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!
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.
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.
As many of you are aware, I live in a wonderful area of Phoenix, Arizona with incredible urban farms right in my neighborhood, including The Farm at South Mountain. For four years I’ve been teaching hands-on plant-based farm-to-table cooking experiences at The Farm and have been intuitively creating recipes with the weekly CSA box. This week is actually Recipe #55!
Excited to meet the new farmers at The Farm…Olive, DJ, Nicole, Meredith, with Melanie Albert.
The Farm at South Mountain…Olive, DJ, Melanie, Nicole, Meredith
The Winter CSA for November 21, 2020 includes:
Detroit Red Beets
Purple Daikon Radishes
Rainbow Swiss Chard
Curly Leaf Lettuce
Lemon Basil
Eggs
The Farm at South Mountain CSA: 11.21.20
BEETS & DAIKON RADISH BOWL
This week’s recipe was inspired by the beautiful beets and purple daikon radishes. Create your Veggie Bowl with the beet roots and greens, daikon radishes, Lemon Basil Cashew Cream, quinoa and walnuts for a beautiful Winter dish.
Steps to Prepare the Dish
Roast the beets, daikon radishes, and green onions.
Prepare the Lemon Basil Cashew Cream
Sauté the Beet Greens.
Plate the roasted roots, sautéed greens, Lemon Basil Cashew Cream, and walnuts.
Enjoy the Beets Bowl video for step-by-step visuals of the cooking process. Scroll down for the recipes.
All Recipes Serve 2
ROASTED BEETS, DAIKON RADISHES & GREEN ONIONS
Roasted Beets & Daikon Radishes
Roast the Winter roots for your simple-to-prepare, tasty farm-to-table veggie bowl.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
2 beet roots
2 daikon radishes
3-4 green onions, sliced
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp dried herbs, such as Herbs de Provence
Pinch sea salt
SIMPLE STEPS
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
Cut beet roots, daikon radishes into unique shapes and sizes.
Place roots (beets and radishes separately) and onions into a small bowl. Coat with olive oil, dried herbs, and sea salt.
Place roots, not touching, on parchment-lined sheet pan.
Layer onions on parchment-lined sheet pan.
Roast for 12 minutes.
Flip the veggies.
Roast another 12-15 minutes.
SIMPLE LEMON BASIL CASHEW CREAM
Create this simple plant-based cream with the lemon basil to enjoy with roasted roots.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
1 cup raw cashews, pre-soaked in water for 2-4 hours
¼ cup lemon basil leaves
2 green onions
2 tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup nutritional yeast
Pinch sea salt
2 tbsp olive oil
SIMPLE STEPS
Place all ingredients into food processor.
Process until chunky.
Stream in olive oil while processing.
Process to desired level of creaminess.
SAUTEED BEET GREENS
Create this quick sauteed beet green side to enjoy with the Roasted Beets and Radishes Bowl.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
Tops of 2 beets, sliced (greens and stems sliced separately)
2 green onions sliced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Pinch sea salt
SIMPLE STEPS
Pre-heat sauté pan on medium.
Pour olive oil into pan.
Add onions.
Sauté for 3 minutes.
Add beets stems.
Sauté for 1 minute.
Add beet greens.
Add pinch sea salt.
Sauté for 3 minutes.
NEW Online Plant-Based Food Art Program
Interested in learning more about plant-based cooking and creating beautiful dishes, I invite you to register for our new 3-Day Food Art course. Learn how to prepare the recipes and create beautiful dishes: Avocado Tartare, Roasted Veggie Bowl, and Raw Carrot Cake. CLICK TO REGISTER.
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.
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.
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.
During our coronavirus stay-at-home, a simple to prepare lunch, breakfast or snack, is an “avocado tartare.” You might call it avocado salsa with a few extra veggies. I hope this avocado recipe guide inspires you to create your own beautiful, delicious avocado tartare with whatever vegetables are in your kitchen. – Melanie Albert
To these base ingredients, add in a few veggies – any kind – available at your local farmers’ markets, local farmers, or grocery stores. Some ideas: Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives.
The plant-based cooking video guides you through the simple step-by-step process to prepare the avocado salsa. And, for reference, you can printout the recipe.
Avocado Salsa Recipe Guide
Use this recipe as a guide for Avocado Salsa with whatever veggies are in your refrigerator. This is a great recipe to experiment with intuitive cooking, where we choose a few vegetables, herbs, and aromatics we are attracted to and enjoy our creation.
Serves 1
Simple Ingredients
1 avocado
2 tbsp green onions
2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
1 tsp Meyer lemon juice
Pinch sea salt
1 carrot, sliced
3-4 cauliflower florets
Optional garnish: few broccoli stems
Avocado Tartare: Simple Ingredients
Simple Steps
Chop all ingredients
Toss all ingredients into a bowl.
