30-day Green Smoothies!!

Today while farting around online, I came across this website, which encourages people to try a 30-day green smoothie challenge. Challenge: ACCEPTED! I've made green smoothies before and love them. My coworker calls the drink "sludge," which is a legit description of the drink. I don't have a picture of it, but the recipe is:

2 cups water

1/2 head of lettuce or spinach (the greener the better)

1 green apple

1 pear

1 banana

3-4 stalks celery

handful cilantro

handful parsley

juice of 1 lime

Blend everything together. I leave the skin on the apple and pear, which is where a lot of the vitamins are located. It's okay to blend the stalks of the cilantro and parsley together too. The key to this drink is to make sure that it gets blended enough. I usually drink it through a straw on my way to work...mainly because I don't want to have chunks of parsley or cilantro in my teeth. I don't want to draw any weird looks from people on the train.

So back to the 30-day challenge. I am so excited. Kasia and I just recently moved, so we've been without a proper kitchen for almost 3 weeks now, and haven't been grocery shopping in almost 4. Fast food saved us, but we are so totally DONE! I haven't been eating as many veggies as I like due to moving and traveling to SoCal, so this challenge would help get me back into it! When you sign up for the website challenge (for free), they send you a shopping list for the smoothie recipes they provide. I can't wait to go shopping!!

SaLsA FiEsTa!!!

i love it when good things/ideas become traditions. my cinco de mayo salsa fiesta has become just that. i can't believe it's been a year since our last one. a few weeks ago, i found myself creating a new board on pinterest for salsa. i got super excited for it and was anticipating a good turnout again. who knew that cinco de mayo would be the happening holiday??

i wanted to do a few things different this year, but was limited to only making 8 again. i realized that i need to create a "salsa fund" that i can build up throughout the year. i contented myself with making only 8 salsas this year. i had a few favorites that were repeats, so i won't post the instructions.......you can find them on this post from last year. why did i duplicate? mainly because they were the ones that i didn't have enough of last year or they were requested. 

this year i found myself making all of the salsas the night before and the morning of.......mainly to take advantage of the produce sales at the markets. i don't coupon, but it's nice to save $2-3 on avocados!!! i hosted about 45 people again in our little apartment. i cringe to think of what my floors looked like after. i couldn't wait another day before vacuuming and steam cleaning the kitchen floor. dishes are done, pictures are waiting to be posted, and my coworkers are happily enjoying my leftover salsa that i'm spreading out through the week. today it's PINEAPPLE and FIRE AND ICE (watermelon). who knows what tomorrow will bring!!

okay, so on to the fun stuff! the duplicates from last year:

i had to put a little aside since i knew this one would be gone...so glad that i did!!

i doubled the recipe from last year

i always double this one b/c i can take it to work and eat it as lunch for days

i doubled this recipe at the request of my home teacher rob...this is his favorite so i made him a little care package 

now onto the new ones. i got all of these recipes from Pinterest and have lightly adapted them to fit what i had/wanted. the sources can be found off of my salsa board. i will start with my favorite:

i love the flavor of roasted habaneros now!!

ROASTED HABANERO

6 roma tomatoes, diced (discard the goopy stuff and seeds)

2 habanero peppers, roasted and finely diced (directions below)

1 jalapeño pepper, finely diced

1/2 red onion, diced

6 cloves garlic, diced

handful of cilantro, finely chopped

juice of 1 lime

1 T olive oil

1 t red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

*half the habaneros and cut out seeds and membrane

*line cookie sheet with tin foil

*roast habaneros on cookie sheet on broil for 4 minutes (until they start to blacken)

*combine tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic, and cilantro

*whisk together lime juice, oil, vinegar, and spices

*toss together

**side note**

when pulling out the habaneros from the oven, DON'T BREATH!! i made the mistake of normally inhaling when i opened the oven and nearly aspirated a lung from coughing so hard. also, make sure to wear gloves any time you handle the habaneros. i've never had to learn the hard way, thank goodness!!

i love peaches!!

INGREDIENTS

4-6 peaches, finely diced (choose peaches that are still a little on the firm side, which will make dicing them easier!)

1 yellow bell pepper, finely diced (next time i will also add an orange one for color)

2 roma tomatoes, diced

1 jalapeño, diced

1/2 red onion, diced

handful of cilantro, finely chopped

juice of 1 lime

1/4 t chili pepper

1 T brown sugar, packed

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

toss everything together!!

**side note**

i think next time i make this one, i'll not only add the extra bell pepper, but maybe some more chili pepper for a bigger kick........

right??????

INGREDIENTS

6 kiwi, diced (make sure they're on the firm side)

1 jalapeño, finely diced

1/2 white onion, diced

handful of cilantro, chopped

juice of 1 lime

DIRECTIONS

gently toss everything together

**side note**

this had to be the most interesting salsa i've ever made. i used a potato peeler to peel the kiwi, but thought about halfway through that a paring knife would have been a little easier to use. the peeler kept getting furry........

watermelon is the bomb.com!!

