Yamarama!

Another rainy morning in my part of the world, but after such a dry Winter, we need it for sure. I'm just chomping at the bit waiting to take all my herb seedlings and plant them in the big terra cotta pots on my deck. Soon enough, however, the temperature dropped down to 27.5 the other night (to those of you not accustomed to a Fahrenheit scale, this is about 5 degrees below freezing.) it seems prudent to wait a little longer, in the meantime, I'm hardening them off by putting them outside during the day, and I can tell by the growth I'm seeing that they're happy about it.

I also have a beautiful new jade plant to hang in my bedroom, which, like my avocado sprout, is in need of a name. For some reason I feel inclined to name it Fern. What do you think? So far the only suggestion for the avocado is Demitri, which I rather like. Barring any other suggestions, I think Demitri wins.

Last nights dinner was leftover Asparagus soup from Tuesday, and a brilliant sautéed yams dish with limes and ginger. I realize at this pointi have neglected to post the soup recipe so here come both!

Asparagus Soup (from Terry Walter's Clean Food)

2-3 bunches fresh asparagus
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
3 leeks, white parts, chopped
1/2 cup rolled oats
3 cups "milk" (I used coconut)
1/2 tsp dried dill
Salt'n'Pepa
Fresh Parsley
White Miso

Like most recipes I choose, this was pretty easy, and just takes a little bit of time. Break your asparagus at its natural breaking point. If you're unfamiliar with this concept, it's best to make snide personal criticisms about its physical appearance. Alternatively, if you're asparagus doesn't have particularly low self-esteem, simply take hold of it by both ends and snap, it will break toward the thicker end of the stem. Then chop it into smallish chunks.

Sautée your leeks and garlic in olive oil until tender, in a large pot. Add everything but the last three ingredients, and enough water to cover the asparagus, (maybe an additional cup or two.) Bring it to a boil, and simmer until its soft.

Once the asparagus is nice and soft, turn off the heat, and purée with a handheld blender. When you're ready to serve, add a healthy spoonful of miso, some salt and white pepper, parsley, or any other garnish you wish. We don't add the miso directly to the cooking soup because we want it to retain some of its healthy raw benefit, and I think the flavor is a bit stronger when you do it this way.

Despite the presence of real dairy, this is a very thick and creamy soup, and could very well be a meal served in a nice big soup mug.

In keeping with the idea of warm, inviting comfort foods, the sautéed yams, also from "Clean Food," are filling and sweet, and the juxtaposition of those flavored with the pungent ginger and tangy lime work very well together.

Here's the biz:

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp grated ginger (probably about a 2"x1" piece, grated)
1 red onion (fear not, they are sautéed into submission! Take that, Onion!)
2 large yams, grated (I didn't have particularly large yams, so I used about 5 smaller ones, which produced, roughly speaking, 4-6 cups of grated yam, Walters doesn't really specify a precise amount so I just had to kinda do it to taste. I like yams, so I went probably a little heavier)
3 tbsp lime juice (once again, I easily doubled this, probably the juice of four good sized limes)
1 tsp ground nutmeg
Sea salt and pepper

Begin by sautéing ginger and onion in olive oil, until soft. If, like me, raw onion is not your friend, let it go longer so the onions are not only soft and translucent, but beginning to brown and carmelize a bit. Add the yams, lime juice, turn up the heat a bit and sauté until the yams are soft. I added the nutmeg at this point as well, Walters says do it at the end and cook for a few more minutes.

What I liked about this method of preparation is that the yams sweeten a bit, but still retain a nice, raw ish, crunch to them. I you want it even sweeter, I don't see why you couldn't add some agave or honey.

I know there is a real debate out there about whether or not agave is really any better for you than other sweeteners. What I can say is this, you can buy it raw, which I like. It's much sweeter than refined sugar, so despite the high fructose content, a little goes a long way. Lastly, it's lower on the glycemic index than refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup. What this means is it is not going to cause your blood sugar to spike like processed sugar. Indirectly, this translates to feeling "full" for longer, which means you're likely to eat less.

So, until some serious evidence proves otherwise, I will use agave as a sweetener. Despite a higher calorie intake than sugar, it is less processed, less volatile to the system, and packs a sweeter "punch" with less quantity (which also indirectly means less calories.) Ps, did you know refined sugar is not actually vegan? It is refined with bone char, which comes from the ones of cattle.






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Location:Madison, CT