Knowing my true place in the scheme of things, a veritable smoothie novice, I deferred the deep analysis of what I call the Smoothie Bible, the “300 Best Blender Recipes Using Your Vitamix” by Robin Asbell, to my mother, the Smoothie Queen. In New Orleans we have Smoothie King, but in Portland, OR, we all know the Smoothie Queen is Andie. Her Vitamix hasn’t had a day off in years. I’m not sure there is one lone oxidant left in her trillion cells.
Of the “Blueberry Green Smoothie,” she reviews, “A good smoothie, much like my normal fare. The coconut water is sweet, so if you have green shake fear, this is a go-to, achieving a big swat at your five fruits and veggies per day. Also, the blueberries, make this ‘sea green’ not veggie green so that may be a plus for some.”
She also pressure-tested the Cherry Pomegranate Antioxidant Smootie. Dark cherries, as we know, are powerful anti-inflammatories. Mom’s naturopath suggests them to her instead of Advil or Tylenol for aches and pains. Per Mom, “the smoothie itself tastes sugar-naughty and there isn’t a bit of sugar in it. I subbed in coconut milk yogurt and can’t taste it, only those cherries. Beautiful dark red color and worth repeating and a nice repentant act after I made beautiful sugar cookies only three weeks ago AND an chocolate espresso cake. “
There are almost enough recipes for you to try a new flavor each day of the calendar year.
I love it. I’ve been also experimenting with new smoothie recipes in efforts to close my nutritional gap in 2017. I noticed that a scoop of Vitamin C or Purity powder gives a righteous vitamin-y zing to my protein smoothies of late.
I’m excited to be partnering with MegaFood and their upcoming pledge drive—for each pledge submitted online, participants get a $5 off coupon toward MegaFood stuff and in turn, MegaFood will donate a bottle of MegaFood Multivitamins to those in need. Details on this will be in a post forthcoming next week, so stay tuned. You can also win a wellness retreat, ooh ooh la.
Super delicious soup—although looked like I literally made Whirled Peas. Baby food dinner for Adults. I used an ENORMOUS cauliflower that Rouses was selling (probably by mistake) for $4 –and this was a 7 pound head, possibly heavier and larger than my own. This with cooked down collard greens was a fabulous combo for this recipe.
Cream of Cauliflower Soup
Adapted from Penzeys Spices
4 TB. butter, divided
3-4 hand-sized russet potatoes, peeled and sliced (around 2 lbs.)
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
6 Cups chopped cauliflower
8 Cups chopped collard greens
1/4-2 tsp. salt, to taste
1/4-2 tsp. pepper, to taste
2 TB fox point seasoning
4 Cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 Cup milk (more or less based on how thick/smooth you want this to be)
Directions
Clean and chop the vegetables. Heat 2 TB. of the butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the potatoes, onion, vegetables, salt, pepper and seasoning, if using. Cook a minute, stirring, then add the broth or water, reduce heat to medium and cook until vegetables are soft. Stir regularly to prevent sticking. Add the milk and pureè with an immersion blender or pureè in small batches using a regular blender. Add the remaining butter, taste for seasoning and add additional milk if you desire a thinner consistency.
There is more sportsing going on this weekend, I’m pretty sure. And then there is the Superbowl on the horizon. Perfect excuse to fine-tune your queso skills and score your own points with friends who will love you for the sake of cheese. And being together of course. But with cheese.
I was challenged today that instead of To Do lists for the New Year, we should be making To Be lists. Well, if it were possible, my list would go like this: To Be: 1) Cheese. I imagine if this were true, self-love would be so much easier. Because I LOVE cheese.
Three Cheese Queso Dip
Adapted from Food and Wine
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup skim milk
1 3/4 pounds white American cheese, sliced 1/3 inch thick and diced
1 cup coarsely shredded Manchego cheese (3 1/2 ounces)
1 cup coarsely shredded sharp white cheddar cheese (3 1/2 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
Tortilla chips
Chopped cilantro
Fresh salsa, for serving
In a small saucepan, combine the heavy cream and milk and bring just to a simmer. Transfer to a large heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Add the three cheeses and heat, whisking occasionally, until completely melted, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic powder and gradually whisk in the buttermilk; heat until thoroughly incorporated and the queso is very smooth, about 5 minutes. Keep warm over very low heat and serve with tortilla chips, cilantro and fresh salsa.
To a new year. There will be books. Looking back on 2016, I will say that it was a failure somewhat from a resolution standpoint, but perhaps rightly so. It was to be the year of Chocolate, and I received some support from several chocolatiers to realize my goal of making one chocolate dish per week. My favorite here. And yet, “so stout at starting and so early lost,” says Dante. Well, you know, residency is a tad time-consuming. I think I made about two or three month’s worth of weekly chocolate dishes. I guess chocolate didn’t have the inherent drive for me like the haiku, which is a surprise, surprise. Not. I’m a Francie, not a Piggie.