INGREDIENTS

1/2 of a seedless watermelon, diced

bunch of green onions, copped

1 jalapeño, diced

1/2 white onion, diced

bunch of cilantro, chopped

juice of 2 limes

DIRECTIONS

*chop up watermelon and set aside until ready to serve

*combine onions, pepper, and cilantro in separate bowl

*when ready to serve, combine everything together and juice limes over

**side note**

the hardest part of this one was chopping up the watermelon smaller than what i'm used to. i had to keep reminding myself that this was for salsa, not just to eat. also, by keeping the watermelon separate, it gave the juice a chance to settle to the bottom, saving the salsa from becoming a gazpacho!!

taa-daa!!!

i love salsa!!! special shout-out to my lovely cara, who made an awesome 7 layer dip, cameron, who brought a tres leches cake that i requested (he brought one last year and it was delish!), daniel for the pan dulce, and everyone else that brought something to help out. here are some pictures from the party!!!

Rats!!!

bwahahahaha just kidding with the whole rats thing. i didn't know what ratatouille was until i saw the awesome disney movie!! how could i have not known about this deliciousness???? well, the point is that i do now.

i had wanted to make it for a while and finally found a recipe that i liked (i'm not a big fan of french food). of course my first pass at the dish didn't look as pretty as some of the pictures online:

however.....it tasted pretty amazing and kasia and i enjoyed our leftovers!!!

ingredients:

red bell pepper

1 yellow squash

1 zucchini

1 eggplant

1/2 onion, diced

1 c tomato puree

2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced or diced

1/4 t oregano

1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes

2 T olive oil, separated

fresh thyme

salt and pepper to taste

directions:

preheat oven to 375*

pour tomato puree into oval baking dish

mix in oregano, pepper flakes, 1 T olive oil, onion, and garlic

season with salt and pepper to taste

trim ends off of veggies and remove seeds/membrane from bell pepper

USE A MANDOLINE!! i didn't and regretted it!! slice the pepper, squash, zucchini, and eggplant about 1/16 of an inch thick

starting on the edge, alternate setting down the veggies in the puree mixture in a pretty pattern shown above......enter the help of the mandoline!! the thinness of the veggies will help you keep a beautiful pattern

drizzle the last T of olive oil over the top, add salt and pepper and fresh thyme (i always go heavy on the thyme and just LOVE it!!)

cover with parchment paper

bake 45-55 minutes

DO NOT OVERCOOK because you really don't want soggy veggies

things that i would change for next time: if i was going to attempt the pretty pattern, i would definitely use a mandoline. our kitchen could benefit from another fun gadget!! i am not a big fan of eggplant. i wouldn't put it in the same category as olives and mushrooms, but i didn't like eating a thick slice of the eggplant.

i might try the more traditional french style of ratatouille:

.........where i don't have to worry about the pattern. the presentation is still gorgeous and i'm sure it tastes great......as long as the eggplant is still small and thin (much to kasia's chagrin) 

i baked this as a side dish to baked chicken and bacon-wrapped asparagus which will be another blog posting.........

If avocados could marry...I'd totally be the mistress!!

i love avocados! seriously, what kind of california girl would i be if i didn't?? last week, 4 little avocados arrived in our basket. what to do.......what to do.......?? my life has been pretty hectic lately, so cooking has been virtually non-existent. luckily i found this blog and decided to give it a go. kasia and i had already purchased plain greek yogurt for some fruit smoothies, so it was settled!! i love guacamole, but this was a little different, as i mixed in yogurt instead of my homemade salsa this time.

i didn't follow the recipe measurements, but the ingredients are the same:

3 avocados

3/4 c plain greek yogurt

handful of cilantro

tablespoon minced garlic

couple dashes of cumin

1 jalapeno 

juice of 1 lime

salt and pepper to taste

the directions are pretty simple.........put everything in the blender (or food processor) and blend it all up!!!!!!

voila!! best eaten with pita chips!!!!

What? Brussels Sprouts are DELISH!!

i remember the exact moment when i decided that i liked brussels sprouts. i know it's a weird thing to remember, but weird things tend to be easier to remember than run-of-the-mill stuff. wow. so when kasia and i decided to join the Bountiful Baskets food co-op, we knew that we'd get a variety of fruit and veggies. our first week, we got brussels sprouts. i remember my mom trying to get me to eat them growing up, but i just wouldn't. they looked gross. and smelled weird. now that i'm all grown up, my taste buds have grown up with me.

last night was super busy-crazy for me: i went to the gym from work (taking the bus and trax), ran home to shower, put in a ham, start my laundry, do the dishes and clean the stove, and finish reading an article for homework. somewhere in there, i managed to call my mom and wish her happy birthday. whew. however busy my schedule gets, i can always find time to try a new recipe. i got brussels sprouts in my co-op basket this week. they were pretty small, which was good because that meant i didn't have to cut them in half and risk them falling apart.

i found this website via pinterest and decided to give it a go. i usually just sautee the sprouts with some garlic, onion, and lemon. side note: anything is delish when sauteed with those 3 ingredients!!! anyway, i followed the recipe (pretty much) and had good results:

INGREDIENTS

 

brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and icky leaves removed

3 T olive oil

2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

1/2 t onion salt

 

DIRECTIONS

 

preheat oven to 400*

place everything in a large resealable plastic bag

seal tightly and shake to coat

pour onto a baking sheet/roasting pan

roast for 30-45 minutes, shaking pan every 5 minutes for even browning