Carrot Cashew Miso Spread...

Okay, I have got to give a major shout out to Terry Walters, for her ‘Carrot Cashew Miso Spread’ which appears in her book Clean Start. I flipped through this book numerous times at the bookstore, seeing many recipes that I was interested in making, this one topping that list. Finally I got the book yesterday, and today the carrot cashew miso spread was the first thing I made. It was quick and easy, I was hungry and I had all the ingredients on hand. Now, trust me when I say I know it sounds like a strange combination, I wasn’t sure initially how I’d like it, but I swear to you, this spread will blow your mind. Walters says the bread pairs well with crackers and breads, particularly rye or pumpernickel breads but I wanted a more low-carb sort of lunch and so I served it with celery sticks and baby carrots. It was so phenomenally good that there isn’t a drop of the dip left. I ate most of it, and my husband, even more skeptical about it then I was, helped me finish off the rest. I have to say, the look on his face when he popped that first baby carrot smothered in dip into his mouth = priceless!

As far as I know Terry Walters is not a vegan, but Clean Food is a vegan cookbook. None of the recipes that appear in this book contain meat, dairy, or eggs. The recipes are also free of refined sugars, and grains, and they also happen to be gluten-free if that’s a concern for you. Walters is serious about clean healthy living, and eating the kind of food that nourishes your body, rather then destroy it. I love that the recipes are healthful, low in fat, and focus on whole foods rather then rely on prepared or processed ones. I also like how the book is split into seasons, and that the recipes are seasonal. I’m trying more and more to eat by season, it does take some conditioning but it really is the way we’re meant to eat. The photos in the book are also quite beautiful, and mouth watering.

So, regardless of whether the author is vegan or not, I think this book is worth owning, it would certainly be a welcome addition to your collection.

P.S. To go with dinner tonight I also made her Daikon Carrot Salad with Cilantro and Peanuts, both my husband and I thought it was delicious, so we’re two for two now.