in a raw salad. As with any new food, especially when cooking for kids, ease in slowly and try lots of different preparation methods before giving up. Kale is undoubtedly a nutritional miracle and we’d all benefit from it becoming a recurring ingredient in our cooking repertoire.

Totally Addictive Kale Crisps
Ingredients:
•1 bunch of kale
•1/2 lemon
•1 Tbsp. maple syrup
•1 tsp. salt
•1 tsp. tamari
•2 Tbsp. olive oil
•1/4 cup sesame seeds

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 200 F.
2. Wash kale thoroughly and spin dry, trying to remove as much water as possible.
3. Tear kale away from stem. Each kale leaf should be torn into about 6 or eight pieces
4. Place all ingredients except for the kale into a bowl, whisk together.
5. Add the kale and mix together with your hands, gently massaging the leaves with the dressing.
6. Lay kale out on a cookie sheet or pizza pan and place in oven. Set timer for 30 minutes.
7. At 30 minutes, remove from oven and gently unstick kale from pan if it has stuck and replace for another 10-15 minutes until kale is dry and crispy.
8. Allow to cool. Can store in fridge for up to a week.

This recipe is very flexible and you can use any “dressing” you like to change things up if you fancy. My friend Meghan has the most fantastic food blog, and she has five different kale crisp recipes on her site, all of them totally fabulous. It is safe to say that she is a kale chip fanatic – me too!
I hope you give this recipe a try, especially if you have kids/friends/parents/lovers/bosses/bus drivers who hate green things, because they will become kale crisp-devouring monsters, and you a pleased, kale-love purveyor.

Grilled Portobello Magic Mushrooms

It’s grilling season again, which makes this girl very happy. For years I felt left out at barbeques as I usually ended up with a plate full of gloppy potato salad poorly pretending to be happy: “oh no, I love Miracle Whip!” But since finally getting my creative culinary act together, I finally have some really tasty vegetarian grilling options that make even the biggest carnivore come back for seconds. Hooray for that!

This week’s recipe is a simple one, but for those that have never tried a Portobello mushroom on the grill, it’s a magical experience. Juicy, rich, and super satisfying, portobellos can proudly stand next to any steak, give it the up-down and then jump into my mouth. Huh? I am in a weird mood today. Must be all the mushrooms.


Surprise! The magically nutritious fungus...
Portobello mushrooms are the mature versions of the small, brown crimini button mushrooms that are a little more common in the produce aisle, and their range of vitamins and minerals is impressive. Included in their nutritional arsenal are high levels of selenium, riboflavin (vitamin B2), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), copper, niacin (vitamin B3), potassium and phosphorus. Selenium is a micro mineral needed for the proper function of the antioxidant system, which works to reduce the levels of damaging free radicals in the body. These powerful antioxidant actions make selenium helpful not only against colon cancer by protecting colon cells from cancer-causing toxins, but in decreasing asthma and arthritis symptoms and in the prevention of heart disease. In addition, selenium is involved in DNA repair, yet another way in which adequate intake of this mineral is associated with a reduced risk for cancer.
Crimini mushrooms are also a good source of iron, which is primarily used as part of hemoglobin, the molecule responsible for transporting and releasing oxygen throughout the body. But hemoglobin synthesis also relies on copper. Without copper, iron cannot be properly utilized in red blood cells. Fortunately, Mother Nature supplies both minerals in portobello mushrooms!



I made these bad boys for a barbeque party last night, along with an Avocado-Basil Mayonnaise to accompany the dish. This is really just a smoother version of guacamole, except with basil and without all the chunky vegetable additions (that frankly, I have just never understood). My instincts tell me that my Mojo sauce would be totally boss with these too, but I figured I should post another little yummy condiment to perk you appetite. Did it work? Go try it!

Grilled Portobello Magic Mushrooms
Ingredients:
• 6 Portobello mushroom caps (1 per person, adjust recipe accordingly)
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tsp. dried thyme
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 3 coves minced garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Wash mushroom caps well, carefully removing any dirt. Pat dry.
2. Throw all marinade ingredients together in a large plastic bag, smoosch around making sure it is well combined. Place mushrooms in the bag, seal it up, roll contents around to coat, and let sit in the fridge for up to 12 hours (minimum 1 hour). If you think of it, take the bag out from time to time and roll it around – this ensures that the mushrooms are well coated with marinade.
3. Prepare the grill by heating it up to medium-high. Place mushrooms on lightly oiled grill, gill side up, close grill lid and cook for 5-7 minutes or so, until grill marks appear on the underside. Flip, and repeat gill side down. The mushrooms are cooked when they are warm through and have lost a little of their “plumpness” (but they are also great raw!), so no worries about undercooking them.
4. Serve immediately with your favorite toppings, or slide one into a wholegrain bun or wrap with some fresh veggies. Alternatively, you can slice them up and maybe add them to a salad - spinach with pine nuts and parmesan? YUM!

