Let us wrap

After an overnight fast in preparation for an annual physical exam (my first in 16 years), I'm hungry. Time to go to Yakima Fresh Market for a $20 splurge on fruit and veges.

I look over my loot as I unpack it and consider what I'm hungry for. Quinoa with this stuff? I start cooking 1/2 c. quinoa with 2 c. water and set the timer for 10 minutes.

I wash, slice, and chop leaf basil and the vegetables - cabbage, tomato, onion, red pepper - and grate the carrots and ginger. Into a bowl they go!

Meanwhile, I spot a package of sprouted grains and beans in the cupboard. They only need 5 minutes of cooking and a 10-15 minute "rest." When the timer beeps, I measure 1/3 cup of grains and break 5 stalks of asparagus into the pot. Lid on. The timer gets reset for 5 minutes.

The timer dings. I turn off the gas heat to let the quinoa, bean, and grain mixture settle for 10 minutes. Might as well tidy the kitchen. Knives go back on their magnetic strip, dishes in the DW. There's time to halve and remove the stems from two big romaine lettuce leaves ... and make a cup of tea, too.

Combining the grains and chopped vegetables makes a beautiful arrangement beside the lettuce. I sprinkle on thick soy sauce for flavor ... and plate the food. (See the large tablespoon in the photo for perspective.)

I'm ready to wrap and eat! Half the salad makes 4 substantial lettuce rolls. I'll save the rest of the mix for supper.

Rating: 4.5
Taste: nice combination of bitter (lettuce, asparagus, and cabbage) with savory and sweet (basil, ginger, quinoa, carrots).
Calories: 350-400? for all 4 rolls. Bulky calories!
Time to prepare: 15 min.
Tea: Trader Joe's Well-Rested teabag (sadly). Nice spearmint smell to clear the nose between bites.
Beauty: 4.5 Tighter rolls might be prettier. The color is fabulous and the sizes and textures vary.
Improvements? Perhaps add smashed fresh walnuts and chopped fresh apricot, or - Chinese mustard or wasabi peas, blueberries, and pine nuts. Maybe tonight!

Spinach and... oh, not tomato!

I'm hungry for goopy, steamed spinach. My nose imagines the bite of bacon smoke, my tongue wants the dark squishy leaves in a creamy white sauce. I've got chipotle vegan sausage in the fridge, so maybe that will deke out my nose... in a good way.

I rinse and squeeze the "sausage" a few times; it's usually too spicy and salty for my taste. After washing the spinach in a big pot, I leave a bit of water for steaming at the bottom, adding the crumbled vausage on top. Turn up the heat and cover for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, chop up an apple and a roma tomato.

While the spinach is draining in a colander, I squish together the apple, tomato, a half avocado, a few snipped tips of green onion, and Asha's (leftover) raspberry dressing from yesterday. What about a big white bowl (Business Costco) since the ingredients are bright but bulky?

Once the dressing is mixed, I finely chop the almost-dry spinach and vausage on the cutting board and stir everything together.

It looks delicious. Colorful, a mix of tastes and textures. I left two slices of apple unchopped for side accompaniment: the apple has the watermarks around its core of almost-freezing temps when perfectly ripe - the best way to eat an apple!!!

Rating: 2/5. It's a disappointment.
Taste: The slimy spinach and tomatoes mix in a very unpleasant way. Once I let it rest a bit, the flavors mix, the spinach cools, and it tastes much better - almost a 3/5. The tomato was a "not sure, but I'll try it." My first instincts were right: no tomato next time! I wo-manfully eat about half, and leave the rest for supper, when everything will have mixed completely. I'm going to add some more seasoning too, maybe the Smoked South African Salt W got at TJs...
Calories: 545 for 2 meals from 250 vausage, 95 apple, 25 spinach, 140 avocado half, 35 tomato.
Tea: Duchess Earl Grey, Trader Joes. This is NOT a disappointment :-)