Garden fresh inspiration can lead to a really good meal.

I altered my Blue Corn Cakes recipe and came up with some delicately delicious yellow corn cakes.

Green Onion Corn Cakes Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup yellow corn meal
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup unbleached white flour
• 1.5 tsp baking powder (a little less at altitude)
• 1 tsp baking soda (a little less at altitude)
• pinch sea salt
• 1 cup chopped green onion

I made these for dinner and drizzled them with a ginger rhubarb sauce.

Ginger Rhubarb Sauce:

• 3 stalks rhubarb, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 1 tsp cornstarch (optional)

I bought some local beets, so I chopped the stems separately from the leaves. I sauteed the stems in a little white wine until they got soft. Then I added the leaves and let them wilt. Add a little sea salt and pepper, and all of this can be served together.

The Ginger Rhubarb Sauce pairs well with both the Green Onion Corn Cakes and the sauteed Beet Greens. Enjoy.

This might not sound good to you. I don’t know if it would have sounded good to me a few months ago… during the stage of my life before I had my Vita-Mix. Everything has changed now.

Why has everything changed? Because now I grind up a ton of veggies to drink for lunch. I had been living on peanut butter or almond butter sandwiches for lunch for almost the entire 5 years I’d been living in Colorado. This past January I spent my birthday money (plus some of my own) on a Vita-Mix, and it has changed my life. If you have one, you’ll likely understand. If you don’t, you might find me weird. Either way, here is one of my healthy lunch smoothies.

Ingredients:

• 1 apple
• 2 kiwis
• 1/4 golden beet
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 handful parsley
• 2 carrots
• 3/4 cup snow peas
• 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
• ginger (as much fresh ginger as you like- I used 1 tsp)
• 1-2 cups water (add more if you like it thinner… or should I say, less thick)

Here is a simple soup recipe. I had some frozen broth from a Baked Tofu and Coconut Soup I made, so I used the rest of that broth and improved upon the tofu. I’m no authority here, but you can probably call this a vegetarian pho.

Here’s the marinade for the firm, frozen, thawed, pressed, sliced tofu:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 TB toasted sesame oil
• 1 TB onion powder
• 1 TB garlic powder
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 2 TB sweet soy sauce (Kecap Manis)
• 1/2-1 TB Chinese chili paste
• 1.5 c white wine
• 1/2 cup water

I love preparing Asian-inspired meals. Here is a simple stir-fry.

While the frozen shrimp thaw in cold water, prep the rest of this dish. The key to a good stir fry is having everything prepped and ready to be thrown in the wok so the meal cooks quickly.

Slice the green pepper and chop the ends off of the pea pods. Chop the green onion. Coarsely chop the garlic, grate the ginger, and then mash them together in a mortar and pestle. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, mince the garlic. Have a pot with water ready to boil for the noodles.

When the shrimp are thawed, start to boil the water. Heat the wok to medium high and add the peanut oil. When it is hot, add the dried chili peppers. Let them cook for a minute and then add the green peppers, pea pods, and soy sauce. After a couple minutes, add the ginger and garlic. Keep this moving on the heat.

Meanwhile, the water should be boiling for the noodles. Cook them according to their direction, drain, and be ready to add them to the wok.

When the noodles are done, add the shrimp, wine, and lemon juice. Mix this well and allow it to cook a few minutes before adding the noodles. Make sure it is all evenly heated, shrimp nice and pink, and serve.

Enjoy. I ate my dish with chopsticks, which is always fun.