Hemp Med Bowl

August 30, 2016 Helene Trager-Kusman

One of the fun parts of moving to a new city has been navigating the wellness scene, especially finding local health food companies, farmers and other small businesses. I was completely intrigued to learn about the local production of hemp and what a great benefit it is to both the economy and environment. I have always incorporated hemp seeds into my breakfast bowls (oats, smoothies, etc.) for an extra pop of protein, but never considered them as a nutritious addition to heartier meals.

Meeting Chad Rosen from Victory Hemp Foods lead to an entirely new discovery of hemp's uses and benefits. According to Rosen, founder of VHF, "Hemp foods are nutritious and delicious; with the ideal ratio of Omedga-6 to Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and a protein profile with all 9 essential amino acids including L-Arginine as well as Magnesium. It's a superfood that our bodies can thrive on." He introduced me to hemp oil, which he recommended as a perfect oil for dressings.

In this recipe, hemp oil helps create a creamy tahini dressing both used to massage the kale and drizzle on top. I also recreated by basil avocado cream using hemp oil, then added texture to the avocado by topping it with hemp seeds. Other components of the bowl are: spiced roasted sweet potatoes, red onion, quinoa, cucumbers, chickpeas and kale. Love this hearty bowl as a post workout protein refuel.

Ingredients:

1 Can chickpeas
Kale
1/4 Cup Tahini
Cumin
Coriander
Salt/pepper
1 Cucumber
1 Red onion
Victory Hemp Foods Hemp Hearts
Victory Hemp Foods Hemp Oil
2 large or 4 small garlic cloves
1 large sweet potato
1/2 cup quinoa (dry)
1 cup Vegetable broth (low sodium)
Fresh Basil
2 Lemons

Method:

Tahini Dressing: Add tahini, juice of 1 lemon, 1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, 2 Tbsp hemp oil, salt and pepper to food processor. Pulse until combined. Add 1tbsp of water at a time and pulse until dressing is your desired consistency (should be thin enough to drizzle but thick enough that it's still creamy)
Avocado Cream: Follow this recipe, but use hemp oil
Sweet Potatoes: Cube sweet potatoes and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin and coriander. Roast at 400 degrees for around 35 minutes or until tender when poked with a fork. Use a spatula to toss them around the pan halfway through.
Quinoa: Add quinoa and vegetable broth to a small pot. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 30 minutes or until broth has been absorbed.
Massage kale with a generous amount of tahini dressing using your hands until it's more tender. Add chopped red onion and cucumber, rinsed and drained chickpeas, and sweet potatoes to kale. Drizzle bowl with remaining tahini dressing. Put a dollop of avocado cream in the middle and top with hemp hearts.

Creamy tahini dressing is perfect for breaking down and massaging the kale

Stem to Root Carrot Salad

July 15, 2016 Helene Trager-Kusman

Cooking stem to root has become not only a way to reduce food waste, but also an extremely trendy cuisine these days. It's all about experimenting with eating the whole plant and finding unexpected ways to use edible plants and flowers in preparation and granishes. I have had some really delicious dishes with beet greens, but wanted to experiment at home with carrot greens first, as I usually have and waste those.

Carrot tops are quite bitter and so I wanted to prepare them in a way that would make sense and still taste good. Since pesto is one of my weekly go to salad components, I decided to experiment with a carrot top pesto. In this recipe I used basil, garlic and lemon juice to add some more flavor to the strong tasting greens. I did not use cheese, but you could also add Parmesan. Walnuts were my nut of choice, but you can really use any number of nuts such as Brazil or pine nuts. I have been playing with other kinds of oil besides olive oil and really like how avocado oil works in dressings like pesto.

CARROT TOP PESTO

I put the whole tops in on this batch but recommend pulling off and chopping the greens first.

Ingredients:

Greens from tops of 3-4 carrots
Fresh basil
2 garlic cloves
Juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup of walnuts
Pepper to taste
Avocado oil

Method:

Rip off stem and chop up the greens before putting them in the food processor (I found that mine got too tangled when I put them right in).
Add all ingredients except oil to the food processor. Pulse until everything is evenly combined.
Drizzle avocado oil while pulsing. Continue this process until pesto is at your desired thickness. I usually keep a thick pesto in the fridge for a week and will add more lemon juice and oil to some of it when I want it as a thinner dressing.

SALAD

Ingredients:

Radishes
4 large carrots
1 cup quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth (or water)
Arugula
About 25 fava bean pods

Method:

Unzip the fava bean pods by pinching the end and ripping down the seam-like edge. If you have trouble doing this, slice them open with a thin, sharp knife. Remove the encased beans.
Prepare an ice bath while boiling water in a large pot. Add salt to the water and blanch the beans for about 3 minutes. See this lesson on blanching vegetables.
At the same time, bring a smaller pot of water or vegetable broth+cup of quinoa to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is cooked.
After beans have cooled, use your fingers or a thin, sharp knife to open the little cases and squeeze gently so the beans pop out.
Thinly slice radishes or use a mandoline. Use a vegetable peeler, grater or mandoline to either ribbon or grate the carrot roots.
Combine all ingredients in a large salad bowl and toss with the pesto.

Lemony Asparagus Salad

April 8, 2016 Helene Trager-Kusman

This salad can be served as a side or entire meal since the quinoa in it is packed with protein. Pine nuts can be swapped for slivered almonds. Shaved Parmesan can be removed to make it vegan. If you go that route, try adding sun dried tomatoes for some extra flavor.

Ingredients:

Bunch of asparagus
1 lemon
2 garlic cloves
1 onion
1 cup of quinoa
Pine nuts
2 cups of vegetable broth
olive oil
salt/pepper
Arugula

Method:

Break off the ends of the asparagus or simply estimate and cut to be quicker. Dispose of ends then continue chopping asparagus into about inch long pieces. Mince garlic cloves and chop onion.
While you are doing this, bring 2 cups of vegetable broth/1 cup of quinoa to a boil. Once it begins to boil, slow it down to a simmer until quinoa is finished cooking.
Toast pine nuts in a pan on low heat while continuously shaking pan to avoid burning. As soon as you notice the slightest darkening of color, remove from pan and set aside.
Warm olive oil in the pan, then add half of the minced garlic. After stirring for a minute, add onions and continue stirring until onions are translucent. Finally add the asparagus and store contuously until asparagus is cooked perfectly. I like to test one of the thicker parts to make sure it's cooked right before removing from heat.
Whisk together zest and juice of the lemon, remaining garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.
Combine all ingredients, tossing the dressing with the greens, quinoa, vegetables, pine nuts and shaved Parmesan.