|
Creating Super Raw Salads Tips
Incredible edible Raw salad recipes and food combining tips for best flavors and blends.
Date: 3/20/2005 7:40:26 AM ( 19 y ) ... viewed 9338 times This message posted by Ami Joi Benton ; Curezone Team Member
welcome to visit my website if you like,
click page refresh when you get there (internet page refresh)
to ensure you are seeing any new updates.
Wrenn's Web
_______________________________________________________________--
How to Make Great Salads
by Frederic Patenaude
This article is taken from the book The Sunfood Cuisine, and reproduced with permission.
The salad is often viewed as the staple of the healthy diet, for many reasons. First, everyone needs to eat more green vegetables. And a salad is a perfect way to eat more of these important foods. Green vegetables are an important source of minerals, especially calcium, which are essential for maintaining health.
There was a “turning point” in my raw food recipes making abilities, particularly for saladsBefore it I made fairly good salads, but nothing to be exited about. Somehow, I learned how to make salads that brought a lot of positive comments. Because of the praise I was receiving from those who ate my salads, I decided to stop and analyze what I was doing. I asked myself such questions as, “What is so different about my salads,” “How come when I go to a restaurants they always serve me salads that are less than amazing, no matter how good the restaurant is,” and “What is the process I go through in order to create perfect salads every time?” After all, I didn’t use any recipes, I just used whatever was in the fridge at the moment. I threw together a bunch of stuff in a bowl, and some magic seemed to occur that no one seemed to be able to reproduce. I thought I had a special talent like some magicians or fortune tellers. But it was far from the truth. I was just an ordinary man, with a technique that operated at the level of the subconscious. I would make good salads every time because every time I used the same process.
__________________________________________________________________
The key to making amazing food is understanding how to combine different flavors that you normally would not think of mixing together. So what are those basic flavors?
* Sweet
* Sour
* Salty
* Bitter
___________________________________________________________________
That is what you learned in school, remember? But there is a lot more to it than that. There are all the textures that you have to play with too. Here are some other flavors, textures, and taste sensations that are important:
* Juicy
* Fatty
* Creamy
* Hot (spicy)
* Tangy
* Fruity
* Crunchy
* Crispy
___________________________________________________________
So here is what I came up with: Every time I made a salad, I used certain categories of
ingredients that possessed some of the textures or flavors I just mentioned, and found original ways to include these flavors in my salads
________________________________________________________
I also found that the categories of food I often mixed together were of the following
combinations:
Crunchy-Bitter — Green vegetables
Tangy-Sour — Lemon juice, or apple cider vinegar
Fatty-Creamy — Avocado, oil, or nut butters
Salty — Sea salt, sea vegetables, nama shoyu, or tamari sauce
Sweet — Fruits, sweet nuts, maple syrup and honey
And I often used a spicy ingredient, such as garlic, onion, cayenne pepper, or tabasco sauce.
____________________________________________________________
Also, I realized that there are two basic rules I follow when making a salad. One is to make the dressing separately, and add it on top of the salad. The dressing then contains some of these flavors in it, and is poured onto a variety of greens. The other is to simply add the dressing ingredients directly into the salad by mixing all of the ingredients together in a bowl.
__________________________________________________________-_
So once I came to the realization that this was is process I use to create great salads, I went on my way to teach it to some of my friends. They soon became great salad makers, without any recipes. Some times after I made them a salad they asked me, “So where’s the sweet ingredient?” and I responded: “There’s no sweet ingredients in that salad.” They were surprised that I did not follow my own rules. I then explained them that the rules are not rules, but general guidelines that did not have to be followed to the letter. They are simply ideas to be played with.
__________________________________________________________________
Using the following chart, you can make perfect salads, without having to follow any recipes. Or you may also try out my salad recipes, or salad and dressing recipes, and find out for yourself how I apply some of these concepts in the creation of the salads.
To make a perfect salad, learn to combine ingredients in each of the following categories in an original way. Remember that your salads do not need to contain too many ingredients.
Let one flavor dominate.
