Real Food, Real World…A Hail Mary Pass to My Family at the Dinner Table

October 28, 2011
Attempt at keeping dinner time peace:
Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with Sprouted Red Quinoa
on a Bed of Organic Dark Leafy Greens
The biggest challenge about my recent Raw For 30 Days adventure was feeding myself and my family healthy meals at the same time. It was expensive, a bit stressful and very time consuming. Life post-detox had to consist of some sort of compromise, or:
We were going to go broke.
We were going to kill each other.
I was going to check into the looney bin.
Maybe a mix of all three?

I decided to be “Raw Until Dinner” during the week, then create meals in the evening that can be customized by each family member, themselves, to keep smiles on ALL of our faces.

I dropped back deep, passed and prayed…
Roasted Vegetable Salad with
Sprouted Red Quinoa or Chicken Breast
on a Bed of Organic Dark Leafy Greens
Roasted Vegetables:
Carrots, organic Red Cored Chantenay* (Yeah, I know they don’t look “Red Cored” to me either.)
Potatoes, mix of organic Bintje & Island Sunshine*
Garlic, organic
EVOO
Rosemary, organic*
Thyme, organic*
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450*.
Put 1 T of EVOO in bottom of a glass baking dish to coat (more than one dish may be needed).
Wash and cut vegetables into bite-sized chunks and place in dish/es.
Drizzle with EVOO and chopped herbs.
Place dish in oven and turn vegetables every 15-20 mins until softened.
Check with a fork.
Keep warn until served.
To taste any five of the following herbs:

Parsley*
Basil*
Rosemary*
Thyme*
Sage*
Oregano*
Marjoram*
(Hint: Start with the equivalent of  1T of each and adjust from there)
1 T Red Pepper flakes
3 Garlic cloves, organic
Sea Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
½ C EVOO if just making dressing
or
1 C EVOO if making marinade and dressing
¼ C Balsamic vinegar
Directions:
Wash and de-stem herbs.

In a blender mince all but EVOO.
Add balsamic vinegar to blade and blend.
Add 1/2 C or 1 C EVOO to blade, slowly.
Thin with filtered water if necessary.
Pour off ½ C of mixture into shallow bowl for marinating chicken breast.

Pour the remainder into small carafe for serving.


Sprouted Red Quinoa:
1/2 C Red Quinoa, organic
Filtered water to cover
Directions:
Place dry, raw quinoa in a bowl and cover with filtered water.
Let sit for a few hours, small tails will appear on seeds.
Discard water.
Place in serving dish.

Chicken Breast:
1/2-1 Breast per person, organic
Directions:
Clean breasts and marinate in dressing for at least one hour.
Grill until done.
Slice into strips and place on serving tray.

Greens & Garnish:
Chopped Siberian Kale, organic* & Rainbow Swiss Chard, organic*
Chopped Fennel, organic*
Chopped Red Onion
Nasturtium* (Check out #1 on “You Know Gardening Season Has Kicked Into High Gear When…” I’m glad I saved those little seeds, this salad would not be nearly as pretty without the flower. Nasturtiums have a peppery flavor.)
Directions:
Place all ingredients in the center of the table in individual serving dishes/trays and let everyone create their own personal masterpiece. The colors are beautiful to the eye, the flavors of the fresh produce are appetizing to the palate and since we grew most of the vegetables ourselves, this meal was easy on the pocketbook.

*=From our kitchen garden

Admittedly some of our plates were a little “light” on the green stuff (won’t mention any names), but most of the food was gone at the end of the meal. No one complained. The Steves were elated to have chicken as an option. All in all everyone seemed happy. Yes, my prayers were heard…

Real food in a real world, SCORE!