Namaste and Emerald City Salad

"The divine spark within me honors, respects and acknowledges the divine spark within you"

Mondays and Wednesdays are hot yoga days. I am a firm believer that sweating through 90 minutes of Bikram yoga twice a week is pretty damn good for you. Supposedly, the practice burns from 600 to 1000 calories a session, uses every muscle, joint and organ in your body and releases toxins, most of which through your skin, the body's largest eliminating organ. What's not to love?

It is absolutely necessary to come to class well hydrated, and continue to hydrate for a few after while your body is still detoxifying. We try to keep dinner on yoga nights relatively light and healthy - no one wants to eat heavy food after a 90 minute detox workout.

In honor of my bi-weekly detox day, I'm having one of my absolute favorites, Emerald City Salad for lunch. This gem of a salad came from PCC, a local co-op in the Seattle area. According to their website, the recipe was originally submitted by a deli customer and contained cheese, and they altered it to make it vegan. I've made the salad several times and am still working to get it just right (read: exactly how it tastes at PCC) but all attempts have been delicious and nutritious. The salad is easy to prepare and makes quite a bit. It can be eaten alone, or added to burritos or wraps. "I like a little crunch to my burrito" -Adam


To make the Emerald City Salad you will need:

Kale
Chard (I like to use rainbow)
Parsley
A fennel bulb
Red Bell Pepper
Yellow Bell Pepper
About 1 C wild rice

Olive Oil
Minced Garlic
Lemon juice
Salt and Pepper


To Assemble:

Bring 2 C. water to a boil and add the wild rice. Bring to a boil again, lower the heat and allow to simmer, covered for about an hour or until all of the water has been absorbed.

Finely chop the kale, parsley and chard into a large bowl. Chop the peppers and fennel and set aside.

Make a dressing using the minced garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice.

I like to allow my rice to cool a bit, but not completely so that it wilts the greens a tiny bit. Then add the peppers, fennel and dress. Add salt, pepper and more lemon juice if necessary to taste.

Buen Provecho!