Zucchini Bacon Stacks with Basil Curry Nut Cheese and Sun dried Tomato Tapenade

With an overflow of zucchini finally popping up in my family garden, I came up with this tasty way to experiment with their neutral flavour and sturdy texture.

 

Slice zucchini as thin as possible.  Drizzle with olive oil and sea salt to soften and set aside.

For the basil curry nut cheese, blend half a cup of soaked cashews, 1/2 tsp curry powder, a dash of sea salt, a couple of sprigs of purple basil and water for desired texture.  

Crisp up some bacon in the oven.  425 degrees for 12m.  Remove from the baking pan and pat dry with paper towels.  

Dice up some kale as small as possible.  Massage with some sea salt and set aside.  Then combine, 1/2 lemon juiced, 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and 1 tbsp of grainy mustard.  Massage the dressing into the salad. 

I used some store bought sun dried tomato tapenade but feel free to experiment with making your own.  

Layer the ingredients, stating with a layer of zucchini and build the stack to your liking.  Top with a dollop of basil curry nut cheese and a fresh sprig of purple basil.  Adapt this meal for vegans by using coconut bacon or omitting it all together. Enjoy! :)

Summer Garden Salad with Mustard Mango Dressing

Summer Garden Salad

• 2 big handfuls of Kale
• Romaine
• Fresh Chives
• Red Pepper
• 1/4 an Avocado
• Coconut Bacon
• Fresh Grated Ginger

Mustard Mango Dressing

• The juice of one Lemon
• 1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/4 Cup Mango
• A pinch of Salt and Pepper
• 1 Tbsp Grainy Mustard

To make the dressing, juice on lemon and place the juice in a blender.  Add all the other ingredients and blend.

Then chop kale into small pieces, dice up fresh chives toss in a bowl with the dressing.  Massage the salad until the kale softened a bit.  Place on a bed of romaine and then top with red pepper, avocado, coconut bacon and fresh grated ginger.  

Basil Pear Juice (Blender Style)

Basil Pear Juice

For those of you without a juicer, there's no reason why you can't have fresh juice with a blender on hand and the simple purchase of something as cheap and reusable as a nut milk bag (about $12.)  This recipe is a sweet and refreshing example of how it's done, not to mention a good use for leftover stems from your greens.

-1/2 cup green grapes

-1/4 cup fresh basil

-1/4 cup fresh mint

-1 pear

-1/2 a lemon

-the stems of one bunch of kale (good use for leftovers)

-a dash of cardamom

-1/4 tsp maca

-1 cup filtered water

Blend everything together except the cardamom and maca in a high speed blender.  Then strain the mixture through a nut milk bag.

Pour the mixture back into the blender with some ice, cardamom and maca; then blend it all together.

Pour into a nice glass and drink up.

If you choose to try this recipe in a juicer, you could try using the whole kale leaf to get more liquid, though the taste might differ lightly.