Mix avocado with a fork.
Add Meyer lemon juice and sea salt to the avocado.
Mix all ingredients with a fork.
Mindfully plate.
Enjoy
Aocado Tartare: Plating Mise en Place
Since I love Avocado Tartare’s so much, I’ll continue to share some of my intuitively created dishes with you, to give you more ideas on how you an mix-and-match veggies, herbs, aromatics, and citrus.
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 Cooking Leader, Founder & CEO, Experience Nutrition in Phoenix, Arizona. Award-winning cookbook author, speaker, corporate wellness, team building, retreat leader, and caterer.
Use this quick and easy culinary technique to roast any kind of veggies in your refrigerator, if possible, grown by your local farmers. All you’ll need is a few of your favorite vegetables, extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt. That’s it. A few simple ingredients and easy cooking method to create a tasty, healthy veggie side dish. – Melanie Albert
Thanks to our local Arizona farmers who are working so passionately to bring great, local food to our community while we’re all social distancing and cooking more at home. Thanks to my long time farmer friends at The Farm at South Mountain, Blue Sky Organic Farms, The Farm at Agritopia, Crooked Sky Farms, Rhiba Farms, Whipstone Farms, Steadfast Farm, Phoenix Pinnacle Farms, Maya’s Farm, and the Community Exchanges. From my heart, I really appreciate you.
Thank You Farmers Markets
Here in Arizona, I’d also like to thank our local farmers markets to continuing to stay open as grocery stores, so we have a safe place to purchase the quality food from our farmers, and our farmers have a place to sell the produce that is growing so abundantly right now. Special thanks to my friends at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market, where I’ve been leading cooking demos for several years.
Quick Roasted Veggies Recipe
Create this quick roasted veggie dish with a few of your favorite veggies in your kitchen and enjoy it with quinoa or brown rice.
Cooking Tip:Since some veggies cook faster than others, be sure to remove veggies from the pan when they have been cooked.
Simple Ingredients
Four to six of your favorite veggies.
For this intuitively created recipe, I pre-ordered a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) from Blue Sky Organic Farms in Litchfield Park, Arizona. I then quickly picked it up at the Saturday Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market.
½ Caraflex cabbage (sweet and mild)
4-5 orange carrots, sliced
1 large green onion, sliced
½ kohlrabi, sliced
½ yellow (cheddar) cauliflower, sliced
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Pinch sea salt
Garnish: Sunflower seeds, arugula, edible flowers
Extras: Cooked brown rice or quinoa
Quick Roasted Veggies: Ingredients
Simple Steps
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
Slice all veggies into bite-sized pieces.
Place veggies into baking pan.
Drizzle veggies with the olive oil and sea salt.
In to the Pan: Veggies, Olive Oil, and Sea Salt
Roast for 12 minutes.
Toss veggies.
Roast for another 12-15 minutes.
Enjoy veggies with quinoa or brown rice.
Plating
Plate the veggies in a veggie bowl with quinoa or brown rice, along with pumpkin seeds, arugula, and edible flowers.
Now that nearly everyone around the world is staying at home to help flatten the Coronavirus Curve, I will be sharing simple Food & Lifestyle Tips of the Day. The intention of the tips is to give you ideas that you could incorporate easily into your day-by-day activities around living a healthy lifestyle while we are all at home. And, in the long run implement tips that resonate with you to positively affect your life. — Melanie Albert
Some of the tips will be around plant-based food, cooking, and eating with recipes, culinary (cooking) techniques, and even food art. Other tips will focus on positivity, mindfulness, and self-care.
Meet Melanie Albert
As a little background for those of you who do not know me, a few highlights. I am the founder & CEO of Experience Nutrition in Phoenix, Arizona, and award-winning cookbook author.
My passion is plant-based farm-to-table culinary, and I’ve led hundreds of cooking experiences, courses and retreats. I’m trained with 610 hours of plant-based culinary training.
2007 graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition / Certified International Health Coach
9 years marketing, branding, and licensing consultant with Weil Lifestyle, LLC/Andrew Weil, MD
5 years nutrition and cooking with former NFL players, catering and events at Super Bowls, and official Health & Wellness Partner of the NFL Alumni Association in 2011.
200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher and nearly 20 years practicing yoga.
For decades, I’ve lived my passion around healthy lifestyle, cooking, and eating, and am happy to share ideas with you.
I’ve been a work-from-home entrepreneur for 25 years; thus I have decades of personal experience with being at home, and enjoying it.
I hope you are inspired by some of the motivational food and lifestyle tips I share with you.
