Frosty Vitamin C

A quick yummy treat

In a blender combine

1 nectarine

3 clementines/mandarins

1/4 teaspoon orange blossom water

1 cup ice

1 1/2 cup water

Blend until the ice is crushed and you have a nice frosty drink.  Add more ice if needed.

Orange blossom water is available at mediteranian stores.  You can order it online but it's much more expensive that way.  I saw it for 4oz/$10 online and I paid 4oz/$3 at the store.  

This treat is low on calories and high on vitamin A and especially high on vitamin C  A little iron, calcium and fiber too.

Cucumber Lime Chicken & Black Beans with onions & Peppers

I found some chicken tenders on sale.  Snapped up a couple of packages.  Today I used the first one for our lunch.  

One of my cucumbers from the weekend was a bit soft.  Not super crisp for a salad but not bad either.  I decided to see what happens when you bake chicken with cucumber.  It was tasty.  And easy.  I'm a huge fan of easy.

Black beans are a mainstay of our diet.  I did these with some onions, peppers, lime, cilantro, ancho & coconut.  Adding the lime to the beans inspired me to put it on the chicken too.  It was one of those inspirations that worked well.  (unlike a LOT of the others)

Cucumber Lime Chicken

Preheat oven to 350

Put chicken tenders (however many you want to cook) in a baking dish

sprinkle with salt.  Not much, just a bit

chop a large cucumber up and put it over the chicken.

Bake covered until the chicken is done. How long depends on how much you cook.   Mine took about 20 min.  The cucumber loses a lot of water and keeps the chicken moist and tender.

Remove from oven and squeeze the juice from 1/2 - 1 lime (depends on how much you cooked) over the chicken right before serving.  I added lime garnishes for people to add a bit more lime at the table if they wanted.

138 calories per serving

Ancho Black Beans with Onions & Peppers

2 cups of dried beans soaked over night

1 large onion sliced into thin rings

1 large red bell pepper cut into bits.  You can dice it nice and even or slice it into rough squares like I did.

4 fresh jalapenos sliced

1 large poblano pepper sliced, chopped, diced - however neatly you want to do it

Juice from 1 lime

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon dried cilantro

2 tablespoons ancho powder

3 cups chicken broth

1 14oz coconut cream

Soak and drain the beans preserving 2 cups of the water if you want, otherwise you'll need a couple of cups of water

Add the stock, water, peppers, onions, lime juice and spices to the beans.  Cook until the beans and veggies are tender and soft.  Stir in the coconut cream and serve.  

77 calories per serving

Fast, Gluten Free & Easy Broccoli Soup

My daughter loves to snack on broccoli florets but then I am left with a bunch of stems.  I do what I can to find uses for them and today that was soup.  Today was such a gray day that soup was a perfect fit.

Ingredients:  

Stems from 2 large head of broccoli - or use the florets too if you want.  chopped

1/2 cup sliced green onions

1 poblano pepper chopped into pieces

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon course ground pepper

2 cups whole milk

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

water for steaming

cheese, chopped green onions and ancho pepper for garnish

Steam the broccoli, onion & pepper until very tender.

drain and put the veggies in a blender.  Add the milk and broth.  Then blend the heck out of it.  I have a ninja blender and I love to ninja stuff.  Pour the soup back into the saucepan and add the pepper and salt.

Heat it up and cook until it's the consistency that you want.  Longer if you want it to be super thick, less if you don't.  We tend to go for less here.  Alternatively you could add a thickening agent like a bit of flour or starch.  I was going for simple, fast and gluten free,so we I didn't go that route.  

Serve with a bit of cheddar, some onions and a sprinkle of ancho pepper.  Paprika would work well too, but we put ancho on pretty much everything.

Ground Beef Coconut Curry with Peppers

I was looking through the cabinet trying to figure out what to cook and decided to use up some of the coconut milk sitting in the cabinet.  I still had lots of peppers from the market and ground beef, so those were going in.  I buy spices at the market and have accumulated quite a variety of curry types.  I decided to use some Thai curry for this, but any would do.  I also had a head of cabbage that really needed to be used.  Those were my starts and this is what I came up with.

