Experience Nutrition

Tag: plantbased culinary

  • Experience Nutrition: Tomatoes 3 Ways: Salsa. Pasta Tomato Saute. Dehydrated.

    Experience Nutrition: Tomatoes 3 Ways: Salsa. Pasta Tomato Saute. Dehydrated.

    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
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    Farm-to-Table Tomato Salsa: Ingredients

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    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.
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    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
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    Tomato Saute: Ingredients
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    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.
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    Tomato Saute. Pasta. Plating Mise en Place.
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    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.
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    Dehydrate Tomatoes: Place sliced tomatoes on dehydrator sheet.
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    Tomato Food Art

    Stay in touch with 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.

     

     

  • Experience Nutrition: Simple Avocado Salsa, as Featured in Natural Awakenings Magazine, Arizona

    Experience Nutrition: Simple Avocado Salsa, as Featured in Natural Awakenings Magazine, Arizona

    It is again such an honor to create recipe articles for the Natural Awakenings Magazine, Phoenix and Northern Arizona during the last few years. And, I am humbled to contribute to the important May 2020 issue during the Coronavirus Pandemic, to bring a little joy to our lives, with beautiful food. –  Melanie Albert

    Recipes in the Natural Awakenings, May 2020 article include: 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.

    Simple Avocado Salsa

    I hope you are inspired by this simple to-prepare, tasty avocado salsa, along with “food art.”

    Enjoy the video with the steps to prepare and plate your own avocado salsa.

    Serves 1

    Have fun intuitively creating your own avocado salsa with the veggies grown by our local farmers and available right in your own refrigerator. With the avocado as a base, add in your choice of aromatics (onion, garlic), citrus (lemon or lime), favorite veggies, such as carrots, green or red peppers, radishes, cauliflower, tomatoes), and a fresh herb (basil, cilantro, marjoram).

    Thanks to my Arizona farmer friends for the beautiful produce in this Avocado Salsa.

    • Blue Sky Organic Farms, Litchfield Park: Grafitti (purple) Cauliflower, Green Onions
    • Pinnacle Farms Phoenix: Mini-Carrots, Spring Garlic
    • Melanie’s Edible Garden: Fresh Basil, Mini-Tomatoes

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 soft, ripe avocado
    • 4-5 mini carrots, chopped
    • 1 green onion, chopped
    • 3-4 clove raw garlic, minced
    • 4-5 cauliflower florets, chopped
    • ½ lemon, juiced and zested
    • 4-5 basil leaves, chiffonade
    • Pinch sea salt
    • Garnish: Basil leaves and flowers, mini-tomatoes
    • Pinch sea salt
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    Simple Avocado Salsa: Beautiful Arizona farmers ingredients.

    Simple Steps

    • Chop all ingredients.
    • Place avocado in a bowl and mix with a fork.
    • Add all other ingredients to the bowl and gently mix all ingredients.
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    Simple Avocado Salsa: Mise en Place

    Simple Plating

    • Place ring mold onto plate or bowl.
    • Scoop avocado salsa into the ring mold.
    • OPTION: If you do not have a ring mold, place a mound of the avocado salsa onto the plate.
    • Garnish with basil leaves and mini-tomatoes.
    • Enjoy!

    Stay in touch with us on www.facebook.com/ExperienceNutritionAZ and Instagram @experiencenturitionaz and tag us #experiencenutrition on your plant-based culinary creations.

    I’m feeling that very soon we will ease out of our Coronavirus Stay-at-Home, so if you or your organization is looking for a live in-person hands-on interactive plant-based cooking experience, I’m happy to chat with you to explore opportunities.  Feel free to call (602.615.2486) or e-mail (Mel@MelanieAlbert.com) – Melanie

    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.

  • Experience Nutrition: Yeast-Free Flatbread. When you don’t have yeast in your kitchen.

    Experience Nutrition: Yeast-Free Flatbread. When you don’t have yeast in your kitchen.

