Tropical Smoosie

The other day I watched a video on making piña colada (virgin), but pineapple is too acidic for me so I decided to switch things up a bit, and then I went from there. We had these with our brunch the next morning and were more than satisfied with the impromptu experimentation. This smoothie is so simple that it seems too obvious to even post, but it is so deliciously refreshing that I couldn't resist. The coconut milk and the frozen fruit make it incredibly thick and smooth and the lime makes all the flavors come together so that you can't quite decide which ingredient you're tasting.

(Pictures coming soon!)

Tropical Smoothie 

1 can coconut milk (shake/blend to combine beforehand)

Frozen mango (3ish handfuls)

1.5 frozen bananas

Juice of 1 lime (plus zest?)

Water  

1.    Pour the coconut milk into the blender and scrape any of the solid in

2.    Blend to combine

3.    Add banana, mango, lime juice and zest

4.    Refill the now-empty coconut milk can with water and pour into blender until desired consistency (you’ll use between .5 and 1 whole can)

Makes 2 servings

I lived in Russia for several months and learned the Cyrillic alphabet (so basically I could sound words out but had no idea what they meant). I learned that there is no "th" sound (as is the case in many languages). So, any beverage that is cold and thick (including icees, etc.) is simply called a smoothie. But since there is no "th" it is simply called a "smoosie". And that's the Russian word for it because they don't historically have any such drink. I'm not really sure what that tangent was about, but I still enjoy calling them smoosies. And this one is paticularly thick and "smoos".

Pancakes

These are a breakfast-for-dinner or Saturday brunch favorite in our house. These pancakes are healthy and hearty, and they feel good in the gut.

Pancakes

¾ cup white flour

¾ cup whole wheat flour

3 ½ t baking powder

1 pinch of salt

1 egg

¼ cup applesauce

1 ¼ cup milk

1 capful vanilla

A dash of cinnamon

Coconut oil (to grease the pan)

 

1.     Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl

2.     Add egg, milk, vanilla, applesauce, vanilla and cinnamon and mix everything together, making sure to leave some lumps in the batter

3.     Heat pan on medium heat and grease the pan with coconut oil (or whatever you like, that’s just my preference)

4.     Pour batter onto pan. I usually use a ¼ cup measuring cup as a guide to mete them out

5.     You know they’re ready to flip when the edges look dry and the bubbles are popping

6.     Top with honey, berries, cinnamon sugar or whatever you like on your pancakes!

 As you can see, I occasionally measure things-very occasionally. Perhaps that will change someday. In the meantime, please comment and tell me how you like your pancakes!

Roasted Broccoli

When I need a veggie side dish this is my go-to. At least it has been lately.

Roasted Broccoli

(Before Baking)

Broccoli (frozen is fine but make sure it's thawed and dry. As to how much:I fill a regular cereal bowl)

2-3 pieces of bread (stale is fine, moldy is not)

Parmesan cheese

1 small lemon

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

1/2 - 1 clove garlic (depending on size of clove)

Prep:

1.    Thaw and dry the broccoli if you’re using frozen. Cut into pieces of desired size if you’re using fresh.

2.    Put bread into food processor and process (if anyone knows the verb for that, please let me know) until there are no large pieces of bread

3.    Dice garlic (or just use a garlic crusher)

4.    Put broccoli and bread crumbs into a mixing bowl

5.    Add grated parmesan, lemon zest, juice of ½ lemon, garlic, salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil

6.    Use your hands to mix everything together (just make sure you’ve washed them)

7.    Pour the mixture onto a baking tray and spread it out relatively evenly

8.    Add a last sprinkle of parmesan and drizzle of olive oil over the top (if you want)

9.    Bake at 375* F until golden brown

Lemon, garlic, olive oil, parmesan cheese and crispy bread crumbs-how can you possibly go wrong? It might not be the lowest calorie way to eat broccoli, but it definitely gets points in the "yummy" category. Please comment if you try it out. Also let me know your favorite veggie side dishes!