Spicy Mango Avocado Salad

This one is another creation that can be eaten "as is" or it can be fancied up by rolling it up into a whole wheat wrap with some lettuce greens.  Better yet, skip the whole wheat wraps, add a can of beans of your choice (rinsed and drained), and wrap it up into a leaf of Romain lettuce! If you are a carnivore, lay atop some grilled fish, chicken or steak to ad a great flavor without any extra fat.

• 1 large ripe mango (Peeled and cut into half inch cubes)
• 1 avocado (Peeled and cut into half inch cubes)
• 2 Tablespoons of fresh chopped cilantro
• Juice of a good quality lemon or juice of 2 not so good lemons (about 3-4 Tablespoons of juice)
• 1 small white onion (finely minced)
• 1 Jalapeno Pepper (finely minced)
• 3 cups or more of baby spinach (optional)

In a medium bowl, mix all the above ingredients until blended well.  Enjoy!


Some notes:  For information on cutting a mango click here

Regarding avocados, I prefer Hass avocados.  These have the darker skin.  For a tutorial on how to cut an avocado click here  Another quick note about avocados:  Even though the tutorial that I linked (and just about every tutorial on avocados that I could find) advises one to hack the knife into the pit of the avocado to remove it, I don't advise this.  It's dangerous and unnecessary if the avocado is ripe.  I've always been able to use my fingers to pull out the pit. It usually dislodges easily from the meat of the fruit.

Watermelon "Slushie"

Yes, I live in Germany....and no, the temperatures do not get up into the 100's during the Summer like they do in the states.  HOWEVER, there is no air conditioning and the humidity is stronger here than where I am from originally.  To keep the explanations short, it's flippin' hot here right now!  I'm doing everything that I possibly can to cool down including of course making new recipes.  This one is also great because stores are stocked with (to use a technical term) ginormous watermelons and my family can never seem to finish one before it turns into some slimy creature in the back of my fridge.

To come up with this healthy treat, freeze your watermelon in chunks!  Viola! 

Free of refined sugars & fats, dairy, wheat, and meat free, this makes for a guiltless cool down treat.

• 2 Cups of Frozen watermelon (Cut into chunks about 1.5 inch and freeze in a baggy overnight.  Don't worry about the seeds!).
• Juice of 2 limes
  1 Banana
• Water

1. The watermelon may have stuck together during the freezing process.  To dislodge watermelon, pound the ziploc bag on the floor a few times or, take your "man tamer"---AKA: meat tenderizer to the baggy.  Dump the frozen chunks into a blender. 
2. Ad lime juice and banana as well to the blender with the watermelon.
3.  Blend ingredients together adding water when necessary and until that nice "wirlpool" forms. When the wirlpool is scene, it's ready
4. Poor into cups and drink.  This makes about 2 servings. Depending on your taste buds, ad some sweetener.  I recommend stevia, maple syrup, honey, or a few dates in blended with the slush.
   
   Now, the little devil in me says to ad two shots of Vodka (Rum or Tequila might work too) but I'm off the hard stuff for a while so I'll leave that to the readers imagination.

Crystallized Pansies

My pansies were on their last leg when my neighbor came over the other day.  She looked at them and informed me, "you know, you can eat those."  this definitely got the gears turning.  I recall reading about preserving spring flowers.  Preserving flowers whether dried or pressed is fairly popular here.  There are many homes with framed pressed flowers from the area.  But edible and preserved?! Yes!  In one of my many cookbooks, 'Forgotten Skills of Cooking' the author explains how to crystallize flowers using sugar and egg white.  They are used to decorate pastries and cookies and, are completely edible. I did a quick search online and found out that to purchase 3 dozen crystallized pansies, it cost me around $40.  NOT CHEAP! If not anything else, making them myself would be cheaper.

