Trio of Salads-n-Dressings & My Name Change

Hi Bloggies, whatcha been up to today?  Just wanted to say thanks for everyone who gave me props on the kale chips.  They are really good and one person wrote into say she had a nut allergy and could she sub out the nuts?  Totally!  I would try sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, or even sesame seeds for the kale chip coating...no rules here, just whatever you've got on hand, give 'er a whirl.

And I'm also uber glad that my domain name change went off without a hitch and me and the bloggie are showin' up loud and proud in Google Reader sans drama.  Thank God, because we all know that tech issues are bout as much fun as a trip to the dentist.  I appreciate all my homies pipin' up to let me know things were bueno.  And of course for sayin' the raw vegan apple crisp is drool worthy.


I've been bustin' a move running errands to the grocery store, Target, and whippin' up some nummy grub.  Here's what I've got for ya today.  3 salads and 3 diff dressing recipes...

First plate of rabbit food is a bed of greens with cukes, carrots, red & yellow pepps.  And you're asking, what are those lil white things?  Why that's the zuke schlong that I've whacked Lorena Bobbit style.  You know, that long skinny flacid ding-a-ling that you get when you spiralize?  In the spirit of not wasting a good schlong, I just chop it up on the bias to try to make it look semi pretty and toss it with the salad.

I think I succeeded in makin' it look pretty.  Everything's dressed with 2 Tbsp Hot Mustard + 2 Tbsp Maple Syrup + 2 Tbsp EVOO + 2 Tbsp OJ + Coupla Black Pepp Grinds

Second plate 'o rabbit food is the said spiralized zuke noods, greens, cauli, cukes, carrots, and B.S.

For this one, I kept the dressing low key.  Juice of 1/2 orange + agave to taste + black pepp.  Done.

For the third dressing, this one was inspired by Gena's Raw Ranch dressing.  But...

...There's the but.

But I didn't have a few of the spices on hand, and so I made some substitutions and additions and omissions.  You know me, I'm a tweaker!  The final result was very similar to the Annie's Goddess Dressing or the TJ's brand Green Goddess dressing.  If you like those, you'll dig my rendition here.

Raw Herbalicious Goddess Dressing
1/2 cup cashews, soaked for 2 hours
1/3 cup water
4 tbsp lemon juice (the juice of one lemon basically)
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp oregano
2 Tbsp dried dill
2 Tbsp dried basil
4 Tbsp Agave

Here's what those ingredients looked like in the VitaSmoother

I whirred it all up and then added 3 Tbsp EVOO

And voila, Raw Herbalicious Goddess Dressing was done.  It definitely needed to be chilled down for a few hours in the fridge and for time to let the flavors marry. 

Third plate of green goodness had greens, kale, tomatoes, mandolin'ed cuke strips, carrots, red & yellow pepps, & dulse flakes.

And a bowl of dressing to drink from if you get thirtsy.

All dressed up and no where to go but my tummy.  Good stuff.

If anyone was keeping track, from Gena's recipe I omitted thyme, parsley, salt, onion, & garlic.  And added agave & basil and switched up the ratios and amounts of just about everything.  Just seein' if you're on your toes.  Or if you care.

Net result was that it's an herby dressing that was easy, quick, good, and best of all made from stuff I had on hand.  

And trust me, a little agave always helps take the edge of flavors or if you've gone too far with a spice, some stevia or agave can sometimes save things.    

That's my Tip of the Day:  Don't be afraid of sweeteners.  There will always be people that say that sugar is bad.   And believe me, white refined cane sugar isn't really your friend.  But more raw or natural sweeteners like agave, stevia or lucama powder (that my friend Shannon recently steered me to), can be really helpful and yummy.  So go ahead, don't stress so much.  Enjoy your food!  If a couple tablespoons or sprinkles of sweetener can take food or a dressing from barely ok to really eff'in' good, then hello, put some sweetener on it and enjoy.  I'd rather have a few extra calories and enjoy the food than eat the whole thing and not enjoy it but have saved a few calories.  Makes no sense to me. 

Ok 'nuff of all these salads and dressings and sweetener talk...

I made a PB Sammy out of the Raw Vegan Apple Carrot (Pan)Cakes I had made.  Remember in that post I mentioned they'd be good with a schmear of PB on 'em?

Well, they were.  Yumm.

Also been munchin' on the dehydrated nanners.  So sweet-n-chewy.  They were my dessert the past few nights.

As well as a little dark choco

Yoga today is one of my favorite heart charkra openers known as ustrasana, aka camel.  Let the love in!  Open your heart and don't be afraid of lettin' love and good vibes right on in.

On other matters, I went to the court house today to take care of my felony warrant.  Just kidding!!!!!  But I bet I gotcha for a quick second :)


No, the real reason I went was to file paperwork for an official & legal name change.  About 6 months ago I chose the name Averie for myself.  After living 3 decades with a name that I never connected with, never liked whatsoever because it felt way too traditional and conservative for the footloose-n-fancy-free kinda freelovin' girl that I am, I finally ditched it and told my friends and most of my fam to call me Averie.   Of course, this is another of my Black Sheep lifestyle choices, but oh well, it's my name, my choice, my life.  There's the door if you don't like it.  But I do, and that's all that matters!

I also chose a new middle and last name, too.  So I have a new first, middle and last name, and in just a couple short weeks it will all be official and I'm so excited!  Averie Harmony is the first and middle name that I've chosen for myself.

Changing my name has been one of those just-gotta-take-the-plunge kinda things that I wish I had done a decade sooner because I love my new name, I love how much freer I feel, that I'm more connected to it, and it just makes me happier than my old dud of a name did.  Is there anything you finally did that you wish you had just done sooner?

:)
Averie

Stay tuned for rockin' roasted root veggies.  Not raw, and who cares! No rules here....