Vegetables and Greens
* Chard
* Chopped broccoli (use in small quantities)
* Chopped cauliflower (use in small quantities)
* Collards
* Curly lettuce
* Kale
* Parsley
* Purple or white cabbage
* Romaine lettuce
* Slices of cucumber
* Slices of mushrooms
* Spinach
* Strips of pepper, in one or more colors
* Zucchini
* All other vegetables
_______________________________________________________________
Tangy-Sour Flavorings
* Apple cider vinegar
* Lemon juice
* Lime juice
* Passion fruit juice
* Pomegranate seeds
* Pomegranate juice
* Sorrel
* Sourgrass
* Tabasco sauce
* Tomatoes
______________________________________________________________
Oily-Fatty Ingredients
* Avocado
* Flax seed oil, olive oil, hemp oil (Always used the cold pressed-varieties)
* Ground nuts and seeds
* Tahini
* Whole soaked nuts and/or seeds
_____________________________________________________________
Salty Flavorings or Ingredients
* Celery
* Dulse
* Kelp powder
* Nama shoyu, or tamari sauce
* Sea salt
* Sundried olives
* Tabasco sauce
____________________________________________________________
Sweet Flavorings or Ingredients
* Diced apple
* Diced pear
* Other types of fruit
(mango, grape, oranges, pineapple, tangerine or papaya) sometimes work
* Grated carrots
* Grated fresh corn
* Honey or maple syrup (small quantity)
* Passion fruit juice
___________________________________________________________
Spicy Flavorings or Ingredients
* Arugula
* Cayenne pepper
* Jalapeño pepper
* Garlic
* Mustard greens
* Onion
* Radish
* Tabasco sauce
___________________________________________________________
In addition to these flavors, you may also flavor your salads even more by adding your choice of fresh herbs, such as basil, dill, and cilantro. You may also use some of your favorite spices, such as curry, cumin, and cayenne pepper.
____________________________________________________
Another important aspect: Presentation
As important it is to please our palates, it is also important to please our eyes. The presentation of food is really important, even if you are making the food just for yourself. Learn how to present food artistically. To do this, work on arranging the food according to its colors, shapes, and sizes.
Make your meal look so good that you feel like you do not even want to start eating it. Be an artist with foods. Even if you are eating more simple meals, such as plain fruits and vegetables, you should arrange them artistically. Why? Because you don’t just eat with your mouth, you also eat with your eyes. For example, let’s take a look at salads. How could you make them look better? Maybe if you were to take some colorful vegetables, such as carrots and beets, and grate them. Use these colorful gratings to decorate your salad.
______________________________________________________________
The appearance of food is especially important if you are trying to get people other than yourself to eat better. By presenting the food artistically they are twice as likely to go for it. Children like to play with food like that, so let them create their own raw food art.
Ingredients that can enhance presentation
* Edible flowers
* Grapes
* Grated beets
* Grated carrots
* Melon balls
* Pine nuts
* Pomegranate seeds
* Slices of mushrooms
* Slices of starfruits
* Strips of red, orange, and/or yellow peppers
* Strawberries, and other berries
* Vegetables spirals made with the Saladacco machine
* Anything with color, and especially if it is sliced artistically
______________________________________________________________
Raw Food Recipes: Saladas
Salads are often thought of being the "staple" of a healthy, vegetarian diet or raw food diet. They are, indeed, very beneficial foods. But most people's idea of a salad is not so exciting. This is because they have not taken the time to learn how to prepare great salads! Click here to learn how to prepare the best salads.
For more great salad recipes, check out my booklet Raw Soups, Salads and Smoothies.
_________________________________________________________
Venice Salad
2 cups mixed greens (young spinach, arugula, etc.)
1 head lettuce, chopped
1 tomato, diced
1 cup arugula, chopped
10-20 kalamatha olives, pitted and chopped
1 avocado, diced
4 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. nama shoyu, or tamari sauce
1 lime or lemon, juice of
1 handful pinenuts
Mix all the vegetables in a bowl, along with the olives and avocado. Drizzle with the olive oil, nama shoyu (or tamari sauce), lime or lemon juice, and sprinkle with the pine nuts. Pine nuts are sweet and creamy, and add richness to this salad. If you cannot find kalamatha olives, use other types of olives, but not “sundried” olives, which are too bitter for this type of salad. Serves 3-4.
____________________________________________________________
Coucher de Soleil
8 cups lettuce (any kind you like), chopped
2 cups purple cabbage, minced
1 cup parsley, finely chopped
2 avocados, peeled and diced
2 Tbs. flax seed oil, or olive oil
1 lime or lemon, juice of
2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbs. maple syrup, or 1 Tbs. honey diluted in 1 Tbs. water
pinch of sea salt
dash of nama shoyu, or tamari sauce
dash of tabasco sauce (optional)
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. You can also start by mixing the last 7 ingredients in the bowl, and then adding the rest. Serves 3-5.
_____________________________________________________________
Arizona Winter
1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grapefruit juice
1/2 to 1 tsp. sea salt
2 Tbs. nama shoyu, or tamari sauce
1 Tbs. dried sage
1 Tbs. dried mint
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
4 cups chard, chopped
4 cups lettuce, chopped
2 cups kale, chopped
2 cups spinach, chopped
In a large bowl, stir the olive oil, grapefruit juice, salt, nama shoyu, sage, mint, and cayenne pepper together. Add the remaining ingredients. Mix well. Use more or less olive oil depending on your taste. This is an example of how you can use the sweet taste of a fruit (grapefruit) to balance the rest of the ingredients.
Serves 3-5.
for more great recipes from Frederic go HERE
Add This Entry To Your CureZone Favorites! Print this page
Email this page
 Alert Webmaster
|