So here's my updated recipe to crystallizing pansies:

• Dry pansies (It's important to pick them on a dry day or, pick them and sit them overnight in a vase)
• One egg white
• Bakers sugar or regular sugar that's been grinded up fine in a food processor
• a splash of vodka (optional but it serves to help dry the flowers quickly)
• soft paintbrush about a standard watercolor size
• baking sheet lined with wax paper
• a small strainer to be used as a sugar sprinkler.  I used my reusable tea strainer from Ikea
• scissors

1. Mix egg white and vodka in a bowl.
2. Prepare your work space. Assemply line style or, egg white bowl with pain brush, flowers in vase, sugar with "sprinkler", lined baking sheet.
3. Snip stem off as closely to the bloom as possible
4. Using the paint brush dipped in egg white vodka mixture, brush every inch of the flower (front and back of each petal) with the mixture.
5. Sprinkle sugar all over the flower as well. Front and back.
6. Place flower gently on lined baking sheet
7. Repeat with all the flowers.  After about 3 days the flowers should be dry.

Place them in a loosely packed box.  A shoe box is good for this.  Be sure that the box doesn't seal.  They should be preserved for about 6 months.

Your family and friends will be really impressed!  It's takes some work and patience and you may have some duds....but, they look gorgeous on top of cupcakes.  I used mine on homemade lemon cupcakes with a lavender frosting.  So Victorian & British!

If you don't have the patience to do this, be sure to "harvest" your pansies and put them in your salad for a change of pace. Apparently they can be used in tea as well.  For more information on home remedies and the health benefits of pansies click here.

Vegan Overnight Oats (Summer Porridge) Updated

Sometimes at international breakfast bars there is "Muesli".  It's cold oats that have been soaked usually in milk and yogurt.  I love this stuff!  I am an addict really for this.  The problem is,  I don't know how to make it.  Usually there are no real specific directions on the quantities with which to soak my oats overnight.  Plus, I wanted to try this with rice or almond milk since I'm trying to cut back or sugar, dairy, and meat.  I tried it last night and was actually very happy with the results. So, here is my first try batch ratio list.

1/2 cup old fashioned oats
3/4 cup vanilla almond milk

This is the "base"  meaning this is what I put in the fridge overnight, covered in a glass jar.  In the morning I mixed in 1 Tbsp.  raw almond butter, one banana, 1 Tbsp. of unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 Tbsp. of ground flaxseed, and a sprinkling of raw unsalted sunflower seeds.

It was good BUT for many readers, this just might not be sweet enough.  A person could probably put in some honey to sweeten it.  Next time I might mash the banana instead of just chopping it so that the sweetness of it can be better spread out in every bite. 

Again, this was my very first trial run but it went well.  It was simple simple simple and fantastic for the Summer.  No need to heat of the kitchen with this recipe!  Some other things I may try is mixing in some applesauce and cinnamon instead of the above combo.  Once I get my hands of some chia seeds I may try that as well. 

Do you have any suggestions for mix-ins?

***UPDATE***

I've refined my oats a bit.  I've limited the amount of oats and am now added a lot of yummy bulk to it.  So really don't need all the oats (or sweeteners). 

1/3 cup oats
about double the "milk"

Right now, I'm working on a plant based diet and it's really been life changing for me and the family.  This means that my milk is almond, rice, soy or coconut.  I'll usually rotate them around.  I haven't eliminated milk or meat all the way but, I've cut it out drastically.  I don't preach (usually) and I don't judge so just use whatever milk substance you'd like. 

If your curious what a plant based or nutritarian lifestyle is, I highly recommend the book (The forward is by Dr. Oz)  Eat to Live  the Author Dr. Fuhrman, also has fantastic webpage with helpful articles and more.  A fellow mommy friend recommended him to me.  What really motivated me was his free podcasts. This doctor has helped thousands and thousands.  For free you can also listen to his prerecorded podcasts.


Here's the combo that I've really enjoyed.

• 1chopped and peeled granny smith apple (if it's oraganic, no need to peel) .  I use this snazzy Chop 'N Prep Chef to chop up my apples.  LOVE THIS thing.   I use it every single day if not twice a day. Because I move around a lot to different countries, having something that is not electric makes it possible for me to not have to purchase new appliances every few years.  
•  2 tsp. sunflower seeds
• 1 tsp. nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp. ground flax seed (the body can't absorb the nutrients of whole seeds)
• 1 tsp. chia seeds
• 2 tbsp. raisins
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• maybe more milk if you want to change the consistency.

