This summer we are doing a series of light, refreshing, energizing salads! Perfect to entertain with and eat in warm weather. Our first salad, Citrus Splash, is sure to be a delight! It’s modified from a recipe we found on Vegetarian Times.

Ingredients:

Dressing

• 2 Tbs. raw agave syrup
• 1 1/2 Tbs. lime or lemon juice
• 1 Tbs. Nama Shoyu (unpasteurized soy sauce)
• 1/2 tsp. seasalt
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Salad

• 2 oranges or blood oranges
• 1 grapefruit
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped arugula
• 1 shallot, peeled, thinly sliced crosswise, and loosened into strands (1/4 cup)
• 1 Tbs. coarsely chopped mint leaves
• 2 Tbs. raw sliced or slivered almonds, for garnish
• 1 Tbs. raw sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions
1. To make Dressing: Mix all ingredients together in bowl. Taste for balance of sweet, sour, salty, and spicy, adjusting seasonings as necessary. Set aside.
2. To make Salad: Slice ends off oranges and grapefruit. Stand fruit on cutting board, and slice away skin from outside with knife. Cut fruit segments from membranes, and transfer to bowl; toss lightly with arugula, shallot, and mint. Toss with Dressing. Serve garnished with peanuts and sesame seeds.

• 1 large or two small bunches kale
• juice of one lime
• 2 Pinches of Celtic Sea salt
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• 2 teaspoons of Gold’s Horseradish
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 carrot
• 2 teaspoons of ginger powder
• 1/4 cup of Raw Organic Agave
• 1 Red Onion
• 1 Tomato

Directions:
1. Wash and tear the kale into bite-sizes pieces (consider pulsing briefly in your food processor for really small pieces)

2. Slice up the carrot into smaller pieces. Place the garlic cloves and carrot pieces into the food processor until they are finely chopped.

3. Pour lime juice, ¼ cup of Olive Oil, ¼ cup of Agave, Slice 1 Red Onion, 2 teaspoons of horseradish and toss sea salt on Kale in the bowl.

4. Add ginger, chopped carrots, garlic to the Kale in the bowl and massage until kale wilts. Add one sliced Tomato and serve.

This recipe was submitted by Vincent Shelton, of Baltimore, Maryland. Vincent is the organizer behind the Baltimore Raw Food Tribe, a Meetup.com group that gets together to explore raw foods through informal potluck dinners and various social events. Learn how to submit your recipe here.

A Little Background Info:

Agave has been used for thousands of years as an ingredient in food and drink. This plant comes in well over 100 species that include a variety of sizes and colors. Their syrups are made from Mexico’s Blue Agave. Agaves are harvested when they reach 7 to 10 years old, which is when their sugar is at its peak. The blue agave’s nectar is held in the pina, which are gently roasted or steamed for up to 4 days. Once cooked, juice is pressed from the pinas and the honey water is collected and cleaned. Then the liquid is transformed into an unrefined syrup that can be used in many ways (such as in smoothies, teas, sauces, and baked goods). Due to increasing awareness of agave nectar’s many beneficial properties, it is becoming the preferred sweetener of raw foodist and other health conscious consumers.

Nutritional Information:

When you think of agave, you most commonly associate it with agave nectar. Blue agave nectar is a honey-like syrup with a low glycemic index (GI). It sweetens naturally without spiking blood sugar. They are also appropriate for anyone who is on restricted diets or monitoring their blood sugar levels. And here is something you might not have known, with roasting and processing, a stalk of agave can be fermented into liquor such as tequila.