By: Amadea Morningstar RPP, RPE
Spring has officially waltzed in! Depending where you live, you may be voraciously devouring fresh raw salads, or still trying to keep warm. Polarity Therapy whole-heartedly embraces raw salads for their vitality and nutrients. Ayurvedic Nutrition tends to recommend more warm, cooked foods, especially in cool weather, or if you as an individual are feeling cold.
Here’s a fresh salad dressing you can use on either option: a big green salad or an unusual pasta salad. For people who do better with cooked foods than raw ones, you can even use this dressing as a tasty marinade over steamed greens or other lightly steamed veggies.
TARRAGON HONEY MUSTARD SALAD DRESSING
Purifying, Health Building, Gourmet Vegetarian
Time: 10 minutes Serves 6
Blend together in a blender, or shake together in a jar:
1 teaspoon dried tarragon (or 1 Tbsp. fresh)
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ – ½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon stoneground mustard (or 1/8 teaspoon dry mustard)
2 teaspoons raw honey
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Ready to use on whatever fresh salad you’ve put together. Play with colors and textures, what’s local and easy to digest to you. Consider adding edible flowers too, like these spring pansies.
EASY TIP: If there’s a tablespoon left of stoneground mustard in a jar, I’ll just add all the ingredients there and shake. Or if you have the tail end of some honey in its jar, simply add a little warm water to dissolve it, then add the rest of the ingredients and shake.
VEGAN variation: Substitute 1 – 2 teaspoons coconut sugar in place of the honey.
Effects: neutral for all elements and all doshas, with salad or steamed veggies.
Thanks to Ayurvedic Cooking for Westerners, Morningstar
FRESH ASPARAGUS PENNE PASTA SALAD
Health Building, Gourmet Vegetarian
Gluten Free Time: 20 minutes MAX Serves 4
Make your salad dressing, whatever you’d like to use. Today I’m using Tarragon Honey Mustard Salad Dressing (see above).
Put 4 – 6 quarts of water on to boil in a big pot with a pinch of salt.
Today the vegetables we’ll be using are:
1 pound fresh asparagus
2 Tablespoons finely chopped red onion
Yet, this is a very forgiving recipe. If you want to see what is ready to pick in your garden, and use that instead, have fun.
If you’re using the asparagus, wash it, snap the tough bottoms off, then break each stalk into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
When the water comes to a boil, stir in:
1 package of Explore Cuisine brand Organic Red Lentil Penne Pasta
(or whatever pasta you like. This is a gluten-free, high protein pasta made with just red lentils and brown rice. It’s a whole meal in itself, and pretty.)
Put the timer on for 8 minutes. When the timer gets to 5 minutes, stir in:
The asparagus
Keep boiling. When the timer goes off and the penne is tender, drain well and rinse in cold water. Then add:
The chopped red onion and salad dressing to taste. Toss lightly.
Serve hot or cold. Satisfying one pot meal.
Effects: Easiest to digest for fire, water, and earth types. If you are more airy, you could find bean pasta gassy. Relax and chew it well.
Comments: Explore Cuisine is an innovative company whose products appear in many natural groceries. They’re made of legumes like organic mung, edamame soy, black beans, red lentils, and chickpeas. If you digest them comfortably, they’re an excellent plant basis for a high protein meal.
Enjoy!
All best wishes to you,
Amadea
https://polaritytherapy.com/electives – Ayurvedic Assessment Series in May with Amadea
https://amadeamorningstar.net/product/polarity-therapy-energetic-nutrition/
Flower salad image thanks to Allison Cekala
Asparagus Red Lentil Penne Pasta Salad by AM