Coconut, Banana, Pineapple Smoothie

What to do when it hits -1F outside? Make tropical smoothies of course! Coconut milk is very good. Don't know if there are any health benefits but it's good. This one for sure hit the spot. Last day before my grocery store run so, resources were fairly slim. I had some frozen pineapple in the freezer but no frozen bananas left and the coconut milk in the fridge.....just enough for 2. I'm pretty sure that if a person where to have canned pineapple (drained) and a frozen banana, it quite possibly would have the same effect. YUM.

1/2 cup lite coconut milk
1/2 cup frozen pineapple
2 bananas
water
ice (about 1/4 cup)

Place them all, except for the water in the blender and liquify that bad boy! It may need to be "pulsed" to get everything smooth. Open up the top and add water slowly until desired consistency. Divide among 2 glasses. Another yummy smoothie that I've tried is a green smoothie. Don't let the name or color fool you. It's pretty good.

Pop!

To quote the president: "Yes we can!".....make popcorn in the microwave without buying special microwave popcorn. Maybe I should have stamped "sucker" on the top of my forehead but it really didn't occur to me that I could do this. I thought that the white-little-skinny-old man had some magical patented component in their paper bag that could make popcorn in the microwave. I mean, it's really convincing especially since the bag has to be placed "just right" ('THIS END UP') or it will explode my microwave...... right? So, imagine my amazement when all of my core beliefs about microwave popcorn where just thrown out the window?! That's right, a plane brown paper lunch bag and some popcorn kernels are all you need. (and of course your choice seasoning). It took a little trial and error the original recipe I found called for 1/2 cup kernels. I really did end up with popcorn exploded all over my microwave. Just not enough room in the bag for all of that. I also tried the butter flavor in a bottle. Stupid me looked at the label after purchasing....120 calories per Tbsp. vs. 102 calories in Tbsp. of butter....unless a person has IBS I say, "BUTTER IS BETTER"

Yes, I could purchase my own popcorn popper but, honestly, I'm too cheap for that. So far this has been my favorite combo. I'd very much like to try something different and lower in calories. A few weeks ago I tried lime and salt flavor. Not something I created just bought a box of it. (Again with the white-skinny-old-guy brand)So flippin' yummy.

I'd like to try something like this on my own. Again, a 1/4 cup kernels is about 200 calories plus butter.....that's over 300 calories....dieticians help me out here! Somehow I need to get the calories down. 1/4 cup kernels after it's been popped fits in my ramen bowl. It's a good snack and I think the size is right for one person. Maybe I'm wrong but any less than this and I'm gonna be reaching for something more to eat.

Brown lunch bag
1/4 cup popcorn kernels
1 Tbsp. butter
1/8 tsp popcorn salt

• Watch these guys carefully because it will burn quick!
• Place kernels in paper bag and fold paper bag several times. Don't staple the bag. (Metal & Microwaves don't mix!).
• Place the bag standing up in the microwave.
• At my microwave set at 900W, it takes about one minute and twenty seconds. Again, listen to it and find out what works with your microwave.
• Melt butter for 15-20 seconds in the microwave after popcorn is popped.
• Open bag of popcorn, drizzle with butter, close bag again and shake up.
• Open bag, sprinkle with salt close bag and shake up again.
• Pour in to a bowl for aesthetics and enjoy.

My Favorite Smoothie

......So far anyway. I have to say that smoothies are not really my favorite to make. I can't really seem to simplify the process. Pull out the blender, pull out the transformer (that, by the way weighs about 20 pounds), put ingredients in, blend, take apart blender and clean. YUCK. Too many bloomin' steps. I like smoothies when I can buy them... not make them. But in Germany, I am far, far, far away from my favorite smoothie joint (I'll give you a hint, it rhymes with Mamba Moose).

One of my husband's favorite flavors from this joint is a smoothie with peanut butter. It's pretty good however, it is freaking loaded with girth and calories. Usually after a person drinks this concoction, one feels as though they have a brick in their stomach.

After a little research and experimentation, I've created my own easy concoction that fits the bill. No, it doesn't taste exactly like the magical drink in the Styrofoam cup... however, like I said, it fits the bill and it's easy to make and I don't end up with lumps in my smoothie (do not like lumpy smoothies... a little bit of an oxymoron right?)

