Recipes: Favorite juices and smoothie

Lately I’ve been telling you all about Jim’s and my juicing experiences, but I haven’t posted any recipes for you. Partly that’s because I wanted to come up with a few favorites before I posted any. So here they are, just a few of our favorite combinations.  All recipes are for two people. Keep in mind you may have to add more or less depending on the size of your fruits and vegetables. My recipes are just a guideline to work with.

Jim’s Favorite

2 apples

2 plums

1/2 head of purple cabbage

1 cucumber

Handful of kale

Handful of spinach

Wash it all, trim and cut it into pieces that will fit in your juicer (if necessary), and juice away!

Rather than showing you a photo of the finished product in a glass, I figured I’d share with you the just-juiced photo, before we mix it all up and pour it. Pretty amazing, huh?

Stephanie’s Favorite

1 bulb of fennel

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled

6 carrots

3 oranges, peeled

1/2 head of purple cabbage

Wash, trim, cut, juice!

Pretty, huh?

It’s really fun for me to watch the pitcher fill up in such weird color combinations. In a way it’s kind of satisfying because we all know that the more colorful the food we eat, the better it is for us. I love knowing that such amazing nutrition is going into my body!

Jim and Steph’s Morning Smoothie

No matter what else we’re doing for food during the week, whether we’re just juicing or incorporating meals into our days as well, we start with a smoothie.

2 frozen bananas

1 big, big handful of spinach or kale

1 heaping scoop of peanut butter

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbsp chia seeds

1-2 tsp spirulina

Almond milk  (to desired thickness)

Wash your spinach, throw all ingredients into the blender and let ‘er whir!

Sometimes we’ll also add a scoop of protein powder to our smoothies, but there’s really plenty in there between the peanut butter, chia seeds and spirulina.

A lot of people ask us if our green drinks taste…well, green. The answer to that depends on what we put in them. Last night I made our juice with a cucumber, a couple of zucchini, lots of greens (collards and kale), and a couple of oranges. The result tasted pretty green. It didn’t bother us, but the if you can’t take such an earthy flavor, add another orange. Or an apple. Apples are VERY sweet. The recipes above are all delicious and the greens sort of melt into the background flavor-wise, especially in the smoothie. Banana is a pretty potent flavor and so is the cocoa powder. It tastes more like a banana, chocolate, peanut butter shake than a green smoothie, but you still get the benefit of the greens.

We’ve learned that juicing is a very personal thing. In fact, we don’t even look at recipes anymore. We just check the fridge and fill up the juicer with things that seem like they’d taste good together. Sometimes we don’t do so well, like the time we put too much ginger in. And sometimes you come up with something you want to use over and over, like the ones above. If you’re interested in juicing, there are plenty of recipes out there. Try Reboot with Joe or one of Kris Carr’s Crazy Sexy recipes. They have plenty of inspirational recipes to get you started until you feel comfortable to create your own.

Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

I’ve been busy in the kitchen this weekend! Well, busy period, but I somehow found a way to whip up two new recipes for you in the midst of cleaning and planning and shopping and otherwise trying to get our house together. I’ll post you an update on the house soon, too, but for now, here’s pancakes!

I decided to make these because we got some lemons in our Farm Fresh to You box and I haven’t gotten around to coming up with something profound to make with them, and since they’re starting to look a little less than perky, I put them to good use. Jim loves lemons, so I figured he’d enjoy this recipe. And he did.

Blueberry Lemon and Ricotta Pancakes

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup almond meal

1 tbsp baking powder

3ish tbsp flaxseed meal (I like to add it for a little bit of fiber. Go for it. It’s good for you.)

1 egg

1 1/4 cups almond milk

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 tbsp vanilla extract (if my husband didn’t hate it with all of his being, I would have used almond extract. Feel free to make the change if you’re fortunate enough to have the option. I won’t blame you for deviating)

zest and juice of 1 lemon, separated

handful of blueberries

powdered sugar

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, almond meal, baking powder and flaxseed meal. In a 2-cup glass measuring cup (or another bowl), whisk the egg, almond milk, ricotta, vanilla (or almond) extract and lemon zest until they’re just combined and the ricotta is mostly un-lumpy. Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in the blueberries. Cook on a lightly oiled griddle pan in whatever size you prefer. Meanwhile sift powdered sugar into the lemon juice. Add just enough so that it starts to turn a whitish color and gets a little thick. It’s just a glaze, and since lemons come in different sizes I can’t really tell you how much you’re going to need. Let’s just say, you’re going to keep adding sugar and you’re going to think it’s too much but it’s not. It’s okay. Add a little drizzle of glaze between each pancake in your stack and top with extra blueberries…and why not? A little more glaze on top.