    While more of us are now baking bread and pizza at home during the Coronavirus social distancing and staying at home, I wanted to share with you a recipe we cooked during our Fall 2019 Sedona Plant-Based Cooking Retreat. This recipe will give you an option if you live in an area where you are not able to purchase yeast at this point, or if you don’t normally keep yeast in your pantry.

    For the flatbread, roast some vegetables, create a simple nut sauce, and enjoy a nice meal with your family. During our retreat we enjoyed cooking with beautiful local food grown by Whipstone Farm in Paulden, Arizona and The Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain in Phoenix.

    Enjoy your flatbread with roasted veggies, hummus, tomatoes, salsa, or even a drizzle of olive oil. And, please share your creations with us on Instagram @plantbasedexperiences #plantbasedexperiences

    EXPERIENCE NUTRITIONTM Yeast-Free Quick Flatbread

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 ¼ cups sprouted spelt flour
    • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
    • ¼ tsp sea salt
    • 1 ½ tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil (dough)
    • ½ cup water
    • 1 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil (spread on dough prior to baking)

    Simple Steps

    • Place pizza stone into oven. Pre-heat oven to 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 on a lightly floured surface 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.
    • Spread hemp seed cream (recipe below) on the top of the flatbread.
    • Add roasted veggies to the top of the flatbread. (See two ways to roast veggies below.)
    • Cook flatbread for about 8 minutes.
    • Garnish with edible flowers.
    • Enjoy!

    Look at the beautiful, delicious plant-based farm-to-table flatbread intuitively created at our 2019 Sedona Retreat, and a glimpse of beautiful self care meditation at Cathedral Rock to inspire you to pause and take time for you these days.

    The Sedona Retreat flatbread features beautiful veggies grown by Whipstone Farm in Paulden, Arizona and flowers grown at the Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain in Phoenix.

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    Amazing nourishing dinner, with the Farm-to-Table Flatbread at our Fall 2019 Sedona Plant-Based Cooking Retreat.
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    Mediation. Breathwork. Awe….Omm…at Cathedral Rock. With Patricia Fonseca of Back to Earth Sedona Tours.

    ROASTED VEGGIES TWO WAYS

    Choose a few of your favorite veggies and one of the following two culinary techniques to roast veggies for your flatbread. For the Sedona Retreat flatbread we roasted beautiful local veggies grown by Whipstone Farm including kohlrabi, cauliflower, radishes, leeks, potatoes, and peppers.

    Simple Ingredients

    • 5-7 of your favorite veggies, sliced
    • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    • 1/2 tsp sea salt

    Original Roasted Veggies Culinary Technique

    With this technique, we use a flat parchment-paper lined sheet pan. Space the veggies out, not touching. This way, the veggies are cooked from the heat of the bottom of the pan which caramelizes them a little, along with the heat in the oven circulating around them.

    To see these roasting veggie technique, click to the Spring Flatbread recipe.

    Simple Steps

    • Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
    • Slice veggies into bite-sized pieces.
    • In a bowl, gently coat veggies with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.
    • Place veggies on parchment-lined flat sheet pan, flat side down with veggies not touching.
    • Roast for 12 minutes.
    • Flip veggies.
    • Roast for another 12 minutes.
    • Use veggies as flatbread toppings.

    Quick Roasted Veggies

    A very quick and easy way to roast veggies. Check out this Summer Flatbread and get the steps to quick roast veggies.

    • Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
    • Place veggies in roasting pan.
    • Drizzle with olive oil.
    • Sprinkle with sea salt.
    • Roast 12 minutes.
    • Toss.
    • Roast another 12 minutes.

    HEMP SEED CREAM

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 cup hemp seeds
    • 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
    • 1 tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice
    • Pinch sea salt
    • ¼ cup water, adjust for desired creaminess.

    Simple Steps

    • Pour all ingredients into a mini food processor.
    • Blend to desired smoothness.