Whoever hasn't tried almond milk is missing out. Truly. It has a history. It's not just some new fandangled thing that has made it's way to the shelves. It's low in sugar and calories, and it's fabulous for baking too. It's now been voted in as a must for our weekend pancakes because my family has concluded it taste better than regular milk pancakes. I like it in my cereal but my kids don't. I tried to get my toddler on it but he was too far gone into the depths of moo juice. No worries though, I don't hate milk... just excited about being able to replace it from time to time in certain things.

Another thing I love, love, love about this is that it's vegan, raw, and parve... so, go ahead and have a smoothie and a "HN" hot dog, la'chaim!

My children don't like this recipe. My husband and I both enjoy this one A LOT. My eldest doesn't like bananas and my other one... well he doesn't even really like milkshakes (a strange, strange individual). Try it with your kids though, if they are the normal types... and see if they enjoy it.

The only complication in this recipe is that the bananas need to be sliced and frozen solid. I've done it with room temp bananas and I don't like the texture and temperature of it. What I've done in the past few years is just slice up my brown bananas and freeze them. One more thing to do with over-ripe bananas besides making banana bread.

So, here goes:

1 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
3 Tbsp. almond butter (regular peanut butter works in a pinch)
2 Bananas that have been sliced and frozen

Place all ingredients in your blender and liquify. Apparently this is two servings (p'shaw right)... I will sometimes enjoy this for lunch when I'm in a hurry.

Chai Tea Latte Ice Cream

I am a self proclaimed Trader Joe's addict. I love their stuff. Mike's parents sent us a Christmas care package several years ago from TJ's and it had a can of Trader Joe's Spicy Chai Latte mix. YUMMY! Mike loves Chai Latte's from Starbucks. We thought this would save us a little $$$ by making our own. Now that we are hooked on yet another TJ product, I decided to experiment. I love Ice Cream and I love Chai Tea.....what if I made it into an ice cream flavor.

As my ice cream maker churns away in the other room, I am quickly typing away my first or, beginner recipe of this fabulous flavor. Because the mix also has a dairy powder in it, the ice cream is coming out super creamy. I was worried that it would be grainy with the addition of sugar but, it's hasn't gotten gritty so far.



1 cup whole milk
4 scoops of Trader Joe's Spicy Chai Latte Mix
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups cream (about 1 larger carton)

Using an electric mixer, mix whole milk, sugar and TJ's Spicy Chai Latte Mix until well incorporated. I did about 2 minutes (pausing a couple times to scrape the sides) on level 2 with my Kitchen Aid stand alone mixer. Then mix in cream (on low with your mixer! We don't want whipped cream. Although, that does give me another idea!). Pour into your ice cream maker and follow their operation instructions. Then freeze until desired consistency.

This recipe has given me more ideas. I even have one in the works for a Mexican hot chocolate ice cream. I wonder too if I could use almond milk in place of whole milk? Maybe I can leave out the sugar? We shall see!

Strawberry-Ginger Tisane

No picture for this one yet. It is pretty though. Just tried this from my Cooking 1-2-3 book by Rozanne Gold. It's strawberry season here in Japan so, what better time to try?! I'd have to say it's got an interesting taste. I would have never thought to pair Ginger with Strawberries. The ginger adds quite a "bite" at the end. I've heard that it's healthy to drink Ginger tea when you have a tummy ache and it helps with digestion. In fact many Japanese meals include some pickled ginger on the side. I tried it hot originally but Mike and I agree that it would definitely taste better cold. Give it a try and let me know what you think! A lot of the cooking utensils can be supstituted into bowls or regular pots if like me, you don't have a collection of teapots in lying around in your kitchen.

1 pint very ripe strawberries
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3-inch piece fresh ginger

Wash berries and remove stems. Put berries and sugar in bowl of a food processor. Process until almost smooth. Transfer strawberry puree to a large teapot. (I used just a regular pot.)

Put 4 cups cold water in a saucepan. Peel ginger, cut into think slicesand add to water. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into teapot. Cover teapot and let sit for 10 minutes. Pour through a tea strainer.