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​​What’s Kava? Well, Kava is a tea made from Piper methysticum, a plant native to the western Pacific islands. It’s highly valued there not only as a social drink, but as a beverage that promotes relaxation. Heavy kava is used for stress relief, and insomnia. Heady kava is a good wakeup and we’re offering both as a healthy, delicious alternative. Wait until you see what we’ve done with it!

First, if you’re drinking Kava alone at Kava DSM, it will come to you in the traditional coconut shell. Just tip it up, take a sip, and dream of the ocean. If, however, you want a little more adventure, try it in one of our mocktails, a zero-proof mix of refreshing flavors. We always have a selection of mocktails at the restaurant, like Kavamosa, Kavarita, and Kava Kolada, but it’s autumn, so we merged our usual island flavors with a brand new seasonal one, the Autumn Harvest.

Here’s the recipe:
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If you think that the fall flavors of cinnamon and ginger are magic, just wait until you combine them with the tropical flavors of coconut and kava!

And it doesn’t stop there. Kava DSM makes smoothie bowls, too! Always on the menu are offerings like the Coral Reef with mango, strawberry, banana, peach, and coconut, or the Magic Mermaid with greens, pineapple, banana, spirulina, coconut milk, and honey. But this fall, we’ve added our seasonal smoothie bowl, the Perfect Pumpkin Pie.

​​Here’s how to make it:
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​There are some secret weapons in this dish--the date gives it depth and umami and the hemp hearts bring omega-3 fatty acids to the party.
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Ever wondered what’s in pumpkin pie spice that makes it taste so good? It’s a combination of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice, all those warm flavors that just make us think of blankets and warm fires, even those of us who love the beach.

I have one more dish I’d like to share with you, and it’s one of my absolute favorites. It’s what we’re doing this fall with our very special almond flour Paleo Pumpkin Waffles. Now the waffles themselves are proprietary, but just see what we top them with for the fall:

​And that’s it! 

Whether you try these at home or join us in the restaurant at Kava DSM, I hope you’ll enjoy these fabulous fall treats.
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And, like we like to say at Kava, Wake up and Chill!

My husband bought me a new camera lens! I am so excited to start out with better photography! It is amazing what a huge difference a lens can make in the quality of a photograph. This is the lens I got HERE.

On New Year’s Eve we decided to have “snacky” foods so I made some hummus, cheese dips and Buffalo Wings. We also had some little appetizer-type food including  jumbo shrimp. I wanted to change up the usual horseradish and ketchup cocktail sauce and we love sriracha around here. Oh, and ranch! We love ranch dressing!

We put all of those favorite things together and came up with jumbo shrimp with sriracha-ranch cocktail sauce!

I buy my sriracha. I haven’t attempted to make it on my own yet but there is an amazing looking recipe for it from Michelle over at Nom Nom Paleo. I love THIS ranch dressing recipe from Hayley over at Health Starts in the Kitchen! If you buy your ranch, look for one without canola or soy oil…if that’s even possible. 

I grow horseradish in my garden so I went out and dug up some of the root to use in this recipe. You can buy horseradish but make sure it’s plain and not horseradish sauce. That stuff has nasty additives in it that you don’t want.

1. Amounts are easily changed based on taste.

These shrimp were quickly devoured and deemed delicious by my lovely taste testers. The sauce is spicy and tangy. It’s perfectly paired with the mildly sweet flavor of the shrimp. You’ll love this!

Chicken Nuggets are such a fun finger food. Both kids and adults love them. 

Many of us adults grew up eating lots of chicken nuggets, usually from not-so-great sources. We’ve grown up in a generation or culture where everything is so processed. Cooking real food has become a lost art. 

Chicken nuggets are still as popular as ever. They’re jam packed in grocery store freezer isles and on almost every restaurant menu. Of course they’re on fast food menus too.
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The thought of that makes me cringe a little. I haven’t had any of those versions since I was a very young child. But I still love chicken nuggets. 

Skip the processed, packaged ones and make your own instead. Homemade chicken nuggets are so much healthier too!

This version is free of grains, uses a super healthy fat to cook the chicken in {avocado oil} and only has a few simple ingredients. Bonus … they taste so good too! My family goes crazy for these chicken nuggets. They disappear so fast, it seems like we never make enough. 

So grab yourself some organic chicken and make up a batch or two of chicken nuggets. Make sure to serve them with some yummy sauce and dip those perfect little crispy bites in some honey mustard, ketchup or any other homemade sauce. 
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1. Cut chicken into 1″ pieces with kitchen scissors or a sharp knife. Set aside. 
2. In a shallow dish, combine arrowroot flour, sea salt, garlic powered, and thyme. Stir to combine. [Note: If you have a spice grinder or blender like a Twister Jar, you can throw all of these ingredients in and pulse it really quick to finely grind up all ingredients. I like to do this in Twister Jar, it helps turn the thyme into a powder. This is completely optional.] 
3. Add pieces of chicken, one at a time, to the flour mixture. Toss them around until they are evenly coated on each side. Set aside.
4. In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, add avocado oil, about 1/4-1/3″ inch deep. Allow avocado oil to get hot, about 2 minutes. Add a single layer of chicken, being sure not to crowd them and reduce heat to medium. Fry on each side over medium heat until golden brown and completely cooked through. Depending on the size of your sauté pan, you might have to do this in two batches. (Note: If you like them extra crispy, like my family does, cook the chicken nuggets a little longer.) 
5. Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce.

