Eat Veggies, save the planet

My tree is full of lemons and they are all ready to pick. My friend Cordelia taught me how to preserve them with salt. Her lemons are from the grocery store and not a tree however. No matter.

To make one pint. Wash and cut 3 lemons into 6 wedges each. Next put them in a bowl with one Tbsp of  salt on each lemon(one Tbsp. per 6 wedges). Let them sit for an hour and then put them into the wide-mouthed pint jar. Push them down with a wooden spoon. Mine were juicy enough so I didn’t need to add any extra lemon juice.( Cordelia did. Maybe because hers weren’t as fresh a mine?) The jar should be filled to the brim so the top doesn’t get moldy.. Then I put on a piece of wax paper and a lid.

I let them sit on the counter for 7 days and tasted. Any recipe you use salt and lemon in works for these beauties. Go on line and search. Now they are in the fridge for 2 more weeks until they will be in their prime. They will keep in the fridge for 3 months, IF they last that long.

This might not be the bestest Peanut Sauce ever, but it can’t get any easier.

ingredients

• 1/2 smooth peanut butter, organic
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 2 TBSPs of tamari
• 1 TBSP. agave
• 1 1/2 Tbsps. cider vinegar
• 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/8 tsp. of cayenne
•  1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

directions

1. Whisk together the peanut butter and water.
2. Put the rest ingredients in a bowl and mix with a fork.
3. Optional: Add salt and minced Cilantro leaves.

I have beaucoup de kale in my garden right now and kale salad is one of my favorites. I like to use the curly kale , but the Lacinato or dinosaur kale also works well.. The red Russian kale is a little tough for my taste.

 First I wash and spin dry about 10 ounces of kale.

Next I tear the kale into small pieces leaving any hard stems out.

I add 2 TBSPs of olive oil and 2 TBSP of lemon juice to the kale and massage the leaves for 5 minutes.

Next I chop up 2 mandarin oranges and chop approximately 12 dried apricots and add them to the massaged kale. I mix it up well and refrigerate the kale salad.

I roast a handful of walnuts, chop them up and put them in a bowl. If I put them into the salad the dressing makes them soggy so I just put them on the table when I serve the salad.

May 22, 2023

It turns out that the walnuts(approx 1/2 cup do not get soggy so I just add them in.

It will be 2 years this January that I finished my Ayurveda module at The Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts in Austin, Texas. My fabulous teacher Charlotte Jernigan guided our class through cooking for the 3 doshas with aplomb. This recipe for baked pears is one I make again and again though I have cut down on the oil from the original.  I use the same recipe for baked apples. Fuji are my favorite these days.My 21 month old granddaughter likes this recipe.

ingredients

• 3 pears
• 1 TBSP of sesame oil(not toasted)
• 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom
• 2 pinches of black pepper
• 1 tsp sucanat

instructions

1. Slice pears in half and place cut side up in a covered baking dish with 2 TBSP of water.
2. Combine oil and spices together. If possible use freshly ground cardamom and black pepper and freshly grated nutmeg.
3. Drizzle oil and spice mixture over fruit.
4. Sprinkle with sucanat , cover and bake at 350 in a preheated oven for 30 minutes.
5. Cool.