Delicious Morning Juice

I have not forgotten about my blog. I have written numerous blog posts in my head over the past year that just never seemed to make it to the computer. Today, I’m sharing a recipe for a current favorite juice of mine as well as a few other favorites I enjoyed during my 30-day juice fast in September and October.

K’s Delicious Morning Juice

This is my hands-down current favorite juice. For less sweet juice, I suggest adding some celery. Makes approximately 1 quart.

Also, I use the smell test to select pineapples. Don’t buy or juice a green pineapple ~ I found this link which explains how to select a pineapple in more detail.

• 1/2 pineapple
• 1/3 – 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 1-2 apples
• 1-2 oranges
• 1 lime
• jalapeno, to taste (I use only a very small piece of a large jalapeno I haven’t deseeded)

Celery Grape Juice
Just adjust the ratio of grape to celery juice to adjust sweetness.  I make about half grape to half celery. If you use green grapes you will have a pretty green-colored juice. If you use red or black grapes, it is a pretty(?) lavender color.

• 1 to 1.5 pounds grapes
• 1 bunch celery

Spicy Beet Carrot Spinach juice

Organic baby carrots are my trick to eliminate prep time for carrots. Organic baby spinach only requires a quick rinse since it is already prewashed.

• baby carrots ~ enough for 12 oz juice, about 1.5 small bags
• baby spinach ~ enough for 12 oz juice
• 1-2 beets
• 1/2 normal sized jalapeno ~ stems & seeds removed
• 1-2 apples
• 1/2 – 1 lemon

Watermelon juice
Watermelons are out of season as I write this 😦. I enjoyed this juice very much at the beginning of my fast in September. This is a great use for watermelons when the texture is off, but it still has good flavor. Be sure to wash the outside of the watermelon well, even if it is organic. Makes about 2.5 quarts, depending on the size of your watermelon. For more of a vegetable juice, just juice the rinds with the lime and mint ~ it is equally as tasty.

• 1/4 watermelon ~ cut into long strips including the rind
• 1 lime
• a few sprigs mint

Pizzaladiere with Flourless Cauliflower Crust

I’ve made this cauliflower crust recipe a few times now, ever since I saw it posted on the boards at Natalia Rose’s detox community. Last night, remembering that I had one very large sweet onion, I was inspired to caramelize onions for a topping, and, oh boy, was it a hit!

My version of the crust uses much less cheese and eggs and more cauliflower than the original version. I think you can play around slightly with the ratio of “rice” to cheese. The key, in my view, is getting the crust thin enough and also nicely browned on the bottom before adding the toppings. We had no problem picking up our slices and eating by hand! Bon Appetit!

Flourless Cauliflower Crust

• 3 cups cauliflower “rice” (see recipe below)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c goat chevre
• 1 t ground oregano (adjust if using flakes or fresh)
• 1/2 t sea salt

Set oven to 425 degrees.

Mix all ingredients well in a large mixing bowl.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Shape mixture on the baking sheet so that crust is approximately 1/3″ – 3/8″ thick. I used a rubber spatula and my hand to get a smooth top and straight edge, forming a rectangular shape of approximately 14″ by 10″.

Bake crust without any toppings for 15 – 20 minutes, until crust is starting to brown on the sides and bottom. Remove from oven. At this point, you could either cool and freeze for another day or continue with the recipe below.

*Cauliflower “Rice”:  First, cut a head of cauliflower in half (2 heads if small) and place in a stock pot filled with a couple of inches of water. Steam until soft. Remove from pot and cool for a few minutes. Cut into large pieces. Next, using a food processor with an S-blade, pulse the cauliflower pieces until they resemble the size of rice – this will only take about 8 or so pulses. You will likely have to do this pulsing in 2 batches. (You want to make sure extra liquid is removed at this point, wringing out the “rice” in a clean towel as needed.) Measure out about 3 cups or so of the cauliflower “rice” for the pizza crust and save the rest for another use or another crust.

