Green Smoothie Rocket Pops!

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I’m totally loving these popsicle molds by Tovelo. My son absolutely adores them too and has not stopped asking about them since they arrived at our door last week. We have some cheapie ones from Target as well but I’m afraid those aren’t BPA FREE. Which is why I bought these they’re not lined with BPA. Instead they’re made without the yuckies and they’re groovy.

These rocket pops remind me of the “bomb pops” I grew up on from the ice cream man.  Except that the mixtures that going into these rocket pops are100% natural! I made a green smoothie version and poured it right into the molds. Hooray for healthy treats! My mom let me borrow her VitaMix blender so I could pulverize some flax seeds and I decided I would take advantage of it’s mighty power and blend up the fresh strawberries we’d bought and make popsicles for Tristan.

Here’s what you need:

3-4 pineapples spears

1 1/2 cups of strawberries

1 banana

1 big handful of your favorite green- we used spinach and it was probably a little less than a handful. -

About a 1tsp of agave (optional)

ENJOY!

This is definitely something the kids will love to snack on for a treat. What makes it so great is that your kids will eat it right up and not care a bit about the greens AND it’s a perfect way to cool off in the summer.  My son LOVES this recipe.  Create your own and have fun with it!

What’s your favorite summer smoothie mixture?

Summer Treat: Chocolate Covered Banana Bites

My husband love, love LOVES chocolate covered banana’s. In the summertime, I can remember making them as a treat. A few of these bites on a hot summer day…is absolutely delish! Tristan had so much fun helping me in the kitchen. This recipe is so versatile- I only had a few items-(coconut, X-Mas sprinkles) on hand but you can do so much more! It’s an easy, fun, messy and interactive recipe for the kiddos.

(pardon, the bad cell phone pic)

Chocolate Covered Banana Bite’s

2 cups of semisweet chocolate -you could try white chocolate, dark chocolate, fancy flavored chocolates or nutella!

2 tbsp. of coconut oil

Assorted toppings- walnuts, almonds, peanuts, pecans, coconut, butterfinger, graham cracker, granola, toffee, sprinkles…etc.

3-4 ripe bananas

Melt chocolate and coconut oil using double boiler method  (if you have a double boiler, by all means) this will help keep chocolate smooth. Next, dip banana piece into melted chocolate and then into your choice of toppings. Place onto a cookie sheet that has been lined with wax paper. Repeat the process until finished. Place cookie sheet into the freezer for 2-3 hrs. until firm but still semi soft in center. Make these ahead of time for your next party or BBQ. Mmmm!!

You can make it a chocolate covered banana popsicle too! If you plan on serving to kids… slice banana into quarters add a wooden stick to top of one slice close with another slice and freeze. Or you can also insert a stick into the bottom of the banana and add toppings. Slicing them into quarters makes it easier for the little ones to eat (smaller popsicle). Using a fork or tongs works best when dipping the banana into the chocolate. Of course, whenever possible use organic ingredients. My son loved these -the mess was worth every bite!

What’s your favorite summertime treat?

Back to Basics Cooking

by Jill Nussinow, MS, RD, The Veggie Queen™

Trying times call for good food. If the economy’s got you down, here’s an easy way to do double duty – cook beans at home. Forget the cans, and make them from dry. Yes, they come dry in packages at the supermarket, or even better in bulk at the natural food store. If you want to upscale your purchases, buy heirloom beans from http://www.timelessfood.com/, www.ranchogordo.com or www.indianharvest.com. However, you’ll do just fine with the $1 per pound kind, too.

I prefer cooking beans in the pressure cooker because it’s fast and easy. But you can also use the crock pot or a pot on the stove. In any case, I like to presoak the beans by doing a quick soak:

Put 3 inches of water above the beans, bring to a boil for 1 minute. Turn off heat, let sit for 1 hour and drain. Then proceed with cooking.

In the pressure cooker, I use ½ cup water for each cup of beans. On the stovetop or in the crock-pot, be sure to cover the beans with liquid, or they will not thoroughly cook.

