Two Hundred & Thirty Five Fires

Ugh, this WEATHER. I don't make it a habit to complain about our weather here in the environs of the Sanctuary. In fact, it's against my policy. I mean, sure it gets hot. It's humid. The winters can be absurdly cold for Florida. But let me just say, we have not been laid flat by tornadoes, crumbled by earthquakes, washed away by flooding, or buried under six consecutive blizzards. Most of the time, we have fabulous weather other sad locations can only dream of. But right now, and check out this map if you don't believe me, Florida is burning. We haven't had rain to speak of in I don't even know how long. The air is filled with dust...and smoke...and it's pretty dang hot. We're looking at 100 degrees tomorrow.

So, ugh. Limerock dust hanging in the air every time someone passes down a dirt road. Don't get me started about the moron who picked a windy day to disc his field of cowpeas. Smoke. Heat. Dirt. Yellowish, grody fog in the mornings....who wants to eat in such weather?
I do, naturally. So here's what sounded good today, or, How to Make a Meal from Three Leaves of Kale, an Avocado, and a Cucumber.

Lemony Cucumber and Avocado Soup
with Green-stuffed Mushrooms

3 nice big kale leaves (feel free to sub spinach)
1 medium organic cucumber
1 lemon, peeled
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 big thumb of ginger
2 tbsp raw cashews
1 ripe avocado
sea salt to taste

Juice the kale, cucumber, lemon, garlic, and ginger. My darling old Champion Juicer has a screen with bigger holes that yields thicker juice with more pulp, so I used that. Whatever you have will work. Save the veggie pulp.
In your blender, combine the vegetable juice with the cashews. Blend until smooth, then add the avocado and season to taste. You may wish to add a little more lemon juice, or some hot peppers.
That's the soup...cool, soft, thick, creamy, garlicky, salty, lemony.
Now for the fun part...Get out your food processor. In it, chop 1/2 a red onion and a couple pieces of dulse with a dash of tamari, a squeeze of lemon, and a tablespoon or so of coconut oil. Add the the kale-cucumber-lemon-garlic-ginger juicer pulp and grind it all together. Taste for seasoning, then use the pulp filling to stuff mushrooms (or tomatoes, or small peppers, or whatever you have). Enjoy!
P.S. I know you're skeptical, but honestly this juicer pulp trick is one of the best things ever. I'll post more about it tomorrow.