This recipe makes enough for about three pancakes for two people. That was a little too much for us, so we had two each and a bagged the rest for Jim to take to work.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

It’s today!… And a little Train lovin’

Today is moving so slowly! But then again, why shouldn’t it? Don’t all exciting days go by slowly? I mean Jim and I have only been waiting for this day for six months. And even so, it may not end up being THE day afterall.

You’re probably wondering, by now, what the heck I’m yammering on about. And I’ll get there, but first let’s talk about breakfast. After all, it is the most important meal of the day.

Doesn’t that just look scrumptious? I mixed a little pumpkin in with my oatmeal this morning (by the way, I cook my oats in almond milk to make them creamy. It works so much better than adding the milk after cooking with water). Then I topped it all with a splash of maple syrup…real maple syrup, none of that Mrs. Butterworth’s crap, some toasted pecans and just a few chocolate chips.

Honestly, as much as I love chocolate, I think I’d omit the chips in the future. Yesterday I was craving the crap out of something gooey and warm and chocolatey, and I thought maybe the chips would do it for me…it accomplished what I needed, but even though the flavors worked well together, it just seems like it’s gonna be a one time thing. Anywhoo, like I said yesterday, I looooove anything pumpkin, so there ya have it.

While I’m leaving you hanging, I’m going to let you know this is the last post I’ll be making, probably, this week (Although I may post you the recipe for some delicious little morsels I’m making for a birthday party on Saturday, but we’ll see how I’m feeling at that point) because tomorrow I’m off! For four days! I’m beyond stoked, I must tell you. This weekend kicks off our Manic October filled with birthdays, our one year anniversary, a trip to Disneyland with a special dinner at Club 33, a grape-stomping event at our favorite Napa winery, and of course, this weekend’s fun!

I am so stoked!!!

My youngest brother is going to school at UNR in Reno, so we figured this was the perfect venue for this year’s Train tour. It occurred to me only last week that we’ve been to see them every year for gosh only knows how long. Last year we saw them at Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln. This one was good. We had super close seats and…well, once the sun went down (holy nasty squinting face!) it was an amazing show…although their shows are always pretty amazing.

The year before it was in Berkeley at the Greek Theater (we passed on this venue because it was MISERABLE seating. Tiny narrow bench style stadium seating with about 12 inches to all your own and no back support. We were lucky to find a nice security guy that allowed us to sit in a vacant section by ourselves) for my mom’s 49th birthday. We stayed in San Francisco and had afternoon tea at the Palace Hotel the next day.

Mom and I looking a tad like we’re about to mug someone and the two men we observed taking in afternoon tea at the table behind ours

Let’s see, the year before that we saw them….oh, San Diego! July 6th. We spent the 4th at Disneyland and watched the fireworks from…wait for it…the parking lot by Paradise Pier Hotel! YES! That’s where our car was, and wanna know something? We could see them perfectly, we had our little snacks and there wasn’t a soul around!

Before that we saw them as a family in Clear Lake. This one was special because I was at school and my dad flew the family down and picked me up before heading to Clear Lake. Except the resort where the concert was was on the other side of the lake. So he rented us a limo for the night. Boy did we feel cool riding up in that thing! This was actually the first time I’d even ridden in a limo. It was pretty cool. My dad is pretty cool when he’s not letting his other stuff get in the way…but that’s not a chat for the blog.

Anywhoo,  the first time I saw them was in 2001, I think, and I had just started college. I remember thinking “the best concert ever would be Matchbox 20 and Train.” The next week, they announced Matchbox 20 would be touring with Train. I bought tickets immediately. And the second time I saw them was my sophomore year in college when they played Alice’s Now & Zen fest in Golden Gate Park. Mom and I took the ferry into San Francisco and walked from the ferry building to the park. It was a pretty amazing day, too. They’re all pretty amazing experiences. We always seem to make a to-do about it, even though its not really intentional. I do feel like I’m missing one, though. I’ll have to ask my mom and I’ll get back to you.

Anyway, the concert is tomorrow night….after acupuncture at 10 am and the hour or so drive to Reno. I’ve actually developed a pretty interesting response to the acupuncture: I fall asleep. Every time. I remember asking my mom if she ever fell asleep when I first started. She said in 12 years, she’d fallen asleep maybe twice. But I do it every. single. time. Not that I mind. It’s just interesting. I lie there with needles in my back, trying to focus on my breathing and relax all my muscles. I guess I’m successful because it never fails. I’m zonked within five minutes. So I guess we should add a short nap to the list of things that come before the concert tomorrow.

But also before the show, we’re having dinner with some really close family friends, one of which was diagnosed with cancer this year, and isn’t expected to live too many more years. One of our favorite places to eat with them in Reno is the steakhouse at Harrah’s, so hopefully he was able to get reservations there. If not, I’m sure he’s got another place up his sleeve. That guy knows EVERYONE is Reno.

Okay, I’ve delayed enough, kept you hanging a sufficient amount of time.