    Hope you enjoy making flatbread in a new way, without yeast, and enjoy it with your family these days. Feel free to share your creations with us on Instagram @plantbasedexperiences #plantbasedexperiences

    If you are interested in joining us on a future retreat, please feel free to take a look at our Sedona Retreat page.

    By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC, in Phoenix, Arizona. Award-winning cookbook author, speaker, team building, and retreat leader.

     

  • Experience Nutrition Plant-Based Farm-to-Table Recipe: The Farm at South Mountain Spring CSA: Quick Sugar Snap Peas

    Experience Nutrition Plant-Based Farm-to-Table Recipe: The Farm at South Mountain Spring CSA: Quick Sugar Snap Peas

    By Melanie Albert, Plant-Based Farm-to-Table Leader, Award-Winning Cookbook Author and Speaker, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition

    It has been such an honor to intuitively create recipes for the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for The Farm at South Mountain, in Phoenix, Arizona, an urban farm located less than a mile from my home since October 2018. The Farm at South Mountain Soil & Seed Garden farmer, Billy Anthony, passionately grows and harvests beautiful, incredible tasting produce, herbs, and edible flowers. Billy and his team harvest on Friday, I stop by the farm Friday evening to pick up my CSA, and then I intuitively create a recipe for the CSA members, which they receive Saturday morning with their CSA.

    This is Week 1 of the Spring 2020 CSA. After seeing the Sugar Snap Peas growing at The Farm the last month or so, I was very excited to prepare a simple dish with them. Also, The Farm has a Pecan Orchard on the property, so I was looking forward to include them in the dish.

    Prior to sharing the recipe, a look at The Farm this week.

    Let’s take a look at all of the products in the CSA.

    • Sugar Snap Peas
    • Roots: Radishes, Turnips, Carrots (Red Kyoto, Parisian)
    • Greens: Cauliflower Greens, Glacier Lettuce, Dinosaur Kale, Farm Salad Box
    • Herbs: Dill
    • Arizona favorites: Pecans, Grapefruit
    • Eggs
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    The Farm at South Mountain. Soil & Seed Garden. CSA March 14, 2020.

    Love the Sugar Snap Peas growing at the Soil & Seed Garden.

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    RECIPE: Simple Sugar Snap Pea Sauté

    Simply sautéing Sugar Snap Peas are a great way to enjoy this fresh veggie. Along with this week’s dill, grapefruit, and pecans, create this tasty side dish.

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    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 2 cups sugar snap peas
    • 1 tbsp grapefruit zest
    • 3-4 sprigs of fresh dill
    • 6-7 pecans, cracked
    • 1 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
    • Pinch sea salt
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    Mise en Place: Sugar Snap Peas. Dill. Saute.

    SIMPLE STEPS

    Mise en Place

    • Zest the grapefruit.
    • Crack the pecans.
    • If desire, remove the stems and pod strings from the snap peas pods.
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    All set to quickly saute the Sugar Snap Peas.

    Cook

    • Pre-heat a sauté pan on medium for about a minute.
    • Add olive oil to coat bottom of the pan.
    • When the oil is warm, add the sugar snap peas and sea salt to the pan. Continuously toss the snap peas with tongs.
    • Cook for about 2 minutes.
    • Add the grapefruit zest and dill to the pan.
    • Toss the snap peas with the zest and dill for about 2 minutes.

    Plate

    • Plate the sugar snap peas with the pecans.
    • Enjoy.
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    Sugar Snap Pea Plating Mise en Place
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    The Soil & Seed Garden Sugar Snap Pea Saute.

    2020 Sedona Plant-Based Cooking & Self Care Retreats

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    Getting started with our mindful chopping for our fresh Tomato Gazpacho and Avocado Tartare.
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    Beautiful Plant-Based Lunch Creation: Avocado Tartare
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    Yoga at one of my very favorite spots in the world: Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona.

    2020 Authentic Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Cooking Experiences at The Farm with Lead Grower Billy Anthony and award-winning cookbook author, Melanie Albert.

