Cool Your Tastebuds with Kolrabi-Apple Salad

Thanks for starting to use the feedback boxes at the end of posts.  I'm hearing that you want more recipes, so here's one more to help you cool down and refresh your tastebuds after those stuffed poblanos.

Last week during my tour of area farmers markets, I bought some kolrabi.  I'd never had kolrabi before and I didn't really know what to do with it.  But I decided to buy some and figure it out.

I got it home, cut off a little piece, and gave it a taste.  I found it to be kind of like jicama in texture, but with a sweetness and a mild veggie flavor (some say it's like broccoli, but I found it to be more like early turnips).  The taste reminded me of a salad I'd made last fall with turnips, radishes, and apples, so I substituted my kolrabi for turnips and made a nice refreshing salad.  Give it a try.  I was never a fan of radishes, but I love them in these salads.  And I think the kolrabi was a great addition.  I'm not so great with exact amounts because I just love to play, but here's my best recreation.  Enjoy!

Kolrabi-Apple-Radish Salad
(This made ~2-3 servings, as a side dish)

• 1-2 kolrabi (sliced, I peeled half the skin off because I wanted to keep some of that beautiful purple color) --- in place of kolrabi, you can use 4 small, sweet white turnips
• 1-3 radishes, depending on your love of radishes (sliced)
• 2-3 stalks celery (sliced)
• 1 small apple, sliced thin
• ~1-1/2 tsp lemon juice
• ~1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt to taste

Just combine all the sliced/chopped (however you prefer them) veggies in a bowl.  Then toss with lemon, olive oil, and salt to taste.  Eat immediately or chill for later.  Keeps well for a few days. 

Have you tried kolrabi?  Tell us how you like to eat it -- raw?  cooked?  What's your recipe?


Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.  Try Something New.

Naturally Refreshing Drinks (Part II): Jugo de Sandia

Back in May, I told you that when I lived in Costa Rica I discovered my 2 favorite naturally refreshing drinks.  In that original post, I wrote about agua de pipa (coconut water).  And now, given this ridiculous heat wave we are experiencing, it's time to mention the other: jugo de sandia (watermelon juice).

Flashback to April 1996.  It was Easter Break and I headed to the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica with a few friends.  Our plan was to spend the week camping on the beach in Guancaste.  And we did.  The sweltering heat was not part of our plan.  It was easily over 100 degrees every day that week.  There was little shade.  The tent provided no real shelter.  And you can really only swim for so long!  The sunsets were glorious.  Not only because they were gorgeous paintings of reds, oranges, yellows and pinks, but also because we loved nighttime that week.  We would just lie down in the shallow water and stare at the moon.

But the sun always came up again, seemingly hotter than the day before.  We tried to stay hydrated, but it was tough because we had to lug all of our drinking water all the way down the beach to our campsite.  One day I was headed up the beach on a water run (Ha!  run. sure.) and I stumbled upon a little shack.  Several people were hanging around with plastic cups of something red.  They were smiling and laughing.  I wanted that!  Don't get me wrong.  I was happy.  I mean, come on, I was sleeping five feet from the Pacific Ocean.  I was happy.  But smiling and laughing were a long way off -- it was just too hot for that.  Until...

I went and ordered myself one of those cups of something red.  They told me it was jugo de sandia.  Huh, watermelon juice?  Up to this point in life, I had no desire to drink watermelon juice.  The idea of watermelon juice conjured memories of Jolly Ranchers and Tootsie Pops, rather than refreshment.   As I was laying there in a hammock in the shade, drinking my fourth plastic cup of watermelon juice, and listening to the waves of the Pacific Ocean, I thought, "How could I have been so wrong?  This is hands down the best thing I've ever had to eat or drink in my entire life!"  Maybe all those people were smiling and laughing at how wrong they had been too?  Maybe. 

Now I realize that context is king, but I still find watermelon and watermelon juice to be the most refreshing food and drink on a hot day.  I am currently having a big watermelon breakfast.  And last night, after I carved up my watermelon, I poured off the juice into a glass.  I closed my eyes as I drank it, and I swear I could almost hear the waves of the Pacific Ocean.  Good stuff!

So, there's my watermelon juice story, in honor of the power of watermelon to keep you sane during a heat wave.  It's not only refreshing, it also naturally satisfies your sweet tooth, is packed with antioxidants, and has anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.  If you haven't already, go get some watermelon.  If you want to make watermelon juice, just chop it up, remove most seeds, and blend (or just smash by hand), strain, chill, and enjoy.

Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.  Stay Cool and Healthy with Watermelon.

Healthy Junk Food?

I have been doing a Spring Greens Cleanse since last week, and the food on this cleanse mostly comprises greens and spring veggies (kale, arugula, fennel, watercress, asparagus) and some lighter grains (quinoa and millet). I love all that stuff, so it’s been really fun and I feel great eating all this seasonal food.

But this morning I cheated (sshhhhhhhh!) and enjoyed a bowl of junk food: some leftover quinoa reheated with stewed apples and cranberries, and topped with cinnamon, cloves, and sunflower seeds. I just started laughing out loud because of how guilty I feel that eating this food was cheating. Now don’t get me wrong. My version of cheating is not always this annoying… I LOVE chocolate (here’s one place to get your lovely raw chocolate) and I’ve been known to indulge in a bison burger with bacon and bleu cheese from time to time as well.

Since this morning, I've been thinking about how subjective the concept of “junk food” is, and that it is certainly relative to what our normal diet is at any given time. Even though when I say “junk food” you may instantly think about pizza, chips, and candy bars, I bet we all have a few healthy favorites that feel like junk food. (If not, I'll begin writing some recipe posts soon, so stay tuned for those!)

What’s your healthy “junk food”?  Can this healthy treat of yours become your “go-to junk food”?

I’m not sure that we can (or should) do it all the time, but if every once in a while we can substitute one of those bacon-bleu burgers for a nice home-cooked meal and one of those candy bars for a homemade whole fruit-based dessert, then I think we’re headed in the right direction.

Final thought:  If you’ve just got to have that junk food you’re craving, then what about this… Consider making your junk food at home. Homemade food is always better for us than whatever we might buy at the gas station or fast food restaurant -- at least you know what’s in there! And, if you have to make it yourself, you’re less likely to give in to that junk food craving every time it rears its ugly head. But if you do give in every once in a while and indulge in that pizza or candy bar, then be sure to take your time and enjoy it without guilt -- otherwise, it's just not worth it.

Eat Well.  Live Well.  Be Well.