This fresh summer salad was inspired by the pickling cucumbers purchased at the Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market. When I purchased the cucumbers I was planning on making some quick pickles. Instead, I ended up enjoying them as a raw snack and this fresh salad.
Enjoy the video of the salad…from farmers market to table…
Chopped Cucumber Salad
Inspired by the beauty of the cucumber…
Simple Ingredients
1 small cucumber (Crooked Sky Farm)
1 tomato (Crooked Sky Farm)
1green pepper (Crooked Sky Farm)
1 green onion
1 cup yellow beans (Steadfast Farm)
Simple Steps
Slice all veggies in unique shapes and sizes.
Basil Garlic Lime Dressing
Simple Ingredients
½ lime, juiced
2 tbsp organic extra olive oil
3-4 basil stems (Melanie’s garden)
1 garlic clove, minced (Blue Sky Organic Farm)
Pinch sea salt
Simple Steps
Place all ingredients into small blender.
Blend until desired level of smoothness.
Dress the Salad
Place all chopped ingredients into a medium bowl.
Pour dressing over the veggies.
Gently toss to coat all veggies with the dressing.
Salad Food Art
Plating Mise en Place: Mindfully gather the salad, garnish, and bowl for plating
Mindfully plate the chopped cucumber salad with extra slices of cucumber, tomatoes, and fresh basil.
Enjoy!
Another view…the beauty of the Cucumber Salad
As you may be aware I am getting ready to announce “The 5-Day Beautiful Food Art Challenge”.
If you’d like to be included in our e-mail to learn more about the Challenge, please fill in your Name and E-Mail below. Thanks!
I’m so honored to share simple, beautiful cooking classes with Humana in Mesa, Arizona, for the last few years. This week, our focus was on “High Fiber Foods” with a tasty, simple-to-prepare Asian Salad with Citrus Ginger Root Dressing.
Asian Salad with Vibrant Purple Cabbage and Tangy Citrus Ginger Root Dressing
Make your own gourmet Asian salad with a rainbow of raw organic veggies, your favorite toasted nuts, and intuitively created ginger root dressing.
A quick peek at the set at Humana, with my short Facebook Live.
Asian Salad: Ginger Salad Dressing: 3 Key Ingredients
The essential ingredients for a perfect Asian dressing every time are ginger root, a soy flavoring (wheat-free tamari soy sauce or Bragg’s amino acids), and fresh citrus.
Simple Ingredients
1” fresh ginger root, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
½ cup soy tamari or Bragg’s amino acids
½ orange, juiced
½ fresh-squeezed lemon or lime juice
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp local honey
⅓ cup organic extra virgin olive oil
Simple Steps
Finely mince ginger root and garlic.
Place in pint-size Mason jar.
Add all other ingredients (except olive oil) to jar and shake.
Taste and intuitively add ingredients to create your desired flavor.
Too much acid: add olive oil
Not sweet enough: add honey
Too oily: add lemon or lime juice
Asian Rainbow Salad
Along with a tangy ginger root dressing, a colorful rainbow of raw organic veggies creates a beautiful Asian salad.
Simple Ingredients
1 purple cabbage, shredded or sliced
2 cups Bok Choy, sliced
1 cup carrots, shredded
1 cucumber, julienned (long, thin slices)
1 cup snap peas or snow peas, cut on bias (Note: not have snap or snow peas)
6 green onions, cut on bias
1 cup red, purple, or watermelon radishes, sliced
1 cup almonds, sliced and dry toasted
Simple Steps
Dry toast (no oil) sliced almonds in small sauté pan on low heat for 5 minutes.
Toss all vegetables in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.
Drizzle the Asian salad dressing on the vegetables and gently toss.
Top with dry toasted almonds.
Enjoy!
Happy to share with you the beautiful, colorful, simple-to-prepare Asian Salad. At Humana, we all really enjoyed the freshness of the dish and the ginger-rich dressing.
And, I was so fortunate to enjoy left-overs with my sunset…
Hope you enjoy creating your version of an Awesome Asian Salad.
Please share your creations with us on our new Instagram @plantbasedfoodart and Facebook www.facebook.com/plantbasedfoodart
I’m excited to announce that Experience Nutrition is now offering exciting Beautiful Food Art Challenges…
If you’d like to hear about the next Challenge, please fill in your Name and Email.
It has been such an honor to lead cooking classes at the Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market for a few years and it’s such an honor to create the Farmers Market-to-Table Flatbread with our local Arizona Winter veggies.
Thanks so much to our local farmers for all the passion and hard work to grow and harvest such beautiful food for our community. – Melanie Albert
Enjoy the video with a look at the fun shopping at the Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market and all of the cooking steps. Please come over to our Facebook Page to ask any questions and to share your flatbread creations with us: www.facebook.com/plantbasedfoodart and #plantbasedfoodart
Shopping at the Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market
Melanie Albert, Shopping at the Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market
This week I had fun “shopping the market” intuitively choosing a variety of different color, shape and tasting veggies from our farmers. Thanks to Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market Manager Colin Dueker who so graciously captured this week’s shopping at the market.
Shopping for carrots with Steadfast Farms.Look at the great winter veggies at Blue Sky Organic Farms.The beauty of our local Arizona farmers veggies!
1 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil (spread on dough prior to baking)
SIMPLE STEPS
Place pizza stone into oven.
Pre-heat oven at 390 degrees F. Pre-bake stone for about 5 minutes.
In large glass bowl, with a fork mix dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt.
Add 3/8 cup water and oil until dough forms a ball. Add additional water, as needed.
Knead for 3-4 minutes.
Flatten out the dough on floured parchment-paper.
With parchment paper on top of the dough, roll thinly with a rolling pin.
Carefully move flatbread to pre-heated pizza stone.
Spread 1 tbsp of olive oil onto the flatbread.
Bake flatbread for 5 minutes.
Remove stone from oven.
Sprouted Spelt Flatbread Crust
FOOD ART
To create the flatbread, spread the cashew cream and veggies onto the pre-baked crust, bake and enjoy!
SIMPLE STEPS
Spread cashew cream on the top of the flatbread.
Add veggies to the top of the flatbread.
Cook for about 8 minutes.
Garnish with fresh herbs, such as dill (Blue Sky Organic Farms) and bok choy flowers (Maya’s Farm)
Slice.
Enjoy!
Let’s keep in touch!
Interested in additional farm-to-table plant-based recipes, virtual cook-alongs, and future events for yourself or your organization, join our e-mail list.
Happy to share with you this week’s (01.30.2021) recipe intuitively created with the CSA from The Farm at South Mountain, right here in my neighborhood in Phoenix, Arizona.
WOW Recipe 66!
Every week when I pick up the CSA at The Farm, I pause and enjoy the calm, grounded beauty.
Beautiful Kale at The Farm at South Mountain.
