Smoothies Again!

As you may or may not know, I'm a big fan of a morning smoothie. Over the past eight months or so  I have had a smoothie for most of my breakfasts. You may also know that I'm a sucker for a good time saver. In fact, if you are holding out some great time saving secret you better tell me because if I discover it and find out you knew about it all along, well I will be mighty disgruntled for at least three whole minutes.

I have evidence to support that claim, I truly do. When I was about 20, just trying to make everything work as a preschool teacher and a full time college student, I felt so overwhelmed by household duties. All that cleaning and cooking and bill paying was just dreadful. Cleaning was especially awful because of our horrible hard water. The ring in the bathtub was so incredibly disgusting. I had never seen anything like that nasty bathtub ring. At first I was sure something was wrong with the bathtub, not with my cleaning routine. When it finally dawned on me that the filthy, white and yet brown, rough ring around the tub was caused by my water and my washing, well I was infinitely grossed out.

I resolved to clean it up right quick and be done with it forever. I would be a preventative cleaner, proactive not reactive. I tried every cleaner I could reasonably afford. I used lemon juice and baking soda and all manner of household combinations. I even resorted to scrapping it with a soup spoon. In the end, that spoon was the only thing that left a dent- and that was more literal than figurative. I was near my wits end, almost a year of trying fruitlessly to clean this stubborn ring, when one of my coworkers just happened to mention her undying love for the mr. clean magic eraser. She proudly mentioned its wonderful ability to clean her bathroom to a sprightly shimmer. I could hardly believe her, I was so skeptical of the commercial's claims. I realize now that I should have been happy to hear this. Thrilled. Ecstatic. Enthralled. But my very first thought was that she had been holding out on me. She had this amazing secret and was scrubbing away her bathtub ring within minutes while I grabbed my trusty soup spoon and spent what felt like hours chipping away at those hard water deposits. About three minutes later, after much brooding and begrudgingly nodding as the conversation moved forward, I decided I had to try this thing out. I did and it was awesome and although I now buy the target version of this wondrous scrubber, I'm grateful for that conversation but now I know to ask in advance.

Speaking of asking, any ideas on how to get a floor to sweep itself? Or how to get Shelby to wipe her own paws after running through the muddy backyard?

Well, this is my newest trick and I'm here to share. My morning smoothie revamped. About a month or so ago I was tempted by the idea of buying a large case of Odwalla premade smoothies from Costco. I saw the big box of them and thought of all the time I would save each morning (about 3 minutes, yeah, seriously, three whole minutes my friend). Then I took one look at the ingredients (sugar! yikes!) and put that thought out of my mind. Instead, I decided to make an entire batch of smoothies for the week on that Sunday night. And I did just that. But by friday the top of my smoothie had a brown tint and tasted vaguely of bad bananas. Um. gross. You should have seen the look on my students' faces as I tried to swallow that initial Friday-old-banana-yuckiness. I must have had quite a look on my face too, it was a priceless moment. We laughed. I threw the smoothie away.

For the past few weeks I have been trying to figure out how to make the smoothies ahead of time but retain their fresh Monday/Tuesday look and taste. The answer was in my backyard: lemons. So simple!

That's my freshly squeezed lemon juice in the jar up front. So many lemons, so little time..

Here's how I work it:
1) Fill up your blender with an assortment of fruit and maybe some greens. I prefer 3 fairly fresh bananas, about one bag of frozen berries, 1/3 bag of frozen spinach and some blueberries.
2) Pour in some liquid, about halfway filling up the blender. I used some beet/carrot juice and some pomegranate juice and a little citrus juice of your choice. 
3) Let it sit for a bit, an hour or two, to make it easier to blend.
4) Get your jars ready!
5) Blend up the smoothie and pour equal amounts in each jar.
6) Pour about a tablespoon of lemon juice on the top of each smoothie before placing the lid on top.
7) Place them all in the fridge and enjoy three more minutes of blissful coffee sipping in the morning!