Experience Nutrition: Food & Lifestyle Tip of the Day: Cook Intuitively…with what’s in Your Refrigerator.
What is Intuitive Cooking?
With Intuitive Cooking, we pay attention to food. We notice the shapes, colors, flavors, and aromatherapy. By listening to our heart or gut, we choose a few foods we wish to purchase (at local farmers markets, if possible). When it’s time to cook, we pay attention to our bodies. What are we craving. Which foods are we visually attracted to. Then we cook with those foods and enjoy our meals.
During our stay-at-home, it is also important to cook with our intuition. We listen to our bodies and senses. And, we cook with what’s available in our kitchens during these days when our food options may be limited.
5 Simple Steps to Get Started with Intuitive Cooking
Learn basic culinary (or cooking) skills or techniques and then use those skills to intuitively create dishes and meals with ease and confidence.
Cook with what’s in your kitchen.
Use a recipe as a guide.
Substitute ingredients in the recipe with what you have in your refrigerator.
Have fun experimenting and enjoy your creation.
Intuitive Cooking Avocado Salsa Recipe
Today, with intuitive cooking in mind, I created a very simple Avocado Salsa with what was in my refrigerator and little edible garden. This is a quick and easy lunch or snack. You’ll need an avocado, an aromatic (any onion), garlic (if you have it), a small tomato, citrus (lemon or lime), a fresh herb (parsley, basil, cilantro, marjoram), and sea salt. Plus, include optional ingredients for plating (such as broccoli or cauliflower).
Use this recipe as a guide for Avocado Salsa with whatever veggies are in your refrigerator. Some ideas: Green or red bell peppers, carrots, celery, cucumbers, olives.
Serves 1
Simple Ingredients
1 avocado
2 tbsp onions
½ tsp garlic cloves, minced
1 small tomato or ½ cup mini tomatoes
½ tsp lemon juice
½ tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp fresh herbs, such as basil, cilantro, or marjoram
Pinch sea salt
Optional: few broccoli stems
Simple Steps
Chop ingredients.
Avocado Salsa: Ingredients Chopped & Ready
Toss all ingredients into a bowl.
Mix with a fork.
Mindfully plate.
Enjoy.
Please share your Avocado Salsa creations with us on Instagram @nutritionauthor #experiencenutrition and let me know if you have any cooking questions.
Since October 2018, I have had the honor to create weekly recipes for the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) at The Farm at South Mountain, an urban farm less than a mile from my home. To date, I’ve intuitively created 47 recipes for the members of the CSA. Each Friday, I pick up the incredible just-harvested CSA produce and herbs at The Farm from lead farmer Billy Anthony, and then come home and create a recipe for the Saturday morning CSA bags.
Cooking at Home. Right now, while more and more people are cooking at home with the Coronavirus “stay-at-home” I’m finding it even more important to share my recipes to more and more people, beyond the CSA members.
For those of you who are cooking at home, I invite you to use this recipe as a guide to sauté a simple, tasty roots and greens dish. Use whatever roots (radishes, turnips, beets, carrots) and greens (kale, collards, dandelion greens) your local farmers are growing. And, for citrus, feel free to use a lemon, orange, or grapefruit.
For the CSA members, I hope you enjoy creating this recipe with the beautiful local Arizona produce in your CSA.
Citrus: Grapefruit, lemons
Roots: Beets, Turnips, Mixed Radishes
Greens: Sugar Snap Peas, Braising Greens, Gem Head Lettuce
Farm Salad Bag with Glacier Lettuce
Mint
Eggs
Please share your culinary creations with us on Instagram @nutritionauthor @thefarmatsouthmountain.
Honestly, it was a little emotional picking up my CSA at The Farm on Friday, March 27, 2020. Here’s a glimpse.
Roots & Greens Sauté Recipe
Thanks to Lead Farmer Billy Anthony of the Soil & Seed Garden for growing such beautiful, tasty produce for our community. We appreciate your dedication, especially while we are Coronavirus social distancing.
Make this simple sauté with roots, greens, and the lemon from your CSA, along with an onion.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
1 medium purple daikon or another radish
1 medium turnip
3-4 stems kale
½ cup sugar snap peas
5-7 stems dandelion greens (from Farm Salad Bag)
½ white or red onion, or 2 green onions, sliced (not in CSA)
1 lemon, ½ juiced and zested
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Pinch sea salt
Garnish: Few mint leaves
SIMPLE STEPS
Mise en Place (Everything into place)
Thinly slice radish and turnip with mandoline or knife.
Pull center stems out of kale and tear leaves into bite-size pieces.
Slice onions into moon-shapes.
Zest the lemon.
Cook
Pre-heat sauté pan on medium heat on stovetop.
Once the pan is warm, place onions in pan, sauté until soft, for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add sliced radish and turnip to the pan.
