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Meatless Monday Guest Post: JL’s Gingered Asparagus & Leeks

I sure have a treat for you! A beautiful, yet simple and delicious spring dish from my friend JL over at JL Goes Vegan. She has a way in the kitchen making whole foods stand out on their own. Pure, unadulterated, clean, real food. Just like I like it!! She's using a new product that I love from the company Coconut Secret. I feature the coconut aminos on the vegan 'eggs' benedict video on my homepage. If you have access to it try it out! Enjoy!

And be sure to subscribe to her blog so you don't miss my Vegan 101 post on Seasonal Eating and Cooking!

When I think spring, I think fresh and crisp. I love vegetables with a light crunch and use seasoning sparingly to honor the flavor of the plant. I have recently gone "higher raw" in my diet and liketo develop recipes that can be enjoyed both cooked and raw. The flavor in both the roasted and raw version of this recipe stay true to the asparagus and the leek. I still can't decide which one I prefer!

JL's Gingered Asparagus and Leeks (Roasted or Raw)
Serves 4

1 bunch of asparagus (about 16 spears)
1 leek, thinly sliced
Juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon cold-pressed olive oil
1 tablespoon coconut aminos
1 teaspoon ginger, grated

Preparation
Wash asparagus and snap off the bottom, fibrous end of each spear (you should easily find the natural breaking point). Slice the leek, using a mandolin on the thinnest setting. Rinse the leek slices thoroughly (as dirt likes to hide in links). Toss the asparagus and leeks in the remaining ingredients in a shallow baking dish. Marinade for 20 minutes.

Roasted Gingered Asparagus and Leeks: Heat the oven to 400F and roast 8 – 10 minutes in a shallow baking dish. (shown above)

Raw Gingered Asparagus and Leeks: On a ParaFlexx sheet, dehydrate on 105 for 6 hours.

Post-40 JL Fields became a marathoner and triathlete, changed careers and transitioned from vegetarian to vegan. She now blogs about vegan cooking (and wine!) and fitness. JL is a community college administrator and teaches nonprofit management at a local university. She holds a B.A. and M.S. and is currently enrolled in an advanced graduate program on Adult Learning. You can find JL at JL goes Vegan: Food & Fitness with a side of Kale and on Twitter and Facebook.