Raspberry Lemonade Icee

     After  a month full month of neglecting my blog, I have come out of summer hibernation with many recipes in store for later. In case you were wondering, I'm still alive and well.
      On Wednesday last week I embarked on a long trail run in 98 degrees, rationalizing that  the shade of the forest would protect me. I'm not sure why I thought this, considering our thermometer is in the shade. The only reason I don't regret the decision is because this recipe idea came to me on the way down. I soon found myself near the top of windy hill, desperate for water. I felt like I was in the hunger games as my instincts became increasingly sharp and I checked every bush for hydrating berries. Unfortunately I found no berries or water fountains. I couldn't help but day dream about which liquid I would drink as soon as I returned.  Thus, I had plenty of time to mentally create and perfect this drink for the rest of the way down. Upon returning I  immediately downed two glasses of the cool and tangy drink. It restored me perfectly.

Directions
Blend the ingredients below in a magic bullet or blender. 

• 3/4 cup cold water
• 10 ice cubes
• juice of 1/2- 1 lemon
• 1 tsp sugar
• handful of frozen raspberries

Note:  I like lemonade more sour than sweet, especially when it's hot out. Add more sugar if you prefer a sweeter variety.

Enjoy and Expect more to come. Sweet potato quesodillas, gingersnap almond butter, powerballs, and blackberry crumble. Any opinions from the readership? 

Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies

Claude Cookies

In honor of my grandfather Claude Trudelle (also known as Pepere to the grandkids), I named these Claude cookies. As a kid I visited my grandparents in Los Angeles almost every summer. On Sundays after church we would walk on Manhattan beach and then eat breakfast at the Koffee Kart. Pepere definitely enjoyed his coffee... and his chocolate. He liked to eat lots of them, but always one chip at a time. I hope that incorporating dark chocolate and coffee in my diet will help me live to 91 also. I made these the day before he passed away, although I think he would have liked them.
 

Ingredients

• 2 T cocoa powder 
• 1 C rolled oats or oat flour
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t baking soda
• 1/4 C coconut sugar or brown sugar
• 2 t instant coffee granules (I used columbian decaf)
• 1/3 C chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips
• 1/4 C coconut butter or butter
• 2 T almond milk
• 1/2 t pure vanilla extract
• 1 egg 

Directions
In a mixing bowl blend half of the oats into oat flour. Add in the salt, cocoa powder, baking powder, and coffee granules and half of the chocolate chips. Blend in the remainder of the wet in ingredients. Finally, pulse in the rest of the chocolate chips and oats.
Bake at 350 for 7 minutes.

Enjoy!

Fig Newtons

Are you a Fig Newton eater?

Would you rather eat 

Choice A

 

Choice B

I hope you share my feelings that the nutty hearty looking choice A is more appealing than the machine made choice B.

Did you ever wonder how fig newtons got their name? They are  named after a town in Massachusetts near Kennedy biscuits (apparently it was popular to name cookies after a town). Interesting story, but uninteresting cookie.They fall into the category of another just okay snack food in my opinion. Would you rather feed your body with...
Choice A

 UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE {VITAMIN B1}, RIBOFLAVIN {VITAMIN B2}, FOLIC ACID), FIGS, SUGAR, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CORN SYRUP, GLYCERIN, WHEY (FROM MILK), SALT, SOY LECITHIN*, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE), PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL, CALCIUM LACTATE, SODIUM BENZOATE AND SULFUR DIOXIDE (SULFITES) ADDED TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS, MALIC ACID, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR. *ADDS A TRIVIAL AMOUNT OF FAT. CONTAINS: WHEAT, MILK, SOY.

 Or Choice B?
FIGS, DATES, LEMON JUICE, OATS, FLAX MEAL, CINNAMON, ALMOND BUTTER, APPLE SAUCE, HONEY, VANILLA, BAKING POWDER, EGGS, SALT

If your choices aligned with mine, (A,B) proceed to the recipe below. Come to think of it, if you prefer a regular fig newton, you should try these out too. The fresh flavorful taste in these just may surprise you.

Filling
1 C dried figs
4  pitted dates
1 T lemon juice
Crust:
1  C regular or quick oats, ground in blender/food processor until fine.
1/2 C ground flax meal
1/4 t cinnamon
2 T almond butter
2 T apple sauce
3 T honey
1 t vanilla optional
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1-2 eggs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Grind together the ingredients for the filling and set aside.
3. For the crust, combine all the ingredients in the food processor and blend until combined.
4. In a baking pan or loaf pan, layer it like this. Crust, filling, crust.
5. Bake in the oven for 17-20 minutes. It should be soft and chewy, but not mushy after it's baked.

