RAW Living and Learning

The garden went in pretty easily this fall and I am hoping I can harvest some great produce. My neighbor was sweet enough to give me 4 cucumber plants (love yah!) that he started from seed. Unfortunately one of them did not survive a tropical downpour that we had a few weeks back. But the remaining three look just fine. I also planted some marigolds as a border, they remind me of my Grandma and Grandpa that are no longer with us--memories flood back each time I look at the beautiful flowers--you'll see those down below in the updated pics. I decided to plant the majority of the garden from seed. As you can see, the plants planted are tomato and peppers. And as I said the cucumbers against the fence were grown from seed, thanks Bubba!!! In the front row I planted seeds for Chinese Cabbage;  the second row is all Romaine; the third row is Collards; the fourth row is Kale. One of my cutie pies is in the backround modeling our banana trees. We have 3 hands on the trees right...

I just love this salad so much that I decided to have it as my main course for Christmas Eve dinner. I will make numerous other sides but this salad will be center stage; it even looks festive. I love the combination of collard greens and Swiss chard. The chard is tender and earthy and the collards add some texture and depth. They are enhanced with the sweetness and tartness of the  fresh apple and dried cranberries. RAW Swiss Chard and Collard Christmas Eve Salad RAW Swiss Chard and Collard Christmas Eve Salad 1 bunch swiss chard, thinly sliced 4 large collard leaves, stems removed and thinly sliced pinch of sea salt 1 T first cold pressed EVOO fresh lime juice, from 1/2 of a lime 1 tsp apple cider vinegar 2 T raw sesame seeds, soaked 2 hours and drained 1 T dried white onion flakes 1 red delicious apple, skin on and diced 1/2 C fruit juice infused dried cranberries or dried cherries Directions: Mix the chard, collards, salt, and oil in a large bowl. Gently ...