Tips:
1) I have found that using fresher bananas results in a fresher taste come Friday
2) Orange juice seems to work well in place of the lemon juice
3) Wash out the jar as soon as you get home, wooowweee does mold grow fast in those suckers

I have been making my smoothies each Sunday night this way for about three weeks and so far, so good. I added apples and pineapples and loved it. I also added coconut oil and did not love it. Live and learn!

Enjoy!
-m

blueberry compote

You know what might be insightful, entertaining and educational? If everyone (ok, not everyone, but a select few people) shared everything they googled in a one week period of time. I'll start, because I'm good at sharing, with a few of my recent queries:

filet au poivere (I was mid-sear, wondering what comes first to the pan for a good saucy meat au poivere- peppercorns or brandy, my keyboard must wince every time I hover above it, wooden spoon or spatula in hand. I'd like to say I was planning ahead, but leaving meat to sear on the pan while I dash to the computer to figure out what to do right after I take the meat off the hot pan, was not in fact good planning).

ranger doug WPA (looking for some more art-type-stuff for the house, we love these WPA posters)

salt dough (project for work. When I taught preschool, I was all over the cool crafts. Since moving to 6th grade though, I often forget to plan for the crafty stuff as I get overwhelmed with the fractions, figurative language and adolescent drama- but not this holiday season! This holiday season we are turning fractions and figurative language into a crafty project where they will double a recipe, make the dough, cut out shapes and otherwise decorate it, then write about the process. We are totally doing that. Mess and all. Bring it on.)

compote (this word has been rolling around in my mind every single time I make this blueberry dish I'm about to share and I finally looked the darn word up to see if what I was making qualified as a 'compote'. It totally does according to wikipedia. )

map of Europe (long story)

I've said this before, I'm sure of it, and I'll say it again. I have only the faintest idea what I'm doing in the kitchen. Unlike some amazing and lucky food bloggers, I have not been trained in any of the realms of cooking. I just have my insane curiosity and propensity towards trying new things. This is all one big learning experience. So, I hesitate to use fancy shmancy (or lovely, fabulous and apt) words to describe what I'm doing. Compote? What's a compote? Well, it looks as though it might just be fruit cooked in syrup. I'm totally doing that, thus I'm comfortable-ish saying that I'm making a blueberry compote.

I have been making this particular bit of bubbling blueberry beauty since October Unprocessed- it is simply blueberries and a splash of maple syrup. It is now a staple in my weekly diet, I make it every Monday and use a tablespoon of it in my oatmeal (which has been my smoothie substitute in these 37 degree California mornings), I eat a bit of it with some tea for my after dinner treat. I find that a little goes a long way and it is very satisfying. The whole recipe lasts me until Friday. What will I do when I can't find blueberries? Make applesauce, duh.

I imagine that if you liked ice cream, I do not, you could drizzle this over some vanilla bean and call it a day. I do like a splash of cream on my blueberry compote when I'm feeling fancy, but ice cream is something I only really care for in a cone, on a hot day, walking down main street in Disneyland or along the boardwalk in Santa Cruz. I'm just crazy that way.

little splash of milk..mm..

This blueberry compote is another easy, quick, fairly healthy little addition to a meal. What would you do with it? I think the possibilities are endless. I often make it as I'm preparing my Monday night meal, and have it simmering while I cook. It doesn't need much attention, its no needy middle child (sorry middle children, I'm stereotyping there, forgive me).

Blueberry Compote 
print this recipe

2 cups (or about 4 or 5 handfuls, no need to be too crazy precise here)
2-3 tablespoons (or a nice, mellow drizzle) of real maple syrup

Pour your blueberries into a small/medium saucepan and turn the heat up to medium/medium high. Drizzle the maple syrup over the berries and stir gently. Heat until the berries darken and start to burst, about 3-5 minutes, releasing their juices and making the whole kitchen smell amazing.

Turn the heat down to low/medium low and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the juice thickens and the berries get a bit wrinkly.

