Roll Up and Eat Up! Quick and easy lunch solution.

Frisee salad tossed with portobello mushroom, avocado, parsnip ribbons, red bell peppers and shallots dressed with balsamic walnut vinaigrette

Serving Size per batch: 3-4 roll ups

"cooking" time: 30 min

Salad Ingredients:

1 small head of Raddicchio, remove leaves carefully

1 Red Bell Pepper, heavy chop

1 head of Frisee, cut off base

1 small Shallot bulb, sliced

1/4 Avocado, sliced

1 small Parsnip, peeled length wise 

1 medium Portobello Mushroom, remove gills and dice 

Balsamic Walnut Vinaigrette Ingredients:

2 tbsp Crushed Walnuts

1 pinch salt

5 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar 

2 tsp Grade B Maple Syrup

1/4 Avocado, chopped

Directions:

In food processor blend dressing ingredients until smooth.  Combine salad ingredients, except for radicchio leaves, in a large bowl and toss with about 3 tbsp of dressing.  Add a handful of salad mixture into the center of radicchio leaf, roll up and eat up!

who says super bowl snacks have to be bad for you!?!?

Beet Tartare & Citrus Avocado Mousse Canapes

Ingredients:

3 endives (leave in refrigerator until you are ready to serve)

1 large red beet (peeled and diced)

2 medium golden beets (peeled and diced)

1 cara cara orange, juiced 

1 meyer lemon, juice 1/2 (set the other half aside for garnish)

10 basil leaves (messy chop)

1/4 tsp salt

2 medium limes, juiced

4 avocados 

"cooking" time : 30 min

serving size: 2 leaves

Servings per batch: about 10

*You can wear gloves if you want to prevent your hands from turning red when peeling and cutting beets.

Directions:

Beet Tartare - Combine diced beets, chopped basil leaves and salt into a large bowl.  Squeeze the juice of cara cara orange and 1/2 of meyer lemon onto the beets and blend ingredients.  Cover with plastic wrap and leave out at room temperature while you make the avocado citrus mousse.

Avocado Mousse - Scrape the meat of the avocados into food processor, discarding the skin and pits. Finish with lime juice and mix until avocado become smooth and fluffy.

Endive - Wash endive and pat dry, discard any leaves with bruises or imperfections. 

***  Time for plating ***

Place a dollop of avocado citrus mousse on an endive leaf with a small spoonful of beet tartare on top of it.  To finish, squeeze a few drops of meyer lemon juice on the beets.

Photo credit: Sayf Khidir

Play with your food!

Eating raw food this time of year can be tricky.  With variety being limited it is important to find ways to switch things up.  I love to play with different styles of cutting fruits and vegetables.  This may seem minor but it really can change a dish.  The recipe below is a great example of what happens when you play with your food.

kale + avocado + endive + hempseed + beets = yum!!

1 avocado (diced)
1 bushel of kale (flat leaves ; chiffonade cut)
1 large endive (chiffonade cut)
3 small golden beets (messy chop)
3 small radishes (fine dice)
1 rainbow radish (fine dice)
3 tablespoons raw organic hempseed
1 lemon (juice)
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 1/4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tangerine (zest)
salt to taste

mix ingredients in a medium size bowl and enjoy!
(can be served in endive leaf or rolled in collard greens leaf)

Check this link out for knife and cutting techniques

http://www.slideshare.net/catherinepatterson/knife-and-cutting-techniques-presentation