by Erik Krause
I was trying to think of a simple meal that would be great on a hot Arizona afternoon. I finally remembered a recipe I liked which I'd found last year. I got it from Natalia Rose's "The Raw Food Detox Diet." This recipe is for Raw Curry Cantaloupe Soup.
The recipe calls for a cantaloupe and a half teaspoon each of cinnamon, nutmeg, garam masala and curry powder. Blend everything and serve. I prefer to use room temperature cantaloupes so that they have extra flavor. After blending, I also like to let it sit for 20 minutes or so to let the flavors come out.
I typically mix and match the spices depending on my mood. I used allspice in place of cinnamon for awhile. I like to add a little extra curry powder. I have have been tempted to add extra turmeric since I enjoy its earthiness.
This usually serves as a good pick-me-up when I get home in the afternoon, hot, tired and hungry. It's quick to prepare, and especially great when you can get cheap cantaloupes. Typically this makes 4 servings, but sometimes I only get two.
A friend just reminded me of another wonderful recipe from Natalia's book, so I thought I'd talk about the book a little bit more. The Maple-Glazed Salmon recipe is unbelievable. The only problem I had with it was not gorging myself on it. Something went very, very right when I made that one. I don't think I've ever had a recipe come out that well before. But you definitely need the right ingredients. As I recall, I made it with something other than salmon another time and it was still good, but just not the same.
I also get one of my favorite salads from this book. I don't recall the name and a friend has my copy. "Classic chopped salad", maybe? Fresh corn, tomatoes, carrots, bell peppers (red/orange/yellow are very pretty), some herbs, probably some other ingredients, although mixing and matching based on availability works really well. Ooo... can't forget the chives. I don't normally do much with onion-like foods, but the overall quality of the salad really balances it in this dish. I could imagine coarsely chopping this salad in a food processor (minus the tomatoes) and stuffing cabbage leaves, either garnishing with the tomatoes, or adding them to the mix after processing. Very good.