The Garden Is Planted June 7, 2011

It's been rough going weather wise in Vermont. We've had record rainfall and Lake Champlain is still above flood water levels. I usually plan on planting my garden on Memorial Day weekend like most people but the rain continued and made it impossible. Well it's finally planted and I came pretty close to giving up on a garden this year. My garden patch is pretty small when you think about the amount of squash that I love to plant. I love zucchini and even more so now that I am raw and like to use them for raw noodles.

So this year in my garden I planted heirloom tomatoes, romana tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, curly kale, Russian red kale, cucumbers, and kohlrabi. It will be interesting to see how the kohlrabi is once it has matured. The girl at the CSA highly recommended it. I did a little research on the internet and found out that you not only can eat the leaves but the bulb can be eaten just like an apple. Interesting!

I've discovered noodles from sweet potatoes and actually prefer them to zucchini noodles because they don't release moisture and turn watery once you add a sauce like zucchini noodles. I use the Joyce Chen Spiralizer that creates angel hair pasta out of almost any vegetable.

I made a Thai Almond Sauce to pour over the noodles. First I make my own raw almond butter in my food processor. I started making my own after I discovered that the grocery store sells it for $19.00 a jar. Here's how to make your own raw almond butter.

I prefer my almond butter without the honey but I do add a little salt. You have to be patient. For me it takes at least 15 minutes in my food processor before it smooths out like butter by releasing it's natural oil. I would never make any nut butter in an appliance other than a food processor but that's just me.

So here is the recipe for the sauce. I use a Tribest Personal Blender In the blender add your the following sauce ingredients and blend.

2 tbsp almond butter
2 tsp nama shoyu or Braggs
1 tsp grated ginger
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp agave nectar
2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

In a large bowl add your raw noodles, some cilantro, spinach, and any other vegetables of your choice. Pour almond sauce, toss, and top with sprouted sunflower seeds. YUM!!!