Drizzle sea salt, lemon juice, and lemon zest onto the radish and turnip.
Sauté for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Move radishes and turnips to the middle of the pan.
Add snap peas, kale, and dandelion greens to the edges of the pan to cook with the olive oil.
Drizzle a pinch of sea salt onto the green veggies.
Cook for about 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Plate
Plate the roots, greens, and sugar snap peas onto the plate.
Garnish with mint.
More Plant-Based Cooking Recipes. I look forward to sharing additional recipes and ideas with you, while we area all “at home” during the Coronavirus. Please check back, as I’m also shooting some simple cooking videos for my Experience Nutrition YouTube Channel.
Sedona Cooking Retreats. A few people have been asking about the 2020 Sedona Plant-Based Cooking Retreats. We have not yet cancelled the June 12-15, 2020 retreat, and at this point I’m pretty sure we will hold the September 18-21, 2020 retreat. Let me know (Mel@MelanieAlbert.com) if you are interested in either retreat, and I will keep in touch with you. Just fyi, link to the retreat information.
By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, LLC in Phoenix, Arizona. Plant-Based Farm-to-Table Leader, award-winning cookbook author, speaker, corporate wellness, team building and retreat leader.
By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author
I am so honored and have so much fun intuitively creating dishes inspired by what’s growing seasonally by Lead Grower, Billy Anthony, at the Soil & Seed Garden at the Farm at South Mountain, a local urban farm in Phoenix, Arizona, just a few minutes from my home.
Let’s take a look at The Farm at South Mountain this Spring and some of the beautiful flowers: Bachelor Buttons, Sunflowers, and Asters. Perfect spot to breathe in nature and enjoy a moment of self care. Yet, another reason to visit our local urban farms.
The Farm at South Mountain: Beautiful Bachelor Buttons
Quick Arizona Farm-to-Table Chopped Spring Salad
While Billy Anthony of the Soil & Seed Garden is still harvesting a few Arizona Winter root crops (beets, carrots, daikon), in early May, Spring veggies (zucchini and celery) are also growing. It’s a fun time to create a really simple salad combining the different colors, flavors, and textures of both seasons. Plus, so great to garnish with basil – Amethyst and Genovese from my first Elevated Edible Garden!
Look closely…The beauty of the squash and it’s blossom…
The beauty of nature: Zucchini & Blossoms
Simple Ingredients
Chopped Salad
3-4 carrots, cubed
1 zucchini, cubed
1 daikon radish, cubed
3-5 celery stalks, rough chopped
1 medium tomato or 8-10 mini-tomatoes
indfully set to prepare the Chopped Salad.Spring Chopped Salad: Mise en Place
Dressing
½ fresh lemon juice, approximate ¼ cup
½ cup olive oil, twice as much as the lemon juice
2-3 stems fresh herbs, such as mint, basil, and onion chives, rough chopped
Pinch sea salt
Simple Steps
Pour lemon juice, olive oil, fresh herbs, and sea salt into a small bowl.
Whisk until combined.
Adjust with lemon, olive oil, and salt to suit your taste.
Basil Mint Onion Chives Salad Dressing
Place all veggies into a bowl.
The Chopped Veggies are ready.
Pour dressing over the veggies.
Gently toss.
Garnish with fresh herbs and edible flowers, such as bachelor buttons.
Enjoy your fresh salad.
Join us at our Plant-Based Cooking & Self Care Retreat in Sedona, Arizona, September 13-16, 2019. Would love to share more with you and answer any questions. Melanie Albert
By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author
I am so honored to share my passions for healthy, beautiful plant-based food on The List TV Show to the show’s audience in 41 markets across the USA. This segment was a lot of fun to create and shoot with Producer Jacqui Denker and Co-host Segun Oduolowu.
Producer Jacqui Denker asked me if I knew how to work with “Chokeberries.” Well, in all honesty, I had not heard of Chokeberries, but did a quick “Google Search” as we all do, and found that they were also called Aronia. Chokeberries sounded as though they would be similar to the superfood berries, Acai or Macai. I thought it would be fun to create with Chokeberries which I had never even tasted and agreed to work on the Chokeberry tv segment on Chokeberries with The List.
Northwest Wild Foods: Our Chokeberry Source
Little did I know after spending half a day driving around Phoenix that Chokeberries were not readily available locally here in Arizona. I was not able to find frozen, dried, or powdered chokeberries anywhere.
With a little more research, I was thrilled to find Chokeberries at Northwest Wild Foods an incredible family-owned company located between the temperate Puget Sound and the rugged Cascade Mountains of the Pacific Northwest in Burlington, Washington. Northwest Wild Foods grows and harvests rare and natural berries of their region.
