Tricks in the Kitchen...

The key to a good meal is being able to handle what you have in the kitchen with your imagination. Do not let a recipe stand in the way of you and your food! Think about ingredients as you would color on paper and let yourself paint a good recipe. Taste each food item you have if you need to stimulate your appetite to create something new. I often open the jars of spices and herbs and smell each one until I get a flavor I like then I pull them together with the produce.

A soup is a good place to start. Always make your base first before adding the herbs and the follow up enhancers like spices or strong flavored fruits or vegetables. You can adjust your base but you will have a hard time fixing a soup that has all of its ingredients added. Once your soup base is perfected, then add your enhancers a little at a time. Think about the texture before you start your soup. Are you going for chunky, smooth, creamy or just broth? Don't forget you can pulse anything in the blender, add chunky stuff to your bowl, top with sprinkles or drizzle a complimentary flavor over the top of your soup. The soup is the first easy place to play when you are new to raw food. The key is the base!