Collard Wraps with Sun-Dried Tomato Pate

alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450466017741557362" />

The collard wrap is ever versatile and can accompany any number of ethnic foods. I typically do either an Asian style wrap with avocado, spouts, dikon, and a miso dip, or Mexican with black beans or nut pate, cilantro, tomato, and avocado. However, with this recipe I went for a simple Italian style wrap.

Sun-dried Tomato Pate

-1/2 cup soaked sunflower seeds (walnuts are great & pine nuts are even better)
-1/4 cup soaked sun-dried tomatoes(in warm water at least 1 hour)
-3 Tablespoons of water from soaked tomatoes
-juice of 1/2 lemon
-2-3 garlic cloves
-1 green onion stalk
-1/4 small red onion
- 1/4 head parsley chopped
-sea salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste

Place soaked sunflower seeds, tomatoes, and water in food processor and pulse briefly. Place all remaining ingredients, except parsley into processor and pulse until desired consistency is reached. Lastly, fold chopped parsley into pate in separate bowl as to not turn the spread green.

Collard Wrap Assembly:

Taking a large collard leaf, derib and cut length wise to make two wraps. Repeat with as many wraps as needed. Soaking wraps in lemon water will help make them softer but is not necessary. I rarely do this unless I am feeding those with more delicate tastes. Like making sushi, it makes things a load easier to have a clean work space with desired ingredients prepared in small bowls. This wrap included a fare serving of Sun-dried tomato pate as the base and then layered with additional chopped sun dried tomatoes(soaked), heavy hand full of spouts, finely chopped kalamata olives, and fresh dill. Place a fair amount of ingredients a forth of the way up the leaf(length wise) and role tightly towards yourself. Collard wraps are quite tough and can pack a fare amount of sustenance. Like sushi, one can be shown but in the end it just takes practice and a bit of boldness.
Serve wraps right away, or role in wax paper to take for lunch.

Lentil Apricot Salad

This recipe was inspired by a local co-op's lentil salad that included similar ingredients but was cooked, and contained less vibrant greens. The salad is quite satisfying and it could easily be a main dish for an energizing meal. The tangy fruit, pungent collards, and earthy lentils blend this salad into a divine combination.

Lentil Apricot Salad

-2 1/2 cups spouted green lentils
-1 head collards cut in thin strips
-2 large carrots cut on the diagonal
-1 medium shallot
-1/4 cup dried apricots sliced

Dressing:
-3 garlic cloves minced
-juice of one orange plus zest
-4 Tablespoons olive oil
-sea salt and pepper & cayenne to taste

-1/4 cup pecans

Place salad ingredients in large bowl and toss together, set aside. Mix together dressing and let sit to marinade at least 30 minutes. Before serving pour dressing and message well, especially into greens. Top with pecans, and serve. Great at room temperature or chilled for a later time.

Serves 2-4

Sweet Green Mousse

I have been on a raw kick the last few months and find it increasingly difficult to cook my food! Especially as the days are lengthening and the winter cold has since past, soup and warm dishes just don't sound inviting. It seems the more raw food I eat the better I feel anyhow, so why sway from that? I don't find it necessary to go 100% raw or die, as that kind of rigidity tends to be unsustainable. I just take it with the strides of a day, doing what feels right for the moment.

Anyway, this recipe is a loose variation of many I have been doing the past few weeks. It is a great breakfast treat when your not feeling the "green smoothie". Another great tweak on the recipe is not putting in any liquid and freezing it for a frozen sorbet. This recipe is a great base with myriad adaptations abound... do tell your favorite!

Sweet Green Mousse

-2 frozen bananas
-1 fresh ripe banana
-1 TBL Chia seeds (preferably soaked but not crucial)
-1 TBL Spirulina (or less or more)
-1 small avocado/or 1/2 large
-1/8 cup liquid of choice (nut milk is great, water is fine)

Place ingredients in decending order into high speed blender, blend on high until creamy, adding more liquid if necessary. Serve with a plate of fruit for dipping, on top granola, or freeze for a sorbet.

Mermaid Hair Salad

This recipe was an impromptu creation, when I was in dire need of fresh food. With a heavy dose of greens and choked full of  seaweed's trace minerals, this recipe is ideal after heavy holiday fare. The tofu makes for a more substantial main dish, but is completely optional. The kelp noodles(also known as mermaid hair) can be found at Asian markets and most health food stores.

Recipe: 

-1 head of lacinato Kale cut in fine strips

-1 package of kelp noodles rinsed and cut to desired length

- 1/2 cabbage shaved thin (or one small cabbage)

-2 large carrots diced 

-1 lemon(juice) 

-1/2 cup(or more) red cabbage sauerkraut(or any kind)

-splash olive oil 

-pinch or two of cayenne and sea salt 

optional:

-baked and chilled tofu strips

-sunflower or hemp seeds

combine kale, kelp noodles, cabbage, carrots in large bowl. Put lemon juice, olive oil, cayenne, and  sea salt in small boil and wisk together. Pour dressing over vegetable medley and message gently until well coated and slightly wilted. Fold in the sauerkraut and tofu if using and top with sunflower seeds and extra sauerkraut. This dish is best served after flavors marinade at least 2 hours. 

serves 4-6

Green on Green Salad

Some days need to end on a green note...today was one of those. With a hectic schedule during the day time it can be tricky to eat wholesome on the go. I strive to have at least one super raw salad a day, this one is just that, which can be served along side a main dish or loaded high for a nutritious green meal on its own. The dressing is my all time favorite, and is very simple to make...assuming you have fresh turmeric on hand. 