Within two days my supply of frozen, dried and powdered Chokeberries and other beautiful Wild and Organic berries arrived at my home. It was time to begin recipe testing for The List TV show segment. Honestly, I had so much fun creating these recipes to receive the antioxidant benefits of the chokeberries while enjoying a tasty Smoothie Bowl, Salad, and Dessert.
Get to Know Chokeberries
Chokeberries have been extremely popular in Europe for over 50 years, and grow extremely well in the northern US climate. Chokeberries are similar in size to blueberries with a deeper darker blackish blue color and are rich in anthocyanins, which have high anti-inflammatory effects in the body.
The Farm at South Mountain. Soil & Seed Garden
Meanwhile, to bring our local Arizona farmers into the dishes, I reached out to my friend, passionate Lead Gardener Billy Anthony at the Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain, a beautiful urban farm where I hold cooking events and located less than a mile from my home. We discussed what was growing and brainstormed the local seasonal greens we could include in the salad along with edible flowers and herbs for garnish.
Some of my favorite greens were growing, including Glacier Lettuce (Ice Plant), Minutina, Spinach, and my favorite floral Shungiku (chrysanthemum). Plus, fresh herbs oregano, mint, and basil were in season. And, this time of year, in Phoenix, Billy is growing a wide range of stunning, tasty edible flowers that offer beauty and taste to dishes. I was especially excited about Pansies, Chrysanthemum, Violas, and red Begonias.
Morning of The List TV Shoot: Chokeberry Recipe Prep
The morning of The List TV Shot, I prepared all three recipes before the crew arrived. For my own pleasure I enjoyed the Chokeberry Superberry Smoothie Bowl. Plus, I made another batch of the Chokeberry Lemon Pops with fresh pansies grown at The Farm at South Mountain and made the simple delicious Chokeberry Dressing.
The Refrigerator Set for the 3 Chokeberry Recipes
Our Set for The List TV Segment
Honored to invite The List crew into my kitchen: Multi-talented fun co-host Segun Oduolowu, creative Producer Jacqui Decker, and talented, meticulous cameraman, Ryan. Such a joy filming and enjoy our Chokeberry creations together.
A few outtakes from the tv shoot, with a behind the scene video and photos.
Segun’s Chokeberry Creations
During the shoot, I guided Segun to prepare the three Chokeberry recipes and, as always, so in awe of his willingness to have fun with the food and to creativity plate the dishes.
Enjoy a few photos from the shoot and the Dishes we created during the shoot.
Chokeberry Superberry Smoothie Bowl
Simple Greens & Berry & Walnut Salad with Chokeberry Dressing
Frozen Chokeberry Lemonade Pops
A little fun, getting set for the Chokeberry Lemonade Pops
The Chokeberry Recipes
Intuitively create a full day of meals with the power antioxidant-rich chokeberries (Aronia) which score 3-4 times higher on ORAC as blueberries. While chokeberries are tart and a little bitter, they are a powerful superberry for delicious smoothie bowls, salad dressings, and even frozen pops.
Chokeberry Superberry Smoothie Bowl
Simple Greens & Berry & Walnut Salad with Chokeberry Dressing
Frozen Chokeberry Lemonade Pops
Chokeberry Superberry Smoothie Bowl
Start the morning with an antioxidant- and protein-rich smoothie featuring powerful chokeberries (Aronia berries). Add hemp and chia seeds for plant protein and fats. Plus, dates and banana add sweetness to the smoothie. Enjoy with your favorite fresh or frozen berries, herbs, and edible flowers.
In our recipe with The List, we garnished with a superberry antioxidant frozen blend of wild Blueberries, wild Lingonberries, and wild Sea Buckthorn from Northwest Wild Foods.
Smoothie (1 serving)
Simple Ingredients
2 tsp chia seeds, pre-soaked in ¼ cup coconut water for 20 minutes
1 cup coconut water
1/4 cup hemp seeds
1 tsp chokeberry powder
¼ cup frozen chokeberries
1 Medjool dates, pitted and rough chopped
1 ripe bananas
Garnish: Edible flowers, fresh basil, frozen berries (such as wild blueberries, lingonberries, and sea buckthorn)
Chokeberry Smoothie Mise en Place
Simple Steps
Blend all ingredients in food processor or blender.
Add additional dates for sweetness, if desired.
Pour smoothie into a bowl.
Garnish with frozen berries, fresh basil, and edible flowers.
Mindfully enjoy.
Blend all ingredients.
Blend all ingredients in food processor.
All set to plate the Chokeberry Smoothie
Mindfully Plate and Enjoy your Chokeberry Superberry Smoothie
Enjoy your Chokeberry Smoothie.
