Minty Green Juice

I recently had a DELICIOUS juice at a local organic cafe. 
Even though I LOVED the juice, and have wanted to have another one, I haven't gone back. Why not? Because I didn't want to pay another $10 for a juice! Especially when I have a juicer at home! 
So ... the other day I found a beautiful fresh pineapple and decided this morning  that I would have a go at making a juice that was at least similar! 
It was EVEN MORE DELICIOUS that the one I had bought! 
And it was so easy to make.  If you have a juicer, give it a go! 
I don't really have measurements.   But here's what I did, in the best way I can explain it.
I used two apples.  I think they were pink ladies. I used three huge handfuls of fresh baby spinach leaves.  I grabbed a big handful of mint out of our garden and I cut up that pineapple and used part of that as well.  
I'd say I used equal parts pineapple and apple ... but maybe a bit more pineapple if anything.
I put it all through the juicer and that's it! 
A little trick I learned when I did a stint helping out in a cafe ...  put the leafy things between more bulky items (like the apples and pineapple).  It seems to help them as they go through the juicing process.  
** 
What's your favourite things to run through the juicer? Let me know in the comments!
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Pumpkin Pom Salad

 

Oh yum!  I want to make this again.  It sure was tasty!

I found this recipe on pinterest.  They used sweet potato but my husband prefers pumpkin and I love both so no biggie!  I didn't really measure the salad ingredients.  I just grabbed a big plate and piled stuff on.  Is there really any need to measure when good, wholesome, salad ingredients are involved?!

kent pumpkin (I just roasted a bunch thinking I'd keep the leftovers, there were no leftovers!)
baby salad greens (baby kale, spinach, rocket (arugula), etc.)
pomegranate seeds
crumbled feta
pistachios, toasted & chopped
coriander (cilantro), chopped
2-3 chopped spring onions, white and green parts



I did the dressing just as the recipe called for, adjusting just a little bit to taste:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 clove minced garlic
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar
salt & pepper, to taste
 
Preheat your oven to 400F/200C. Chop the pumpkin into bite size pieces. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast in the oven for 20ish minutes.  I just keep tasting after 20 minutes til they are the consistency I like. (possible reason there were no leftovers?!)

Mix all dressing ingredients.  I just threw them all in a mason jar and shook it up.

Assemble salad.  I started with greens and coriander (which is technically a green), then added the pumpkin, pomegranate seeds, spring onions and feta.  Top with dressing and pistachios.

Add Some Proscuitto to That !

Remember the Silverbeet, Pink Lady and Gruyere Toasted Sandwich recipe I posted a a couple of months ago ?  Have you tried it yet ?  Well, if not ... you should try this one instead !! 

It's basically the same as the other one with some additions ... (prosciutto, shredded carrot, mushrooms and provolone cheese)

Here's what I did ...

Silverbeet, a whole big bunch (any green would be suitable!)
Shallots, finely diced
Shredded Carrot (I probably won't do this again, but it needed to be used up so I threw it in)
Mushrooms, sliced
3 or 4 slices of Prosciutto, chopped
Fuji apple, thinly sliced
Wholegrain mustard
Gruyere cheese, grated
Provolone cheese, grated
Wholewheat, grain bread

I used a whole big bunch of silverbeet.  This will seem like heaps !  It's ok.  It wilts so much !

Heat up your sandwich press.

Cut out the stems of the silverbeet and chop it up.  Sautee shallots and silverbeet (and carrots if using) in a bit of olive oil. Add prosciutto, cook to your desired crispness. 

To assemble the sandwich ... Bread, mustard, cheese, apple, mushrooms silverbeet, cheese, mustard and bread.  (The last recipe had a drizzle of olive oil and salt on the outside of the bread. I didn't bother with that last time and there was no difference in taste !)

Put in sandwich press and cook until desired toasty-ness of bread and melty-ness of cheese has been achieved.

Silverbeet, Pink Lady & Gruyere Toasted Sandwich

 

I'm always looking for new sandwich ideas.  Especially toasted ones !

I pinned this recipe a while back and just finally got around to trying it.
I'm glad I did.  Rory is too.  The kids ate it but they weren't excited about it.

You can find the original recipe here ... I made a few subtle changes.

Silverbeet, a whole big bunch
Shallots, finely diced
Pink Lady apple, thinly sliced
Wholegrain mustard
Gruyere cheese, grated
Wholewheat, grain bread

I used a whole big bunch of silverbeet.  This will seem like heaps !  It's ok.  It wilts so much !

Heat up your sandwich press.

Cut out the stems of the silverbeet and chop it up.  Sautee shallots and silverbeet in a bit of olive oil.

To assemble the sandwich ... Bread, mustard, cheese, apple,  silverbeet, cheese, mustard and bread.  Drizzle one side of bread with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with salt.  Put that side down in the sandwich press.  Drizzle the top piece of bread with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and then close the sandwich press. 

Cook until desired toasty-ness of bread and melty-ness of cheese has been achieved.

Rory and I thought this would be even better with big sliced of mushroom on it !  Will try that next time.

Creamy Ham and Greens

 

So, last night was a bit of a scrounge around and see what I could find to make for dinner.  I need to go shopping but I'm really not motivated to do it because we have two late sporting nights ... tonight and tomorrow ... and then it's Friday ... and then we have another Christmas party ... and I'm waiting on the $250 food voucher that should be coming today ( it was part of the deal we got when we bought our new fridge last week )  And ... And ... And ... 

What I came up with was ... spanish tortilla ... potatoes baked like for spicy potatoes but without the spicy.

I had some ham in the freezer that needed using, I had silverbeet, rainbow chard and kale in the garden that needed picking, I had a bit of cream leftover from Rory's birthday carbonara and I always have garlic and onion on hand .... 