I’ve been inspired by Francie from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Betty Smith’s heroine is made to read one page from a book everyday—the Bible and Shakespeare. The precocious girl ups the ante to one book per day, remarkable child. One page a day seems reasonable. I’ll check in periodically with updates on the reading, and of course, with reviews.
I’m also going to call this the Year of the Cookbook. I am loving all the requests Bake This Day has been getting lately for cookbook reviews, and I’ll try to keep up! Got some great titles in my latest stack—the food photography has me drooling.
KP and I made this for some friends while home for Christmas, and I’ll say it was like a healthy version bread pudding. You really can’t tell that there are any bagels in there—the egg dominates the texture. I added a bunch of spicy jalapenos and thai bird chiles on the top because I love spicy breakfast, and because red and green for Christmas. Super delicious, bakes very well.
Everything Bagel Breakfast Casserole
Adapted from Food and Wine
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
10 large eggs
2 1/2 cups half-and-half
6 oil-packed Calabrian chiles—drained, seeded and minced
Kosher salt
Pepper
1 pound day-old everything bagels (3 large)—any kind of bagel will probably work, cut into 1-inch pieces (9 cups)
1 small bunch of curly kale, stemmed and chopped (5 cups)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/4 cup finely chopped basil leaves
2 tablespoons minced rosemary
2 scallions, thinly sliced
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (2 ounces)
Yet another shameless plug for Safeway Bagels in Portland, Oregon. The best bagels I know of on the planet.
Lightly grease a 3-quart oval baking pan. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the half-and-half, chiles, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Stir in the bagel pieces and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the mushrooms and kale and season with salt and pepper. Cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until tender and wilted, about 7 minutes. Stir in the cherry tomatoes, basil and rosemary and cook until the tomatoes start to soften, about 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the scallions; season with salt and pepper. Let cool slightly.
Fold the vegetables and shredded cheeses into the bagel mixture, then transfer to the prepared baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350°. Remove the plastic wrap and cover the baking pan with foil. Bake for 40 minutes, remove the foil and bake for 45 minutes more, or until the top is puffed and golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand for 20 minutes before serving.
Thanks to all my family in the Pacific Northwest for hosting a fabulous Christmas!
And to my brother for hands down the best present of the year. Love you Dave.
After the holidays, I have the strange certainty that my organs are staging a mutiny against my person. I suppose there would be some justice to that, in particular with regard to my pancreas and liver. I feel ready for some kind of cleanse, but also know that I’m no monk. This year there will be more exercise, there will be more whole foods, and many dinners made with the pasta machine and spiralizer I got for Christmas. But first, there will be one more cocktail.
Cascade Icetini
To mix, use 3oz of Cascade Ice Cranberry Pomegranate, 2oz of vodka and the juice of a lime. Stir the contents in your shaker with a handful of ice and garnish with a candy cane.
This post was inspired and sponsored by Cascade Ice. Thank you for the beautiful rainbow of delicious beverages in the mail!
One of my favorite Christmas memories was in a New Orleans church service in 2007. The pastor proclaimed himself to be a “reformed musician” –having left the wild partying life, he still brought his saxophone into the pulpit to accompany the choir. That night it was an advent service and to kick off the hymn sing, a blind black woman was guided onto the stage. The pastor handed her a microphone and then picked up his sax. He began to play some intro notes and I smiled because it was a song I knew, didn’t even need to get out the hymnal. But what was it? “Hang all the mistletoe,” she began in a sultry gospel voice, “I’m gonna get to know you better…. This Christmas.” Wait a second, I smiled, is this a hymn? “Fireside is blazing briiiight. And we’re caroling through the niiiiiight.”
And then she belted out the chorus, and we all sang along, “And this Christmas, will be, a very special Christmas, for meeeee!” Amazing moment. Some churches hold candles and sing 19th century carols like Silent Night in the original German, others groove to Donny Hathaway 1970’s Greatest Hits. I know where I fit in the scheme of things. I hope you do too. May you be with some loved ones, critters, all.
Blueberry Gingerbread
Adapted from Penzeys Spice
2 Cups frozen blueberries (do not thaw)
2 TB. sugar
2 TB. blueberry vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
1/2 Cup sour cream, crème fraîche or plain yogurt
1 1/2 Cups flour
1/2 Cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. powdered ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. mace
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 TB. molasses
1/2 Cup butter (1 stick), melted
Directions
In a small bowl, toss the berries with the sugar and vinegar. Let stand for 1 hour so they get juicy.