GRAFFITI CAULIFLOWER ROASTED & SAUCE
I am in awe of the beauty of the beautiful purple Graffiti Cauliflower and also love carrots! Hope you enjoy this recipe to enjoy the cauliflower two ways: Roasted and the new Graffiti Cauliflower Sauce.
Steps to Prepare the Dish
Roast the veggies.
Make the sauce.
Mindfully plate.
ROAST CAULIFLOWER, CARROTS & GARLIC
Roast the veggies and garlic for the sauce. Save some of the cauliflower and the carrots to enjoy with the sauce.
One type of food at a time, place carrots and cauliflower into small bowl. Toss with olive oil and sea salt.
Place carrots and cauliflower (not touching) onto parchment-lined sheet pan.
Cauliflower with olive oil and sea salt. On parchment-lined sheet pan.Carrots ready to roast.
Place garlic on pan (touching to stay moist).
Roast 12 minutes.
Flip the veggies.
Roast another 12-15 minutes.
GRAFFITI CAULIFLOWER SAUCE.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
2 cups roasted graffiti cauliflower
4-5 roasted garlic cloves
3 tbsp Meyer lemon juice
1 tbsp Meyer lemon zest
2 tbsp olive oil
Graffiti Cauliflower Sauce Mise en Place.
SIMPLE STEPS
Place all ingredients, except olive oil into food processor.
Cauliflower Sauce: All ingredients into the food processor.
Process for about 2-3 minutes.
Scrape sides, as needed.
Stream in olive oil and process for another minute.
Cauliflower Sauce. Process. Then stream in olive oil. Process again.Food Art: The beauty of roasted carrots and cauliflower. Graffiti Cauliflower Sauce.
MINDFUL PLATING
Place Graffiti Cauliflower Sauce on the plate.
Top with the roasted carrots, extra cauliflower.
Garnish with the sesame seeds and calendula edible flowers.
Graffiti Cauliflower Plating Mise en Place
ENJOY
Enjoy the simple beauty of the Cauliflower Carrot Food Art.
One more look at the Graffiti Cauliflower Food Art Dish.
Pause. Enjoy.
To stay in touch, join us on our our new Plant-Based Food Art Facebook page for daily inspiration, food art, and please feel free to ask any plant-based farm-to-table questions. CLICK HERE FOR THE FACEBOOK PAGE
Happy to share with you Recipe 62 for The Farm at South Mountain CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). I’m so honored to create recipes with the beautiful produce, herbs, and edible flowers our local Arizona farmers grow.
This week’s recipe was inspired by The Farm’s cauliflower and cauliflower greens and peppers. Make a simple, delicious sauté to enjoy with pasta or even brown rice or quinoa. For this dish, I enjoyed the saute with a local Arizona chickpea pasta.
The beauty of edible calendulas growing at The Farm at South Mountain.
Cauliflower Saute Recipe
Steps to Prepare the Dish
Sauté the veggies.
Cook the pasta.
Mindfully plate your dish.
Recipe Serves 2
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
1 cup cauliflower
2-3 cauliflower leaves
3 peppers
3 small tomatoes
½ white onion
1 tbsp garlic, minced
¼ cup Kalamata olives
1 tsp capers
5 spring fresh dill
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Pinch sea salt
Veggie Saute IngredientsChop the Veggies. Mise en Place.
SIMPLE STEPS
Slice all veggies.
Pre-heat saute pan on medium.
Add olive oil to coat bottom of saute pan.
Add onions to pan. Saute 4-5 minutes.
Add garlic. Saute 1 minute.
Add peppers. Saute 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes. Saute 2 minutes.
Add pinch sea salt.
Add cauliflower, olives, and capers. Cover pan. Saute 5-6 minutes.
Add dill. Saute 1 minute.
Add cauliflower greens. Saute 2 minutes.
Mindful Plating
Mise en Place: Cauliflower Saute. Chickpea Pasta.
Enjoy plating the veggie saute with pasta.
Toss pasta with a drizzle of olive oil.
Plate the sautéed veggies with the pasta.
Garnish with fresh dill and calendula flowers.
Enjoy your Cauliflower Saute. Pasta dish!
The Farm at South Mountain CSA Recipoe 62: Cauliflower Saute. Chickpea Pasta.
Hope you are enjoying the recipes intuitively created for the CSA at The Farm at South Mountain, in Phoenix, Arizona.
Please fill in the form if you are interested in a Plant-Based Farm-to-Table Food Art Experience for your organization. Right now we are offering fun, virtual “cook-along” experiences.
By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author
I am so honored to create recipes for the November 2018 issue of Natural Awakening’s Arizona magazine. It has been a dream of mine to cook “my” recipes in a magazine in a cooking class. I’m excited that we will be creating the Fall Thanksgiving recipes in a fun, interactive hands-on cooking class on November 18, 2018, 11am-1pm, at The Farm at South Mountain in Phoenix.
Four Plant-Based Thanksgiving Recipes
The recipes in the article and cooking class are inspired by our local Arizona farmers Fall produce, especially, the Squash Soup, and one of my very favorite desserts, the Sweet Potato Brownie.
Appetizer: Kalamata Olive Tapenade
Side Dish: Winter Squash Ginger Soup
Side Dish: Sweet Potato Brussels Sprouts Fall Veggie Saute
In today’s blog, I’m sharing the step-by-step process to prepare the Tapenade, which has been a favorite at several cooking classes this month. Plus, you’ll see the process to create the soup and a fun plating video. Enjoy!
Kalamata Olive Tapenade
Enjoy refreshing tapenade with local Arizona veggies. This rich appetizer is an update to the olive trays that our family enjoyed with holiday meals when I was a kid. When you make your tapenade, have fun experimenting with a variety of olives and mindfully plate with favorite veggies from your farmers’ market.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, rough chopped
1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and rough chopped
¼ cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup capers
¼ cup fresh parsley
¼ – 1/3 cup organic extra virgin olive oil
Extras for Plating
1 cucumber, sliced
9-10 dehydrated tomato slices
2-3 red or purple radishes, thinly sliced
2 green onions, sliced on the bias
2 Tbsp goji berries, re-hydrated in water for 10 minutes
SIMPLE STEPS
Gather your mise en place
Mince garlic
Rough chop the sun-dried tomatoes, soak in water to re-hydrate 5-10 minutes
In a food processor, pulse garlic and olives until fine, not paste-like
Remove the olive and garlic mixture from the food processor.
Place sun-dried tomatoes in food processor and process until fine.
Add capers and parsley and pulse a few times.
Place olive/garlic mixture and sun-dried tomatoes/capers/parsley mixture into a bowl and mix with a fork.
Add olive oil until you reach desired consistency.
Enjoy the tapenade on cucumbers with a few extra veggies from your local farmers.
