‘velocius quam asparagi conquantur’

The Emperor Augustus coined the phrase ‘velocius quam asparagi conquantur’, meaning to do something faster than you can cook asparagus.

Asparagus has been used from early times as a vegetable and medicine, owing to its delicate flavour and diruretic properties. There is a recipe for cooking asparagus in the oldest surviving book of recipes, Apicius’ third century AD De re coquinaria, Book III. It was cultivated by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, who ate it fresh when in season and dried the vegetable for use in winter.

As I was walking around the dried chili section of the store I happened to look up and see a wall full of Asparagus.  I had remembered I had jotted a recipe down a few weeks back I had wanted to try.  I figured, why not?  I had no idea about dinner so it seemed like the universe was helping out.

I decided the menu would be: Basil Pest Marinated Asparagus with Nut patties and avocado.

First I made a Spinach~Pesto with Basil, Pine Nuts and Spinach.

Spinach~Basil Pesto

1/2 Bunch Spinach

2 Large Handfuls Basil

2 Garlic Cloves

1 cup Pine Nuts

1/3 cup olive oil

Preparation: Place everything in the Food Processor with the “S” blade and blend to desired consistency.  (I added a little water to the mix when I saw that it was having a little trouble moving around.)  I purposely made this amount to stuff some mushrooms or mix with something else this weekend.  Please note this recipe makes almost 2 cups.

Next I made the marinade for the Asaparagus.

Pesto Marinade

Juice of 1/2 a Lemon

2 tbs. Spinach Pesto

2 drops Sweet Basil Essential Oil

1 capful Apple Cider Vinegar

Preparation:  In a small bowl – Mix Lemon Juice, Sweet Basil Essential Oil and Apple cider vinegar together.  Add the Pesto according to taste.  (You can add salt if you wish).

I then used a vegetable peeler to take off the exterior skin of the White & Green Asparagus I purchased.

Green Asparagus sliced and peeled.

The white Asparagus was much thicker.  I was able to cut it into thinner strips.  It was also much more tender than the green Asparagus.  It marinated very well!!!

I made sure to marinate these in (2) different bowls since I didn’t want them to change each others flavors.

Gree Asparagus in marinade.

White Asparagus in Marinade.

The Asparagus marinated for about 30-40 minutes.  I served the meal with the Dehydrated Falaffel and my Daily Avocado.:)

I topped the Asparagus with some chopped olives.  Kalmata Olive on the Green Asparagus and Green Olives on the White Asparagus.

Plate #2

I think I will be making more again soon! YUM!!!

Thanks for visiting!!!

I thought I would leave you with a picture of THE LOVE OF MY LIFE!!!

Namaste!

Stir the UN-FRY!

Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acids.  All important stuff!  I am on a quest for wellness and hope you come along with me!

Last night I made another Un-Stir Fry.  The last Un-Stir Fry you can see here.  It was paired with the Sesame Nut Balls.  I made the RAW RICE with cauliflower and peas.  This time, I made my RAW RICE with PARSNIPS!   YUM!  I am wondering if this would make the RAW MASHED POTATOES taste better than they did before. :/  That was not a good food experience! The cauliflower left little to be desired!!

Here is the Parsnip Rice before I added anything to it…

The vegetables about to be marinated…

The list of veggies used is as follows:

1. Broccoli – (1/2 Cup) -
2. Parsnips – (1 Cup) -
3. Peas – (1 Cup)
4. Snow Peas-(1 Cup)
5. Portobello Mushrooms- (1 1/2 Cups)
6. Sesame Seeds -(Handful, Raw
7. Mushroom Marinade – (3/4 cup Nama Shoyu, 1/4 cup sesame oil, juice of 1 organic lemon)

Since I wanted that Dehydrated-Marinated Flavor (another words a bit warm) I placed the veggies in the Dehydrator for 2 hrs @ 115.  After that I added the peas and parsnip rice to the mix.  The final result is here…

And here we have a wondorful Raw Meal.  Quite delightful in the stomach I might add!  Broccoli and Peas are high in Vitamin C and Phosphorus.  A fair amount of Selenium as well.  (Minerals I will be speaking about soon!)

So this was a definite hit.  I finally was tired of just eating an avocado and salad.  It was time for some more RAW CULINARY adventures!

Special thanks to RAWMAZING!