The Chef: ColleenThe Menu: We're ending the week with the Master Cleanse lemonade, a sweet elixir made simply with Grade B maple syrup, fresh lemon juice, a kick of cayenne, and filtered water. The ready availability of these clean ingredients was what drew Colleen to this particular cleanse.
The Goods: Colleen's had the most experience with cleanses, having done many of them in the past with great success, but had somehow never gotten around to trying the Master Cleanse until this week. Even though she was stricken with an unforgiving headcold, she was able to stick to her lemonade-fueled guns and tough it out—though she suspects the mental clarity aspect of cleansing might have bypassed her this time thanks to her stuffy head!
And so, our cleanse-dabbling comes to a close. You know what that means, right? Food! We're gearing up for our September+October Food Issue over here, and can't wait to dig our forks into some amazing meals. To kick things off, next week we'll be testing the finalists' recipes from our first-ever Reader Recipe Showdown. You never know, you might just see your very own recipe right here on Café VegNews! It might be an understatement to say that we are excited. Jumping up and down while reading recipes is totally normal, as far as we're concerned.
Want more good news? Since today's the last workday of May—can anyone believe June starts next week?!—there's a lingering matter of business to attend. Yes, it's time for our Giveaway! Since all our cleansing commrades have been drinking tea as though it were the nectar of the gods this week, we thought that this adorable Steepware teapot would make a perfect prize.
The Question: If you were coming off of a week-long cleanse, what would be your first full meal? From soup to nuts, tell us every detail of every course by Friday, June 6, and we'll pick a winning comment. Best of luck, and bye bye bentonite!
8 comments:
I would completely pig out. I would start with a bowl of curried acorn squash soup, then have a tempeh veggie cutlet with roasted veggies and orange infused wild rice pilaf with pine nuts, and for dessert peanut butter and chocolate raspberry four layered mousse cake. Top it all off with a berry and hemp smoothie, and I think I would then just roll into bed and sleep the weekend away.
Well my first issue to handle is getting through the cleanse for a week. If I was able to do it, this would be a MEGA meal. I would probably start cooking it on Day 1 of the cleanse, well not really, BUT! I would make veggie spring rolls busting out with vermicelli and fresh vegetables, with a sweet peanut sauce. I would conjure up spicy orange 'chicken' (fried seitan balls)atop a bed of basmati rice. Of course I wouldnt just stop here. Id make ginger ice cream that Ill probably cover in heated carob. The perfect meal in my eyes.
Oh dear, I havent eaten yet my dinner, so now I am fully salivating.
ok, since it is after a cleanse......first course triple espresso, second course a big glass of cabernet (vegan of course), third course dark chocolate.......hey, it has been a hard week, ok? then, let's see, food....tomatillo salsa over sauteed stoplight peppers, red onions, black rice, anasazi beans and blue sesame chips crumbled over the top.....then Soy Delicious "ice cream" sandwiches....Rinse and repeat!!!!
Well, since the one and only time I did a cleanse I lasted 4 days and felt really wonky when I was finished, I could only stomach short grain brown rice and granny smith apples for the following couple of days. Sigh. What I really wanted was some spicy black beans to go with the rice. And some garlicky spinach. And I would have liked to put those apples into a pie. Or tart. That would've been yummy!
I'd start with a small bowl of miso soup, full of lightly steamed seasonal veggies. Next would be some brown rice with steamed kale, drizzled with a creamy tahini-lemon sauce. I'd finish with adzuki bean-filled mochi. yum!
If I were coming off of a cleanse I'm sure I wouldn't want to eat anything super-heavy, but I'd definitely want to enjoy coming back to the solid-food routine. So, I'd go Japanese! First, a nice dish of steamed edamame pods with a bit of salt... I love popping out the little beans! Next, a fresh salad with the un-recreatable ginger dressing that my local take-out restaurant serves. Next, veggie sushi... avocado, tofutti cream cheese, cucumbers, pickled radishes, carrots... the works! And last, but of course, not least, a refreshing scoop (or two) or green-tea soy ice cream! And if I was still hungry after all of that, I might take a brief taste-venture halfway around the world to South America and enjoy a juicy, ripe mago!
I would start the day with a nice, hearty breakfast! I would make one of my favorite tofu scrambles -- the one from the Chicago Diner cookbook -- and serve it with some steaming fresh cornbread muffins with a dab of Earth Balance, a nice decaf soy latte, a heaping huge bowl of sliced mango, and maybe a nice chocolate chip whole grain waffle made in my Belgian waffle iron. :) That would probably require the biggest plate in my house!
I'd sure love to day I'd break the fast delicately with lots of love and respect and lessons learned from my cleansing body, but let's just settle this once and for all and go for that vegan sundae buffet party I've never had, and let's not let our ingredient options be less than 30-40. Let's try stuff like nooch and macadamias with coconut cream ice cream and cocoa nibs.
Errr....I mean....raw salad for sure.
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