Chilled soup is appearing more frequently as the days are slowly getting warmer and longer. These soups are not only refreshing and light, they are virtually stress-free and super easy to pull together from a combination of ingredients, generally available in your refrigerator.

Ten minutes, from prep to finish, is about the average time to make fresh raw soups. Just put the ingredients in a food processor or blender and you have a delicious soup. Add at least 30 minutes chilling time and you have a fresh chilled soup.

I got a jump-started on chilled soup season with this flavorful chunky soup made from beautiful plump red tomatoes on the vine and fragrant fresh tarragon.

Chilled Chunky Red Tomato Tarragon Soup

Tomatoes pair well with most herbs. Fresh tarragon can be substituted with fresh basil, thyme, parsley, or oregano.

• 2 cups fresh tomatoes [about 4 vine ripe tomatoes], remove from vine, rinse, chopped
• 1/4 cup red onion, peeled, chopped
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh tarragon, chopped
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh squeezed
• 1/2 tablespoon agave
• 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

Add all ingredients to a food process and process until smooth yet lightly chunky. Chill at least an hour.

Serves 2 as a main course; 4 as a soup appetizer

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This picture illustrates a perfect round turnip ball scooped out by my ever-handy melon baller.

Definition of a Melon Baller
A kitchen utensil designed to scoop out spherical chunks of melon, or other foods.

I love little kitchen gadgets, especially those that can function in more ways than it was originally designed and a melon baller fits this description. I use mine for all sorts of tasks.

Ways with a melon baller

~ Use to scoop out the core and the stem ends of apples and pears.

~ Scoop out the top and the bottom before slicing the apple in half. Then scoop out the core using the baller.

~ Scoop out the seeds and ribs from peppers.

~ Remove the seeds and surrounding pulp from vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes, winter squash, and from fruits like papaya and kiwi.

~ Scrape seeds and strings from squash.

~ Hollow out vegetables and fruits to fill or stuff.

~ Make mini ice cream and sorbet balls.

~ Use it to scoop out and help shape cookie dough into rounds.

~ Use it to form truffles.

~ Carve out balls from multiple fruits and vegetables.

~ Use it to make artful and creative garnishes.

~ Remove pits from cherries.

Using a melon baller

Using a “melon” as an example ~ sink the melon baller into the flesh of the melon then twist in a circle and scoop out a perfect neat round ball. Apply this method to other fruits, vegetables, and foods.

Choosing a melon baller

It is quite an indispensable kitchen tool well worth acquiring. Look for one that has a solid handle that is sturdy and feels heavy in your hand. Melon ballers come in an assortment of sizes and some are double ended. This little multi-tasking tool is also available with an oval and scalloped scoop like this one.

Here is a bit of trivia. The tiny hole in the scoop is a drainage hole to keep it from clogging.

It is amazing what you can do with one little gadget.

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Pairing banana and basil isn’t too surprising. Think Asian cuisine and you’ll find both prominently featured in various dishes.

When you make this smoothie, you will find the sweet essence of basil comes through as a hint of soft flavor that mingles nicely with banana.

Did you know there are over 60 varieties of basil, and with so many options, you might consider trying - anise, chocolate, cinnamon, clove, lemon, or lime basil. Each have flavor characteristic that reflect their name.

When I made this smoothie, I used sweet Italian basil commonly available at whole foods, specialty stores, or farmers markets. Next time I plan to try one of those exciting basils, like lemon or lime.

And while we’re on the topic of variety, why not consider using those cute red baby bananas. Stir clear of plantains though, they are not suitable to eat raw.

Whichever variety of banana or basil you chose, the combined flavors elevate this smoothie into an exotic treat.

Banana Basil Smoothie

This recipe can easily be double or tripled.

Blend all ingredients in a blender until liquefied and smooth.

Serve immediately or chill the smoothie in the refrigerator for an hour or until ready to serve.

Serves 1

Salt is one of the most important all-purpose seasoning [it is also considered a condiment] used in most kitchens and in countless recipes. It serves many purposes – a light seasoning of it enhances the flavors of other ingredients, smooth out bitterness, and makes foods taste more like themselves.

As in most cases, the higher the quality the better, and this is appropriate when choosing the type of salt used as an ingredient in recipes. Natural pure salt is alkalizing, good for you, is unrefined and has not been treated with anti-humidity chemicals or iodized.

Two salts I use often are:

French Grey Sea Salt
A moist, large-grained salt hand-harvested from salt marshes or salt ponds. It is also called Celtic sea salt and is less salty than common table salt and has a distinctive and delicious taste.

Himalayan Crystal Salt
Pretty pinkish hand-harvested free-form nuggets of salt containing 84 essential life-enhancing minerals. This salt is used for making Sole, an energy balancing elixir.

Not surprisingly these salts are expensive but well worth the price [in my opinion]. They can be purchased at health food stores, whole foods markets, or through online sources.

Try some of these other intriguing culinary salts: Black Salt, Fleur de Sel, Hawaiian Sea Salt, and Italian Sea Salt.

Get more information or shop online:
Salt Works
Himalayan Crystal Salt

One thing to note when using these culinary salts is you may need to increase the amount called for in a recipe ever so slightly. The next time you shop for salt, consider making space in your kitchen pantry for one or more of these interesting culinary salts.

