Tart Apple Kiwi Juice
I'm a little nuts for sour flavors. Paul will sometimes remark, as I gobble up sour candies, that I have the taste buds of a 7-year-old. It's true. I crave all things mouth-puckeringly, tear-jerkingly sour! This apple kiwi fruit juice completely hits the spot for me, it is a great, green jolt of tang with strong tropical flavors of kiwi. I can make this apple kiwi juice in under 2 minutes, including cleaning up the juicer. The great secret of this juice: it's too sour for Paul, so I get to drink it all myself! Here's how I do it:
Ingredients:
- 12 ripe kiwis, I usually cut mine in half to better fit in the juicer
- 2 granny smith apples (can be substituted for a sweeter variety if you would prefer)
Steps:
- Wash the fruit carefully, you do not need to peel or core the fruit
- Cut the kiwis and apples into pieces that can fit into your juicer.
- Juice, pour into a glass with a couple ice cubes, drink, enjoy!
The Last Salad of Winter & A Caramelized Apple Vinaigrette
Paul and I are nuts for winter fennel salads, and it turns out that our 14-month old daughter is a big fan as well... that is until we upped our game and added this amazing caramelized apple vinaigrette. Madeline ignored the salad completely and licked the vinaigrette off all the salad components, all the while loudly commenting "mmmmmm." We realize that a 14-month-old cannot be our barometer of good food, but darn it if we don't love this salad combination ourselves, and want to lick the vinaigrette off the bottom of our plates. The tart green apple, crisp fennel, sweet blood oranges and sweet and sour notes of this wonderful caramelized apple vinaigrette make this a winner.
Strawberry Rhubarb Baked Oatmeal
Mornings around our house typically involve a lot of bleary-eyed animal wrangling with infrequent interludes of serene calm involving both breakfast and the news. Last week, Paul upped the ante when he started classes for his second Masters degree, this one in Public Health. Between full time work, a 2 hour commute each day and now evening classes, we needed a new weekday breakfast strategy. Enter Strawberry Rhubarb Baked Oatmeal in jars. In this smartly conceived dish, Strawberry Rhubarb Baked Oatmeal is cleverly baked up in small canning jars, which, when cooled, can be lidded and refrigerated for up to a week for later reheating. This is a winner breakfast that we warm-up in the morning with a dash of milk, perfect for eating on the go. For those of you who are unfamiliar with baked oatmeal, it is somewhere between a less sweet fruit crisp and porridge (oatmeal) and thanks to being chock full of whole grains and nuts, it makes for a substantial breakfast. We found the addition of strawberry and rhubarb at the bottom of the jar to be a good incentive to keep digging into our baked oatmeal. Warmly spiced with cinnamon and orange, Strawberry Rhubarb Baked Oatmeal is a filling, healthy, and make-ahead way to tackle morning meals for busy week-days.
Kale and Red Leaf Salad with Apple Mint Vinaigrette
Kale and Red Leaf Salad with Apple Mint Vinaigrette is an unusual and delicious salad that we made this evening with our first spring batch of local green kale. Kale is the quiet gawky kid in the corner who landed the starring role in the school play and never looked back. Kale has a serious following of die-hard fans who devour it in all forms; chips, smoothies, ice cream, brownies, pesto. Kale is a cancer-fighting super-food loaded with beta-carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, calcium, and antioxidants. To learn about the many ways to use kale and its nutritional value check out Deborah Madison's new book Vegetable Literacy. This Kale and Red Leaf Salad is a tasty example of raw kale serving as a base for this distinctive crisp apple mint vinaigrette.
Paul's Morning Beet Juice
When I have a little time in the morning I like to start off with my favorite fresh juice. It is thick and creamy, sweet, earthy and a little tart. Its a fresh and health way to start the day, but it also has enough substance to hold me over until lunch...or dinner if its a busy day at work. It takes about 5 minutes to make, including cleaning up the juicer.
Carrot Orange Energy Juice
Carrot Orange Energy Juice is as bright and cheerful in flavor as it is in color. Before (or after) a holiday stuffed with food, it is nice to have something fresh and light. The sweet earthy creaminess of the carrots gets kicked into high gear by the oranges, giving this fun juice an unexpected smoothness and complexity. Its quick to make and it will keep you going for several hours. Bottoms up!
