Spring.... with Peanut Sauce.

It's definitely Spring. I know that most of all because I have fantastic, fizzy energy (despite the brain drain of school) and a potent desire to be outside and moving as much as possible.

I also feel a big shift because I'm no longer craving hearty stews, beans and root vegetables! For the first time in ages I actually craved a SALAD.

I really appreciate this. It is pretty amazing to me that my body can pick up on how everything around me is changing and shift my cravings to whatever I need most at this time. Think about that. Pretty neat.

I came home from my shift at the farmer's market this week and I was surprised that I wasn't craving my usual post-standing-outside-all-day meal... spaghetti and meat sauce piled high with vegetables. I have had some pretty much transcendental moments over the last few chilly, wet Seattle months - parked on the couch post market hugging a steaming bowl of noodles to my chest, all snuggled in a puddle of oregano and marjoram and free-range beef spiked tomato sauce... sigh. It was made even better by the fact that my roomies and I took turns making it each week. The lure of that bowl got me through many of those final damp, winter market hours.

This time though all I wanted was... a salad. I actually stood there a moment in slight disbelief. Really? A salad? I searched for the familiar meat craving, but there was none. Just an incredibly strong urge to eat the kale and cabbage rabe I'd picked up from Nash's (sounds like "raab". It's the tender, sweet flowering heads that pop up in the spring). Strange, but I figured it was best to listen.

It got me thinking about eating seasonal and local foods. If you are eating locally then you pretty much end up eating what’s in season. I love being reconnected to that cycle. Who doesn’t get excited at the first summer strawberries - or fresh, sun-warmed, drip down your arm Okanagan peaches. That’s when you KNOW its summer. Well it's Spring now and that means asparagus season! (see What's in Season and Seasonal Cornucopia).

And then that got me thinking some more- those plants are living in the same conditions we are and going through the same daylight and temperature changes. Eating them gives us a pretty good chance we'll get the nutrients we need to adapt to those conditions too. It's hard to believe sometimes when we are boxed up in our cars and closed off in our houses with our hand sanitizer at the ready but we are part of this ecosystem too.

So my craving for spring greens, which in many traditional medicines are considered detoxifying and rejuvenating, is perfect for shedding a bit of that winter insulation we don’t really need now that it's warmer.

Spring does a pretty good job of reminding us that we aren't static, our diets change (and need to) and our cravings might just be the best information we can get about ‘what to eat’. I'd highly recommend listening... you might be surprised.


Here's my post market salad...

Purple kale rabe – roughly chopped
Cabbage rabe –roughly chopped
Asparagus, roasted, chopped - from the other night (see here for recipe)
Young swiss chard leaves torn into bite sized pieces
Some fennel bulb – sliced
A raw sunchoke (Jerusalem artichoke), sliced
Some leftover cooked, brown rice
Some Red cabbage, thinly shredded
Some raw beets, grated fine (try it! So juicy and sweet)
Toasted pumpkin seeds
1 free range, hard boiled egg, sliced (or some grilled salmon)


Pile all the greens into a bowl on top of the rice. Scatter with the remaining ingredients and drizzle dressing (recipe below) on top. Sit in the warm spring sun and check out all the incredible colour in that bowl. Take a deep breath, take a bite and enjoy.


Rebar’s Intensely Fresh Peanut Sauce/Dressing

makes 3/4 cup

1/4 cup smooth peanut butter (try cashew butter, almond butter or a mix)
1 clove garlic
About a 2 inch piece of ginger, minced or grated, (try using the back of a spoon to scrape off the skin – SO easy)
1 or 2 tbsp. honey (to taste)
a handful of cilantro leaves
juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. sambal olek (or any hot sauce or dried chilies)
1/4 cup soy sauce (try naturally fermented tamari)
2 tbsp. brown rice vinegar

Whiz it all together in blender, with a hand blender or by hand with a little elbow grease (chopping fine and gently heating the nut butter will help).


Adapted from the Rebar Modern Foods Cookbook