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Tess’s Blueberry Breakfast Tart + Mystical Mango Smoothies
Summer finally came to Denmark and I am one happy, happy person. Life just seems easier when the sun is shining and I don’t need to wear a snowsuit. In August.
I am also in the groove of cooking less, eating more simple, raw foods and whizzing stuff up in a blender. Tess Masters’s book, The Blender Girl Smoothies could not have come out at a better time considering I’m making smoothies ‘round the clock and looking for some new inspiration. With over 100 gluten-free, vegan recipes her book is kind of like the bible of blended drinks. What I appreciate is that you can look up recipes according to what effects you are after (to detoxify, alkalize, boost immunity, reduce inflammation etc.) and the chapters are divided into types of recipes (clean and green, light and fruity, dessert…). There are tips and tricks, a thorough pantry section and a good resource list for those of us who are new to this blending world.
Because I’m such a wild cat, I chose to make two recipes from the book and combine them. Oh yea. The Blueberry Breakfast Tart and Mystical Mango both sounded like heaven-in-a-glass to me and the combo, I must say, is over the top. I know it may seem a tad excessive to make two smoothies, but if you’re serving these at a brunch or something, it’s really fun (and beautiful!) to see them swirled together in a glass.
The blueberry one is really what it claims to be: liquid breakfast. With cashews, oats and maple syrup (which I didn’t use actually) it will wake you up and fuel you through a long morning of summer-ness. The mango smoothie is bright and tropical tasting – I loved the lime, orange and cardamom flavours in there! Whooo-hooo!
All I can say is, way to go, Tess! Whether or not you’re a smoothie pro or just getting started, this is the book to get your fruit-sticky hands on.
Blueberry Breakfast Tart
This tastes like a Pop-Tart, and is great for digestive health. Oats are a wonderful source of fiber, to combat carcinogens in the gastrointestinal tract. And both oats and blueberries become gelatinous in the colon, helping to expel toxins and lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
2 1/4 cups (540ml) unsweetened almond milk, hemp milk, or rice milk (strained if homemade)
1/3 cup (45g) raw unsalted cashews, soaked
1/3 cup (30g) rolled oats, soaked
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, plus more to taste
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups (320g) frozen blueberries
Throw the milk, cashews, and oats into your blender and blast on high for 30 to 60 seconds, until creamy. Add the remaining ingredients and blast again on high for about 20 seconds, until smooth. Tweak the maple syrup to taste.
Boosters
1 tablespoon maqui powder
1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
1 teaspoon coconut oil
Mystical Mango
With a creamy texture and exquisite flavour, this immunity blend is fabulous for collagen formation and glowing skin, hair, and nails. Mango’s enzymes and vitamins A, C, and E cleanse the liver and aid digestion, and its potassium and fiber help regulate blood pressure and cholesterol. This one will make your heart happy.
1 1/2 cups (360ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup (120ml) water, plus more as needed
1/2 medium avocado, pitted and peeled
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 cups (320g) frozen mango
1/2 cup (62g) ice cubes
Throw all of the ingredients into your blender and blast on high for 30 to 60 seconds, until smooth and creamy. Add more water as needed to blend.
Boosters
1/2 teaspoon wheatgrass powder
1 teaspoon chia seeds
1 teaspoon flaxseed oil
I hope you guys are having a rad summer. Much love to all!
xo, Sarah B
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Lemon Lavender Spritzer with Strawberries
Last weekend, Alex and I took a trip to Bloomington, Indiana: home of our alma mater and our dear friend Shelly, the very talented lady behind both the magazine Driftless and Vegetarian Ventures. Since Alex and I were in town for a wedding that afternoon, the three of us arranged to meet up for a quick picnic in the park beforehand. We each prepared a few recipes in advance and met at the grocery to buy some remaining ingredients: mainly bread, cheese, and chocolate (of course).
Everything was simple and came together wonderfully, as if we’d planned it thoughtfully in days in advance (though we were mainly winging it). Alex had the idea to make a drink with some lavender from our garden; he first created a simple syrup with lemon and lavender, then at the picnic site combined a few tablespoons of the syrup with some sparkling water and sliced strawberries. It was fragrant and refreshing; a fantastic signature drink to accompany our picnic.
I love these bright and sunny photos Alex captured of the day — the drinks in the grass remind me of the whimsical style of Erin of Forest Feast for sure. We plan to share the remainder of the picnic menu and photos this week; in the meantime, check out Shelly’s beautiful photos of the day here!
