RAWtional tips for this month

Greetings and raw salutations!

Spring is in the air! Are you jonesing for greens? Well, if you are, you are in good company! This is the time when we start thinking about our gardens and dreaming about baby greens and edible flowers and weeds coming our way! Yum-yum! 

Been having fun - hope you are as well! I had the RAWvioli workshop last week and it was terrific fun. Lots of questions and we got to eat some delicious RAWvioli as well as Chilli with onion dip (my two favorites!) A couple of action items came out of those workshops which I thought I'd share with the entire group. First thing was to send a link so you can look up nutritional information including amino acid break outs, etc. Very informative website and it's free: http://www.nutritiondata.com/ - Lamb's Quarters was listed there so it's pretty good. If you do a search for "nutritional information" you can certainly find a plethora of info but I like this one which is why I'm including it.

The 2nd item from the workshop was a question about the buying clubs that deliver to Worcester. Here's the basic run down and please call me at 223-2111 or email me for more information.

Associated Buyers delivers to Worcester. This is currently still part of the Tree of Live Collective that was out of Montpelier. We order once a month around the middle of each month and deliveries are on Wednesdays. For more information, please contact Peter Clark at peterclark13@gmail.com. With this order, you submit your order in a folder which is located at Rhapsody in Montpelier. The order is processed for you - the delivery comes here to Worcester. You do your own sorting and handle your own invoice. There is a 2% mark up to cover monthly bank fees. Payment is due at time of order pick up.

United Buying Clubs/Alberts Produce delivers at Worcester. This is part of the Hungry Families buying club that began out of Woodbury. We order generally on the last Sunday of each month and the deliveries are the 2nd Tuesday of each month. We split fruit & veggie cases, we do lots of local buying of herbs, seeds, dairy, produce, maple syrup, honey and we seem to get more local stuff with each new month. Please email me at linda@imaginecreativity.com if you'd like to receive catalogs for this. Cost of catalogs are about $14.00 each year and it's prorated when you begin. People help with sorting or other tasks that may come up each month - it's a real community collective kind of club. Payment is due at time of order pick up.

Enjoy! Please send me your favorite recipes and I'll post them to this list! 
Take good care,
Linda

upcoming raw food haps

see my complete calendar here

• I'm doing a raw food presentation at CVH on Tuesday, April 10th. This is a closed presentation and/but please call me if you'd like to create a custom workshop or presentation for your group.

• Raw food potluck is scheduled for Thursday, April 12th. Please call me if you are coming. Time is from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. 

• Hunger Mountain Coop is having a 1-hour raw food workshop on Lemon Pudding. Why lemon pudding? 1) because it's delicious! 2) because lemons are an excellent detoxifier and this time of year sort of begs for new beginnings in your body and 3) because it's sooooooooo tasty! Oh wait, I've already said that. Time is 6:30 at HMC in Montpelier. Sign up at the coop. Cost is $10 for members and $12 for non-members. I always have other food to try along with the recipe we make.

• I have two Level 1 classes scheduled for this month: Friday April 20th or Friday April 27th. Please check out my website for more information and call me to register. 

• Level 2 is scheduled for Saturday April 21st and Sunday April 22nd this month. Please check out my website for information and call me to register.

• Throughout the month you can certainly sign up for guided raw food challenges. We can do a 7-day, 14-day, 21-day or 30-day challenges. The cost is $125.00 each week plus the cost of food. You have me for each week that you are committed to. You'll learn new recipes (ones that are customized for you), support from me and on our last day together we take an hour and celebrate. These are so much fun and a great way to get personalized help, information, recipes, raw food and support. Contact me for more information or to schedule.

• For all of my raw food classes (including Alissa's) I offer a free NUT MILK/SPROUTING BAG to Hunger Mountain Coop members. So mention that when you register for classes and I'll hook you up.

• I also have Alissa's Living on Live Food book here for sale and it is also for sale at Hunger Mountain Coop. 

This week's Raw Food Tips

If you are getting anxious for fresh greens, try sprouting! If you've never sprouted, you can start now. It's totally easy and it's SO MUCH FUN to see these little guys growing right before your eyes! You can sprout just about anything and you'll learn what you love more than others. Some of my favorite things to sprout are: barley, rye, wheat, buckwheat, lentils, sunflower seeds, chickpeas, mung beans, as well as almonds and other nuts (which are slightly different when sprouted than what you typically think of with things like alfalfa seeds. I use a bowl and a strainer for sprouting but you can certainly use what you feel comfortable with! Would you like a class on sprouting? Let me know and I'll schedule it.

Tips on Dandelions

from: http://www.edibleweeds.com/

For the Leaves

Gather them when they are young, in the spring before the flower buds appear. After they have finished flowering, cut them back to the top of the roots, and harvest the young greens which come back all the way into November. They will be just as good as spring greens.

Dandelions growing in the shade are bigger and less bitter than dandelions growing in full sun. Harvest there whenever possible and plant dandelions under pole beans, tomatoes and other tall crops which will shade them. 

For the flowers

The flowers, separated from their bitter green bases, are sweet to the taste. Different recipes call for everything from the unopened buds through fully-opened flowers. Make sure you are getting flowers at the stage required by the recipe for the best results. If getting fully-opened flowers for dandyburgers, muffins, cookies, omelets, waffles, jelly or wine, gather them early in the morning when they are still closed. They are easier to process.

To get rid of the green base, hold the flower between your thumb and forefinger. Pinch hard at the base, while moving thumb and forefinger in a twisting motion. This will immediately loosen the yellow flowers from the green base, especially if they are freshly picked. Using this method, you can easily prepare a cup of flowers in five to six minutes.

For the Roots

Dandelion roots are so nutritious and health promoting because they are the winter storehouse for all the nutrients gathered and produced by the plant. Hence, dandelion roots are best gathered from October through March.

The roots are very efficient miners of all the minerals available in the soil. They are not discriminating. If they are present, the roots will suck up lead, mercury, and other minerals, as well as pesticides, in proportion to the amount that is present in the soil or air. Studies have shown that it is safe to collect dandelions 75 feet from the road, or behind a structure like a house or barn which blocks airborne pollutants from getting to them. Dig deep. Get long roots. These can be grated into salads or stir-fries as the Asians do, or roasted and made into a coffee substitute.