Avocado-Basil Mayonnaise
Ingredients:
•3 ripe avocados
•1 large clove garlic
•juice of ½ lemon
•¼ cup packed, fresh basil leaves
•sea salt to taste

Directions:
1. Place garlic clove in food processor and blend on high to mince.
2. Add everything else, pulse until smooth and basil is well chopped.


Here's a joke to tell while you're standing around the grill watching these juicy babies sizzle away:
"Hey - what do you call a mushroom at a party? A Fun-gi!"

Sorry.

I hope everyone is having a fun and healthy summer so far! I am heading back to the homeland at the end of next week and look forward to posting some recipes from the local produce in Canada. See you all soon!

source: World's Healthiest Foods

The Best Lentil Salad, Ever

I can’t believe that I haven’t posted this recipe before. With picnic season in full swing here, I suddenly realized that I’ve been keeping this unbelievable salad recipe all to myself! This dish is probably one of the most-cooked meals in my household, and in my opinion, the only lentil salad recipe you will ever need. I love it so much in fact, it’s being served at my wedding in August. Enough said.
This dish was first served to me by my fabulous friend Mia who is a phenomenal cook in her own right, and I love going to her house to eat because she has such a beautiful understanding of how to make healthy food taste amazing. She also purchases very high quality ingredients, and is not afraid to experiment in the kitchen – two qualities I admire very much.

This lentil salad recipe is no exception. The flavours of this dish are totally outstanding, yet unexpected. The ingredient list may seem a little long, but after closer inspection you’ll notice that it is mostly just spices, ten of them to be exact. It is this special combination of flavours that creates a truly remarkable salad that is lip-smackingly tasty and totally addictive.
I should also mention that this salad is the perfect picnic food, as it transports well and is a superb make-ahead meal – ten times tastier the day after! It keeps in the fridge very well for 2-3 days.

The star of the show is the delectable “Du Puy” lentil, sometimes referred to as “the poor man’s caviar”. Du Puy lentils are quite a bit smaller than green or brown lentils, and are revered for their ability to retain their shape after being cooked. Green, brown, and red lentils are great in soups because they are soft, mushy, and tend to fall apart, but those would be less-than-perfect choices for a sophisticated salad. Du Puy lentils work better in salads than in soups and stews because they tend to be a little more robust, and when cooked properly, they will retain just a little tooth. You can find these lovely legumes at any quality grocery store, natural food, or health food store, just make sure they say Du Puy – otherwise they are a French lentil knockoff. Sacré bleu!


Fill up on Folate
Lentils are one of the yummiest sources of folate (also know as folic acid) – just one cup of cooked lentils provides you with almost 90% of your daily recommended intake! And why is folate so important? You’ve probably heard about this vital vitamin in regards to pregnancy, as it is critical in the prevention of birth defects. Folate also functions to support red blood cell production and help prevent anemia, allows nerves to function properly, helps prevent osteoporosis-related bone fractures, and helps prevent dementias including Alzheimer's disease.

Folate received its name from the Latin word folium, meaning “foliage”, so it’s not wonder that other excellent sources of folate are dark leafy greens (yum, your favorite!) – kale, romaine lettuce, spinach, asparagus, turnip greens, beet greens, mustard greens, parsley, and collards to name a few. This may explain why North American diets seem to be on the deficient end of things when it comes to this B-vitamin, as folic acid is available from fresh, unprocessed food. The good news is it is easily absorbed, used, and stored by the body. Folic acid is also manufactured by intestinal bacteria (remember those probiotics?), so if colon flora is healthy, we have another good source of folic acid.



The Best Lentil Salad, Ever
Ingredients:
2 ¼ cups (1 lb.) Du Puy lentils
1 medium red onion, diced
1 cup dried currants (you could also use raisins or other dried fruit)
1/3 cup capers

Vinaigrette:
1/3 cup cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 Tbsp. strong mustard
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
½ tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
¼ tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

Optional add-ins:
Arugula
Walnuts
Goat cheese
Fresh herbs: flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, basil
Sprouts
Crispy seasonal veggies

Directions:
1. Rinse lentils well, drain. Place in a pot and cover with a 3-4 inches of water, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer. Check lentils for doneness after 15 minutes, but they should take about 20 minutes in total. You will know they are cooked if they still retain a slight tooth – al dente! Overcooking the lentils is the death of this dish. Be careful!
2. While the lentils are simmering, make the dressing by placing all ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake vigorously to combine.
3. Finely dice red onion - the salad is best if all the ingredients are about the same size. If using raisins, chop them roughly to make them a bit smaller, and do the same with the capers if they are large.
4. When the lentils are cooked, remove from heat, drain and place under cold running water to stop the cooking process. Once cooled slightly but still a little warm, place lentils in a large serving bowl and toss with dressing. Add other onion, capers, and currants. If using other add-ins such as herbs, greens, or cheese, wait until just before serving. Otherwise, this salad can hang out in the fridge for a couple days.