Lemon Lavender Spritzer with Strawberries
by: a Couple Cooks
Serves: 10 drinks
What You Need
- 3 large sprigs lavender, plus more for garnish
- Zest of ½ lemon
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sparkling water per drink
- 1 strawberry per drink
What To Do
- In a small pot, combine 3 large sprigs lavender, zest of ½ lemon, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup water. Simmer for 15 minutes, making sure that it does not boil. Cool slightly. (Note: Lasts for 1 to 2 weeks refrigerated.)
- To assemble each drink: combine 1 to 2 tablespoons simple syrup with 1 cup sparkling water. Garnish with sliced strawberries and a small sprig of lavender.
Milk Chocolate Yogurt Pots with Peanut Butter from Yogurt Culture
One of the things I love most about cookbooks is the near instant gratification I get after cracking open the book. There’s no reading the first chapter or reading the end of the book before reading the middle (I was guilty of this as a child). One quick look of the recipes can usually tell me whether or not a book belongs on my shelf.
I picked up Cheryl’s Yogurt Culture book in anticipation of her coming to Sacramento for a book party. I cracked it open and upon a couple flips, landed on these chocolate yogurt pots. To say I became excited is a bit of an understatement. I love chocolate mousse but it’s a rare treat because it feels a bit more decadent than the average week deserves. These yogurt pots, after being chilled, have a similar texture that leaves one feeling like they’ve eaten the richest dessert when really, it’s just yogurt and melted chocolate.
M and I are a bit addicted to the peanut butter/chocolate combination so I altered her recipe slightly to include a fluffy peanut butter center. I think almond butter would also be amazing. However, if you’re just a straight chocolate fan, make Cheryl’s recipe as is- you won’t be disappointed.
The post Milk Chocolate Yogurt Pots with Peanut Butter from Yogurt Culture appeared first on Naturally Ella.
Hamilton Beach HomeBaker 29882 Breadmaker, Black Review
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Cucumber Dill Toasts
This is more of an “idea” than a recipe, but in reality that’s what recipes are: ideas. Some ideas just happen to be more complicated than others.
This idea seems fancy, but is supremely simple. It’s one of our favorites for picnics, since it’s summery and light. The classic combination of cucumber and fresh dill is refreshing and it’s a cinch to put together, even right at the picnic site. We usually use cream cheese as the base, but you can use any spreadable soft cheese, even goat cheese.
We enjoyed this recipe on a picnic along with this lavender lemon spritzer and these mozzarella toasts by Shelly of Vegetarian Ventures. We’ll share the entire easy picnic menu from the day soon. Happy Summer!
Cucumber Dill Toasts
by: a Couple Cooks
Serves: Approximately 16 toasts
What You Need
- 1 baguette, crackers, or bite-sized toasts
- 1 cucumber
- 6 ounces cream cheese or other soft spreadable cheese
- Handful fresh dill
- Kosher salt
What To Do
- If using a baguette, prepare the toasts in advance: Preheat oven to 350°F. Thinly slice the bread and place the slices on a baking sheet. Toast for about 10 minutes until crisp.
- Thinly slice the cucumbers.
- Spread the bread with cheese. Top each toast with a sliced cucumber, a tiny bit of kosher salt, and some fresh dill.
Mr. Coffee ECM160 4-Cup Steam Espresso Machine, Black Review
Buttermilk Buckwheat Pancakes
When I find a recipe I love, I become a bit obsessed. It occasionally feels as though a journey has come to a resting point through many trials and errors. I am currently stuck on this buttermilk pancake recipe. The pancake recipe first made it’s appearance through this spelt variation. Since then, I’ve been working on a solid gluten-free counterpart and I think this is it.
On occasion I’ll run across buckwheat pancakes on a breakfast menu and I’m usually disappointed. From what I can tell, the buckwheat flour is there in name but not in flavor. Usually it taste as though the buckwheat is only a couple tablespoons in the entire recipe. Not here. These buckwheat pancakes showcase the nutty, bold flavor of buckwheat and use the oat flour and starch as an aid for fluffier pancakes.
The post Buttermilk Buckwheat Pancakes appeared first on Naturally Ella.
Marbled Birthday Popsicles for Isac
Today is Isac’s first birthday! We’ve celebrated with banana pancakes and popsicles flavoured with watermelon, his favourite thing in the world. More about the popsicle recipe at the bottom of this post. First this.
About 4 1/2 years ago we wrote a letter to his sister on her first birthday and we wanted to do the same for him. Obviously he won’t be able to read this know, but we’re hoping that he might find this 15 or 20 years from now, when he’s curiously scrolling through old internet pages and discovers the weird food blogging phenomena that his parents were involved in.