Pizzaladiere

• 1 pre-baked cauliflower crust (above)
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• 2-3 T coconut oil (or butter)
  
• good quality sea salt
• 1/2 c shredded raw goats milk cheddar style cheese (optional as crust already has cheese)
  
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes (about 15), sliced in half
• 1/2 T fresh thyme, chopped (or smaller amount of dried)

Place onion in large saucepan with oil or butter and let cook over low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt. It is important to cook the onions at a low temperature so they cook in their juices and do not burn. Remove from heat when dark golden and mushy.

Sprinkle the shredded goat cheddar evenly over the pre-baked crust, followed by the cooked onions. Next, place the cherry tomatoes on the crust, and dust with the thyme.

Place in 425 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

Chocolate Granita

A client asked me a question the other day. I can’t remember the question, but remember the answer: granita!!! Then I remembered that I had just acquired a cookbook about ice cream and other cold treats. So…here is my recipe for chocolate granita, adapted from David Lebovitz’s chocolate granita recipe in The Perfect Scoop. I’ve found lots of inspiration in his book and can’t wait to experiment with more of his recipes this summer. I think a pink grapefruit granita will be next, which I am planning to sweeten only with stevia to make it super detox friendly!

Chocolate Granita

makes about 1/2 quart

• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup agave or sweetener of your choice
• small pinch salt
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (I used Theo 70% dark)
• 1/4 teaspoon plain liquid stevia (I use/highly recommend NuNaturals)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a saucepan, whisk together water, agave, salt, and cocoa powder. Heat to just boiling and immediately remove from heat. Add in chopped chocolate and stir until melted. Finally, stir in liquid stevia and vanilla extract. Let cool slightly.

Pour into a square or rectangular pan with an approximate volume of 1 liter. The pan should be large enough that the mixture only comes up 1/4″ or so on the sides of the pan. (I used an 8″ x 8″ Pyrex.)

Place in freezer. Begin checking after about 1 hour. As mixture begins to freeze around the edges and bottom, take a fork and stir to break up the frozen chunks. Do this every 30 minutes until mixture is thoroughly frozen into beautiful, fine crystals. (I got impatient and ate mine quite slushy. It was utterly delicious – very chocolately, fudgy and creamy without being too filling!)

Comforting Soups for Fall

With the weather turning cooler lately, I’ve started making more soups. Carrot ginger soup has been a favorite of mine for years. Recently, inspired by a recipe in my blender recipe book, I came up with the broccoli soup described below that is oh-so easy! The broccoli soup has been getting rave reviews from my family lately.

Enjoy!

Carrot Ginger Soup

• pat of butter
• 1 yellow onion, sliced or roughly chopped
• 8 large carrots, uniformly chopped
• 1 inch ginger, chopped (or to taste)
• 6 cups broth
  

In a stock pot, saute the onion in butter until soft and translucent. Add remaining ingredients and cook until carrots are soft. Blend in batches in a blender (or use a hand blender). Taste and adjust seasoning. Makes 4 servings.

Creamy Broccoli Soup

• 2 large bunches broccoli, uniformly chopped including stems
• 1/2 cup water for steaming
• 1 Tbsp butter or olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 – 1 cup plain unsweetened almond milk or more water (I typically use only water, esp if I am using goat cheese)
• 3/4 cup goats milk cheddar style cheese, optional

Place broccoli in pan with a small amount of water, about 1/2 cup or more if needed. Steam until just soft, about 5 minutes. Put brocolli in blender with the cooking liquid. Add remaining ingredients to blender except the extra water and blend, adding more liquid as needed to achieve desired consistency. Blend in batches if needed and be careful blending hot liquids. Taste and adjust seasoning. Makes 1-2 servings.

Italian Salad, Vegetable Patties and Other Things

We had a simple Fourth of July meal at home that exemplifies the way I like to plan my everyday meals so everyone is happy. This included an Italian green salad, Jamie Oliver inspired grilled marinated vegetables, among other things for my family. For myself, I pulled a homemade vegetable patty from our freezer. Below are the recipes for the Italian salad and the vegetable patties. The Jamie Oliver vegetables, which were a bit more fuss, will have to wait for another post.