Winter Squash Ginger Soup
Yields: 4 servings
Create your Thanksgiving soup with local Winter Squash such as red kabocha or butternut, delicata, or even pumpkins. I especially love the sweetness of red kabocha, which contrasts to the green kabocha with has a more savory flavor. While cooking your soup enjoy the mindfulness and aromatherapy of grating warming ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Have fun plating the soup with a few sliced fresh veggies to add color and a crisp texture to the soup. Enjoy the soup warm or cold.
The components of the soup include: Veggie Stock, Roasted Squash, The Squash Ginger Soup, and the Plating Toppings.
Winter Squash Ginger Soup
Simple Ingredients
1 Tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup shallots, minced
1 TBSP ginger, grated
½ TBSP coriander seeds
Pinch sea salt
3 cups roasted Winter squash (see recipe below)
4 cups veggie stock (see recipe below)
Plating Toppings (per serving)
2 small tomatoes, sliced
1 radish, sliced
5 raw cashews, soaked in water
5 slices dehydrated tomatoes
1 tsp green onions, cut on diagonal
1 tsp micro-greens
Pinch ground cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg
Optional: Cashew cream
Cook the Soup
Pour olive oil into the soup pot and warm for 1 minute.
Add shallot and ginger and gently cook for about 5 minutes to release flavors.
Add roasted squash and veggie stock to the pot.
Bring to a boil.
Lower to simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
Pour soup into food processor and pulse a few times for desired smoothness.
Plate the Soup
Pour soup into a serving bowl.
Top with local, seasonal veggies, such as tomatoes, radishes, green onions, and micro-greens.
CLICK LINK TO SEE THE BEAUTIFUL SOUP PLATING VIDEO:
To enhance the flavor of your soup, make this quick and easy veggie stock, with mirepoix base of carrots, onions, and celery. An option is a box of store-bought organic veggie stock.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
Stock Base
1 medium white onion, rough chopped
4 carrots, rough chopped
2 celery stalks, rough chopped
6 cups water
Aromatics
10 parsley stems
3 bay leaves
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp black peppercorns
SIMPLE STEPS
Rough chop the carrots, onions, and celery into 2” pieces.
Place carrots, onions, celery, garlic, black peppercorns, and water into the soup pot.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce to simmer and cook with lid covered for 30 minutes.
Strain the veggies from the liquid.
Use the stock in the Winter squash soup.
Roasted Winter Squash
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
3 cups Winter squash, cubed
3 Tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
3 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tsp ground nutmeg
SIMPLE STEPS
Toss squash in olive oil, nutmeg and cinnamon.
Place squash on a parchment-lined sheet tray, making sure the squash does not touch.
It’s such an honor to create recipes for the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) at The Farm at South Mountain. The Farm is a beautiful organic farm right in my neighborhood in Phoenix, Arizona.
Let’s take a look at the beauty of The Farm and the incredible veggies growing right now in mid-December 2020.
Winter Broccoli at The Farm at South Mountain.The simple beauty of Broccoli.
Enjoy the Kale at The Farm
For the CSA members, Winter Week 5: 12.17.20
The Farm at South Mountain: Winter CSA 12.19.2020
Scarlet Turnips: Root & Greens
Corn-on-the cob
Broccoli
Bok Choy
Meyer lemon
Lemon basil
Romaine lettuce
Meyer lemon
Peppers
Eggs
Winter Scarlet Turnip. Corn. Bok Choy Saute Recipe
This week’s recipe was inspired by the incredible scarlet turnip, corn-on-cob, and the lemon basil!
Hope you enjoy creating a simple veggie sauté to enjoy with chickpea pasta for a great gluten-free veggie dish. Add the Meyer lemon while sautéing to caramelize the veggies.
I was so excited to create this recipe, that I actually prepared it within 2 hours of bringing the veggies into my kitchen.
Steps to Prepare the Dish
Sauté the veggies
Cook pasta.
Mindfully plate your sautéed veggies with pasta, seeds, herbs, and edible flowers.
Enjoy the video for this beautiful, tasty recipe.
VEGGIE SAUTE TIPS
Use the simple veggie sauté culinary method to easily cook all kinds of veggies.
Pre-heat the saute pan before cooking.
Cook the veggies step-by-step to layer the flavors.
Start with onions for the flavor base.
At the end of cooking, add the greens (bok choy) and herbs (lemon basil) to gently cook.
WINTER VEGGIE SAUTE
Recipe Serves 2
Use this simple veggie sauté method to cook the fresh CSA from the Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
Winter Veggie Saute: Beautiful Veggies from The Farm CSA
3-4 green onions (not in the CSA)
2-3 small peppers
1 corn-on-cob
½ broccoli stem
1 cup turnip, sliced
1 cup bok choy
1 stem lemon basil
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ Meyer lemon, juiced
Pinch sea salt
SIMPLE STEPS
Slice all veggies and corn off the cob.
Pre-heat sauté pan on stove top on medium.
Add olive oil to coat bottom of the pan.
Add the onions. Sauté a few minutes.
Add peppers. Sauté a few minutes.
Drizzle pinch of sea salt onto the veggies.
Add corn on cob. Sauté a few minutes.
Add broccoli. Sauté a few minutes.
Squeeze Meyer lemon and stir to de-glaze the pan.
Add turnip. Sauté a few minutes.
Add bok choy and lemon basil. Sauté a minute.
Veggie Saute: Ingredients
FOOD ART: PLATE THE DISH
Enjoy plating the veggies with layers of veggies and pasta.
Garnish with pine nuts (or other nuts), a green onion, sliced raw turnip, and lemon basil leaves, and edible calendula flowers.
Veggie Saute: Plating Mise en Place
ENJOY YOUR WINTER VEGGIE SAUTE DISH
Arizona Winter Veggie Saute
ENJOY OUR PHOTO SHOOT BEHIND-THE-SCENES
Interested in creating a Plant-Based Farm-to-Table Food Art Program (Virtual and in Person when the time is right), fill out our Form. Look forward to talking with you.
This week’s recipe #58 for The Farm at South Mountain CSA was inspired by the incredible turnip and corn on the cob! When I arrived at The Farm, I was excited to see Chef Dustin Christofolo with the huge, beautiful turnip. The root of the turnip turned out to weigh 2 1/2 pounds! I was also really excited to see the corn-on-the cob in the CSA, as I’ve been watching the corn grow for a few months.
Let’s take a look at the incredible turnip with Chef Dustin Christofolo!
Up-close look at the huge turnip! The root weighs 2.5 pounds!
The beautiful corn crop growing at The Farm this Winter.
In awe of the Dinosaur Kale, which is so fresh, green, and grassy tasting.
Hope you enjoy roasting the turnip, along with kale and turnip greens, corn-on-the-cob to create a simple, tasty veggie bowl. Create a simple “acid, fat, salt” salad dressing with the Meyer lemon to add citrus freshness to the dish.
Steps to Prepare the Dish
Make a batch of quinoa.
Roast the veggies.
Make the salad dressing.