Ingredients:

1Tbsp coconut oil

1lb ground beef

1 medium onion, diced

1 large red bell pepper (or any other color if you want), diced

1 fresh green jalapeno, diced

1 fresh red jalapeno (or another green if that's what you have), diced

1 poblano pepper, diced

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp fine ground pepper

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 tablespoon tumeric

1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger

juice from 1/2 lemon

1 can coconut milk.  I used Trader Joe's. 

1/2 teaspoon ancho pepper (or other spicy pepper powder)

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon sugar if desired

Steamed cabbage, rice or anything else you want to serve it over.

---

Prepare the cabbage (or rice, or whatever)

Brown the beef in the coconut oil and get your veggies ready.  I don't add them first because I like them to retain some crispness.  If you want them to be cooked a bit more, then add them first for a minute or three before browning the beef.

Add the tomato sauce & spices.  You can grate the ginger directly into the skillet to taste or do it ahead of time to measure it.  Turn down the heat.  

If you want it a bit sweet/spicy then add the sugar.  It's not really necessary but some people like it.

Add the coconut milk and let it heat up.  Add the lemon juice and then serve over the cabbage.

Cucumber "Shushi"

I made these for the kiddo.  We had a good haul of veggies from the farmer's market and she really wanted some.  I think I got the idea from Pinterest a couple of years ago.  I don't remember exactly, however if I did then it's one of the few things I've tried that worked out!

So tasty and easy.  Just slice a cucumber, scoop out some of the middle and stuff with a very small amount of cream cheese and some carrots, bell peppers and the like.  Easy peasy.

spicy kombucha dill refrigerator pickles

I make a lot of random pickles.  I toss whatever spices sound good into the jar - so far these have been my favorite, hands down.

1 quart jar
enough small cucumbers to fit.  I used 1 bag of mini cucumbers I got at aldi's
1 large jalapeno
1 tablespoon pickling salt
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup kombucha

put the cucumbers in the jar

mix the other ingredients and then pour over the cucumbers.  Add a bit of water if it doesn't cover them.  Seal and pop in the fridge for a week or so.

Marinated Spiral Cucumber with beets and walnuts

Found this great slicer at a thrift shop.  Didn't appear to have ever been used and since it was only $3.98 - I figured it was worth the buy.

Gave it a try on a cucumber.  No instructions so I just went with the first blade.  It cuts spirals.  You don't have to make spirals for this - as a matter of fact I found it easier to cut the spirals down a bit, not leave them long.  Long spirals are a pin to serve!

Thought about changing blades for the next cucumber.  Didn't get too far because it was SHARP and my hand slipped.

Of course my husband is the only one who knows where he put the bandages and I can't reach him.  Wrapped it in a clean cloth and worked left handed from there on.

Last week I scored some wonderful baby beets.  I plan on pickling them, but this one is going in with the cucumbers.  

I washed it and diced it as well as you can expect a one handed person to dice something.

In the bowl I also added

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon course ground black pepper

1 teaspoon mustard seed

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons finely diced (came that way in the bag) walnut pieces

1 cup white vinegar

shoved all of that into a pint sized jar, covered and put in the fridge for 48 hours.  That's the point where the beets are a little more tender and so are the nuts, but both retain some crunch - while the cucumbers have not turned to much.

This dish has a strong flavor, but I'm a fan of strong flavors and I love it with a basic salad that has a bit of blue cheese on it. 

Fermented Beets

I love beets.  I love to eat them.  I love to drink beet juice.  I especially love the way they turn everything pink or reddish purple.  At least the reds ones do.  The golden variety are a bit more laid back.

I go through beet greens pretty rapidly, leaving me with far too many beets, so I decided to give fermenting them a try.

I cut them into bits - about 12 of them I think.  Then I tossed those bits into the Ninja (food processor) and made tiny bits.

After I grated them, I mixed them in a bowl with a little less than a tablespoon of pickling salt.  Squished them around good to get the juices going.  Shoved them into jars and did what I could to get any extra air out.  Stired it a bit with a chopstick, then pressed it down good (coffee tamper) and finally banged it on the counter - flat on the bottom - dislodge any air.  tamped it again and then decided to try the olive oil on top thing for a makeshift airlock.

