Jade Sauce

Making sauces is awesome! A good sauce is key in plant based dishes, because it’s all about complementing the natural deliciousness of whole foods with something exciting. Since I love Thai food so much, I decided to make a ‘Flavors of Thailand’ sauce. I’ve made yellow curry sauce and peanut sauce before, but I wanted something that represented the cuisine primarily with herbs. Argentina has their Chimichurri, Italy has their Pesto, so Thailand needs this Jade Sauce. You can use it as a salad dressing, marinade, dipping sauce, or soup base (just add some coconut cream and veggies for a quick green curry.) Maybe even make some Thai inspired pizza! This is made from all vibrantly raw ingredients, and the result is an intensely bright and immune boosting condiment. It’s quite spicy, so you can go down to one chili if desired. Also, I was trying to create a low calorie sauce as an everyday salad dressing, but feel free to add some mild flavored oil or coconut cream to take it to the next level. I tried coconut oil in an earlier test, but I found that the other cool ingredients caused the oil to stiffen up and not blend well. Maybe in the summer it would be easier. Today I used it as a salad dressing on some baby greens, sliced avocado, sliced tangerines, edamame, red onion, and tomato. So much green yumminess!

Jade Sauce

Makes about 6 ounces

Juice of 1 lime

1 bunch basil

1 bunch cilantro

1 bunch mint

3 cloves garlic

1 green onion

1/4 cup raw coconut water

1/4 cup soaked cashews

1 tsp coconut sugar

1/4 tsp coriander

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp curry

1/2 tsp miso paste

2 green thai chilies (or 1/2 jalapeño)

Combine everything in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth and uniform. If you want it a little looser, just add a few more tablespoons of coconut water, one at a time, until desired consistency. To make it thicker, increase the amount of cashews by 1/4 cup. Keeps in the fridge about 5 days.

Sweet and Spicy Curry Sauce

Wow my 50th recipe! This is a pretty simple one, but oh so versatile. Unlike my Authentic Thai Curry Paste  recipe, which is meant as a cooking base, this recipe is great raw on salads or as a vegetable dip. It’s especially delicious with shredded carrots for a curry carrot slaw!

 

Sweet n’ Spicy Curry Sauce

Makes about 2 cups

1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight or at least a few hours

juice of 1 big lime

2 pitted dates, or 1 tbs maple syrup

4 cloves garlic

1 tbs curry powder

tsp turmeric

1 tsp chili pepper flakes

1 heaping tbs coconut oil

1/3 cup fresh raw coconut water (or just water)

a big pinch of salt

Put everything except the coconut water into a food processor and get it blending. Once everything is more or less broken down and incorporated, slowly start adding the coconut water, a little at a time. Blend until smooth and creamy.

 

 

Carrot Curry Slaw

makes 1 serving

1/2 cup Sweet n’ Spicy Curry Sauce

2 tbs tahini

1 cup shredded carrots

two green onions, thinly sliced

1 date, finely chopped

A pinch of lime zest

Mix the sauce and tahini together, then toss it with the shredded carrots, dates, and chopped green onions. If you have them on hand, try adding some golden raisins and chopped peanuts.

But wait, there’s more!

This sauce makes the perfect dressing for a kale and avocado salad. Just add some cucumber, and bell pepper for a delicious combo. I topped it with some crunchy sesame seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds, and lime zest. Yum!!

Kale & Quinoa Bliss Bowl

I have a love affair with this particular salad from a little place here in Los Angeles called KindKreme. It’s the best salad that has ever lived. The only problem is that I cannot afford to eat it everyday, and yet I keep going back! So the only solution was to recreate it, and I think I got pretty darn close. I really wish I could get a better picture too, it’s so stunning in person! Now this salad is worth every penny I’ve been spending, because it is truly a labor of love. If you were making this for one night, I’m not going to lie, it would take an hour to throw together. It also seems like quite the unusual combination of ingredients on paper. BUT, my recipe below is something you can do at your leisure on a Sunday, and then you will have everything you need to make a fast five minute salad for the week. I know what I’m asking you to do, gamble away 5 days worth of lunches on the assumption that this is so good, you will want to eat it everyday? But trust me. I’m a professional. A professional salad eater. This salad will feel like the heartiest most flavorful meal you have ever eaten, it will keep you full for a good 6 hours (in a pleasant way, not like a pizza binge way) and yet, and YET, I have lost many a pound eating this salad every single day for a month, so really, it is pure bliss in a bowl.

Kale & Quinoa Bliss Bowl 

makes approximately 7 big bliss bowls

1 recipe for  Spicy Pesto Cashew Creme Dressing:

for the Quinoa:

4 cups water

a sprinkle of salt (to be added each time you make the salad, optional)

2 cups white quinoa (99% of the time I prefer red or tri-color quinoa, but for this, go white)

You know the drill quinoa lovers: rinse your quinoa in a sieve before hand, bring the water and quinoa to a boil in a pot, stir, cover, reduce to low, cook for 10-15 min. Fluff and set aside.

for the Pickled Veggies:

1 big mason jar

1/4 of a purple cabbage, shredded finely

1/2 c shredded carrots

5 parts apple cider vinegar to 1 part agave nectar

Now, these veggies will last you a long time (up to two weeks) and go great on a lot of things, so I’m going to let you choose your mason jar size, fill it about halfway with the vinegar/agave mixture, and then add your shredded veggies. Just make sure the veggies are completely covered. Give it a good shake and refrigerate overnight (or for an hour at least)

for Everything Else:

1 head of green kale

2 tbs olive oil

8 ounces marcona almonds (I like the ones with Rosemary from Trader Joe’s, the original salad uses sweetened almonds, so just find some fancy roasted almonds that make you happy)

1/2 thinly sliced red bell pepper

hemp seeds for sprinkling

Optional: drizzle of hot sauce, just a few dots

Ok, here we go: I like to start with warm quinoa, so if you are pulling it out of the fridge, start with about 1 cup of quinoa, give it a tiny sprinkle of salt, and heat it up, put this at the bottom of your salad bowl.

Next take about 2 kale leaves per bowl, destem, and massage the leaves with the olive oil. If you haven’t been massaging your kale, you have not been living!!! All you do is rub the olive oil onto your finger tips, then literally massage the leaves. You will see that they instantly turn a bright luscious green, as if they have just been steamed. This makes them 10 x easier and more enjoyable to eat, without losing any nutrients from actually steaming. Try it! Next, thinly slice the massaged kale into a thin chiffonade. Add this on top of the warm quinoa.

Now, sprinkle a few of the shredded pickled veggies on top, about 2 tbs. Then sprinkle on about 8 Marcona almonds, the red bell pepper, and a sprinkle of hemp seeds. Finish it off with a hefty drizzle of the Spicy Pesto Cashew Creme. Add a dash of hot sauce if you like.

The drizzled dressing looks very pretty, but another way to do this is to toss the kale with the dressing in a seperate bowl, to really coat every bit, then add it to the quinoa, then add the other ingredients on top.

I know that seemed like a lot, but I promise after the initial prep, you are only ever 5 minutes away from a complete bliss bowl.

Bon Appetit!