I think I may call these Fig Portola's

Tropical Popsicle Bites

        This weekend I had the chance to get away for a few days to run a relay race around Lake Tahoe with the Impala Racing team. I soaked up the sun, mountain air, and fresh pine scent as much as I could. The weekend was full of running, long meals at the cabin, and many laughs. The coconut water I drank after my leg of the relay quenched my thirst and helped stop my altitude headache. Later that day I picked up some buy one get one free strawberry packs and realized they would taste with cold coconut water. Thus here comes the delicious frozen combination of the two (plus another fruit). I don't own a popsicle mold, however these muffin sized cubes work great with just a napkin. Yet another summer treat for the collection. It's currently 96 degrees so I will be enjoying some of these today!

Ingredients

• Coconut water
• Strawberry slices
• Fresh pineapple slices

This recipe is so simple that I will let you decide the ratio for yourself. If you have left over fruit salad, other fruits can be contributed as well. 

Directions

1.  Place several slices of strawberries and pineapple in a silicup, popsicle mold or ice cube tray. 

2. Fill the rest with coconut water and freeze. Enjoy plain, in a glass of juice, or blended up into a smoothie.

Goodbye Emerald bay!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

A Crisp for Summer    

       It is truly starting to feel like summer now. There are graduations, the days are long, the temperatures are high, and I've tried paddle boarding! My favorite summer dessert as a kid was plum cobbler (made like a crisp), with the cherry sized plums from our backyard. While it tasted fantastic, the three main ingredients were butter, brown sugar, and flour. Not exactly the type of crisp you feel great about having for breakfast the next morning.  But the real reason I no longer climb the tree and pick the plums is because our tree no longer produces any :(. It has reached too old of an age. 

I really can't complain anymore now that I have another sweet and tangy crisp. Today, the strawberries were half off and the ice cream was free, making it an all around positive deal. A slice of the crisp with a scoop of the vanilla cloud ice cream is in my top 4 new favorite summer desserts.  One should  know that I don't use the word favorite lightly. 

Strawberry Rhubarb Base

Ingredients

• 3 Stalks rhubarb
• 8 large strawberries
• 1.5 T chia seed powder or tapioca starch
• Honey to taste 

Directions

1. Place chopped rhubarb in a sauce pan with enough water to cover it. Bring water to a boil and then turn on low until the rhubarb is soft.  Drain the water.
2. Chop the strawberries and combine the the rhubarb and chia powder.
3. Place pour into an 8 by 8 pan and drizzle honey over.

Crumble Topping

Ingredients

• 1/2 C almond flour
• 1/2 C oat flour (just process oats until fine)
• 3 T  coconut oil
• 2 T butter
• 1/4 t lemon zest (opt)
• 1.5 T honey
• 1/4 C coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
• 1/4 t salt
• 2 C corn flakes cereal ( not frosted)

Directions

1. Blend oats in a food processor until fine. 

2. Mix together all ingredients except for the corn flakes and almond meal.

3. Pulse in the almond meal and corn flakes, and mix until desired consistency. 

4. Crumble the top over the strawberries and rhubarb and cook for  10 minutes at 350. It should look slightly browned on top.

Chai Chia Chocolate Smoothie

 

A Sweet and Spicey Cold Drink

 

A good chai latte tastes delightfully like Christmas in a cup. However, A)  good chai is hard to come by these days, and B) it's exactly 7 months until Christmas eve. My solution, a chai smoothie. Chia, chai to be exact. This is not your usual smoothie, but its nice to get out of the usual strawberry-banana, or peanut butter banana smoothie routine. Note this photo was taken from choosingraw.com. I can assure you my recipe will have the similar coloring and texture if you are worried.

Ingredients

• 1 chai tea bag 
• 1/3- cup hot water
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 1 frozen banana broken in chunks
• 3 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp chia powder or seeds (use ground flax seeds if you don't have chia)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 tsp honey 
• 1/2  tsp fresh grated ginger

Directions

1. Brew the tea in the hot water for 3-4 minutes. Strain the liquid and cool for a few minutes.
2. Add the brewed tea and all the other ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Carrot Sweet Potato Ginger Soup

Internal Warmth

         Hello to my readership, and sorry for my long absence. As everyone says, it's "that time of year" when things are wrapping up, and starting up. Enough of my excuses though, and back to the soup. I know it's 80 degrees outside, but sometimes the late spring still calls for internally warming foods. Air conditioning is jacked up, you are in and out of the pool, and it's breezy. Basically I'm trying to convince you of why this soup is still a good idea any time of day or year. But really the taste should be enough to sell you. It's a pretty simple recipe so next time I will try adding some roasted onions or butternut squash. Enjoy!

Ingredients- Serves 1

• 2 Carrots
•  1 small yam
• 1/3 c coconut milk from the can (not a milk carton)
• 1/4 t ground ginger or freshly grated ginger
• Dash of- curry, cumin, nutmeg, salt

Directions 

1. Peel and steam the carrots and yams.
2. Blend the yam and carrots in a blender, and add coconut milk and spices. 
3. Heat on the stove or in the microwave.
4. Enjoy with toast or snapea crisps,