Italian Salad

This salad is inspired by a recipe in Natalia Rose’s first book The Raw Food Detox Diet. I have made it many different ways. I remember bringing it to a dinner party when we were living in Buenos Aires and my friends’ husbands just lingered at the dinner table picking the salad bowl clean with their fingers.

If you use pesto as a dressing, massage very little into the salad as it packs a lot of flavor and omit the extra basil listed in the recipe. If you don’t use pesto as a dressing, still limit the amount of dressing (taste it for seasoning) as I am not one to overdress a salad. (If you are beyond vinegar and oil, you know how to adapt…)  Serves 2-4.

• 1/2  – 1 head romaine or red leaf lettuce (a little arugula would be good in the mix, too)
• 1/2 zucchini, coarsely grated
• 10 olives, pitted and sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper or 1 roma tomato, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, coarsely chopped (optional, nice for color)
• 6 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked and chopped
• 10 large basil leaves, chopped (omit if use pesto as a dressing)
• freshly grated sheep milk Pecorino cheese (optional)
• dressing of your choice**

Toss vegetables and grated Pecorino with dressing. Add fresh ground pepper, if desired.

**Nut-free pesto recipe: 2 cups firmly packed basil leaves, 1/2 cup Pecorino (optional), 1/2 tsp sea salt, 2 cloves garlic, and 1/2 cup olive oil. Blend or process ingredients in a food processor. This will make much more than is needed in the Italian salad recipe.

**Balsamic vinaigrette recipe: 2 T balsamic vinegar, 2 T olive oil, big pinch of sea salt, 1 small clove minced/pressed garlic. Eyeball measurements into a jar with a lid, cover and shake.

Vegetable Patties

I always compost my juice pulp. Even my husband knows the life force is in the juice, not the pulp. But, a little vegetable fiber never hurt anyone, eh? It was only in a quest to come up with a vegetable patty recipe that tastes better than a Sunshine Burger and has no soy, beans, or nuts that I came up with this recipe. I think grated carrots and celery would work in this recipe if you squeeze out some of the juice and/or reduce the amount of liquid added. While somewhat experimental, I’ve made this recipe twice – both times with satisfactory results. (Sorry I forgot to write down quantities for garlic and onion powder. Start with about 1/2 teaspoon each and adjust up.)

• 2 cups or more fresh juice pulp, primarily carrot mixed with a small amount of celery or other vegetables of your choosing
• 3 cups cooked millet or quinoa
• 1/2 cup millet flour or flour of your choice
• 2-4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons dried parsley
• garlic powder
• onion powder

Mix together all ingredients listed. Roll up your sleeves and work mixture together well with your hands. The mixture should be moist, not wet at all, and should feel like it will come together in a patty. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Shape mixture into patties about 1/2 inch thick and 3 inches in diameter. Patties should be tightly formed as they are somewhat delicate to hold together. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before cooking or freeze on a cookie sheet, transferring to a more compact storage container after frozen.

If frozen, partially thaw before cooking. Sauté in a non-stick pan with a small amount of butter or coconut oil. Turn when lightly browned and crispy. The patties are somewhat delicate so be careful when you turn. Enjoy with your condiment of choice in a lettuce wrap or on their own.

I love purple cabbage!

I was reminded of how much I love this vegetable last weekend when I brought a crudite (raw vegetable) platter with some no-bean hummus to a friend’s house. My friend couldn’t stop talking about, or eating, the purple cabbage. It was her grandma’s favorite vegetable.

I like to cut up the leaves of purple cabbage into chip-sized shapes. I am very particular about how I cut up my vegetables, and I also love color! For color variety, I always include carrots on a crudite platter, lately slicing on the diagonal into oval shapes. I also include either round slices of cucumber or zucchini. For something red, I include grape tomatoes or red bell pepper. For the bell peppers, I cut them into pieces that are a little larger than 1-inch squares, which are a good dipping size. There are many other vegetable options for color and variety that I haven’t mentioned!

For dips, I often make some variation of guacamole, many times making it as simple as smashed avocado, lemon or lime juice, and Celtic sea salt. (This is where my hand citrus juicer comes in very handy.)

