this light and refreshing summer salsa has been quite the popular treat in our house lately. it’s simple to prepare and adds a huge amount of flavor to a meal. plus it satisfies my sweet tooth! is this even a recipe if the instructions are to just combine ingredients and eat? not sure about that one, but i hope you enjoy!
the what:
2 cups of fresh chopped pineapple (small pieces!)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, de-seeded and finely chopped (add more for a spicier salsa)
2 pinches of sea salt (more to taste)
the how:
mix all ingredients, chill for 1 hour, and serve!
*be careful when preparing anything with jalapenos, even though they aren’t the hottest pepper it will burn like mad if you get it in your eyes! thoroughly clean cutting board /utensils/your hands after chopping.
when i stopped eating meat/dairy/fish (for the most part) one thing i missed like crazy is spicy tuna sushi rolls. then one day i had this epiphany that it wasn’t the tuna i missed, it was the spicy sauce. and BOOM, i created these. they’re a vegan, healthy, delicious version of the spicy tuna roll. and normally i’m not really into that whole idea of trying to make a vegan version of something that is based on a very non-vegan ingredient. like vegan bacon? i could go on and on about how stupid i think that is. but lets’s be honest, there’s a time & place for hypocrisy and that time, my friends, is now! recipe below, hope you love.
that was a little misleading, this isn’t really a recipe because this is just so easy to make it’s silly. but, in case you are the type of chef (i use that word loosely, no pressure) that needs to follow some specific sort of guidelines in the kitchen, here you go!
the what:
1 can of organic hearts of palm
2 medium beets
1 ripe avocado, thinly sliced
2 cups of brown rice, cooked and cooled to room temperature
i like to do everything in advance, let it all sit for a while in the fridge and then assemble just before eating.
- cook two cups of brown rice *instructions here* and set aside to cool
- wrap beets in foil and roast at 400 degrees until they are easily pierced with a fork. remove from oven, let cool and then you’ll be able to wipe the skin and rough parts off with your hands.
- while beets are cooling, chop hearts of palm into tiny pieces (think spicy tuna!). in a small mixing bowl combine the hearts of palm with vegenaise and wasabi. how much of either is really dependant on your taste and preference, so start with a little and keep adding until you have a flavor and consistency you’re happy with! you can also substitute wasabi for siracha.
- chop beets into tiny pieces (again, think spicy tuna!) and mix with the veganaise and siracha (i used wasabi, that is tasty as well) the same way you did with the hearts of palm. let both mixtures sit in the fridge and absorb the flavors.
- once the rice is room temperature and fillings are cold, roll into sushi (easy tutorial on sushi rolling here. don’t be intimidated if you’ve never done it, it’s really much more simple than it looks!)
- serve with pickled ginger, wasabi, soy sauce and chopsticks. enjoy!
i know it’s a little early in the season to be dreaming up corn recipes but i can’t help myself. as a girl from maine, it doesn’t feel like summer until i’ve had my first ear of corn. i don’t know, maybe it’s an east coast thing? my california friends don’t seem to share this sentiment. either way, corn chowder. it’s a must-eat. recipe below.
the key to keeping this recipe simple is the order in which you do things…maximizing your time
- bring a large pot of water to boil and cook four ears of corn
-while water is boiling place the poblano peppers on a broiling pan and broil in your oven until they’re blackened/peeling. remove, let cool and peel skin, remove seeds, and chop.
- while poblanos are cooking, peel and cube potatoes. chop celery, onion and red pepper
- when corn is cooked, remove from boiling water with tongs and set aside. add potatoes to pot and cook until soft, then drain
-place potatoes in a small mixing bowl and use a potato masher to partially mash them (chunks are ok, just give them a good go-round with the masher!)
