Spring is traditionally a really good time to cleanse our digestive systems. The energy of Spring is that of new growth, of change, those seeds have to push through the dirt to find light. Fresher food is more available. For the most part, the weather is warmer. Not so much the last few weeks here in Central California! It has been raining a lot.

I decided with the excited support of my nutritionist with whom I work to do a 21 day raw food diet. I have ( had) gotten too set in my ways what I was willing to eat and not eat. I had been partaking of too many ( albeit WAY less than in the past) starchy carbohydrates and grains. Dairy, to which I am intolerant, was creeping back in….. mmm, cheese! raw cream! so, this felt really right. I am at almost 2 weeks now and going strong. I am following an omnivore raw diet. This means that I am eating some raw fish, raw egg yolks which I have written about here, and no, it is not raw but have had a bit of seared very rare meat. I have had a bit of raw goat cheese as well. I eat as many vegetables as I can including some that are fermented, a couple of portions of fruit a day, nuts and seeds, and plenty of fat in the form of coconut, olive, flax, and hemp oil.

Yes, I have been hungry. Yes, I have had equal moments of being gloriously satisfied.

I feel different. I have lost some weight. ( I haven’t weighed myself in a very long time, but I can see it and feel it). My ankles aren’t as swollen. My joints are no where near as inflamed. I am sleeping even better than before. It will be interesting next week when I start adding in more meat, cooked veggies how I continue to feel. It will be a good time to really tune in. Do I feel better because of no grains? no chicken? Or, do I feel better because of how many vegetables I am eating ?

So, no cooking per se which is weird for me. But, lots of chopping and mixing and creating interesting things. The food dehydrator has come out a few times. Here are a few photos of some concoctions.

An old standby, beet and carrot salad, I have enjoyed it with tahini miso dressing, occasionally with some walnuts, and occasionally wrapped up in some nori like a sushi roll.

I love this version of seaweed salad, found long ago on the internet. I would love to give credit but now I cannot find it so thank you to someone out there in the seemingly infinite world wide web. The basic ingredients are green apple. wakame seaweed, and avocado. I mostly stick with this and make a dressing out of different kinds of oils, coconut vinegar and a raw egg yolk. Truly, the egg yolk just disappears into it. If you click on the wakame link, you will discover as I did that it is a very invasive weed that can do damage to boats, etc. It is so nutritious, I wonder what this all means for the future of eating it.

Not such a great photograph but oh so delicious. Cafe Gratitude Cafe in the San Francisco Bay Area is a pioneer both in their delicious raw cuisine but also in how they do business. I have raved about their onion bread in another post. Here is a Spinach Tortilla from their cookbook. I topped it with a bit of kefir cream and some salmon and halibut ceviche. Sadly, it was gone in a few bites.

So, another week to go. I do look forward to having a piece of chicken and some roasted vegetables. It feels good that the simple things are what are calling to me. We will see.

Are you intrigued by the raw food diet ? My friend mentioned above is leading a raw food cleanse starting with an informational meeting this coming weekend. Please click on the link above and you will learn more about it, or leave a comment here.

on my personal chef clients’ menu this week

I was a busy personal chef this week with 2 new clients. The busier I get, the easier  I want my menu planning to be, so 2 of the three families I cooked for this week, got this delicious Hot and Sour Salmon, adapted from a recipe from Dr. Andrew Weil. ( The other clients are vegetarian!)  And this weekend, I am cooking it for myself.

Salmon fishing season just ended here in the Monterey Bay.  It was short and very few salmon were actually caught. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch has updated their opinion on eating salmon and recommend avoiding eating any California Salmon. Your best bet continues to be wild caught from Alaska.  Here, in California, that is widely available. If you are not familiar with the Seafood Watch program, please click on the link  and learn about it. Subscribe to their blog, “like” them on Facebook, donate some time and/or money. It is a fabulous program. I have learned a lot from them.

Hot and Sour Salmon with Greens

serves 4

4 6 oz. portions of wild caught Alaskan Salmon ( I prefer the fillets)
2 lbs. bok choy, cleaned and ends trimmed
1 bunch swish chard, chopped
6  green onions, ends trimmed, cut into julienne slices on the diagonal
3 T. minced or grated fresh ginger
2 T. coconut oil ( or olive oil)

6 T. tamari
3 T. chinese black vinegar or Worcestershire sauce
1 T. honey ( local and organic is best)
2 T. minced garlic

Mix the last 4 ingredients in a small bowl for the sauce.

Melt 1 T. of the coconut oil in a saute pan, add the greens and ginger . Cook for several minutes until lightly done. ( The water from freshly washing the greens will help steam them a bit)

Remove the greens and arrange nicely on a platter. ( or in my case for my clients, I put them into small glass or plastic containers)

Melt the other tablespoon of coconut oil. Place the salmon serving side down into the pan and saute until nicely seared. Turn the salmon, lower the heat, cover the fish,and cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. ( Time will depend on the size of your fillets, how well cooked you like your salmon ). During the last few minutes, take a few Tablespoons of the sauce and drizzle over the fish.