Mindfully plate your veggie bowl with quinoa, walnuts, and edible flowers.
Use the video as a step-by-step guide to prepare this beautiful, tasty, farm-to-table bowl.
All Recipes Serve 2
ROASTED VEGGIES
Use this Roasted Veggie method to easily cook all kinds of veggies at the same time!
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
1 cup turnip, sliced
1 corn-on-cob
2 small peppers
3-4 kale leaves
3-4 turnip stems with leaves
2 tbsp rosemary, minced
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Pinch sea salt
SIMPLE STEPS
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
Cut turnip and pepper into small pieces.
Slice corn off the cob.
Slice the kale and turnips greens into strips.
In a small bowl, toss each type of veggies with olive oil, sea salt, and rosemary.
Place veggies onto parchment-lined sheet pan.
Turnips on one tray, not touching.
Other veggies on another tray, in small piles.
Roast turnips for 12 minutes.
Toss the turnips.
Roast the turnips another 12-15 minutes.
Roast the corn, peppers, and greens 12-15 minutes.
MEYER LEMON SALAD DRESSING
Create a simple “acid, fat, salt” salad dressing with the Meyer lemon.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
1.5 tbsp Meyer lemon juice
½ tsp Meyer lemon zest
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Pinch sea salt
SIMPLE STEPS
Put all ingredients into a small bowl.
Thoroughly emulsify with a whisk.
Use the dressing with the veggie bowl.
PLATE THE VEGGIES
Mindful Plating Mise en Place.
Experiment with plating the veggies two ways.
Place veggies and quinoa in a bowl side-by-side and drizzle with the salad dressing.
Mix the veggies and quinoa all together with the salad dressing.
Garnish with walnuts and edible Calendula flowers.
Interested in plant-based farm-to-table cooking experiences…virtual for now…and later in-person…please fill out the form!
I am so honored to intuitively create recipes for The Farm at South Mountain CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) members. And, I’m happy to share this week’s Winter Arizona recipe with you, which was inspired by the beautiful beets and the incredible herbs: Thai Basil & Kaffir Lime Leaves.
Hope you enjoy roasting the beets and using them in my, now favorite hummus. Make a small batch of the pesto for contrast to the hummus.
The plant-based cooking video shows you step-by-step to prepare this incredible, tasty, healthy dish.
Steps to Prepare the Dish
Soak the garbanzo beans the night before you plan to create the beet hummus.
Cook the garbanzo beans for the hummus.
While the beans are cooking, roast the beets.
Next, toast the pine nuts.
Make the pesto.
Make the hummus.
Mindfully plate the beet hummus and pesto with the CSA Swiss chard and sweet peppers.
All Recipes Serve 2
THAI BASIL & KAFFIR LEAVES PESTO
Create a simple, delicious pesto with this week’s Thai basil and kaffir lime leaves.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
1 cup Thai basil leaves
1 tbsp Kaffir leaves, minced
¼ cup pine nuts, dry toasted
2 tbsp olive oil
Pinch sea salt
SIMPLE STEPS
Toast pine nuts in dry pan on stove for about 2 minutes.
Place all ingredients, except olive oil, into a small blender.
Blend for about a minute.
Add the olive oil to the blender and blend another minute.
ROASTED BEETS
Use this Quick Roasted Veggie method to easily cook roots.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
2 beet roots, sliced
2 tbsp fresh Kaffir lime leaves, minced
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Pinch sea salt
SIMPLE STEPS
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
Cut beet roots into slices.
Mince Kaffir lime leaves, taking out the stem.
Place beets into roasting pan.
Drizzle with olive oil, Kaffir lime leaves, and sea salt.
Roast for 10 minutes.
Toss the beets.
Roast another 10-12 minutes.
ROASTED BEET HUMMUS
Create this simple, delicious, beautiful hummus with The Farm’s beets.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
2 beets, roasted
2 cups cooked garbanzo beans
¼ cup tahini
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp minced garlic
Pinch sea salt
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
SIMPLE STEPS
Place beets into food processor and process for about a minute.
Add all other ingredients, except olive oil.
Process for 2-3 minutes.
Stream in olive oil and process another 1-2 minutes.
Enjoy with CSA sweet peppers.
Plant-based farm-to-table recipe intuitively created by Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Award-winning cookbook author, Creator of the Plant-Based Food Art Movement.
Happy to share with you this week’s recipe video for the Winter 2020 CSA at The Farm at South Mountain, right in my neighborhood in Phoenix, Arizona.
The recipe was inspired by the beautiful beets, scarlet queen turnips, and rosemary. And, of course, the pecans that grow right at The Farm.
Enjoy this video of the Roasted Beet & Turnip Bowl, and use it as a guide to create your own Roots Bowl with beets, turnips, tossed salad greens, and a few of your favorite salad extras, such as cashew cream, figs, and blackberries for a fresh Winter dish.
Steps to Prepare the Dish
Roast the beets and turnips with the quick roast method.
Prepare the Simple Cashew Cream.
Crack the pecans.
Make the simple acid, fat, salt salad dressing and toss with the greens.
Mindfully plate the roasted roots, salad greens, pecans, Cashew Cream, and your favorite extras.
Enjoy Cooking!!!!
Recipe intuitively created by Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO of Experience Nutrition, Award-winning cookbook author, creator of the Plant-Based Food Art Movement. Leader in wellness, integrative nutrition, and culinary for 15 years.
This week I was excited to purchase a great Chickpea Pasta from Sonoran Pasta at the Downtown Phoenix Market and wanted to enjoy it with a quick tomato sauce.
From start-to-finish with photos and videos this took less than 30 minutes to prepare and the sauce itself cooked in 7 minutes.
Hope you enjoy this delicious simple tomato sauce! Please tag us on Social Media: #plantbasedfoodart
7 Minute Tomato Sauce Recipe
Serves 1
1 heirloom tomato, sliced
1 elephant garlic, minced
¼ cup Kalamata olives
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Pinch sea salt
Garnish: Green onion, sliced
SIMPLE STEPS
Pre-heat sauté pan on medium.
Add olive oil to bottom of pan.
Add tomatoes and sauté for 4-5 minutes.
Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
Add olives and sauté for 4-5 minutes.
The Chickpea Pasta
Use this recipe as a guide to cook refrigerated (not boxed) chickpea pasta. Cook the pasta while the tomato sauce is cooking.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
3 ounces pasta
½ tsp sea salt
SIMPLE STEPS
Pour about 4 cups of water and sea salt into a medium size pot.
Bring water to boil.
Add pasta to the boiling water.
Lower to simmer.
Simmer for 3-4 minutes.
Drain the pasta.
PLATING
Toss some of the pasta with the sauce.
Plate with the tossed pasta, extra sauce, and green onion.
Based on a request for a chocolate dessert that is actually healthy, I’m happy to share this simple-to-prepare, delicious, healthy Avocado Chocolate Pudding. This dessert features a few superfoods as toppings for the pudding: Goji berries, raw cacao nibs, and hemp seeds.