- in a large pot sauté onions, red pepper and celery in olive oil. cook until soft
- add potatoes, corn (cut off husks), poblanos, vegetable broth, almond milk and sea salt and simmer until thickened (25-30 minutes)
- season with salt and pepper to taste, serve with chopped cilantro
you know those nights when you just want the quickest, easiest, heartiest and most satisfying meal, but you don’t want to have to do much of anything to get it? well, here’s your answer. fast, easy, healthy, and won’t leave you feeling like you’ve sacrificed. such a winner. recipe after the jump.
the what:
2 packages of soba noodles (substitute buckwheat soba for a gluten free version!)
2 scallions, finely sliced
1 large carrot, sliced into peels with a veggie peeler
1 1/2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sea salt
the how:
bring a large pot of salted water to boil, add noodles
while water is coming to a boil & noodles are cooking, chop scallions and peel carrot
in a small mixing bowl combine sesame oil, soy sauce, sea salt
when noodles are cooked, drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water (or warm if you’d like to eat this warm- it’s good either way!)
dry noodles as much as possible
in a large mixing serving bowl combine noodles, scallions, carrot, black sesame seeds and dress to taste
garnish with another sprinkle of sesame seends and serve warm, cold, or anywhere in between! enjoy.
*if you have a red pepper handy it would be delicious chopped into tiny bits and mixed in….
during spring in coastal southern california there’s a marine layer that overtakes the mornings that’s referred to as “may grey” and “june gloom”. it’s not uncommon to wake up and feel like it’s winter, only to have the sun pop out later in the day and realize you’re dressed in entirely too many clothes. for these mornings i’ve been enjoying this treat, it warms me up and is a good mix-up from the everyday oatmeal. the trick: lots of salt and a really high quality maple syrup. delicious!
the what:
1/2 cup polenta (not the quick-cooking kind!)
3/4 cup almond milk
1 1/4 cup water
sea salt
high grade maple syrup
the how:
combine polenta, almond milk and water in a pot and cook over medium/low heat. stif often! i like to hover over polenta cooking it almost like a risotto with constant stirring. but it’s not necessary, just my preference.
add salt and taste. you want this polenta good and salty, so don’t hesitate to add more! you’ll be adding some sweet down the road so a good salty base is important.
keep tasting (critical) and add some more water if it gets too thick before it’s gotten soft. when it’s thoroughly cooked (soft, salty and a consistency you’re pleased with) remove from stove and spoon into a bowl. this makes one substantial servings or two little ones.
drizzle with maple syrup and eat while it’s piping hot! june gloom be damned.
Sorry for the radio silence on the ASK SARAH posts, I so appreciate your emails/questions and have so many I’m looking forward to answering! Keep em coming. I got today’s question a few times and it’s something I feel strongly about, so read on my friends…
Question: Hi Sarah, would you be willing to share your dog food recipe and your rationale for making dog food from scratch? We feed our cat Newman’s Own and are soon getting a rescue dog. I want to do right by them!
Answer: Hi Rocio! Congrats on your new family member and I think it’s so fantastic that you’re rescuing a dog. Three cheers for you! Here are my thoughts on dog food: When Bean first joined me I knew almost nothing about nutrition, but I knew that dog foods are notoriously poor in quality (it’s SCARY the things that they sneak into pet food) so I invested in the best quality kibble I could find. This site is a great source for comparing dog food brands. I have always fed my pets Orijen it gets great reviews and was recommended to me by a few people I trust. But Bean was never really into kibble. She would eat a little, then spend 5 minutes pushing it around with her snout and whining. I was constantly worried that she wasn’t eating enough. Plus, she’s naturally kate-moss thin, so it was a concern. Then when I got sick and started to learn more about nutrition I re-thought EVERYTHING.
I read The China Study and it was a major awakening (highly, highly, highly recommend you get this book). It discusses a huge study that was done on mice/rats concerning diet. In summary they found that increasing animal protein in the diet of the mice/rats increased cancer cell growth and putting the mice/rats on a vegan diet brought cancer cell growth to a halt. This applied to all sorts of modern illnesses, not just cancer. It forever changed my ideas about food.
