Lime Vinaigrette

I haven't been cooking much lately because it's been so hot. I've mostly been making Salads, most of which I've posted already. But yesterday I made a Salad Dressing that I really liked that I poured over a Salad made up of cooked, leftover Corn, Green Onion tops, bits of Ham and cut up Tomatoes. The Dressing contained most Lime Juice and Olive Oil with a spoonful of Coconut Aminos, which is a little bit like a very light Soy Sauce and a little minced Shallot too.  It was so good that I thought I would share it with you. Of course, I made it again today to use on a Cucumber Salad and it was also worked and I'm quite sure it would be good on Lettuce as well. If you don't haven any Coconut Aminos  you can substitute Bragg's Liquid Aminos or Tamari, but use a lot less. It's my new favorite Salad Dressing!

Lime Vinaigrette

1/4 cup fresh squeezed Lime Juice

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1 teaspoon Coconut Aminos (or Bragg's or Tamari)

1/4 teaspoon Salt  

1/4 teaspoon Sugar

1 teaspoon of minced Shallot (or Red Onion)

Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl and pour over the Salad ingredients of your choice. 

Five Element Analysis

This Salad Dressing is predominantly made up of Wood Element ingredients - it's mostly  Lime Juice and Olive Oil. So this is a good Dressing to use on the Salad I prepared, as it contained Corn from the Earth Element, Tomatoes from the Fire Element, Shallots and Green Onions from  the Metal Element and Ham from the Water Element. I didn't do that on purpose, but it's wonderful that I ended up eating a balanced Salad!

Middle Eastern Salad

This is a salad served all over the Middle East and Near East. I've heard it called Israeli Salad and also Arab Salad, which shows you how popular it is. For the sake of peace and the recognition that food can unite people, I'm simply calling it Middle Eastern Salad. It is a refreshing mix of cucumbers, tomatoes, mint and parsley, salt, pepper, lemon and olive oil. It goes beautifully with all kinds of roasted meats and is one of the dishes almost required when serving Turkish mezes - they call it Shepherd's Salad and the Iranians make it too and call it Salad Shiraz. You can call it anything you like and if you haven't made it yet, it may quickly become one of your favorites too!  

Middle Eastern Salad

1 large cucumber, peeled, cut in half, deseeded and cut into chunks

4 Roma Tomatoes, stem end removed and diced

1/4 cup red onion, diced

Juice of 2 small lemons - about 1/4 cup

1/4 cup Olive Oil

Small Handful each of Parsley and Mint, chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste
Optional:  Yellow or Orange Peppers, diced

Mix together all the ingredients and toss to coat.  Let sit for at least 15 minutes up to 24 hours (refrigerated) to let the flavors meld.

Five Element Analysis

Cucumbers belong to the Earth Element and Tomatoes to the Fire Element. If you use Peppers, you add even more Fire. The olive oil and lemon juice contribute the Wood Element. The parsley and mint add the Metal Element.  Only the Water Element is missing so you might want to consider adding an eggplant dish or a seafood dish to create a Five Element Balance.

Raw Cauliflower Couscous

I have been teaching in Denmark at this beautiful Buddhist Retreat Center on a half-island in Jutland.  So, I haven't been cooking much. But the cooks here have been making some really wonderful food and tonight I was served a lovely Raw Cauliflower Couscous Salad.  It really isn't made of Couscous or it wouldn't be gluten free - instead, the Cauliflower is cut up into very small pieces in a food processor and then dressed with a lemon olive oil dressing, seasoned with fresh herbs and bits of red onion. It was so good!  If you didn't know it was Cauliflower, you would be hard pressed to guess what it was made from. It has a lovely soft crunch and was simply delicious.  So, I begged for the recipe and I am sharing it with you today.

Raw Cauliflower Couscous

1 head Cauliflower, the florets separated from the stalk

1/2 small red onion, peeled and cut in chunks

Juice of 2 large lemons

1/3 cup Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Tarragon leaves - can also use basil, mint, parsley, dill or other fresh herbs chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Put the Cauliflower florets, red onion and Tarragon leaves in a food processor and grind until it resembles small Couscous granules - it can also be chopped by hand.  Put into a serving bowl and toss with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Five Element Analysis

Cauliflower, being white belongs to the Metal Element and the red onion and the Tarragon add even more. The lemon juice and olive oil bring in the Wood Element.  The salt adds just a hint of the Water Element and the Pepper gives the tiniest bit of Fire, but this dish needs to be served with some other foods that belong to the Earth, Water and Metal Elements to create balance.