Lately, I’ve been making hummus that substitutes peeled zucchini for the beans. This recipe is from Doris Choi, a fabulous NYC-based chef. Start by peeling 2 zucchini and cut into chunks. Then, blend the chunks of zucchini with 1/4 cup tahini, 2 cloves garlic, the juice of 1 lemon, a dash of cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. Very easy!

I also LOVE cabbage sandwiches. I cut up the cabbage leaves into large bite-size pieces and then put a small dollop of Dijon mustard on each piece of cabbage along with a small slice of a raw milk cheddar-style cheese (Alta Dena raw goat’s cheddar is wonderful). As a variation, substitute salsa and avocado slices for the mustard and cheese and make a Mexican style raw vegetable appetizer.

Another good thing about cabbage is that it lasts much longer in the refrigerator than other produce. If I’m at a loss for what to add to a green salad, I always have some cabbage and have resorted to a handful of thinly sliced purple cabbage in salads for color and excitement. If the heads of cabbage at your local grocer seem too large for your tastes, most grocers will happily slice the cabbage in half for you.

Brussels Sprouts and Roasted Red Onions

While we have downsized a lot since leaving California, I still kept a few old foodie magazines. This recipe is from an old Gourmet issue, with some minor modifications. It was one of my contributions to the Thanksgiving dinner we just attended, and it went over very well. The original recipe called for twice the amount of red onions, so if you are a red onion fan, go for it.

Brussels Sprouts and Roasted Red Onions

• 4-5 medium red onions
• 1 T melted coconut oil (or melted butter)
• 2 pounds Brussels sprouts
• 1-2 T Dijon mustard
• 3 T butter

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Cut onions in half along the roots and trim, keeping root ends intact. Cut each half lengthwise into 6 wedges, keeping wedges intact as much as possible. In a large bowl toss onions with 1 T melted coconut oil and salt and pepper to taste. In 2 shallow baking pans, arrange onions in one layer and roast in upper and lower thirds of oven 20 minutes. Carefully turn onions over and switch position of pans. Roast onions another 20 minutes, or until just tender and some edges are golden brown.

Trim ends of Brussels sprouts and cut in half. Have ready a large bowl of ice and cold water. In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook sprouts just until tender, about 6 -9 minutes. (I cook at altitude now, so I would recommend testing at 6 minutes for doneness, and cooking a little longer as needed.) Drain in colander and immediately transfer to the ice bath to stop cooking. Drain again after vegetables are cooled down. (Vegetables may be prepared up to this point 1 day ahead and refrigerated separately.)

In a small bowl stir together mustard and water. In a 12-inch heavy skillet (I used a stockpot) cook onions and sprouts in 3 T butter over moderately high heat, stirring, until heated through and stir in mustard mixture and salt and pepper to taste. Serves 8 generously.

Crazy for Kale Chips

We are currently crazy for kale chips in our house. It’s our new thing. Since I don’t own a dehydrator, I’ve been playing around with making kale chips in the oven on different temperatures. I prefer to use a lower temperature, but not too low because once I put them in the oven, I am impatient to eat them! Since oven temperatures vary greatly, watch your “chips” the first time you make them to make sure they are not getting overly crispy.

I highly recommend using an extra virgin coconut oil in this recipe, although you could use melted butter or olive oil. The coconut oil adds a subtle sweetness without actually adding any sweetener, a nice contrast to the saltiness of the tamari. Coconut oil has gotten unjust criticism for years and actually has many healthful benefits and is a great oil for cooking.

Kale Chips

• 1 bunch kale (I like curly green kale)
• 1-2 T coconut oil (I use Nutiva organic extra virgin coconut oil)
• 1/4 t sea salt
• 1/4 t tamari or shoyu
  

Preheat oven to 250°. Tear kale leaves from stem, and tear into bite-sized pieces. Set stems aside for another use, such as juicing. Wash kale pieces and dry well and place in a large mixing bowl. (I use a salad spinner to spin dry.)

Add oil and sea salt and massage well into kale pieces. Massage for at least one minute to really work the oil and salt into the folds of the kale leaves. (This is a good job for kids!) Add tamari and massage long enough to incorporate throughout. Taste and adjust seasoning. (I make my kale chips on the saltier side, but was conservative with amount of salt and tamari used in the recipe.)