After that I decided that I couldn’t feed the dogs plain old kibble anymore. But finding a definitive answer on what dogs need for health is like searching for a needle on the interweb. Everyone has an opinion. So, I trust my gut and after a little over a year of feeding the dogs this way and tweaking it based on watching them, this is how I feed them:
Every few days I make a giant batch of quinoa (2 cups dry) and a giant batch of veggies. It’s important to research what dogs and cats are allergic to before going down this road. Feeding them onions or grapes, for instance, could make them very ill or possibly even kill them. I feed them the following veggies in abundance: sweet potato, squash (all varieties), pumpkin, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, potatoes, corn, kale, snap peas, green beans, cucumber (and the occasional apple or banana!). I try to feed them whatever seasonal veggies we’re eating, but sweet potatoes are a star player always. Lots of times they get the veggies that have gotten a little ripe for my liking. I mix the veggies with quinoa, a tablespoon or so of olive oil, 1/3 cup of dry Orjen fish kibble for Bean and half that amount for Ellie, 1 tsp of pet kelp supplement, and each starts the meal with 1/2 sheet of nori (seaweed). The LOVE it. Bean scarfs down every meal. This pooch who turned her nose at bowls full of kibble with peanut butter mixed in as a bribe eats her dinner like a champ. It took me a few tries to figure out how much they each need, based on their bathroom trips. My first instinct was to was over feed them which resulted in lots of trips outside in the middle of the night.
I also give them beef marrow bones- I will let them chew for 15 minutes or so then take them away so they last longer. These are great because they help clean their teeth. And every once in awhile I’ll splurge on some grass fed organic bison and cook that up for them. A small package lasts an entire week with how little I give them.
Now, is all of this sounding like a ton of work to you? Well, it’s not as easy as scooping kibble out of a bin, but it’s not incredibly hard either. It’s a matter of chopping up some veggies (i steam some & serve some raw) and cooking some quinoa. It lasts for a few days and then I have to do it again. It’s more work, but the idea that food is supposed to be zero effort is part of the problem we’re facing in this world- eating things that bear no resemblance to what grows out of the ground is at fault for so many illnesses and the cause of so much suffering. So yes, this is more effort but worth every bit of it. And yes, it’s also more expensive (everything they eat is organic), although I think I’ll get that back in the end with far fewer vet bills. I believe in spending more for quality when it comes to food- the idea being we’ll get paid back with good health and quality of life.
I have a friend whose dog was terribly overweight, lethargic and old beyond her years. At his house one night I got into a discussion with him and found out she was only eating 1 cup of kibble a day! It seemed crazy that she would be so overweight and uncomfortable. So he decided to try this way of feeding and said he noticed an immediate change. She used to wander begrudgingly over to her dog bowl to eat her kibble, sometimes he would even have to call her over. Then when he started preparing meals for her she started doing happy jumping dances in the kitchen while he was putting it together! She LOVED it and there’s no going back for the two of them. And the best part, she’s lost weight, has more energy, and is much much happier. She’s a true success story. If there were a Richard Simmons for dogs, she’d be all over it.
I hope all of this helps! Anyone else care to weigh in on this one? Would love to hear!!
*photo one of Bean from the day she came to live with me and photo 2 of the dogs breakfast (they get this once a day and wag their tails and prance around the kitchen while i’m making it)
and it was a major awakening (highly, highly, highly recommend you get this book). It discusses a huge study that was done on mice/rats concerning diet. In summary they found that increasing animal protein in the diet of the mice/rats increased cancer cell growth and putting the mice/rats on a vegan diet brought cancer cell growth to a halt. This applied to all sorts of modern illnesses, not just cancer. It forever changed my ideas about food.
for Bean and half that amount for Ellie, 1 tsp of 
supplement, and each starts the meal with 1/2 sheet of nori (seaweed). The LOVE it. Bean scarfs down every meal. This pooch who turned her nose at bowls full of kibble with peanut butter mixed in as a bribe eats her dinner like a champ. It took me a few tries to figure out how much they each need, based on their bathroom trips. My first instinct was to was over feed them which resulted in lots of trips outside in the middle of the night.