Simple Recipe from “A New View of Healthy Eating” by Melanie Albert
Chocolate Avocado Pudding
Incredible, rich, and creamy vegan chocolate pudding will delight everyone. Make it for dessert or an after-work or after-school snack. Once you’ve made this avocado pudding, experiment by adding some extras, such as bananas, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, homemade nut milk, and freshly ground spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
2 ripe avocados
4 Medjool dates, pitted and sliced
1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean, scraped
1/4 cup raw cacao powder
1 cups water
Avocado Pudding Mise en Place
SIMPLE STEPS
Place all ingredients in food processor or high-speed blender.
Blend on high for about 2 minutes.
Stop and scrape down sides of food processor or blender, if needed.
Blend for another 2 minutes or until completely pureed and smooth.
Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
Enjoy topped with goji berries, cacao nibs, hemp seeds,citrus, raw cacao powder.
Avocado Pudding: Ingredients into Food Processor
Avocado Chocolate Pudding. Superfoods.Add Edible Flowers & Raw Cacao Powder to your Plate.
Within the Experience Nutrition Corporate Wellness Programs, we offer private online communities where we share healthy eating tips and recipes, and employees share their recipe creations and ask food and nutrition questions.
This week one of the participants wanted to know how to cook asparagus. While asparagus is not growing in season in Arizona right now, I shopped in a few different stores to find fresh organic asparagus.
Simple Asparagus
Happy to share with you two ways to enjoy cooking and eating asparagus, starting with steaming asparagus in a bamboo steamer to enjoy as a side or in a fresh salad. And, the next recipe is Roasted Asparagus. Corn-on-the Cob. Heirloom Tomatoes. Turmeric Hummus.
Bamboo Steamer Asparagus Recipe
Use this simple bamboo steamer culinary technique to steam asparagus, as well as other fresh vegetables.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
Bamboo Steamer Asparagus
8-10 asparagus stems
Pinch sea salt
Basil Finishing Oil
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp basil leaves
SIMPLE STEPS
Basil Oil
Since it only takes about 5 minutes to steam the asparagus in the bamboo steamer, first prepare this very simple Basil Oil as a finishing dressing for the asparagus.
Pour oil and basil into a small blender.
Blend for about 2 minutes.
Use the oil as a finishing oil for the asparagus.
Simple Basil Oil IngredientsPour olive oil and fresh basil into small blender.Blend olive oil and basil for 2-3 minutes.The Simple Basil Oil.
Bamboo Steamer Asparagus
Pour a few cups of water into a large pot.
Place pot on the stove top and bring to a boil.
Place asparagus stems onto bamboo steamer rack, spaced a part and not touching.
Sprinkle asparagus with sea salt.
Place asparagus onto bamboo steamer. Drizzle with sea salt.
Cover bamboo steamer.
Place steamer on top of the pot of boiling water.
Steam asparagus for about 5 minutes.
Allow the steam to cook the asparagus for about 5 minutes.
Test the asparagus for doneness.
When the asparagus easily falls off the fork, it is cooked.
Asparagus is ready when it falls off the fork.
Take the asparagus off the bamboo steamer.
Drizzle the Basil Oil on the asparagus.
Mise en Place: Asparagus. Basil Oil.Toss asparagus with Basil Oil.
Mindfully plate or enjoy the asparagus in a salad.
Looking for a “healthy” Sweet Potato with Broccoli and a Cheesy Sauce?
Based on a request for a “healthy” sweet potato and broccoli dish, I’m happy to share with you a Roasted Veggies Sweet Potato Bowl with Hemp Seed Cream.
Local Farmers Veggies. In addition to the sweet potato, the dish was inspired and intuitively created with our local Arizona farmer, Crooked Sky Farms, green and yellow beans,heirloom tomatoes, sweet potato, and purple pepper.
Beautiful late Summer veggies from our local Arizona farmers.
Learn to Roast Veggies. When we cook healthy plant-based meals, one of the simple culinary techniques is roasted. We can use this simple method to cook whatever our local farmers are growing. The dish will be beautiful and tasty every time you make it.
Hemp Seed Cream. The hemp seed cream is a simple-to-prepare, tasty, healthy cream that works well as a plant-based sauce for sweet potatoes. And, it can even be used as a cheesy flavor on home-made flatbread.
Roasted Veggie Sweet Potato Recipe
Use this recipe as a guide to create your own Roasted Veggie Sweet Potato Bowl. Bake the sweet potato and roast veggies that your local farmers are growing.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
1 sweet potato
1 cup green or yellow beans
1 heirloom tomato, sliced in rounds
1 pepper, sliced
1 stalk broccoli, sliced
1 slice cabbage
1 lemon, sliced
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Pinch sea salt
Garnish: Few leaves fresh basil
Veggies all set to chop.
SIMPLE STEPS
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
Slice veggies.
Place veggies on-by-one into a small bowl.
Drizzle with olive oil and sea salt.
Toss to coat all parts of the veggies.
Place veggies onto parchment-lined flat sheet.
Roast for 12 minutes.
Flip the veggies.
Roast for 12-15 minutes.
Bake the sweet potato another 10 minutes, until soft.
Chopped veggies.
Veggies, olive oil, and sea salt.
One-by-one toss veggies with olive oil & sea salt.
Veggies mindfully placed onto parchment-lined sheet pan.
Roasted Veggies!
Simple Hemp Seed Cream
As a plant-based alternative for a creamy sauce for the sweet potato and veggies, this hemp seed cream is quick and simple to prepare. The hemp seeds offer healthy fats and protein, while the nutritional yeast adds B-12 and a cheesy taste to the cream.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
¼ cup hemp seeds
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp water
Pinch sea salt
Hemp Seed Cream: Mise en Place
SIMPLE STEPS
Place all ingredients into a small blender.
Blend for about a minute or two, until creamy.
Add more water, as needed.
Taste.
Add additional lemon juice or sea salt to suite your preferred taste.
Hemp Seed Cream ingredients in blender.
Blend for 1-2 minutes.
Creamy Hemp Seed Cream
FOOD ART PLATING
Place sweet potato into a bowl.
Drizzle hemp seed cream onto the sweet potato.
Layer the additional veggies into the bowl.
Garnish with fresh basil.
Plating Mise en Place
Food Art Plating: Sweet Potato Bowl
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A simple way to think about eating locally and eating with the season, is to eat what your local farmers are growing, or what’s growing in your garden.
What Grows Together Goes Together
A simple way to think about how to create a dish with your local farmers produce, is to create with the vegetables, fruit, and herbs that are growing together. Intuitively, have fun mixing and matching different colors, textures, shapes, and sizes.
Right now in Arizona, in late August, it’s still hot, with temperatures above 105 degrees. With the heat, hydrating foods, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, cantaloupe, and watermelons are still growing.