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 1 1/2-quart baking dish and set aside. Drain the berries well, reserving the juice. Set the berries aside. In a large bowl, combine the reserved juice and the sour cream. In a second bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, ginger, salt, mace, and cinnamon. Mix well and set aside. Stir the eggs, molasses and melted butter into the sour cream mixture. Add 1/2 cup of the flour mix to the batter and beat well. Gradually add the rest of the dry ingredients to the batter and beat on high until smooth and a bit fluffy. Spread 2/3 of the batter into the pan. Arrange the berries evenly over the batter.
Spoon the remaining batter in mounds over the top of the berries. It’s okay if some of the berries are peeking through. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Cool on a rack. Dust with powdered sugar and top with whipped cream if desired.
And this Christmas, will be, a very special CHRISTMAAAAAS for meeeeeee!
Well I just watched a monarch butterfly land on a lush red blossom that exploded overnight on the Mexican Flame Vine crawling up the lattice outside my kitchen window. December, folks, December in New Orleans. A chilly winter’s day, such that my petunias mistake it for spring.
To get in the holiday spirit, I’ve been baking the Christmas usuals, chiefly, gingerbread. But I’ve also happened upon a new favorite—the kringle.
This little dessert takes at least 8 hours to make. And not just rising time—rolling, shaping, folding dough sort of time. Some versions of the recipe have these steps carrying on for 3 days. Let’s be reasonable, people, this is a Danish donut. Really? Well, I can scarcely say that I’ve achieved a better product in 8 hours than what resulted here. Definite contender for Christmas morning’s featured pastry. Move over cinnamon rolls.
Pecan Maple Glazed Kringle
Adapted from Food and Wine
DOUGH
1/2 cup whole milk
¾ cup sourdough starter
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
FILLING
1 1/2 cups pecans
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus melted butter for brushing
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
GLAZE
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons milk
Pinch of salt
MAKE THE DOUGH In a small saucepan, warm the milk over moderately low heat to 110°. Pour into a large bowl and stir in the starter and 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Let stand until foamy, 10 minutes. Whisk in the sour cream, egg, vanilla, salt and the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar. Add all but 2 tablespoons of the flour and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Coat a large bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until very smooth, 6 minutes. Form into a ball and transfer to the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 hours.
In a bowl, blend the butter with the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour until smooth. Scrape the butter onto a large sheet of plastic wrap, shape it into a 6-inch square and wrap well. Refrigerate until barely firm, about 15 minutes.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 10-by-16-inch rectangle. Set the butter square in the center of the dough.
Fold the short sides of the dough over the butter to enclose it; pinch the open ends of the packet to seal.
Rotate the packet so that one pinched end is facing you. Roll out the dough to a 15-by-8-inch rectangle.
(The butter should be pliable; chill the dough for 10 minutes if the butter is too soft.) Fold one-third of the dough into the center and the other third on top, like you would fold a letter. Turn the dough 90°. Roll out the dough again to a 15-by-8-inch rectangle and fold like a letter again. (This is 2 turns.) Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour. Repeat the rolling, folding and chilling 2 more times for a total of 6 turns. Really. Yes, really.
MEANWHILE, MAKE THE FILLING Preheat the oven to 350°. On a rimmed baking sheet, toast the nuts for 12 minutes, until golden. Let cool, then finely chop. In a bowl, mix the nuts with the flour and brown sugar. Mix in the maple syrup, 1 stick of butter, vanilla and salt. Cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Leave the oven on.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 30-by-8-inch rectangle. Spread the filling down the length of the rectangle, leaving a 2-inch border of dough on each side. Fold one long side over the filling, then fold the other long side on top, overlapping by 1/2 inch; pinch to seal.
Slide the dough onto a large sheet of parchment paper and roll it over so it’s seam side down. Shape the dough into a ring: Moisten the inside of one end with water and place the other end inside, pinching to seal. Slide the parchment and kringle onto a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate until chilled, 30 minutes.
Brush the kringle all over with melted butter and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake the kringle in the center of the oven for about 50 minutes, until puffed and golden; some of the filling may seep out. Let the kringle cool for 30 minutes.
MAKE THE GLAZE In a medium bowl, whisk all of the ingredients together until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the kringle and let stand for 15 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving. And there you have it. Christmas in your mouth.
If you are feeling run down by the pace of the holidays, what with Christmas shopping, baking, travelling, and over-boozing at parties – I think I have a special drank for you, beautiful. An elixir, if you will. Sounds medicinal, right? Maybe it is. My mother likes to boil ginger in honey and drink a home-made tea of that when she is feeling under the weather or nauseated. This is kind of like that but with the added bonus of cardamom, cayenne, mint and turmeric!
