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rawscents

“Eating raw,vegan food for nutrition, health and flavor.”

Tag Archives: gardening

November 4, 2011 Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary…

…..  How does your garden grow?

Well, I’m not sure how Mary’s grows, but, part of my garden grows in my kitchen.  Yep, that’s right – in my kitchen.  Sprouts are so good and so good for you.  Anyone can do it!  Here’s a great way to start:

Sprouts on a salad

2 Tablespoons of sprouting seeds, alfalfa or clover work well

Water

Quart jar

Sprouting lid with a ring or screen and rubber band

Place the seeds in the jar.  Fill with water and place lid on.  Allow to sit overnight.

The next morning, drain, rinse, drain again.  Place on a rack at a 45 degree angle.

Rinse, drain, rinse, drain two to three times each day and watch them grow.

When the jar is full, remove the sproust from the jar and put them in a bowl full of water that more than covers the sprouts. Scoop off the seed hulls.  Swirl the sprouts around and scoop off more hulls.  Do this a few times to remove as many hulls as you can.  This process helps keep the sprouts from getting sour quickly.

Drain the sprouts and put them back in the jar.  Put a lid on the jar and store in the refigerator.

They are ready to eat and enjoy.

Every few days, if they last that long, rinse and drain them to keep them fresh.

Sprouts are high in nutrients because they are a live, growing food!

Try several different types of sprouts.  They are so delicious.  Radish sprouts are my fave!  They add some spice to my salad.  Yum-my!

Love ya!

xox

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September 19, 2011 What In the World Do I Do With ALL These CUCUMBERS?

Lotsa fresh, homegrown cukes!

As part of my raw food adventure, I put in a nice big garden this year.  I had some lovely kale, spinach and lettuce.  I grew some tasty zucchini and yellow bell peppers. I even tried my hand at some heirloom tomatoes and horseradish.  There is, however, one “Note to Self” that I made, “I don’t need to plant 16 cucumber plants ever again!”

So, now that I have all of these cucumbers, what can I possibly do with ALL of them?  I have eaten them in every kind of dish I can think of; gazpacho, tomatoes with cucumbers and fresh basil, cucumbers in salad, cucumbers with onions and a little olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper, cukes in juice in the morning, cukes in a green smoothie or soup… I have also given them to nearly everyone I know.  I have even eaten them from one hand, while walking back to the house, as I  carried my basketful of cukes that I had just picked, in the other.

After all of that, I think I came up with a nearly solution to my cucumber overpopulation  – Juice Them!  I took 40 cucumbers and ran them through my juicer.  It produced 30 cups of juice!  I put most of it in pint jars to store in the freezer and some in ice cube trays as well.  (It’s a good thing fresh, raw cucumbers are so good for you.)  I do not intend to drink straight cucumber juice any time soon, though.  I think I will add some to soups or other juices that I make….

Pints and pints of fresh cucumber juice.

…or maybe I will give it to people I know.  You just never know….Christmas is right around the corner. 🙂

Ice cube trays full of home- juiced cucumber juice!

 

 

 

 

 

 

At any rate, next year, I think I’ll plant, hum,  maybe 5 plants and leave room for more sugar snap peas, spinach, cauliflower or nearly anything else.

Happy eating (drinking)!

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August 15, 2011 Citrus Ginger Dressing

I promised you the recipe for the RAWsome dressing for the Citrus Avocado Salad.  Well, my computer has been in the shop!  I got my husband to bring his work one home so that I could give you that Deee..licious dressing recipe.  Sorry to keep you waiting so long for it, but, as I am sure you will taste, it is worth the wait!

Citrus Ginger Dressing

(Yield: 1 cup)

1/2 C. fresh squeezed orange juice (app. 2 oranges)

1  zucchini, peeled and chopped

1/4 t. grated ginger

1 Tbls. lemon juice

2 drops YLEO orange essential oil 

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth.  Store for up to 3 weeks in a sealed glass jar.

This dressing is so nice in the summer and yet another way to use all of those homegrown zucchinis.  It is light and refreshing.  It RAWks on a green, tossed salad as well.

I can hardly wait to tell you all about what I did last weekend.  Think mountains, Colorado, bikes and salad!

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July 24, 2011 Summer-time Tea

 

"Brewing Tea"

Summer has hit Idaho and it’s “Tea Time.”  With temperatures rising, what could be better than a cold glass of sun tea?  I decided to grow several types of mints as well as Earl Grey plants this year.  I put them in several pots along with some other herbs and flowers.  They have been a beautiful addition to my courtyard.  Fresh sun tea is super simple to make.

One day, I made some tea.  I took it in the house and before I could strain off the tea to add to the ice, my husband was cleaning up and dumped it down the drain.  I had just trimmed most of my peppermint leaves to make that batch of tea.  I went back out to get more leaves and decided to use leaves from several kinds of tea.  I had pineapple mint, apple mint, chocolate mint, spearmint and little bit of peppermint.  I cut several leaves of each and started brewing.  I wasn’t sure about my “raw-coction,” but it turned out really good.  Thanks, Hubby! 

Sun Tea

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, torn or cut-up

2 cups filtered or Kangen water

Place leaves and 1 cup water in a quart jar and leave in sun for a couple of hours.  Strain off tea.  Cut up and massage leaves, add 1 cup water and set in sun again.  Strain off tea, add a lot of ice and serve.

Optional:  Add raw honey, agave or sucanat to tea while warn and then add ice.

 

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