To Isac. You are sleeping right next to me in the bed so I’m typing this as quietly as I can. A few minutes ago you were lying on my chest looking up at me with your clear blue eyes and I was singing Cat Stevens songs for you until your eye lids got heavy. It was one of those moments you pack into a little box and store inside your heart. You are only one year old and we have already had so many of these moments with you. Every time we tickle your tummy you start laughing this unfiltered, contagious laugh that makes your face all wrinkly. At least a hundred times a day, you put whatever you are holding in your hand to your ear and answer ”Hallo?”, one time it was a cooked beetroot and you smudged it all over your chin and hair while pretending to be talking on the phone. It looked so hilarious and when we laughed, you started laughing even more. Whenever you see your sisters toes, you sneak up to her and bite them, like a little dog. Sometimes she gets angry at you for doing that, but you always just smile back at her (often with her toe still in your mouth). You are a funny dude.
I remember feeling a bit worried, the days before you were born. We had been such a tight family of three for many years and I guess I wasn’t sure what would happen to our close bonds now that you were about to arrive. But then you came and immediately you changed our family. You changed our relationship with each other and you changed your sister. She really hoped that you would be a girl but has loved you wholeheartedly from the second she saw you. And you have loved her back. As soon as you hear her voice in the morning, you start shouting “Ella! Ella!”. So far, it’s the only word you can say, your sister’s name. Your mom and I really hope that you two will continue to have the same beautiful relationship when you grow up.
Of course you can also scream and cry and be terribly unhappy. While learning how to walk, you have been falling a million times, banging your head into walls, floors and furniture. But even when you were bleeding from your eyebrow, you took the cloth I was holding against your cut, put it against your ear and answered… “Hallo?”, and then you started laughing again.
We love you through laughter, cuts, scrapes, beetroot and blood. Happy birthday little man!
/Mom & Dad
And now, ice pops! Watermelon is doubtless Isac’s favourite fruit so we made these popsicles as a little treat for him. Just like with Elsa, we are trying to teach him to eat proper food before introducing cookies and real sweets. So these are perfect as it’s basically just frozen smoothies. Popsicles or paletas are super simple to make and can be varied in an infinite amount of ways. Here we have blended watermelon as one layer and bananas and yogurt as the other, mixed them a bit to create a marble effect and then added a little chocolate crumble for extra birthday glamour.
Check out this Blueberry popsicle video recipe that we did last year if you want to get more visual instructions and popsicle inspiration.
Marbled Watermelon Popsicles
Makes 8-10 popsicles
See this recipe more as a starting point. Almost any type of fruit, berries, sweetener or dairy products can be frozen into popsicles. Pure watermelon popsicles is a great one ingredient recipe. Or you can do something more advanced, like a cheesecake popsicle with ricotta cheese and honey instead of yogurt. Whatever is in season and to your liking.
About a quarter medium size watermelon (2 pounds / 1 kg)
1 cup / 250 ml full-fat Turkish yogurt or vegan yogurt
2 ripe bananas (you can also add some honey if you want them to be extra sweet)
1 tsp ground vanilla or vanilla extract
10 fresh raspberries
Chocolate crumble
1-2 tbsp coconut oil or butter
1-2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, roughly chopped
1 tbsp cacao powder
1/2 tsp ground dried ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Cut the watermelon flesh in chunks and add to a high speed blender. Mix until smooth and pour the watermelon juice into a jug. Rinse the blender and add yogurt, banana, honey and vanilla to a high-speed blender. Mix until smooth. Slowly pour some of the banana yogurt into the popsicle moulds, filling about 1/3 of the mould (or whatever height you think looks pretty). Then carefully pour the mixed watermelon on top (remember to leave some space for the crumble). Check so the layers more or less stay intact (if the consistency is too loose, you can pop the moulds in the freezer for 10-20 minutes before adding the second layer). To get the marbled effect, simply use a straw or the backside of a teaspoon and stir up and down one or two strokes. Tear the raspberries in half and drop two halves into each mould, use a straw to push them down. To create the chocolate crumble, simply melt coconut oil and honey in a frying pan on low heat. Add the rest of the ingredients and toast for a few minutes while stirring. Spoon the crumble into the moulds as a top layer, then carefully insert the popsicle sticks. Freeze for at least 3-4 hours. When you want to eat the popsicles, rinse the moulds quickly under water to get them out without any hassle.
We bought our popsicle moulds on Amazon. These are similar to ours.