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• Servings: 2-3
• Serving Suggestions: Serve with you favorite dipping sauce like honey mustard, BBQ sauce, organic ketchup or homemade ranch. My family loves to eat these with honey mustard dipping sauce.
• How to Make a Simple Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce: Combine equal parts raw honey and organic Dijon mustard {or horseradish mustard}. Stir until fully incorporated.

Recipe by Emily Sunwell-Vidaurri, founder and author of Recipes to Nourish

Asparagus is one of my all time favorite vegetables! There’s something so refreshing about it. The color is vibrant, it cooks up super fast and it’s simply delicious any way you prepare it. 

This beautiful vegetable has a such a short season though … maybe that’s what makes it so special. It’s only available in the spring. 

I can’t get enough of asparagus once spring arrives in Northern California. I love to sauté it by itself, roast it with parmesan, sauté it with fennel, put it into crustless spring quiche, add it to sweet and tangy chicken “take-out”, shave it into salads, and of course, enjoy it in soup. 

Spring is not complete without Cream of Asparagus Soup.  

This traditional spring soup is simple, fresh, creamy and highlights the asparagus flavor. It’s super easy to make too! 

My favorite way to make this soup is in my beloved Instant Pot. I love the Instant Pot so much! It’s a game changer for making fast, real food. Once the pressure builds in the pot, this soup only takes 5 minutes to make! I even sauté the onions and garlic in the Instant Pot first {I love the sauté feature}. How cool is that? 

So next time you’re at the farmers market or local store, grab a few bundles of fresh asparagus, make some soup and enjoy the taste of spring. 
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You Will Need: Cutting Board, Instant Pot, Blender or Immersion Blender
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1. Prep asparagus, onion and garlic. Remove all woody ends from asparagus stalks and discard. Chop asparagus into 1 inch pieces. Slice onion in half and do a rough chop of the onion. Smash garlic cloves or do a rough chop. Set aside.
2. Place the stainless steel bowl in the Instant Pot without the lid on. Set the Instant Pot to “Sauté” and add healthy fat of choice. As soon as the butter/ghee/healthy fat is melted, add onions and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally, just until onions and garlic are fragrant and starting to caramelize. 
3. Add dried thyme, stir and cook for 1 minute. 
4. Add broth. Use a wooden spoon to help scrape up any caramelization at the bottom of the pan. 
5. Add asparagus, lemon zest, lemon juice and sea salt.
6. Press the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button on the Instant Pot. Place Instant Pot lid on top, secure it into the locked position. Make sure the valve on the top is in the sealed position. 
7. Press “Manual” {on HIGH pressure} and then the “-” until you get to 5 minutes. Walk away, the Instant Pot will take several minutes to build pressure. You will notice 5 {and counting down} on the screen once it starts cooking. 
8. When timer sounds, turn Instant Pot off by pressing the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button and unplug the Instant Pot. Allow to naturally pressure release for a few minutes then using an oven mitt, turn the valve to release the pressure {it will release hot steam, use caution not to touch the steam}.
9. Puree soup in small batches in a blender until smooth {or use an immersion blender instead}. Add sour cream during one of the blending batches. Transfer pureed soup to a stockpot, large bowl or back into the Instant Pot bowl, reheat if necessary. 
10. Season to taste and serve hot topped with extra sour cream, lemon juice, or extra virgin olive oil.
    

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• To make the recipe dairy free, you can omit the sour cream. You could also add full fat coconut milk or plain coconut milk yogurt instead, but note this will change the flavor a bit. Instead of butter or ghee, I recommend using avocado oil or bacon fat.   
• Store up to two days in the refrigerator. 

Recipe by Emily Sunwell-Vidaurri, founder and author of Recipes to Nourish.

We’ve been getting quite a few radishes in our CSA produce boxes lately. If you are a radish fan, than this is not an issue. If you are not (like me), it can be difficult to know what to do with them. My mom introduced me to this amazing radish and cucumber salad, so I decided that if some of my readers had misgivings about radishes, I should share it!

Not only is this salad delicious, it is also chock full of nutrients that help detoxify and nourish the body.
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Radishes are a very nutrient dense food, rich in vitamins. They are especially very good for the liver,  kidneys, gallbladder and stomach. They are an excellent detoxifier. Radishes are also considered an anti-congestive, which means that they help decrease respiratory irritation. Their list of health benefits can fill an entire post! It makes me want to eat more of them. 

Cucumbers help add water to the body which can keep you hydrated. This can help the body flush out toxins. They boast B vitamins, A, and C, and skin-friendly minerals like magnesium, potassium, and silicon. Cucumbers can also aid in digestion and may help relieve acid indigestion and reflux. 

Fresh flat-leaf parsley is what makes this salad really stand out. Parsley is a fantastic detoxifier and full of vitamins K, C, and A. It is also an excellent source of folate. I like to add it to juices and smoothies whenever possible for an added nutritional boost. 

Dice or chop radishes and cucumbers.
Chop parsley.
Add to a medium-sized bowl.
Sprinkle with apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and sea salt to taste.
Toss and serve.

My children love this salad as much as I do! Most kids don’t like radishes because they are a little spicy. This salad tempers the spice nicely so that it is very pleasant to the palate. Even my 3-year-old likes it. 

I hope this gives you a fresh, new idea for eating radishes! If you eat dairy, adding some feta or goat cheese is a wonderful addition. 
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