Simple Greens & Berry & Walnut Salad with Chokeberry Dressing
Enjoy a simple fresh greens salad with tasty Chokeberry Honey Mustard Garlic Dressing. Add a few fresh or frozen berries, figs, and walnuts for a nutrient-rich fresh salad. For taste and beauty, garnish with fresh herbs (mint, basil, or oregano) and edible flowers.
Serves 2
Chokeberry Honey Mustard Garlic Dressing
Simple Ingredients
2 tbsp stone ground mustard
¼ cup organic extra virgin olive oil
Pinch sea salt
1 ½ tsp local honey
1/8 cup frozen chokeberries, mashed with spoon
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
Chokeberry Dressing Mise en Place
Simple Steps
Pour mustard, organic extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt into a small bowl.
Whisk until well combined.
Add honey, chokeberries, and garlic to the bowl.
Whisk until well combined.
Taste, and adjust flavor, as needed for more sweetness or saltiness.
Save to toss with the salad.
Whisk all ingredients until well combined and add more honey, mustard, or oil to suit your taste.
Greens & Berry Salad
Simple Ingredients
2 cups of greens, such as Spinach, Arugula, or Shungiku (Chrysanthemum greens)
3-4 fresh herb stems: Oregano, mint, or basil
¼ cup walnuts
3 dried figs, sliced
¼ cup fresh or frozen berries. Fresh mulberries or blueberries; Frozen wild blueberries, lingonberries, and blackberries.
Garnish: Edible flowers
Greens & Berry Salad Plating Mise en Place
Simple Steps
Place greens and fresh herbs into medium bowl.
Pour dressing over the greens and herbs.
Lightly toss to coat all greens and herbs with the dressing.
Add figs, walnuts, and berries to the greens.
Lightly toss.
Plate and garnish with extra berries and edible flowers.
Enjoy!
Frozen Chokeberry Lemonade Pops
Enjoy Superberry Chokeberry Lemonade Frozen Pops this Spring and Summer. Make your own home-made lemonade, add chokeberry powder, a few berries, a few edible flowers, freeze, and enjoy.
Makes four 3 ounce pops
Simple Ingredients
Chokeberry Lemonade
1 cup coconut water
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 apple, sliced
1 tsp chokeberry powder
1 date, rough chopped
Additional date(s), for desired sweetness
Garnish
Edible flowers
¼ cup frozen berries (such as wild blueberries, lingonberries, and sea buckthorn)
All set to make the Chokeberry Lemonade
Chokeberry Lemonade Pop Mise en Place
Simple Steps
Chokeberry Lemonade
Place coconut water, lemon juice, and apple in food processor or blender.
Add date and blend until smooth.
Taste and add lemon juice, apple, or date for desired sweetness.
Add chokeberry power and blend.
Freeze the Pops
Place frozen berries, banana slices, and/or edible flowers into frozen pop molds.
Pour Chokeberry Lemonade into the molds.
Freeze for 6 hours.
Remove from mold.
Chokeberry Frozen Pops ready for plating with Edible Pansies, Blueberries, Lingonberries, and Sea Buckthorn Berries
Enjoy a refreshing spring and summer treat.
Enjoy Chokeberry Lemonade Frozen Pops
A fun outtake video from The List TV Shoot with Segun Oduolowu. Thanks Jacqui Denker for the capture! Love working with both of you!
As a final note, if you are interested in learning about our Sedona Plant-Based Cooking & Self Care Retreat, September 13-16, 2019, you can learn more on the Experience Nutrition website, and if you are interested please let me know and we can chat.
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.
By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author
Each week I have the incredible opportunity to intuitively create recipes with the beautiful food so passionately grown by urban farmer Billy Anthony in the Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona.
This week I decided to experiment with hummus and the Soil & Seed Garden’s Chrysanthemum Greens and Onion Dill, enjoyed with Roasted Diplomat Broccoli and Radishes.
Let’s take a look at the Winter CSA in March 2019
The Farm at South Mountain Soil & Seed Garden CSA, March 2019
Especially inspired by the Chrysanthemum Greens and Onion Chives
Green & Red inspiration for this week’s intuitive dish.
Winter Farm-to-Table Hummus and Roasted Veggies Recipe
GREEN HUMMUS RECIPE
Simple Ingredients
2 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
⅓ cup chickpea water
3 tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste or sesame seeds)
2 tbsp fresh grapefruit juice (or lemon juice)
3-4 stems Shungiki (Chrysanthemum Greens)
8-10 Onion Chives
Pinch sea salt
2 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
Green Hummus Mise en Place
Simple Steps
Place all ingredients (except olive oil, greens, and chives) into high-speed blender (such as Vitamix) or food processor.
Blend until smooth.