    Classes held at The Farm at South Mountain, 6101 S. 32nd Street, Phoenix, Arizona

    To Purchase, click below on the class date:

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  • Arizona Winter Farm-to-Table Cooking Class Experience at The Farm at South Mountain

    Arizona Winter Farm-to-Table Cooking Class Experience at The Farm at South Mountain

    By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Plant-Based Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author

    Let’s take a look at the beautiful intuitive Farm-to-Table Winter Harvest Cooking Class with Farmer Billy Anthony and myself at The Farm at South Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona.

    We’ve all heard the terms: farm-to-table, eat local, eat with the season, and plant-based.

    This class was truly an authentic farm-to-table plant-based cooking class, right in the Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm.

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    The week before the cooking class experience, Billy and I walked through the Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm and begin to strategize on food to harvest for the class, including all kinds of roots, greens, herbs, edible flowers, and other surprises.

    Taking into account what would be growing the day of the class, we created the draft menu direction for the class. Since there are quite a few different roots growing we decided the participants would create a few appetizers to enjoy with the roots, along with an intuitive green pesto with the greens of the day! Plus, since one of my very favorite desserts is a raw carrot cake, and carrots are “in season” we decided to add it to the menu.

    Our Arizona Winter Menu Direction

    • Appetizers
      • Green Pesto
      • Hummus
      • Olive Tapenade
    • Roots for “Dipping” : Carrots, Beets, Turnips, Radishes
    • Dessert: Raw Carrot Cake

    The morning of the class, Billy harvested the beautiful fresh produce, including:

    Greens

    • “Hail storm Arugula”
    • Shungiku (Chrysanthemum Greens)
    • Pea Tendrils

    Roots

    • Tropical Black Carrots
    • Mixed Beets: Detroit, Cylindra, Golden
    • Purple Top Turnips
    • Purple Daikon Radishes
    • French Breakfast Radishes
    • Black Spanish Radishes

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    Herbs

    • Micro-cilantro
    • Rosemary
    • Mint

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    Citrus

    • Lemons
    • Grapefruit

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    It was a little dreary in Phoenix the morning of the class, so we decided to hold the class right in the Soil & Seed Garden, where we could stay dry under the roof, in the event of rain. Take a look at how we created our “farm-to-table kitchen set” right in the garden!

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    Billy started the class with a Farm Tour to see where the roots and greens for the culinary creations are growing in the Soil & Seed Garden. And, the “lucky” participants harvested beautiful edible flowers.

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    The Soil & Seed Garden Tour with Lead Grower Billy Anthony
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    Melanie’s view during the Farm Tour, with the just-harvested Shungiku and Arugula.
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    “Lucky” class participants harvesting edible flowers to garnish their culinary creations.

     

    During the hands-on class, Melanie guided our guests to prepare the dishes and to plate them beautifully.

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    In awe, the Tropical Black Carrot Cake. Appetizers: Green Pesto, Tapenade, Hummus. Veggies.
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    Still in awe…the beauty of the Tropical Black Carrot Cake.

    So much creative joy…

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    We then enjoyed the beautiful culinary creations in the beauty of The Farm with our foodie community!

    Raw Carrot Cake Recipe

    Adapted from “A New View of Healthy Eating” by Melanie Albert

    Carrot cake has been a favorite of mine for decades. As much as I love the aromatherapy of cooking raisins with cinnamon and nutmeg for a baked carrot cake, I love the simplicity and freshness of a raw version of carrot cake.

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 1 cup dates, pitted and soaked for 1 hour in water, then rough chopped
      • Do not soak if dates are soft and moist
    • 2 cups carrots, shredded (Tropical Black / Purple Yellow, Orange)
    • 1 ½ cups apple, minced
    • 1 ½ cups raw cashews or pecans, ground into a fine meal
    • ½ tsp cinnamon, freshly ground
    • ½ tsp nutmeg, freshly ground
    • ½ tsp cardamom, freshly ground
    • Pinch sea salt
    • Garnish: Raspberries, blueberries, mint, edible flowers, and dehydrated grapefruit, oranges, and apples.