Thank You Farmers & Farmers Markets!
As always, thanks to our Arizona farmers markets and farmers for continuing to serve our community with incredible food throughout the Coronavirus Pandemic and our extra hot summer.
Special thanks to the Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market and the following farmers for the produce in the Lemon Cucumber Tomato Tower. Crooked Sky Farms (cucumbers, tomatoes), Blue Sky Organic Farm (parsley).
Arizona Summer Veggies
Lemon Cucumber Tower Salad Recipe
This quick salad, inspired by the beautiful, unique crisp lemon cucumber, is paired with an heirloom tomato, along with a fresh parsley gremolata.
Use this recipe as a guide to create your own fresh summer salad with your favorite cucumbers and tomatoes. Add flavor with a simple parsley gremolata as a dressing.
Have fun plating your own version of Food Art with this dish. Post it on Instagram and Tag #ExperienceNutrition
Optional: Dolmas: Stuffed Grape Leaves (Not use in plating)
Lemon Cucumber Tomato Tower Mise En Place
Simple Steps
Gremolata
Rough chop the basil, parsley, and almonds.
Place all ingredients (basil, parsley, almonds, lemon juice, olive oil) into a small bowl.
Toss gently.
Add more lemon, olive oil, or sea salt to suit your taste.
Gremolata Ingredients: Basil, Almonds, Parsley
Plating
Enjoy mindfully plating your salad to create your own Food Art.
Place a cucumber round on the bottom of plate.
Add a tablespoon of the gremolata and a few capers.
Place a tomato slice onto the gremolata.
Add a tablespoon of the gremolata and a few capers.
Continue with a few more layers of cucumbers and tomatoes.
Garnish with fresh basil, parsley, olives, capers, and dehydrated tomato.
Plating Mise en Place: Lemon Cucumber Tomato Tower
Watch the plating video and then have fun plating your own Cucumber Tomato Tower.
Enjoy your Cucumber Tomato Tower
My tower tipped over….but…still delicious, so wanted to share it with you.
Lemon Cucumber Heirloom Tomato
Stay in touch with us on www.facebook.com/ExperienceNutritionAZ and Instagram @experiencenutritionaz and tag us #experiencenutrition on your plant-based culinary creations.
We have now, with careful consideration of the Coronavirus Pandemic, postponed our Sedona Plant-Based Culinary and Self-Care Retreat to November 13-16, 2020.
If you’re interested in a once-in-a-lifetime memorable weekend, please reach out to me. Would love to chat and get to know you and answer any questions. Also, please let me know if you’d like to create a custom retreat for a group of friends or your business.
By Melanie Albert, Plant-Based Culinary Leader, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition in Phoenix, Arizona. Award-winning cookbook author, speaker, corporate wellness, team building, retreat leader, and caterer.
A few memories from our September 2019 Sedona Plant-Based Culinary & Self-Care Retreat.
During the summer our local Arizona farmers and many across the USA are growing lots of hydrating veggies, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, and all kinds of melons.
As always, thanks so much to our local Arizona farmers for growing such incredible produce for us during our extremely hot Arizona summer and for providing it to us safely at our local farmers markets in such a safe, social distancing way. Our community really appreciates your hard work, passion, and dedication.
The intuitively created salad, was inspired by the Lemon Cucumber, which looks a little like a tennis ball and are fresh and crispy.
Summer Lemon Cucumber Salad Recipe
Create a fresh, simple salad with your favorite cucumbers, heirloom tomatoes, green onion, fresh lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. Add olive and capers, and enjoy your salad.
Thanks specifically to our Phoenix farmers for the fresh produce for this salad.
Crooked Sky Farms
Lemon cucumbers. Love and look forward to their beauty and crispness every summer.
Bell peppers.Enjoying the green and yellow sweet bell peppers.
Pinnacle Farm Phoenix
Sungold Tomatoes. Thank you for your honor system farm stand in the South Mountain area.
Arizona Micro-Greens
Micro Salad Mix. Sunflower Shoots, Pea Shoots, Radish, Cilantro.
Simple Ingredients
1 Lemon cucumber, sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 medium tomato or 1/2 cup mini tomatoes
1 green onion, sliced
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 TBSP organic extra virgin olive oil
2 TBSP olives
1 tsp capers
Few micro-greens
Simple Steps
Rough chop all veggies.
Place all veggies in a small bowl.
Toss all veggies with olive oil and lemon juice.
Plate and garnish with micro-greens.
Enjoy your salad…
Top 10 Hydrating Foods
You don’t have to get all of your liquids from beverages. About 20% of the water we consume comes from food. Eating food high in water content adds fiber, electrolytes, and vitamins to our diets.
The following veggies and fruit, contain 89% or more water. Enjoy!
Cucumbers
Watermelon
Pineapple
Celery
Blueberries
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Pears
Grapefruit
Cantaloupe
Sedona Plant-Based Cooking & Self-Care Retreat: November 13-16, 2020
If you are interested in a fun, memorable, one-of-a-kind weekends, experiencing plant-based cooking, along with self-care, hiking, yoga, and special Sedona experiences.
I’m happy to share more about the retreat and answer your questions. Call Melanie Albert at 602.615.2486, send a note to Mel@MelanieAlbert.com or fill out the Form and I’m happy to answer any questions.
It’s tomato season in Arizona! And I love it. Over the years I’ve noticed that at the beginning of the season, our farmers are growing a few handfuls, then a few pounds, then a few hundred pounds of tomatoes each week. It’s actually quite amazing that our local farmers have each figured out their own process to grow tomatoes in 100+ degree days.
Thanks so much to the Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market for your commitment to our local Arizona farmers and bringing beautiful food to our community. This week, thanks to Crooked Sky Farms for the heirloom tomatoes and corn on the cob. And, thanks to Blue Sky Organic Farms for the green onions, parsley. – Melanie Albert
I hope you are inspired by these three very different ways to prepare and enjoy tomatoes.
Raw. Cooked. Dehydrated.
Tomato Salsa. Corn on the Cob. Peppers.
Quick Tomato Sauté. Olives. Capers.
Dehydrated Tomatoes.
Enjoy the video with all these tomato recipes…
Tomato Salsa. Corn on the Cob. Green Peppers.
For a simple, refreshing salsa, choose a few tomatoes and peppers, aromatics such as garlic and onions, along with citrus, a fresh herb and sea salt. If your local farmers are growing corn, add corn to the salsa. Use this recipe as a guide for your own intuitive tomato salsa.
Mix and match with what your local farmers are growing to create your salsa. For sweet salsa, use bell peppers in any color: green, yellow, orange, or red. For a mild pepper taste, try Anaheim, or a more spicy pepper go for the jalapeno. Use lime or lemon as citrus to sharpen the flavor of the salsa. Experiment with different fresh herbs such as dill, basil, cilantro, or even mint.