Add in the greens and chives, and blend.
Adding the Chrysanthemum Greens and Onion Dill to the base hummus.
With food processor running, stream in olive oil.
After the hummus has been blended, taste and add more of any of the ingredients to suit your taste.
ROASTED DIPLOMAT BROCCOLI & RADISHES RECIPE
Simple Ingredients from the Soil & Seed Garden
10-12 radishes, sliced
3-4 Diplomat Broccoli stalks, sliced
The Farm at South Mountain Soil & Seed Garden: Diplomat Broccoli. Radishes.
Other Simple Ingredients
2 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
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.
Lightly toss veggies in olive oil with a pinch of sea salt.
Place veggies on parchment-lined flat sheet pan, flat side down with veggies not touching.
Mindfully place radishes and broccoli on parchment-lined flat sheet pan.
Roast for 12 minutes.
Flip veggies.
Roast for another 12 minutes.
Plate veggies with the hummus.
Mise en place for the Hummus. Broccoli. Radishes.
Mise en place (all ingredients in place) for the Green Hummus. Broccoli. Radishes.
The plating of the hummus…
Enjoy Green Hummus with Roasted Broccoli and Radishes for Snacktime.
By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author
I was so excited to intuitively create this farm-to-table recipe with the POM BOX with the Pomegranate Café in Ahwatukee and Rhibafarms in San Tan Valley, Arizona.
This recipe is inspired by the range of roots and the fennel in the POM Rhibafarms Box. Veggie Bowls are popular and we can prepare a really quick veggie bowl with a simple roasting technique where we cook all veggies in a pan or two. Cook a whole grain and make your own tasty Veggie Bowl.
Let’s take a look at the POM Rhibafarms Box…
The beauty of the POM Rhibafarms Box
Closer look at the POM Rhibafarms Box
POM Rhibafarms Quick Roasted Veggie Bowl
INGREDIENTS from the POM RHIBAFARMS BOX
Rhibafarms: Carrots, rainbow radishes, broccoli, fennel, green onions, red beets
Pomegranate Café: Flaxseed Crackers
QUICK ROASTED VEGGIES
Simple Ingredients
2 red beets
1 fennel bulb
5-7 yellow carrots
3-5 green onions
5-7 broccoli florets
5-7 mini-peppers
1 purple sweet potato
1 tsp sea salt
3 tbsp dried spices: Your choice: Mediterranean Blend, Southwest Blend
Simple Steps
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
Slice all veggies into bite-sized pieces.
Place veggies into baking pan.
Place purple veggies (sweet potato, beet) into baking pan.
Place all other veggies into separate pan.
Drizzle both pans of veggies with olive oil, spices, and sea salt.
Roast for 15 minutes.
Mix veggies.
Roast for another 12 minutes.
Use veggies in veggie bowl.
Fennel Almond Brown Rice
Simple Ingredients
1 cup brown rice
2-3 fennel bulb slices
1/3 cup almonds, sliced
2 cups water
Fennel Almond Brown Rice
Simple Steps
Pour all ingredients into medium pot.
Bring to a boil.
Lower to simmer.
Cook covered for 15-20 minutes, until all liquid has been absorbed.
Fennel Almond Brown Rice ready for the Veggie Bowl.
Plating: Create your Veggie Bowl
One-by-one place brown rice and veggies into bowl.
Garnish with the Pomegranate Café Flaxseed Crackers.
POM Rhibafarms Veggie Bowl
A fun video of the creation of the POM Rhibafarms Box Veggie Bowl.
A few more recipes created with the POM Rhibafarms BOX:
Thanks to Natural Awakenings AZ magazine for featuring my Plant-Based Chocolate Pie on the cover and Plant-Based Dessert recipes in the January 2019 issue.
Natural Awakenings Arizona, January 2019
Natural Awakenings Arizona, January 2019. Start the New Year Off Right
PUBLIC COOKING CLASSES AT THE MARICOPA COUNTY LIBRARIES
I’m honored have been leading hands-on cooking and yoga classes with the Maricopa County Library District since 2016. For the Winter Reading Program, the class focuses on Mediterranean Plant-Based Culinary. We’ll be preparing Hempseed Tabouli, Olive Tapenade, and Herbal Hummus. Classes are Free to the Public. Call the libraries directly to make your reservation.
Tuesday, March 19, 2019, 5:00-6:30pm: Litchfield Park Branch Library
More to come in the Summer Reading Program: June & July 2019.
SPRING COOKING CLASSES & EVENTS IN THE PHOENIX ARIZONA AREA
HUMANA:March 27, 2019, April 24, 2019, May 29, 2019, 12:30-1:30pm: Humana Monthly Healthy Cooking Demo, Humana Mesa. March topic: Plant-Protein.
