Cucumber Avocado Salad 

1 medium cucumber, seeded and diced

2 medium firm-ripe avocados diced

1/2 red onion diced

Juice of 2 limes (1/4 cup approx.)

salt to taste

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

3 jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely chopped (optional!)

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and toss gently to combine.  Serve within an hour of preparing

Add cilantro and lime juice to cooked rice and serve on a salad with black beans and guacamole as a dressing.  Great in salsas or cowboy caviar!

Peas are great steamed, raw, in a stir fry, cut up on a salad or in a wrap.  The pea season is short, enjoy them often right now!

Radishes come in a wide variety of shapes and colors.  Use them to dress up a salad with both their flavor and their color.

"This flavorful edamame salad has a light rice wine vinegar and sesame oil dressing that is tossed with bok choy, carrots, and Napa cabbage. It is topped with black sesame seeds and daikon radish for an extra kick." INGREDIENTS: 4 cups shelled edamame (green soybeans) or lima beans 1 cup chopped Napa cabbage 1/2 cup chopped bok choy 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar 1/4 cup sesame oil 1 teaspoon coarse salt 1/2 cup shredded carrots 1 tablespoon sesame seeds 1/4 cup shredded radish DIRECTIONS: 1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook edamame in the boiling water until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and chill in the refrigerator. 2. Combine Napa cabbage, bok choy, vinegar, sesame oil, and salt in a small bowl. Let sit in at room temperature until cabbage is slightly wilted, about 20 minutes. 3. Stir edamame and carrots into cabbage mixture. Refrigerate until fully chilled, 1 hour. 4. Top edamame salad with sesame seeds and daikon radish before serving.

Bok choy, or brassica chinensis to use its scientific name, is classified as a cabbage. Nonetheless, bok choy bears little resemblance to the round European cabbages found in western supermarkets, or to Napa Cabbage for that matter. Its white stalks resemble celery without the stringiness, while the dark green, crinkly leaves of the most common variety is similar to Romaine lettuce. The Chinese commonly refer to bok choy as pak choi or "white vegetable." Another common name is white cabbage.

This bok choy recipe is terrific to serve as a side vegetable dish - or add tofu or your choice of chicken, pork, or seafood for a delicious mixed stir fry dish. With a rich garlic taste, the stir fry sauce is easy to make and goes well with other vegetables (if you don't have bok choy on hand), such as broccoli or Chinese vegetables such as baby bok choy, yu choy, gailan (Chinese broccoli), or any Chinese cabbage. Easy and quick to make, this bok choy recipe will fast become one of your vegetable favorites!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: SERVES 4 as a Side Dish

Ingredients:

• 4-5 "heads" of baby bok choy (OR 2 heads of large bok choy)
• 1 Tbsp. coconut oil or other vegetable oil
• STIR-FRY SAUCE:
• 2 Tbsp. oyster-flavored sauce (Vegetarians/Vegans: substitute vegetarian oyster-flavored sauce OR vegetarian stir-fry sauce)
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce (Vegetarians/vegans: substitute 2 Tbsp. Thai Golden Mountain Sauce OR 1.5 Tbsp. soy sauce)
• 2 Tbsp. sweet Thai chili sauce (available in most supermarkets)
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. fresh lime juice
• 7-8 cloves garlic, minced

Preparation:

1. Rinse the bok choy and cut off the bottom stem part at the base of each head. Separate into individual leaves. If the white sections of these leaves are very wide or large, you can slice them in half lengthwise, or into thirds. Tip: If stir-frying larger bok choy, slice off the green leaf tips. Add the thicker white sections to the wok first, then throw in the leaves at the end (these will cook very fast).
2. Mix all the stir-fry sauce ingredients together in a bowl or cup. Stir well to dissolve the sugar.
3. Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium-high to high heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add oil and swirl around.
4. Now add the bok choy plus 2-3 Tbsp. stir-fry sauce. Stir-fry 1-2 minutes, or until pan/wok starts to become dry.
5. Now add another 2-3 Tbsp. sauce and continue stir-frying another 2-3 minutes, or until the bok choy is bright green and the white stems are softened but still crunchy.
6. Taste-test the bok choy with the sauce. Add more sugar if too sour for your taste, or more lime juice if too salty. Also, fresh minced chili or dried chili can be added if you prefer it spicier. If you prefer more sauce, add a little more, as desired.
7. To serve, lift out the bok choy and place on a serving platter or in a serving bowl, then pour the sauce (from the bottom of the wok or pan) over. Serve immediately with plenty of Thai jasmine-scented rice.