Spring on a Plate!

Spring Asparagus Salad and Wild Rice, with Lumpy Vegetable Mash
(gluten-free, lactose-free, diabetic-friendly)

At the moment I am completely obsessed with wild rice.  Wild rice is a species of rice different to the Asian rice that we normally eat.  It is characterised by it's stick-like appearance, and I believe when you cook it enough, it curls up.

Most people cook wild rice with equal parts brown rice, which i tend to also do.  The wild rice just adds a bit of extra texture and colour.

For this recipe you will need:
a bunch of fresh asparagus
1 can of legumes
1 lemon, to juice
Cracked pepper
1 large onion
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 cup wild rice
Braggs Amino Acids (a soy-sauce-like condiment made from amino acids; available from most good health food stores)
1 cup roughly chopped sweet potato
1 cup roughly chopped pumpkin
1 carrot
2 medium zucchinis
lots of mushies!!
cumin seed or powder


The Rice...
Start off by adding the cup of rice to boiling water.  I like my rice kind of el dente, but cook for as little or as long as you wish.
The Chunky Mash...
 Steam or microwave the sweet potato and pumpkin until very soft.  Mash until you get the consistency you wish.  Brown 1/2 of the onion and 1 clove of garlic in a fry pan using  a small amount of (good - see tips and tidbits) oil.  Season with cumin.  Add the carrot and zucchinis, which have been finely grated, to the onion and garlic.  Fry for a few minutes, until the carrot has gone soft, and then add all of these ingredients to the mashed pumpkin/sweet potato. Roughly stir it all in together, retaining a chunky consistency.
The Spring Asparagus Salad....
Brown the chopped onion in a small amount of oil, and then add 1 clove of finely chopped garlic and as many slices of mushrooms as you wish.  Season with a little bit of Braggs, or if you wish soy sauce, and the juice of the lemon.  Chop the asparagus sticks into approx 1cm pieces, and add into the frying pan.  This is when you also add the legumes of your choice. Cook until the asparagus is a little softer, but still has a crunch.  

Serve all together, as seen in the piccy above.  This meal could be served either hot, or cold, for a nice fresh variation!
Cold cooked rice is extremely good for you as it's starchy components have become gelatinous, and thus what is called 'resistant'.  This only happens when the rice is cooked, and then cooled down again.  Resistant starch has many health benefits as it has similar characteristics to fibre.   For instance, it is unable to be adequately digested (broken down) in the gut, which allows it to act as a; 'bulking' agent, a meal calorie-lowering agent, as well as a filler-upperer (i.e. increases satiety).

Hi ho, hi ho, off to work I go!
Have a great day!