This drink is super spicy and tastes like righteousness and reversal. I think I can feel it going straight to my liver, in a good way. Not sure what that means, but I now know what it tastes like…
Turmeric Ginger Elixir for Holiday Detox
Adapted from Food and Wine
1/4 cup honey
One 4-inch cinnamon stick
2 green cardamom pods
2 large mint leaves
Two pinches of cayenne
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 ounces fresh turmeric
One 4-inch piece of fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
In a small saucepan, bring 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil with the honey, cinnamon stick and cardamom over moderate heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in the mint, cayenne and salt. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled. Discard the cinnamon stick, cardamom and mint.
In an electric juicer, juice the turmeric and ginger. Whisk the juice with the spiced honey syrup and the lemon juice. Serve chilled. – I wanted to stretch my juice out and so I diluted the honey/turmeric/ginger concentrate in L’Croix plain sparkling water. Poinsettas and flowers a loving gift from KP– awwwww.
A week ago, I attended my first ever blogger/foodie conference, ShiftCon in New Orleans. I felt like my hometown, Portland Oregon, came to NOLA to visit me. Hoards of white women badgered the Creole wait staff about whether or not the potatoes and carrots served were organic or not, “I dunno, lady! Stop aksing me!?” Until eventually they just started to lie and say Yes, which made the white granola ladies even more panicky as they sensed they were being lied to. Hysterical cultural clash.
Big highlight for me was getting to meet Dr. Tierona Low Dog, who just published a book on vitamin supplementation, Fortify Your Life, that gives a simple but harrowing call to its readers to strongly consider taking a multivitamin daily, regardless of how well you think you are eating. She decries recent CDC survey data of the NHANES which suggests Americans are impressively deficient in Vitamin D, several B vitamins, and iodine (thanks, fancy, non-fortified salts). The other important point she made is that vegetables today are not what they once were in terms of mineral content. We have leeched our soil, she evidences her claims with data from the American Department of Agriculture which compares mineral content in cabbage, tomatoes and spinach from 1914 to the stuff we were growing in 1997, which have about 10 percent the magnesium, calcium and iron they once did—and one can imagine the other vitamins not assayed in this study might be similarly depleted.
I’ve been taking a MegaFoods vitamin daily ever since her talk, and probably will forever now. Also because I got a bunch free in my SWAG bag—seriously the best haul of goods I’ve ever collected at a conference.
I will be sharing some of my favorite products from my favorite booths over the coming months. But a HUGE thank you to ShiftCon for hosting me as a blogger—I hope to return again and again to be privy to the important conversation—how can our foods and daily products better serve our bodies and at the same time be safe for our environment?
Cannellini Beans With Spinach, to Celebrate #ShiftCon
1 head of garlic, halved crosswise; plus 2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 sage leaves
6 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more for serving
Kosher salt
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 bunches mature spinach, trimmed
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Bring beans, head of garlic, sage, 3 Tbsp. oil, and 6 cups water to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Reduce heat, add several generous pinches of salt and simmer gently until beans are creamy all the way through but skins are still intact, 35–45 minutes. Let cool.
Heat 3 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium. Cook crushed garlic and red pepper flakes, stirring, just until garlic is golden, about 1 minute. Working in batches, add spinach, letting it wilt slightly before adding more, and cook, tossing often, until leaves are just wilted, about 5 minutes; season with salt.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer beans to skillet with spinach and cook, tossing gently, until beans are warmed through. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and ¼ cup bean cooking liquid and toss, adding more cooking liquid if needed, until coated (mixture should be saucy but not submerged in liquid; don’t cook too long or beans will get mushy). Taste and season with salt. Serve drizzled with oil.
Thanks again to all of the sponsors for contributing to ShiftCon and for making the conference such a smashing success!
There is thin-sliced tuna, and then there is tuna tuna. Apparently, tuna is a frightening prospect to some because of the threat of unknown mercury levels. Recently, Safe Catch reached out and offered me a sample of their product which guarantees that every fish included in their tuna is mercury tested. So if you are a pregnant lady– this tuna is for you!
Mom, the major tuna-lover in the family, tried out the following Tuna Cakes recipe.
My Mom felt that since these were a classic coconut flavor, they would benefit from cilantro and lime. Plus she added 1/4 cup of sourdough bread crumbs to the recipe included with the tuna box.
She also made a yummy saffron sauce to go with these:
1/2 cup Mayo
2 T Creme Fraiche
pinch of saffron
2 teaspoons of Siracha sauce
MMMMMM!
Mom says “the tuna is beautiful, sort of looks like a halibut upgrade in the can, not pink like cat food grocery store tuna. I may be spoiled, now.”
