Friday, July 22, 2016

The BEST tasting summer dressing for greens! #SesameTahini #GardenCuizine


Summer Sesame 
Tahini Dressing

This dressing will get anyone to enjoy superfoods such as kale greens! It was inspired by Michele's Sesame Tahini Salad Dressing that we sold so much of, and used when we had our restaurant: Garden of Eden Natural Foods and Country Kitchen Inc
 
Ingredients

4 Tablespoons Sesame Tahini
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon lite soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon hot sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon Nutritional Yeast*
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
pinch onion powder

Putting it all together

Combine all ingredients. Mix together with a small whisk.

Serve over your favorite salad greens, kale, chicken, tofu or fish.

Enjoy!

*Nutritional Yeast adds Vitamin B12 and fabulous flavor to foods! You can find it at supermarkets such as ShopRite.

GardenCuizine Nutrition data: coming soon - check back!

Recipe and photo Copyright (C) Wind. All rights reserved.

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Quick Summer Slaw #cabbage #GardenCuizine #HealthyColeslaw #recipe

Quick Summer Slaw
High in Vitamin C 
Visit your local farmer's market during the summer for great prices on veggies. Yesterday, we picked up a few heads of locally grown cabbage for under $5.00 at our local farmer's market. This recipe only uses half the whole green cabbage and a small portion of the red cabbage, leaving the rest to use for other recipes. Who says you can't eat healthy on a budget?

Summer coleslaw is healthy and affordable and makes a great side dish for summer BBQ's and family summer meals. We enjoyed this homemade coleslaw with fried Flounder and brown rice! We have plenty of leftovers for sides with lunch and for toppings on sandwiches.

Yields 2 lbs Coleslaw

16, 2-ounce servings
Ingredients 
8 cups (712g) green Cabbage, shredded
1 cup (89g) Red Cabbage, thinly sliced

1/2 carrot (30g), peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup lite mayo (60g) (for vegan, use soy mayo)

1/4 cup (56g) plain Greek yogurt (or soy yogurt)
2 Tablespoons capers (18g) (optional)
2 Tablespoons pickle or caper juice
2 Tablespoons (10g) apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh dill
2 teaspoons sugar (8g) (don't freak out about using real sugar! remember this makes many servings and 2 teaspoons is only 8 grams of sugar)
1/4 teaspoon (1.5g) salt
pinch ground black pepper
Putting it all together
  • Wash cabbage and pull off outer leaves. Cut green cabbage in half. Put away and save one of the halves for use in other recipes. Cut half of the cabbage into wedges around the core. To save time, I used a food processor for chopping some of the cabbage wedges; be careful not to over chop. Thinly slice remaining green cabbage. Total shredded green cabbage should be about 8 cups. Place in a large mixing bowl.
  • Cut a small piece off the red cabbage. thinly slice 1cup and add to green cabbage bowl. Store the rest to add color to salads and for use in other recipes.
  • Wash and peel one carrot. Cut in half and thinly slice. Add to the cabbage bowl. Eat the other carrot half or save for other recipes.
  • Add the mayo and remaining ingredients and toss until well blended. cover and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
Buon Appetito!

GardenCuizine Nutrition Data Summer Slaw: 2-ounce serving (~62g)
Diabetic Friendly: 3g net carbs 
Excellent Source: Vitamin C
Store bought coleslaw: higher in saturated fat and calories; often contains corn syrup and preservatives vs Homemade: only 31 calories, Total Fat: 1g; Saturated and Trans fats: 0g; Cholesterol: 2mg; Sodium 111mg (5% DV); Total Carbohydrate 4g; Dietary Fiber: 1g (5% DV); Sugars 2g; Protein 1g; Vitamin A: 457 IU (9% DV); Vitamin C: 19.9 mg (33% DV)

Related Links
Cabbage Health Benefits

Photos and recipe Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.

Saturday, July 16, 2016

Summer Kale Cooler! #GardenCuizine #nutritious #smoothie #proteinshake #healthysnack

Summer Kale Cooler
Vanilla - Peach - Kale
yields 3-4 servings
~36 ounces total

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups (almost 2 cups) Very Vanilla Soy Milk
2 scoops Whey Protein Powder - vanilla

1 banana
1 large leaf kale; washed, stem removed
2-3 Tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
8 ice cubes
Putting it all together
Peel banana. Wash and pit peach. Add all ingredients to a blender. 
Blend until well mixed. 
Pour into serving glasses and enjoy!

GardenCuizine Nutrition Data: coming soon - check back!
Photos and recipe Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved. 

Friday, July 8, 2016

Passion Flower vines - friend or foe in the veggie garden? #gardenchat #GardenCuizine


Passion Flowers!
Passiflora incarnata

At first I thought we had volunteer cow peas popping up in the garden, until a gardening friend who was visiting early spring said, "Those look like purple Passion Flower vines." Well, sure enough, she was right! I should have realized it was Passion flower too because the seedlings popped up (hence the nickname Maypop) nearby where we had grown a plant in a whiskey barrel last year. What a nice surprise! 


Passion flowers yield edible fruits. I remember making passion fruit sorbet when I worked at The White Dog Cafe; the flavor was well liked. Growing passion fruit would be a first for us since we've never had luck in the past growing plants from seedlings. Last years plant was started from seed and viola! This year the vines are everywhere. 

We decided to let a few vines stay in the raised bed that Mom built. The vigorous vines have climbed to the very top of our tallest tomato supports already. Sunlight still trickles through to our sauce tomatoes below: San Marzano and Goldman's. Will we regret this? 
Passion vines can grow to 20 feet. Ours are traveling along the garden fence with some plants growing alongside the tomatoes. They are casting some shade above the tomatoes; but, for now, we're letting them grow out of curiosity of the flowers and to see if they bear any fruit.

The purple, artistic, blooms and spiral tendrils sure add interest and beautiful color to the garden. Stay tuned for updates and Passion Fruit nutrition data.
 
Related Links
Passion Fruit

Photo and blog post Copyright (C)Wind. All rights reserved.