If you are pressed for time, make lentils or split peas, which don’t require presoaking and are ready in 45 minutes or less.  Older beans (and it’s hard to know what you’ve bought) take longer to cook which is why I suggest buying them from a store with good turnover. In addition, adding salt, tomatoes or other acidic-foods to beans tends to make them tough.

Legumes are packed with fiber, B vitamins, iron and other important nutrients.  If you can boil water, you can cook them. They absorb flavors well, which makes seasoning them easy. Use Indian, Mexican, Thai, Greek or your favorite herb and spice blends, or just cook them plain. Make extra when you bother so that you can stash some in the freezer for when you don’t have time to cook.

Say goodbye to the sodium-laced beans in cans, and save money, too. It’s part of going back to basics. Next up, it’s grains.

Easy Peasy  Brown Lentils

Makes 4 servings

These are plain but you can add seasonings to the cooking water if you like, just do not add salt until after they are cooked. If you use French Green lentils, aka lentils du puy, they cook even more quickly. 

2 cups lentils

Water to cover by a few inches

Salt to taste, after cooking

 Spread lentils out and pick through them to remove any rocks or dirt. (A step you always do with beans but even more important with lentils.) Rinse them and then add them to a saucepan.

Cover with water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and simmer, making sure that the water covers the lentils, for 35 minutes. Check to see if lentils are done. They should be easy to smash between your fingers. If not, keep simmering them, checking back every 5 minutes. When cooked through, turn them into chili, dip, stew, soup or your favorite lentil dish. Freeze in 2 cups increments and use later. 

Jill Nussinow, The Veggie Queen™, http://theveggiequeen.com/ and www.pressurecookingonline.com keeps extra beans in the freezer at all times. Beyond lentils you can often find her favorites: garbanzo, cannellini, appaloosa and mayacoba beans stashed.

Meatless Monday Recipe

 

I loooove eggplant it’s one of my favorite vegetables. It’s so verastile! Eggplant is a very healthy and a tasty alternative to meat. When you’re looking to buy eggplant it should be shiny, plump, firm, unwrinkled and heavy for it’s size with no scars or bruises. If you press gently on the skin, it should spring back quickly. Eggplants are rich in fiber and antioxidants also light in calories and fat. We grow eggplant every year in our garden and they’re delicious fresh. Last year we grew 2 kinds the one pictured is Japanese eggplant they’re longer and thinner.

Here’s the recipe…

Deconstructed Eggplant Parmesan

Tomato Sauce:

1 tbs. olive oil

1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion

1 clove fresh garlic, miniced (1 tsp)

2 tsp. dried oregano

2 cups of chopped fresh tomatoes

__________________________________________________________________

1 large globe eggplant cut into 4 diagonal slice, each about 3/4- inch thich

2 tbs. olive oil

4 large leaves of fresh basil

1 ball fresh mozzarella, sliced vertically into 8 thin slices

Cooking Instructions:

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook onions until almost translucent about 4 minutes. Add garlic and oregano, cook 1 minute more. Add tomatoes, bring to a simmer, and cook until tomatoes soften, about 8 minutes. Lower heat and simmer.

2. Meanwhile, heat large skillet over medium heat. Brush eggplant slices with olive oil, and cook in skillet, covered, about 4 minutes per side; they should be flexible but not mushy. Reduce heat to low. Pour tomato sauce around and over eggplant, then top each piece with basil leaf covered by 2 slices of mozzarella. Cover skillet for 1 to 2 minutes, until mozzarella just warms through.

3. Place 1 slice of eggplant on each of 4 plates, spoon additional sauce around eggplant.

Super yummy and super easy and quick too!

Enjoy~

Meatless Monday: Pumpkin Pasta & Wild Mushrooms

Picture by Food Network

On Saturday night, I tweeted about our dinner…and little did I know that so many people would be so receptive to this dish. It’s a Rachael Ray recipe out of her 365: No Repeats, A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners. I did all my shopping around her recipes for the week. I wasn’t sure how this would turn out. I happened to have most of ingredients except for the wild mushrooms. I decided to give it a whirl.