    SIMPLE STEPS

    • Gather mise en place.
    • Soak dates.
    • Place all ingredients into mixing bowl and combine gently with hands until the mixture forms a ball.
    • Press dough into springform pan.
    • Garnish with berries, mint, dehydrated grapefruit, edible flowers.
    • Refrigerate for an hour.

    Arizona Winter Farm-to-Table Pesto

    Simple pesto with local Arizona greens and herbs, enjoyed with Winter root veggies.

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 1 cup Shungiku (Chrysanthemum Greens)
    • 1 cup “hail storm arugula”
    • ½ cup fresh micro-cilantro
    • 2 tbsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice
    • 1 tsp lemon zest
    • 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
    • ¼ cup Arizona pecans, fresh cracked
    • Pinch sea salt
    • 2-3 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil

    SIMPLE STEPS

    • Place all ingredients except organic extra virgin olive oil into food processor.
    • Pulse to desired level of thickness.
    • Stream in olive oil little by little until smooth.
    • Taste and add extra garlic, lemon juice, or herbs to create a taste that’s right for you.
    • Enjoy with Arizona Roots

    Enjoy Arizona Herb Pesto.

    Arizona Root Veggies & Edible Flowers

    • Purple Daikon Radishes
    • French Breakfast Radishes
    • Purple Top Turnips
    • Beets: Detroit, Cylindra, Golden
    • Tropical Black Carrots

    2020 Sedona Plant-Based Cooking & Self Care Retreats

    2020 Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Cooking Experiences at The Farm with Lead Grower Billy Anthony and award-winning cookbook author, Melanie Albert.

    Classes held at The Farm at South Mountain, 6101 S. 32nd Street, Phoenix, Arizona

    To Purchase, click below on the class dates:

    Special One-Time Event

    Farm-to-Table Plant-Based Full Moon Ceremony at the Farm at South Mountain with Melanie Albert and Patricia Federico

  • Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table Spring Avocado Tartare

    Experience Nutrition: Farm-to-Table Spring Avocado Tartare

    By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author

    I love avocados, and often when I buy several at a time I love making Avocado Tartare with the avocados and local Arizona farmers’ produce and fresh herbs. As part of my mindfulness in cooking, I love having fun creativity plating the dishes differently every time I make Avocado Tartare.

    I invite you to use the ingredients in the recipe as a guide and then have fun creating your own Avocado Tartare with your local farmers produce.

    A few key base ingredients include: a ripe avocado, citrus such as lemon or lime, a few fresh herbs like basil or oregano, a pinch of sea salt to balance the acid of the citrus and fat of the avocado.

    Avocado Tartare Recipe

    Serves 1

    Simple Ingredients

    • 1 ripe avocado
    • 6-8 Romanesco florets (Blue Sky Organic Farm)
    • 6-8 Purple cauliflower florets (Blue Sky Organic Farm)
    • 3-4 Carrots, rough chopped (Blue Sky Organic Farm, Steadfast Farm)
    • 3 orange lunchbox sweet peppers, rough chopped
    • 5-6 chrysanthemum leaves (Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain)
    • 3-5 stems fresh oregano (Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain)
    • 1 fresh lime, juiced
    • ¼ tsp capers
    • 2 tbsp Kalamata olives
    • Pinch sea salt
    • Day 2: 6-8 Purple Snap Peas (Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain)
    • Garnish: 1 small bunch baby spinach, edible flowers, fresh oregano, dehydrated tomatoes (Day 2)
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    Avocado Tartare: Farm-to-Table Ingredients

    Simple Steps

    • Chop all veggies.
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    Avocado Tartare: Veggies Chopped
    • Place all ingredients, except garnish, in a bowl.
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    Avocado Tartare: Ready to Gently Mix all the Veggies
    • Gently mix with a fork.
    • Add additional sea salt or lime, to suit your taste.
    • Plate, using a ring mold, if desired.
    • Garnish with edible flowers, fresh herbs, dehydrated tomatoes, fresh baby spinach.
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    Avocado Tartare: Plating Mise en Place

    Let’s take a look a the plating video…

    Now, the final Spring Avocado Tartare, featuring baby spinach.