PHOENIX MARKET:April 13, May 11, 2019, 10:00-11:00am: Kids Cook at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market. Melanie shops the market and then shares beautiful ways to enjoy food with the kids.
GRANDFAMILIES PLACE: March 18, April 29, May 30, 2019, 4:30-5:30pm, Grandfamilies Place, Gregory’s Fresh Market. Kids learn how to prepare simple healthy dishes, then plate and serve to their grandparents.
By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author
Each week I have the incredible opportunity to intuitively create recipes with the beautiful food so passionately grown by urban farmer Billy Anthony in the Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona.
Spring Farm-to-Table Flatbread
The beauty of the Soil & Seed Garden greens and “purple greens” were the inspiration for my weekly flatbread.
Let’s take a look at the Spring CSA
The Farm at South Mountain: CSA March 2019
SPRING FLATBREAD RECIPE STEPS
To prepare your Spring Farm-to-Table Flatbread, follow the following recipes to create a flatbread with your local seasonal ingredients. Please share your flatbread creations with us on www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating or tag @nutritionauthor on Instagram.
Roasted Veggies: Choose a few seasonal veggies, such as cauliflower, radishes, and tomatoes.
Sauteed Greens & Purples: Choose a few of your favorites, such as arugula, spinach, or shungiku (chrysanthemum).
Cashew Cream: Quick Plant-based sauce created with raw cashews.
Quick Yeast-Free Flatbread: Quick flatbread that takes less time that yeast flatbread.
Creation Video: Layering of veggies onto the flatbread.
Final Flatbread: A look at the cooked flatbread with sauteed greens.
ROASTED VEGGIES RECIPE
Simple Ingredients from the Soil & Seed Garden
10-12 radishes, sliced
1 small head, cauliflower, sliced
Other Simple Ingredients
2-3 small tomatoes, sliced
3-4 mini sweet peppers
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
Ingredients Set for the Spring Flatbread and Sauteed Greens & Purples
Simple Steps
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
Slice veggies into bite-sized pieces.
Mise en Place: Roasted Veggies
In a bowl, gently coat veggies with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.
Add olive oil and a pinch of salt to veggies prior to roasting.
Place veggies on parchment-lined flat sheet pan, flat side down with veggies not touching.
Place veggies on parchment-lined flat sheet, with veggies not touching.
Roast for 12 minutes.
Flip veggies.
Roast for another 12 minutes.
Use veggies as flatbread toppings.
Roasted veggies are ready for the Spring flatbread.
SAUTEED GREENS AND PURPLES
Simple Ingredients from Soil & Seed Garden
2 cups of 3-4 greens from Soil & Seed Garden, such as Shungiku, Minutina, Purple Orach, Red Spinach
3-4 leaves, lemon verbena
1 tsp organic extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tbsp fresh grapefruit juice
Pinch sea salt
Mise en place for sauteed greens: Red Spinach, Purple Orach, Shungiku (Chrysanthemum), Minutina.
Simple Steps
Pre-heat medium sauté pan on medium.
Add olive oil to pan.
Add to pan, green colored greens, lemon verbena, pinch sea salt, and 1 tbsp grapefruit juice.
Lightly toss the greens to cook for 2 minutes.
Remove greens from pan.
Follow same cooking steps for the purple greens.
Saute greens lightly and quickly with squeeze of fresh grapefruit juice and a pinch of sea salt.
Greens & Purples Sauteed for the Flatbread
The beauty of the greens and purples.
CASHEW CREAM
Simple Ingredients
1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 2-4 hours
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Pinch sea salt
¼ cup water, adjust for desired creaminess.
Simple Steps
Pour all ingredients into a blender.
Blend to desired smoothness.
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)
Mise en place set for the Yeast-free Quick Flatbread.
Simple Steps
Place pizza stone into oven. Pre-heat oven to 390 degrees F. Pre-bake the stone for about 5 minutes.
In large glass bowl, with a fork mix dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt.
Mix the sprouted spelt flour, baking power, and salt. Then add olive oil and water.
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.
Kneed the dough 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.
Roll out the flatbread 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 cashew cream on the top of the flatbread.
Add veggies to the top of the flatbread.
Cook for about 8 minutes.
Garnish with edible flowers.
Enjoy!
Mise en Place Spring Farm-to-Table Flatbread
Mise en place to prepare the Spring Flatbread.
Enjoy the Step-by-Step Video of Layering the ingredients on the flatbread.
Let’s take a look a the beautiful, tasty, local Arizona flatbread.
Thanks to Natural Awakenings AZ magazine for featuring my Plant-Based Chocolate Pie on the cover and Plant-Based Dessert recipes in the January 2019 issue.