Place the cooked fish on top of the greens and pour the rest of the sauce over the whole thing.  You could serve this just by itself for a simple meal. One of my clients also got some veggie fried rice with this and the other got some roasted broccoli.  Either way, it will be delicious.

I just came home from a fabulous trip to Alaska.  I am full of negative ions from the waterfalls, full of beauty from the sights and sounds of the whales, eagles, and ravens, cleansed by the rain, filled with the magic of the rainforest and the light of the almost endless days of this season, and most particularly for today’s post, filled with delicious, fresh off the boat salmon. Our cook took a boat out to the fishing boat, negotiated with the fishermen, brought home some fish, and a few hours later we ate it. It absolutely doesn’t compare to anything that we can get from any grocery store. Salmon live here, in the Monterey Bay off the coast of Santa Cruz, but the season is very short and it is very expensive. Fresh salmon season runs from early summer to early fall.  I usually buy my salmon frozen from Trader Joe’s, which is wild from Alaska and frozen right on the boat so a good choice.  There is a lot of farmed salmon available. Please, please, do not ever buy farmed salmon. The fish are fed so poorly, and they use pesticides and herbicides to keep the water “clean”. That runoff goes into our watersheds. The fish sometimes escape ( and who would blame them!) and weaken the natural fish population. Let’s support the fishermen who use wise sustainable practices and we will have salmon to enjoy and eat for many years to come. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has an excellent website with much information about sustainability and which fish we have the green light to eat.

Besides being delicious, salmon is so good for us! Low in calories, high in protein, it also contains a proper ratio of Omega 3 and 6 essential fatty acids, which our bodies need for heart health, for inflammation control, etc. I think, too, there is something so powerful in the energy of the salmon. It is sacred to the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest and Ireland. We can learn from the salmon’s journey, that difficult struggle to spawn, to get back upstream, to get home.

There are many many delicious ways to prepare salmon. It can be eaten raw ( when you are absolutely sure it is fresh) as sushi, sashimi, tartare. It is good cold in a salad, mixed with mayonaise or not. I like it for breakfast mixed with eggs and scrambled. Smoked Salmon is widely available and also good in many ways. Fresh salmon can be grilled outside, broiled, baked. It combines nicely with so many vegetables and pairs nicely with a glass of Pinot Noir.

Here is a recipe to try from Eating Well Magazine.

Lemony Lentil Salad with Salmon

makes 6 one-cup servings

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/3c. chopped fresh dill

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 c extra virgin olive oil

1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 cup diced seedless cucumber

1/2c. finely chopped red onion

3 cups of cooked brown or green lentils

1 1/2 c. flaked cooked salmon

Whisk lemon juice, dill, mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Add the remaining ingredients and toss gently.

I serve this on a bed of greens, either raw spinach or lightly cooked kale.

This post is part of GNOWFGLINS Tuesday Twister and Real Food Wednesdays. Please head over there and read the other interesting posts.

It has been interesting to watch the power of social media ( i.e. Facebook) as the idea of the Cook Whatcha Got Challenge grows and begins today. The challenge went out last week and I now know around 12 people who are participating, mostly personal chefs, so far all women. We are, after an initial shopping trip for produce and dairy, cooking from our pantries and freezers. We will be donating what we save by not going to the store to aid in Haiti. It is not too late to start!  

I actually started yesterday with a dinner based on salmon from the freezer. I couldn’t find the recipe I wanted so I winged it and came up with an acceptable version of Salmon with Sherry Vinegar/Honey Glaze. This, I served with a salad made from barley and jarred roasted red peppers from the pantry. I used up a container of olives from the fridge, and fresh ingredients were celery, parsley, goat’s milk feta, and spinach, all dressed with olive oil and lemon juice.  Not a big dent in my supplies but the salmon was delicious. The barley salad, well, could have been better.

Salmon with Sherry Vinegar/Honey Glaze

3/4 lb salmon ( I love Trader Joe’s frozen wild caught Alaska)

1/4 c. honey

1/2c. sherry vinegar

1 T chopped fresh thyme

salt and pepper

butter

Combine the honey, sherry vinegar, and thyme in a small saucepan. Cook over med high heat until reduced by half. Place the salmon in a baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the glaze over the salmon, and dot with butter. ( how much is up to you, but don’t skip it) Bake in a 350º oven for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how you like your salmon. I like mine either raw as sushi or a bit more on the done side.

I had the leftover salmon for lunch today and tell you it is delicious cold as well.

Tonight’s dinner was not so picture worthy but tasty. I pulled out a container of Chicken Spinach soup this morning from the freezer. I added some fresh celery, mushrooms, and a handful of the TWO bags of frozen peas I have discovered in my freezer!  I had forgotten how delicious this soup was, made from the carcass and drippings from this recipe.  A big bowl along with a slice of flax bread ( posted earlier) smeared with almond “cheeze” made for a nourishing and comforting dinner after a long day.

Tomorrow… more peas! I will be looking for recipes. I love chicken livers ( I know, either you love them or absolutely hate them) and again, I found TWO containers. I may make some pate or just fry them up. Stay tuned.