Cucumber radish salad

Servings: 5

This is a slightly altered version of the traditional Hungarian cucumber salad. My grandmother used to make it every Sunday for the whole family and I learnt it from her. Originally it is prepared with vinegar instead of lemon juice and vithout radishes, and served with a dollop of fresh sour cream on top.

Ingredients:

3 snake cucumbers (you know those really long ones)
10-12 small radishes
1 tablespoon sea salt

for the dressing:
juice of a large lemon (use the zest as well if you like - I usually do)
2 large cloves of garlic crushed
extra virgin olive oil to taste
pink Himalayan salt to taste
1 level teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika (ground sweet red peppers)
a bit or freshly ground black pepper
a pinch of cayenne
1 teaspoon agave syrup to balance the taste

Preparation:

Wash the cucumbers and cut the ends down as they tend to be very bitter.
Slice them thinly (1mm thick slices) and layer the slices with sea salt in a large colander. Place it in your kitchen sink or in a larger dish and let it sit for about 1 hour (may be longer). You will see loads of liquid coming out the cukes. Rinse them thoroughly (you don't want all that salt ending up in your salad) and squeeze as much liquid out as possible.
Mix the cucumber with the similarly thinly sliced radishes in a bowl.
Prepare your dressing: juice the lemon and mix it with all the other ingredients. Use the lemon zest if you like - it gives a nice kick to the salad.
Mix the dressing with your greens and taste it again to see if it needs anything else.
Put it in the fridge for a few hours before serving.
Enjoy!

Quicker Than Instant Chocolate Pudding

Servings: 4-6

They (I don’t care who!) say it is beneficial to eat a little dark chocolate every day, so here is my “go to” recipe when the need for something chocolatey arises. A Vitamix will allow you to whip up this delectable dessert in less than 1 minute, but if you haven’t made the investment in this powerful machine yet, any high speed blender or food processor will do. I know there are many pudding recipes out there but what makes this recipe so unique is the Grade B maple syrup. Although agave and other grades of syrup will work, Grade B maple syrup gives the pudding a richer, almost caramel-like, flavor. Prepare to be amazed!

Ingredients:

2 medium avocados (about 1 pound)
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons Grade B maple syrup
2 Tablespoons filtered water*
2 Tablespoons chocolate powder*
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Preparation:

Remove avocado pits and scoop avocado into Vitamix or your preferred blender/food processor. Add remaining ingredients and blend. This pudding freezes well. Just thaw, stir, and serve.