Salad Recipe:

-1 head spinach 

-12 asparagus spears cut in 2 inch increments 

-1 small head broccoli cut one or two bite sizes

-large handful of green beans chopped in 2 inch increments  

-3 stalks celery diced 

- 1-2 avocados to top

Optional: grated Parmesan, toasted sunflower seeds, Greek olives, etc..

Put a large pot of water on high heat to boil. Fill large bowl with ice cool water(adding ice cubes if you have them) and set aside. When water reaches boil throw asparagus, broccoli, and green beans in covered, for no more than 2 minutes. Quickly drain and plunge greens into ice bath. Roughly chop the spinach and place in large serving bowl with other greens. Drizzle lemon turmeric dressing(recipe below) throughout, tossing lightly. Top with sliced avocado and serve. 

Lemon Zinger Dressing Recipe:

-Juice of one Lemon

- 1-2 cloves garlic

-2 teaspoons diced turmeric(or more)

-1 teaspoon diced ginger root

-2 tablespoons of olive oil 

-pinch of sea salt

Serves 6 sides or 2-3 main 

Nettle Soba Salad

Nettle Soba Salad

Winter has truly come to an end, with or without the sun the nettles are popping up all over the place. Nettles are easy to forage, however finding them in an unpolluted area can be more tricky. Use gloves or a firm hand as to not get stung, and cut with a sharp knife or scissors so they can have a shot to come back. This recipe seems to be a starch on starch, but I thought the sweet yam flavor cut the pungent greens perfectly... and being chocked full of nutritious greens can afford some carbohydrate stacking. I previously made an authentic nettle pesto, but did not have any pine nuts or cheese on hand today. Far less fussy then pesto, I simply combined the cooked and drained nettles in a food processor with a little olive oil and a lot of garlic. I could see using this in many dishes: roasted potatoes, root vegetables, even an omelet. I happened to have Russian kale and dandelion greens needing to be used up, but any leafy green would suffice. This makes a great lunch, pot luck item, or even a main course. enjoy.

Recipe:  

1 box buckwheat soba noodles 

1 yam cut in 1/2 inch cubes(I used Japanese sweet)

1/2 head kale

1/2 head dandelion greens

2 cups cooked and drained nettle greens

5 garlic cloves

1/2 red onion diced

3 tablespoons olive oil

sea salt to taste

Boil a small pot of water and place cubed yam in for about 15 minutes or until tender and set aside. In small skillet sauté' kale, dandelion, in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, adding a little water if necessary, only wilt the green slightly.(less than 5 minutes) Place greens in with yams. Boil water for noodles, and cook for about 8 minutes. Drain and place in with yams and greens. For the nettles flash boil fresh leaves, equal to 2 cups when drained, and place in ice water. (I usually do as many as possible at once and save blanched leaves in fridge or freezer.)  Chop nettles roughly and place in food processor with 2 tablespoons olive oil and garlic cloves, pulsing until pesto consistency is reached. Mix nettles in, and add salt and diced red onion. top with farmers cheese if desired. 

On-The-Go Bar

This Seems to be my mantra lately..."on-the-go" that is...hence the lack of blogging. With full-time school and work, preparing thoughtful recipes is few and far between. The power bar section at the market seems ever expanding but I still have not found one that is truly satisfying. They are either too light, too sweet, taste chalky and strange, or simply don't settle well...not to mention pricey. This recipe is fairly basic and does not contain any refined flours or sugars. It is easily adaptable, and one could easily throw various seeds, nuts, dried fruit, coconut shreds, or chocolate. The recipe is large, so you can stick them in the fridge lasting up to a month or into the freezer for longer term storage. I neatly wrap them in wax paper(kind of shown in the photo) and throw a couple in the car for long, good foodless days.

Recipe:

-4 cups rolled oats (I use barley and tritacle, wheat would work fine)

-2 cups 7-grain cereal(or steel cut oats)

-1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

-1/2 cup sunflower seeds

-1/4 cup chopped almonds

-1/2 cup raisins

-1/2 cup dried cherries

-1/4 cacao nibs

-1/4 cups chopped dates

-3/4 cups apple sauce

-1/4 cup nut butter(almond, sunflower, cashew)

-1/4 brown rice syrup

-2 tablespoons molasses

-1 teaspoon sea salt

-1 tablespoon allspice

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Toast the rolled oats and seeds on low until fragrant, set aside. Place 2 cups of water to bowl in medium sauce pan, and add 7-grain cereal. Cook until water is absorbed, about 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the nut butter, brown rice syrup, dried fruit, nibs, vanilla, salt, and spice, folding in until well mixed. Combine the oat mixture and add the apple sauce, folding well. In 300 degree oven bake for around 20 minutes. This is not completely necessary but lets the flavors melt together, and dries the bars out to a nicer texture for traveling and more conducive to a longer shelf life.

Makes 15-20 bars