Spread out kale pieces in a single layer on a large baking or pizza pan. Use two pans if needed to give the kale plenty of room – the kale leaves need to be in a single layer or they will steam. Put in oven and check after 20 minutes, pushing around any pieces stuck to the bottom of the pan with a spatula. Bake another 20 minutes, or until crisp.

Mexican Corn Salad

At least in our neck of the woods (in Boulder, Colorado), corn is getting really sweet and also really cheap. Since we bought some yesterday for 19 cents a piece at our local market, I was inspired to create this salad today for lunch. The orange pepper added beautiful color, but you could use a red or yellow bell pepper, too. Additions such as avacado and/or cooked quinoa would also work well in this salad.

Mexican Corn Salad

• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 3 ears sweet corn,cut from cob
  
• 1/2 orange bell pepper, chopped
  
• 1/3 – 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 12 black olives (such as dry cured, sun dried, or Kalamata olives), pitted and sliced

Toss everything in a salad bowl with a few tablespoons of the vinaigrette below.

Mexican Style Vinaigrette

• 1 small garlic clove
  
• 2 T. lime juice (or apple cider vinegar)
• 4 T. good quality extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 t. ground cumin, or more to taste
• big dash of sea salt

Use a garlic press to press the garlic clove into a small glass jar with a lid. Add the rest of the ingredients, cover, and shake.

Stevia Rediscovered

Stevia is derived from the leaf of the stevia plant, which is a shrub native to South America. In its most concentrated form, it is 200 to 300 times sweeter than sugar.

In 1994, stevia was approved for sale in the US as a dietary supplement, and consumers (like me), were able to buy packets of the white powdered sweetener in local health food stores. These packets sat in my pantry for a LONG time since I always seemed to add a little too much to whatever I was attempting to sweeten, and I was never fond of the slightly bitter aftertaste.

In December 2008, the news that the FDA had approved stevia as a food supplement was greeted with much enthusiasm by the health food community. With the recent announcement of the stevia product called Truvia by Cargill and Coca Cola, stevia is about to hit the big time. If you read more about stevia in the US, you will discover a history steeped in controversy around keeping an incredibly safe sweetener away from the US public until a big company like Cargill wanted to profit from it.

Manufacturing processes to produce a good tasting stevia have improved over the years. The bitter aftertaste is no longer present (at least in the top brands). Additionally, stevia is now available in liquid form. I recently tasted two different brands of liquid stevia, and would highly recommend NuNaturals liquid stevia. There are many brands on the market today, so I’m sure there are other good brands besides NuNaturals.

Below are a few recipes I came up with using the plain, alchohol free NuNaturals stevia I prefer. I have never experimented using stevia in baking, but without a doubt believe it is great for sweetening teas and other liquids – a way to add a little sweetness to your life with absolutely no sugar blues. (By the way, the book Sugar Blues is an informative and entertaining read if you are so inclined.) If you try a less expensive brand of stevia and are not impressed, try a different brand and/or experiment with different levels of sweetness. Remember, a few drops go a long way. If you are sweetening a single cup of your favorite beverage, start with 2 – 3 drops. I also carry an extra bottle around in my purse, which is primarily used to sweeten sparkling water with a squeeze of lemon at restaurants for my kids.

Sun Tea Sweetened with Stevia

• 4 bags of your favorite tea (my current favorite is Celestial Seasonings Acai Mango herbal tea)
• 6 cups water
• 30 – 40 drops liquid stevia
  

Make the sun tea with the water and tea bags. Add 30 drops of the stevia and test for sweetness – my preference is to add a total of 40 drops.

Stevia Lemonade

• 1/2 cup lemon juice (about 3-4 small lemons)
• 6 cups water
• 70 drops NuNaturals liquid stevia (this is about 3 dropperfuls)

Mix everything together in a pitcher.

P.S. Lately, I’ve been making stevia lemonade for my kids first thing in the morning. Using a hand juicer, I juice one lemon into a quart-sized Ball jar, fill with water, and add about 20 or so drops of stevia. Very quick and easy.