I've been trying to use as much of the bounty harvested at the Saturday farmer's market by my house as humanly possible. Before Jamaica, here are a couple of things I was noshing on...
Cabbage Salad (VEGAN) (made from all local veggies!)I took this over for a Sunday Supper at our friend Carver's house and it was a hit. Also it's really pretty!
Salad mix:Local purple cabbage, spinach, carrots, green onions
Dressing (to taste, I didn't really measure):Sesame oil (go easy on this one), ume plum vinegar (rice will work fine!), agave nectar, just a bit of lite soy sauce, 2 cloves freshly minced garlic, chopped cilantro
I just diced up all the veggies and mixed in a bowl and then in a small mixing bowl i combined all the dressing ingredients (about 1/2-3/4 c total) and threw it on top of the veggies. I let it sit for about an hour in the fridge, covered, before serving and the picture below is the leftovers. I used the whole small head of cabbage and ab0ut 3 carrots and a cup of spinach, so the yield was pretty big.
Spinach and Chicken Quesadillas (OMNI w/ VEGAN SALSA)
I made two options because I'm really not taking to the meat eating again as much as I thought I would. So I'm mostly vegetarian again and mostly vegan at home. But this was a non-veg dinner for sure.
The chicken was hormone-free, vegetarian, all-natural (couldn't find decent organic!) chicken breasts from Martin's that I roasted for awhile in a covered Pyrex dish on 350 with adobo seasoning and chili pepper powder. I then shredded the breasts and added it to low-carb, whole-wheat tortillas (folded in half) with green onion and low-fat mozzarella and a little more chili pepper. I accidentally left the jalapeno at the grocery store, that was supposed to add some heat. The spinach quesadillas were the same (fresh local spinach) but without the chicken. I cooked them, un-oiled in the cast iron skillet to melt the cheese. Less calories than with butter!
On the side, I made a salsa/salad:
12-ish cherry tomatoes
1 avocado
1 tomatillo
1/3 c chopped cilantro
Squeeze of fresh lime
2 cloves garlic
1/4 c diced yellow onion
1 tb olive oil
Oh man that was good. Scott said he could tell they were made with healthier ingredients, but he really liked them anyway. Score!
Salmon Salad (OMNI)
For lunch a week or so ago, I made myself a salmon salad. The greens are from my garden! And supplemented with the last bit of lettuce left from a bag my Tante Karin brought me from her garden. Local cucumbers (so much flavor you never knew a cucumber could have!) and topped with cashew pieces and olive slices. Salmon was just baked with a little olive oil and salt in foil in the oven. I cheated on the dressing and used Trader Joe's Soy Sesame Ginger dressing. It's like 35 calories in a 2tb serving. Love.
For those of you not familiar, the best salmon for both your health and the environment is the wild-caught Alaskan salmon. Those fish have lower levels of toxins in their systems than do the Atlantic ones or farmed and they have higher heart-healthy Omega-3 fatty acids. Did you know the older and bigger the fish, the more of those good Omega-3's? I just learned that in John Robbins' Food Revolution that I read on vacation. A good read, though not as fluffy as some of the other vegan books I've read (and preferred). More on that at a later date.
Also, if you're interested in learning which fish to eat more of and which to stay away from, see a comprehensive seafood selection guide HERE. It's good to be informed. Many seafoods now are deemed too full of toxins to eat, especially the prized Yellow Fin which collects more toxins than nearly any other in it's very long life. Gross.
And speaking of toxins, how do cars like this pass inspection?!
That was on Semmes Ave the other day coming home from work. The smoke it spewed when moving off a red light enveloped an entire mini van. Crazy bad for us all, man!The last recipe is a drink recipe that I cannot take credit for. I went to a bridal shower for the lovely Alice hosted by the lovely Jess and she made these:
Mountain Mojito (VEGAN)
Rum (optional, blackberry rum, but I was told it was much sweeter and less refreshing)
1/3-1/2 c mint leaves
5-6 large blackberries
2 lime quarters
simple syrupclub soda (or tonic)
So easy and so good! Muddle mint, berries, lime quarters and 1/3-1/2 c simple syrup. Strain and pour over ice. Add the rum, and top with tonic. Mix and serve!
Here are a couple hilights from the festivities:
Goat cheese rolled in crushed hazelnuts there on the blue plate up front. Heavenly...
Bride-to-be opening presents there on the right. Momma-of-the-bride to her left in the white wrap. Unfortunately I failed to get a pic of our wonderful hostesses!
A quickie garden update. Mind you, these photos were from 2 weeks ago, so everything is the same but MUCH taller now. And I ate my first Sungold cherry tomato off the vine but did so too fast to take a picture!
Morning Glory!
Mimosa Tree in bloom with new hostas on the back fence. Let the bog gardening commence!
Squash blossom... something keeps knocking the blossom off when it's done blooming, but before the blossom can make a tiny squash. Makes me very angry! I might have to see about creating a fence for the beds.
Tomato/pepper cages are in! Both kinds of plants are making flowers and tiny green veggies like crazy. I can't wait to get a whole bunch of treats.
I know I've heard some comments that my posts are way long, but I just have so much exciting stuff to tell you guys! This is the last thing, I promise!
A few weekends ago I went to hear Scott play with the Richmond Jazz Collective (I cannot find a site for them, sorry) at Muse Creative Workspace downtown. It was a really cool recital for
the students of the Jazz Composers Alliance program (not sure of the formal name) and so the RJC was the featured professional band, following the kids' performances. Those kids were fantastic! I love that the RJC was part of the program. I think it was really cool for the kids to see what you can do with music beyond K-12.
Some pics:
The space is an old warehouse, very industrially and accurately remodeled to fit the needs of all kinds of artists.
Trumpet section, Scott is the second from the right. (The good-looking one!)
Done!
