But naturally

Organic spinach and carrot flavoured fusilli with prune and lemongrass dressing

I’ve often imaged myself in knee high gumboots, wading through my personal vegetable patch, looking for the perfect piece of fresh tomato. I would someday like to dress up my salad with herbs that have been plucked from my own garden and roast crunchy carrots that have been unearthed minutes before they go into the oven.

Since I am far from ploughing my own patch, I often hit the weekly organic market where I can get my hands on locally grown vegetables and other goodies.

The whole idea of organic food fascinates me. Natural, unprocessed food that has not been through any drama has such a wholesome taste and texture. It manages to have a real taste that can never be found otherwise.

Recently, I visited an all-organic store in the neighbourhood city and got myself a packet of spinach and carrot flavoured pasta, among other things. Since the pasta had an obvious wheat flavour, I dressed it with a sweet and sour prune and lemongrass salad dressing. 

Ingredients for the dressing

5 large dry prunes

1 tea spoon dry lemon grass

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 cloves of garlic

Green pepper as per taste

Salt as per taste

Method: Put all the ingredients in a blender and grind it into a course paste. Add more olive oil gradually to make the dressing smoother. Store it in an air tight container. This dressing can last up to 15 days.

Ingredients for the pasta

1 ½ cup organic pasta (boiled)

½ apple (sliced)

¼ cup purple cabbage (chopped)

Black olives, bread croutons, spring onion greens and grated parmesan cheese for garnish

Method: In a bowl mix together the salad dressing with all the above ingredients. Garnish and serve cold.

While at the store, I also ate…

Organic black olives and whole wheat bread sticks

Organic rice puff and whole wheat cracker, slathered with berry jam

Organic dark chocolate

Organic quinoa and lime salad