Enjoy the salsa as a side salad, taco topping or with a baked sweet potato. And, remember the flavors in the salsa marry together the second and third day.
Simple Ingredients
2-3 tomatoes
2 peppers
5-6 green onions
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lime, juiced
3-4 sprigs fresh dill
Pinch sea salt
Optional: 1 corn on the cob
Farm-to-Table Tomato Salsa: Ingredients
Tomato. Corn Salsa: Mise en Place.
Simple Steps
Chop all veggies.
Place all ingredients into a medium-size bowl.
Toss.
Taste.
Add more salt or lime juice to suit your taste preferences.
Plate and enjoy.
Tomato Corn Dill Salsa
Tomato Sauté Recipe
In a few minutes, create this very simple, tasty, aromatic tomato sauce to enjoy with pasta. Choose a few local ripe tomatoes. Quickly sauté the tomatoes with onions and garlic to create a sweet aromatic sauce for your pasta. Add in Kalamata olives and capers for added depth of flavor. For a gluten-free pasta, experiment with chickpea pasta.
Simple Ingredients
2-3 tomatoes, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
3-4 green onions, sliced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp Kalamata olives
1 tbsp capers
5-6 sprigs parsley
Pinch sea salt
Tomato Saute: Ingredients
Tomato Saute: Mise en Place
Simple Steps
Pre-heat sauté pan on medium.
Place green onions in pan, stir, cook for about 3 minutes.
Add garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds.
Add tomatoes and sea salt.
Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover for about 2 minutes.
Add Kalamata olives and capers. Cook 1 minute.
Add parsley. Stir. Cook 1 minute.
Toss with pasta.
Plate and enjoy.
Tomato Saute. Pasta. Plating Mise en Place.
Tomato Saute. Chickpea Pasta.
Dehydrate Tomatoes
Dehydrating fruit and vegetables concentrates the flavor. With tomatoes, they become very sweet and beautiful. During tomato season, be sure to dehydrate local tomatoes to enjoy later in the year.
Simple Ingredients and Steps
Choose a few beautiful heirloom tomatoes.
Thinly slice the tomatoes.
Place tomatoes on dehydrator mesh sheet.
Dehydrate at 125 degrees F for about 6-8 hours.
Enjoy as a snack or food art.
Dehydrate Tomatoes: Place sliced tomatoes on dehydrator sheet.
Tomato Food Art
Stay in touchwith us on www.facebook.com/ExperienceNutritionAZ and Instagram @experiencenutritionaz and tag us #experiencenutrition on your plant-based culinary creations.
Sedona Retreats. If you are interested in a self-care get-away in Sedona in September 2020, let me know. At this point we are planning on holding our Fall Plant-Based Cooking and Self Care Retreat with private rooms for all guests. Click to take a look at our Fall 2019 retreat. Or, send me a note (Mel@MelanieAlbert.com) if you’re interested in attending the 2020 retreat or in creating a retreat for a group of your friends.
By Melanie Albert, Plant-Based Culinary Leader, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition in Phoenix, Arizona. Award-winning cookbook author, speaker, corporate wellness, team building, retreat leader, and caterer.
As always, it is my honor to create recipes with the produce grown for the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) by passionate farmer Billy Anthony at the Soil & Seed Garden, at The Farm at South Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona.
It is especially touching this week, during the Coronavirus Pandemic while we are all staying at home, and cooking more. And, in Arizona we are transitioning from the Spring to the Summer crops, so we still have roots, along with summer crops, such as zucchini. – Melanie Albert
When I picked up my CSA this week, The Farm felt very still and calm, in align with the quietness of our Earth…a little video capture:
For the CSA Members, the items in the May 9, 2020 CSA include:
This week’s recipe was inspired by the peaches, and paired with beets, carrots, and grapefruit. Since grapefruits are still available, enjoy a simple dressing with a few extras: honey, mustard, and mint.
Serves 2
Roasted Roots & Fruit
Enjoy creating this dish, inspired by The Farm’s sweet fruit and roots: peaches, grapefruit, beets, and carrots.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
1 peach
1 grapefruit
1 golden beet
1 red beet
5-6 small carrots
Not from The Farm CSA: ½ red onion
3 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP honey
Pinch sea salt
SIMPLE STEPS
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
Chop all veggies in small bite-size pieces.
Veggie-by-veggie toss in olive oil and sea salt.
Place veggies, spread apart on parchment-paper lined sheet pan.
Place grapefruit and peaches on parchment-lined sheet pan. Drizzle with ¼ tsp of honey.
Cook for 12 minutes.
Flip the veggies and fruit.
Cook another 10-12 minutes.
Honey Grapefruit Dressing
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
2 TBSP grapefruit juice
1 ½ tsp honey
1 ½ tsp stone ground mustard
1 tsp red wine vinegar
3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
6-8 mint leaves, rough chopped
Pinch sea salt
SIMPLE STEPS
Into bowl, place grapefruit juice, mustard, vinegar.
Whisk until blended.
Add olive oil.
Whisk until blended.
Add more acid (grapefruit juice) or fat (olive oil) to balance.
Add sea salt. Whisk.
Add honey. Whisk.
Add mint. Whisk.
SIMPLE PLATING
Mindfully plate.
Place grapefruit slices on plate.
Layer veggies and fruit on top of the grapefruit slices.
Dressing Options: Drizzle dressing on top of the veggies. Or, when eating, use dressing as dipping sauce.
Plating Mise en Place…
Plating…
The beautiful, tasty Arizona Spring Roots & Fruit Dish
Stay in touch with us on www.facebook.com/ExperienceNutritionAZ and Instagram @experiencenturitionaz and tag us #experiencenutrition on your plant-based culinary creations.
We are now beginning to think about Plant-Based Farm-to-Table Experiences for Fall 2020…hands-on cooking, team building, catering. Please reach out to me to brainstorm ideas for your organization. Contact Melanie Albert at 602.615.2486 or Mel@MelanieAlbert.com
By Melanie Albert, Plant-Based Culinary Leader, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition in Phoenix, Arizona. Award-winning cookbook author, speaker, corporate wellness, team building, retreat leader, and caterer.
So beautiful…one more view of the Arizona Roasted Roots & Fruit and our incredible sunset.
Again this week, I’d like to honor our local farmers and farmers’ markets in Phoenix, Arizona who are continuing to bring our “essential” beautiful food to us during the Coronavirus Pandemic. We truly appreciate you.
As always, I am so honored to create recipes for the CSA at The Farm at South Mountain, a small urban farm about half a mile from my home in Phoenix, Arizona. In early May our farmers are transitioning from the “cooler” to “warmer” weather crops. So this week, many farmers are harvesting end of the Spring root veggies (carrots, beets), along with the early Summer veggies, like zucchini.
