Sweet Winter Kale with Garlic & Mushrooms

If, like me, you are lucky enough to live in an area with a winter's farmers market, I hope you are taking advantage of the hardy and delectable winter greens offered there. A little frost may chill our bones, but it sweetens and tenderizes kale, spinach and bok choi like nobody's business.

I gleefully purchased a one pound bag of just-harvested kale at our local winter market this weekend, took it home and, a few hours later, got to work. Well, not really. Steam-frying kale isn't a whole lot of trouble. The idea is to use just a little oil at the start, to get the flavors jumping, and then add cold water to the pot so that most of the cooking is done by steam. (Cooking with water, via steaming or boiling, as in soups and stews, has several advantages. It adds fewer fat calories to the final dish, preserves vitamins and minerals, and creates less damage to macronutrient components—i.e. sugars, fatty acids and proteins—than frying or baking/dry heat methods.) I prefer coconut oil, a healthful, tasty and heat-stable cooking oil, but olive will do just as well.

This Kale with Garlic and Mushrooms dish takes only minutes to prepare, and boy is it delicious. Yes, I ate the whole bowl. Followed by a decadent dessert of freshly-popped organic popcorn topped with flaxseed oil, nutritional yeast and Old Bay seasoning. Enjoyed both while laughing my head off to the final episodes of Flight of the Conchords, Season One. Dinner and a movie: an unbeatable duo. In the comfort of your own home? Twice as nice.

Sweet Winter Kale with Garlic and Mushrooms

6 stalks kale, washed and roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
6 baby bella mushrooms, sliced thick
1/4 chili pepper, minced or crumbled (optional)
1 teaspoon oil, olive or coconut
tamari or nama shoyu to taste (about 1 teaspoon)
a splash of cold water

Heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan, over medium-high heat. Add garlic and quickly stir for about 30 seconds, to avoid burning. Add kale and stir for one minute, while the oil coats all the leaves. Add mushrooms, sprinkle with tamari and add the chili pepper, if using. Stir again to combine well, and then add a generous splash of cold water, enough to get some steam happening. Cover the pot to keep the steam in, and reduce heat to low. Steam for two minutes, then stir. Cover pot again and allow kale to continue steaming until it turns bright green and begins to wilt, about three minutes, a little longer if necessary. Transfer to serving bowl and enjoy.

"Practically Raw" Bean & Guacamole Tostadas

It is deep winter now, iced January, hard earth muffled in snowy white. Winter purifies and wipes clean the slate as we turn inwards, gather ourselves in warm places and think upon lessons of the turning year gone by. The resolutions we may make at New Year's time are simply a recognition of some lacking in our lives. With this awareness, may we know ourselves more deeply, and vow to be more True.

The only falseness in this world is generated by people. Nature is Truth. When it comes to food, this is apparent, for what is food? Real food is honest, natural, a gift from the earth. Fake food is made by Man.

Learning to discern truth from falseness is an ongoing process that may be sharpened in the compression of short dark days. But choosing clean food, nourishing and fresh—whether uncooked/raw, or warm and comforting—makes sense in any season for those of us desiring health, vitality and authenticity. To be a Real Human, feed your body clean and simple, speak no lies, and strive each day to live as fully as possible in the open-heart vibration of Love.

Tonight, I dine on gifts from the earth. Won't you join me?

The following Practically Raw recipe includes a man-made food product of very high quality: Food for Life "Ezekiel" brand sprouted grain tortillas. I eat few grains, always whole or sprouted, usually just once or twice a week at most. See my article on the Eat to Evolve! philosophy to understand why I recommend including only whole grains in your diet, and only in moderation, rather than as the foundation of your daily meals.

Practically Raw Bean & Guacamole Tostadas


A tostada is basically an open-face sandwich using corn or sprouted grain tortillas in place of bread, and served with plenty of salad on top. (I've blogged about tostadas before - see here.) For me, the tostada is a lovely comfort food. It brings life force into the body, along with luscious warmth and savor.

For each person: Wash four lettuce leaves and tear into small pieces. Toss with one half teaspoon of flaxseed or MCT oil, 2 teaspoons of white balsamic vinegar, a light sprinkle of sea salt and a turn of fresh ground black pepper. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, add one smashed and minced clove of garlic. Into this, mash one small avocado with a little sea salt or Herbamare, and the fresh juice of one half an organic lemon. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper if you crave heat. This is your instant guacamole!