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    Simple Beauty: Arizona Spring Avocado Tartare

    Another look at the Spring Avocado Tartare…in my 1-week old Elevated Edible Garden.

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    Farm-to-Table Avocado Tartare, enjoying the Edible Garden.

    Spring Avocado Tartare Day 2: Simple Farm-to-Table Ingredients

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    Avocado Tartare Day 2: Farm-to-Table Fresh Ingredients.

    Simple Steps

    • Chop all veggies.
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    Mindfully chop all veggies.

    • Place all ingredients, except garnish, in a bowl.

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    For Avocado Tartare, place veggies in bowl to gently mix.
    • Gently mix with a fork.
    • Add additional sea salt or lime, to suit your taste.
    • Plate and garnish.

    All set: Plating Mise en Place

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    Avocado Tartare Day 2: Plating Mise en Place. Always mindful.

    Enjoy the Day 2 plating…different every time.

    Food Art: A look at the Day 2 Avocado Tartare elegant plate…

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    Food Art. Avocado Tartare.

    Pause and enjoy your plating. Another beautiful view of the Day 2 Avocado Tartare.

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    Farm-to-Table Avocado Tartare Day 2: Pause and enjoy the beauty.

    Fun. Taking the Avocado Tartare to the tropics…

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    Avocado Tartare Tropics, for my friends in Barbados.

    Interested in learning simple, easy plant-based cooking techniques and enjoy self-care in Fall 2019 (September 13-16, 2019) in the beauty of Sedona? Click to learn more.

    To learn more, feel free to call 602.615.2486 or e-mail Mel@MelanieAlbert.com 

     

     

  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Raw Turmeric Crackers

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    Recently, I had the great opportunity to purchase beautiful fresh organic Hawaiian turmeric root from McClendon Select at the Wednesday morning Uptown Farmers’ Market in Phoenix, Arizona. I love the fresh green taste and aroma of the turmeric, plus, its anti-inflammatory health benefits. 

    I had quite a bit of turmeric, so I decided to experiment with the turmeric in a raw dehydrated cracker. And, I’m so glad I did. While dehydrating, the aromatherapy of the crackers was warming and refreshing, perfect for a rainy Arizona evening.  And, oh my, the crackers are so vibrant tasting, easy to prepare, and I’m excited to make raw crackers more often.

    First, I’ll share the step-by-step process to dehydrate raw crackers in my book, “A New View of Healthy Eating” and then the intuitive cracker recipe I created with the fresh turmeric root.

    Excerpt from “A New View of Healthy Eating”: Dehydrated Raw Flaxseed Crackers

    Flax seeds, chia seeds, and buckwheat groats are perfect for a flatbread batter because they form a natural mucilaginous gel when combined with water. Once dried, it’s a great binder for crackers, flatbread, and raw tortillas or wraps.

    5 Ingredients for Dehydrated Flatbread or Crackers

    The basic ingredients to create the base for dehydrated flatbread or crisp crackers are very simple. Have fun using your intuition to create your own versions of crackers with this raw dehydrating process.