I didn't think to take a photo.  I used two old salsa jars.  This one has a stubborn label, but we already ate the other one, so you can't see a photo of the good looking jar.  LOL  We've eaten a lot of this one too.  :-)

As a precaution I put a shallow pan with a washcloth under the jars.

good thing because that was a MESS!!  As the beets got bubbly the oil was pushed up and out.  I would burp it and oil would be all over the place already.  Maybe oil in a salsa jar is just going to do that because the seal isn't super tight.  After a week I decided to try them.  Soft and tasty with just a bit of crunch.  Very yummy.

I had ground up too many beets.  This is what happens when air gets to them.  These beets turned green after 3 days in the fridge with no oil on top.  We didn't eat them, just took a picture to show why oxygen is not your friend when fermenting veggies.

Love the beets, don't care so much for the olive oil thing.  I want an air lock system, but I am a) cheap & b) impatient

I'm also creative.  Part of being cheap.

I went to the brewing store and bought a couple of airlocks for less than $2 each.  Picked up some #2 drilled stoppers too.  Don't remember how much, but very cheap.  

Took a plastic lid and put a hole in it.  Not a good hole because I don't have a drill right now, but it's large enough for the stopper to get it and small enough for the stopper to make it air tight.  The stopper is very soft so it conforms to the hole.  Put the lid on the jar, the stopper in the lid and the airlock in the stopper.  I should be in business for the next time I want to do the fermented veggie thing!

Kombucha pickles with pineapple and ancho

I love kombucha.  I love pineapple.  I love ancho.  I wanted to make pickles.

This is what I got when I combined those loves

1 large cucumber or a couple of smaller ones - sliced
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 ring of pineapple
1 teaspoon ancho
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 1/4 cups kombucha - closer to vinegar is better
1 teaspoon salt

in a mixing bowl combine all the ingredients except the cucumber.  mix together well. Put a bit in a jar, then add the cucumbers.  pour the rest of the mix over.  If you have space left over on top, add a bit more kombucha.

put a lid on it and stick it in the fridge for a few days.  Start testing around day 4 and use when it gets to the point where it's just the right cripsness for you.  I think they need at least 7, but I've been "testing" them a bit too much so the don't usually make it past that point.

This is a jar, about a pint size that was left over from some sauce.  You can go up a cucumber with only increasing the liquid ingredients by about 1/2 more (not doubled) for a larger batch.  More than that and you should increase all ingredients - doubling them for 4+ cucumbers in a quart jar.

Kombucha Labels

I could make a batch of this flavor and a batch of that flavor, but this is all still new for me so I'm trying out all sorts of flavors.  That has led to some confusion.  I wanted a way to label the bottles, but I also wanted the labels to be reusable.

This is what I came up with

Floss holders (on clearance) and hair elastics.

I write the name of the flavor on the blank side, loop them onto a hair elastic and this slip them on the bottles.

After someone takes a bottle from the fridge the tag goes into a baggie I have stuck to the door with a magnet.

No more confusion and everyone knows what they are getting.  The labels can be used again and again, so I won't have to make them up for each batch.  Also it was cheap and easy.  maybe not something to look for in a girlfriend, but with craft projects I'm all about the cheap and easy.

 

Marinated Cucumbers

My variation on marinated cucumbers.  I've been trying to get all the produce I got on sale used up or preserved.  This one isn't for saving though - I like it when the cucumbers are still fairly crisp.  Only in the fridge overnight.

1 large cucumber or a couple of smaller ones sliced and the quarter the slices  or not, depending on your preference.
3/4 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon course ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix 1/2 cup of the vinegar and all the other ingredients, except cucumbers, together in a bowl.  After it's all mixed up, add the cucumbers and mix them in so that everything is covered.  Put in a 1 pint jar - or size to fit.  If the liquid doesn't come all the up to the top of the cucumbers add the other vinegar to make sure it's covered.  Set in the fridge overnight or for at least several hours.

This version is very sweet but cutting the sugar in half works just as well.

based on 5 servings which is what we got from it

So I thought I would make sauerkraut

I want to make sauerkraut, but lack a crock or fancy air lock system.

What to do?

Google it of course.

I have jars, I have cabbage & I have olive oil.  I'm good to go.  Seems you can use the oil to seal off the brine.  The kraut if shredded, salted and spiced.  Let's see how it goes.  I need a crystal ball or other future seeing device.  I get so impatient waiting.