This afternoon Jim and I have an appointment with the mortgage guy at the bank. We’re going to apply for our pre-approval for our home loan!!! So exciting, right?! Now we can REALLY start looking for houses…hopefully. If we’re approved.

That’s all I’ve got for you for now. Wish us luck!

Oh what a day

I am just sitting down to my desk for the first time today. It’s almost 2 p.m. This morning I had to go down to El Dorado County’s building department to handle some things (in my dad’s absence) regarding our second shop building. It’s boring, so I won’t go into details. But I was there for almost three hours.

Breakfast this morning was delicious. I was totally channeling fall on this one. I had a little bit of extra time, so I decided to make some oatmeal. On top, I put some pumpkin butter, some toasted pecans and a small handful of chocolate chips. It was so yummy. The chocolate added just enough sweet. I definitely felt nostalgic for fall.

I love Cold Hollow Cider Mill. They’re in Vermont and I was soooo happy to find out that they have a website where you can order their stuff. I loooove this pumpkin butter. Their maple syrup is to die for and pretty much everything else they carry is delicious as well.

So after breakfast I rush down to the county offices and wait while my architect is 1/2 an hour late. And then sit in various offices for two and a half hours, filling out paperwork, signing checks, listening to the architect talk with whoever about whatever. Then I had to deliver plans to the fire district as well as the water district (hey, at least we’re covering our bases!) before I could finally come in to the office. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining about the time away from my desk. If it wasn’t hotter than Hades out there, it would have been fine.

Anyway, so to back up the bus a little, the offices for El Dorado County are in Placerville, about a 20-25 minute drive from my office. Since I got out just before lunchtime, I decided to grab some chow from one of my favorite places in Pville.

They serve all sorts of fresh, organic foods and yummy beverages. I got a dirty chai…which is a chai tea latte with a shot of espresso…with almond milk (how many other places offer almond milk?!). For lunch I ordered their “Righteous Rice Bowl” with tuna. I ordered it to go, but here’s a photo of the same rice bowl I ordered with my mom a few weeks ago.

It had rice, beans, cheese, tuna, avocado, carrots, cabbage, red onion, sprouts, cilantro, two different kinds of sauces and probably all sorts of stuff I’m not remembering at the moment. It was so good.

And the Cozmic Cafe is super cool. It’s in this really old building and has a mine shaft at the back…

And I just learned today that there’s seating back there!

Yea, it’s a little creepy. But it was the coolest place in the entire restaurant!

So now I’m at work…and since I’ve been writing this (okay, and browsing Pinterest), I have 45 minutes before it’s time to leave. And then I’m off to the gym for my daily 30 minutes of aerobic exercise and home to make dinner…which I’ve yet to make a decision about. I’d better get on that.

What are you having for dinner? Anything corn and wheat free?

Sunday morning breakfast

I may have mentioned before that on Sunday mornings, I almost always make breakfast. Jim sleeps while I rustle around in the kitchen, throwing things together (unless somehow I have the foresight to PLAN….which rarely happens). This past Sunday, I had a vision…for Jim’s breakfast. Since I’m not doing eggs, I needed another vision for my own, but more on that later. But he thoroughly enjoyed the little concoction I created for him.

Please excuse the crappy cell phone pictures. I had to snap this one before he dug in!

Baked Egg Biscuits

Makes approx 6 biscuits

For the biscuit

1 cup Bisquick

1/3 cup milk

1 egg

seasoning (I used Jim’s stepdad’s special mix….you can include salt, pepper, garlic powder, rosemary…really its up to you)

2 veggie sausage links, chopped (or, you know, real meat sausage links if you have them…I didn’t, so Jim went veggie)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Throw all the ingredients in your handy-dandy mixer and mix until combined. Scoop dough into about 6 biscuits on a greased baking sheet. Bake for approx 7 minutes, or until edges just start to brown. Poke an indent into the biscuits and crack an egg into each. Continue baking for another 5 minutes or until eggs are just set. Season with salt and pepper and serve!

While Jim was eating his egg biscuits, I was eating the delicious vegan pancakes I whipped up for myself.

Vegan cranberry almond pancakes

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp flaxseed meal

1/2 tbsp baking powder

1/2 cup almond milk (if your batter seems a little thick, feel free to add a splash or two more)

splash of almond extract

handful of dried cranberries (if you have patience, which I didn’t, you can soak them in warm water beforehand so they’re softer)

handful of slivered almonds

Whisk together the dry ingredients. Slowly stir in the wet ingredients. Fold in cranberries and almonds. Cook on a nonstick skillet with a little olive oil. This recipe made the two pancakes you see above. It’s perfect for one hungry person (I left about 1/4 of one of those on my plate. They were filling!) or two not so hungry people with a few things (like the grapes and veggie sausage shown here) on the side.

What do you usually have for Sunday morning breakfast? Do you cook or do you go out or  just munch on whatever is around?