This week I was totally inspired by the beautiful 2 pound 5 ounce (yes, I weighed it) Costada Romanesco Zucchini. I intuitively created a simple Zucchini Salad with Cashew Cream featuring The Farm’s grapefruit and fresh mint and lemon basil. I invite you to use this recipe as a guide to create your own Zucchini Salad with a nut cream prepared with fresh herbs and citrus available at your local farmers’ market, farmers, or grocery stores. – Melanie Albert
Enjoy the video that showcases the steps to prepare the salad including how to:
Prepare a refreshing Raw Cashew Cream.
Spiralize zucchini.
Peel carrots for salads.
Mindfully plate with fresh veggies and edible flowers.
Let’s take a look at The Farm at South Mountain CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)
The May 2, 2020 CSA, with the transition from Spring to Summer:
The Farm at South Mountain. Soil & Seed Garden CSA, May 1, 2020.
RECIPE: Raw Cashew Salad. Cashew Cream.
Ingredients: Zucchini Salad. Cashew Cream.
Serves 2
Cashew Herbal Cream
Inspired by The Farm’s grapefruit and fresh mint and lemon basil.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water, 2-4 hours
2 TBSP grapefruit juice
1 TBSP grapefruit zest
¼ cup olive oil
2-3 stems of mint and lemon basil
2-3 onion green onions, sliced
Pinch sea salt
Mise en Place: Cashew Cream.
SIMPLE STEPS
Pre-soak cashews in water; rinse the cashews prior to using in the recipe.
Place all ingredients into food processor.
Process until smooth.
Spiralized Zucchini
Spiralize the zucchini and peel the carrots for the salad.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
¼ zucchini, spiralized
1 carrot
SIMPLE STEPS
Spiralize the zucchini with a spiralizer.
If you do not have a spiralizer, use a veggie peeler to thinly slice the zucchini.
Slice the carrots with veggie peeler.
Costada Romanesco Zucchini. Spiralized.
Zucchini Salad
SIMPLE STEPS
Toss the zucchini and carrots with the Cashew Cream.
SIMPLE PLATING
Ingredients
Zucchini Salad
1 Swiss chard leaf
3-4 fresh herb leaves: mint, lemon basil
3-4 mini-tomatoes
1-2 green onions
Zucchini Salad: Plating Mise en Place.
Simple Steps
Mindfully plate.
Place Swiss chard onto the plate.
Layer the tossed zucchini onto the Swiss chard.
Add the garnish ingredients.
Enjoy.
Enjoy a few plating views of this simple, delicious, beautiful “summer salad.”
Zucchini Salad. Sunflowers.
Zucchini Salad. In the Garden.
Zucchini Salad. On the Video Set.
Stay in Touch. Stay in touch with us on www.facebook.com/ExperienceNutritionAZ and Instagram @experiencenturitionaz and tag us #experiencenutrition on your plant-based culinary creations.
By Melanie Albert, Plant-Based Culinary Leader, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition in Phoenix, Arizona. Award-winning cookbook author, speaker, corporate wellness, team building, retreat leader, and caterer.
Please reach out if you are interested in future plant-based farm-to-table cooking experiences, or catering. Look forward to collaborating when “the time is right.”
So honored to create plant-based recipe articles during the last several years for the Natural Awakenings Magazine, Phoenix and Northern Arizona. This month, May 2020, I am especially humbled to contribute to the magazine while we are all together during the Coronavirus stay-at-home. And, while so many people are experimenting more in the kitchen with families and kids.
For this article, I decided to bring a touch of positivity to our world with “The Joy of Beautiful Food.” Experiment with the tips to add beauty to meals and have fun creating dishes with beautiful food and edible flowers. – Melanie Albert
Natural Awakenings, May 2020.
Top 4 Ways to Add Beauty to Your Meals:
Buy Beautiful Veggies from Our Local Farmers.
Add Color and Texture to your Dishes.
Add Natural Aromatherapy to Your Culinary Creations.
Plate Mindfully.
I hope you are inspired to add a little beauty and joy to life by creating some beautiful, mindful plant-based dishes. Share your creations with us on www.facebook.com/ExperienceNutritionAZ and Instagram @experiencenutritionaz and tag us #experiencenutrition.
Happy to share a few of my very favorite recipes in the Natural Awakenings article. Importantly, you can easily modify the recipes with local farmers’ seasonal produce, along with the fruit and veggies in your refrigerator. Enjoy!
Three Beautiful, Simple Plant-Based Recipes
Enjoy mindfully and intuitively creating these simple dishes. Take time to appreciate the beauty of the food, the mindfulness of the cooking process, and the final food art of your culinary creations.
Hummus.Three Ways. Classic. Turmeric. Beet.
Avocado Salsa. Intuitively create with the veggies, aromatics, and herbs in your kitchen.
Raw Carrot Cake. Simple, beautiful, tasty, aromatic dessert.
Hummus Three Ways: Beet. Turmeric. Classic.
Simple Avocado Salsa.
Raw Carrot Cake. Edible Flowers.
Hummus Video. In the cooking video, come into my kitchen and see the steps to create the Three Hummus Recipes.
RECIPE: Hummus. Three Ways. Classic, Turmeric, Beet.
Use these recipes as a guide to create your own hummus. Once you’ve learned how to prepare the basic classic hummus, have fun experimenting and intuitively creating your own versions of it.
Serves 4
Classic Hummus. Turmeric. Beet.
I’m excited to share with you the same recipe we made for the Super Bowl XLIV VIP Tailgate Party for the Super Bowl in Miami. Now you can make it, too. In addition to the Classic Hummus, traditionally made with tahini (ground sesame seeds), we can create different versions of hummus with turmeric or beet powder. Enjoy!
Simple Ingredients
2 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
⅓ cup chickpea water
3 tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
⅛ tsp cumin seeds, hand -round
⅛ tsp coriander seeds, hand-ground (seeds from cilantro)
Pinch sea salt
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Turmeric Hummus: 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, pinch black pepper
Beet Hummus: 2 tsp beet powder
Simple Steps
Place all ingredients, except olive oil, into a food processor.
Blend a few minutes, until smooth.
Stream in the olive oil and blend until creamy.
After the hummus has been blended, taste and add more of any of the ingredients to suit your taste.
Turmeric or Beet Hummus: After creating the Classic Hummus, add either the turmeric or beet powder to the food processor. Process until well combined.
Simple Plating
Mindfully plate the three versions of hummus with fresh edible flowers, fresh herbs, or chopped veggies.
Stay in touch with us on www.facebook.com/ExperienceNutritionAZ and Instagram @experiencenturitionaz and tag us #experiencenutrition on your plant-based culinary creations.
Will also be sharing the Avocado Salsa and Raw Carrot Cake in videos and blog posts. Stay tuned.
By Melanie Albert, Plant-Based Culinary Leader, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition in Phoenix, Arizona. Award-winning cookbook author, speaker, corporate wellness, team building, retreat leader, and caterer.
