Monthly Archives: July 2011

July 20, 2011 · 2:00 pm

The Slaw Solution

Before I moved to Virginia I thought it had to be raining for it to be 100% humidity.

Silly me.

Before I moved to Virginia I thought a women had to be at least nearing the end of her child bearing years to be called “Ma’am”.

Silly me.

And before I moved to Virginia I thought it was impossible for me to get tired of eating green garden salads.

Silly me.

Okay, so that last one probably has more to do with the fact that my green salads are made up swiss chard and beet greens that are getting more tough mature with every passing heat wave.  But when there is so much great green-age in the garden, it seems silly to purchase some nice crunchy, watery, crisp lettuce…mmm…lettuce….

With a fridge full of historic cabbage and a hankering for something crunchy and fresh it was time for a new kind of salad.

Enter slaw.

Not just any slaw.  Mayo-free slaw.  (never been a fan of the mayo)

The Anti-Mayo Slaw Solution

Makes one large, backyard party bowl or two big servings and lots of leftovers

The VEG

  • 4 cups shredded green cabbage*
  • 4 cups shredding red cabbage
  • 1 small shredded red onion
  • 3 grated carrots
  • chopped cilantro to taste
  • 1/4 cup slivered pickled ginger (optional)
Place all the shredded/grated/chopped/slivered veg in a large bowl.
*I used a Savoy cabbage (from Monticello!).  It worked awesome because it is more delicate than green cabbage and soaks up the dressing fast.  Green will work just fine if you can’t find Savoy.
The DRESSING
  • 2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seed oil
  • juice from one juicy lime
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • pinch of salt
  • red chili pepper flakes to taste (Like it hot? Add more! Sensitive tongue? Add less!)
Please tell me you have a food processor.  Otherwise, grab a good long ‘n sharp knife and start chopping.
Whisk dressing ingredients together.  Pour over shredded veg and mix thoroughly (very clean hands work really well for this part!).  The dressing will seem a little scant but the cabbage release some juice and there should be plenty to go around.  Taste test.  Add more chili. 🙂
Give the salad at least 15 minutes to soak up the flava, mixing occasionally, before serving.  Like most slaw, this one keeps well in the fridge and what it loses in fresh crunch on the second day it makes up for in marinated goodness.
Serve with a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds if you’re into that sort of thing.
Add bean sprouts for even more crunch and some protein!
I’ve been loving a combo of mung bean and french lentil sprouts lately.  They take only 2-3 days to grow and are nutrient packed.
It’s a yoga day for me and I am SO looking forward to it!  The heat is intense but I may as well use it to help my already-warm muscles get a deep stretch.

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Filed under recipes, super foods

July 19, 2011 · 1:59 pm

Resting is Training

I love to move.  No, I need to move.  I grew up dancing and my body feels “normal” when it is (or has recently been) moving.  Inactivity quickly makes me stiff and even a little sore.  My energy levels plummet and my mood dips with a stagnant body.

Most of the time I balance my workouts with “active rest days”, allowing my body to recover while still feeding my need to move with some walking or biking or yoga.  Most of the time this works beautifully.

Occasionally my body says “just give it a rest”, and so I do.

I gave it a rest on Saturday, spending most of the day lying on a blanket listening to little Owen sing about his weary bones.

I gave it a rest yesterday when I ended up spending an unexpected 9 hours in the clinic and was too tired to for even a few work jacks or push ups.

My training objective for June was to push my self a little harder than I had been.  July’s objective is “give it a rest”.  I am still keeping up with my weekly 3 strength workouts and 2 Pilates workouts but fewer runs and fewer yoga sessions per week means more down time.  August will be a push it month again.

Do you plan your workouts ahead of time by the day/week/month?  Do you look at the big picture and see how you can vary your workouts over time to keep your body challenged?

Total change of gears: check out these mushrooms!

3pm

6pm

9am (next day)

Kath was sent two ‘shroom growing kits from Back to the Roots as a sample for her Open Sky store.  She passed one of the kits on to me because she knows how much I love all kinds of homegrown.

The kit is simple to use, you open it up and spray it with the included water spritzer a few times a day.  Nothing happened for the first 3-4 days and then BAM!  Oyster mushrooms!

Here’s the fun part; Back to the Roots says that if you post a pic of your growing kit on their Facebook page they will send the classroom of your choice a kit to help teach kids about sustainability (the kit is filled with used coffee grounds from Pete’s!).

If you are a school teacher who would like to include mushroom growing in your curriculum this year, post a comment and I’ll post my pic for you!  There’s only one available so the first comment will get it.

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Filed under goals