“To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.” - Francois De La Rochefoucauld

This is a great spring/summer recipe! I’ve made this salad combination multiple times, mostly with a mustard dressing. This time I opted for simple citrus vinaigrette.

I took a different approach with the apple. Usually I chop or slice unpeeled apple pieces and add everything together to make a salad. This time crispy sweet apple plays a dual role as a bowl and as part of the salad mixture.

I used Gala apples in this recipe. Fiji and Golden Delicious apples work well too. Green apples add a subtle sour note as well as a lovely monochromatic color when combined with celery.

As an appetizer, these apple bowls are a fun and unique finger food. Serve on a plate and have napkins handy. You can also serve as a main salad on a bed of fresh spring lettuce.

This salad is simple to make, light, healthy, and delicious. It may be made 3 hours in advance and kept covered and chilled. The vinaigrette and celery pieces can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Apple Celery Salad

This recipe can easily be doubled. In place of walnuts, try almonds, pecans, brazil nuts, sunflower or pumpkin seeds. Also try cilantro in place of parsley.

Whisk first 3 ingredients in small bowl to blend. Set aside.

Trim off bottoms of each celery stalk. Thinly slice stalks straight across or on deep diagonal. Place celery pieces in medium bowl and add walnuts and parsley.

Slice each apple in half and scoop out the core and stem end with a melon baller. Discard the core and ends.

Take a sharp knife or vegetable peeler and slice a very thin slice off the bottom of the rounded side of each apple half so that the apple half can lie open side up.

Take the melon baller and scoop out enough apple flesh to create a hollow bowl. Be careful not to scoop down too far and create a whole at the bottom of the apple half. Set apple bowls aside.

Chop apple flesh into small piece and add to the bowl with celery. Add citrus vinaigrette and add salt and pepper to taste. Combine the mixture well.

Divide the mixture among the apple bowls, pressing it into place. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 3 hours, then serve.

Serves 2 as a main salad - 4 as an appetizer

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I’m happy and excited to announce that my first collection of raw vegan cookies is now available in an ebook.

Raw Epicurean Cookies – 20 Raw Vegan Cookie Recipes.

Each recipe has a full color photograph.

The cookies recipes in this ebook are raw vegan versions of some traditional baked cookie recipes as well as some novel approaches to healthy nutritious treats.

For more information and to purchase this ebook, click here.

The first day of spring is around the corner. The evidence the new season is everywhere from budding trees to fresh seasonal produce showcased at local grocery stores.

While shopping last week I found a bunch of perfect asian pears just waiting for someone to claim them so I brought some home.

Using these pears in a salad seemed like the way to go. Pears in salads are best ripe with firmness and these asian pears are crisp, a bit grainy, and sugary – perfect.

The greens I choose to use were the greens I had on hand - red stemmed swiss chard. The leafy part acts as the green element of the salad and the gorgeous red stem is used as you would celery. It’s like a two for one deal. The stem is not tough; it is easy to cut [like celery] and has a fresh crisp earthy taste.

This salad almost seems like a great fall or winter salad [technically pears are a winter fruit] and the red element of the swiss chard gives it an autumn edge, yet it is refreshing and light enough for the approaching days of spring.

FRESH PEAR SALAD

Any type of green leafy vegetable will work in this salad - like baby arugula or baby spinach.

Using a mandoline or sharp knife, slice the pear as thin as possible. Place pear slices on each plate.

Using a sharp knife separate the leafy part of the swiss chard from its stem by cutting where the leaf meets the stem. Take the leaf or if there are two or more leaves, stack them atop one another, roll into a cigar shape and cut crosswise making thin strips. Take to stem and cut crosswise into small pieces. Arrange leaf strips and stem pieces over pear slices.

Sprinkle with pine nuts and olive oil. Garnish with cracked black pepper.

Serves 4 as a first course or 2 as a main course

“Wisdom is to the mind what health is to the body.” - Francois De La Rochefoucauld

A green drink can conjure up inquisitive reactions – sideway glances, blatant stares, facial contortions or verbal cries - “What is that”!?!?What’s That Green Stuff?That green stuff is a super nutritious drink containing one or more of the most potent greens:

Dark green vegetables :: such as kale or spinach
Sea vegetables :: spirulina and seaweeds
Cereal grasses :: wheat grass, barley grass and kamut
Green tea :: contains cancer-fighting polyphenols
Micro-algae :: blue-green algae

Greens are a highly effective health ally. They help boost the immune system, detoxify the body, purify the blood, balance pH levels, create an internal alkaline environment and infuses the body with easily absorbed amino acids, minerals, and vitamins.

I simply can’t resist gravitating to these fresh emerald green drinks, can you? I love the color, taste, the considerable benefits and everything it represents.

The greens used in this recipe are fresh kale, three different supplements in powder form - Spirulina, Organic Wheatgrass Juice Powder and Organic Barley Powder - and cold pressed green tea, all combined into a powerful drink.

Optimize your health and well being with this tasty drink and enjoy an easy and practical way to include greens into your diet.

Green Power Drink

This healthy, nutrient-rich drink is one way to get your daily intake of greens and it tastes great. This vivid green super food drink is a blend of some of the most potent greens; sweetened with banana.

Place the banana, kale, green tea, spirulina, wheatgrass and barley powder in the blender and blend until smooth.

If you don’t have green tea you could fall back on basic filtered water, nut or seed milk.

Serves 1 - 2