This is what came of those ingredients.

1.5 cups slivered ham, chopped ( I had a triple smoked one )
3 cups mixed greens, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 a red onion, diced
cream,  (I only had 1/4 of a cup and I think it was plenty !)

Start with a bit of olive oil in the bottom of your pan, add garlic and ham.  I started with the heat pretty hot and then turned it to medium pretty quick.  Once the garlic and ham have started to brown, add onion.  Cook a minute or two more than add the greens.  Cook a minute or two and then add the cream.  Cook a minute or two more ... or until the cream is no longer runny and seems to be coating the other ingredients.  Serve hot.  So yum !!

This served the four of us.

Kale Crisp

When Steamy Kitchen posted this recipe for Crispy Kale, I had to try it !! And I liked it ! I munched on it while dinner cooked and then served it to the family as one of the side dishes with that dinner ! Yum Yum Yum. I haven't seen kale since but as soon as I find some more, I'll be making this again !!

It was super easy. All the specifics are over at Steamy Kitchen and you should pop over there and read before you try this but basically you just chop a bunch of Kale (take the center bit out), drizzle with olive oil, bake in a 180C/350F oven til crispy. Took about 15 minutes in my oven. The trick is to not let them burn !! I had a few burned ones and they were pretty bitter !! Once you take them out of the oven, sprinkle them with sea salt and yum !! yum !! yum !!

I need to go find me some kale ...

Eeek ! It's 6:04am. My computer time is finished for this morning. I'm going to hit publish and be on with my day !!

Not For Beginners ...

I made this green smoothie this morning. I was just adding as I went and tasting. I got to this very green stage, had a taste and was surprised by the fact that I LOVED IT ! But, it was VERY GREEN tasting and probably not good for a beginner green smoothier !! I know I wouldn't have liked these a few months ago ... But easing into it with fruitier ones has gotten me here !!

I'm at the end of the week ... need to shop today or tomorrow,
so I pretty much just dug through the fridge and did a big cleanout into the blender !



I used ... a very little bit of mango off the seed that was (oddly) leftover.
One peach.
One nectarine.
A spoonful of homemade peanut/cashew butter.
and a lot of snow pea sprouts !



I blended that up and then added all of the baby spinach I had left in the fridge.
Added about 1/2 a cup of water and whizzed it up again !
DONE !



I poured my glass, then added a cup of frozen blueberries to the remaining mixture, whiz whiz whiz and we're done ... kid approved green smoothies !!



Yum Yum !

Green Smoothie - Day One - Khrista

My artsy portrait of Day One's green smoothie. :)

Stage 1: 5 oz. frozen strawberries, 2 frozen bananas, 2 clementines (peeled), 1 1/4 cups filtered water.

Stage 2: Fruit blended for approx. 3 minutes, agave nectar, and 4 cups organic baby spinach waiting.

Stage 3: In they go!

So pretty!

Stage 4: Blended for at least 3 more minutes.
In the end it made approx. 4 cups.
3 of which I drank, and my daughter drank the remaining cup.
Ready to pour...

My beautiful glass that I sipped on for about an hour. Held me over until lunch.

This was my lunch:

Fresh green salad with cucumber, grape tomatoes, diced fennel, sliced almonds, and crispy chow mein noodles. I know they aren't the best for you (I haven't actually checked the ingredients as this was in an unmarked baggy from a previous salad, I wonder if they are terribly awful?)
Neither was the Asian dressing I topped it off with.
Baby steps. :)

On the menu for dinner:
Equadorian Quinoa Vegetable Soup

Australian Roast Veggies - with a Bonnie Twist

We loooooooooooove veggies done this way !
Super easy. I had some ham steaks in the freezer. Pulled them out to serve with the veggies.
Just heated them up. Made Mom's Pineapple Sauce.

For the veggies :

Cut up whatever you like and lay on baking paper lined cookie sheets ( or baking dish ) I usually do one tray of potatoes and one tray of the rest, since the potatoes take longer to cook. What have I got there ? Potatoes. I slice them about 1/2 an inch thick. Pumpkin. (you could do sweet potato) I do largish pieces. Carrots. I half them and then cut the halves lengthways so thy are flat on one side. Onions, peel and chop in half. Garlic, cut off end but leave in skin. They just pop out once cooked ! ( but if you cook them without the skins, they will burn ) I lay them flat ... not overlapping at all. I rub with olive oil and cook in a hot (180/200 C) oven. I usually do the potatoes for about 15/20 minutes before putting the other veggies in. Then do the rest til they are done. (maybe another 20 minutes but you'll have to play, depending on your oven !!)

The greens. This time I just threw garlic, onion, asparagus into some sesame oil, added bok choy at the end with some soy sauce. Once wilted, I added a bit of balsamic vinegar and pine nuts. Delicious !

Some times I serve the veggies with a bit of Allioli ...

Allioli (from all i oli, Catalan for "garlic and oil", Spanish Ajoaceite from "ajo y aceite" or Alioli) is a typical paste of the Balearic Islands, Valencia and Catalonia. It is made by pounding garlic with olive oil and salt in a mortar until a smooth texture is obtained. It differs from Provençal aioli in that it does not use eggs, although normally a small quantity of egg is added to allow a faster and easier mixing. The mix of eggs, oil and garlic is pejoratively referred as mayonnaise with garlic.

An easy way to make it ... a big blob of mayo with a spoon full of crushed garlic ( I use the stuff in the jar for this quick easy Allioli !! )

And now ... I must go start the day. It's Friday ... grocery shopping day ! Need to get my menu planned and my list made !!