Healthy Lifestyle Blog

In honor of Interdependence Day, I prepared a green smoothie to represent the wonderful abundance our earth provides for us.

You may recall my Garden of Weedin’ from last summer. This year, I heavily mulched the garden, and I planted it on Memorial Day. When when I returned after a month (I live in NY and my garden is in VT) there were weeds, but it was certainly manageable.

One of the most abundant weeds that I found is commonly known as lemon clover. I remember a housemate who would pick it and eat it right from the garden, so rather than discard the mounds of lemon clover, I decided to make something with it. At first I thought I’d make a pesto, but as I worked in the hot sun, a frozen dessert seemed more appropriate. Here’s a video showing you what I did.

Lemon Clover Granita

lemon clover – remove roots – all other parts are edible
water – enough to blend
honey or other sweetener to taste

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend at high speed. Adjust for sweetness.
2. Strain the liquid through a fine strainer or nut milk bag.
3. Pour the strained liquid into a glass pan and place in the freezer.
4. After about an hour, run a fork through the mixture, loosening it from the edges. Repeat every hour until all the liquid is frozen.
5. Store in a sealed container in the freezer.

This is a favorite among raw newbies and raw foodies alike. I had the pleasure of serving samples of this recently and received rave reviews. It consists of thinly sliced zucchini filled with cashew cheese and topped with Marilyn’s Marinara Sauce and Basil Pesto.

Cashew “Ricotta” Cheese
(recipe adapted from Raw Food Real World. by Matthew Kenny & Sarma Melngailis)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked 2 hours or more
1 medium shallot, peeled and chopped
zest of one lemon
2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tbs. nutritional yeast
1/2 to 1 tsp. Himalayan or Celtic salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup water (depending on desired consistency)
2 Tbs. minced fresh parsley

Procedure:

1. Place all the ingredients EXCEPT the water and parsley in a food processor fitted with the S blade and process until as smooth as possible.
2. Add water, small amounts at a time to achieve the desired consistency. If making lasagna, you will want a softer consistency so it is easier to spread.
3. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or lemon juice if desired.
4. Transfer to a medium bowl and fold in the minced parsley.

Stored in a sealed glass container in the refrigerator, cashew ricotta will keep for 3-5 days. Tastes best served at room temperature.

Zucchini Rollatini

Ingredients:

1/2 zucchini per serving
batch of cashew ricotta

Procedure:

1. Cut off both ends and peel the zucchini if desired (or if not organic).
2. Using a mandonile or a vegetable peeler, slice the zucchini lengthwise very thinly.
3. Lay three slices side by side, overlapping a little. Cut the overlapped strips in half. This will make two rollatini.
4. Place a spoonful of cashew ricotta across the sliced zucchini at the end closest to you. Roll the zucchini around the cheese. Repeat until you have three to five rollatini per serving.

Top with Marilyn’s Marinara Sauce and Basil Pesto.