Ta-Da! It's all yours now, do with it as you please.

Enjoy!
-m

bliss

These little beauties are saving my afternoons. When I finally walk in the front door and immediately want to grab a bunch of food-stuffs and scarf them down, I see this little bowl in the fridge and I savor a little bite of blueberry bliss.

It's things like this that keep me feeling sane and .. what was I saying? Sane, I think that's all I can manage right now. For some reason, I feel like it's been such a long week. We've been talking about nutrition in class and it's interesting to see what nutrition labels the kids are bringing in to share. I was trying to figure out how to say that some of the healthiest things, like these blueberries, don't have nutrition labels.

They're just plain good. Good for you, good tasting and good looking.

-m

Fresh Food Friday

Every other Friday there is something waiting for me on my doorstep. I look forward to it like a kid at Christmas. It's my box of fresh food from an organic farm not too far away. Just look at it! I even love the stinkin' box. There are just two of us in this little house and only one of us (eh, me) actually gets giddy about fresh fruit and veggies.

So far, I love everything about being a part of this community supported agriculture (CSA). I'm so glad we signed up. We get some funky things, like beets-gosh have we got beets, but it forces me to step outside my little cozy box of known food stuffs and try something new. Also, you can tell them if you'd rather not get something if it really bugs you. So far I'm trying it all with my little mixed goods box.

I love that they send me some of my favorite things like fresh strawberries and basil as well as the new and interesting stuff. They are always amazingly fresh and just gorgeous. Can fresh food be gorgeous? It's down right sexy at times. Take a look..




Holy fabulousness batman. How bad do you want me to make a salad right now? I'm a lettuce lover, my sister and I used to grab pieces of iceberg lettuce and snack on it like potato chips. I still love my salads with dressing on the side and often with none at all. Lettuce is a beauty and I just adore the fresh, crispness of it. Yes, I've often been asked if I'm a rabbit when I order salads at restaurants.




They pack the boxes in two layers of food stuffs. If my CSA box were a two story building, the top floor would be the lettuces, the herbs, and this time- the corn..oh the corn. But this stuff would be the first floor of the building. I've been a member of the CSA for a few months now, and I can usually expect to get lettuce, an herb, and another fab green on top. It's what's under that is like candy to me. Look at this stuff! I have such plans for it all. I could eat it all raw, like right this second, but my mandolin slicer is calling my name.




For as much as I love lettuce and all things leafy, you'd think I'd just gobble down any old grape. But I'm grape snob. I want them crunchy and juicy and room temperature. Is that so much to ask? These grapes are going to be gone by this evening. My husband loves grapes of all kinds, and if I'm not careful I might have to ..share. Which I'm good at, but how often do grapes like this come around? And for my discriminating palete... are you falling for it? Can I just eat them all guilt free? Probably not. I'll share, but he better have a look of pure ecstasy on his face while he eats them up.




Another thing I love- the portions of the goodies I get. I got two of these red plums. Two. That might seem like a little, but I do subscribe to the smallest box you can get and I'm the only one who will eat the plums. Two is perfect. I will not take these plums for granted, because they are like a near extinct animal. I will revel in their brilliance and savor every last detail of their scrumdiddlyumptiousness. (that's totally a word. look it up if you don't believe me. oh my. I sound like my students. or Bradley Chalkers.)

You can get bigger boxes for a bigger brood, or fruit only or veggie only. I can't figure out why you wouldn't want to do this? and why it took me so long to get on this train. It's like the farmers market came right to your door! I just had to share, because my joy every other Friday is hard to contain.

Enjoy!
-m

Freezer Stash

Look what I'm going to cut up and put in my freezer...delicious strawberries! I bought a ton of them and I'm trying to think of things other than smoothies that could utilize the frozen deliciousness in say, December.





Maybe this cake? It has barley flour and just a hint of sugar. It was perfection. I think sometime in December or January, when I'm sick of cinnamon and peppermint, that this might make an appearance.