    1. Soaked flax seeds, chia seeds, or buckwheat groats
    2. Fresh vegetables (peppers, tomatoes, beets, carrots) or fruit (apples, pears)
    3. Nuts or seeds (almonds, cashews, pecans, sunflower seeds)
    4. Herbs and spices (basil, oregano, ginger, turmeric)
    5. Dehydrator: to dry for 8-12 hours

    Sweet Pepper Almond Flax Crisp

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 1/2 cup golden flax seeds, ground, then soaked in 1 ½ cups water
    • ¾ cup raw almonds, soaked in water for 2-3 hours, drained
    • 1 ¼ cup yellow bell pepper, minced
    • 1 shallot, minced
    • ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked and drained
    • 1 ½ tsp chili powder
    • 1 ½ tsp onion granules
    • 1 tsp sea salt

    SIMPLE STEPS

    1. Gather mise en place.

    2. Blend ingredients.

    • Add soaked flax meal (ground flaxseeds and water) and almonds to food processor and blend until smooth.
    • Remove and place in mixing bowl.
    • Blend yellow pepper, shallot, and sun-dried tomatoes with a touch of water.
    • Add chili powder, onion granules, and sea salt to food processor with the pepper, shallot, and sun-dried tomatoes until smooth.
    • Add vegetable mixture to the bowl with flax meal and almonds and fold together until thoroughly combined.

    3. Dehydrate.

    • Set dehydrator at 115 degrees F.
    • Spoon mixture onto dehydrator tray. Spread mixture evenly to ¼-inch thickness on non-stick dehydrator sheets with an off-set spatula.
    • Dehydrate 1-2 hours. Once partially dried, score batter to desired size and shape.
    • Dehydrate an additional 1-3 hours. Flip the crackers off the non-stick dehydrator sheets and onto the dehydrator screens so that the crackers dry properly.
    • Dehydrate an additional 1-2 hours or until crackers are crisp.
    • Dehydrating time depends on how thick the paste is to begin and how crisp you want the crackers.

    4. Options.

    • Soft taco shells: Once flipped onto the dehydrator screen, dehydrate for 1-2 hours or until batter is not wet and is pliable.
    • If crisps dry too much, sprinkle water to restore pliability.
    • Enjoy as a cracker snack, dip in hummus, or top with a pâté.

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    Intuitive Raw Turmeric Crackers

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 3/4 cup raw almonds, soaked 8-10 hours
    • ½ cup golden and brown flaxseeds, ground
    • 1 orange bell pepper, diced
    • ¼ cup dehydrated tomatoes, soaked 30 minutes
    • 2-3 tbsp soaking water from dehydrated tomatoes
    • 1 shallot, minced
    • Pinch sea salt
    • 1” fresh turmeric root, minced

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    SIMPLE STEPS

    • Soak almonds 8-10 hours in room temperature water.
    • Grind flaxseeds in blender.
    • Soak ground flaxseeds with ½ cup room temperature water for 30 minutes.
    • Process almonds and flaxseed mixture in food processor until combined. Pour mixture into bowl.
    • In food processor, process pepper, shallot, and dehydrated tomatoes, sea salt, and a few tablespoons of the tomato soaking water until smooth.
    • Fold in liquid mixture (pepper, shallot, dehydrated tomatoes) to the almond flaxseed mixture.
    • Fold in turmeric root.
    • Spread batter about ¼” thick with off-set spatula on dehydrator sheet.
    • Dehydrate at 115 degrees Fahrenheit for 1-2 hours.
    • Score to your desired shape.
    • Dehydrate another 1-2 hours. Flip crackers to mesh dehydrator sheet.
    • Dehydrate 2-4 additional hours to your desired crispness.
    • Enjoy!

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    As always, I invite you to share your raw cracker creations with us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating.

    And, if you’re interested in learning additional culinary techniques as a foundation for intuitive cooking, I’m happy to mail a copy of my book, “A New View of Healthy Eating” to you.

     

     

  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: How to Braise Leeks for Roasted Carrot Soup

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLCs

    Today, I’m excited that I completed the requirements and received my certification for the Plantlab Culinary Fundamentals of Plant-based Cooking 120-hour course, including knife skills, 61 cooking projects, written exams, and my Final Project.

    I’ll be sharing so much of my learning in future blogs and am also sharing my Final Project with you. My Final Culinary Project embraces our local Arizona farmers’ veggies with a menu featuring some of my favorite dishes and skills learned during the course.

    Let’s take a look at our local Arizona Winter produce in my Final Project.