Lay 2 sprouted grain tortillas on a baking sheet and top with about one quarter cup of beans (canned organic black beans or homemade "refritos" work well), and a generous sprinkle of grated raw goat cheddar. Bake in a warm oven until the cheese begins to melt. (Vegans may omit the cheese, of course.)

Transfer tostadas to a plate and top each with equal portions of tossed salad and guacamole. If you have fresh cilantro or parsley on hand, chop up a handful and garnish on top. Serve with salsa if desired. Simple pleasure, honest food, tasty meal!

Cleansing on the Job: Raw Food, Brown Bag Lunch

If you're interested in stretching your hard-earned dollars a little further, try bringing your lunch to work! "Brown bagging" is a tried-and-true way to conserve your financial resources on the job, not to mention your number one insurance policy for staying on track with your cleansing diet-lifestyle.

If you care about what you put into your body, preparing your own food always gives you the maximum control. No need to worry if those salad greens are organic, or if your salad dressing is made with high quality oil. You made it yourself!

You can step up the fun factor by using food storage and carrying containers that make you smile. Every day feels like a picnic when I bring my lunch to work in a willow basket. Here's what I'm looking forward to enjoying today. The green juice is for morning. I'll probably drink it around 10:00, when I start feeling hungry, and then have my lunch a little after noon.

1 pint Ginger Green Juice (celery, cucumber, romaine, kale, apple, lemon ginger)

Avocado Salad with mesclun greens, drizzled with lemon juice and MCT oil

Rainy Day Crackers (made fresh yesterday!)

Raw Tahini & Garlic Red Pepper Miso medley (for crackers)

baby carrots, to nibble on later

Tell me, dear readers, what are you bringing to work for your lunch today?

xo Diana

Pesto-Veggie Wraps with Vegan Hemp Seed Pesto

I’m so excited to be sharing a CSA share this year with my good neighbor Emily! Every Tuesday after work, I drive to the Kitchen Garden Farm in Sunderland and pick up a big green cardboard box pre-packed with beautiful, fresh-picked vegetables. Emily and I decided on a Deluxe Share which means we also get fruit, from a neighboring farm. The first week, our fruit consisted of two quarts of the sweetest organic strawberries we’d ever tasted. The next it was currants, then blackberries. Today we are getting gooseberries!


Even though I am splitting this CSA share, it's still a challenge to eat everything up in time for the next installment of bounty. So on Monday nights, it's time to make room for the incoming haul. For instance, say I was left with a generous portion of salad greens, radicchio and basil. Sounds like the perfect ingredients with which to make Pesto Veggie Wraps! If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, try this. Trust me, you'll be glad you did!


First, put together a nice raw salad with torn red leaf lettuce and radicchio, diced cucumber and dill.



Next, whip up a single-serving portion of Vegan Hemp Seed Pesto with the basil, garlic, olive oil and hemp seeds, plus some Himalayan pink salt (my favorite!). Spread the pesto inside of two cabbage leaves, layer on heaps of salad and add a generous squirt of fresh lemon juice. From there, it's just a matter of rolling… and voila!


In the absence of pesto fixings, I’d consider making Miso-Tahini Veggie Wraps or Salsa-Avocado Veggie Wraps or Honey-Almond Butter Veggie Wraps. The sweet, supple outer leaves of a freshly picked cabbage lend themselves to all manner of fillings.

One of my favorite things about this meal is the no-fork-required aspect. I absolutely LOVE salads, but let's face it, they can be tedious to plow through! Wrapping it up makes salad fun and easy to eat. Not to mention a mouthwatering delight. Enjoy!


Vegan Hemp Seed Pesto

Makes one serving

1 cup basil leaves, washed
1 small clove of garlic, minced
1.5 to 2 Tbs hemp seeds
1 to 2 Tbs olive oil
up to ¼ tsp sea salt, or to taste

In a food processor fitted with the S-blade, add basil, garlic, hemp seeds and sea salt and pulse until basil is finely chopped. Drizzle in olive oil while the processor is running. I use only enough oil to get the pesto to hold together and form a paste, stopping frequently and using a rubber spatula to bring everything down into the base. Taste and adjust seasonings. This would be good with a little crushed red pepper in it, too. Or some sundried tomatoes. Or a squeeze of lime juice. Or…!