I spiced it with

2 1/2 tablespoons salt to a 4lb head of cabbage
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons juniper berries
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds

Shredded the cabbage into a large glass bowl.  Added the other stuff and crunched it around, really beating up on it.  As I did so a lot of water came out and the bowl got quite a lot of nice brine.  I divided the cabbage into 3 left over salsa jars - roughly pint size & divided the brine.  Really packed it down in there.  Then I put olive oil over the top to seal it.  Tightened the lids and set them aside.  Now to wait and see what happens.  Did put a plate under it because I have heard that sauerkraut can get bubbly and overflow.

Blender butter

I made butter!!

I have some fresh cream I picked up when I got my raw milk.  I guess I should say I HAD some fresh cream.  I've known how to make butter for awhile.  Put it in a jar and shake shake shake.  Probably better exercise than the not so vaguely obscene shake weight.  I don't have time for that.  Saw on line that you can just do it in a blender.  I have a blender.  Now I have butter.

Step 1

Obtain heavy cream

Step 2 

Dump it in the blender

Step 3

blend blend blend.  At some point it will quite dramatically go from whipped cream to butter.  It's very sudden and pretty cool

Step 4

using some muslin drain the excess milk from the butter.  Rinse it with cool water to get the excess milk out so it won't go bad too quickly.  If you're going to use it quickly you probably don't have to do this.

Step 5

chill and enjoy

Next time I'm going to add some herbs to it.  This was plain, unsalted butter and it is YUMMY

Seasoned Beet Greens

I eat or juice a lot of beets.  I've not always been sure what to do with the tops.  Found a recipe that I really enjoy, so I'll be eating more of them.  For these I started with 2 bunches each organic golden and red beets.  There were 3-4 beets per bunch.

Tops from 12-16 beets

wash, wash and then wash again.  Beet greens can really hold onto the dirt.

I didn't tear them much, leaving them large bits, like large whole leaf spinach.

In a pot add the beet greens, two cups water, 1 teaspoon olive oil, 2 teaspoons lemon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Cook covered over medium until greens are tender.

I eat them with either a dash of lemon juice or hot sauce.

Eggplant with Cactus & Peppers

I scored some great deals on eggplant and prickly pear cactus at the market.  Love both, but this is the first time I have cooked them together.

Ingredients

1 medium eggplant - sliced into rounds about 2 inches thick

2 cactus paddles with the spines removed (google the instructions, it's not hard to do) & sliced into strips

yellow bell pepper - sliced

1 small onion - diced

salsa - I used a roasted pablano salsa from Target that I love

chili infused olive oil.  I'm sure regular oil would work, but I found some infused stuff at Aldi and like it quite a bit

a bit of cheese, diced peppers & a drop of sour cream for garnish

I used my cast iron skillet for this one

I don't use a lot of the olive oil, just enough to cook the veggies in

fry the cactus, pepper & onion until they are tender and the cactus is less slimy.  (it's always a bit slimy like okra)

set aside

brush the pan with a bit more oil if needed and cook the eggplant on one side until browned and kind of transparent.  Then turn over and do the same to the other side.  It should be pretty tender all the way though at this point.

Warm up the salsa.  I know salsa is usually cold, but I wanted it warm this time

spoon some over the eggplant and top with the cactus/pepper mix

sprinkles a bit a cheese and top with diced tomatoes and a drop of sour cream.  

No bake gluten free cinnamon hot chocolate coconut peanut butter cookies

Yeah,  I could have shortened the title, but why not make it a mouthful.  :-)

1 3/4 cups sugar
1 stick butter
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup gluten free hot chocolate mix
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 cup  peanut butter
3 cups gluten free rolled oats

some waxed paper on a cookie sheet

In a large, heavy sauce pan bring all the ingredients EXCEPT the peanut butter, coconut and oatmeal to a boil.  Stay with it and stir or the sugar might burn.  It goes from fine to burnt faster than you might imagine.

Boil for 1 min - stirring

add the other ingredients and mix well.

Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto the wax paper and let cool until hardened.


Because this can be a melty cookie, I freeze a couple if I am going to send them in lunches.  That way they won't get overly soft from the heat of the locker.

The kid really likes them, but how could she not.  It's more like candy than cookie since there is so much sugar!

not worried about gluten?  Use regular rolled oats and any hot chocolate you want.

I used an online tool to analyze the recipe.  One serving is 1 large or two small cookies.  I'm actually surprised it got a D.  I was expecting an F.  They're tasty, but NOT good for you.