It turned out to be a great dish. It could’ve used a little more flavor - and I’m learning this as I go with these recipes…don’t be shy add more seasoning/spice/herbs than the recipe calls for. It seems to me that the recipes have been mild in flavor. Use a little extra it’ll add more depth to the dish!

The picture above is the actual Pumpkin Pasta dish.

Also, this recipe is actually called Pumpkin Pasta with Sausage and Wild Mushrooms- Omit the sausage or use soy sausage crumbles (1lb bag).

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1/4 lb of shiitake mushrooms caps
• 2 portobello mushroom caps, halved and thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup of dry white wine (eyeball it)
• 1 cup of chicken stock or broth- I used veggie
• 1 14 ounce can of pumpkin puree’
• 1/2 cup cream (2 healthy turns of the pan)
• 2-3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh sage leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• A pinch of ground cinnamon
• 1 pound penne or cellantani pasta – I used penne!
• Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to taste
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chive (12 chives)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Meanwhile, heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the EVOO (twice around the pan). Add mushrooms, garlic, and onions, to pan. Cook until the mushrooms brown, then season with salt and pepper. Deglaze pan with the wine. Add the veggie stock and heat for 1 minute. Stir in the cream, sage, nutmeg and cinnamon and adjust s&p. Reduce heat to low.

Add salt and the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta and add it to the pumpkin mixture. Top with the cheese and chives. Serve with crusty bread.

4 servings!

As Rachael Ray would say, YUM-O! Enjoy. 

Taking Stock of Making Stock by Jill Nussinow- The Veggie Queen!

 Editor’s Note: I’d like to welcome Jill Nussinow, MS, RD, a.k.a. The Veggie Queen to Recycle Your Day. As a monthly contributor she will bring much insight on pressure cooking, and vegetables while also covering green topics. Jill is the author of of the award-winning The Veggie Queen: Vegetables Get the Royal Treatment cookbook with more 100 seasonal vegetable-based recipes. The Veggie Queen is also a Pressure Cooking expert – featured in Pressure Cooking: A Fresh Look, Delicious Dishes in Minutes 75 minute DVD, featuring 14 plant-based recipes from breakfast through dessert. Jill Nussinow is an educator, author/writer, speaker& consultant. The Veggie Queen is the vegetable, vegan, and vegetarian expert!.Visit her site for recipes and much more. Also, be sure to check out her blog for tips/ideas, recipes and a wealth of information on healthy and sustainable eating!

Making stock is a great way to recycle or reuse ingredients. My stock pile (ever wonder where that term came from?) consists of unused ends, pieces and peels of vegetables such as onions, carrots, leeks, potatoes, squash, garlic and more.

I avoid cruciferous vegetables such a broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale and the others, to minimize any gaseous or sulfur order. Almost everything else is fair game. Those possibilities include mushroom stems, corn cobs, green bean ends, tomato tops, asparagus stalks and more. Inedible but still viable (not old or moldy) vegetable pieces go into the stock bag that stays in my vegetable drawer. At the end of the week, I either make stock or freeze the bag.

Sonoma county chef John Ash says that the best stock comes from the browning, or roasting, the vegetables. He thought that I’d agree with that, and I do in some instances. If your stock-making includes stove top simmering, then roast for more intense flavor. If you use a pressure cooker, it extracts the essence of the vegetables so well, that roasting is unnecessary, but still possible.

To make roasted stock, combine part of the vegetables with a couple of teaspoons of oil and roast in the oven at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, until browned. Use the directions below.

Combine at least 4 cups of roughly chopped vegetables including your bag of “stuff”, an onion, a carrot, some celery, a bay leaf, a sprig or 2 of thyme (or herbs that you like but be careful of the rosemary which can be very strong) and a few peppercorns, with a couple quarts of water. Pressure cook for 5 minutes at high pressure or simmer on stove for at least an hour.

I always have a bag of stock makings in my refrigerator or freezer. I use stock for everyday cooking and for making taste-laden soups. It gives my vegetables a second chance before the compost pile.