Mango - Caribbean Salad

Ingredients 95% organic:

wild salad greens from my garden (I like to grow my greens in big pots)

tri-beans: pinto, black & kidney

broccoli sprouts,

tiny orange bell pepper slices

small mango chunks

nestled on a bed of golden couscous

with a side of cornbread, 

Earth Balance Organic Buttery Spread, plus a drizzle of heated honey for those of you who are not Vegan and

Annie's Goddess Dressing if you like.

Now - who's on clean-up duty? J

A few items I'd like to talk about. If you've never made couscous (& yes it tastes as great as the word sounds) & you're not allergic to wheat, try it! It takes about 5 minutes & this grain is perfect every time.  Here's how:

Boil 1 1/4 cup water, add 1 Tablespoon of margarine, if you like

Pour in 1 cup couscous. 

Give it a quick stir, cover & immediately remove from the stove (or burner).

Let sit for 5 minutes.

Fluff with fork & serve.

Most of us love it with margarine & a sprinkle of sea salt or a spritz of Bragg's Amino Acid's.  Children especially love the taste because it's so mild. Braggs is like soy sauce, but much better for you -less salt and more mild tasting. Great to add to soups and stir-fries. A brain surgeon actually introduced me to Braggs back in the '70s in Hawaii - it's a complete protein. 

Sprouts - I'm sure I'll make a posting about sprouts, just not tonight. So the sprouts I used tonight were purchased from a local market, but I usually sprout my own. Two days ago I started my lentil sprouts and last night I started my radish sprouts. To begin, soak over-night in a full jar of water. Rinse really well in the morn (or 8 hours later), then tilt your jar so that the individual seeds have room to grow. The most important step about growing your own sprouts is to rinse them often & well. Three times a day is best, but absolutely at least twice a day.

I add fresh water to the jar & swirl, or stir with a wooden spoon (that way the sprouts don't get damaged). Then pour the water out from the sieve or pour through a strainer. I use a small strainer, which is about the size of the lid of the jar - I think the sprouts get washed better that way.

For the lentils, just use the same type of legume you would buy from the health-food store or bulk bin from your market. You'll notice the shell of the legume will shed itself from the lentil. For the final rinse, I swish them in a large pot of cold water, thereby being able to rid the shells from the sprout.  Here's a pic of both jars. As you can see, the lentils are already sprouting rather quickly. You can eat them at any point, however, I usually wait until the sprouts are about 1 1/2 inch long. Lentil sprouts are very crunchy & adds a nice variety of texture to your salad. 

Radish seeds in front
Lentil sprouts growing in the back jar

* Any orange colored-food is abundant with vitamins A & E, great for your skin!