    Arizona Winter Harvest Menu

    • FIRST. Roasted Carrot Soup.
      • Navel Orange Braised Leeks. Almond Cream. Edible Flowers.
    • SECOND. Sprouted Spelt Flatbread.
      • Arizona Winter Roasted Veggies. Pistachio Pesto. Almond Bechamel Sauce.
    • THIRD. Cacao Crepe.
      • Chickpea Crepe. Apples. Arizona Citrus Marmalade.
    • DRINK. Root Matcha Latte.
      • Chicory Root. Dandelion Root. Matcha Tea. Cashew Milk. Warm Spices.

    NAVEL ORANGE BRAISED LEEKS

    In the past, I’ve only eaten leeks in restaurants and love them, so I decided to include leeks as a green contrast to the sweet roasted carrot soup.

    Today, I’m sharing the recipes and cooking process for Braised Leeks, Almond Nut Cream, and plating of the Roasted Carrot Soup. Hope this inspires you to cook interesting soups.

    Almond Nut Cream

     INGREDIENTS

    • 1 cup almonds, soaked 8-12 hours and rinsed
    • 2 cups filtered water
    • Pinch salt
    • 1/2 tsp sumac powder
    • 1 tsp grapeseed oil

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    SIMPLE STEPS

    • Blend the almonds and water until smooth.
    • Stain in nut bag.
    • Return strained almond cream to blender and blend with salt and sumac.
    • Gradually stream in oil on low to emulsify.

    BRAISED LEEKS: INGREDIENTS

      • 3 leeks, cut into 1-1 ½ inch pieces
      • 2 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
      • 2 tbsp shallots, minced
      • ½ tsp coriander seeds
      • ½ tsp caraway seeds
      • ¼ cup vegetable stock
      • Pinch sea salt
      • 2 tbsp fresh navel orange juice
      • 1 tbsp navel orange zest
      • 1 cup almond cream
      • 1/2 cup almond cream
      • ¼ tsp sumac
      • 1 tbsp orange zest

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    ORANGE BRAISED LEEKS

    SIMPLE STEPS

    Prep

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
    • Clean leeks in cold water in a bowl to removed dirt between the layers.
    • Cut white and green part of  leeks into 1-1 ½ inch rounds.

    Sear Leeks

    • Heat olive oil in medium-high saute pan.
    • Add leeks to pan with round side face down on the pan.  Press leeks down with spatula to evenly  brown, for about 5 minutes. While cooking move leeks around pan to prevent them from sticking to the pan. After the first end has lightly browned flip and brown the other end.
    • Once both sides have browned, remove from pan and set aside.

    Cook Braising Sauce

    • Add shallot, coriander and caraway seeds to pan and sauté until shallot becomes translucent.
    • Add vegetable stock, salt, orange juice, and 1 tbsp  orange zest and bring to a boil.
    • Add almond cream and bring to a boil, stirring frequently, then reduce to a simmer.

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    Braised Leeks

    • Remove pan from stove, add leeks to pan with round side up.
    • Cover the pan with a tight oven-safe lid.
    • Place pan in oven to braise the leeks for 5 to 7 minutes, or until soft and tender when pierced with a fork.
    • Remove leeks from pan and set aside for plating.

    Almond Cream

    • Add ½ cup almond cream, sumac, and 1 tbsp navel orange  zest to pan.
    • Return pan to stove top and simmer, whisking frequently, until cream becomes thick. Once the sauce reaches desired thickness, remove from heat.

    ASSEMBLY

    • Place braised leeks, with round side up on bottom of flat bowl. Gently pour carrot soup into the bowl, with the tops of the leeks exposed.
    • Drizzle almond cream sauce on top of the leeks.
    • Garnish with edible flowers.

    The Roasted Carrot Soup. Orange Braised Leeks. Almond Nut Cream

    Happy to share a video look at the soup…

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    Interested in my book, A New View of Healthy Eating, I’m happy to mail a copy to you.

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